The Adventures of Paddy the Pelican facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Adventures of Paddy the Pelican |
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The opening title card to "The Adventures of Paddy the Pelican"
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| Created by | Sam Singer |
| Directed by | Sam Singer |
| Voices of | Sam Singer |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 6 (Shorts) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 5 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Tempe-Toons (referred to as "Medallion Productions" during the end titles) |
| Release | |
| Original network | WENR-TV (ABC) |
| Original release | September 11 – October 13, 1950 |
The Adventures of Paddy the Pelican was an American animated TV show. It first appeared on local TV stations in Chicago in the 1950s. This show is very rare today. It became famous for being on Jerry Beck's list of Worst Cartoons Ever.
The cartoon showed Paddy's adventures using comic strip drawings. These were made by Sam Singer. The show was on the ABC network in the fall of 1950. It aired for only one month. You could watch it on weekdays from September 11 to October 13, 1950. Sam Singer also made a newspaper called Paddy Pelican Junior Journal. The cartoon episodes we have today were copyrighted in 1954. But the copyright was not renewed. This means the series is now free for anyone to use. It is in the public domain.
Contents
Why the Show Was Unique
This show is known for a few special things. The animation was not fully finished. It looked like rough drawings. Some parts of the animation were used over and over. The voiceovers were done by the creator, Sam Singer. They sounded like he was making them up as he went. The music was muffled and did not match the pictures well. It was played on an organ. All these things show that the show was made with a very small budget.
Sound and Voices
The only music in the show was a few organ chords. For the title screen, a man made noises. These noises were supposed to sound like a pelican squawking. Most characters were voiced by Sam Singer. But one character had a voice from an actress who was not named.
About the Creator
Sam Singer worked for Disney and other Hollywood animation studios. He also made other early animated shows. He even produced a local children's TV show. This show was based on "Uncle Mistletoe," a character from Marshall Field's store.
Finding the Episodes Today
In October 2016, all the short episodes were put on YouTube. They were copied from the original film reels. Then they were uploaded online for everyone to see.
Episode Guide
Here is a list of the short episodes from the show:
| # | Title | Original air date | Length | |
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| 1 | "Piggy Bank Robbery" | September 11, 1950 | 5:03 | |
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Paddy sees Kenny Crow doing strange things with his money. Kenny hides his savings in a piggy bank. It is in a secret part of his house. But Freddie Fox, who is bad, finds the hiding spot. He plans to steal the money. He also wants to make it look like Paddy did it. Freddie leaves muddy footprints shaped like a pelican. Kenny blames Paddy for the theft. So Paddy must find the real thief. He needs to do this before he gets into trouble.
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| 2 | "Two Wet Bears" | September 18, 1950 | 5:15 | |
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Amos and Buster, two bears, are swimming in the ocean. They find a boat that no one is using. A thunderstorm comes and crashes the boat on an island. The boat's owner, Beachcomber Bill, threatens to eat the bears. He is angry they wrecked his boat. Paddy comes by and helps the bears. He gets them off the island and out of danger.
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| 3 | "The Land of More" | September 25, 1950 | 5:17 | |
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A boy wants a bigger balloon. A playful elf makes it so big that it flies him far away. He goes to "The Land of More." But things there do not turn out as he hoped.
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| 4 | "Pirate Pete" | October 2, 1950 | 6:01 | |
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Joco and Mary help the Native Americans get their gold back. It was stolen by Pirate Pete.
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| 5 | "Swania Foiled Again" | October 9, 1950 | 5:26 | |
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Fifty bushels of corn disappear. This happens on the day they were to pay the country Swania. Paddy acts like a detective to find who took it. He needs to find the culprit so they do not lose their land.
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| 6 | "Plum Valley" | October 13, 1950 | 5:39 | |
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Paddy and a pie maker go to Plum Valley. There is a shortage of plums there. But then they have trouble leaving the village. Paddy figures out a way to help them escape.
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Other Items from the Show
Sam Singer also had a coloring book published. It was called The Paddy Pelican Story and Coloring Mak-A-Book. The Michigan State University Library has a copy of this rare coloring book. It is also in the public domain, just like the show.
