The Get Along Gang facts for kids

The Get Along Gang are a group of friendly animal characters created in 1983. They were first seen on American Greetings cards. This fun group of 12 (later 14) pre-teen animal friends live in a town called Green Meadow. They have a secret club that meets in an old caboose (the last car of a train).

Their stories are all about teamwork and friendship. They teach important lessons about getting along. Because the greeting cards were so popular, a TV show was made! It aired on CBS from 1984 to 1985.

Meet the Get Along Gang Characters

The idea for The Get Along Gang was inspired by the old Our Gang movies. Each character in the gang has a special personality trait they learn to improve with their friends' help. The first six members were the main ones, but more friends joined later!

• Montgomery "Good News" Moose – He is the kind and caring leader of the gang. Montgomery is good at many things, like sports and science. Sometimes he can be a bit clumsy, but he always knows what's right. He wears a blue shirt and yellow pants.

• Dotty Dog – She is a cheerful cheerleader and Montgomery's second-in-command. Dotty is always positive and can make everyone feel better. She wears a red and white cheerleader outfit.

• Woolma Lamb – Woolma loves to dance and wants to be a ballerina. She cares a lot about how she looks and often carries a mirror. Sometimes she can be a little selfish, but she's always there for her friends. She wears a yellow dance outfit.

• Zipper Cat – Zipper is very athletic and loves sports. He likes to act tough, but he's a good friend to everyone in the gang. He wears an orange sports jacket and shorts.

• Portia Porcupine – She is the youngest member of the gang. Portia is very curious and has her own unique style. She can get upset easily and sometimes cries when things don't go her way. She wears a white shirt and blue jeans.

• Bingo "Bet-It-All" Beaver – Bingo loves to play pranks and make bets. His mistakes sometimes cause trouble for his friends, but he doesn't mean to be unkind. He wears blue overalls and a red scarf.

Other friends in the gang include:

• Braker Turtle – A smart problem-solver and the fastest runner in Green Meadow!
• Rocco Rabbit – A rabbit who used to be a bully but changed his ways.
• Rudyard Lion – A student from another country who likes Woolma.
• Flora "Forget-Me-Not" Fox – She loves plants and taking pictures.
• Bernice Bear – A sensible girl who likes things neat and tidy.
• Lolly Squirrel – The rich daughter of the candy factory owner.
• Hocus Hare and Pocus Possum – A pair of magicians.

The main bad guys in the show are:

• Catchum Crocodile – The main villain who always tries to take what he wants, often by tricking Bingo. He even tried to steal the gang's clubhouse!
• Leland Lizard – Catchum's silly sidekick. He's not always as dumb as he looks and can be sneaky.

Other characters you might see are Officer Growler (a police bulldog), Mr. Hoofnagel (who owns the ice cream shop), and Miss Deering (the kids' teacher).

The Get Along Gang TV Series

Quick facts for kids The Get Along Gang
Created by	Tony Byrd, Tom Jacobs, Ralph Shaffer, Linda Edwards, Muriel Fahrion, and Mark Spangler for Those Characters from Cleveland
Starring	Sparky Marcus Bettina Bush Sherry Lynn Robbie Lee Georgi Irene Scott Menville Timothy Gibbs Nicky Katt Frank Welker Don Messick Chuck McCann
Country of origin	France Canada (pilot episode)
Original language(s)	English
No. of episodes	13 (26 segments) + pilot
Production
Executive producer(s)	Andy Heyward Jean Chalopin
Running time	22 minutes (2 11-minute segments, excluding the pilot)
Production company(s)	DIC Audiovisuel Nelvana (pilot episode)
Release
Original network	Nickelodeon (Pilot) CBS (TV series)
Original release	May 6 (1984-05-06) – December 8, 1984 (1984-12-08)

Before the main TV show, a special pilot episode was made. It aired on Nickelodeon on May 6, 1984. In this pilot, the gang tried to win a scavenger hunt. Catchum tried to cheat, and the gang had to learn to work together despite their own arguments.

After the pilot, the main TV series was made by a French animation studio called DIC Audiovisuel. There were 13 episodes, and each one had two short stories. The show focused on the six main gang members. Reruns of the show aired on CBS and later on channels like The Family Channel (now Freeform) and Ion Television.

Voices Behind the Characters

Many talented actors gave voices to the characters in The Get Along Gang TV show:

• Bettina Bush as Dottie Dog
• Timothy Gibbs as Catchum Crocodile
• Georgi Irene as Woolma Lamb
• Nick Katt as Leland Lizard
• Robbie Lee as Zipper Cat
• Sherry Lynn as Portia Porcupine
• Sparky Marcus as Montgomery Moose
• Chuck McCann as the Bus Driver and other characters
• Scott Menville as Bingo Beaver
• Don Messick as Officer Growler, Mr. Hoofnagel, Mayor Badger, and Braker Turtle
• Frank Welker as Braker Turtle and many other characters

For the pilot episode, some different actors voiced the characters, including Charles Haid as Montgomery Moose and Dave Thomas as Leland Lizard.

Get Along Gang Merchandise and Comics

Because the TV show was so popular, lots of cool stuff was made! You could find Get Along Gang merchandise like stuffed toys and action figures. There were also many storybooks published by Scholastic Press.

The characters also appeared in comic books. In America, Marvel Comics published a series. In the United Kingdom, Marvel UK had a weekly Get Along Gang comic book that ran for a long time.

Popularity Changes and Revival Attempts

Around 1985, the sales of the toys and greeting cards started to slow down. This showed that the gang's popularity was not as strong as before. By 1987, the greeting cards, toys, and comic books had mostly stopped being made.

Years later, around 2004 and 2005, there were plans to bring The Get Along Gang back! There were ideas for new toys, clothes, and even a new TV show with some new characters. An animated pilot was even started. However, for reasons we don't know, these plans were stopped by 2007.

The Get Along Gang Around the World

Even though the characters were most popular in the United States, the TV show was shown in many other countries. It was translated into different languages.

In Spanish-speaking countries like Colombia and Mexico, the show was called La Pandilla Feliz (which means The Happy Gang). In Brazil, it was known as A Nossa Turma (Our Gang). In France, it was called Les Amichaines.

The show was also quite popular in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. It aired on the ITV network and also had its own merchandise and a weekly comic book. However, by the early 1990s, the gang's popularity faded in the UK too.

Episode Guide

Here are the episodes of The Get Along Gang TV series:

Nelvana Pilot Episode

• The Adventures of the Get Along Gang (May 6, 1984)
  • The gang competes in a scavenger hunt, but Catchum tries to cheat.

DIC Episodes

See also

In Spanish: The Get Along Gang para niños