The Adventures of Paddy the Pelican
Encyclopedia
The Adventures of Paddy the Pelican is an animated
television series that debuted in children's local stations in Chicago
in 1950s. It consist of six episodes airing in 1954 It is exceedingly rare, but has gained some fame for appearing on Jerry Beck's "Worst Cartoons Ever." On the DVD, he states that he has not found any evidence that it was aired on TV, although there is evidence that it began in 1950 as a local TV puppet
show on Chicago's WENR-TV
. Paddy's adventures were presented in comic strip
drawings done by Sam Singer
. The show was scheduled to appear on the ABC
network in the fall of 1951; Singer had also started producing a newspaper, Paddy Pelican Junior Journal.
The show is notable and is infamous for its shoddy pencil-sketch artwork, reused animation, rambling voiceover
s, muffled soundtrack, and general low-budget problems.
Singer, who worked for Disney and other Hollywood animation studios, also produced a television Uncle Mistletoe local children's television show, based on the Marshall Field's
character of the same name, as well as other early animated shows.
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
television series that debuted in children's local stations in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in 1950s. It consist of six episodes airing in 1954 It is exceedingly rare, but has gained some fame for appearing on Jerry Beck's "Worst Cartoons Ever." On the DVD, he states that he has not found any evidence that it was aired on TV, although there is evidence that it began in 1950 as a local TV puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
show on Chicago's WENR-TV
WLS-TV
WLS-TV, virtual channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The station operates their full power digital operations on UHF channel 44, with their digital fill-in translator on VHF channel...
. Paddy's adventures were presented in comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
drawings done by Sam Singer
Sam Singer
Sam Singer was an American animation producer. He is best known as executive producer of The Adventures of Pow Wow, which appeared as a segment of Captain Kangaroo. He also produced Bucky and Pepito, cited as the "worst cartoon ever made"-TV series:*Sinbad Jr...
. The show was scheduled to appear on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
network in the fall of 1951; Singer had also started producing a newspaper, Paddy Pelican Junior Journal.
The show is notable and is infamous for its shoddy pencil-sketch artwork, reused animation, rambling voiceover
VoiceOver
VoiceOver is a screen reader built into Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X, iOS and iPod operating systems. By using VoiceOver, the user can access their Macintosh or iOS device based on spoken descriptions and, in the case of the Mac, the keyboard. The feature is designed to increase accessibility for blind...
s, muffled soundtrack, and general low-budget problems.
Singer, who worked for Disney and other Hollywood animation studios, also produced a television Uncle Mistletoe local children's television show, based on the Marshall Field's
Marshall Field's
Marshall Field & Company was a department store in Chicago, Illinois that grew to become a major chain before being acquired by Macy's Inc...
character of the same name, as well as other early animated shows.
Episodes
name of three of six episodes:- Piggy Bank Robbery- Paddy is observing Kenny Crow's odd banking habits. Kenny hides his savings in a piggy bank that is stashed in a secret panel of his house. But nasty Freddie Fox discovers the hiding place and conspires to steal the money while framing Paddy for the crime. Freddie plants pelican-shaped muddy footprints across Kenny’s floor – and Kenny reacts to the theft by throwing a brick at Paddy.http://filmsnobbery.com/retro-cinema/retro-cinema-the-adventures-of-paddy-the-pelican-2/
- Two Wet Bears- Amos and Buster are swimming in the ocean when they discover an abandoned boat. A thunderstorm comes and wrecks the boat on the island, where the boat's owner, Beachcomber Bill, threatens to eat the two bears for wrecking his boat. A passing Paddy assists the two bears in getting off the island and out of danger.
- The Land of More