Hulk

Before the review, a brief plot summary: Dr. Bruce Banner, possibly America's most renowned scientist and leading expert on gamma rays, is about to test a bomb on a supposedly abandoned site when neglected teenager Rick Jones wanders out into it. Banner runs out to get Jones to safety, but his Russian assistant, Igor, sets it off anyway hoping to kill Banner and steal his formula for his superiors. Somehow, Banner survives, and Jones becomes his apprentice. He soon learns that at a certain point of day (and later when he gets angry) he will transform into a huge, brainless green giant who strikes fear into the heart's of the army. General Ross is desperate to destroy this incredible hulk, but his daughter Betty secretly knows he's really her lover, Bruce.

BAD, BAD, BAD. Unlike most Marvel cartoons at that period, it wasn't even in the "so-bad-it's-good" category. It's just boring. Let's start with the theme song. Most people know "Spider-Man"s theme, and it's wasn't a fraction as good. Anyone whose seen "Captain America" will also be accquainted with a cheezy but catchy little tune. The Hulk's theme was UNBELIEVABLY poor, and had this little squeak who sounded like Bat-Mite spouting inane lines like "so he ain't glamorous" in an attempt to make rhyme with "stricken by gamma rays". Usually the best animation on the show would be in the theme, but this is WORSE.

On to the stories. Before "Spider-Man", as most know, cartoons were mostly just comic-book cut-outs were mouths and sometimes a limb would move, sometimes not even that, the fastest animation (besides the theme) being in scenes were the hero would pull down a mask or something to that extent. Somehow, with the flow of the plots, you could still tell what's going on. Here, the poor drawings (they look like rough drafts with colour) pop up, showing scenes from all different, often irrelevent, angles that make it impossible to tell what's going on, and the narration is a drab equivalent of a Power Ranger overstating the obvious, only not nearly as addictively corny. The dialouge sounds like it was aimed at particularly dumb children, and the voices always sound SOOO bored, so unconvincing. Of what little you could make out of the plot, you could tell it stunk like Baldrick's family heirlooms. I simply never cared about Bruce Banner, he was so poorly characterised, and what characteriztion he got was cliched and sterotypical.

Stan Lee and everyone down at Marvel must cringe when they look back at this. Watch just about any other Marvel cartoon from the era, but pass this one over.

Don't be mislead by some of the negative comments you may have read. They just don't get what the creators were going for. Some say that the animation for the 1966 Hulk cartoon is poor. What they fail to realize is that the lack of animation was INTENTIONAL. The creators intended to bring the pages of Jack Kirby's Hulk comics to TV. Each scene in this cartoon was essentially a page straight from the comic with voice-overs added. They were going for an authentic comic book look and feel here. I've seen all the 1960's Marvel superheroes cartoons and they all lacked animation for the very same reason.So if you don't like the Hulk's animation, you wont like the animation for Captain America, Sub Mariner, Iron Man, Mighty Thor, or Spider-man either.

As far as the Hulk theme song goes, it's comparable to the other 1960's Marvel superhero cartoons. They were all sung by the same people and in similar style. So it makes little sense to say Captain America's or Spider-man's theme song is great but the Hulk's isn't. I liked all the theme songs. They all have a certain classic charm, especially if you grew up watching these cartoons. In the end I recommend the 1966 Hulk cartoon mostly for Jack Kirby fans and classic comic book fans. Any true comic book fan would know what the creators were aiming for with this cartoon. They did Jack Kirby justice.

Everything about this show sucks. That horrible title song, the animation, etc. If the Hulk himself watched it, he would get quite mad at the guy who did his hair. Thank goodness the character was resurrected in the much better cartoon show from the 1980s and the live-action show starring Lou Ferrigno in the title role. As for theme songs, I think Spider Man and Wonder Woman had much better singers.

I've reviewed the stylistic elements of the Marvel Superheroes cartoons (which are all pretty interchangeable between the various series)under the blanket title and won't rehash those here. I will say that this show has some of the strangest theme songs you'll ever hear, very bright and sunny for a show about a rampaging monster. And while the Thing may be ever loving, that description doesn't quite fit the Hulk so well.

Yes, this is one for the waste-paper bin. This cartoon, possibly among the worst animated features of all time, reeks of cut-corners, rock-bottom production values, and sheer laziness. I have a good vision of Steve Ditko and Stan Lee throwing their hands in the air by the second or third episode and leaving the production company to carry the entire, failed project themselves. No thinking person could ever claim, let alone want to claim, responsibility for this embarrassment. The theme song is, as stated by other users, about as pleasant as a five-inch hornet lodged in your eardrum, and the "style" of animation they used makes us long for the professional, superior quality of shows like "Kevin Spencer" or "South Park". Possibly the worst part about all of this is that this trite, sub-amateurish show now plays on the Cartoon Network (Canada), and that classic programs such as Rocket Robin Hood, Spiderman and Hercules still aren't getting the running time they deserve.