Shirt Tales facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Shirt Tales |
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Season one title card
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| Genre | |
| Created by | Janet Elizabeth Manco (original characters) |
| Directed by |
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| Voices of |
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| Theme music composer | Hoyt Curtin |
| Opening theme | "Shirt Tales" |
| Ending theme | "Shirt Tales" (Instrumental) |
| Composer(s) | Hoyt Curtin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 23 (46 segments) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | |
| Producer(s) |
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| Editor(s) | Gil Iverson |
| Running time | 22 minutes (11 minutes per segment) |
| Production company(s) | Hanna-Barbera Productions |
| Distributor | Worldvision Enterprises |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | Color |
| Original release | September 18, 1982 – November 19, 1983 |
Shirt Tales is a fun cartoon series about a group of animal friends who wear special T-shirts. These characters first appeared on Hallmark Cards in 1980, created by Janet Elizabeth Manco. Their popularity led to an animated TV show made by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which started airing on NBC in 1982.
Contents
From Cards to Cartoons: The Shirt Tales Story
The Shirt Tales characters first became famous on greeting cards from Hallmark Cards. These cards featured cute animals wearing T-shirts with messages on them. People loved these cards so much that they became some of Hallmark's best sellers!
Because the cards were so popular, Hallmark teamed up with Hanna-Barbera Productions. They decided to turn the Shirt Tales into a Saturday morning cartoon show. The cartoon first aired on NBC on September 18, 1982. Even after the show ended in 1985, the card line continued for a little while before fading away.
Meet the Shirt Tales: Animal Heroes
The Shirt Tales cartoon features a team of animal heroes who live in Oak Tree Park. Each character wears a special T-shirt that can light up and show their thoughts or messages.
The main characters are:
- Tyg Tiger (orange shirt)
- Pammy Panda (pink shirt)
- Digger Mole (light blue shirt)
- Rick Raccoon (red shirt)
- Bogey Orangutan (green shirt) – He talks like the famous actor Humphrey Bogart!
These friends spend their time teasing the park's caretaker, Mr. Dinkel. They also fight crime in their hometown, Mid City, and even around the world!
Their Amazing Vehicle: The STSST
The Shirt Tales have a super cool vehicle called the STSST. This stands for Shirt Tales' SuperSonic Transport. It's not just a car; it can change into a jet, a boat, a submarine, and many other ways to travel!
Most police groups, like the Commissioner, know the Shirt Tales are great crime fighters. But very few people know they are talking animals. The Shirt Tales often have to trick Mr. Dinkel to keep their secret safe.
Changes in Season Two
Each episode of Shirt Tales had two short stories, each about 11 minutes long. The first season was very successful with thirteen episodes. For the second season, ten more episodes were made.
In Season 2, a new character joined the team:
- Kip Kangaroo (light yellow shirt)
Also, the leadership of the group changed. In Season 1, Rick Raccoon seemed to be the leader. But in Season 2, Tyg Tiger took on that role. Sometimes, Rick had a smaller part in the stories or wasn't in them at all.
Season 2 also added some superhero elements. When it was "Shirt Tale Time," all their T-shirts would change to a bright red color, ready for action!
Other Friends and Family
The Shirt Tales met other characters in their adventures:
- Buck Beaver (whitish-blue shirt) helped them in "The Big Foot Incident" and "Dinkel's Ark."
- In "Moving Time," four cousins from out west visited:
- Prairie Dog Pete (red shirt, black vest)
- Filmore Coyote (light green shirt)
- Violette Skunk (yellow shirt)
- Hoozit Owl (lavender shirt)
- Cubby Bear (red shirt) helped the Shirt Tales in "Back to Nature" when a wild bear chased Mr. Dinkel up a tree.
Where the Show Aired
After its first run on NBC, Shirt Tales also aired on CBS during the 1984–1985 Saturday morning season. It took the place of another show called The Biskitts. CBS showed some of the episodes from both NBC seasons until March 23, 1985. After that, The Biskitts returned to that time slot.
On March 23, 1985, Shirt Tales stopped being shown on regular TV. The Hallmark card line also became less popular around that time. However, the show continued to be shown for many years on USA Network's Cartoon Express and later on Cartoon Network. You can still find it airing in some countries around the world on channels like Boomerang.
The Voices Behind the Characters
Many talented voice actors brought the Shirt Tales characters to life.
Main Voice Cast
- Nancy Cartwright – Kip Kangaroo (Season 2 only)
- Robert Allen Ogle – Digger Mole
- Patricia Parris – Pammy Panda
- Steve Schatzberg – Tyg Tiger, Rick Raccoon (Episode 4 only)
- Ronnie Schell – Rick Raccoon
- Fred Travalena – Bogey Orangutan
- Herb Vigran – Mr. Dinkel
- William Woodson – Commissioner (Season 1 only)
Additional Voices
Many other actors provided voices for different characters in the show, including:
- Joe Besser – Elmo the Elephant (in "Elephant on the Loose")
- Howard Morris – Shutter McBugg (in "Double Exposure")
- John Stephenson – Game Master, Museum Tour Guide, The Humboldt Ghost, Ebenezer Creepling (in "The Humboldt Ghost")
- Frank Welker – Figby the Cat (in "Figby, the Spoiled Brat Cat")
Episode Guide
The Shirt Tales cartoon had two seasons with a total of 23 episodes, each with two segments.
Season 1 (1982–83)
| Episode Number |
Title | Original Air Date | |
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| 1 | "The Case of the Golden Armor / Crumbling's Circus Caper" | September 18, 1982 | |
| 2 | "The Game Masters / Shirt Napped" | September 25, 1982 | |
| 3 | "The Big Foot Incident / Elephant on the Loose" | October 2, 1982 | |
| 4 | "Horsin' Around / Mission Mutt" | October 9, 1982 | |
| 5 | "Vacation for Dinkel / Wingman" | October 16, 1982 | |
| 6 | "The Humboldt Ghost / Figby, the Spoiled Brat Cat" | October 23, 1982 | |
| 7 | "Digger Runs Away / The Commissioner Is Missing" | October 30, 1982 | |
| 8 | "Raiders of the Lost Shark / The Terrible Termites" | November 6, 1982 | |
| 9 | "Moving Time / Back to Nature" | November 13, 1982 | |
| 10 | "Save the Park / Pam-dora's Box" | November 20, 1982 | |
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In "Save the Park," the Shirt Tales stop a developer from destroying their park. In "Pam-dora's Box," Pammy meets a robot spy.
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| 11 | "Hapless Hound / The Very Buried Treasure" | November 27, 1982 | |
| 12 | "Nearsighted Bear / The Magical Musical Caper" | December 4, 1982 | |
| 13 | "Dinkel's Ark / The Duke of Dinkel" | December 11, 1982 | |
Season 2 (1983–84)
| Episode Number |
Title | Original Air Date |
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| 14 | "Bogey Goes Ape / The Rain, the Park and the Robot" | September 17, 1983 |
| 15 | "Digger's Three Wishes / Digger's Double" | September 24, 1983 |
| 16 | "Kip's Dragon / Double Exposure" | October 1, 1983 |
| 17 | "Taj Mahal Tyg / Brass Bogey" | October 8, 1983 |
| 18 | "The Outer Space Connection / The Forbidden Island" | October 15, 1983 |
| 19 | "Saturday Night Shirt Tales / Dinkel's Buddy" | October 22, 1983 |
| 20 | "Pleasure Valley / The Ghost Out West" | October 29, 1983 |
| 21 | "T.J.'s Visit / The Big Set-up" | November 5, 1983 |
| 22 | "Kip's Toy Caper / Dinkel's Gift" | November 12, 1983 |
| 23 | "Mayhem on the Orient Express / The Cuckoo Count Caper" | November 19, 1983 |
Other Fun Stuff
Besides the TV show, there were also two musical story sets released by K-tel International. These were called A Song Saves the Park and Sunrise Surprise. They included a book and a record, but the voices on the records were not the original actors from the cartoon.
Images for kids
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Season one title card
See also
In Spanish: Shirt Tales - Los rescatadores para niños
