Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Saturtainment: The Wuzzles (1985)

In H. G. Wells' Island of Dr. Moreau, the titular scientist attempted to create a fusion of man & beast. Disney decided to go in a different direction.

The Wuzzles was a noble experiment in creating a new set of characters that were the fusions of two different animal species. For example, a hippo crossed with a bunny rabbit becomes a Hoppopotamus (Jo Anne Worley, ex-Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In). Unfortunately, the series lasted just 1 season on CBS. Disney then sold the series to ABC for a year of reruns the next year, and then, after a run on Disney Channel and Toon Disney (now DisneyXD), the series has fallen into the vaults, with the 30th anniversary next year.

Other voices include another Laugh-In alum, Henry Gibson, along with Alan Oppenheimer and Bill Scott. Scott, better known for his work with Jay Ward, signed on with Disney for this series and Adventures of the Gummi Bears, which bowed the same year on NBC, for his only known Disney work.

Right now, let's take a look at a Wuzzle-style parody of a certain hit movie. Here's "Ghostrustlers":




Oh, this was promising, but CBS aired this directly opposite Gummi Bears, and that proved to be a mistake.

Rating: B.

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