#72 : 5 of the Forgotten, Obscure, and Short-Lived Cartoons of the 1980s and 1990s!

Thank you for tuning in! In today's episode, we will look back at some of the most bizarre and long-lost cartoon series of the 1980s and 1990s including  Heathcliff, The Popples, Denver the Last Dinosaur, Wish Kid, and Camp Candy!  You'll learn a bit about the backstory of some of the shows, the characters and the talented voice actors behind them, and so much more!

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Transcript

Episode #72

Thank you so very much for tuning in to the Pop Culture Retrospective Podcast. This show is dedicated to the memory of my big sister Rebecca, a fan of all things pop-culture, particularly of the people, places, and things that defined the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s.  Welcome aboard this pop culture time machine, I'm Amy Lewis. This is episode #72 of Forgotten, obscure, and short-lived cartoon series from the 1980s and 1990s.  During today's show, we will take a look back at some beloved cartoons from the 1980s and 1990s that didn't get much airtime.  A few of these shows are Heathcliff and the Cadillac Cats, Denver the Last Dinosaur, Popples, Wish Kid, and Camp Candy.  I imagine there will be other episodes similar to this as there are just so many random cartoons from me and my sister’s childhood that came and went in a blink of an eye (does anyone remember the New Kids on the Block cartoon?).  For the purposes of this show, however, we will be discussing just these 5 shows, which all ran for less than 3 years - they are gone, but certainly not forgotten. So hop in your lazy boy, grab your Crystal Clear Pepsi and walk up to your television and turn on, here we go!

The show on our list with the oldest backstory is Heathcliff which dates back to 1973.  The character made his first appearance in a comic strip in newspapers, which is still happening to this day!  The orange and arrogant cat was created by George Gatley who was originally from NJ.  He had actually created several characters prior to the creation of Heathcliff but certainly, this cat was his first breakout character.  

HC appeared in his first book in 1977.  And in 1980, he appeared in a TV series called Heathcliff and the Ding Bat Show.  This show didn’t last all too long but in 1984, a series produced by DIC came out - Heathcliff and the Cadilac Cats!  I distinctly remember watching this show and jamming out to the theme song with my sister. The series ran for just 2 seasons but somehow 80 episodes were released.  Each episode was broken up into 2 parts - the first ½ of the show was Heathcliff and the second episode was all about the Catillac cats.  The show always ended with HC offering up some tips about pet care. My sister was also one to offer up some tips on pet care.  For example, whenever someone gave her a hard time for having a chihuahua for a dog instead of something bigger like a lab or a poodle, she’d offer up this hilarious and disgusting tidbit:  “The way I look at it” she would say, “having a chihuahua instead of a larger breed is better because its the difference between having to pick up a cocktail weenie vs a bratwurst.”  She said that in reference to, you know, a dog going #2.  This comment is both gross and true.  Sometimes the truth hurts and sometimes it is gross.  

The HC characters included Heathcliff, who is a bit of a stuck up feline.  He’s sort of a tough guy who causes a bit of trouble.  Iggy Nutmeg is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Nutmeg, he is considered one of HC’s owners.  

He is an easy-going kid for the most part but gets upset with Heathcliff’s antics.  Mr. Nutmeg aka Grandpa is a responsible and reliant person.  He also gets upset with Heathcliff like his grandson.  He often carries a pipe.  Mrs. Nutmeg aka Grandma is Iggy’s grandmother and a homemaker if I am remembering correctly.  She loves Heathcliff and is willing to look past his shortcomings.  She often wears an apron and a dress.  Sonja is HC’s girlfriend - she is fiercely loyal to him but it seems as though a ton of other cats in the series have a thing for her which HC is of course not a fan of.  What a cat-tastrophe. There is another kid in the series named Willy, he is Iggy’s best friend.   

The CC characters included Riff Raff, Wordsworth, Hector, Cleo and Mungo.  They are considered to be “junkyard cats.”  They periodically get themselves into trouble but for the most part have good hearts.  

Mel-Blanc voiced Heathcliff on the series. He was a beloved voice actor who also provided his talents to characters like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and the Tasmanian Devil.  

Can we talk about Taz for just a minute?  My short-lived high school boyfriend had a Tasmanian devil tattoo on his arm.  Oh yes, this is true.  He often wore cut-off sleeve shirts which was not a great look for him and I often found myself distracted by the Tasmanian devil.  It was not a good look.

Donna Christie voiced Cleo and Iggy.  She also provided the voice of Potato Chip in Popples (a show we will discuss later in the show) and also Dennis the Menace, another one of my all-time favorite cartoons and comics.  Jeannie Elisa voiced Marcy and Willie.  She also has lent her voices to projects like Over the Hedge, Jimmy Neutron and various video games. G Stanley Jones provided the voice of Riff Raff and Wordsworth, among others.  He was the narrator in the Little Shop of Horrors and performed several characters in Transformers.  Marilyn Lightstone voiced Sonja and Ms. Nutmeg in the series.  She was also none other than Miss (don’t eat that Ms. Stacy!!!) Stacy in Anne of Green Gables.  Danny Mann played Hector and Mr. Schulz - he also provided his voice talents in movies like Babe the Pig, Up, and Pocahontas.  Derek McGrath played the role of Spike, Heathcliff’s nemesis, as well as knuckles and others.  He was also on Cheers and provided the voice of Daniel on Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Inspector Gadget.  There was a host of other talented voice actors and actresses but in the interest of time, we will leave it at that! 

Here are a few episode examples.  We’ll start with the very first ever episode of HC and the CC which was entitled The Great Pussini/Kitty Kat Kennels, airing in September of 1984.  In this episode, an opera star comes to town and tries to steal Heathcliff’s love interest.  In season 1, Episode 9 in an episode entitled Spike's Cousin/For the Birds, Riff Raff convinces the Catillac Cats to help him break into a bird sanctuary.  In season 2, episode 2 in an episode entitled Nightmare in Beverly Hills/The Cat in the Iron Mask, Heathcliff imagines what it would be like if he was rich and living in Beverly Hills.

In 1985 - the Heathcliff comic book was released, it eventually became a best-seller.  In 1986 Healthcliff the movie was released.  In 1990 there was a short-lived reboot series on ABC.  There has also been a Heathcliff-related attraction at Universal Studios in Orlando.  More recently, the show has been released on DVD.  You can watch old episodes of the show on Paramount streaming or you can purchase episodes on Amazon.  To this day, Heathcliff still appears in comics all across the country.  Peter Gallagher took over for the Heathcliff comics in the late 1990s. George Gallagher the creator is his Uncle.  He still oversees the comics and is an illustrator himself.

If ever there were a television theme song that I had and have stuck in my head on a near-constant basis, it would be this one.

Denver the last Dinosaur ran from 1988 - 1990 but somehow managed to produce 50 episodes across 2 seasons.  The premise of the show revolves around a group of friends who are BMX biking in some dirt pits in California one day and one of the guys falls into a hole while trying to do a trick on his bike.  He lands on a large egg that apparently no one else saw and the egg proceeds to crack open, revealing a baby dinosaur.  The group of friends decides that they want to take care of Denver and keep him safe. So they take him under their wing and expose him to modern civilization. Denver eventually develops some human-like behaviors including a love of skateboarding and rock and roll. The gang often faces the risk of Denver being discovered as well as bullies.  Sometimes the group is able to travel back in time by hopping into Denver’s magical egg.  Most of the characters speak with a stereotyped and exaggerated California surfer bum accent.  Of course that didn’t bother me as a kid but when I revisited the show recently the voices are pretty irritating and many of the character's voices sound eerily similar. 

Here are a few episode examples:

Season 1, Episode 5 - Denver Makes the Grade.  The guys decided they want to do their science project on Dinosaurs.  I feel like they have an unfair advantage! 

Season 2, Episode 9 - Denver at Sea.  Denver rescues a dolphin that has been kidnapped. 

Season 2, Episode 32 - Pluto Needs People.  Denver imagines himself fighting aliens in a mid-century inspired sci-fi movie.

Pat Fraley played Denver.  He also voiced characters from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and has done the voice of Buzz Lightyear when Tim Allen is not available.  

The group of friends that are the main characters of the show were played by some other notable voice actors.  For example, Wally, the boy who takes Denver in, is played by Adam Carl.  Carl was in Monster Squad, one of my absolute favorite 80s Halloween movies, and has voiced characters in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Heather is Wally’s annoying sister, who is older.  She was voiced by Kath Soucie, a name you will hear a few times in this segment of the show. Kath Soucie also played Casey.  Casey is very handy, and helps his friends fix stuff.  Soucie has lent her voice talents to shows like Rugrats, Space Jam and several of the Winnie the Pooh movies.  Jeremy is the sharpest tool in Denver’s shed let’s say.  He is incredibly knowledgeable about dinosaurs.  He was voiced by Adam Carl.  Mario is another friend in the group, he has a big ego.  He was voiced by Cam Clarke.  Clarke is also known for voicing characters in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and providing the singing voice for Simba in Lion King II.  

It appears as though some DTLD episodes were released on VHS at one point.  At one time you could purchase a stuffy Denver, something I’m sure I wanted as a kid. More recently, there have been DVDs released including the full series in 2014 and a reboot series ran in Europe a few years ago.  You can also rent and purchase episodes on Amazon.  

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Now, back to the show.

In 1986, a live-action TV special entitled “It’s Popple Time” introduced some of the most beloved, fuzzy characters of the 1980s.  The TV movie utilized puppetry and live actors and is considered the pilot for the Popples cartoon series.  It was a Shelly Duval special - she co-wrote and co-produced the special.  

If the name Shelly Duval sounds vaguely familiar perhaps you remember her starring in films like “The Shining” and “Annie Hall.”  Annie Hall is probably in my top 10 favorite movies of all time.  PS while I was doing my research I learned that Shelly Duvall was once in a relationship with Paul Simon, they actually lived together for a few years.  At one point, Duvall introduced Simon to her friend Carrie Fisher and then Simon left Duvall to be with Fisher. So sad!  Anyways, the Popples were created by a company called “Those characters from Cleveland” which was a division of American Greetings. Plush stuffies were produced by Mattel between 1986-1988 specifically by a woman named Susan Trental who was inspired to create the characters after she rolled up a pair of socks and had a lightbulb moment.  Further, they were called popples because of the supposed noise they may when they unfold themselves from their pockets.  

The live-action TV special aka the Popples pilot was very well received as was the animated series.  The special opens with a brother and sister who are at what looks to be a family gathering.  The kids are sort of getting bored and their mom tells them to go to the playroom.  The sister goes to the attic and starts dressing up and she hears popping noises and one by one the popples appear.   And thus, we meet the Popples crew and they befriend the brother and sister and hilarity ensues! 

Each character of the Popples had a name that started with the letter P. The original group was:  PC, Pancake, Puffball, Prize, Pretty Bit, Potato Chip, Puzzle, Party and Putter. 

PC: which stands for pretty cool, he is the co-leader of the group and is level-headed. He is blue in color. Pancake was magenta in color, this popple likes to cheer people up but sadly didn’t end up appearing in very many Popples cartoons.  Puffball is white, I believe my sister had this one.  Puffball likes to showcase her voice acting talents to the other Popples.  She often confuses people with her impressions and ability to speak in different tones. Prize is a shallow popple, she is always focused on her appearance, she was hot pink in color. Pretty Bit likes to speak in rhyme and can be a bit shy at times.  She is light purple in color.  Potato Chip, who was yellow, loves to eat snacks. Puzzle loves to read and swim, he was orange in color.  This is the Popple that I had.  Party was pink and as expected, was the life of the party.  She often puts on hats and shoots out confetti. Putter was green in color, he spoke with a bit of a stutter.  He liked playing practical jokes on the other popples.  There were also a brother and sister in the cartoon episodes, their names were Bonnie and Billy.  Later there were baby popples and rock star popples, I’m quite certain we had the rock star ones.  The Popples could store stuff in their back pocket which they could also roll up into.  

The pockets could sort of work like a magician’s magic hat - they could pull out fishing poles and ladders from their pockets.  

In addition to the short-lived TV series in the 1980s which aired on Saturday mornings, there was a reboot on Netflix in 2015. The original series was produced by DIC - a company I swear produced every well-known cartoon in the 80s and 90s besides properties owned by Disney or Warner Brothers. There have also been several reboots and reissues of the toys in 2001, 2009 and again in 2015 to coincide with the rebooted show.  

Here are some episode examples from the original run:  

In season 1, episode 11 - in Poppin’ Wheelies Billy and Bonnie visit the roller rink and take the popples with them.  Eventually, the popples decide that they should rollerskate as well!  

In season 2, episode 18 - in an episode entitled Cookoo Choo Coo the popples create a train station.  

In Season 2, episode 20 - in an episode entitled “Poppin at the Zoo” the popples visit a zoo and cause quite a disruption.  

In 2018, the Popples characters were sold to Hasbro. Only time will tell what that company will do with the toyline inspired by a pair of rolled-up socks.  

If you want to learn more about the Popples and other popular toys from the 1980s, check out episode #58 of the Pop Culture Retrospective Podcast.  I’ll put a link in the shownotes.  

Next, we have Wish Kid which was an animated series that aired on Saturday mornings on NBC.  It ran for just 1 season of 13 episodes from September 1991 to August of 1992. The cartoon was essentially created to cash in on the Home Alone craze. You may remember that Home Alone was a huge hit, grossing over 280 million dollars in the United States alone, which is about 665 million in today’s money! MacCully Culken actually provided the voice of the main character named Nick McClary.  The cartoon character has a magic baseball glove which, if he hits it 3 times, any wish he wants is granted.  The glove was allegedly hit one day by a shooting star, giving it magical powers.   

The plot typically revolved around the various wishes that Nick would make and the often bad aftermath. Nick is only able to make one wish per week.  And the wishes would generally wear off after a short period of time, usually at an inconvenient time. Nick’s best friend is Daryl, he is aware of the magic of Nick’s baseball glove.  Nick and Daryl’s nemesis is the school bully, Frankie.  Frankie bothers Nick on a near-constant basis.  

The character of Frankie was especially horrifying because he had no sideburns and a mullet - what a terrifying combination.  Other characters on the show included Nick’s Mom and Dad, as well as a baby sister named Kate who was voiced by Culkin’s real-life sister, Quinn.  

Here are a few episodes of the short-lived show:

Episode 1 - “Top Gun:  Will Travel” Nick and Daryl become top gun pilots.  Nick’s little sister decides to be a stow-away but the jet is stolen and thus Nick and Daryl need to come to her rescue.

Episode 4- “Captain Mayhem” Nick decides to help his dad write a story by wishing to create a comic book character named Captain Mayhem.

Episode 5 - “Glove of Dreams” Nick’s dad tells him some bad guys are trying to manipulate the world series so Nick wishes to become a major league pitcher to save baseball.

Each episode opened with a live-action prologue by MC himself and the character of Nick seemed eerily similar to Kevin McCallister from Home Alone. You may remember a lot of catchphrases from Home Alone like “Buzz, your girlfriend, Woof!” or “Yes!” and in Wish Kid, Nick would often yell- “Yo, Baby!”  After its short run, Wish Kid was released on VHS as single episode videos during the 1990s.  I don’t believe the show has been released on DVD, at least what I could find. However, I did manage to find pretty much all of the episodes on YouTube.

That brings us to our last’s cartoon on today’s show, Camp Candy which ran from 1989 to 1992.   It ran for 3 seasons with a total of 39 episodes.  The show is based around the main character John Candy played by the late actor himself.  Candy’s character is in charge of a summer camp - this was actually based on real-life experience.  John Candy was a camp counselor in his younger days.  He was inspired to reminisce about that experience and he wanted something that his children could watch. 

Candy’s show was introduced onto the network (NBC) by the main characters from Saved by the Bell.

John Candy voice himself of course.  There was also Lewis Arquette who provided the voice of Rex DeForest III- he is the villain in the show - he wants Camp Candy to be demolished so he can build luxury condos.  Danny Mann played Chester who was Rex’s right-hand man.  There was also Nurse Molly who was voiced by Valri Bromfield.  The nurse seems to have a crush on John but he seems more interested in a receptionist.  

There are also several campers in the series like Robin, Alex, Binky, Vanessa and Iggy voiced by various actors and actresses.    Many of the characters from the show were based on SCTV characters from Candy’s time on the sketch comedy show from Canada.  

The TV theme song was written by Harry Nilsson and was performed by Nilsson and Candy.  You may not know the name Nilsson but you likely know his music.  He wrote and performed the song Coconut about putting the lime in the coconut.  I know that song allllll too well from being a parent.  

John Candy had just come off of the film “Uncle Buck” when Camp Candy launched.  The movie was incredibly popular (and is an 80s classic for sure).  It was actually the #1 box office movie for several weeks.  Guess who is in Uncle Buck?  That’s right, MC who we discussed earlier in the show.  Camp Candy was produced by Ian Savan, who would go on to produce the Power Rangers. Camp Candy wasn’t the only cartoon on the air during the 1990s that was based on a famous comedian.  There was “Little Rosey” which was loosely based on Rosanne Barr (I have no recollection about this cartoon) and also Life with Louie based on Louie Armstrong.   I’m not sure why television networks thought kids would want to watch a show loosely based off of a stand-up comedian but nonetheless, there were several.  Maybe someday we’ll see a cartoon called “Can’t handler Chelsea” about Chelesea Handler or perhaps “Little Cho” about one of my favorite comedians, Margaret Cho.  Or maybe not because those don’t make sense and my kids have no idea who those two people are.  Don’t worry though, they will eventually! 

ONeendearing aspect of CC was that it taught kids about the environment by none other than JC himself.   

Here are few episode summaries:

Season 2, episode 8 was entitled “Stand Up & Deliver/Rutheless Campers” Camp Candy sets up a telethon to help prevent Rex de Forest from building a summer resort.  

Season 2, episode 11 was entitled"One Million Years B.C." in  Rex Deforest wants to put a highway through Camp Candy.  As usual the gang defeats the camp’s nemesis.   

Season 3, episode 6 was entitled “When it rains, it snows” following a heat wave, it snows at Camp Candy leading to an ice hockey game and other shenanigans.  

Eventually the show was cancelled, in part because John Candy was just too busy to work on the show. Out of all of the shows on this list, I would say I watched Camp Candy and HC the most. Sadly, just 2 years after we waved goodbye to Camp Candy, John Candy died of a heart attack at the age of 43.  

I didn’t realize that Candy started this show to re-live his days as a Camp Counselor and so that he could watch something he was in with his kids.  How sweet is that?  I already loved John Candy and learning more about him just added to that admiration.  

I hope you have enjoyed this look back on some of the Forgotten, obscure, and short-lived cartoon series of the 80s and 90s, I know I did.  There was just something about getting up early on a Saturday morning and having a plethora of choices about what to watch while eating your cheerios.  There was nothing like it.  I would love to go back to that time.  

If you ever feel like you want to give a thank you to the show, please consider subscribing to the podcast.  Instead of doing bonus material for a flat price, I have opted to make it into more of contribution subscription, if you will.  Your donation to the show goes right back into it.  It helps with production costs, monthly expenses related to the show and more.  You can learn more about that and everything else Pop Culture Retrospective at www.popcultureretrospective.com.  On my website you can also leave reviews for the show, shop for PCR merchandise, read my blog posts, connect with me on social media, etc. 

I wanted to share a few more reviews of the show:  

Five Stars - Everything you never knew about your favorite pop culture memories!

If you love reminiscing about the music, toys, celebrities, movies, trends and shows of the '80's, '90's and early 2000's, then you have to check out this podcast! Amy's style is engaging, funny and relaxed. You'll feel like you're sitting at the kitchen table chatting about the good 'ole days. Every episode is filled with moments that make me say,"I remember that!" as well as facts I never knew before. My favorite episodes so far are Episode 1, The Golden Girls (so many cool tidbits about the actresses!), Episode 11, History of Fisher Price Toys (so many memorie about my favorite toys) and Episode 12, Troop Beverly Hills (such a fun and quotable movie!). I find her podcast even more engaging because of her personal anecdotes about her childhood and about her older sister. This personal element brings a unique tone to the podcast. Tune in now - you'll be glad you did!  This was done by a friend and listener, Molly.  Thank you for your kind words and never-ending support and encouragement.

Five Stars - Pop Culture Retrospective

Well done, factually interesting with a heart tugging backstory.  By Morris Dad.  

I hope you will join me for my next show where we will take another deep dive into nostalgia from the 80s, 90s and early 2000s.  Until then, BKBSAHOTYM.