In "Ali Beagle and the Forty Grapes", a wooden city limits sign reacted to Grape Ape's presence (after "overhearing" that no one else had) by progressively displaying the "YEOW!" phrase, with Beegle reading aloud as the sign changed, unfolding additional segments for the several "ill" syllables (after which it folded itself up and hopped away in fear). When asked by Beagle why she did not yell in fear like everyone else did upon seeing Grape Ape, she simply said, "You've seen one 40-foot purple ape, you've seen them all". The only exception to this was the character Rosie O'Lady (voiced by Janet Waldo), who appeared in Episode 11, "The Indian Grape Call". Grape Ape's immense size tends to initially shock and frighten those unfamiliar with him, and his presence alone has often terrified people and animals, causing them to run off screaming invariably: "YEOW! A gorill-ill-ill-ill-la!". He travels the countryside with his canine pal Beegle Beagle (voiced by Marty Ingels), whom he calls "Beegly Beagly". His catch phrase is saying his name twice ("Grape Ape, Grape Ape") after anything anyone says, usually as a form of agreement or acknowledgement of what was said. The title character is The Great Grape Ape (voiced by Bob Holt), who is a 40-foot purple gorilla with the mind of a child. ABC continued to air it in reruns until 1978. The Great Grape Ape Show is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on ABC from September 6 to December 13, 1975. Art © Hanna-Barbera.TV series or program The Great Grape Ape Show Purchase Hanna-Barbera Merchandise Online Today in Toons: Every day's an anniversary! Considering how many toon outlets there are on cable TV nowadays, he's not likely to remain unseen forever.īACK to Don Markstein's Toonopedia Home Page But the character is still popular among fans of vintage Hanna-Barbera animation. Magilla hasn't been seen very often in the past couple of decades - just a syndicated rerun here and there. Hanna-Barbera's next comic book licensor was Marvel, which gave him only one issue, dated March, 1979. A later series from Charlton was even more short-lived - five issues, November, 1970 through July, 1971. The comic book lasted ten issues, the last of which was dated December, 1968. In #3, he ran against Yogi Bear for president, putting him in company with such other toon candidates for the Oval Office as Betty Boop and Andy Gump. The combination was popular enough to be picked up by ABC on Janua rare example of a syndicated show moving to a network, rather than vice versa.įollowing standard practice of the time, Magilla began starring in a Gold Key comic book shortly after his TV show began. In 1965, the latter switched places with Breezly & Sneezly, a back-up on Peter Potamus. Magilla Gorilla's back-up segments were Punkin' Puss & Mushmouse, and Ricochet Rabbit. The standard half-hour cartoon show format of the time was three segments, each about as long as a theatrical cartoon, and each with a different star. Peebles's voice was provided by Howard Morris ( Atom Ant, Gerald McBoing-Boing), Ogee's by Jean VanderPyl ( Wilma Flintstone, Rosie in The Jetsons), and Magilla's by Allan Melvin (various voices in Smurfs and TaleSpin). Why Peebles never hit on the idea of simply giving Magilla to Ogee was never satisfactorily explained. The only one who actually wanted him for a pet was a little girl named Ogee, but she could never scrape together enough money, no matter how inexpensive he got. People would occasionally buy Magilla for various purposes (such as to turn loose and hunt down as a trophy, or for use as an experimental animal), but what with one mishap or another he'd always wind up back at the store by the end of each cartoon. Magilla's asking price got lower and lower, as the big ape spent his days eating up most of the store's profits. ![]() Peebles, the owner, had been trying with increasing desperation to sell him since the lovable anthropoid was a baby. Magilla was a resident of Peebles Pet Store. The trend toward fully coordinated merchandising blitzes started with The Magilla Gorilla Show. Within a couple of decades, television animation was to become notorious for that sort of built-in merchandising - some said such '80s shows as He-Man, Jem and Rainbow Brite ![]() Thus, when the show debuted (in syndication, on January 14, 1964), they were ready to roll with licensed tie-ins. In developing the character, Hanna-Barbera collaborated with Ideal Toys. ![]() And yet, in one respect (if not a very "respectable" one) he was a pioneer in his own right. Magilla Gorilla came years after the pioneers of TV animation, such as Crusader Rabbit and Tom Terrific. Please contribute to its necessary financial support. If this site is enjoyable or useful to you, MAGILLA GORILLA Original Medium: TV animation
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