I only remember watching The Impossibles a few times as a kid. I recall liking what I saw though, they had power sets that I had not seen on other cartoons and I was a sucker for anything super-hero related. It was not until many years later looking back upon the property that I realized they were loosely based on The Three Stooges!
I've only seen The Impossibles in a '90's Hanna-Barbera comic. The cartoon must have been very short-lived...and maybe didn't catch on. I saw more Ricochet Rabbit; that father-son dog cartoon and the Three Musketeers...
ReplyDeleteWell "Rally-ho-ho-ho" - as Fluid-man would say. Thanks for bringing back a memory of the days when Saturday mornings were really fun. Frankenstein Jr., Moby Dick and the Mighty Mightier, Spaceghost, The Herculoids, Super Six!
ReplyDeleteWikipedia says that "Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles" ran for two seasons (1966-68), although I only remember it running for one.
ReplyDeleteAs I recall, each half-hour episode had three segments, two Frankenstein Jr. cartoons and one with the Impossibles. There was a one-shot 1966 Gold Key comic that followed the same format. IIRC, though, that 1990's "Hanna-Barbera Presents..." comic book had a crossover story that teamed up the Impossibles with Frankie.
Fun fact: originally, H-B planned to call the team "The Incredibles," but the name was changed at the last minute.
In their civilian identities, the Impossibles were a rock band. They seemed to be agents for an FBI/Secret Service-type organization, and received assignments from its director, who was code named "Big D." In the 1960's, the biggest fads were James Bond, Batman, and the Beatles. The Impossibles emulated all three.
I have a vague memory of another cartoon starring very old superheroes who had been called back from retirement after something happened to Superman, Spider-Man etc. Anyone remember what it was called?
ReplyDeleteYou may possibly be thinking of Tyrone from Baggy Pants and the Nitwits http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i3_l3N_QVk0 a cartoon from the studio that made the Pink Panther from 1977 and repeats...
Delete@Air Dave: "Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles" ran for two seasons (on NBC, I believe) during the mid-Sixties. And they were as much influenced by the Monkees as the Three Stooges (hence, their civilian ID's as a rock band).
ReplyDeleteAnd, once again, Ross, you have created a team-up worthy of a real-world crossover being published. For one thing, I can just see Violet getting abducted while attending an Impossibles reunion tour concert!
Not only do I have fond memories of watching The Impossibles back in the '60s, but only a few days ago I started wondering whether you'd ever featured them here.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
^_^
This crossover I really would love to see!
ReplyDeleteIt was two Impossible cartoons to one Frankie, Jr cartoon. The were far more influenced by the Beatles than the Monkees or the Three Stooges, since the cartoon would have been in production about the same time as the Monkees and there was far more superhero type action than slapstick violence like the Stooges employed so excellently.
ReplyDeleteThey are far more original than the Incredibles ripoff of the Fantastic Four...
The best thing about the Incredibles was Edna the superhero costume designer's dismissive comment"Supermodels. Nothing super about them."
ReplyDeleteActually, the Incredibles was also notable for showing a world where superheroes were not only for real. But, also, legally suppressed by a misguidedly fearful public! So, in a way, Disney/Pixar might've been "testing the waters" when it came to the box office appeal of a live-action movie based on a similar theme (i.e, Marvel's now-classic "Civil War" story arc).
ReplyDeleteThe Impossibles and the Incredibles jioning forces t do battle against Professor Stretch and Syndrome
ReplyDeleteFrankenstein Jr and The Mighty Orbots how dose that sound?
ReplyDeleteNext up? The Impossibles meet Kim Possible!
ReplyDeleteP.S.---the Incredibles are more sequel worthy than the Fantastic Four with the Black Torch.
ReplyDeleteNext up The Mighty Hero's meet the Inferior Five
ReplyDeleteI'll bet Violet is a big fan of the band, and will freak when they save her. XD
ReplyDeleteI just got Frankenstien Jr and the impossibles on DVD
ReplyDelete