Moby Dick and the Mighty Mightor
Encyclopedia
Moby Dick and Mighty Mightor is a science fiction
animated series created by Alex Toth
for Hanna-Barbera Productions
, which ran on CBS
from 1967
to 1969
. Despite Moby's name coming first, he had only one short per half-hour episode, sandwiched between two with Mightor; the same structure was used the previous season for H-B's Frankenstein, Jr. and The Impossibles.
named Tor, along with his winged pet dinosaur
Tog, rescue an old man who, as a reward, gives Tor a magical club. When Tor raises his club to the sky, he transforms into the masked and muscular Mightor, a prehistoric superhero
very much in the Space Ghost
mold who possesses superhuman strength and the power of flight through his club, which can also fire energy blasts. When Hanna Barbera was producing an animated series based on the Marvel Comics
super-group the Fantastic Four
they were also slated to produce a series based on the Marvel superhero the Mighty Thor (Marvel Comics)
as well. However, Marvel had recently made a deal with Grantray-Lawrence Animation
to produce several animated series based on some of their other characters called The Marvel Super Heroes. And at the last minute Marvel pulled Thor from Hanna-Barbera slate as part of this new deal. Not wanting to abandon the Thor concept entirely, Hanna-Barbera retooled the designs made for Thor and come up with a show which became "The Mighty Mightor". There are noticeable similarities between the characters. The names have a ring of similarity, "The Mighty Thor" and "Mighty Mightor". Thor carries a hammer-weapon that fires blasts and enables him to fly. Mightor carries a club-weapon that fires blasts and enables him to fly as well. Thor wears a cape and a winged-helmet. Mightor wears a cape and a horned-helmet. And lastly, both can transform into secret mortal identities initiated by the power of their mighty weapons. In addition, there are similarities between some of the supporting characters as well. Most notably Thor's father Odin and Chief Pondo of Mightor's village.
Mightor protects his village from evil-doers. Amongst the villagers are the chief, Pondo, and his daughter, the beautiful redhaired Sheera. Sheera has a younger brother named Little Rok, who loves pretending to be Mightor. The characters have several pets, including Little Rok's dodo bird Ork and Sheera's mammoth
calf Bollo.
Tor is voiced by Bobby Diamond
, while Mightor is or was voiced by Paul Stewart
. Pondo, Tog, Ork and Bollo are voiced by John Stephenson
. Sheera is voiced by Patsy Garrett
. Little Rok is voiced by Norma McMillan.
Moby Dick after a shipwreck. Together with their pet seal
, Scooby, they face the dangers of the undersea world. Tom is voiced by Bobby Resnick, Tub is voiced by Barry Balkin, and Moby and Scooby are voiced by Don Messick
.
with a time-traveling
Space Ghost during the final six episodes of the latter's original series.
Moby Dick and the Mighty Mightor and his friends appear in the Hanna-Barbera Super TV Heroes comic book
, issues #1 – 7 (April 1968 – Oct. 1969).
Characters from Moby Dick later appear in Sealab 2021
, Tubs as child actor star "Chubby Cox", and Scooby the Seal as "Stinky Pete", whose appearances culminate in his eyes becoming near-demonic, uttering his catchphrase "I'm cha-cha-cha-cha-delicious."
Mighty Mightor makes some appearances in the Adult Swim
show Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
, as Judge Hiram Mightor and voiced by Gary Cole
. Moby Dick appears in the episode "SPF" voiced by Wally Wingert
.
released Moby Dick and the Mighty Mightor: The Complete Series on DVD in region 1 via their Warner Archive Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and only in the US.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
animated series created by Alex Toth
Alex Toth
Alexander Toth was an American professional cartoonist active from the 1940s through the 1980s. Toth's work began in the American comic book industry, but is known for his animation designs for Hanna-Barbera throughout the 1960s and 1970s. His work included Super Friends, Space Ghost, The...
for Hanna-Barbera Productions
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
, which ran on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
from 1967
1967 in television
The year 1967 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1967.For the American TV schedule, see: 1967-68 American network television schedule.-Events:...
to 1969
1969 in television
The year 1969 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events in 1969.For the American TV schedule, see: 1969-70 American network television schedule.-Events:...
. Despite Moby's name coming first, he had only one short per half-hour episode, sandwiched between two with Mightor; the same structure was used the previous season for H-B's Frankenstein, Jr. and The Impossibles.
Mightor
One day, while on a hunting trip, a teenage cavemanCaveman
A caveman or troglodyte is a stock character based upon widespread concepts of the way in which early prehistoric humans may have looked and behaved...
named Tor, along with his winged pet dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
Tog, rescue an old man who, as a reward, gives Tor a magical club. When Tor raises his club to the sky, he transforms into the masked and muscular Mightor, a prehistoric superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
very much in the Space Ghost
Space Ghost
Space Ghost is a fictional superhero created by Hanna-Barbera Productions and designed by Alex Toth for CBS in the 1960s. In his original incarnation, he was a superhero who, with his sidekick teen helpers Jan, Jace, and Blip the monkey, fought supervillains in outer space...
mold who possesses superhuman strength and the power of flight through his club, which can also fire energy blasts. When Hanna Barbera was producing an animated series based on the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
super-group the Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
they were also slated to produce a series based on the Marvel superhero the Mighty Thor (Marvel Comics)
Thor (Marvel Comics)
Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....
as well. However, Marvel had recently made a deal with Grantray-Lawrence Animation
Grantray-Lawrence Animation
Grantray-Lawrence Animation was an animated cartoon studio active from 1954 to 1967 and founded by Grant Simmons, Ray Patterson , and Robert Lawrence....
to produce several animated series based on some of their other characters called The Marvel Super Heroes. And at the last minute Marvel pulled Thor from Hanna-Barbera slate as part of this new deal. Not wanting to abandon the Thor concept entirely, Hanna-Barbera retooled the designs made for Thor and come up with a show which became "The Mighty Mightor". There are noticeable similarities between the characters. The names have a ring of similarity, "The Mighty Thor" and "Mighty Mightor". Thor carries a hammer-weapon that fires blasts and enables him to fly. Mightor carries a club-weapon that fires blasts and enables him to fly as well. Thor wears a cape and a winged-helmet. Mightor wears a cape and a horned-helmet. And lastly, both can transform into secret mortal identities initiated by the power of their mighty weapons. In addition, there are similarities between some of the supporting characters as well. Most notably Thor's father Odin and Chief Pondo of Mightor's village.
Mightor protects his village from evil-doers. Amongst the villagers are the chief, Pondo, and his daughter, the beautiful redhaired Sheera. Sheera has a younger brother named Little Rok, who loves pretending to be Mightor. The characters have several pets, including Little Rok's dodo bird Ork and Sheera's mammoth
Mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of Elephantidae, the family of elephants and mammoths, and close relatives of modern elephants. They were often equipped with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair...
calf Bollo.
Tor is voiced by Bobby Diamond
Bobby Diamond
Bobby Diamond, also known as Robert Leroy Diamond , is a California civil and criminal law attorney who was a child star and young-adult actor, mostly in the 1950s and 1960s...
, while Mightor is or was voiced by Paul Stewart
Paul Stewart (actor)
Paul Stewart was an American character actor known for his tough, guttural voice. He frequently portrayed villains and mobsters throughout his lengthy career....
. Pondo, Tog, Ork and Bollo are voiced by John Stephenson
John Stephenson (actor)
John Stephenson is an American actor and voice actor. He has also been credited as John Stevenson...
. Sheera is voiced by Patsy Garrett
Patsy Garrett
Virginia "Patsy" Garrett is an actress best known for her recurring roles asnosy neighbor Mrs. Florence Fowler on TV's Nanny and the Professor , school secretary Miss Hogarth on Room 222 and as Mary Gruber in the Benji series of motion pictures beginning in 1974.-Career:Active on stage, screen...
. Little Rok is voiced by Norma McMillan.
Moby-Dick
Teenage boys Tom and Tub are rescued by the great white whaleWhale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
Moby Dick after a shipwreck. Together with their pet seal
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
, Scooby, they face the dangers of the undersea world. Tom is voiced by Bobby Resnick, Tub is voiced by Barry Balkin, and Moby and Scooby are voiced by Don Messick
Don Messick
Donald Earl "Don" Messick was an American voice actor best known for his work for Hanna-Barbera. Perhaps his most well-known voice creations include Scooby-Doo, Papa Smurf, and Dr. Benton Quest....
.
Other appearances
Along with other Hanna-Barbera heroes, Mightor and Moby Dick appear in a crossoverFictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
with a time-traveling
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
Space Ghost during the final six episodes of the latter's original series.
Moby Dick and the Mighty Mightor and his friends appear in the Hanna-Barbera Super TV Heroes comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
, issues #1 – 7 (April 1968 – Oct. 1969).
Characters from Moby Dick later appear in Sealab 2021
Sealab 2021
Sealab 2021 is an American animated television series. It was shown on Cartoon Network's adult-oriented programming block, Adult Swim. It premiered on November 23, 2000 and the final episode aired on April 25, 2005...
, Tubs as child actor star "Chubby Cox", and Scooby the Seal as "Stinky Pete", whose appearances culminate in his eyes becoming near-demonic, uttering his catchphrase "I'm cha-cha-cha-cha-delicious."
Mighty Mightor makes some appearances in the Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
show Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law is an American animated television series comedy created by Williams Street and produced by Cartoon Network Studios that aired on Cartoon Network during its Adult Swim late night programming block. The series' pilot first aired in 2000, and later became a series in...
, as Judge Hiram Mightor and voiced by Gary Cole
Gary Cole
Gary Michael Cole is an American actor. Cole is known for his supporting roles in numerous film and television productions since the 1990s.-Early life:...
. Moby Dick appears in the episode "SPF" voiced by Wally Wingert
Wally Wingert
Wallace E. "Wally" Wingert is an American actor and voice artist. He is originally from Des Moines, Iowa but he currently works and lives in Los Angeles, California. He is the current announcer for the second incarnation of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and the current voice of Jon Arbuckle in...
.
DVD release
On July 19, 2011, Warner Bros.Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
released Moby Dick and the Mighty Mightor: The Complete Series on DVD in region 1 via their Warner Archive Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and only in the US.
Production credits
- Produced and Directed by Joseph BarberaJoseph BarberaJoseph Roland Barbera was an influential American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of fans worldwide for much of the twentieth century....
, William HannaWilliam HannaWilliam Denby Hanna was an American animator, director, producer, and cartoon artist, whose film and television cartoon characters entertained millions of people for much of the 20th century. When he was a young child, Hanna's family moved frequently, but they settled in Compton, California, by... - Animation Director: Charles A. Nichols
- Musical Director: Ted Nichols
- Production Supervisor: Howard Hanson
- Assistant Production Supervisor: Victor O. Schipek
- Character Design: Alex TothAlex TothAlexander Toth was an American professional cartoonist active from the 1940s through the 1980s. Toth's work began in the American comic book industry, but is known for his animation designs for Hanna-Barbera throughout the 1960s and 1970s. His work included Super Friends, Space Ghost, The...
- Layout: Jerry Eisenberg, Steve Nanagawa, Phil Lewis, Iwao Takamoto, Willie Ito, Lou Apner
- Backgrounds: Robert Gentle, Roland Oliva, Ron Dias
- Camera: Clarence Wogatzke, Roger Sims, Chuck Flekal, George Epperson
- Associate Producer: Art Scott
- Story by David Scott and Ed Brandt
- Voices: Barry Balkin, Bobby Resnick, Don Messick, John StephensonJohn StephensonJohn Stephenson may refer to:*John Stephenson , American voice actor*John Stephenson , American baseball catcher*John Stephenson , 19th century Irish-American coachbuilder who created the street railway...
, Paul StewartPaul Stewart (actor)Paul Stewart was an American character actor known for his tough, guttural voice. He frequently portrayed villains and mobsters throughout his lengthy career....
, Bob Diamond, Patsy Garrett - Animation: George Goepper, George Rowley, Don Patterson, Irv Spence, Sam Jaimes, George Kreisl, Jerry Hathcock, Ed Barge, Dick Lundy, Ken Muse, Dennis Sill, Ron Campbell
- Technical Supervisor: Frank Pakier
- Supervising Film Editor: Warner Leighton
- Film Editing: Donald Douglass, Pat Foley, Gregory W. Watson Jr.
- Sound Direction: Richard Olson, Bill Getty
Moby Dick and the Mighty Mightor in other languages
- Brazilian PortugueseBrazilian PortugueseBrazilian Portuguese is a group of Portuguese dialects written and spoken by most of the 190 million inhabitants of Brazil and by a few million Brazilian emigrants, mainly in the United States, United Kingdom, Portugal, Canada, Japan and Paraguay....
: Moby Dick & O Poderoso Mightor - SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
: Moby Dick y Mighty Mightor - RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
: Моби Дик и Могучий Майтор