Peter Potamus
Encyclopedia
Peter Potamus is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera
and first broadcast on September 16, 1964. (Early promotional materials for the series carried the title Peter Potamus and his Magic Flying Balloon, but that title never appeared on screen.)
, and one of Yippee, Yappee and Yahooey
. Peter Potamus was a companion series to Magilla Gorilla, and both series premiered in first-run syndication before being picked up by ABC-TV in 1966. At that time, the Breezly and Sneezly
segment was swapped with Ricochet Rabbit & Droop-a-Long, a segment on the Magilla Gorilla show. After the ABC run, cartoons from the Magilla Gorilla
and Peter Potamus shows were syndicated together.
The original Peter Potamus series can occasionally be seen on the cable TV channel Boomerang
, often as part of its anthology series Boomerang Zoo. During the original run of the cartoon (1964), at the end of each episode, the closing song ended with the phrase: "And there he goes Peter Potamus, our ideal" (The Ideal toy company was the sponsor of the television series. A similarly subtle sponsor reference appeared in the Magilla Gorilla theme song lyrics: "He's really ideal").
(voiced by Daws Butler
impersonating Joe E. Brown
) and his sidekick, So-So the monkey
(voiced by Don Messick
). Peter was big, purple, and friendly. Episodes generally consisted of Peter and So-So exploring the world in his time-traveling hot air balloon
. When faced with a certain situation, Peter uses his Hippo Hurricane Holler technique to blow away his opponents.
named Breezly Bruin (voiced by Howard Morris
) and his droopy friend Sneezly the Seal
(voiced by Mel Blanc
) do various plans to break into the local army camp for various reasons while trying to stay one step ahead of the army camp's leader Colonel Fuzzby (voiced by John Stephenson
).
s named Yippee (voiced by Daws Butler
), Yappee (voiced by Hal Smith
), and Yahooey (voiced by Doug Young
) work as guards for their king (voiced by Hal Smith
).
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
and first broadcast on September 16, 1964. (Early promotional materials for the series carried the title Peter Potamus and his Magic Flying Balloon, but that title never appeared on screen.)
Premise
Peter Potamus was a syndicated series divided into three segments; one of Peter Potamus and So-So, one of Breezly and SneezlyBreezly and Sneezly
Breezly and Sneezly is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon first broadcast on September 16, 1964 as part of Peter Potamus and his Magic Flying Balloon. It later became part of The Magilla Gorilla Show....
, and one of Yippee, Yappee and Yahooey
Yippee, Yappee and Yahooey
Yippee, Yappee and Yahooey is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon which premiered September 16, 1964. The show was presented as a segment of Peter Potamus and his Magic Flying Balloon, along with Breezly and Sneezly and Peter Potamus.-Plot:...
. Peter Potamus was a companion series to Magilla Gorilla, and both series premiered in first-run syndication before being picked up by ABC-TV in 1966. At that time, the Breezly and Sneezly
Breezly and Sneezly
Breezly and Sneezly is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon first broadcast on September 16, 1964 as part of Peter Potamus and his Magic Flying Balloon. It later became part of The Magilla Gorilla Show....
segment was swapped with Ricochet Rabbit & Droop-a-Long, a segment on the Magilla Gorilla show. After the ABC run, cartoons from the Magilla Gorilla
Magilla Gorilla
The Magilla Gorilla Show is an animated series for television produced by Hanna-Barbera for Screen Gems between 1963 and 1967, and originally sponsored in syndication by Ideal Toys from 1963 through 1966. The show also had other recurring characters, including Punkin' Puss & Mushmouse, and Ricochet...
and Peter Potamus shows were syndicated together.
The original Peter Potamus series can occasionally be seen on the cable TV channel Boomerang
Boomerang (TV channel)
Boomerang is a 24-hour American cable television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a division of Time Warner. Boomerang specializes in reruns of animated programming from Time Warner's extensive archives, including pre-1986 MGM, Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
, often as part of its anthology series Boomerang Zoo. During the original run of the cartoon (1964), at the end of each episode, the closing song ended with the phrase: "And there he goes Peter Potamus, our ideal" (The Ideal toy company was the sponsor of the television series. A similarly subtle sponsor reference appeared in the Magilla Gorilla theme song lyrics: "He's really ideal").
Peter Potamus
It featured Peter Potamus the hippopotamusHippopotamus
The hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
(voiced by Daws Butler
Daws Butler
Charles Dawson "Daws" Butler was a voice actor originally from Toledo, Ohio. He worked mostly for Hanna-Barbera and originated the voices of many famous animated cartoon characters, including Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, and Huckleberry Hound.Daws Butler trained many working actors...
impersonating Joe E. Brown
Joe E. Brown (comedian)
Joseph Evans Brown was an American actor and comedian, remembered for his amiable screen persona, comic timing, and enormous smile. In 1902 at the age of nine, he joined a troupe of circus tumblers known as the Five Marvelous Ashtons which toured the country on both the circus and vaudeville...
) and his sidekick, So-So the monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
(voiced by Don Messick
Don Messick
Donald Earl "Don" Messick was an American voice actor best known for his work for Hanna-Barbera. Perhaps his most well-known voice creations include Scooby-Doo, Papa Smurf, and Dr. Benton Quest....
). Peter was big, purple, and friendly. Episodes generally consisted of Peter and So-So exploring the world in his time-traveling hot air balloon
Hot air balloon
The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. It is in a class of aircraft known as balloon aircraft. On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first untethered manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air...
. When faced with a certain situation, Peter uses his Hippo Hurricane Holler technique to blow away his opponents.
Breezly and Sneezly
A polar bearPolar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
named Breezly Bruin (voiced by Howard Morris
Howard Morris
Howard Morris was an American comic actor and director who was best known for his role as Ernest T. Bass on The Andy Griffith Show.- Life and career :...
) and his droopy friend Sneezly the Seal
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
(voiced by Mel Blanc
Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
) do various plans to break into the local army camp for various reasons while trying to stay one step ahead of the army camp's leader Colonel Fuzzby (voiced by John Stephenson
John Stephenson (actor)
John Stephenson is an American actor and voice actor. He has also been credited as John Stevenson...
).
Yippee, Yappee, and Yahooey
Three dogDog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s named Yippee (voiced by Daws Butler
Daws Butler
Charles Dawson "Daws" Butler was a voice actor originally from Toledo, Ohio. He worked mostly for Hanna-Barbera and originated the voices of many famous animated cartoon characters, including Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, and Huckleberry Hound.Daws Butler trained many working actors...
), Yappee (voiced by Hal Smith
Hal Smith (actor)
Harold John "Hal" Smith was an American character actor and voice actor. Smith is best known as Otis Campbell, the town drunk on The Andy Griffith Show, and was the voice of many characters on various animated cartoon shorts...
), and Yahooey (voiced by Doug Young
Doug Young (voice actor)
Douglas "Doug" Young is an American voice actor who has worked on radio programs and in animated cartoons.-Career:Early in his career, Young appeared in classic radio shows including The Cisco Kid, The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Red Ryder, and The Whistler...
) work as guards for their king (voiced by Hal Smith
Hal Smith (actor)
Harold John "Hal" Smith was an American character actor and voice actor. Smith is best known as Otis Campbell, the town drunk on The Andy Griffith Show, and was the voice of many characters on various animated cartoon shorts...
).
Episodes
| # | Plot |
|---|---|
| 1 |
|
| 2 |
|
| 3 |
|
| 4 |
|
| 5 |
|
| 6 |
|
| 7 |
|
| 8 |
|
| 9 |
|
| 10 |
|
| 11 |
|
| 12 |
|
| 13 |
|
| 14 |
|
| 15 |
|
| 16 |
|
| 17 |
|
| 18 |
|
| 19 |
|
| 20 |
|
| 21 |
|
| 22 |
|
| 23 |
|
| 24 |
|
| 25 |
|
| 26 |
|
| 27 |
|
Other appearances
- Peter Potamus and So So appeared in Yogi's Ark LarkYogi's Ark LarkYogi’s Ark Lark is an animated Hanna-Barbera television movie, intended to raise ecological awareness. Broadcast in 1972, it was part of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie and served as the pilot for Yogi's Gang.-Plot:...
and its spin-off series Yogi's GangYogi's GangYogi's Gang is a 30-minute animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera which aired 16 half-hour episodes on ABC from , to . The show began as Yogi's Ark Lark, a special TV movie on The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie in 1972...
. - Peter Potamus guest starred in some episodes of Yogi's Treasure HuntYogi's Treasure HuntYogi's Treasure Hunt is a segment that kicked-off in 1985 as the first of the programming block, The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera. It also ran as a regular series in syndication from 1985 to 1988.-Plot:...
. - Peter Potamus made a cameo appearance in The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry HoundThe Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry HoundThe Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound is a 1988 American animated television movie that stars Huckleberry Hound. It was a part of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 series of televised movies. This television feature is a parody of various western movies, the title is a take-off of The Good, the...
as a captain of a boat to TahitiTahitiTahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
. - Peter Potamus appeared in teenager form in the early 1990s series Yo YogiYo Yogi!Yo Yogi! is an animated series first aired on NBC on Saturday mornings during the 1991-92 season. It is, to date, the last television series to feature or star Yogi Bear. It is also the last Hanna-Barbera show to premiere on NBC to this date...
, where he was voiced by Frank WelkerFrank WelkerFranklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
. He and So-So were shown to own a plant store at Jellystone Mall called Peter Potamus' Plant Palace. In "Tricky Dickie's Dirty Trickies," he is shown to be allergic to goldenrods.
DVD release
- There has yet to be a "complete series" DVD set release of the series for the Hanna-Barbera Classics CollectionHanna-Barbera Classics CollectionThe Hanna-Barbera Classics Collection is a series of two-to-four-disc DVD box sets from Warner Bros.' home video unit Warner Home Video, usually containing seasons and complete series of various classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon shows...
from Warner Home VideoWarner Home VideoWarner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
.