Groovie Goolies facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Groovie Goolies
Title card
Genre	Comedy horror Musical comedy
Directed by	Hal Sutherland
Voices of	John Erwin Dallas McKennon Larry D. Mann Howard Morris Larry Storch Jane Webb
Theme music composer	Richard Delvy Ed Fournier Dick Monda
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	16
Production
Producer(s)	Norm Prescott Lou Scheimer
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	Filmation
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	September 12, 1970 (1970-09-12) – September 17, 1972 (1972-09-17)

Groovie Goolies was a fun American cartoon show. It first aired on Saturday mornings on CBS from 1970 to 1972. Later, it was shown again on Sunday mornings. The show was set in a spooky old castle called Horrible Hall. It was all about the friendly, but monstrous, characters who lived there.

The cartoon was made by a company called Filmation. The Groovie Goolies characters even appeared in other Filmation shows. They crossed over with characters from Archie Comics, like Sabrina the Teenage Witch. They also met the famous Looney Tunes characters!

Meet the Groovie Goolies!

The Goolies were a cool group of monsters. They lived together at Horrible Hall, which was like a haunted house for monsters. Many of them called each other "cousins." Most of the Goolies looked and sounded like classic movie monsters from the 1930s and 1940s. These were often from Universal Pictures films.

Each episode was packed with quick jokes and short skits. There were also two pop songs in every show. One song was always sung by The Monster Trio (Drac, Frankie, and Wolfie). The other song was sung by a different guest band.

Who Are the Characters?

Here are some of the main characters you'd meet at Horrible Hall:

• Drac (voiced by Larry Storch) – He's a short-tempered vampire and the leader of Horrible Hall. Drac plays a pipe organ in the Groovie Goolies band. He often tries to fly into a window in his bat form, but crashes instead!
• Frankie (voiced by Howard Morris) – This easygoing Frankenstein's monster runs the Muscle-leum Gymnasium. He plays a bone xylophone and drums in the band. Frankie sometimes gets zapped by lightning, showing his inner robot parts. He also has a secret identity as a clumsy superhero called "Super Ghoul."
  • Rover – Frankie's pet dinosaur.
• Wolfie (voiced by Howard Morris) – A hippie werewolf who talks with a mix of beatnik, surfer, and hippie slang. Wolfie plays a stringed instrument like a lyre in the band. He loves having fun, like surfing or driving his "Wolf Wagon."
  • Fido – Wolfie's pet piranha that can eat anything and even fly!
• Hagatha (voiced by Larry Storch and Howard Morris) – A plump witch who is the chef at Horrible Hall. She has a living broom named Broomhilda.
• Bella La Ghostly (voiced by Jane Webb) – A female vampire who works as the telephone operator for Horrible Hall.
• Sabrina Spellman (voiced by Jane Webb) - A witch who is a cousin to the Groovie Goolies.
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (voiced by Howard Morris) – The two-headed doctor who often argues with himself. One head is a normal doctor, and the other is a green-skinned monster doctor.
• Mummy (voiced by Howard Morris) – A bandaged mummy who is good at first aid. He also hosts "The Mummy's Wrap-Up" news show. He often unravels!
• Boneapart (voiced by Larry D. Mann) – A nervous skeleton wearing a Napoleon hat. He tends to fall apart easily.
• Ghoulihand (voiced by Larry Storch) – A giant, talking, disembodied glove.
• Ratso and Batso (voiced by Larry Storch and Dallas McKennon) – Two imp-like kids with fangs. They love to steal treats and play pranks that often backfire.
• Hauntleroy (voiced by Howard Morris) – A round, sneaky, and selfish kid in a sailor suit. He's often the target of Ratso and Batso's tricks. He is Hagatha's nephew.
• Icky and Goo (voiced by Larry Storch and Dallas McKennon) – Two gargoyle-like creatures who are the main pets of Horrible Hall. Icky is blue, and Goo is red.
• Tiny Tomb – A small, long-haired mummy with a high voice. He's Mummy's nephew and the lead singer of "The Mummies and the Puppies."
• Missy – A mysterious mummified spook with long pink hair that hides her face, except for one big blue eye. She's Tiny's wife and in "The Mummies and the Puppies."
• Mama Casket – A plump green mummy who is also in "The Mummies and the Puppies."
• Orville (vocal effects by Howard Morris) – A large plant that eats things.
• The Spookoo Clock - A cuckoo clock with a vulture that pops out.
• The Ask-It Casket - A talking casket that answers questions.
• The Lovesick Loveseat - A living loveseat that has a crush on Drac.
• The Skelevator - An elevator shaped like a giant human skull.

Musical Groups

Every episode had two musical parts. The first was always by the Groovie Goolies band. Drac played the pipe organ, Wolfie played a lyre-like instrument, and Frankie played a drum set with bone xylophones. The second song was by one of these other bands:

• The Bare Bones Band – A band made of three living skeletons.
• The Mummies and the Puppies – A folk/pop group led by Tiny Tomb on guitar. Missy played the tambourine, Mama Casket played drums, and four puppies joined in.
• The Rolling Headstones – A band of three living tombstones named Hudson Rock, Captain Marble, and General Granite.
• The Spirits of '76 – A band of three ghosts wearing tri-cornered hats.

How the Show Was Made

In the 1960s, classic monster movies were very popular again. Filmation producer Lou Scheimer loved these films and wanted to make a funny cartoon about monsters. In 1968, he hired writers to create a show called Monster Inn. This show would make jokes about the monsters that Universal Pictures made famous. Many of their early ideas became part of Groovie Goolies, like the monsters living in a castle and singing pop songs.

In 1969, Fred Silverman from CBS wanted a show to go with Filmation's popular The Archie Show. So, Filmation started working on a series for Sabrina the Teenage Witch, who was already in the Archie comics. Silverman also wanted to build on the success of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, so he chose Scheimer's monster show. It went through a few names before they picked Groovie Goolies. Since both shows had witches, they decided to put them together in a one-hour block.

Sabrina and the Groovie Goolies started in 1970. It had two 15-minute parts of Sabrina and a 30-minute part of Groovie Goolies. The characters from both shows even appeared in each other's episodes! This combined show was the most popular children's program at the time.

In 1971, CBS separated the two shows. Reruns of Groovie Goolies were then shown with Tom and Jerry on Sunday mornings. After one season on Sundays, the show was canceled.

Even after cancellation, the Groovie Goolies weren't gone for good. In 1972, they became regular characters on Sabrina the Teenage Witch. They appeared in half of that season's episodes. That same year, they also appeared on ABC in a movie called Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies. In this movie, they teamed up with the Looney Tunes characters! This film even had a short live-action part with Frankie, Drac, Wolfie, and Hauntleroy. ABC later showed the original series again in 1975. The Goolies made their last new appearances in 1977 on The New Archie and Sabrina Hour.

In 1977, the show was put into syndication as part of a series called The Groovie Goolies and Friends. This meant it was shown on many different TV stations. Filmation also planned a Groovie Goolies movie in 1978, but it was never made. In 1984, they tried to bring the characters back with ideas for new shows, but these also didn't happen.

The cartoon was shown in many countries and translated into different languages. It was very popular in France, where the characters even had a float in a parade! The complete series was released on DVD in the US in 2006.

Show Segments

The show was set up like other popular comedy shows, with many short segments of jokes and riddles. This was clear in "Weird Windows Time," which was like a famous joke wall from another show. Sometimes, a Goolie character would have a special segment to teach the audience something, like:

• Dracula's Schoolhouse – A school that taught about (mad) science.
• Hagatha's Bedtime Stories – Hagatha would read a popular fairy tale to Frankie.
• Home Movies – The characters would watch old home videos of their past adventures.
• The Mummy's Wrap-Up – A news show hosted by Mummy, reporting monster news.
• Wolfie's Theater – Wolfie would act out a popular fairy tale with other characters.

Groovie Goolies Episodes

The episodes didn't have special titles when they were made. They were just known by their episode number. When the series came out on DVD, they were given titles based on one of the songs in the episode.

Cast and Voices

The talented voice actors who brought the Goolies to life were:

• John Erwin as Additional voices
• Dallas McKennon - Rover, Batso (later episodes), Ratso (later episodes), Goo, Salem, and other voices
• Larry D. Mann as Boneapart, and other voices
• Howard Morris as Frankie, Wolfie, Fido, Hagatha (later episodes), Dr. Jekyll and Hyde, Mummy, Hauntleroy, Orville, the "Welcome to Horrible Hall!" narrator, and other voices
• Larry Storch as Drac, Hagatha (earlier episodes), Ghoulihand, Batso (earlier episodes), Ratso (earlier episodes), Icky, and other voices
• Jane Webb as Bella La Ghostly, Sabrina Spellman, and other voices

Music Albums

The Groovie Goolies show was so popular that it even had music albums released!

American Album

The real-life musicians (Ed Fournier, Jeffrey Thomas, Dick Monda) who played the Goolies' songs, next to their cartoon characters.

In 1970, RCA Victor Records released an album called Groovie Goolies. The album cover showed photos of the musicians who played the songs. These musicians were Jeffrey Thomas (as Wolfie), Ed Fournier (as Frankie), and Dick Monda (as Drac).

All the songs on this album were written by Linda Martin and Sherry Gayden. Some songs were new and not heard on the show. Two songs from the album, "First Annual Semi-Formal Combination Celebration Meet-the-Monster Population Party" and "Save Your Good Lovin' For Me," were released as singles.

One of the songs, "Chick-A-Boom (Don't Ya Jes' Love It)," was re-recorded by Dick Monda under the name Daddy Dewdrop. This version became a huge hit in 1971!

International Albums

The show was popular around the world, leading to more music. In 1983, a French album called Les Croque Monstres was released. It included a French version of the theme song. In 1992, two albums called Bubušou 1 and 2 were released in Czechoslovakia. These albums had all 33 songs from the show with Czech lyrics.

Home Video Releases

You can find the Groovie Goolies on video! The show has been released on VHS tapes and DVDs in many countries. The complete series was released on DVD in the US in 2006. Special features on the DVD included interviews with people who worked on the show and even some famous fans like Alice Cooper.

Images for kids

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