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The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie

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The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie
Also known asThe New Saturday Superstar Movie
GenreMovie of the week
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes20
Production
Running time45–48 minutes
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseSeptember 9, 1972 (1972-09-09) –
November 17, 1973 (1973-11-17)

The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie—renamed The New Saturday Superstar Movie in its second season—is a series of one-hour animated made-for-television films (some of which also contained live action), broadcast on the ABC television network on Saturday mornings from September 9, 1972 to November 17, 1973.[1]

Intended as a "Movie of the Week" for kids, this series was produced by several production companies—including Hanna-Barbera, Filmation, and Rankin/Bass—and mostly contained features based on popular cartoon characters and TV shows of the time, such as Yogi Bear, The Brady Bunch, and Lost in Space.[2] Some of the features served as pilots for new TV shows.

List of movies

Season 1

Nº Title Produced by: Air date
1"The Brady Kids on Mysterious Island"Filmation
Paramount Television		September 9, 1972 (1972-09-09)
Based on the characters from The Brady Bunch, this was the pilot for The Brady Kids. The Brady kids enter a balloon race, but they end up accidentally going to a mysterious island. They meet some strange people there, along with a magical myna bird named Marlon and twin panda brothers named Ping and Pong, and even though they have a fun time with them, they have to find a way to get home.
2"Yogi's Ark Lark"Hanna-Barbera ProductionsSeptember 16, 1972 (1972-09-16)
In this ecologically-minded feature, dozens of Hanna-Barbera animal characters — led by Yogi Bear — and a park custodian named Noah Smith travel around the world, and even into outer space, in a flying version of Noah's Ark in search of "the perfect place" (i.e., a land free of pollution, deforestation, and other forms of mankind's despoilment). The pilot for Yogi's Gang.
3"Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters"Rankin/Bass ProductionsSeptember 23, 1972 (1972-09-23)
An animated feature in the same vein as the film Mad Monster Party?.
4"Nanny and the Professor"Fred Calvert Productions
20th Century Fox Television		September 30, 1972 (1972-09-30)
In this animated feature, the cast of Nanny and the Professor get caught up in a mystery involving a microdot.
5"Popeye Meets the Man Who Hated Laughter"Hal Seeger Productions
King Features Syndicate		October 7, 1972 (1972-10-07)
This feature unites a wide range of newspaper comic strip characters — including Popeye, Blondie, Hi and Lois, Snuffy Smith, Beetle Bailey, Jiggs and Maggie, Steve Canyon, The Phantom, Flash Gordon, Mandrake the Magician, The Little King, and The Katzenjammer Kids — against a common enemy.
6"Willie Mays and the Say-Hey Kid"Rankin/Bass ProductionsOctober 14, 1972 (1972-10-14)
This animated feature stars the famous San Francisco Giants baseball player Willie Mays, who voices his own character. A guardian angel named Casey (named after legendary Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston Braves, New York Yankees and New York Mets baseball manager Casey Stengel) (voiced by Paul Frees) agrees to help Willie win the National League Pennant if he agrees to be the godfather of an orphan girl named Veronica.
7"Oliver and the Artful Dodger: Part 1"Hanna-Barbera ProductionsOctober 21, 1972 (1972-10-21)
An animated sequel to Oliver Twist. Oliver is adopted by Mr. Brownlow. When Mr. Brownlow dies, his will cannot be found, so his nephew Sniperly tries to just take the money. Oliver has to stop him. Meanwhile, the Artful Dodger now helps children escape from workhouses.
8"Oliver and the Artful Dodger: Part 2"Hanna-Barbera ProductionsOctober 28, 1972 (1972-10-28)
Continuation; see Part 1 above.
9"The Adventures of Robin Hoodnik"Hanna-Barbera ProductionsNovember 4, 1972 (1972-11-04)
A retelling of the legend of Robin Hood, with a cast of all-animal characters. Broadcast one year before the release of Disney's Robin Hood.
10"Lassie and the Spirit of Thunder Mountain"FilmationNovember 11, 1972 (1972-11-11)
Based on the tremendously popular Lassie character, this was the pilot for Lassie's Rescue Rangers. Someone is trying to frighten the Native American people of Thunder Mountain away, and Lassie has to get to the bottom of it.
11"Gidget Makes the Wrong Connection (a.k.a. The Odd Squad)"Hanna-Barbera Productions
Screen Gems		November 18, 1972 (1972-11-18)
Animated feature in which the characters from Gidget run afoul of seagoing gold smugglers.
12"The Banana Splits in Hocus Pocus Park"Hanna-Barbera ProductionsNovember 25, 1972 (1972-11-25)
An animated/live-action special starring The Banana Splits. The Splits give Susie, a little girl, a tour of an amusement park. They follow a balloon that goes into a billboard and they chase after it. In it is a witch that kidnaps Susie and the Splits have to save her.
13"Tabitha and Adam and the Clown Family"Hanna-Barbera Productions
Screen Gems		December 2, 1972 (1972-12-02)
Animated feature in which the children from Bewitched (depicted as teenagers) use their magical powers to save a circus; an intended pilot for a series that never materialized.
14"The Red Baron"Rankin/Bass ProductionsDecember 9, 1972 (1972-12-09)
This animated feature casts the Red Baron as a hero, in a world of heroic anthropomorphic dogs and villainous anthropomorphic cats.
15"Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies"Filmation
Warner Bros. Television		December 16, 1972 (1972-12-16)
In this unusual cartoon crossover, for which Filmation obtained the right to use Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes characters, the Groovie Goolies help Daffy, Porky, and the other Looney Tunes to solve a spooky mystery (in the style of Scooby-Doo Where Are You!). Mostly animated, but includes a live-action segment, which can be seen here.
16"Luvcast U.S.A."DePatie–Freleng EnterprisesJanuary 6, 1973 (1973-01-06)
A mini-anthology, loosely based on Love, American Style.
17"That Girl in Wonderland"Rankin/Bass ProductionsJanuary 13, 1973 (1973-01-13)
In this animated feature, the main character from That Girl imagines herself in the stories Alice in Wonderland, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Wizard of Oz and Cinderella.

Season 2

For the second season, the series was retitled The New Saturday Superstar Movie.

Nº Title Produced by: Air date
18"Lost in Space"Hanna-Barbera Productions
20th Century Fox Television		September 8, 1973 (1973-09-08)
Based on the series Lost in Space, this was meant to be the pilot for an animated version of the show, but it did not take off.
19"The Mini-Munsters"Fred Calvert Productions
Universal Television		October 27, 1973 (1973-10-27)
Animated feature based on The Munsters, involving a car that is "fueled" by music.
20"Nanny and the Professor and the Phantom of the Circus"Fred Calvert Productions
20th Century Fox Television		November 17, 1973 (1973-11-17)
Animated feature in which the cast of Nanny and the Professor get involved in a mystery about a traveling circus.

Home media

Four of the above movies have been released on VHS videocassette:

  1. Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters
  2. Willie Mays and the Say-Hey Kid
  3. Oliver and the Artful Dodger
  4. The Banana Splits in Hocus Pocus Park

Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters, Yogi's Ark Lark and The Brady Kids on Mysterious Island have been released on DVD, the latter two on the complete series releases for Yogi's Gang and The Brady Kids, respectively.

The Adventures of Robin Hoodnik and Oliver and the Artful Dodger have been released on DVD, as part of a two-disc set titled Hanna-Barbera Specials Collection.

See also

References

  1. ^ Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 2. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  2. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 55. ISBN 978-1476665993.
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