The Ant and the Aardvark
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The Ant and the Aardvark was a series of theatrical short cartoons produced at DePatie-Freleng Enterprises from 1969 to 1971, depicting the attempts of an unnamed blue aardvark to catch and eat a red ant named Charlie. However, in Rough Brunch, the aardvark states his name is indeed Aardvark. The ant has given him names as well, always beginning with "Old" ("Old Sam," "Old Ben,"...etc.). In The Ant From Uncle, Charlie calls Aardvark "Dad" the entire episode. The Ant and the Aardvark was also the name of the first cartoon in the series.
The cartoons were released by United Artists. Directors included Friz Freleng, George Gordon, Gerry Chiniquy, Hawley Pratt and Art Davis.
Actor and comedian John Byner (Soap) voiced both the Aardvark (as an imitation of Jackie Mason) and the Ant (imitating Dean Martin). In the episodes I've Got Ants in My Plans and Odd Ant Out, the Aardvark tussled against a rival green aardvark, similar to the way Sylvester fought other cats over Tweety in a few of Freleng's earlier shorts at Warner Brothers. Because many Warner alumni worked for DFE, a lot of familiar plots were recycled in the latter studio's cartoons. In Technology, Phooey, the Aardvark utilizes a computer to help think up ideas to catch the ant — very similar in concept to a Chuck Jones short with Wile E. Coyote. This cartoon also features yet another vocal impersonation from Byner, as the Paul Lynde-esque computer. Also, the last short ever made, From Bed to Worse, borrowed heavily from the Looney Tunes short, Greedy for Tweety.
17 theatrical shorts were produced in the original series, these were subsequently featured in various television syndication packages, usually shown with DFE's other characters such as the Pink Panther and the Inspector. The shorts were also reissued on DVD by MGM Home Entertainment/20th Century Fox Home Entertainment in 2007.
24 years later in 1993 the characters were also featured in a later series of made-for-television shorts, produced for The Pink Panther by MGM animation.
There were many minor characters in the series. Among them was Cousin Term the Termite, the unnamed cousin ant, Aunt Minerva (Charlie's Aunt), Tiny the Elephant, Tiger (voiced by Marvin Miller), the faceless scientist, the green aardvark, the unnamed nurse, the mischievous dog, the anteater-eating shark, the lifeguard who mistook Aardvark for a dog (he always said, "OFF THE BEACH!"), and an unnamed bear that always hurts Aardvark.
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[edit] Filmography
- The Ant and the Aardvark (Friz Freleng)
- Hasty But Tasty (Gerry Chiniquy)
- The Ant From Uncle (George Gordon)
- I've Got Ants in My Plans (Gerry Chiniquy)
- Technology, Phooey (Gerry Chiniquy)
- Never Bug an Ant (Gerry Chiniquy)
- Dune Bug (Art Davis)
- Isle of Caprice (Gerry Chiniquy)
- Scratch a Tiger (Hawley Pratt)
- Odd Ant Out (Gerry Chiniquy)
- Ants in the Pantry (Hawley Pratt)
- Science Friction (Gerry Chiniquy)
- Mumbo Jumbo (Art Davis)
- The Froze Nose Knows (Gerry Chiniquy)
- Don't Hustle an Ant with Muscle (Art Davis)
- Rough Brunch (Art Davis)
- From Bed to Worse (Art Davis)
[edit] Trivia
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This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2008) |
- It was the first DFE theatrical cartoon series that David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng created on their own.
[edit] Credits
- Produced by: David H. DePatie, Friz Freleng
- Directed by: Friz Freleng
- Story: John W. Dunn
- Animation: Warren Batchelder, Manny Gould, Manny Perez, Don Williams
- Graphic Designer: Corny Cole
- Color Designer: Tom O'Laughlin
- Musicians: Ray Brown, Billy Byers, Pete Candoli, Shelly Manne, Jimmy Rowles, Tommy Tedesco
- Coordinator: Harry Love
- Camera: John Burton Jr.
- Film Editor: Lee Gunther
- Music by: Doug Goodwin
[edit] External links
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