Tom Terrific (1957)
Tom Terrific was an early animated series on American television, presented as part of the Captain Kangaroo children's television show. Created by Gene Deitch under the Terrytoons studio, Tom Terrific ran in a series of five-minute cartoons created specifically for the Captain Kangaroo show from 1957-1959, and was rerun on Kangaroo for years thereafter. For several years after 1962, Tom Terrific would be broadcast every other week, alternating with Lariat Sam, another Terrytoons creation. Gene Deitch adapted the feature from his earlier newspaper comic strip, "Terr'ble Thompson!" distributed during the 1950s by United Features Syndicate. Terr'ble Thompson was a six year old boy who imagined himself to be the "Hero of Hist'ry" and freely travelled back in time to assist historical figures. An illustrated book reprinting the adventures of this precursor to Tom Terrific was published by Fantagraphics Books. All the voices were performed by Lionel Wilson Drawn in a simple style, it featured a gee-whiz boy hero, Tom Terrific, who lived in a treehouse and could transform himself into anything he wanted thanks to his magic, funnel-shaped "thinking cap," which also enhanced his intelligence. He had a comic lazybones of a sidekick, Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog, and an arch-foe named Crabby Appleton, whose motto was, "I'm rotten to the core!" Other foes included Mr. Instant, the Instant Thing King, Captain Kidney Bean, Sweet Tooth Sam, the Candy Bandit and Isotope Feaney, The Meany.
- Gene Deitch
Country: US
Language:
Runtime: 5
Season 2:
When Tom finds that mail from his pen pals haven't been arriving, he discovers that Crabby Appleton has been confiscating it.
Tom and Manfred visit Fairyland where they meet a handsome prince who was changed from being a frog and wants to be a frog again. The witch that made the spell sends Tom and Manfred on a quest for three... more objects in exchange for turning the prince back into a frog.
Isotope Feeny creates a cloud that turns whoever it engulfs into an idiot.
The moon's light has suddenly gone out. Tom and Manfred go to the moon where they find the Man In The Moon, who controls the moon phases, is quitting because he is always being buzzed by Earth's satellites.
Tom and Manfred go back in time where they help the last surviving pioneer to California.
The Sandman, the entity that puts children to sleep, has taken a vacation from his duties and it makes all the children in the world cranky for lack of sleep.
Crabby Appleton steals all the trees and creates his own private park with them.
While visiting Earth, Martians mistake Manfred for Tom Terrific, take him back to Mars and create a million clones of him.
Tom and Manfred must use the riddle posed by the Flying Sorceror in helping a genie return to his magic lamp.
Tom enters Manfred in a dog show, while Crabby Appleton seeks to sabotage Manfred's chances of winning by disguising himself as a dog.
Rainbow painter Rembrandt Van Rainbow has run out of color, so Tom and Manfred travel cross-country in search of more color for him.
Tom and Manfred travel to the bottom of the sea where they help Robins Nest Crusoe get his baseball uniforms so he can field his baseball team.
Crabby Appleton makes time repeat itself so his birthday party will go on forever.
