The Funny Company facts for kids

The Funny Company was a cool American animated cartoon show that first aired in 1963. It was shown on many different TV stations across the country. Ken Snyder and Charles Koren created 260 short episodes, each about six minutes long. The company Mattel helped pay for the show. Ken Snyder came up with the idea because a government official named Newton N. Minow wanted more educational TV shows for kids.

Meet The Funny Company

The Funny Company was like a special club where friends worked together. Most of the time, the stories were about the club members taking on different jobs to earn a little money. They might do things like yard work, cleaning houses, or even babysitting. Sometimes, they would do things for charity, like putting on shows to help others. Later, the group decided to help their shy friend, Shrinkin' Violette, become a movie star, and they headed to Hollywood!

The Club Members

The club had a fun group of characters:

• Buzzer Bell: He was the leader and almost always wore his Funny Company cap.
• Jasper N. Parks: He was the club's inventor, always coming up with new gadgets.
• Polly Plum: She was the club's secretary, keeping everything organized.
• Merry Twitter: She was the club treasurer, in charge of money. She was a bit round and giggled a lot.
• Terry Dactyl: This was the club's mascot, a real pterodactyl! He had been frozen for many years since prehistoric times.
• Shrinkin' Violette: She was very shy. If she got embarrassed, she could actually shrink down to a tiny size!
• Super Chief: One of the adult helpers, he was a Native American character. His voice sounded like a train horn!
• Broken Feather: He was Super Chief's translator, helping everyone understand him.
• Professor Todd Goodheart: Another helpful adult, he had a super smart computer called the Weisenheimer.

The Villains

Of course, every good club needs some villains trying to stop them!

• Belly Laguna: He was the main "Villainous Meanie" of the show. He always tried to mess up the Funny Company's plans to make money for himself, but he never succeeded!
• Professor Ludwig Von Upp: This was another bad guy, a mad scientist with a German accent.
• Hans Von Henchman: He was Professor Von Upp's assistant.

Educational Shorts

Each episode of The Funny Company included a special two-minute live-action film. These short films were educational and taught viewers more about the topic being discussed in the cartoon. The show started in black and white, but after one season, it switched to full color!

Where it Aired

The Funny Company was shown on many local TV stations all over the United States. It often appeared as part of other children's TV shows. For example, it first aired on KOMU-TV in Jefferson City, Missouri, on September 21, 1963. Three days later, it was also shown on WOR-TV in New York City.

For a while, The Funny Company was broadcast on the TBN's Smile (formerly Smile of a Child) TV channel. It was shown early on Monday mornings and late on Friday nights until June 2016. The show was also very popular in Chicago, appearing on shows like WGN-TV's Garfield Goose And Friends and on WPWR-TV in the 1980s. The series was even sold internationally and ran for several years in Ireland.

Voice Actors

Many talented people gave voices to the characters in The Funny Company:

• Dick Beals voiced Buzzer Bell and Jasper N. Parks.
• Robie Lester voiced Polly Plum.
• Nancy Wible voiced Merry Twitter and Shrinkin' Violette.
• Ken Snyder (who also produced the show) voiced Terry Dactyl and other characters.
• Tom Thomas voiced Broken Feather and other characters.
• Hal Smith voiced Dr. Todd Goodheart, Dr. Ludwig Von Upp, Belly Laguna, Weisenheimer, Hans Von Henchman, and other characters.