CARTOON-O-RAMA Presents:


THE MIGHTY HEROES!

Diaper Man! Rope Man! Strong Man!
Tornado Man! Cuckoo Man!

The Super Friends had nothing on these guys!

Created for Terrytoons Productions by Ralph Bakshi, who began his career at Terrytoons in the early '60s, The Mighty Heroes is one of the most fondly remembered shows of the late '60s. The Heroes used their weird superpowers to battle menaces like The Enlarger, The Shrinker, The Ghost Monster, The Frog, The Shocker, The Raven, The Monsterizer, and The Scarecrow. Ironically The Mighty Heroes replaced another, more famous, Terrytoons Production, The Mighty Mouse Playhouse on CBS's Saturday morning schedule in September, 1966. Voices were supplied by Lionel Wilson and Hershel Benardi (who provided the voice of Charlie The Tuna on Starkist commercials and went on to star in the early '70s sitcom Arnie).

Director Bakshi next went on to supervise the original Spiderman cartoon series in September of 1967. From there Bakshi moved into producing ground-breaking, and often contraversial, animated features like Fritz The Cat, Heavy Traffic, Coonskin, American Pop, Wizards, and Lord Of The Rings. In 1987, Bakshi secured the rights to the old Terrytoons characters and created Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures. His staff of young animators included John Kricfalusi, who went on to create The Ren & Stimpy Show whose offbeat style was greatly foreshadowed by the wacky humour of Bakshi's Mighty Mouse. One episode featured the return of The Mighty Heroes.

In the '90s Bakshi has continued to produce imaginative animated works that appeal to an adult sensibility including the uneven animated/live-action movie Cool World starring Kim Bassinger and Brad Pitt, and the new HBO animated series Spicy City.

At the end of 1997, Marvel Comics released a one issue Mighty Heroes comic book, and depending on the readers' response may consider producing future comics. The story by X-Men writer Scott Lobdell and the art by Rurik Tyler and Larry Mahlstedt captures the feel and look of the animated series very well. Highlights include the never-before revealed origin of the Mighty Heroes and a guest appearance by Terrytoons character Astronut.

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Updated August, 1999

© 1997 paulec1@aol.com


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