Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 through 2003, 2d ed.

I received the book today, and was quite impressed with it. Wish I had the money to buy the two volume set. Looks like that being the next purchase. I want to fix up a misconception about one of the entries, "Arthur, and the Square Knights of the Round Table". In this book (and in the book referenced "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons" by Jeff Lenburg) claimed that the show was British. Sadly, it is as British as a Kangaroo. The show was made in Australia, featuring a cast of actors who were originally from radio, and the cast was able to mimic accents with frightening accuracy (the cast which included John Meillon (who played Walter Reilly in Crocodile Dundee)and John Ewart (who appeared in the feature film, Newsfront)) Hopefully, this will be corrected in a future edition.

This two volume encylopedia set is a valuable resource tool for fans of animated series (and yes, they're out there). You have to give the author, Hal Erickson, credit for all the work he did here. Sketching and writing reviews for hundreds if not thousands of television programs. His commentary is quite enjoyable and brings life to some otherwise one-joke programs. When animated series started appearing in the late fifties, few could combine character, humor, and art well. However, since the 80's there have been a few successes over the decades, and Mr. Erickson points out the strengths of various series. He also doesn't denigrate everything on the airwaves, which many reviewers blanketly say, and does give credit where it's due. Shows he gives high marks to include: The Mighty Heroes, The Gummi Bears (which in the 80's started the uphill trend battle for better story and characterization in animated shows), Disney's Recess and Weekenders which should be given credit for originality, characterization and humor. The author's kind remarks concerning Dan Castellaneta's work as the substitute genie (filling in for Robin Williams)in the Aladdin cartoon were also appreciated, I also loved his comments on Dennis the Menace and its political correct watering down in the 90's. There are some mistakes in the text: On the Richie Rich series, Mr. Erickson mistakenly points out that the robotic maid, Irona, was created for the animated series. Fans of the comic book know that she existed at least ten years prior in print. Another flaw: In The Wild Thornberry's entry, Lacy Chabert is erroneously credited as the voice to oldest daughter Debbie, instead of middle child Eliza. In the show's credits, Danielle Harris is correctly identified as the voice to Debbie, but not in the summary. The book takes swipes on shows on both political spectrums. On the Captain Planet program, Erickson does point out its one sided negative presentation of businessmen in its early years, but this reviewer did think he went a bit too far for his antipathy for Richie Rich, and dumping on the "poor little rich boy" as a "prophet" of the "God of Conspicuous Consumption." Shame. Shame. Shame. Obviously, Mr. Erickson needs to visit some of the Harvey Comics websites to see how other fans see the Rich little capitalist. There's a great deal of material here. The next edition could stand a bit more proofing on some minor errors. But, I do look forward to reading Mr. Erickson's opinions on more recent fare such as Dave the Barbarian, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and even Phineas and Ferb. Hey, any book that mentions the 60's Super President, with the great voice of Ted Cassidy (Lurch from the Addams family) has to have something for it. Expensive, but worth it. James Smith III [email protected]

This book contains loads of information about every aspect of each show. Not only did it provide everything I wanted to know - studio, voices, etc - but it brought back many fond memories.

These books are packed with every single cartoon you could image from 1949 through 2003. It offers a brief description of the plots, main cast and production credits, and even some behind-the-scenes information otherwise not available anywhere else, particularly on the DVD releases of these shows. Although, despite some obviously thoughtful research put into these books, sometimes some erroneous information manages to slip through. Particularly the kind from someone researching the shows who may have never actually SEEN them. Two instances that immediately come to mind are in The Real Ghostbusters entry, where Winston's last name is misspelled and Slimer's name is constantly spelled with an exclamation point, since his name in the title from the third season onward had one. If you love cartoons and want to know a little more about them, or take a trip down memory lane, this book makes a good starting point.

GREAT BOOK!

A must-have reference book for anyone interested in TV series programming and TV history. Cartoon series are covered in detail, often with the sort of background and context missing from most reference works of this sort. Highly recommended!