Famous Classic Tales
| Famous Classic Tales | |
|---|---|
| Genre |
Anthology Television special |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 40 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30–60 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | November 1, 1970 – June 15, 1992 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows |
Family Classic Tales ABC Afterschool Special The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie |
Famous Classic Tales is an American anthology series on CBS which aired animated television specials based on classic children's stories from production companies such as Hanna-Barbera Australia, Air Programs International (API), Southern Star Group and Golden Films.
Overview
Famous Classic Tales was broadcast on CBS and distributed by Kids Klassics Home Video and Storybook World. It had cartoons from API's Family Classic Tales. Featured cartoons included adaptions of classic literature such as Gulliver's Travels, Treasure Island, Black Beauty, Moby-Dick, and many others.
The creation of a series of animated features based on classic children's stories was conceived by Jack Thinnes, Media Director at Sive Advertising in Cincinnati, Ohio. The series was created for a Sive client, Kenner Products, and each program was fully sponsored by Kenner on CBS Television Network on Sunday, late afternoon or early evening, during the prime toy selling season before Christmas. The idea to use classic children's books sprang from Thinnes' viewing of a two-minute demo of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, which was produced by Walter Hucker's studio, API (Air Programs International), of Sydney, Australia. API was purchased later by Hanna-Barbera Studios after Thinnes introduced the owners of the studios to one another. After the series ran on CBS for nearly ten years, it was moved into local syndication by Sive's syndication department. However, their adaptation of A Christmas Carol was such a favorite that it continued to run on the network for fifteen years.[1]
It is very similar to ABC Afterschool Special, ABC Weekend Special and The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie.
Cartoons associated with this series are Aesop's Fables (Manga Aesop Monogatari), Charlotte's Web, Puss in Boots, Tabitha and Adam and the Clown Family, The Velveteen Rabbit and Jack and the Beanstalk. Both these and the Famous Classic Tales were released on VHS by GoodTimes Entertainment, Fox/Lorber and Kids Klassics. Several other stories made it to DVD afterwards, including a 2006 release from Southern Star by KOCH Vision. All of these are now out of print.
Episode list
1970–1979
- Nov-01-1970: Tales of Washington Irving (API)
- Nov-26-1970: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (API)
- Dec-13-1970: A Christmas Carol (API)
- Nov-14-1971: The Legend of Robin Hood (API)
- Nov-28-1971: Treasure Island (API)
- Jan-01-1972: Marco Polo (API)
- Nov-23-1972: Robinson Crusoe (API)
- Nov-26-1972: The Prince and the Pauper (API)
- Dec-02-1972: Tabitha and Adam and the Clown Family (Hanna-Barbera Australia)
- Sep-23-1973: The Count of Monte Cristo (API)
- Oct-22-1973: Kidnapped (API)
- Oct-28-1973: The Swiss Family Robinson (API)
- Nov-22-1973: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Hanna-Barbera Australia)
- Nov-23-1973: The Three Musketeers (Hanna-Barbera Austalia)
- Dec-02-1973: The Black Arrow (API)
- Jan-15-1974: The Gentlemen of Titipu (API)
- Jan-01-1975: Moby-Dick (API)
- Nov-15-1975: The Mysterious Island (API)
- Nov-27-1975: The Last of the Mohicans (Hanna-Barbera Australia)
- Nov-27-1975: Ivanhoe (API)
- Jan-01-1976: From the Earth to the Moon (API)
- Jan-01-1976: Off on a Comet (API)
- Oct-23-1976: Master of the World (API)
- Nov-20-1976: Davy Crockett on the Mississippi (Hanna-Barbera Australia)
- Nov-13-1977: A Journey to the Center of the Earth (API)
- Nov-24-1977: Five Weeks in a Balloon (Hanna-Barbera Australia)
- Oct-28-1978: Black Beauty (Hanna-Barbera Australia)
- Jan-19-1979: Puss in Boots (Hanna-Barbera Australia)
- Nov-18-1979: Gulliver's Travels (Hanna-Barbera Australia)
- Nov-23-1979: The Adventures of Sinbad (API)
1981–1985
- Nov-27-1981: Daniel Boone (Hanna-Barbera Australia)
- Jan-12-1983: Aesop's Fables (NIPPON)
- Nov-26-1983: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (API)
- Jan-29-1984: The Return of the Bunjee (Hanna-Barbera Australia)
- Apr-20-1985: The Velveteen Rabbit (Hanna-Barbera Australia)
1992
- May-04-1992: Beauty and the Beast (Golden Films)
- May-11-1992: Pinocchio (Golden Films)
- May-25-1992: The Little Mermaid (Golden Films)
- Jun-08-1992: Thumbelina (Golden Films)
- Jun-15-1992: The Jungle King (Golden Films)