Return to the Planet of the Apes
Encyclopedia
Return to the Planet of the Apes is a short-lived animated
series, by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises
in association with 20th Century Fox Television
, based upon Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle
. Boulle's novel had previously been adapted in a series of movies, beginning with the 1968 Planet of the Apes
starring Charlton Heston
. Unlike the film, its sequels, and the 1974 live-action television series, which involved a primitive ape civilization, Return to the Planet of the Apes depicted a technologically advanced society, complete with automobiles, film, and television; as such it more closely resembled both Boulle's original novel and early concepts for the first Apes movie which were changed due to budgetary limitations in the late 1960s.
Produced following the last of the big-screen features and a short-lived live action TV series, this series was among the last Planet of the Apes projects for several years following a number of comic books from Marvel Comics
(August 1974 - February 1977) and a series of audio adventures from Power Records
in 1974. Aside from a number of comic book series published by Malibu Comics
in the early 1990s, the next project based upon Boulle's concepts would be Tim Burton
's reimagining in 2001.
Along with the second film Beneath the Planet of the Apes
, this is one of only two original Planet of the Apes productions in which Roddy McDowall
was not involved.
, the series premiered on September 6, 1975 and was broadcast until September 4, 1976, although only thirteen episodes were produced. The series aired Saturday mornings at 11:00am Eastern/10:00am Central.
The series was later shown in reruns on the Sci Fi Channel
in 1992 as part of Sci Fi Cartoon Quest
.
Music for the series was provided by Dean Elliott
and Eric Rogers.
Each episode was self-contained to an extent. The story threads did weave in and out, with characters and plots from earlier episodes popping up in later ones. In order for the series to make any sense, the episodes need to be viewed in order.
The animated series does chronologically fit with the rest of the Apes universe. It borrows characters and elements from the movies, the TV series, and the original novels. General Urko is borrowed from the TV series. Along with Zaius, Zira, and Cornelius, Brent (renamed here as Ron Brent) and Nova are from the movie series. Krador and the Underdwellers in the animated series are loosely based on the mutants in Beneath the Planet of the Apes
.
As with the live action television series, the animated series was concluded before the resolution of the storyline, and we do not learn if the astronauts are able to return to their own time period. But the animated series does otherwise offer a conclusion. Doctor Zaius, in recognising the threat of a military overthrow from General Urko, assures that he is relieved of command. Further, Cornelius and Zira, in recognising that Simian Society was established long after human society had deteriorated, believed that the time was right for humans to be offered equal rights to that of apes, and intend to present their proposition to the Senate.
Characters in the animated series frequently mentioned prominent Apes noticeably named after human historical figures by appropriately inserting the word "ape" into their name. A notable example included "William Apespeare", an Ape analog of William Shakespeare
. Another scene showed a couple of Ape soldiers chatting about a new movie called The Apefather, an apparent analog of The Godfather
.
For years, a 14th unfilmed episode, "A Date With Judy," was thought to have existed since one of the novelizations lists it in the book's contents. However, that was actually an early title for the episode "The Unearthly Prophecy."
Several of the episodes were aired out of order. For example, the episode "Terror on Ice Mountain" should be viewed before the episode "Battle of the Titans", but the former was mistakenly aired after the latter. Likewise, the episode "Lagoon of Peril" should be viewed after the episode "Tunnel of Fear". The last episode to air, "River of Flames", should be viewed after "The Unearthly Prophecy", if the series is to be viewed in the proper order.
To see the proper viewing order, view the List of Return to the Planet of the Apes episodes.
Despite these criticisms, the series was noted for highly detailed backgrounds, illustrations, character designs and camera effects, due in part to veteran cartoonist Doug Wildey
. While animation was poor due to budget and time constraints, still artwork, which featured prominently in the program, was incredibly detailed with extensive shading - looking more like a decent comic book than a television cartoon.
For the most part, the scripts were intelligent with detailed stories and solid internal continuity. Unlike many animated adaptations, Return to the Planet of the Apes managed to effectively capture the tone of the live action features, complete with the sense of alienation, wonderment and loss.
was delayed until October 3, 2006. This was the first time the series was released stand-alone on DVD
. Only three of the episodes were restored in the discs included in the Ultimate DVD Collection but all 13 were restored in the individual release. The individual release also included them in their intended order as opposed to airdate order as presented in the box set. The individual release also includes the option of watching the episodes with a preview of the next episode which wasn't present in the box set release.
The episode list on the back of the DVD case for the individual release has many errors. The episodes are listed in airdate order as opposed to the chronological order on the actual DVDs, one episode is listed as airing the day before it actually aired and two are shown as having the same airdate resulting in the airdates of the two subsequent episodes being one week off.
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
series, by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises
DePatie-Freleng Enterprises
DePatie-Freleng Enterprises was a Hollywood-based animation production company, active from 1963 to 1981. They produced theatrical cartoons, animated series, commercials, title sequences and television specials. Notable among these is The Pink Panther film titles and cartoon shorts and the Dr....
in association with 20th Century Fox Television
20th Century Fox Television
20th Century Fox Television is the television production division of 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, and a production arm of the Fox Broadcasting Company...
, based upon Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle
Pierre Boulle
Pierre Boulle was a French novelist largely known for two famous works, The Bridge over the River Kwai and Planet of the Apes .-Biography:...
. Boulle's novel had previously been adapted in a series of movies, beginning with the 1968 Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes (1968 film)
Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle. The film stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly and Linda Harrison...
starring Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
. Unlike the film, its sequels, and the 1974 live-action television series, which involved a primitive ape civilization, Return to the Planet of the Apes depicted a technologically advanced society, complete with automobiles, film, and television; as such it more closely resembled both Boulle's original novel and early concepts for the first Apes movie which were changed due to budgetary limitations in the late 1960s.
Produced following the last of the big-screen features and a short-lived live action TV series, this series was among the last Planet of the Apes projects for several years following a number of comic books from Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
(August 1974 - February 1977) and a series of audio adventures from Power Records
Peter Pan Records
Peter Pan Records is a record label specializing in children's music. It was created in the late 1940s. The label was owned by the Synthetic Plastics Company of Newark, New Jersey until the 1970s....
in 1974. Aside from a number of comic book series published by Malibu Comics
Malibu Comics
Malibu Comics was an American comic book publisher active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, best known for its Ultraverse line of superhero titles. The company's headquarters was in Calabasas, California. Malibu imprints included Aircel Comics and Eternity Comics...
in the early 1990s, the next project based upon Boulle's concepts would be Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
's reimagining in 2001.
Along with the second film Beneath the Planet of the Apes
Beneath the Planet of the Apes
Beneath the Planet of the Apes is a 1970 American science fiction film directed by Ted Post and written by Paul Dehn. It is the second of five films in the original Planet of the Apes series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs...
, this is one of only two original Planet of the Apes productions in which Roddy McDowall
Roddy McDowall
Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English actor and photographer. His film roles included Cornelius and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes film series...
was not involved.
Broadcast history
Airing on NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, the series premiered on September 6, 1975 and was broadcast until September 4, 1976, although only thirteen episodes were produced. The series aired Saturday mornings at 11:00am Eastern/10:00am Central.
The series was later shown in reruns on the Sci Fi Channel
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
in 1992 as part of Sci Fi Cartoon Quest
Cartoon Quest
Cartoon Quest was the name of a block of animated television shows that aired on the Sci Fi Channel starting in 1992. Similar to USA's Cartoon Express, it featured newly picked-up shows and dropped off alternatively with each season...
.
Music for the series was provided by Dean Elliott
Dean Elliott
-Career:Educated at the University of Wisconsin, Elliot's first composing work was for Four Star Revue an early comedy program which debuted in 1950. From here, he went on to compose for various cartoon series, most prominently Mr...
and Eric Rogers.
Story
As with the film and the live-action series, Return to the Planet of the Apes involved a handful of astronauts from Earth who were hurtled into the future and found themselves stuck in a world populated by advanced apes and primitive humans. Over the course of the thirteen episodes the astronauts attempted to keep one step ahead of the apes while at the same time trying to make some sense of what had happened. Additionally, they did their best to safeguard the human population from the apes.Each episode was self-contained to an extent. The story threads did weave in and out, with characters and plots from earlier episodes popping up in later ones. In order for the series to make any sense, the episodes need to be viewed in order.
The animated series does chronologically fit with the rest of the Apes universe. It borrows characters and elements from the movies, the TV series, and the original novels. General Urko is borrowed from the TV series. Along with Zaius, Zira, and Cornelius, Brent (renamed here as Ron Brent) and Nova are from the movie series. Krador and the Underdwellers in the animated series are loosely based on the mutants in Beneath the Planet of the Apes
Beneath the Planet of the Apes
Beneath the Planet of the Apes is a 1970 American science fiction film directed by Ted Post and written by Paul Dehn. It is the second of five films in the original Planet of the Apes series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs...
.
As with the live action television series, the animated series was concluded before the resolution of the storyline, and we do not learn if the astronauts are able to return to their own time period. But the animated series does otherwise offer a conclusion. Doctor Zaius, in recognising the threat of a military overthrow from General Urko, assures that he is relieved of command. Further, Cornelius and Zira, in recognising that Simian Society was established long after human society had deteriorated, believed that the time was right for humans to be offered equal rights to that of apes, and intend to present their proposition to the Senate.
Characters in the animated series frequently mentioned prominent Apes noticeably named after human historical figures by appropriately inserting the word "ape" into their name. A notable example included "William Apespeare", an Ape analog of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. Another scene showed a couple of Ape soldiers chatting about a new movie called The Apefather, an apparent analog of The Godfather
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
.
Characters
- Bill Hudson - One of the two male astronauts; blond, blue-eyed, depicted as wearing a blue tee-shirt and white pants.
- Cornelius - A male chimpanzee scientist/archeologist.
- Zira - A female chimpanzee scientist who is very outspoken against the gorilla regime.
- General Urko - A sadistic Gorilla general who plans to drive the humans and Underdwellers off the planet.
- Judy Franklin - The lone female astronaut and an expert airplane pilot; she is kidnapped and held by the Underdwellers for a time before being rescued.
- Jeff Allen - The other male astronaut; an African-American, depicted as wearing a red tee-shirt.
- Dr. Zaius - The orangutan leader of the ape scientific community, depicted as a grandfatherly politician who questions the tactics of General Urko.
- Nova - A human female who joins Bill and Jeff on their adventures.
- Ronald Brent - A U.S. astronaut who launched in the 21st century but arrived in the time of ape rule a number of years prior to the Hudson/Allen/Franklin expedition.
- Krador - The leader of the Underdwellers.
- The Underdwellers - A group of underground persons based on the mutants in the film Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
Episodes
- Flames of Doom (9/6/1975)
- Escape from Ape City (9/13/1975)
- Lagoon of Peril (9/20/1975)
- Tunnel of Fear (9/27/1975)
- The Unearthly Prophecy (10/4/1975)
- Screaming Wings (10/11/1975)
- Trail to the Unknown (10/18/1975)
- Attack from the Clouds (10/25/1975)
- Mission of Mercy (11/1/1975)
- Invasion of the Underdwellers (11/8/1975)
- Battle of the Titans (11/15/1975)
- Terror on Ice Mountain (11/22/1975)
- River of Flames (11/29/1975)
For years, a 14th unfilmed episode, "A Date With Judy," was thought to have existed since one of the novelizations lists it in the book's contents. However, that was actually an early title for the episode "The Unearthly Prophecy."
Several of the episodes were aired out of order. For example, the episode "Terror on Ice Mountain" should be viewed before the episode "Battle of the Titans", but the former was mistakenly aired after the latter. Likewise, the episode "Lagoon of Peril" should be viewed after the episode "Tunnel of Fear". The last episode to air, "River of Flames", should be viewed after "The Unearthly Prophecy", if the series is to be viewed in the proper order.
To see the proper viewing order, view the List of Return to the Planet of the Apes episodes.
Voices
- Richard BlackburnRichard BlackburnSir Richard Arthur Blackburn OBE was a judge, prominent legal academic and former military officer in Australia. He became a judge of three separate courts in Australia, and eventually became chief justice of the Australian Capital Territory. In the 1970s he decided one of Australia's earliest...
- Bill Hudson - Henry CordenHenry CordenHenry Corden was a Canadian-born American actor and voice artist best-known for taking over the role of Fred Flintstone after Alan Reed died in 1977. His official debut as Fred's new voice was on the 1977 syndicated weekday series Fred Flintstone and Friends for which he provided voice-overs on...
- Cornelius, General Urko - Philippa Harris - Dr. Zira
- Edwin MillsEdwin MillsEdwin Archer Mills was a British tug of war competitor who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics, in the 1912 Summer Olympics, and in the 1920 Summer Olympics....
- Cornelius - Claudette Nevins - Judy Franklin
- Austin StokerAustin StokerAustin Stoker is an American actor known for his role as Lt. Ethan Bishop, the police officer in charge of the besieged Precinct 9, Division 13, in John Carpenter's Howard Hawks-inspired, 1976 film, Assault on Precinct 13...
- Jeff Allen - Tom WilliamsTom WilliamsTom Williams may refer to:*Tom Williams , head football coach at Yale University*Tom Williams *Tom Williams , English-Cypriot football player...
- Bill Hudson
- Austin Stoker, the voice of Jeff, had previously played Mr. MacDonald in Battle for the Planet of the ApesBattle for the Planet of the ApesBattle for the Planet of the Apes is a 1973 science fiction film directed by J. Lee Thompson. It is the fifth and last entry in the original Planet of the Apes series produced by Arthur P...
. He was the only cast member of the animated series to have played a part in the live action movies or series
Production credits
- Written by: Larry Spiegel, J.C. Strong, Jack Kaplan, John Barrett, Bruce Shelly (credit varies by episodes)
- Developed for Television by: David H. DePatie-Friz Freleng
- Based on the Characters Created by Pierre BoullePierre BoullePierre Boulle was a French novelist largely known for two famous works, The Bridge over the River Kwai and Planet of the Apes .-Biography:...
- Animation Director: Cullen Houghtaling
- Storyboard Directors: Morris Gollub, Doug Wildey, Jan Green
- Graphic Design: Moe Gollub, Hak Ficq, Leo Swenson, Norley Paat, Tony Sgroi, Earl Martin, George Wheeler, John Dorman, Zgyamond Jablecki, John Messina
- Animation: Reuben Timmins, Jim Brummett, Ed Aardal, Joe Roman Jr., Lee Halpern, Jack Foster, Bob Kirk, Janice Stocks
- Backgrounds Supervised by: Richard H. Thomas
- Backgrounds: Mary O'Loughlin, Don Watson
- Ink & Paint Supervision: Gertrude Timmins
- Xerography: Greg Marshall
- Film Editing Supervised by: Bob Gillis
- Film Editors: Allan Potter, Rick Steward
- Music Editor: Joe Siracusa
- Voices: Austin StokerAustin StokerAustin Stoker is an American actor known for his role as Lt. Ethan Bishop, the police officer in charge of the besieged Precinct 9, Division 13, in John Carpenter's Howard Hawks-inspired, 1976 film, Assault on Precinct 13...
, Phillippa Harris, Henry CordenHenry CordenHenry Corden was a Canadian-born American actor and voice artist best-known for taking over the role of Fred Flintstone after Alan Reed died in 1977. His official debut as Fred's new voice was on the 1977 syndicated weekday series Fred Flintstone and Friends for which he provided voice-overs on...
, Richard BlackburnRichard BlackburnSir Richard Arthur Blackburn OBE was a judge, prominent legal academic and former military officer in Australia. He became a judge of three separate courts in Australia, and eventually became chief justice of the Australian Capital Territory. In the 1970s he decided one of Australia's earliest...
, Edwin MillsEdwin MillsEdwin Archer Mills was a British tug of war competitor who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics, in the 1912 Summer Olympics, and in the 1920 Summer Olympics....
, Claudette Nevins, Tom WilliamsTom WilliamsTom Williams may refer to:*Tom Williams , head football coach at Yale University*Tom Williams *Tom Williams , English-Cypriot football player... - Anthropological Dialogue Researched by: MacDonald Stearns, Ph.D., UCLA Department of Germanic Languages
- Music by: Dean Elliott
- Conducted by: Eric Rogers
- In Charge of Production: Lee Gunther
- Camera: Ray Lee, Larry Hogan, John Burton Jr.
- Production Mixer: Steve Orr
- Music Mixer: Eric Tomlinson
- Sound by Producers' Sound Service, Inc.
- Supervising Director & Associate Producer: Doug Wildey
- Produced by: David H. DePatie-Friz FrelengFriz FrelengIsadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
- In Association With Twentieth Century-Fox Television
Controversy and acclaim
The series has been criticized for poor production values. Reviewers felt that the constant reuse of backgrounds and lack of movement made the action on screen dull and slow. The voicework has also been criticized for sometimes being unemotional and equally monotonous.Despite these criticisms, the series was noted for highly detailed backgrounds, illustrations, character designs and camera effects, due in part to veteran cartoonist Doug Wildey
Doug Wildey
Douglas S. Wildey was a cartoonist and comic book artist best known for his co-creation of the 1964 animated television series, Jonny Quest for Hanna-Barbera Productions.-Early life and career:...
. While animation was poor due to budget and time constraints, still artwork, which featured prominently in the program, was incredibly detailed with extensive shading - looking more like a decent comic book than a television cartoon.
For the most part, the scripts were intelligent with detailed stories and solid internal continuity. Unlike many animated adaptations, Return to the Planet of the Apes managed to effectively capture the tone of the live action features, complete with the sense of alienation, wonderment and loss.
DVD release
The Planet of the Apes series was released as a part of the Ultimate DVD Collection in early 2006 by FOX Home Entertainment. The Complete Animated Series' release on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
was delayed until October 3, 2006. This was the first time the series was released stand-alone on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
. Only three of the episodes were restored in the discs included in the Ultimate DVD Collection but all 13 were restored in the individual release. The individual release also included them in their intended order as opposed to airdate order as presented in the box set. The individual release also includes the option of watching the episodes with a preview of the next episode which wasn't present in the box set release.
The episode list on the back of the DVD case for the individual release has many errors. The episodes are listed in airdate order as opposed to the chronological order on the actual DVDs, one episode is listed as airing the day before it actually aired and two are shown as having the same airdate resulting in the airdates of the two subsequent episodes being one week off.
External links
- The Forbidden Zone: All about the 1975-76 Animated series on NBC, including extensive episode summaries from Epi-Log magazine.
- DePatie-Freleng Enterprises Filmography: TV Shows: Including Return to the Planet of the Apes.