Jonny Quest

When I was a kid (you know, back when Hanna-Barbera dominated TV cartoons and dinosaurs roamed the antediluvian plain), there was an incredibly, inexplicably popular show named…"Scooby Doo". But, for those of us who considered ourselves smarter and hipper than the average bear, there was only one cartoon that ruled and it ruled with an iron fist. I'm talking about "Jonny Quest", a combination of pulp adventure, science fiction, spy flicks, horror, drama and comedy that was utterly irresistible to me and millions of other little boys around the world back in the mid-60's. From the opening bars of Hoyt Curtin's driving, jazzy theme song, the opening credits were enough to drive any kid insane: a savage jungle with giant lizards, a mummy, a pteranodon, jet packs, gunfire, fisticuffs, giant robot spiders, hover platforms, giant death rays and then the introduction of the Quest family: 11-year old Jonny, scientific genius Dr. Benton Quest, tutor-pilot-combat expert-bodyguard Roger T. "Race" Bannon, Indian mystic Hadji, and Jonny's bulldog pup Bandit racing around the world to another thrilling adventure in Dr. Quest's sleek, needle-nosed jet aircraft. Jonny and his dad lived in a secluded island fortress-secret laboratory with Race Bannon, Hadji and Bandit. Dr. Quest was a scientific genius working for the U.S. Government, a widower (Mrs. Quest's death is only mentioned once, but the impression lingered that she was killed by bad guys trying to get to Dr. Quest – hence, government agent Race Bannon is assigned to protect father and son) who was constantly called to come up with some piece of super-science or a solution to a strange mystery in some remote and exotic corner of the world – and, more often than not, how Jonny (with considerable assists from Hadji and Bandit) saved or gave him critical assistance. "Jonny Quest" was different because it was obviously a show that was striving for a maturity and realism that had never been seen in television animation before. From the lush and detailed backgrounds to the almost-adult level of violence (all sorts of people and animals die in this show - and when someone died, they stayed dead), there was a lot in this show that wasn't for kids. And now, after years of waiting, Warner Brothers has released all 26 episodes in a massive and elegant 4-disc set, presented in their original broadcast order. From "Mystery of the Lizard Men" to "The Robot Spy" to "The Sea Haunt", they're all here and looking absolutely smashing along with all sorts of DVD goodies like trailers, a featurette on the animators, everything you'd ever want to know about the good and bad guys on the show and even a vintage commercial for sneakers starring Jonny! I fell in love with this show when I was about 8 years old, watching it dubbed in Spanish and in black-and-white, rediscovered it again in color when we came to the States and now, after 30+ years I can say with total assurance that some pleasures from childhood are just as good when you're an adult.

This was the coolest show ever! You had top notch designs from Doug Wildey and Alex Toth, great voices from the likes of Don Messick and Tim "Otter" Matheson, great stories and kick-a** music. People actually died in this show! (unlike 80's fare, like GI Joe, where they always parachuted to safety, or everyone misses with lasers). Despite being tagged as violent, the show illustrated that violence had consequences. You learned that if you fire a gun, people die, or at least get hurt.

What's not to love about a show with dinosaurs, WWI airplanes, robot spiders, lizard men, Dr Zin, invisible monsters, mummies, and secret armies? You got jet packs, lasers, submarines, hovercraft, hydrofoils, vstol jets, and other cool rides. You have evil villains like Dr Zin, Ivar, Dr Karim, Ashida and his dragons, and a host of foreign spies. Throw in exotic locales and you can't lose.

Yeah, it wasn't the most PC of shows (take that you heathen monkeys, indeed) but it was still pretty entertaining; and, Hadji was always portrayed as an intelligent and equal character. Sure, Dr Quest and Race Bannon sure seemed to avoid women (except Jezebel Jade) but, you know, they were positive role models.

By the way, if you ever wondered what happened to Jonny's mother, check out the excellent Comico comic book from the 80's. It was an outstanding story that will bring tears to your eyes, and add a wrinkle to Dr Zin.

OK so I'm a big kid at heart according to my wife- I have recently purchased the JOnny Quest first series on DVD- what quality! Even my young son is hooked on it- Great music, superb animation design which looks good on DVD, fantastic extras including a Jonny Quest TV ad on sneakers- wow never knew that. Overall a highly enjoyable package and well worth the £ 29 i paid for this on Region 1( not available in UK yet so i had to order from the USA!)- SO THE EVENINGS are now spent watching Monster in the MOnastery or the Lizard men,instead of a chardonnay with the missus- how sad am I? OR how excited can one get> Jonny Quest undoubtedly is the best animation adventure ever made!

I remember watching JONNY QUEST when it first came on TV - in the Prime Time hours no less! As a kid I didn't quite realize how different from other cartoons this piece of greatness was. Now as an adult (although still a kid at heart), I understand what made it different and great. Firstly, it was a show about kids - Jonny and Hadji (and Hadji was from another country!) - where the adults treated the boys as Kids and not Babies. They went all over the world for their adventures, and "gosh!" I was learning about other countries and cultures, and I didn't even know it! And the science (although somewhat archaic now) was ahead of its time. Of course, that was only to be expected, coming from the genius of the great scientist, Dr. Benton Quest! And the artwork from Hanna-Barbera gave credit to it all. The locations were gorgeous and accurate as possible. The foreign peoples looked as they should, not just WASPs with slanted eyes. And the hardware was as sleek and shiny as the science could make it. After all these years, the show stands the test of time. I still thoroughly enjoy watching it, and I'm thrilled that the complete set of episodes is coming to DVD in May of this year. If you haven't seen it yet, here's your chance! Take the time - it is supremely well worth it!

One of my friends popped several episodes of this on a disc for me. Man I didn't even know this existed till now! It rocks hard.

Jonny is a cool little dude with his Hindu friend and little dog. And I love the spy-like adventures they have (my favourite eps are the ones with the villain Dr. Zinn in em); and all the dated scientific gadgets his dad comes up with is awesome. It's also nice how the eps are so varied in both story and location. I gotta get some more of these eh.

My girlfriend has some old books called Rick Brent's Electronic Adventures (or something like that). I read one and it's like Jonny Quest (even has the Hindu buddy, a laserbeam to the moon, little dog, etc). Maybe that's where they got the JQ idea. Anyhow it's a really cool idea. Too bad they don't show these cartoons now. I like this type of stuff a lot more than what's played these days. If IMDb had a rating for this, I'd be laying out a 9 on this one.

Good stuff here. If you haven't seen Jonny Quest, you should do yourself a favour and have a go at it. It's safe for all ages BTW.