''Tijuana Toads'' is a series of 17 theatrical cartoons produced by DePatie–Freleng and released through

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

Plot

The series concerns two toads, El Toro and Pancho, who live in the Mexican city of

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

. Throughout the cartoon they try to eat their prey, but always get outsmarted. They would sometimes themselves be targeted by a bird,

Crazylegs Crane ''Crazylegs Crane'' is a 16-episode made-for-television cartoon series produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises in 1978 for '' The All New Pink Panther Show'' on ABC. Production This was Crazylegs Crane's first series dedicated solely to him. P ...

, and would in turn always outsmart him. The series introduced two characters who later got their own series. ''

The Blue Racer ''The Blue Racer'' is a series of 17 theatrical cartoons produced from 1972 to 1974 created by Friz Freleng and David H. DePatie. The character's first cartoon, ''Snake in the Gracias'', was released theatrically on January 24, 1971. Production ...

'' first appeared in "''Snake in the Gracias''" (1971) before getting his own series in 1972. ''Crazylegs Crane'' first appeared in "''Go for Croack''" (1969), and also spun off to his own series for television in 1978 on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

. Both characters were voiced by Larry D. Mann, except in "Flight to the Finish" where Bob Holt voiced Crazylegs Crane. El Toro was voiced by actor

Don Diamond Donald Alan Diamond (June 4, 1921 – June 19, 2011) was an American radio, film, and television actor who portrayed "Crazy Cat", the sidekick and heir apparent to Chief Wild Eagle on the popular 1960s television sitcom, ''F Troop'' (1965–19 ...

and Pancho voiced by Tom Holland. Crazylegs Crane was voiced by Larry D. Mann. Directorial duties were split between

Hawley Pratt Hawley B. Pratt (June 9, 1911 – March 4, 1999) was an American film director, animator, designer and illustrator. He is best known for his work for Warner Bros. Cartoons and as the right-hand man of director Friz Freleng as a layout artist and ...

Art Davis Arthur Davis may refer to: Entertainment * Arthur Davis (animator) (1905–2000), American animator and director * Art Davis (actor) (1913–1987), American musician, singer, and actor * Art Davis (bassist) (1934–2007), American jazz bassist * A ...

, Grant Simmons, and

Gerry Chiniquy Germain Adolph Chiniquy (pronounced "chin-a-KEE"; June 23, 1912 – November 22, 1989) was an American animator known for his work with Friz Freleng at both Warner Bros. Cartoons and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises. Chiniquy joined Freleng's ani ...

. When the series began airing in 1976 as part of '' The Pink Panther Laugh and a Half Hour and a Half Show'', it was re-dubbed and renamed ''Texas Toads'' to make the series less offensive. A laugh track was added to the new soundtrack, and the toads were given the new names of Fatso and Banjo. Producer

David H. DePatie David Hudson DePatie (; December 24, 1929 – September 23, 2021) was an American film and television producer who was the last and longest-lived executive in charge of the original Warner Bros. Cartoons studio. He also formed DePatie–Freleng ...

later commented on the process:

Filmography

Note

''Tijuana Toads'' shorts aired on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

and

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool typically constructed with airfoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight, designed to return to the thrower. The origin of the word is from Australian Aborigin ...

Remade and reused scenes and plots

* ''Tijuana Toads'' (first Episode, a.k.a. ''Tall in the Grass'') reused scenes based from ''

Tree for Two In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only plan ...

'', ''Dr. Jerkyll's Hyde'', and '' Two Crows from Tacos''. * ''A Pair of Greenbacks'' reused some scenes based on ''

Mouse and Garden ''Mouse and Garden'' is a 1960 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The Academy Award-nominated cartoon was released on July 16, 1960, and stars Sylvester. The title is a play on '' House & Garden''. Sylvester is voic ...

'' and '' Two Crows from Tacos''. * ''Go for Croak'' reused the drinking of nitroglycerin trick from '' Mouse Mazurka''. * ''Never on Thirsty'' reused scenes from ''The Honey-mousers''.

Revivals

The characters were resurrected for the 1993 TV series ''

The Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Clouseau, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the fil ...

''. As the case when the original shorts were shown on TV, they were rebranded as the Texas Toads. The toads were redesigned as western sheriffs with oversized cowboy hats replacing their sombreros.

Home video

VHS

In 1987, ''Go for Croak'' was released on VHS as part of ''Cartoon Festival''.

DVD and Blu-ray

In 2016,

Kino Lorber Kino Lorber is an international film distribution company based in New York City. Founded in 1977, it was originally known as Kino International until it was acquired by and merged into Lorber HT Digital in 2009. It specializes in art film, art ho ...

released the complete series with the original soundtrack, digitally remastered from the original negatives and in the original ratio.

Popular culture

A restaurant dubbed under the name ''Pancho i Toro - Pizza & Grill Sesvete'' is located in Sesvete, Croatia.Restaurant
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External links

References

{{DePatie-Freleng Enterprises Animated duos Animated film series

Toads Toad (also known as a hoptoad) is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. In popular culture (folk taxonomy), ...

DePatie–Freleng Enterprises Fictional duos Fictional frogs Film series introduced in 1969 Television series by MGM Television Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animated films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animated short films United Artists animated films The Pink Panther Show Fictional Mexican people Anthropomorphic frogs Male characters in animation Animated film controversies Race-related controversies in animation Race-related controversies in film Ethnic humour Stereotypes of Hispanic and Latino Americans Animated characters introduced in 1969 Animated films about talking animals