The Funny Company

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The Funny Company is an American animated cartoon produced in 1963 and seen in syndication. There were 260 6-minute episodes produced by Ken Snyder and Charles Koren, who later created the cult favorite Roger Ramjet. The Mattel Company provided financial backing.

Snyder had conceived the program in response to then-FCC chairman Newton Minnow's call for more educational children's programs. The result was the Funny Company, which resembled the Junior Achievement organization. The members were a diverse group, led by Buzzer Bell (who rarely appeared without his Funny Company visor), with other members including inventive Jasper N (for National) Park, Polly Plum, the club secretary, rotund Merry Twitter, the club treasurer, Terry Dactyl, who was club mascot and indeed a pterodactyl, shy Shrinkin' Violet (sic) who could literally get much smaller, and two Native American adults, Super Chief (whose voice was an air horn), and his translator Broken Feather. Another adult there to lend a hand was Professor Todd Goodheart, and his super computer the Weisenheimer. A villainous Belly Laguna would often try to thwart the Funny Company's plans, but to no avail.

Each segment included a two minute live action short educational film. The series switched after one season to full color. The company's logo is thought to be a prototype for the Smiley Face.^{[citation needed]}

The Funny Company now airs on TBN Networks' Smile of a Child network.