The new adventures of Beany and Cecil, the animated series of 1988

March 14 2022

The new adventures of Beany and Cecil was a short-lived revival animated series of Bob Clampett's Beany and Cecil cartoons from the 60s, which in Italy were known under the title Three cheerful sailors. The animated series The new adventures of Beany and Cecil was produced in 1988 by DIC Animation City. Only five half-hour episodes aired, compared to thirteen in production, during its original television programming. This incarnation of the show was produced and directed by Canadian animator John Kricfalusi, who would later make The Ren & Stimpy Show by Nickelodeon.

Production

ABC was negotiating to produce the show with the Clampett family, who insisted that John Kricfalusi would be part of the production. The lengthy negotiations delayed the start of production in mid-July, causing the animation to be rushed to meet the September deadline. Tensions rose between Kricfalusi and ABC over the tone of the show, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere for the show crew. The more ABC tried to soften the show, the more Kricfalusi pushed to produce some shocking and offensive material. The Clampett family were not very happy with the cartoon in the end, but remained sympathetic to Kricfalusi. ABC canceled the show after a handful of episodes, as they found the humor unsuitable for children's programming. As a result, ABC replaced it with The Flintstone Kids by Hanna-Barbera.

Episodes

1 "The framed Freep"
Captain Huffenpuff leads Beany and Cecil on a mission to King Muckamuck of the tropical islands of Howareya to capture a three-headed monster called Freep who is threatening them. When they arrive, they discover that the Freep is actually a giant robot piloted by Dishonest John in the plot to turn the island into a vacation spot for evildoers called Club Bad. King Muckamuck's daughter, the Princess Princess, claims the Freep wouldn't normally have helped them get Beany and Cecil investigated.
Note: During the “Club Bad” part of the episode, there are villains that are parodies of Doctor Doom, Joker, Frankenstein's Monster, Red Skull, Doctor Octopus, Jason Voorhees, Darth Vader and Ming the Merciless.

2a "Radio with a bite! "
Beany takes Cecil to the dentist to deal with a toothache. While Cecil waits for the dentist to return, Dishonest John poses as a nurse to put a radio receiver in Cecil's mouth to make Cecil think he is listening to his conscience. With the radio receiver in place, DJ has Cecil commit various crimes as he also detects a radio station.

2b "The Brotherhood of BLECH "
Dishonest John is shown to be a member of the BLECH Brotherhood (short for Bad Guys, Losers, Evildoers, Crooks, and Horrible People). After receiving a letter from them about unsubscribing him if he doesn't demonstrate his bad manners, he is approached by a fraternity of BLECH members who will judge him and make a painful way to cancel his membership. When his attempts to bring ruin to Leakin 'Leona fail and DJ has one last chance to prove himself, they are overheard by Beany suggesting Cecil and Huffenpuff act as if they are in danger of having the Brotherhood of BLECH members impressed. by DJ.

3a "The bad influence! "

3b "Law on the disappearance of DJs "
Captain Huffenpuff invents an invisibility painting which he shows to Beany and Cecil. Unfortunately it lasts a few minutes. Dishonest John steals the invisibility paint in a plot to steal the huge diamond that Captain Huffenpuff had previously discovered and is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Big Things.

4a "Cecil meets Clambo"
While on a date with Cecilia at the drive-in cinema, Cecil has a meeting with clam movie star Clambo who invites Cecilia to star in her next movie. Taking advantage of the fact that Cecil works to become strong like Clambo, Dishonest John uses an instant muscle kit to "help" Cecil. John's dishonest "attempt" crashes Cecil into the giant penguin robot used in Clambo's film, causing him to go on a rampage. When Cecilia is in danger, Cecil must work to save her.

4b "The golden menu"

5 "Cecilia's courtship "
Cecil is ready to tell Cecilia how much she loves her as she heads to her home on the island. Dishonest John intends to ruin Cecil's love life by posing as Cecilia and sabotaging her chances.

6a "DJ Goes Ape"
6b "Mamma Cecil"
7a "May the best man Ribbet"
7b "At your sign, be prepared, BLECH"
8a "Twin brother of Cecil"
8b "Fury of the robot arms"
9a "Bedtime for Beany"
9b "Super Cecil meets Thunderbolt"
10a "The eggs mark the spot"
10b "Claws for the alarm"
10c "Who Tamed the Looney Lemur?"
11a "Color Me DJ"
11b "Cecil the singing sea serpent"
12 "Untitled Compilation Episode"
13 "Cecil's Birthday"

Technical data

Author John Kricfalusi
Written by George Atkins, Paul Dini, Rowby Goren, Wayne Kline, Chuck Lorre
Directed by Eddie Fitzgerald, William H. Frake III, John Kricfalusi,
Jim Smith, Bruce Tim
Music Udi Harpaz, Jim Mandell
country of origin United States
Original language English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 5 (plus 3 unreleased)
Executive producers Harriet Beck, Sody Clampett, Andy Heyward
The manufacturer John Kricfalusi
Duration 30 min
Production company DEC Animation City, Bob Clampett Productions
Distributor ABC
Original network ABC
Audio format stereo
Original release date September 10 - October 8, 1988