The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan
| The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan | |
|---|---|
 The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan title card. |
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| Genre | Cartoon series |
| Written by | Dennis Marks |
| Directed by | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Voices of | (See article) |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Running time | 30 min. |
| Production company(s) | Hanna-Barbera |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Original run | September 9, 1972 – December 30, 1972 |
The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan (sometimes abbreviated as The Amazing Chan Clan) is a 1972 TV series made by Hanna-Barbera for CBS. It premiered shortly after what would have been CC creator Earl Derr Biggers' 88th birthday. The voice of Mr. Chan, David Hou is the only actor of Chinese descent to play the title character in any screen adaptation.
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[edit] Overview
In this series, Mr. Chan (whose first name is never given, except in one episode title), his ten children and their dog Chu Chu solve mysteries around the world, with the children helping their father in every episode (or at least trying to). They traveled in a van which could be transformed into other vehicles (much like Hong Kong Phooey's Phooeymobile) with the push of a button.
The older children also had their own music group, The Chan Clan; every episode featured a song, either being played over the action or with the characters playing various instruments and performing. Vocals for the group were provided by former Archies lead singer Ron Dante, with music supervision by Don Kirshner (who had supervised the music for The Archie Show).
Most of the voices of the children were recast almost immediately, as it was deemed that their (original) thick accents would be too confusing for young viewers to understand. With the new cast in place, old episodes were re-dubbed using the new voices. Prolific voice actor Keye Luke - who played Charlie's Number One Son in many of the Charlie Chan movie serials of the 1930s and 1940s - provided the voice for Mr. (Charlie) Chan, thus making him the first actor of true Chinese descent to take the role; also thanks to Luke, Charlie's vocabulary was notably expanded from that in the original film series (which is to say he now used prepositions, articles, pronouns, etc.).
Prolific voice actor Don Messick, the voice of Scooby-Doo and many other well known cartoon characters, provided the voice of the Chan family dog, Chu Chu. Gene Andrusco, who provided the (redubbed) voice of "Flip," went on to be a successful record producer and musician fronting the band Adam Again. Jodie Foster, who provided the (redubbed) voice of Anne, went on to become an Oscar-winning actress (The Accused, Silence of The Lambs, et al.).
Sixteen episodes were made in all. The show lasted for one season (and was then rerun for a second season) in 1972 on CBS, and is today often rerun on Cartoon Network's sister network, Boomerang. In the original novels by Earl Derr Biggers, Charlie Chan was a widower who worked for the Honolulu police department and had 12 children. No mother appeared or was mentioned in the Chan Clan series.
[edit] Cast of Characters
- Mr. Charlie ("The Amazing") Chan: Famous detective and widowed father of ten. Dressed in a blue suit, tie and fedora hat. Often finds whatever case-solving clues his children may have overlooked.
- Henry Chan: The eldest of Charlie's ten offspring. A relatively mature hunk, and a natural leader for his siblings in their dad's absence. Wearing an orange turtleneck shirt, he's the drummer for the Chan kids' band.
- Stanley Chan: The second eldest Chan offspring and Henry's impulsive comedy relief. More often than any of the others, he delivers the show's tagline: "Wham-Bam; we're in a Jam!" Wearing a green shirt, he's a guitarist for his siblings' band.
- Suzie Chan: Charlie's third child and eldest daughter, this sweet and pretty teen is basically a variation on Daphne Blake. She likes to sew and has chronically sore feet. Wearing a turquoise dress, she's a percussionist (usually a shaker or tambourine) for the Chan siblings' band.
- Alan Chan: An inventor/engineer who builds and supplies whatever crime-stopping gadgetry his siblings might need (which their father, on the other hand, rarely needs)...particularly the Chan Van. He wears sunglasses, a purple vest and a pink shirt. He's also part of the horn section (usually playing an oboe, to be precise) for the Chan kids' band.
- Anne Chan: A wisecracking tomboy, she wears an orange-on-white t-shirt with a matching baseball cap. She alternates between guitar and percussion for the kids' band.
- Tom Chan: He's the most intellectual of the Chan children. Wears black-framed eyeglasses and a brown vest with a white shirt. Trombonist for the Chan kids' band.
- Flip Chan: A natural leader to his younger siblings. He's also the most gung-ho when it comes to helping their dad solve cases. Usually called "Chief" by Scooter. Wears a light-green shortsleeve shirt and porkpie hat.
- Nancy Chan: A robust 9-year-old with a ponytail, and the most accident-prone of the Chan offspring.
- Mimi Chan: At 7, she's Charlie's youngest daughter and second-youngest offspring. Despite her girly nature, she's prone to bossing Scooter around. Wears a yellow shirt.
- Scooter Chan: At 6, he's the youngest and most boyish of the Chan children. Flip's "right arm", and fiercely proud of it. Wears a red shirt.
- Chu Chu: Chan children's pet dog that assists in solving cases and is an expert in making sound effects. Chu Chu can howl like a police car siren whenever the kids in the Chan Van need to get to places very fast.
[edit] Episodes
| № | Title | Original air date | Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Crown Jewel Caper" | September 9, 1972 | ACC-1 |
| The Crown Jewels have disappeared from their case. | |||
| 2 | "To Catch a Pitcher" | September 16, 1972 | ACC-2 |
| A famous pitcher is missing and feared kidnapped. | |||
| 3 | "Will The Real Charlie Chan Please Stand Up?" | September 30, 1972 | ACC-3 |
| The Chan Clan must find the impostor who is framing Mr. Chan for the hotel robberies. | |||
| 4 | "The Phantom Sea Thief" | September 30, 1972 | ACC-4 |
| A mysterious thief steals a painting during the Chan Clan's performance aboard a cruise ship. | |||
| 5 | "Eye of the Idol" | October 7, 1972 | ACC-5 |
| A thief uses a smoke bomb to distract the Chan Clan and everyone in the room while he steals a jeweled idol's eye. | |||
| 6 | "Fat Lady Caper" | October 14, 1972 | ACC-6 |
| Dimples the fat lady seems to disappear when a bank robber is on the loose. | |||
| 7 | "Captain Kidd's Doubloons" | October 21, 1972 | ACC-7 |
| While in Trinidad, the Chan Clan must solve the theft of the doubloons. | |||
| 8 | "Bronze Idol" | October 28, 1972 | ACC-8 |
| A con artist uses an idol statue to trick the villagers into giving it more pearls. | |||
| 9 | "Double Trouble" | November 4, 1972 | ACC-9 |
| Prince Hareem, who plans to be in an auto race, is kidnapped and replaced with an impostor. | |||
| 10 | "The Great Illusion Caper" | November 11, 1972 | ACC-10 |
| A magician's dog has been stolen, and the Chans must help find her. | |||
| 11 | "The Mummy's Tomb" | November 18, 1972 | ACC-11 |
| A golden coffin of a famous pharaoh is stolen. | |||
| 12 | "The Mardi Gras Caper" | November 25, 1972 | ACC-12 |
| A valuable ring is stolen while the Chan Clan is in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. | |||
| 13 | "The Gypsy Caper" | December 2, 1972 | ACC-13 |
| A mural has been stolen. While on the case, Stanley accidentally makes Henry swallow a clock. | |||
| 14 | "The Greek Caper" | December 9, 1972 | ACC-14 |
| A statue of the winged goddess Athena is stolen in Greece and replaced by a plaster copy. Mr. Chan enlists Alan's help to find it. | |||
| 15 | "White Elephant" | December 16, 1972 | ACC-15 |
| The Maharaja's white elephant Sing Ha disappears from the elephant enclosure when they are feeding it, and is feared stolen. | |||
| 16 | "Scotland Yard" | December 30, 1972 | ACC-16 |
| A priceless stone called the Stone of Scone is stolen and the Chan Clan must help get it back. | |||
[edit] Voices
- Keye Luke — Mr. Charlie Chan
- Robert Ito — Henry Chan
- Don Messick — Chu Chu the Dog
- Brian Tochi — Alan Chan
[edit] Original voices
- Debbie Jue — Nancy Chan
- Jay Jay Jue — Flip Chan
- Leslie Juwai — Mimi Chan
- Leslie Kumamota — Anne Chan
- Virginia Ann Lee — Suzie Chan
- Michael Takamoto — Tom Chan
- Robin Toma — Scooter Chan
- Stephen Wong — Stanley Chan
[edit] Redubbed voices
- Gene Andrusco — Flip Chan
- Jodie Foster — Anne Chan
- John Gunn — Tom Chan
- Beverly Kushida — Nancy Chan
- Cherylene Lee — Suzie Chan, Mimi Chan
- Michael Morgan — Scooter Chan
- Lennie Weinrib — Stanley Chan
[edit] Music
Don Kirshner produced the songs for this special as he did for The Monkees and The Archie Show. Singer Ron Dante supplies the singing voice of Stanley as he did for Archie on The Archie Show.
[edit] Comic book
At about the same time that the show came out, Gold Key Comics produced a comic book series based on the program, with artwork by Warren Tufts; it only lasted four issues.
[edit] Other media
- In an episode of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, a Japanese band called "Shoyu Weenie" sued another band ("The Neptunes" from the Jabberjaw animated series) for plagiarism. "Shoyu Weenie" was based on the Chan Clan, with Mr. Chan as their semi-tyrannical band manager. Unlike the actual show the Chan Clan only speak Japanese, strange as the Chans are Chinese, not Japanese.
- In the Krypto the Superdog episode, "Up, Up, and Away!", Mimi Chan is in Kevin's class on the field trip to Lex Corp.
[edit] Home media releases
Warner Bros. has no plans of yet for a DVD release of the series.
[edit] External links
- The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan at the Internet Movie Database
- The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan at TV.com
- The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan at the Big Cartoon DataBase
- The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
- Episode list and voice actor info from Epguides.com
- Amazing Chan & The Chan Clan Episodes On Veoh
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