The Wonderful Stories of Professor Kitzel

I can remember the theme song from this wonderful little show out of Kranz film in Canada. It contained a sense of wonder I have rarely heard in a piece of music before, and it would lead into a show that was very cheaply animated. About an old scientist with a time machine. The time machine didn't take anyone back in time, but would rather start a static picture documetary about some famous historical occurrance. Included were the battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac, the repusion of Xerxes by the Greeks, the first flight of Orville and Wlbur Wright. In short it was a gentle and effective as well as magically entertaining show that actually taught you something. It is a true pity that it isn't available anymore.

Wow only one other comment on this cartoon! I'm not being sarcastic by the way. I remember this show too. Obviously I was a child when I watched it. It certainly had a good impression on me. It was a very good teaching aid, and may have been one of the reasons why I became interested in History. Perhaps I'm looking at the past through rose tinted windows, but as the other comment says "they don't make 'em like they used to". I can't believe some of the "muck" that kids watch these days. I think Professor Kitzel should be shown again. I thought way back when that it made learning fun. Oh well....memories. Still can't understand the appeal of "Barney" and ehhhh..."Pokermon"? Now what's all that about. Shows like Kitzel never age. I'm willing to bet on it.

I used to watch this show in the wee hours on Saturday mornings. I used to get up at like 5am and go to watch cartoons, and essentially this was the only thing on. I really remember liking it very much...dorky professor with his old dorky dad. Talking about Peter the Great, Trojan horse, Michealangelo....classics. They used to be paired up with the new adventures of Pinocchio, and the new wizard of oz cartoon...each were equally as tacky, but I loved them and watched them religiously for years. Also not to be forgotten is the Hilarious House of Frightenstein. Classics....hopefully these will come out on DVD some day.

The show was created to educate children on significant events which shaped and gave rise to our modern world. The format was a mixture of full animation and slide-show as Professor Kitzel made the odd maudlin joke, interacted with his silent and sometimes mischievous grandpa or introduced the next historical footnote before pulling the side lever on his slot machine style time viewer. History was presented as a slide-show of wonderfully rendered watercolor or pencil art and narrated by the captivating voice of Paul Soles (narrating 60s Spiderman and Rocket Robinhood). The series was rich with engrossing details which you don't find with children's television today. The series had covered so many aspects of world history, it gives children a well rounded perspective and sparks the imagination. Much of world history I learn today appends to what I had gathered from watching this series. I hope the original negatives can be restored as I would buy the DVD set, however the film stock was in very rough shape when I last seen this series in the early 80s. Professor Kitzel's maudlin joke, " George Washington was known for never telling a lie, when his dad asked him who chopped down the cherry tree he said "POP I DID IT!" get it? Popeye did it. heheheh "