George of the Jungle

Program format

Each episode had three separate cartoons: George of the Jungle, Tom Slick, and Super Chicken. Stan Worth and Sheldon Allman wrote all the theme songs, with Worth handling music and Allman writing lyrics. Every cartoon ended with a tympani strike that rose in pitch after a pun. Unlike earlier shows by the same creator, the animation was made in Hollywood by veteran artists like Phil Duncan, Rod Scribner, and Rudy Zamora. Regular voice actors Bill Scott, June Foray, Paul Frees, and Daws Butler voiced characters across all three segments. The cartoons were more technically advanced than the creator's previous work, and he was so pleased he let production exceed its budget, causing a big financial loss that kept the series to only 17 episodes.

Segments

The title segment, George of the Jungle, parodies the Tarzan stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs. George, voiced by Bill Scott, is a dim-witted but big-hearted ape man called upon by District Commissioner Alistair (voiced by Paul Frees) to save inhabitants of the jungle territory of Mbwebwe Province in Africa. In the opening title, George swings on vines and repeatedly slams face-first into trees while theme-song singers warn him to watch out for that tree.

Another running gag has George forgetting he lives in a treehouse and falling from it every time he leaves home. George's beloved mate is Ursula (voiced by June Foray), a Jane-like character far brighter than George. His closest friend is an ape named Ape (voiced by Paul Frees impersonating Ronald Colman), also more intelligent than George. George has a pet elephant named Shep, who behaves like a lap dog and whom George thinks is a dog.

The Tooky Tooky bird is known for his call: Ah ah ee ee tooky tooky. Another recurring enemy is mad scientist Dr. Chicago (voiced by Daws Butler). George possesses substantial strength and jungle instincts, and carries a miniature phrase book with animal calls to summon help, though he usually gives the wrong call.

Spin-offs

Gold Key Comics published two issues of a comic book based on the series in 1969. In 1997, the segment was adapted into a live-action film titled George of the Jungle, starring Brendan Fraser as George, Leslie Mann as Ursula, John Cleese as the voice of Ape, and Thomas Haden Church as the villain Lyle Van De Groot. A direct-to-video sequel, George of the Jungle 2, starring Christopher Showerman and Julie Benz, was released in 2003. Classic Media developed a new George of the Jungle Flash animation series in 2007, co-produced with Studio B Productions and Teletoon Canada. It initially ran 26 episodes with two George stories per episode, and 26 additional episodes were made in 2016.

Cultural references

"Weird Al" Yankovic recorded a straightforward cover of the George of the Jungle theme for his 1985 album Dare to Be Stupid, making it the only non-parody cover he ever put on an album. That version later ended up on the soundtrack for the 1997 live-action film. The music video for "Like a Surgeon," also from Dare to Be Stupid, shows a doctor watching an episode of the TV series. The Presidents of the United States of America also contributed a cover of the theme to the same soundtrack, which served as the movie's title theme. In 1989, Rhino Records released Rerun Rock: Superstars Sing Television Themes, which included a cover sung by Scott Shaw in the style of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love."