Tijuana Toads

Opening Card
Toro and Pancho
Portrayed by Don Diamond
Tom Holland
Information
Species Toads
Gender Male

The Tijuana Toads are the main characters in a series of 17 theatrical cartoons produced by DePatie-Freleng and released through United Artists.

Plot

The series was about two toads, Toro and Pancho, who live in the Mexican city of Tijuana. Throughout the cartoon they try to eat their prey, but always get outsmarted. They would sometimes themselves be targeted by a bird, Crazylegs Crane, and would in turn always outsmart him.

The series introduced two characters who later got their own series. The Blue Racer first appeared in "Snake in the Gracias" before getting his own series in 1972. Crazylegs Crane also spun off to his own series for television in 1978 on ABC. Both characters were voiced by Larry D. Mann, except in "Flight to the Finish" where Bob Holt voiced Crazylegs Crane.[1][2]

Toro was voiced by actor Don Diamond and Pancho voiced by Tom Holland. Crazylegs Crane was voiced by Larry D. Mann. Directorial duties were split between Hawley Pratt, Art Davis, Grant Simmons, and Gerry Chiniquy.[1]

When series began airing in 1976 as part of The Pink Panther Show, NBC redubbed Tijuana Toads and renamed it Texas Toads to make the series less offensive.[1] A laugh track was added to the new soundtrack, and the toads were given the new names of Fatso and Banjo.[1] Producer David H. DePatie later commented on the process:

"When they (Tijuana Toads) went on television, we had to completely change them around and the series became known as the Texas Toads, and we had to redo all of the tracks that had any type of ethnic content and it really watered down the series down. We all thought it was a hell of a lot more funny when it was the Tijuana Toads, but at the time we had to do it in order to bring the thing on television."[3]

Filmography

№ Title Directed by: Story: Released: Synopsis:
1Tijuana ToadsHawley PrattJohn W. DunnAugust 6, 1969
2A Pair of GreenbacksArt DavisJohn W. DunnDecember 16, 1969
3Go for CroakHawley PrattJohn W. DunnDecember 25, 1969
4The Froggy Froggy DuoHawley PrattJohn W. DunnMarch 15, 1970
5Hop and ChopGrant SimmonsDale HaleJune 17, 1970
6Never on ThirstyHawley PrattJohn W. DunnAugust 5, 1970
7A Dopey HaciendaHawley PrattJohn W. DunnDecember 6, 1970
8Snake in the GraciasHawley PrattJohn W. DunnJanuary 24, 1971
9Two Jumps and a ChumpGerry ChiniquyJohn W. DunnMarch 28, 1971
10Mud SquadArt DavisJohn W. DunnApril 28, 1971
11The Egg and Ay-Yi-Yi!Gerry ChiniquyDale HaleJune 6, 1971
12Fastest Tongue in the WestGerry ChiniquyLarz BourneJune 20, 1971
13A Leap in the DeepHawley PrattJohn W. DunnJune 20, 1971
14Croakus PocusArt DavisJohn W. DunnDecember 26, 1971
15Serape HappyGerry ChiniquyJohn W. DunnDecember 26, 1971
16Frog JogGerry ChiniquyJohn W. DunnApril 23, 1972
17Flight to the FinishArt DavisJohn W. DunnApril 30, 1972

Remade and reused scenes and plots

Revivals

The characters were resurrected for the 1993 TV series The Pink Panther. As the case when the original shorts were shown on TV, they were rebranded as the Texas Toads. The toads were redesigned as western sheriffs with oversized cowboy hats replacing their sombreros.[1][4]

Home video release

VHS

In 1987, Go for Croak was released on VHS as part of Cartoon Festival.

DVD and Blu-ray

In 2016, Kino Lorber released the complete series with the original soundtrack, digitally remastered from the original negatives and in the original ratio.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Beck, Jerry (2006). Pink Panther: The Ultimate Guide to the Coolest Cat in Town. New York, New York: Dorling Kindersley, Ltd. p. 614. ISBN 0-7864-2256-4.
  2. ↑ Television Cartoon Shows: The shows, M-Z. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. 2005. p. 614. ISBN 0-7566-1033-8.
  3. ↑ David H. DePatie interview, December 2010
  4. ↑ The Texas Toads (Spanish dubbed version)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.