Squiddly Diddly
Squiddly Diddly is an anthropomorphic animated squid created by Hanna-Barbera, who was featured in his own cartoon segment on The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show beginning in 1965.[1]
Fictional character biography
The round-headed, sailor-hatted Squiddly (who resembles an octopus--albeit with only six tentacles--rather than a squid) is captive in an aquatic park known as Bubbleland, and resides in a pool with his name on it. Squiddly Diddly is an aspiring musician who makes many attempts to escape and attain musical stardom, but he is constantly foiled by Bubbleland's administrator Chief Winchley. In some episodes, Squiddly Diddly manages to escape, but chooses to return to Bubbleland after finding the outside world to be too harsh. Other times Squiddly and Chief Winchley would have to work together to solve problems in Bubbleland. The cartoons show people applauding Squiddly Diddly's musical talents, but often depict terrified people who mistakenly believe that octopuses are hostile.
Episodes
There were 26 Squiddly Diddly episodes:
Season 1 (1965–1966)
| № | Title | First aired: | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Way Out Squiddly" | 1965·Oct·02 | Two aliens kidnap Squidly and take him for a wild ride in their spaceship. |
| 2 | "Show Biz Squid" | 1965·Oct·09 | |
| 3 | "The Canvas Back Squid" | 1965·Oct·16 | |
| 4 | "Nervous Service" | 1965·Oct·23 | |
| 5 | "Westward Ha!" | 1965·Oct·30 | |
| 6 | "Sea Grunt" | 1965·Nov·06 | |
| 7 | "Chief Cook and Bottle Washer" | 1965·Nov·13 | |
| 8 | "Squid on the Skids" | 1965·Nov·20 | |
| 9 | "Double Trouble" | 1965·Nov·27 | |
| 10 | "Squid Kid" | 1965·Dec·04 | |
| 11 | "Booty and the Beast" | 1965·Dec·11 | |
| 12 | "Clowning Around" | 1965·Dec·18 | |
| 13 | "Surprise Prize" | 1965·Dec·25 | |
| 14 | "Naughty Astronaut" | 1966·Jan·01 | |
| 15 | "The Ghost Is Clear" | 1966·Jan·08 | Squiddly Diddly babysits a young ghost named Wilbur. |
| 16 | "Lucky Ducky" | 1966·Jan·15 | |
| 17 | "Foxy Seal" | 1966·Jan·22 | |
| 18 | "Squiddly Double Diddly" | 1966·Jan·29 | |
| 19 | "Hollywood Folly" | 1966·Feb·05 | |
| 20 | "One Black Knight" | 1966·Feb·12 |
Season 2 (1966)
| № | Title | First aired: | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | "Yo Ho Ho" | 1966·Sep·10 | |
| 22 | "Phoney Fish" | 1966·Sep·17 | Two criminals named Knuckles and Tiny pose as Snorkel Fish in order to rob the Bubbleland Box Office. |
| 23 | "Gnatman" | 1966·Sep·24 | Squiddly Diddly and Chief Winchley each pose as the superhero Gnatman in order to fight crime. |
| 24 | "Robot Squid" | 1966·Oct·01 | |
| 25 | "Jewel Finger" | 1966·Oct·08 | |
| 26 | "Baby Squidder" | 1966·Oct·15 |
Voice cast
- Paul Frees - Squiddly Diddly
- John Stephenson - Chief Winchley
DVD release
The episode "Way Out Squiddly" is available on the DVD Saturday Morning Cartoons Vol. 1.
Squiddly Diddly in other languages
- Brazilian Portuguese: Lula Lelé
- Spanish: El pulpo Manotas
- French: Squiddly la pieuvre
- Dutch: Inky de inktvis
- Italian: Squiddly Diddly
- German: Squiddly Diddly
- Japanese: Tako no Roku chan
References in other media
In 1966, Hanna-Barbera Records released Squiddly Diddly's Surfin' Surfari on LP.[2]
Squiddly Diddly was featured in Yogi's Gang (1973) voiced by Don Messick.
Squiddly Diddly made a lone comic book appearance in 1966, as a back-up feature in the only issue of Secret Squirrel, published by Gold Key Comics, and again in 1996, courtesy of Hanna-Barbera Presents #6, published by Archie Comics.
Squiddly and Chief Winchley appeared in Yogi's Treasure Hunt.
Squiddly Diddly made a cameo in the Yo Yogi! episode "The Big Snoop." He is seen amongst those looking for Super Snooper when he ends up kidnapped.
In the British comedy Only Fools and Horses Christmas Special 1989 "The Jolly Boys' Outing", Squiddly Diddly was cited by Del Boy as the reason for the failure of his seafood stall, since people were unwilling to consume creatures they had become fond of.
Squiddly Diddly has been seen on HBO's The Ricky Gervais Show, where the character is involved in a few scripts including side-by-side a killer octopus and giving Karl Pilkington a rectal examination.
Squiddly Diddly made a cameo in a 2012 MetLife commercial entitled, "Everyone".
Squiddly Diddly's body is shown in Janni Nemo's office in the 2015 graphic novel Nemo: River of Ghosts, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill.
References
- ↑ "Squiddly Diddly - Don Markstein's Toonopedia". Retrieved 2008-06-04.
- ↑ Dave Wagner (July 6, 2007). "Squiddly Diddly's Surfin' Safari LP". Children's Records & More. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
External links
- Squiddly Diddly at the Big Cartoon DataBase
- Squiddly Diddly - Cartoon Network Department of Cartoons (Archive)