''The Kwicky Koala Show'' is a 30-minute

Saturday-morning cartoon "Saturday-morning cartoon" is a colloquial term for the original animated series programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks. The genre's popularity had a br ...

produced by

Hanna-Barbera Productions Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

and Hanna Barbera Pty, Ltd. that aired on CBS from September 12 to December 26, 1981. This series is notable for being among cartoon director

Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American animation. His mo ...

's final works; he died during production in 1980. As it was produced in Australia, the

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...

and later

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning ...

broadcasts were sourced from

PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

masters, rather than

NTSC The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...

masters like many other Hanna-Barbera productions. Each segment has also been shown separately as filler between shows on Boomerang. ''The Kwicky Koala Show'' contained four short segments: ''Kwicky Koala'', ''The Bungle Brothers'', ''Crazy Claws'' and ''Dirty Dawg''.

Segments

Kwicky Koala

Kwicky

Koala The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the ...

(voiced by writer Bob Ogle) is similar to Avery's

Droopy Droopy is an animated character from the golden age of American animation. He is an anthropomorphic white Basset Hound with a droopy face; hence his name. He was created in 1943 by Tex Avery for theatrical cartoon shorts produced by the Metro- ...

, except that Kwicky can escape his pursuer Wilford

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

(voiced by John Stephenson), who closely resembles the earlier Hanna-Barbera character

Mildew Wolf Mildew Wolf is a fictional anthropomorphic wolf, main antagonist, and title character of the '' Cattanooga Cats'' segment '' It's the Wolf!''. He is the most popular character of the series, and he was voiced by an uncredited Paul Lynde. Biograph ...

(to the point that Stephenson impersonates Mildew's voice actor

Paul Lynde Paul Edward Lynde (; June 13, 1926January 10, 1982) was an American comedian, actor and game show panelist. A character actor with a distinctively campy and snarky persona that often poked fun at his barely closeted homosexuality, Lynde was we ...

for Wilford). The difference is that Kwicky moves at super-speed, which looks more like vanishing into thin air with an accompanying "beep" sound effect, much like

Speedy Gonzales Speedy Gonzales is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He is portrayed as "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico" with his major traits being the ability to run extremely fas ...

(the animation shortcut used to facilitate this often went to extremes by making Kwicky disappear from one spot and reappear instantly in the next, with no intermediate smear frames).

Episodes

The Bungle Brothers

A pair of

beagle The beagle is a breed of small scent hound, similar in appearance to the much larger foxhound. The beagle was developed primarily for hunting hare, known as beagling. Possessing a great sense of smell and superior tracking instincts, th ...

s named George (voiced by Michael Bell) and Joey (voiced by

Allan Melvin Allan John Melvin (February 18, 1923 – January 17, 2008) was an American actor and impressionist, who was cast in hundreds of television episodes from the 1950s to the early 1990s, often appearing in recurring roles on various series. Some of th ...

) seek

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

stardom. This segment is mostly short wraparounds.

Episodes

Crazy Claws

wildcat The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

named Crazy Claws (voiced by

Jim MacGeorge James Andrew MacGeorge (October 9, 1928 – January 16, 2021) was an American voice actor, puppeteer, stand-up comedian and writer. He is also credited Jim McGeorge and James MacGeorge. Career He is probably best known for his voice roles as Be ...

impersonating

Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit an ...

) uses his sharp wits and equally sharp claws to evade the

fur trapper Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanke ...

Rawhide Clyde (voiced by

Don Messick Donald Earle Messick (September 7, 1926 – October 24, 1997) was an American voice actor. He was best known for his performances in Hanna-Barbera cartoons. His best-remembered vocal creations include Scooby-Doo, Bamm-Bamm Rubble and Hoppy in ...

) and his dog Bristletooth (voiced by

Peter Cullen Peter Claver Cullen (born July 28, 1941) is a Canadian voice actor. He is best known as the voice of Optimus Prime in the original 1980s ''Transformers'' animated series, reprising the role many times since 2007. He has also voiced many other ...

) in a U.S. National Park run by

Ranger A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

Rangerfield (voiced by Michael Bell).

Episodes

Dirty Dawg

vagrant Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...

Labrador Retriever named Dirty Dawg (voiced by

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...

impersonating Howard Cosell) seeks to improve life for himself and his friend Ratso the Rat (voiced by Marshall Efron) while staying ahead of a

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

named Officer Bullhorn (voiced by Matthew Faison).

Episodes

Cast

* Michael Bell as George, Ranger Rangerfield *

as Bristletooth * Marshall Efron as Ratso * Matthew Faison as Officer Bullhorn *

as Crazy Claws *

as Joey *

as Rawhide Clyde *

Bob Ogle Robert Allen Ogle (May 28, 1926 – February 25, 1984), known as Bob Ogle, was an American voice actor, animator and writer. Most characters he voiced are performed in the style of Bill Thompson's character Wallace Wimple from ''Fibber McGee and ...

as Kwicky Koala * John Stephenson as Wilford Wolf *

as Dirty Dawg

Additional voices

* Marlene Aragon * Joe Baker * Jered Barclay *

Hamilton Camp Hamilton Camp (Born Robin S. Camp, 30 October 1934 – 2 October 2005) was a London-born actor and singer, who relocated to the United States with his family when he was a young child. He became an American folk singer during he 1960s, and ev ...

Henry Corden Henry Corden (born Henry Cohen; January 6, 1920 – May 19, 2005) was a Canadian-born American actor, best known for taking over the role of Fred Flintstone after Alan Reed's death in 1977. His official debut as Fred's new voice was in the 1 ...

Jack DeLeon Jack DeLeon (December 19, 1924 – October 16, 2006) was an American actor. He was best known for portraying Marty Morrison from 1975 to 1982 on the television detective sitcom ''Barney Miller'', in a total of eight episodes. His character was p ...

Joan Gerber Joan Gerber (July 29, 1935 – August 22, 2011) was an American voice actress who provided voices for a variety of cartoons. Her most challenging voice role was "all the children in a Japanese train wreck" for a '' Godzilla'' television episode ...

Danny Goldman Daniel Goldman (October 30, 1939 – April 12, 2020) was an American actor and casting director. He was most widely recognized as the voice of Brainy Smurf in Hanna-Barbera's ''The Smurfs'' (1981–1989). Early life Goldman graduated from Far ...

* Bob Holt *

Annie Potts Anne Hampton Potts (born October 28, 1952) is an American actress. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for ''Corvette Summer'' (1978) and won a Genie Award for '' Heartaches'' (1981), before appearing in '' Ghostbusters'' (1984), ''Pretty ...

* Paul Ross *

Bob Sarlatte Bob Sarlatte is an American actor, comedian and sports announcer known for such films and television series as '' Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home'', ''EDtv'' and ''Late Show with David Letterman''. Sarlatte was also the on-field stadium announcer ...

* Marilyn Schreffler * Hal Smith *

Lennie Weinrib Leonard Weinrib (April 29, 1935 – June 28, 2006) was an American actor, comedian and writer. He is best known for playing the title role in the children's television show '' H.R. Pufnstuf'', Grimace in McDonaldland commercials, the title role in ...

Home media

A VHS release of the series was issued by Worldvision Home Video during the late 1980s, and several episodes were released on DVD by

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...

as part of ''Saturday Morning Cartoons: The 1980s Collection, Volume 1'' on May 4, 2010. The episodes on this set are "Dry Run", "Robinson Caruso", "High Roller", "The Claws Conspiracy", "Hat Dance" and "Dirty's Debut". On October 11, 2016,

Warner Archive The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inten ...

released ''The Kwicky Koala Show: The Complete Series'' on DVD in region 1 for the very first time, as part of their

Hanna-Barbera Classics Collection Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video ...

. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.

Other appearances

* In the

bumper "Sick Days", a majority of cartoon characters call in sick to work, resulting in a programming problem due to the talent shortage. The result was CN airing a 24-hour Kwicky Koala Marathon, much to the viewers' dismay. * Kwicky Koala makes some cameo appearances in ''

Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law ''Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law'' is an American adult animated television sitcom created by Michael Ouweleen and Erik Richter for Cartoon Network's late-night programming block, Adult Swim. A spin-off of ''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'', the ...

''. He appears as a tattoo in the episode "Deadomutt Part 2". He also appears in "SPF", where he, along with Dirty Dawg, appears as one of the victims of

Cybersquatting Cybersquatting (also known as domain squatting) is the practice of registering, trafficking in, or using an Internet domain name, with a bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else. The term is derived ...

, and in "The Death of Harvey" during the riots, laying in a road crater and moving his head. Additionally, Officer Bullhorn appears as a jury candidate in "Juror in Court". * Kwicky Koala and Dirty Dawg make appearances in ''

Jellystone! ''Jellystone!'' is an American animated streaming television comedy series developed by C. H. Greenblatt for HBO Max. The series is produced by Warner Bros. Animation and features reimagined versions of various characters by Hanna-Barbera. It pr ...

'' with Kwicky Koala voiced by

Paul F. Tompkins Paul Francis Tompkins (born September 12, 1968) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He is known for his work in television on such programs as ''Mr. Show with Bob and David'', '' Real Time with Bill Maher'', and ''Best Week Ever'', later ...

and Dirty Dawg voiced by

Jeff Bergman Jeffrey Bergman (born July 10, 1960) is an American voice actor and impressionist who has provided the modern-day voices of various classic cartoon characters, most notably with '' Looney Tunes'' and Hanna-Barbera. Bergman was the first to rep ...

. Dirty Dawg was seen in the episode "It's a Mad Mad Mad Rat Race" where he works as a caricature artist and is an old friend of

Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har ''Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har'' is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera and aired as part of the 1962 series '' The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series'' starring the titular anthropomorphic lion and hyena duo in a series of g ...

References

External links

* *
Kwicky Koala
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on December 2, 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kwicky Koala Show, The 1980s American animated television series 1980s American anthology television series 1981 American television series debuts 1981 American television series endings 1981 Australian television series debuts 1981 Australian television series endings Television series about koalas Fictional characters who can teleport Fictional characters who can move at superhuman speeds CBS original programming Television series by Endemol Australia Television series by Hanna-Barbera American children's animated anthology television series American children's animated comedy television series Australian children's animated comedy television series