Groovie Goolies (US animated television show)

Groovie Goolies is an American animated television show that had its original run Saturday mornings on CBS between 1970 and 1972. It was rebroadcast the following season on Sunday mornings. Set at a decrepit castle, the show focused on its monstrous but good-natured and mostly friendly inhabitants. Created by Filmation, Groovie Goolies was an original creation of the studio; its characters would cross over with Filmation's Archie Comics adaptations including Sabrina the Teenage Witch and The Archie Show, as well as with the Looney Tunes cast. The Goolies were a group of hip monsters residing at Horrible Hall (a haunted boarding house for monsters) on Horrible Drive. Many of the characters referred to each other as cousins. Most of the Goolies were (in look and sound) pop-culture echoes of the classic horror-film monsters created in the 1930s and 1940s, mostly by Universal Pictures. Shows consisted of fast-cut sequences of pun-filled jokes and short skits, and each episode included two pop songs, one performed by The Monster Trio (Drac, Frankie and Wolfie) and a closing number crooned by one of a rotating roster of guest bands. Drac (voiced by Larry Storch) – the short-tempered vampire who is the head of Horrible Hall. He plays the pipe organ in the Groovie Goolies that has arms where the music sheets would go. At the beginning of each episode where the viewer is welcomed to Horrible Hall, Drac in his bat form would try to fly into the window, only to crash into the wall when the window moves. Upon crash-landing, Drac would say "This place is driving me batty". Frankie (voiced by Howard Morris) – an easygoing Frankenstein's monster who headed the Muscle-leum Gymnasium. He plays the bone xylophone/drums in the Groovie Goolies. Often would be zapped by lightning, revealing his inner mechanical workings, and then remarking "I needed that!!" Frankie also had a dual identity as the inept superhero "Super Ghoul" (as seen in the song of the same name). Rover – Frankie's pet sauropod-type dinosaur. Wolfie (voiced by Howard Morris) – a hippie werewolf that speaks in a combination of beatnik, surfer, and hippie slang. Wolfie plays a lyre-like stringed instrument in the Groovie Goolies and is always seen wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and beach sandals. Wolfie is always out for a good time like running wild, surfing, or driving his Wolf Wagon. He especially gets on Drac's nerves. Fido – Wolfie's pet piranha that eats anything and can fly when necessary. Hagatha (voiced by Larry Storch in episodes 1-13, Howard Morris in episodes 14-16) – a plump witch who served as the resident chef. She also has a living broom named Broomhilda and is the aunt of Hauntleroy. Bella La Ghostly (voiced by Jane Webb) – a female vampire who works as Horrible Hall's switchboard operator. Sabrina Spellman (voiced by Jane Webb) - a witch who is a cousin of the Groovie Goolies. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (voiced by Howard Morris) – the two-headed resident doctor who often fought as to which one of them was Jekyll and/or Hyde. The right head is a normal "human" doctor while the left head is a green-skinned "monster" doctor. As a result, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde have their own second opinion. Mummy (voiced by Howard Morris) – a bandaged mummy who dabbles in first aid. Mummy serves as the newsman for "The Mummy's Wrap-Up" newscasts. He would often become unraveled. Boneapart (voiced by Larry D. Mann) – a skittish skeleton in a Napoleon hat who had a tendency to fall apart. Ghoulihand (voiced by Larry Storch) – a giant, talking, disembodied glove. Ratso and Batso (voiced by Larry Storch in episodes 1-12, Dallas McKennon in episodes 13-16) – two fanged imp-like brats with a penchant for coming up with plans for swiping treats, as well as playing mean practical jokes that often backfired on them. Hauntleroy (voiced by Howard Morris) – a rotund, conniving, selfish and two-faced kid in a sailor suit who was often the primary foil for Ratso's and Batso's tricks. He is the nephew of Hagatha. Icky and Goo (voiced by Larry Storch and Dallas McKennon) – two gargoyle-like creatures that seem to be the main pets of Horrible Hall. Icky is a blue gargoyle-like creature while Goo is a red gargoyle-like creature. Tiny Tomb – a diminutive, long-haired mummy with a high-pitched voice. He is the nephew of Mummy and the lead singer of the Mummies and the Puppies. Missy – an enigmatic mummified spook whose long, pink hair hides her face and body except for one large, blue eye. She is Tiny's wife and a member of the Mummies and the Puppies. Mama Casket – a plump green mummy who is a member of The Mummies and the Puppies. Orville (vocal effects provided by Howard Morris) – a large thing-eating plant. The Spookoo Clock - a cuckoo clock that has a vulture coming out of it. The Ask-It Casket - a talking casket that answers any questions given to it. The Lovesick Loveseat - a living loveseat that especially has a crush on Drac. The Skelevator - an elevator shaped like a large human skull. Every episode features two musical segments. The first one is by the Groovie Goolies with Drac on the pipe organ, Wolfie playing a lyre-like stringed instrument, and Frankie on a drum set with a xylophone made of bones. The second musical segment is by one of the other resident bands, including: The Bare Bones Band – a band consisting of three living skeletons. The Mummies and the Puppies – a folk/pop group led by Tiny Tomb on guitar, with his wife Missy on tambourine, Mama Casket on drums and four puppies (two sharing a guitar, one on tambourine and one on piano). The Rolling Headstones – a band consisting of three living tombstones. Their names are Hudson Rock, Captain Marble and General Granite. The Spirits of '76 – a band consisting of three ghosts who all wear tri-cornered hats. Thanks to television airings, the Universal Classic Monsters were having a resurgence of popularity in the 1960s and Filmation producer Lou Scheimer, who had grown up with the films, wanted to create a humorous animated adaptation. In 1968, Scheimer hired Laugh-In writers Jack Mendelsohn and Jim Mulligan to begin developing a show called Monster Inn, which would riff on the characters that Universal had popularized. Although some of their initial ideas fell by the wayside, the groundwork for Groovie Goolies was quickly laid, including having the monsters living together in a castle and the lead trio performing pop songs. Mendelsohn also had been raised with the Universal films, and claimed to have done most of the work on the show, while Mulligan "took the money and ran". In 1969, Fred Silverman, the Head of Children's Programming at CBS asked for a companion to Filmation's popular The Archie Show, so the company began developing a series for fellow Archie Comics character Sabrina the Teenage Witch, who had already appeared as a supporting character on the show. Silverman was also looking to exploit the overwhelming success of the network's new cartoon Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, so he optioned Scheimer's monster show, which went through a succession of titles before they settled on Groovie Goolies. Since both shows featured witches, the decision was made to package them together in an hour-long block. Interestingly, monsters had been common to the Archie's Mad House comics, Sabrina's actual origins. Sabrina and the Groovie Goolies premiered in 1970, featuring two 15-minute segments of Sabrina, and a 30-minute block of Groovie Goolies, with the characters crossing over into both shows. During the inaugural season, it was the highest-rated children's program, receiving a 54% audience share. This incarnation featured a variation of the Goolie Get-Together theme song which announced, "It's time for the Goolies and Sabrina!" In 1971, CBS split the two shows apart and paired reruns of Groovie Goolies with Tom and Jerry on Sunday mornings in an hour-long animation block, beginning on September 12. It was at this point that the more common Goolie Get-Together