The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show
Photo of Bill Hanna (right) and Joseph Barbera (left) from a television special for the premiere of their new Secret Squirrel and Atom Ant television program.
Genre	Comedy Adventure
Written by	Tony Benedict Dalton Sandifer
Directed by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Voices of	Don Messick Howard Morris Janet Waldo Henry Corden Jean Vander Pyl Paul Frees Mel Blanc John Stephenson
Composer(s)	William Hanna Joseph Barbera Ted Nichols
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	52
Production
Executive producer(s)	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	Hanna-Barbera Productions
Distributor	Screen Gems
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	September 9, 1965 (1965-09-09) – September 7, 1967 (1967-09-07)

The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show is an hour-long Saturday morning cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions from 1965 to 1967 for NBC.

In fall 1965, the show aired as two independent half-hour programs. The Atom Ant Show featured the tiny superhero Atom Ant, with additional segments Precious Pupp and The Hillbilly Bears. The Secret Squirrel Show featured the master spy Secret Squirrel, backed up with Squiddly Diddly and Winsome Witch. In the winter, the shows combine into an hour-long format, The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show. For the series' final NBC run under the Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel title, the show was one half-hour long.

Segments

The program contained six segments:

• Atom Ant: A cartoon about a superheroic ant (voiced by Howard Morris). When he flew, he used his catchphrase "Up and at'em, Atom Ant!"
• Secret Squirrel: The adventures of a secret agent squirrel (voiced by Mel Blanc) and his trusty assistant Morocco Mole (voiced by Paul Frees).
• Squiddly Diddly: A cartoon about a friendly anthropomorphic squid (voiced by Paul Frees) in his quest for stardom while trying to avoid being foiled by Chief Winchley (voiced by John Stephenson).
• Precious Pupp: A cartoon about a dog (voiced by Don Messick) and his elderly lady mistress Granny Sweet (voiced by Janet Waldo). He is characterized by a sneaky, wheezy laugh, making him a possible precursor to Muttley from 1968's Wacky Races and one of its two spin-offs, 1969's Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines.
• The Hillbilly Bears: A situation comedy (inspired by The Beverly Hillbillies) about the Rugg family of hillbilly bears consisting of Paw Rugg (voiced by Henry Corden), Maw Rugg (voiced by Jean Vander Pyl), Floral Rugg (also voiced by Jean Vander Pyl), and Shag Rugg (voiced by Don Messick).
• Winsome Witch: A cartoon about a friendly, yet somewhat inept, witch named Winsome W. Witch (the "W" stood for Wacky) (voiced by Jean Vander Pyl). Winnie's catchphrase when casting a spell was "Ippity - Pippity - Pow!".