The Story of The Beatles Cartoons & Why They Will Never Be Shown Again

[@harold5337]

Initially the Beatles hated the cartoon, but it grew on them. George Harrison stated that he always liked the cartoon, due to its “so bad it’s good” quality.

[@steveowens2505]

George said the Beatles were visiting Elvis and “fell out of the car on arrival “just like the Beatles cartoon”

[@melissacooper8724]

From what I saw on KZbin, the storylines seem pretty bizarre!

[@user-ye4mp3lv9u]

“so bad it’s good” Just like Dragnet and Walker Texas Ranger.

[@notmousse]

Terrible band begets terrible cartoon. I'm shocked.

[@steveowens2505]

@ Troll says what?

[@michaelhughes8057]

I grew up in the 1960's. I was born in 1957, and I was 7 years old when The Beatles first came to the USA in 1064. It was an exciting time! I also remember watching these Beatles Cartoons on Saturday mornings. What great memories! Thank you for uploading this!❤😂

[@michaelhughes8057]

Correction: 1964!

[@Parlogram]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching.

[@briantayler1230]

G'day mate, I was born in the same year and remember watching the first release in Australia. We saw it a couple of years after the USA.

[@BradHouser]

I remember watching them, I was the same age. Every time they broke into song the guitars appeared out of nowhere, but Ringo always had to find something to bang on.

[@ThatManOverThere]

@@michaelhughes8057 no backsies, we all know you're a vampire now. That's why the first episode was in Transylvania.

[@dustingreskie2073]

As a kid growing up in Australia, I used to watch these every morning before primary school in the late 70s. It helped cement my love of the Beatles. Great memories.

[@daz4627]

Me too!! Saturday morning cartoons were a must for me and I can still remember watching The Beatles cartoons on TV (Channel 7 I think??) ... The most vivid memory of the cartoon was the guitar tuning up at the start... I can vaguely remember an episode where they played Elenore Rigby and the associated clip was really sad (to me, anyway) and it sort of spooked me a bit... funny what you remember.

[@blackplatypus6755]

@@daz4627 I thought they were on channel 9 and the Monkees were on 7, like how the Addams Family was on 9 and The Munsters were on 7.

[@thomasfisher5742]

these where a must watch before leaving home in the morning in OZ as a kid is

[@daz4627]

@@blackplatypus6755 You could be right... not much choice back in the day... either Channel 7, 9 or 2 🙂

[@rossmenzies1484]

Also from Australia. All I can remember firmly is it ended with A Hard Day's Night

[@kcjepsen4335]

Thanks for posting! I am 62 and this cartoon is my earliest musical memory. Have loved The Beatles ever since!

[@Parlogram]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@djdissi]

Same here... 62, and loooved this show. I was already a fan 🕴️🕴️🕴️🕴️🎵🎶🎵

[@jdmak5385]

I am also 62 and I LOVED this show!!!

[@beeleo]

I'm 62 too and loved the Beatles cartoons... leave it to my older brother to gleefully ruin part of the fun by making sure I knew none of the voices were actual John, Paul, George and Ringo. I remember the Jackson 5 and Osmond cartoons too. Looking back, it's amazing how many voices Paul Frees did.

[@SK-qc6fb]

Will be 62 next month. I remember waking up early, turning on the TV and watching the Beatles Cartoon. I must have been 3 years old!! I still remember this....I had no idea who they were!

[@767driver4]

I so remember this animation of a band we so loved as kids. I vividly remember at the end of the cartoon episode when they unplugged their guitars, then Ringo unplugged his drum set and it deflated like a balloon.

[@nickrizzi4927]

Brilliant recall! Thnx!

[@dukeviking]

Apple Corp. loves to market the images of this show but snubs the restoration and release of this commercially. While this isn't on the art level of Yellow Submarine this still deserves an official release. Luckily I have a copy of this series for my personal enjoyment.

[@allanbard6048]

MacFarlane toys made two lines of Yellow Submarine figures, I was so glad cos the "Only A Northern Song" sequence had a box full cascading out...and I said: "figures. I wish." 1999 came and I finally had some! 5 years later, MacFarlane did it again, this time with the animated ABC show. Anyway, "Yellow Submarine" used the groundwork of the Beatles cartoon in its production, so...can't have one without the other. 🙃

[@ACDZ123]

Apple corps=A Paul Corpse ...now you know 🤫

[@Solitaire001]

I wonder if it would be possible to do a remake of the series in CGI? Reuse the original stories but use better dubbing that sound more like the actual Beatles, and designs based on those of the original animated series.

[@randomjunkohyeah1]

@@ACDZ123 …you do know that’s not how “corps” is pronounced, right?

[@ACDZ123]

@@randomjunkohyeah1 🥱

[@jtlynn23]

You can count me in as one of the early readers who loved the lyrics/sing-along section. I was second-youngest of five, and my older siblings owned the first 4 or 5 Capitol albums so I knew the songs going in. One of my earliest memories is of watching the show on Sunday mornings, which would put that at the end of the reruns of the original series. Thanks for another great video!

[@Parlogram]

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the memories!

[@JakeA63982]

I did aswell

[@aqdrobert]

All Together Now. Let's sing along.

[@rocktober1327]

Andrew, this is an excellent video, I'm 71 and I used to watch The Beatles Cartoon every Sat. morning. Never to old for a good cartoon.

[@melenatorr]

66 here and the same.

[@SunDemon-h9q]

72 here and I recall these cartoons being shown in Australia on weekdays at around 4 pm in the afternoon as I watched them after school. I distinctly remember Ringo's goofy "Heh-Heh... YEAH.!" remark every so often.

[@Parlogram]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ritamarie4453]

Even as a 6yr old it was obvious thay didn't sound like the Fab 4. I'm from St. Louis Missouri and the music is why I watched. Kids are not as dumb ,as many people assume.

[@cessaly100]

Yep! Agreed! Me and my little brothers would get our cold cereals and watch them in the 60’s and 70’s!

[@noahbody9747]

I watched these back when they were originally broadcast. One thing I didn't realize at the time was the songs were slightly edited. Any instrumental bridge a song had was edited out, so you only heard the vocals. Didn't realize this at the time until I bought a Beatles album and heard the uncut version of the songs played in the cartoon. One thing the cartoon didn't do was change the Beatles look. For the entire series, the Beatles look was circa 1964! No facial hair, just clean cut British boys from Liverpool (regardless if the opening credits did show photos of the Beatles with facial hair).

[@Wired4Life2]

Part of what made, and still makes, The Beatles so special is that they continuously defied the pop music machine's tendency to lock in their stars' spectacular and youthful first impression on consumers. It's almost similar to how the characters in animated shows are almost never allowed to age, for fear that audiences will disapprove and move on, which is strange considering audiences also move on for finding a formula predictable and stale. Thankfully, the Lennon/McCartney songwriting force was always a few steps ahead of the trends, and also thankfully, their fans were willing to grow and mature in the musical tastes as the band's releases became more complex. The band never, ever fell into that trap of artists who grind in relative anonymity with the same live set for over a year or two, and then when that setlist dominates their commercial breakthrough album, the artists suddenly find themselves out of enough songs for a follow-up, forcing them to rely on the studio and their formulaic tendencies, thus often resulting in a lackluster follow-up.

[@ogiedreyer2229]

I was 14 in '65, and loved the Beach Boys, so I seldom gave their competition a 2nd thought. Saturdays were cleaning days at our home, and while dusting, I would flip on the TV for background noise and dustraction. As the days passed, I stumbled on the Beatles TV show and found I liked their early rock and ballads. It forced me to open myself up to "different and new" instead of being locked into one mindset, like my parents. Perhaps you could say I started to grow as an individual because of that show. I have been fortunate to use my love of music to make a career in retail record sales and management, as well as radio announcer and Musician more recently. My mind was expanded! LOL

[@mikeedwards2621]

As a kid growing up in the 60’s I remember watching the series every Saturday morning. Without fail!

[@johnvrabec9747]

@@mikeedwards2621 the show was on at 7am in Chicago, and my Mom would get so mad at me and my brother for having the TV on that early with that damn Beatle music on lol

[@stephenstone8480]

Never missed an episode of The Beatles or The Monkees on Saturday morning.

[@Armored_Saint]

Osmonds, Jackson 5 cartoons.

[@williamschneider3355]

In 1987, when The Beatles were being released on compact disc, MTV here in the United States aired repeats of these cartoon shorts.

[@Dragonrider1227]

@@williamschneider3355 yes. That’s how I found the cartoon since I wasn’t around in the 60s my mom recorded the episodes and we would watch them fairly often

[@jpreza]

​@@Dragonrider1227 Great memories! I remember them watching them on MTV as well and recording them off the telly (as Andrew would say). I've got a feeling deep inside that this is the source of much of the bootleg DVDs that are available today.

[@JosephRocco-mi4cm]

@@williamschneider3355 That's how I first became aware it existed.

[@jfess1911]

The big question is : were you also convinced that Ringo was really a "dum-dum"? I had watched the series as a child and honestly believed this. Deep down, part of my brain was always impressed when real-life Ringo succeeded at anything. In my head I could hear that voice only used for very slow children, saying "Well, good for you!"

[@RatKindler]

@@jfess1911 Reminds me of the Family Guy bit where Ringo brings a song he's written to show the others and they talk to him like he's a small child and put it on the fridge. 🙂

[@jimcabezola3051]

OMG! I forgot about these cartoons! Saw them in the '60s! Embarrassed to say that I first heard a lot of Beatles songs from this TV show and not the radio or records. Mahalo for bringing this memory back!

[@jfess1911]

Same for me. I remember being surprised when I discovered that the real band members did not sound like the ones I knew from the cartoon. The cartoon managed to fix in my brain that Ringo was really a "dum-dum". Deep down I have always been surprised when he was successful at something. At some point after realizing that both the Beatles and the Monkees split up after having a children's TV show, I feared this might happen to other groups and worried about the Harlem Globetrotters. Later I realized that the Jackson 5, the Osmonds and even Sonny & Cher had been on children's cartoons before breaking up, so there might well be other kids that believe the same thing!

[@SoWhat.BigDeal.]

Only time I ever heard Mr. Moonlight anywhere. Good song!

[@rebelinthehighcastle]

As kid growing up in the U.S. this was how I was introduced to music of The Beatles.

[@czechsmix999]

Me too! I was a little girl and the Beatles were my first crush.😍

[@DuelFilms]

I was 5 in 1965 in suburban Chicago USA and the Beatles cartoon show was my introduction to them and their music. I was one of the kids that sang along with the lyrics on screen, helping me learn to read - that is absolutely true. Along with The Monkees TV show, it was my introduction to pop music and I began listening to radio and then collecting their 45rpm singles shortly thereafter. This brought back many wonderful memories - thanks Andrew!

[@Parlogram]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@denniswood1437]

As the show went on of course, they added new songs; "And Your Bird Can Sing" was the opening theme song with the 1966 season. It was trippy to hear "Rain" & "Tomorrow Never Knows" on the later shows. Interesting, I never knew the background how ABC aired this series.

[@laurabowe9426]

and they showed John's side of his face as he sang!

[@jackeppington6488]

The last episode (I think) was for "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever", complete with trippy psychedelica! But by then the real Beatles were quite different from the cartoons, so it had to stop.

[@pmsfar-outgrooviness8025]

@@jackeppington6488 it wasn't the last episode, but it was very trippy

[@ScottHotWheels]

I remember this show so well. It was based on Hard Day's Night movie. The groupies followed them everywhere. The stories were based on a specific song such as Day Tripper. Then the song came on half way through with psychedelic animation. As a kid I thought it was the actual voices of The Beatles. Of course it wasn't. I wish it were released on DVD. I have a few eps recorded but it's not much sadly.

[@marktubeie07]

The series was a huge hit here in Australia. I think it had an afternoon airtime from memory.

[@Borella309]

@marktubeie07 Yes - in the early 70s, just after school. It's where I first heard the album tracks and b-sides that were never played on the radio, and started my love for their music, so as poorly made the cartoon series is, it is an important part of my Beatles memories!

[@RedVynil]

Do you ever remember hearing a Beatles break-in record around `65 called, "Gases For The Masses"? A friend of mine that also collects break-ins had an acetate of that record which has since literally fallen off the metal platter in parts of the record. As far as I know, that acetate is the only recording that exists. Last I heard, he sold it a few years ago for $5000.

[@Elitist20]

Same. It was so much part of my growing up that when in 1970 (aged 9) I went past a cinema in Sydney (the Regent) showing Let It Be, I was startled to see them with mustaches, beards and very long hair.

[@roydidlock1867]

I watched it each weekday afternoon on Brisbane TV during 1976.

[@craigsmith7493]

Yep, after school. Bugs Bunny, The Beatles then Lost in Space. Homework? Hah!

[@larryinc64]

The voice actors for the Japanese dub of this show is wild, with most of them going on to have long careers in notable anime and video games. Ringo was voiced by Kazuyuki Sogabe, who was Psycho Mantis in Metal Gear Solid 4, and has credits in Fist of the North Star, Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Super Robot Wars, and One Piece. George was voiced by Hideyuki Tanaka, who was Otacon in Metal Gear Solid series, and also has One Piece, Fist Of The North Star, Ranma 1/2, and many many others. John was voiced by Masato Ibu, who was Lord Farquaad in the dub of Shrek 1.

[@DouglasMoreland-qd5cz]

I have all the cartoons on dvd..loved it then and now

[@samuelgates5935]

@@larryinc64 You left out Paul Frees. He was "Boris Badenov" from "Rocky and Bullwinkle." And many other Hanna-Barbera cartoon voices.

[@dangeorge809]

@@samuelgates5935 He was talking about the Japanese cast, not the US cast.

[@dangeorge809]

Interesting. The voice of Dessler in the original Space Battleship Yamato saga, voicing animated John Lennon? Neat.

[@doryna_sira]

I wonder when the show reached Japan. Even if it was the 1970's, that would have been super early in those voice actor's careers; probably some of their first cartoon work.

[@JordyBoothy]

6 months to produce a traditionally-animated 1st season from scratch is madness. Thank you for the deep dive! Also your outro animation reminding to subscribe is sublime

[@markhawthorne4752]

I was born in 1962 and watched these cartoons growing up in California. I especially remember that when the show moved to Sunday mornings, I would throw a fit when my parents forced me to turn off the TV so the family could attend church.

[@MichaelConsuegra-iy2cx]

@@markhawthorne4752 That sucked.

[@lowbaritonewwj]

@markhawthorne4752 I was born at Hollywood Presbyterian, and recall watching these as a Kindergartener in our West Hollywood apartment. Over the years, I've bought dvds off of ebay. Been a minute since I checked, but you can't find them anymore.

[@thedragonmasterALPHA]

I am a lifelong Beatle fan now in my mid-sixties, and to this day when I hear "Can't Buy Me Love", as the second verse starts, my mind automatically adds the police siren wail that was always part of the cartoon show version of the song. I never knew that the band itself had even seen or had any knowledge of the show at the time. Thanks for history, Mitch & Andrew!

[@Beatletoon]

You are most welcome. Andrew always hits it out of the park.

[@MrSacf]

I watched the first season here in Brazil with voices in Portuguese by Brazilian actors! Can you dig it? I was 14 years old...am 73 now. Thanks for bringing back these memories.

[@michaelrochester48]

You can get a lot of the cartoons on DVD albeit on bootleg DVD. I always found it odd about the cartoons is that they will play Strawberry Fields forever but they will still be in their 1963 clothes and hair.

[@creech54]

The episodes are on YT.

Moptop Fields Forever

[@deniseboldea1624]

I remember watching this cartoon as a child. The witch episode had her falling into her cauldron as an old hag and coming out as a beautiful young woman, but she was in a black dress, not panties.

[@Rayrard]

Anyone know what content prevents them from being released today? Is there a lot of lost media? Did Paul ever say he hated it and he is the one holding it back? The lack of explanation for why the show has disappeared is kind of frustrating. Even with the revival of Beatles nostalgia in the 90's with the Anthology I never remember seeing these cartoons.

[@HoneyBunny-69]

@@Rayrard COPYRIGHTS!! Publishing Rights!! They wouldn't be able to AFFORD the costs by releasing these.

[@colindeer4908]

Absolutely loved this deep dive Yes loved the series all those years ago in Australia. Cheers.

[@newyorknewyork196]

Thank you for the trip down memory lane thank you. I watched it every Saturday morning.

[@yonkieponkie]

I beg to differ, that it was never shown in the UK. As a nine year old boy, in 1970 I became excited to watch the show, thinking it was the Beatles doing their own voices. I couldnt tell at that age that it wasnt them. I seem to think they were shown after The Beatles had split up, but I wouldnt see them again until KZbin in the early 2000's

[@AD65]

Remember it on Granada in late 70s...

[@DavidHarry]

Me too. I’m 57 and remember it. It’s likely to have been mid to late seventies for me as a child. Having grown up in Liverpool at the time, this was definitely on UK terrestrial. I recognised the sting as soon as it was played. Cheers, Dave.

[@original.dwornboy]

Yes it was on ITV in the early 1970s

[@edwardbohlen3569]

Agree, I remember watching this in the UK in the 1970s

[@PaulTaylor1]

So much for handshake agreements then! ☺️

[@WaterShowsProd]

Paul Frees had one of the most versatile voice acting careers in the industry. While fans can often recognise him no matter where his voice turns up, most people are still surprised to learn he was also the original Pilsbury Dough Boy. He remains an influence and inspiration for those of us doing that work today.

He was also Ludwig Von Drake and the Haunted Mansion's narrator and inspired Corey Burton to pursue voice acting.

[@realrocksavage]

He was also the "Thing" on the 1967 Fantastic Four cartoon!!

[@jimryan5513]

Believe it or not, he also did some prominent live acting work too; he plays the radio reporter covering the attempt to use the atomic bomb on the Martians in THE WAR OF THE WORLDS...

[@WaterShowsProd]

He's also the voice of the aliens in Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers. He made some film appearences, including one of the scientists in The Thing (From Another World), and a reporter in Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.

[@davidcross4596]

Future history.... If any

[@themirrorsofmymind]

PAUL: (or was it John?) _"Did you say you're Cupid, or stupid?"_ RINGO: _"Cupid, with a K."_ OTHERS: _"Oh, dear..."_ That's the only dialogue I remember from the cartoon.

[@Beatletoon]

Great memory. It was Paul.

[@trotshot]

it was on saturday mornings in australia in the 70s ,massive part of my youth this stuff ,and those ol rankin filles ,talk about flashback,cheers mate

[@HomebrewMusic]

I have vague memories from when the show was on the air. My parents weren't big on television, so I missed a lot from that era, shows I later caught up on in reruns. But the Beatles cartoon was just gone. I went on to become a big Beatles fan in the seventies during my teenage years. I'm a drummer (weekend warrior) and played many of those songs in bars over the years. People still love them. Eventually, I was able to find clips of the cartoon on the Internet. The flaws are evident, and they didn't quite measure up to my memories, but it was fun to finally see some of them. Thanks for this video. It filled in the gaps.

[@Parlogram]

Thanks for watching. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@andymassingham]

Small but important fact; Professor Hinkle (in the clip from Frosty The Snowman) was actually voiced by the great camp comedian Billy DeWolfe whom, to be fair, sounded a lot like Paul Frees. Great episode as usual!

[@JeffChilds]

Frees was the voice of the traffic cop and Santa Claus.

[@andymassingham]

@@JeffChilds He is EVERYWHERE on those Christmas specials, and elsewhere!

[@ignatzmuskrat3000]

@@andymassingham "Busy busy" I remember DeWolfe from The Doris Day show. He played her fussy fuddy duddy neighbor.

[@mrpink99]

Paul Frees wasn't Professor Hinkle? Mind officially blown.

[@trebillis7399]

Also Heat Miser and Hameister Meister Burger from Santa Claus is coming to town.

[@ALF782]

That cartoon was my introduction to The Beatles as a child. I remember recording the songs from the TV with a microphone.

[@hurdygurdyguy1]

Yep! A TV bootleg rip!!

[@SteveFromOldham]

Granada TV here in Manchester used to show this series during school holidays in the 1970s. I loved them! Quite a few can be seen on KZbin. Luckily theyre all available on the good old Pirate Bay !

[@stephenclayton5129]

I saw these cartoons in the 70s , I lived in the Granada region of ITV

[@DylanPank71]

@@stephenclayton5129 I'm pretty sure I saw them on TV when I was a kid in the mid 80s. I have pretty clear memories of being annoyed that Ringo was the dumb comic relief and that the accents were completely wrong.

[@glennogden6613]

Same here. I lived in Granadaland during the 70s and remember the series very well. I always enjoyed the music in the episodes I saw.

[@glennogden6613]

Being from the north, I always cringed at the accents! However, I was also full of pride that four lads from my region had gone so far and had such an enormous cultural impact.

[@CowmanUK]

Yes I too saw them in the 70s, and I'm from Greater Manchester so Granada was my local ITV channel. When he said never shown in the UK I started to wonder if I was imagining that memory!

[@artm7171]

Hey there! I am 69 and remember watching these cartoons from the first until they no longer aired in NY. I have them on disc and my grandkids watch them now. I looked for the Witch in Devil in Heart and don't see what you mentioned. Thanks for a great show!

[@Parlogram]

Thanks for watching. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@artm7171]

@@Parlogram did anyone confirm the witches panty? I couldn’t find it.

[@kendraper9091]

Thanks for reviewing my favorite Saturday cartoon in the ‘60’s. I became a big Beatles fan because of it and learned a lot of the song lyrics during the “sing along” part.

[@johnwhelan5332]

I saw these Beatles cartoons every Saturday morning when I was a kid. I still love the animation and stories!

[@bosskbounty]

Was shown here in Australia in the 70's. Was my real introduction as a child to the music of the Beatles. Very thankful to the creators of the series, am pretty sure a lot of people my age were introduced to the band and a very wide variety of their music from the series.

[@nigeldreiner]

They should honestly just release them officially with a documentary included. Would cut down on bootleggers and Apple could actually make $. GREAT video by the way!!!

[@hectormanuel8360]

How does Apple own the rights?

[@nigeldreiner]

@hectormanuel8360 I'm sure they bought the rights from King Features a long time ago.

[@doctorrobert1339]

Apparently Apple hates money!

[@peterd788]

@@hectormanuel8360 Apple Corps, the UK company owned by the Beatles members and the estates of Lennon and Harrison. Not to be confused with With the American Company Apple Inc.

[@HoneyBunny-69]

@@doctorrobert1339 They don't hate it. It's just that they don't really need it. They're sitting on a goldmine. They have more $$$ than people would even realize. The difference is, they don't flaunt it like other studios.

[@London_Thomas]

Thank you for this! The Beatles cartoon was my first exposure to their music & was how I learned their songs. As a child, I didn't realize how iconic the group was. As a teen is when I learned that the Beatles were a phenomenon, one that I could sing along with having learned the words as a child.

[@mikevale3620]

Amazing that some of those clips, even though they were only around 2 seconds long and I hadn't seen them for almost 60 years...I remember them. Surely an astonishing thing in itself?

[@robynstephens166]

Same here. I remembered it as this video played. I can almost remember why Ringo interrupted John at the piano just before the sing-a-long. I think it was for a stupid reason, of course.

[@w.llawrence86]

Sullivan was not my introduction to the Beatles-the cartoons were. Every time I hear the opening chord of "A Hard Day's Night" I still see the image of cartoon Ringo unplugging his drums.

[@DrGaryGreen]

In 1980 I was stationed in Incirlik Turkey with the US Air Force. My roomie was a professional broadcaster who was good friends with Paul Frees. I got to listen to many a cassette tape of Paul Frees talking about all nature of stuff. What a wonderful voice.

[@orbyfan]

His voice is unmistakable in many old radio shows and as a narrator of movie trailers and documentaries.

[@BeatlePete910]

Wonderful piece of work, Andrew! You really covered the context for these cartoons. This video was quite the foray into my early childhood. Not just The Beatles cartoons, but all the cartoons referenced as well (Batman too). I had 2 older brothers who helped me to find and watch things like this. I can see why these cartoons are being held back from today's Beatles fans, but for us who were there, we're a forgiving bunch and I, for one, will always have a soft spot. I definitely had the Colorforms and the Nestles Quik blow up dolls. Wish I still did. I checked my Devil In Her Heart cartoon and did not see anything "untoward" about the witch at the end. And yes, Mitchell's book is the place to go for all info on this topic.

[@Parlogram]

Cheers Pete. Glad it bought back some good memories!

[@morshulinton4112]

oh hello there Mr. Best

[@Matt02341]

Inserting your sponsor when the clip shows “insert commercial here” is a bold simple and Genius move! Great job!

[@Parlogram]

Glad you liked it!

[@CopyKatnj]

When ever I hear "And Your Bird Can Sing" I think of the cartoon series and the song has become my most favorite Beatles song.

[@AmyFalken]

@@CopyKatnj Yes!

[@doryna_sira]

That last opening was my favorite. It's some surprisingly arty animation for King.

[@J_McGovern]

@CopyKatnj I feel exactly the same way… it’s also my favorite Beatles song and I associate it with seeing the cartoon series. Btw, there are a number of interesting videos on YT regarding this song. The song was originally recorded with two overlapping guitars, by George and Paul I believe, but some people have learned to play both parts simultaneously on one guitar.

[@jonathanzuckerman520]

Mine too.

[@69waveydavey]

The series was screened in the UK, I watched it, it was on Sunday mornings, don't know what channel but there were only 3 at the time anyway in the late 70's. The only reason I clicked on this was to find out what happened to it.

[@billopenshaw2913]

Yes I remember being shown in the UK alsoin the 70's

[@peterd788]

You saw segments around that time. Granada TV bought the rights to the show in 1980 for the ITV Sunday morning slot but only showed the songs. In 1988 when late night TV began the full episodes were shown but at the end of the licensing period Apple Corps took ownership and the show disappeared.

[@MisterBrain]

I remember watching it around that time. Memories are dim, but I distinctly remember the Yesterday sequence.

[@Dave_Sisson]

I have memories of this being screened in Australia in the late 1970s. Sadly I didn't watch it because I was a bit young.

[@HouseMartin]

@@peterd788 Yes, 1988 sounds about right. They were included in a LWT show called "Night Network" that mostly showed pop videos. I'm not sure if it aired outside London?

[@bellakatearts]

I'm a younger fan, 23. I always liked The Beatles but didn't really get into them until 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic. I'm an animation fan and someone told me this cartoon existed, and I watched all of it within a few days. Now I'm a HUGE fan. I went on my first international solo trip to Liverpool six months ago :)

[@duppyshuman]

I can remember not liking what seemed to me poor animation. But when the songs came on I was glued to the tv. It all became Hi-Fi and technicolor. Watching this brings on the same feelings.

[@Real_g.s.]

My mom and dad were divorcing at this time, and I would watch while spending weekends with my dad. It took my mind off my worries for the short time it was on. My dad died five years after the cartoon went off the air. He was 40 years old.

[@toddbernstein3407]

Great topic and production on this video! I love the animated text interludes. Well done!

[@Parlogram]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Touchthesky76]

As a younger Beatles fan, these cartoons are awesome. I've known about their existence and nothing else until today. Thank you, Andrew!

I was born in 2004, and these cartoons are classic. Ringo being portrayed as a klutz is just on-key.

[@magneto7930]

I have such fond memories of watching the Beatles cartoons in the 60s, and again later in the 70s when they were repeated on tv. I particularly remember Ringo unplugging his drums at the end of some of the episodes, letting all the air out of them like a balloon. You can find a lot of these episodes all over youtube. Great memories. Thanks for sharing!

[@ignatzmuskrat3000]

I grew up in Alabama and Georgia and this was the means I heard their hits. Glad to see them on YT. The Jackson 5 are next!

[@markwilson6293]

I watched these as a kid in Australia in the 60s. It's how i learned to love Bestles music. Great show.

[@negriilrob]

I watched it each week. when I was 5. I think our local TV station taped it and played each Saturday morning at the same time. By season 3, all I wanted was their new vinyl. A sibling let me use his headphones when I was 7.

[@vincentmusic09]

through some way (or some how) I ended up with a DVD collection of bootlegged recordings of all of these episodes. I used to watch them in the car on my portable DVD player on the way to, well, everywhere. Sometimes I still watch them today. Looking back, I do have to admit they can be very dated and would not fly today but they were always and still are a huge amount of fun. Great video as always Andrew!

[@Parlogram]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@keithlarson9304]

I was 11 years old when the series began in 1965. Maybe I was a little old for cartoons by that point but I never liked the Beatles cartoons for anything other than being able to hear a Beatles song. And I consider myself a Beatles aficionado. After watching your show I am now grateful that I saw them when I did. I didn't realize they went all the way into 1968.

[@DanaTheInsane]

I’m 59 and I’m still not too old for cartoons.

[@Moshavnik7272]

I was also 11 in 1965. I didn’t care for the cheap looking and fast talking cartoons but liked the songs. I thought I also recalled a cartoon with the Hollies around that time singing “Look Through Any Window”, but it may be a false memory.

[@catsofsherman1316]

I'm 54 and love cartoons. These Beatles cartoons are definitely too juvenile for me, but animation as a medium has limitless possibilities.

[@rootbeer5356]

I would be really interested in a video about the bizarre Beatles merchandise from the early mania. The small segment at 20:48 was intriguing, and seeing some of the truly insane items they came up with would make for a fascinating video.

[@AdrianLee-ho1ds]

@rootbeer5356 I agree. This would make for a fascinating episode. All the junk and tat took poor old Brian Epstein by surprise when they got to the States. Coming from the U.K. in the early 1960s, he never contemplated that so many people would make so much money from merchandise. As a result, he did not attempt to restrict and licence the images of the Beatles. Consequently, lots of American manufacturers made all the money, and the Beatles didn't so much as get close to a single penny in royalties. Somebody got rich on all those Beatles wigs. It would make for an interesting bit of detective work to discover who was behind it all.

[@robynstephens166]

I remember my brother, a cousin and myself each had a single piece plastic mop top wig and it hurt my ears no end.

[@tecpaocelotl]

I enjoyed it. I put my copies on youtube, which youtube removed a long time ago. Good times.

[@theboulevardierofbroadway4659]

Well done!!! I was lucky to have cool parents who not only had us all watch the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964, but my mom brought home "Meet the Beatles" a few days earlier. As a kid, I watched these cartoons religiously. At the time, the bad accents by Frees didn't bother me, but I loved the Ringo voice (and still do). Many years ago, a friend gifted me with the Paul blow-up doll from the show, which I still have in my music room. Also, I got to meet Brodax at an anniversary showing of Yellow Submarine at the Ziegfeld Theater. An acquaintance of mine with the same name is distantly related to him (but never met him) -- the photo of Brodax in this program will make clear to my friend that they are indeed related. A great project that would also probably never happen would be to re-dub the cartoon with authentic impersonators, like the guy who does John in the Cavern Club Beatles' band. (I went there in June to live out a 60-year-old dream.)

[@Parlogram]

Great memories! Thanks for watching!

[@billpg]

"The show would need a sponsor..." (Cut to ad.) Clever. (If intended.)

[@JuneLynn]

In the 60's I was so thrilled every Saturday morning at 9:00am to watch the series on abc channel 7....I didn't like the fact that the songs were edited, you did not hear the whole song....probably because they could get in more commercials....I never really thought about their voices not sounding like the real Beatles....I was just 10 years old and absolutely adored the Beatles....and always will...lol....I bought a very bad DVD copy of some of the cartoons, half of the cartoons will not play....thanks so much for sharing all the info about the series....really enjoyed this !!

[@hurdygurdyguy1]

Yep, as a kid who cared the cartoon characters didn't have "real" Beatle voices, it was all about the songs!!! American kids (and adults) have no idea what British accent comes from where...Birmingham, Liverpool, Cornish, it was all British to us...except Cockney, that was easy to spot...

[@JuneLynn]

@@hurdygurdyguy1 Yeah, I lived for the Beatles and their music!!....it should have bothered me about the voices but I was just so happy to watch that show every week... but it really bugged me when they did the sing-a-long in the middle of the show that they didn't play the whole darned song...lol...I would be singing and then wondering why??.

[@Tom-el5cq]

Great video, Andrew! I met Mitch once at an event where we were each promoting our books. I showed him some of my drawings I had with me, one was of John Lennon. That sparked a conversation of all things Beatles. Super nice guy, and very knowledgeable.

[@Beatletoon]

Thanks so much!!

[@Tom-el5cq]

@ You’re very welcome, sir! Hope you’re doing great.

[@medwayhospitalprotest]

I was born in the early 70's and grew up watching the re-runs of this. Loved it! Its so corny when you watch it now, but I realise how much it shaped my idea of what Ringo was like. Ringo has always been my favourite!

[@jjjnettie]

Aussie here. It was the late 60's when I first remember watching the cartoons. All that 4yr old me remembers is the lads running away from girls and I really enjoyed the music. :) I've since watched some episodes on KZbin. :)

[@Harpo86]

I remember watching this cartoon in the 1970s. As soon as I heard the theme song, it took me right back!!!

[@paisleybabee]

Me too!

[@brilton1]

Yes. I was about four years old when I started watching the Beatles cartoons here in Australia back in the 60s. Apparently I’d go around the house imitating the voices. So that makes me a first generation fan 😁🏆

[@markjamesmeli2520]

I was born in 1964 in New York state, USA. By 1966 I was old enough to finally sit down and pay attention to cartoons, but I have no memory of watching the animated Beatles' series. See, Dad love cartoons too, and on Saturday's he watched them with my brother and I, and of course, he went straight for the Bugs Bunny Looney Tunes Warner Brothers arsenal. On weeknights, we watched The Flintstones, and other shows from The Hanna-Barbera studios. As my brother entered Junior High around 1971-1972, he and his friends would reminisce about watching The Beatles' animated series, but even by then, in our area, they weren't being aired anymore. So, for me, I've only seen the series in bits like this. But, yours is the first time I'd seen the series explained and analyzed so thoroughly. Thank you.

[@Parlogram]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@J_McGovern]

Hi Mark, I’m about your age and from the NYC area. I must have missed the original run of this cartoon series in the 60’s. I only remember it being aired during one Summer in the early 70’s, early in the morning like 6:30 am on WNEW-TV.

[@angusyjr]

i was born in 1989, my mom had beatles memorabilia decorating our dining room, *we called it the beatle room, lol* and not only did i grow up listening to the fab four's music, but i also grew up watching help, hard day's night, magical mystery tour, and yellow submarine on vhs every day! and around the time i was born, the cartoons were shown on disney channel during their afternoon time segment, and i grew up watching 2 episodes of those cartoons taped on vhs! good day sunshine and ticket to ride, thank god i found the bootleg dvds of the cartoons, my childhood has returned and the nostalgia keeps me going! ^w^

[@WatchVidsMakeLists]

I discovered the cartoon last year when I was working at a retro 60s/70s bar that always played old cartoons and films, had no idea it was so hard to find in the modern day

[@pauljensen5699]

I remember this on the UHF TV stations in the St. Louis, MO in the late 1970's.

[@dodo1opps]

KDNL, Channel 30, St Louis...

[@pauljensen5699]

@@dodo1opps Thank you. 😊

[@ronmartin4212]

And I had gotten a VHS boot of some episodes shown on WSOC ,Channel 9 in North Carolina,back in the early '80's and were also shown then on a station in Oklahoma,so some UHF /VHF stations did show them.Major markets like Philly(near where Im at)or New York were too high profile to "sneak" the program into their schedules,I guess.

[@victorhugotoledocofre1366]

Never missed an episode here in Chile in the 1970s. Thanks for the nostalgia, Andrew!! 🥰

[@caryheuchert]

This cartoon was my first-hand introduction to the Beatles, back in the mid-1960s, along with Batman, the Green Hornet, and Monkees. Fab memories!

[@AnthonyDeFeo-d2u]

I remember waking up on Saturday mornings, running down stairs to our basement to get my drum sticks so I could playing on the floor while watching the Beatles Cartoons. What a great time it was.

[@GerarddeSouza-yt3fc]

I remember I must have been 3 going on 4 when I followed my siblings to the rec room to watch the premiere. To a little kid, The Beatles were just a part of the zeitgeist and always seemed to be around. I watched to watch a cartoon and learned their names but it would be several years before I would really understand why their music is to be appreciated. Excellent video; excellent bibliography. The only small thing; Paul Frees was so prolific yet you showed an animated character he did not voice. Frees was Santa in Frosty the Snowman. The voice you showed was by comedic actor Billy De Wolfe, whose schtick’s catchphrase was “Messy, messy, messy!”

[@thebec8853]

@@GerarddeSouza-yt3fc thanks for catching that. I noticed it too but I wasn't going to say anything. 😊

[@Sp33gan]

Thank you, as always, Andrew. A very fond trip down my vague early memory lane. I was just old enough to watch the Beatles' cartoons and understand what I was watching. My memories of Saturday morning cartoons are some of my favourites of my childhood. I'll admit I have clearer memories of the superhero cartoons, but I have never forgotten watching, and listening, to The Beatles every weekend. Our father would never allow such rubbish into the house so it was an extra special Christmas when mum bought a small record player and a stack of albums for us. That first year included Rubber Soul. ♥ Finally, my many siblings and I could listen to the music any time we wanted, which was often. Still, the cartoon series was my first exposure to The Beatles and I am forever grateful to Al Brodax for bringing it to us. Coming from a Canadian family of UK ex-pats, I did recognise the voices were all wrong, but I didn't care. I just loved the show ♥

[@randyzingaro1986]

Loved them. Made sure not to miss them. I would be the first in line to buy the Blu-ray if ever offered, and I know many more who would do the same.

[@eti313]

I was almost 3 when this debuted in the US, and I remember it well, this and The Monkees, which debuted, a year later were favorites. I admit was also quite taken with Batman, but The Beatles were always tops with my family (my parents were just a few years older than the Beatles, and loved their music). Oddly so many other cartoons featured cartoon bands in later years; The Archies, Josie and the Pussycats, and of course The Jackson Five and The Osmonds, probably a bunch more.

[@trevcole-v1e]

Was a Beatles tragic & 12yrs old when they toured Australia in 1964(& still am). Used to watch them religously & enjoy the singalongs. Too young to go to the concerts, but before they left, they recorded footage from their Melbourne show, which was made into a 1hr TV Beatles live special, shown on a Saturday night, which to this day is some of the best live Beatle footage around. Thanks for the story on the cartoons. Saw a DVD of the series a few years ago, but don't recall where it was from.

[@TheyCametoaLandDownunder]

You might be interested in our podcast this year. Lots about the tour but also what life in Australia was like.

[@hofnerbassman737]

I remember watching some of the Beatle cartoons back in the 70s. I'd never heard of the cartoons until they started appearing in the TV listings, which is when I checked them out ! I think they were broadcast on ITV in England. Due to regional variations of ITV broadcasts, they never seemed to appear at the same time so you had to keep a close eye on TV Times or the newspapers. I wasn't keen on them but, back then, the Beatles rarely popped up on TV so this was a chance to see them. As I was a new fan in 1974, the cartoons did provide me with the opportunity to listen to new songs I'd yet to hear as I was steadily building my Beatles albums and singles collection at that time. Good to hear the story behind them so thanks Andrew ! cheers Tim

[@Parlogram]

Cheers Tim. They never showed up on Anglia!

[@fran98832]

amazing video man, i do have a memory of watching the full series on a single long KZbin video back in maybe 2016 or around that time, sadly it got removed in a few months but i still hold on to that memory and i know that it got a spanish dub for here in Latin America, amazing stuff man, keep it up !!

[@robranney-blake8731]

My older brothers didn’t let me play their Beatles records, but I had this show every Saturday. By the third season, it was disappointing that by the time a new episode aired, the song already felt old. Music was changing that fast.

[@mlc3stooge1]

An excellent history of the cartoon! I "discovered" the Beatles through the cartoon series in the 60s. I grew up in Tennessee and my sister was a huge Elvis fan. When the Beatles came to the US she forbade the playing of Beatle records on her phonograph (the only one in the house) because it would "contaminate the needle". So I had to get my Beatles' fill either via the radio or through the cartoon series. I see them on KZbin every now and then but the music has been stripped out or altered. And you are correct -- Mr Axlerod's book is excellent.

[@Beatletoon]

Thank you so much for the compliment. It took me 5 years to research without the help of the internet.

[@moxievision]

@@Beatletoon Hi Mitchell, great to see you on here. I don't have my copy of the book handy, but do you know if Gerald Potterton worked on The Beatles series? I know he worked for Al Brodax on Cool McCool and Yellow Submarine, and given the frenetic way the Beatles series was produced, it wouldn't surprise me if he also had an (uncredited) hand in it.

[@alancruzdominguez5074]

Elvis was out of fashion during the Beatlemania.😂😂😂

[@mlc3stooge1]

@@alancruzdominguez5074 Not in Tennessee

[@MrButtonpresser]

Loved this cartoon as a kid in the 60's in Australia. Unmissable! This brings back such memories.

[@michaelbean5312]

That was fab, and so were the cartoons. I never missed them on Saturday mornings.

[@edwinhiley6281]

I clearly remember watching episodes of this in the UK on ITV's Granada (North West England) region in the late 70's. They were shown in the morning during school holidays. I don't know if other regions showed them though.

[@GreenBeatRec]

Yes I clearly remember watching episodes on ITV’s Central in the West Mids during school holidays in the 80’s too

[@GatesheadElvis]

I remember watching this in the Tyne Tees region of the UK in the late 1970's

[@peterd788]

It was 1980 but you didn't see whole episodes. Segments were shown on Granada's Sunday morning hour across the ITV network. In 1988 whole episodes were shown in ITV's late night slot until Apple Corps took control of the rights in 1990 and stopped renewing licences.

[@simondoyle5173]

Yes - they were regularly broadcast on Channel TV when we were on holiday in Guernsey in the 70s.

[@paulf9487]

I remember watching the show in Cornwall in the early seventies, our ITV network then was Westward, although I can't remember they were whole episodes or just clips.

[@gram1608]

Great to hear the story of the cartoons. I remember watching on a Saturday morning here in Australia. Thanks Andrew

[@Parlogram]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jamesgillbanks2074]

Definitely remember seeing these cartoons in the UK in the 70s, along with the Jackson 5 ones. Probably on Granada tv up here in the old Northwest.

[@nickmurray9151]

Yes that would be correct. Remember them vividly on weekend mornings, like you say on Granada. Essentially viewing for my young self who couldn’t wait each episode to see what songs they were singing.

[@RoyDidlock]

Here in Australia, the Beatles cartoons were shown in the late 1960's. In 1976, the show reappeared on Australian TV, I was 11 then, I watched the entire series and became a Beatles fan and began collecting their records. I am still a major fan 48 years on. Season three with the Revolver songs definitely the best, I mean on what other show could kids sing along to song lyrics like, "She said, I know what it's like to be dead".

[@stevejavonovich6021]

Thanks for this video! I was one of those kids that watched every episode and ran out and bought more Beatle records.

[@MarkArnoldComicsHistorian]

The last time I saw these cartoons was in syndication in the early 1980s. I believe the very last time they appeared anywhere was on MTV around the same time of The Monkees 20th Anniversary.

[@ldweisberg]

I was born in Feb 1963 and "She Loves You" is the very first song by The Beatles I remember... due to the Cartoon Series!

[@gailhoffmann9498]

I was 9 yrs old when The Beatles cartoon show first aired. I watched it every Sat. morning and followed it throughout the time changes until the end. I see now though why Britain and The Beatles would've resented the way the accents were portrayed.

[@megany0510]

Thank you explaining everything. I've loved the Beatles cartoons for years!

[@Parlogram]

You're very welcome!

[@Elephant2024]

Thanks for this video. With all the attention we focus on the music, did not know about this story. Remember hearing an interview with George Martin when he said even with 'Yellow Submarine' that the Beatles hated the idea of being portrayed in cartoon form.

[@edgoodwin1667]

Great job on this video 👌 Thank you I watched it in 1965. It was my favorite cartoon

[@Parlogram]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@The_Freestyle_Skater]

I have the Beatles cartoons on DVD! I still watch them every so often. A great series.

[@TheCliffandPhilShow]

I do too! :)

[@Talos1963]

I used to rush home from school to watch the cartoons in the afternoon in Australia in the late 60s/early 70s. So much fun. It really should be remastered and released on blu-ray.

[@miss3305]

I grew up in Australia watching these every weekend, absolutely loved them and still listen to the Beatles to this day. Good memories.

[@mrs.rittenhouse]

I do remember those. Even though I was pretty young, I remember thinking at the time that John's cartoon voice sounded nothing like his singing voice. Thanks for going into that and explaining it!