Pink Pearl Of Persia, No. 1, April 21, 1966. Produced And Directed by
Hal Seeger. Animation:
Bill Ackerman. Scenics: Bob Owen. Voices: Len Maxwell, Frank Buxton. Story: Heywood Kling.
The priceless Pink Pearl Of Persia is stolen from a museum. Can Batfink
and Karate make it across the opening drawbridge? They fall downward but
Batfink saves them. The Pearl is gone, all right, so Batfink sends out his
radar. The radar tells Batfink who did it, but he’s not telling. This
causes Batfink to be branded a traitor. The jewel thieves, three of them,
call Batfink, wanting to cut him in on the action. At the motel, Batfink
takes the pearl and is shot at. Karate knocks the door down and Batfink
with it. The thieves have the pearl again, but Batfink pulls the rug
out from under them. A car chase follows, ending in the Batillac crashing
into a wall. Batfink is pinned to the wall, but the radar catches the
thieves off guard allowing the Bat time to manhandle them into submission.
All is well again until the Chief receives a call: someone has stolen the
Sacred Siamese Star Sapphire Of Sicily.
Some of the elements of Batfink as we know it were introduced in this
first of two pilot films made by Hal Seeger in early 1966. All of Batfink’s
crimefighting tools are in evidence, as are the close call escapes (this
episode’s comes relatively early in the cartoon) and the use of the
off-camera narrator to describe the action. Many of the musical cues heard
throughout the series are heard here for the first time, but some from
this cartoon, which come from the "Hunter" library, were never heard again
in the series. This film also runs slightly longer than the average
Batfink cartoon, timing out at about six minutes.
Karate does not appear in the opening titles of the first three Batfink
cartoons. (N.B. The main titles of all three were changed for DVD release to
conform to all the others.)
The Short Circuit Case, No. 2, April 21, 1966. Produced And
Directed by Hal Seeger. Animation: Myron Waldman.
Scenics: Bob Owen. Voices: Len Maxwell, Frank Buxton. Story:
Heywood Kling.
Electrical disturbances cause havoc in the city. Mad scientist
Hugo A Go Go (his first appearance in the series) is behind it. When
Hugo picks up Batfink's radar on his monitor he sends out his own radar
ruiner which inadvertently leads to Hugo's hideout. Hugo boobytraps the
welcome mat and entraps Batfink in a steam cabinet that will melt his wings.
Batfink sends out his radar to free himself. Batfink's next trap is
a magnet that picks him up by his wings. He's joined by Karate, who has
donned brass knuckles. By touching toes, they defeat the magnetic
field. Hugo escapes in his Mobile City Destroyer (patent pending).
He knocks down some high tension power lines which electrocute the Batillac, but Batfink and Karate escape that minor problem. Hugo
blows up the bridge but our heroes remain undaunted. Hugo runs out
of gas and tries to bomb Batfink and Karate, but Batfink's wings
protect them. For their efforts Batfink gets the key to the city -
but Karate chops the key in half to claim his share of the credit.
The second of the two Batfink pilot films (running about 6-1/2 minutes), and the first of
two dozen in the series animated by New York animation veteran
Myron Waldman, whose animation yielded many stock moments used in other
cartoons, including Hugo pushing buttons on a console and raising a periscope in
his lab..
Ebenezer The Freezer, No. 3, January 20, 1967. Produced And
Directed by Hal Seeger. Animation: Myron Waldman. Scenics: Bob Owen. Voices: Len Maxwell, Frank Buxton. Story:
Heywood Kling.
An unidentified aircraft does not show up on military radar. This
helicopter has freezing gas aboard, and it encases a colonel in ice.
It's the work of Hugo A Go Go and his friend Ebenezer The Freezer. Their
helicopter hides in a cloud and freezes Batfink's radar. He shoots a
thunder gun at the cloud, which drives their helicopter out. Hugo throws
a glass of iced tea at Batfink, who plummets to earth. In spite of Karate's
efforts to cushion his fall with a haystack, he safely lands:
"My built in retrorocket goes off automatically when my senses do not
enable me to control the velocity of my descent." Batfink finds Ebenezer's
hidden hangar. Hugo shoots Batfink with freezing gas and ties him to
a rocket. The heat of reentry causes the ice to melt and frees Batfink.
Meanwhile, Karate has been frozen as well. Hugo and Ebenezer grab the
tank of freezing gas and collide with Karate - what an icebreaker!
Karate's attempt to grab the landing gear of the escaping helicopter is
futile. Batfink grinds down the chopper's blades with his wings and
Hugo and Ebenezer bail out. On the way down Batfink is shot at, but his
wings deflect the bullets into the parachute. Hugo and Ebenezer are
apprehended and accidentally frozen by Karate. How fitting, since they're
headed for the cooler.
The Sonic Boomer, No. 4, January 20, 1967. Produced And Directed by
Hal Seeger. Production Supervisor: Ray Seti. Animation: Myron Waldman. Scenics:
Bob Owen. Voices: Len Maxwell, Frank Buxton.
The Sonic Boomer flies an airplane, causing sonic booms and breaking
all the glass in the city. Afterwards, he sells glass to all the people
needing to replace their broken glass. Not a bad living. When the
windows in the Batillac are broken, Batfink and Karate go to the Boomer
Glass Works, where the Sonic Boomer himself takes orders for new glass. S.B. tries to fry our herores with jet exhaust, then encases them in
liquid glass. The Sonic Boomer takes off. Karate can’t karate through
the glass, but Batfink uses his wing tips to cut through the glass.
Karate can’t squeeze through the hole that Batfink made. Batfink gets
through the sonic booms, but manages to catch the Boomer in his own jet
exhaust. S.B. is put to work replacing all he glass he broke.
This is the first episode to use the standard Batfink opening
sequence (now also featuring Karate) and credit titles, and is also the first
with closing titles. It’s also the first episode to credit Ray Seti as Production
Supervisor. He’d previously worked for Hal Seeger as an animator on The
Milton The Monster Show. (Unfortunately, Seti’s name has been deleted
when the cartoons were remastered in the 1990's for Nickelodeon and DVD release.) No writer is credited
on this cartoon, which is the first at the standard episode length of just over
four minutes.
Big Ears Ernie, No. 5, January 20, 1967. Produced And
Directed by Hal Seeger. Production Supervisor: Ray Seti. Animation: Bill
Ackerman. Scenics: Bob Owen. Voices: Len Maxwell, Frank Buxton. Story:
Heywood Kling.
Big Ears Ernie's enormous ears enable him to hear nearly-inaudible
clicks of combination locks and approaching police cars. They also hear
Batfink's approaching supersonic sonar radar, which Ernie sprays with
insecticide. Batfink sends out a second
radar using the Batillac muffler as a silencer. B.E.E. hears Batfink
and Karate tiptoing up and leads them to a construction site, where
he pours some ready-mix shoes for our heroes. Ernie sends a 1-ton iron
weight their way, but Batfink deflects it with his wings, causing a loud
noise that drives Ernie into submission. In prison, Ernie breaks rocks
with a pillow-head sledgehammer and earplugs.
This cartoon has the incorrect (later) main title music on the DVD release.
Batfink On The Rocks, No. 6, January 20, 1967. Produced And
Directed by Hal Seeger. Production Supervisor: Ray Seti. Animation: John
Gentilella. Scenics: Bob Owen. Voices: Len Maxwell, Frank Buxton. Story: Dennis
Marks.
Niagara Falls goes dry at the hands of Hugo A Go Go. Batfink’s just
hanging around the cave when the hotline rings. Karate takes the screen
out of the hotline and holds it upside down so the suspended Batfink can
see it. Karate has to fill the Batillac’s radiator, and Hugo’s selling
water, but Hugo gives him sand instead. Batfink and Karate find the secret
underground reservoir, just below what used to be Niagara Falls. But Hugo
captures Batfink and sends him over the falls in a barrel. But there’s no
water, just rocky cliffs. Karate’s bomb blows up the reservoir and causes
a geyser that rescues Batfink.
John Gentilella, also known as Johnny Gent, was a highly regarded New York-based
animator, with credits at both Famous Studios and Terrytoons.
Manhole Manny, No. 7, January 20, 1967. Produced And
Directed by Hal Seeger. Production Supervisor: Ray Seti. Animation: James
Tyer. Scenics: Bob Owen. Voices: Len Maxwell, Frank Buxton. Story:
Heywood Kling.
A
priceless Van Gogh being delivered to a museum is sucked through a manhole by
none other than Manhole Manny. Both crimefighters enter the sewer in search of
Manny, who turns on the water. Batfink locates the drain pipe and drains the
sewer. Batfink's radar leads into a different part of the sewer where there's
blasting above, where Manny can close the door behind them. Karate breaks the
ceiling above, causing Batfink to grab the dynamite before it can go off.
This was the last of the 100 Batfink cartoons to make it to Nickelodeon and
it ranks as one of the worst restoration jobs. A number of stock scenes were
incorrectly replaced and there is an awkward content edit early on. This is also
the first animated by Jim Tyer.
The Mad Movie Maker, No. 8, January 20, 1967. Produced And
Directed by Hal Seeger. Production Supervisor: Ray Seti. Animation: I.
Klein. Scenics: Bob Owen. Voices: Len Maxwell, Frank Buxton. Story:
Dennis Marks.
Scientists
at the Melman Observatory note a
giant meteor is threatening the world, so Batfink tries to knock it out
of commission. When he does, he rips through a giant projection screen with a
film projector right behind it. Meanwhile the Mad Movie Maker, who’s behind
the picture show, is stealing a statue right off its pedestal. Mr. Flick’s
hideout is a movie theatre with his name on the marquee (M.F. Presents MR.
FLICK’S HIDE-OUT). Batfink and Karate go there. They get scared by a lion,
who’s merely another projection. But the cannon Karate encounters is real.
M.M.M. shoots at Batfink with a popcorn blunderbuss. He boxes Batfink in with
the popcorn and threatens to burn him with the hot butter. But Batfink escapes,
drills a leak in the vat, and slips up the Mad Movie Maker’s final scene.
Animated by 66-year-old Izzy Klein, who showed up once a week at Seeger’s
to pick up fresh exposure sheets and drop off hundreds of feet of finished
animation. For much of his career Klein was a storyman, but also added animation
duties in the 1960's at Paramount.
Nuts Of The Round Table, No. 9, January 20, 1967. Produced And
Directed by Hal Seeger. Production Supervisor: Ray Seti. Animation: Myron
Waldman. Scenics: Bob Owen. Voices: Len Maxwell, Frank Buxton.
A
knight on horseback robs banks and a furrier. Batfink finds his radar on the
knight’s jouster. He uses his wings to stop the knight in mid-joust. Upon
closer inspection, the knight turns out to be a robot. There are more robots,
and Batfink and Karate manage to stop one, enter its armor, and ride the horse
back to the leader of the robot crime wave - it’s Hugo A Go Go. Batfink and
Karate both get hit with maces, and Batfink finds himself staring twelve
descending lances coming down from the ceiling. Batfink spins in place, knocking
down the lances which pin Hugo against the wall.
Nickelodeon version has replacement main and credit title (though they could
have lifted the credit title from "Sonic Boomer"). No writer is
credited. Additionally, the incorrect main title music is used on the DVD
release.
Skinny Minnie, No. 10, January 20, 1967. Produced And
Directed by Hal Seeger. Production Supervisor: Ray Seti. Animation: Bill
Ackerman. Scenics: Bob Owen. Voices: Len Maxwell, Frank Buxton. Story:
Heywood Kling.
This
gang is as thin as thieves! Skinny Minnie and her confederates Boney Mahoney,
Diet Wyatt and Scrawny Arnie, are off on the world’s thinnest crime spree.
Boney Mahoney dives into a mailbox and steals packages. Diet Wyatt enters an
armored car through the thin porthole windows and drives off with it. Batfink
tries to locate the gang by hiding his radar in the night deposit box at the
bank. Scrawny Arnie arrives to take some cash out of the deposit box, and that
leads our heroes to the narrow knaves’ hideout. Skinny Minnie hides inside a
rifle, and the others find great hiding places as well. Minnie sends the ceiling down to crush Batfink and Karate, but the floor under them collapses. The bulky Karate falls
on all four thieves. They are sent to jail, but the warden doesn’t have to
unlock the cell - they just walk right in.
Fatman Strikes Again, No. 11, January 20, 1967. Produced And
Directed by Hal Seeger. Production Supervisor: Ray Seti. Animation: Graham
Place. Scenics: Bob Owen. Voices: Len Maxwell, Frank Buxton. Story:
Dennis Marks.
Fatman has been systematically been robbing fat men’s clubs
alphabetically by posing as a fat clerk who steals the men’s jewelry at
each club. So Batfink stakes out the Diogonese Club by inflating his Batfink
suit to appear larger. Batfink winds up on the Super Stretcher in the gym as
Fatman escapes through the gate in his car. Karate finds Batfink stretched
out of shape. But Batfink slipped out of the suit and is about to be on the
wrong end of Fatman’s cannonball. Batfink saves himself by inflating his
spare suit.
Thanks to animator Graham Place, an old friend of Seeger from the Fleischer
Studios, Batfink looks rather cheerful in this
cartoon.
The Kitchy-Koo Kaper, No. 12, January 20, 1967. Produced And
Directed by Hal Seeger. Production Supervisor: Ray Seti. Animation: James
Tyer. Scenics: Bob Owen. Voices: Len Maxwell, Frank Buxton. Story:
Heywood Kling.
Hugo
steals a priceless artifact with the aid of a tickle stick, which renders police
helpless with kitchy-koo laughter. Batfink’s Beep is given the tickle
treatment, but still points him to where Hugo is hiding out. Batfink must endure
the tickle stick, with kitchy koo after kitchy koo. Batfink finally breaks the
spell of the kitchy-koos by knocking off the K’s - the itchy oos are nothing
to laugh about.
This cartoon is typified by Jim Tyer’s trademark animation - not always on
model but always kinetic in a manic sort of way. Extremely threadbare music
score, primarily composed of the orignal Batfink theme music, played straight
through but with a huge gap in the middle.
The remastered version includes a dialogue speedup when the Chief says, "Batfink,
how were you able to fight off that final kitchy-koo?"
The Dirty Sinker, No. 13, January 20, 1967. Produced And
Directed by Hal Seeger. Production Supervisor: Ray Seti. Animation: Myron
Waldman. Scenics: Bob Owen, John Zago. Voices: Len Maxwell, Frank Buxton. Story:
Dennis Marks.
At
the harbor, ships mysteriously sink. It’s the work of Hugo A Go Go and his
submarine. He robs the ships and then sinks them. Batfink and Karate have a raft
that they try to fool Hugo with. It looks like the hull of a ship from down
below. Hugo drills the hole into the raft. Batfink falls into the hole as the
raft is towed by the submarine. Batfink is caught in the grip of an octopus.
Hugo then lets Batfink loose to a shark, which can’t quite penetrate his
wings. Hugo trains a torpedo on Batfink and Karate, but the octopus that
entrapped Batfink grabs the torpedo at the last moment.
Gluey Louie, No. 14, March 3, 1967. Produced And
Directed by Hal Seeger. Production Supervisor: Ray Seti. Animation: Bill
Ackerman. Scenics: Bob Owen. Voices: Len Maxwell, Frank Buxton. Story:
Heywood Kling.
Ben
Franklin’s kite is stolen by Gluey Louie, who eludes police by shooting sticky
glue into their path. Batfink's radar returns all full of glue, but it is still
wet so Louie can't be far. G.L. glues Batfink to the wall of his hideout and
threatens to shoot him with William Tell’s arrow. But Batfink manages to loose
himself and save the day.
This is the first episode to use the regular Batfink theme music, heard on
the majority of the episodes. The theme music was written by Winston Sharples,
longtime musical director for Paramount Cartoons.
Brother Goose, No. 15, January 20, 1967. Produced And
Directed by Hal Seeger. Production Supervisor: Ray Seti. Animation: Tom Golden,
Arnie Levy. Scenics: Bob Owen, Dave Ubinas. Voices: Len Maxwell, Frank Buxton.
Story: Dennis Marks.
Zee Zee Mama Hubbard finds her cupboard bare of all its jewels. "I’ve
been robbed! How chic!" The Chief calls Batfink on the hotline and tells of
the robbery. The villain left behind a rhyming note signed by Brother Goose. He
hides out in the Mother Goose Land section of an abandoned amusement park.
Batfink is led there by his radar. Karate reads the poem in the Little Jack
Horner section. Instead of a plum, there’s a bomb in the pie. Batfink must
deal with falling Humpty Dumpty, which is no match for his wings. Karate is tied
to a giant candlestick and in a plutonium cage. Batfink catches Brother Goose by
sending Jack And Jill up the hill (actually one of those slocum-on-the-hocum
thingies) to fetch a pail of water; Jill hits Brother Goose’s helicopter and
sends him tumbling oughter. (After doesn’t rhyme with water.)
Brother Goose returns later in the series in episode #27, "Crimes
In Rhymes".
Scenic artist Dave Ubinas of the Paramount cartoon studio took his only
Batfink credit on this episode. He later became a graphics artist for WNBC-TV.
The Chocolate Covered Diamond, No. 16, January 20, 1967. Produced And
Directed by Hal Seeger. Production Supervisor: Ray Seti. Animation: Graham
Place. Scenics: Bob Owen. Voices: Len Maxwell, Frank Buxton. Story:
Dennis Marks.
The
Wombley Diamond is stolen by two thieves. It falls into a vat of chocolate at a
factory. So the thieves take to stealing candy bars instead in hopes of stealing
the diamond. Batfink thinks there are two different crimes going on, but when he
arrives at the chocolate plant, he finds both crimes connected. Karate pulls one
thief aside with some taffy but Karate gets covered with the stuff. During a
fencing match with candy canes, Batfink falls into a chocolate vat and is about
to be made into a candy bar. But the cutting blade disintegrates. Not because of
Batfink's wings but because he found the Wombley Diamond!
This cartoon uses the incorrect main and end title music for the DVD release.
Crime College, No. 17, March 1, 1967. Produced And
Directed by Hal Seeger. Production Supervisor: Ray Seti. Animation: John
Gentilella. Scenics: Bob Owen. Voices: Len Maxwell, Frank Buxton. Story:
Heywood Kling.
Hugo
has opened a school for underworld undergraduates, the Crime College. Hugo
instructs his students to rob police headquarters. The crooks have stolen the
cops’ guns and pants. Batfink finds the Crime College. So Hugo calls for a
class trip. The thieves are catapulted into Hugo’s school bus for more
lessons: if at first you don’t succeed, try a GUN - a rocket gun. (Karate
maneuvers the Batillac so that the rocket gun fired by Hugo passes through the
two open doors and off to God knows where.) To keep someone from following you
over a bridge, burn your bridges behind you. (Batfink himself becomes part of
the bridge so the Batillac can safely pass.) And what is round, black, and will
blow Batfink to kingdom come? A bomb, of course. The bomb springs an oil leak in
the airborne Batillac, which causes the school bus to crash. The students must
stay for detention - behind bars.
This is the first Batfink cartoon to include Raymond Scott music cues
including "Powerhouse", and the new Batfink theme music is used.
Myron The Magician, No. 18, January 20, 1967. Produced And
Directed by Hal Seeger. Production Supervisor: Ray Seti. Animation: Myron Waldman.
Scenics: Bob Owen. Voices: Len Maxwell, Frank Buxton. Story:
Heywood Kling.
Whistler’s
Mother-In-Law is stolen by Myron The Magician, posing as a museum worker. He
pulls various magic tricks to elude police. Myron pulls Batfink’s radar out of
a hat. He pulls three more magic tricks to trap Batfink and Karate. He chains
Batfink to the floor (with a rubber chain) and ties Karate up. Batfink is sent
down a cliff on a flying carpet, but near the bottom, the chain catches on a
tree limb and he bungees back up to capture Myron.
This is the final Batfink cartoon to use the original theme music, which is
also part of the cartoon’s music track.
Whistler’s Mother-In-Law is again objet d’art in Episode #82, Mike
The Mimic.
Brain Washday, No. 19, February 6, 1967. Produced And
Directed by Hal Seeger. Production Supervisor: Ray Seti. Animation: I. Klein.
Scenics: Bob Owen. Voices: Len Maxwell, Frank Buxton. Story:
Heywood Kling.
Hugo
is on line at a factory with the other workers waiting to get paid, but he's up
to no good. He brainwashes the paymaster and a cop so he can steal the factory
payroll. At his lab Hugo prepares more brainwashing solution and prepares for
the arrival of Batfink and Karate. Karate is the first to be brainwashed and
obeys only Hugo. So is Batfink. With a huge flatiron suspended from the ceiling,
Batfink is about to be crushed when Karate cuts the cable on master Hugo's
command! But Batfink deflects the iron with his wings. The brainwash never
affected Batfink because he was wearing a plastic mask.
M P F T B R M, No. 20, January 31, 1967. Produced And
Directed by Hal Seeger. Production Supervisor: Ray Seti. Animation: Martin
Taras. Scenics: Bob Owen. Voices: Len Maxwell, Frank Buxton. Story:
Dennis Marks.
Hugo
steals some top secret plans with the aid of the Millisecond Photo Flash
Temporary Blinding Ray Monocle. He then uses it to blind and confuse
Batfink’s radar. Then he decides to shine it through his periscope to attempt
to blind both Batfink and Karate. It doesn’t work. Karate looks for a
blindfold on the way down to Hugo’s dungeon, which is about sixty stories
underground judging from the length of his descent. Karate can’t break out of
his glass prison. Batfink joins him. Hugo begins to pump the air out and also
will shine the MPFTBRM. Batfink produces a mirror which deflects the ray onto
Hugo, who shuts off the air pump.
The restored version includes replacement main and credit titles. The crew as
appears on the faked credit title (in spite of the different font for "Martin
Taras") is correct.
All Cartoons On This Page
© 1966 Hal Seeger. Summaries are © 2007 Dave Mackey.