The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo
Encyclopedia
The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo is an animated television series, produced by United Productions of America
, which aired for one season (1964 –1965). The television series was based on the original cartoon of the same name
, with Jim Backus
reprising the voice over of the role he did on TV: while doing this show, he continued with the nighttime show Gilligan's Island
.
Unlike the theatrical cartoons, which focused on the extremely nearsighted Quincy Magoo's bumbling, the show featured the Magoo character as an actor in adaptations of such literary classics as Don Quixote and Gunga Din
. Each of these roles was played seriously, with few if any references to Magoo's nearsightedness; however, introductory segments
in each program featured Magoo backstage stumbling into scenery and talking to props, thus connecting the older cartoons to this series. Some stories were contained in a single half-hour episode, but others ran to two and even four episodes.
Among the most ambitious adaptations mounted in this format were the four-part Robin Hood
, in which he took the role of Friar Tuck
; Treasure Island
, in which he played the villainous Long John Silver
; and a version of Snow White
in which he portrayed all seven dwarves (much easier in an animated setting, with no trick photography needed).
The series was inspired by the success of the 1962 television special, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol
, a serious remake of the Charles Dickens
classic with Magoo playing Ebenezer Scrooge
.
The series was re-shown in the early 1970s on early Saturday mornings and the early 1980s as part of certain channels' weekday afternoon cartoon blocs. It was released on VHS tape, but is long out of print.
The series was originally shown in prime time, and not as part of an animated bloc for juvenile viewers. Therefore certain more mature elements were present. These included death threats (William Tell, Robin Hood, Don Quixote, The Three Musketeers, Sherlock Holmes), children in danger (Treasure Island, Gunga Din, William Tell), insanity (Don Quixote, Moby Dick), heroic self-sacrifice (Gunga Din), and realistic (although bloodless) violence including swordplay, shooting, clubbing, drowning, and character deaths (most episodes).
will release Mr. Magoo: The Television Collection 1960-1977 on DVD in Region 1. This 11-disc collection will contain all episodes from all 3 Mr. Magoo television series including all 26 episodes of The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo.
United Productions of America
United Productions of America, better known as UPA, was an American animation studio of the 1940s through present day, beginning with industrial films and World War II training films. In the late 1940s, UPA produced theatrical shorts for Columbia Pictures, most notably the Mr. Magoo series. In...
, which aired for one season (1964 –1965). The television series was based on the original cartoon of the same name
Mr. Magoo
Quincy Magoo is a cartoon character created at the UPA animation studio in 1949. Voiced by Jim Backus, Quincy Magoo is a wealthy, short-statured retiree who gets into a series of sticky situations as a result of his nearsightedness, compounded by his stubborn refusal to admit the problem...
, with Jim Backus
Jim Backus
James Gilmore "Jim" Backus was a radio, television, film, and voice actor. Among his most famous roles are the voice of Mr...
reprising the voice over of the role he did on TV: while doing this show, he continued with the nighttime show Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island is an American television series created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz and originally produced by United Artists Television. The situation comedy series featured Bob Denver; Alan Hale, Jr.; Jim Backus; Natalie Schafer; Tina Louise; Russell Johnson; and Dawn Wells. It aired for...
.
Unlike the theatrical cartoons, which focused on the extremely nearsighted Quincy Magoo's bumbling, the show featured the Magoo character as an actor in adaptations of such literary classics as Don Quixote and Gunga Din
Gunga Din
-Background:The poem is a rhyming narrative from the point of view of a British soldier, about a native water-bearer who saves the soldier's life but dies himself. The last line suggests a deep-down unease of conscience about the prevailing views of natural hierarchies, both in the depicted...
. Each of these roles was played seriously, with few if any references to Magoo's nearsightedness; however, introductory segments
Framing device
The term framing device refers to the usage of the same single action, scene, event, setting, or any element of significance at both the beginning and end of an artistic, musical, or literary work. The repeated element thus creates a ‘frame’ within which the main body of work can develop.The...
in each program featured Magoo backstage stumbling into scenery and talking to props, thus connecting the older cartoons to this series. Some stories were contained in a single half-hour episode, but others ran to two and even four episodes.
Among the most ambitious adaptations mounted in this format were the four-part Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
, in which he took the role of Friar Tuck
Friar Tuck
Friar Tuck is a companion to Robin Hood in the legends about that character. He is a common character in modern Robin Hood stories, which depict him as a jovial friar and one of Robin's Merry Men. The figure of Tuck was common in the May Games festivals of England and Scotland during the 15th...
; Treasure Island
Treasure Island
Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". First published as a book on May 23, 1883, it was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881–82 under the title Treasure Island; or, the...
, in which he played the villainous Long John Silver
Long John Silver
Long John Silver is a fictional character and the primary antagonist of the novel Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson. Silver is also known by the nicknames "Barbecue" and the "Sea-Cook".- Profile :...
; and a version of Snow White
Snow White
"Snow White" is a fairy tale known from many countries in Europe, the best known version being the German one collected by the Brothers Grimm...
in which he portrayed all seven dwarves (much easier in an animated setting, with no trick photography needed).
The series was inspired by the success of the 1962 television special, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol
Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol
Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol is a musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' famous short story A Christmas Carol starring the character Mr. Magoo...
, a serious remake of the Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
classic with Magoo playing Ebenezer Scrooge
Ebenezer Scrooge
Ebenezer Scrooge is the principal character in Charles Dickens's 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol. At the beginning of the novel, Scrooge is a cold-hearted, tight-fisted and greedy man, who despises Christmas and all things which give people happiness...
.
The series was re-shown in the early 1970s on early Saturday mornings and the early 1980s as part of certain channels' weekday afternoon cartoon blocs. It was released on VHS tape, but is long out of print.
The series was originally shown in prime time, and not as part of an animated bloc for juvenile viewers. Therefore certain more mature elements were present. These included death threats (William Tell, Robin Hood, Don Quixote, The Three Musketeers, Sherlock Holmes), children in danger (Treasure Island, Gunga Din, William Tell), insanity (Don Quixote, Moby Dick), heroic self-sacrifice (Gunga Din), and realistic (although bloodless) violence including swordplay, shooting, clubbing, drowning, and character deaths (most episodes).
Episodes
# | Title | Broadcast date |
---|---|---|
01 | "William Tell William Tell William Tell is a folk hero of Switzerland. His legend is recorded in a late 15th century Swiss chronicle.... " |
September 19, 1964 |
02 | "Treasure Island Treasure Island Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". First published as a book on May 23, 1883, it was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881–82 under the title Treasure Island; or, the... "— Part 1 |
September 26, 1964 |
03 | "Treasure Island"— Part 2 | October 3, 1964 |
04 | "Gunga Din Gunga Din -Background:The poem is a rhyming narrative from the point of view of a British soldier, about a native water-bearer who saves the soldier's life but dies himself. The last line suggests a deep-down unease of conscience about the prevailing views of natural hierarchies, both in the depicted... " |
October 10, 1964 |
05 | "Moby Dick" | October 17, 1964 |
06 | "The Three Musketeers The Three Musketeers The Three Musketeers is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized in March–July 1844. Set in the 17th century, it recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to travel to Paris, to join the Musketeers of the Guard... "— Part 1 |
October 24, 1964 |
07 | "The Three Musketeers"— Part 2 | November 7, 1964 |
08 | "Robin Hood Robin Hood Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes.... "— Part 1 |
November 14, 1964 |
09 | "Robin Hood"— Part 2 | November 21, 1964 |
10 | "Robin Hood"— Part 3 | November 28, 1964 |
11 | "Robin Hood"— Part 4 | December 5, 1964 |
12 | "Don Quixote de la Mancha"— Part 1 | December 19, 1964 |
13 | "Cyrano de Bergerac Cyrano de Bergerac Hercule-Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac was a French dramatist and duelist. He is now best remembered for the works of fiction which have been woven, often very loosely, around his life story, most notably the 1897 play by Edmond Rostand... " |
December 26, 1964 |
14 | "Snow White Snow White "Snow White" is a fairy tale known from many countries in Europe, the best known version being the German one collected by the Brothers Grimm... "— Part 1 |
January 2, 1965 |
15 | "Snow White"— Part 2 | January 9, 1965 |
16 | "Rip Van Winkle Rip Van Winkle "Rip Van Winkle" is a short story by the American author Washington Irving published in 1819, as well as the name of the story's fictional protagonist. Written while Irving was living in Birmingham, England, it was part of a collection entitled The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon... " |
January 16, 1965 |
17 | "Dick Tracy and the Mob Dick Tracy Dick Tracy is a comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a hard-hitting, fast-shooting and intelligent police detective. Created by Chester Gould, the strip made its debut on October 4, 1931, in the Detroit Mirror. It was distributed by the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate... " |
February 6, 1965 |
18 | "A Midsummer Night's Dream A Midsummer Night's Dream A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta... " |
February 13, 1965 |
19 | "The Count of Monte Cristo The Count of Monte Cristo The Count of Monte Cristo is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is often considered to be, along with The Three Musketeers, Dumas's most popular work. He completed the work in 1844... " |
February 27, 1965 |
20 | "Doctor Frankenstein Frankenstein Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first... " |
March 13, 1965 |
21 | "Don Quixote de la Mancha"— Part 2 | March 20, 1965 |
22 | "Captain Kidd" | March 27, 1965 |
23 | "Noah's Ark Noah's Ark Noah's Ark is a vessel appearing in the Book of Genesis and the Quran . These narratives describe the construction of the ark by Noah at God's command to save himself, his family, and the world's animals from the worldwide deluge of the Great Flood.In the narrative of the ark, God sees the... " |
April 3, 1965 |
24 | "Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve... " |
April 10, 1965 |
25 | "King Arthur King Arthur King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and... " |
April 17, 1965 |
26 | "Paul Revere Paul Revere Paul Revere was an American silversmith and a patriot in the American Revolution. He is most famous for alerting Colonial militia of approaching British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Paul Revere's Ride... " |
April 24, 1965 |
DVD release
On November 8, 2011, Shout! FactoryShout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
will release Mr. Magoo: The Television Collection 1960-1977 on DVD in Region 1. This 11-disc collection will contain all episodes from all 3 Mr. Magoo television series including all 26 episodes of The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo.