Adventures with Kanga Roddy

Adventures with Kanga Roddy is a children's TV show created by martial arts experts George Chung and Anthony Chan. It was executive produced by former San Francisco 49ers players Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott.

Each episode follows a group of kids at a community center, where their teachers—played by Jennifer Montana and Karen Lott, wives of the former NFL stars—guide them in activities like reading, exercise, and arts and crafts. When a social or ethical issue makes some children unhappy, the teachers suggest they visit Uncle Pat, a rare bookstore owner played by Pat Morita. With help from his dramatic pet bookworm, Shakespeare, Uncle Pat magically sends the kids to the land of Hi-Yah, where Kanga Roddy lives. There, Kanga Roddy and his friends—Bantu (a female African snake), Tackle Bear (his workout buddy), feline sisters Cimbop and Kimbop, and Zatochi (a wise old snow monkey)—help solve the problem through songs. Kanga Roddy finds solutions via flashbacks to lessons from Zatochi or parallels with Tackle Bear. The children and costumed cast then perform answer-filled song-and-dance routines. Back at the center, they review what they learned with their teachers.

The cast includes Pat Morita as Uncle Pat, an Oxford-educated bookseller whose global travels and reading give him wisdom. He believes a smart person knows the right questions, not all the answers. Jennifer Montana plays Miss Lisa, a former pro volleyball player with a UCLA master’s in physical education who teaches teamwork. Karen Lott plays Miss Becky, an artist who studied at the Sorbonne and brings celebrity friends to share knowledge. The children include: Amy (Marissa Cheung), a quiet but bossy girl who wants to be president; Billy (Tyler Johnson), a smart class clown learning restraint; Dwain (Jafar Woods), a cool dancer with asthma who aims to be an athlete; Kelly (Cori Najarian), a attention-seeking singer who needs social skills; T.J. (Alison Miller), a talented singer and dancer who must focus more on studies; and Shakespeare (Kamela Portuges), Uncle Pat’s daffy, overwhelmed bookworm.

In the Land of Hiyah, Kanga Roddy (voiced by Mickey Thomas, costumed by James Harris) is a seven-foot-tall martial arts master who never fights. He teaches by example, guiding kids to find their own answers. Tackle Bear (Tony Lindsay), full of energy but lacking patience and insight, provides comic relief and appears only in the second season. Bantu (voiced by Jeanie Tracy, puppeteered by Lee Armstrong) is a soul-singing mamba snake filled with love and wisdom through music, appearing only in the first season. Zatochi (voiced by Pat Morita, puppeteered by Lee Armstrong) is a thousand-year-old snow monkey from the Himalayas who lives his life backwards, starting with great wisdom.