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.

I was 6-7 years old when Jonny Quest came out and I loved the show (still do!)- and yes, I am a female! The artwork employed was incredible for its time and every show had tidbits of scientific or technological info that fed hungry young minds. No, I didn't grow up wanting to be a mad scientist! And no, I didn't grow up with any violent tendencies from watching Jonny use judo or anything- compared to cartoons today the violence in Jonny Quest is pretty mild (nothing graphic)! The cartoons are exciting and interesting...and who doesn't love Bandit???? He's better than Scooby Doo! I was so happy to see the boxed set of first season episodes in the store. I bought it right away to watch with my husband (also a Jonny Quest fan) and 14-year old daughter (who remembers the new Jonny Quest from the 1990's). Although the cartoons are somewhat dated they are still fun to watch. The locales are exotic, the action and adventure thrilling! All Jonny Quest fans will love this boxed set and treasure it for the nostalgic memories it will evoke of that 1960's era when science and technology were at the gateway of the future (outer space travel, moon landings, robotics...)! Jonny Quest was, to the children of 1964-65, a visionary glimpse into the future. Today it is a nostalgic visit to the much more innocent past.

There are very few pieces of Animation that I will remember for the rest of my life....and when I have children, will want to sit them down and say, "This is what animation is all about." Many of them came from the minds of Hanna-Barbera, and were "age appropriate": such as The Flintsones, The Jetsons, Quick Draw McGraw, Yogi Bear, etc. Others VERY dear to my heart were straight from Japan such as "Astro-Boy", "Marine Boy", "Prince Planet" among others. But this one..this is the one that stole my little girl heart, and these were the first tv "guys" I ever developed my first crush on.

No, Not Jonny. Dr. Benton Quest and Race Bannon. When you're three/ four years old, many folks say: "Ah, they wont remember a thing at that age." Oh yeah, I remember.

Race Bannon was it! I swore when I grew up, I was going to find a man similar to "Race Bannon". He was cool, swave, strong, smart, and oh, so sexy. Dr. Benton Quest, was - the genius. He was the quiet/sensitive type, smart, a work-a-holic and WANTED for his brain. Whatever happened to his wife...I didn't CARE!

For that time, this cartoon was of a higher calibre than "let's just entertain the kiddies with colorful images." This had action, adventure and a little boy close to our age we could relate to. Adding Hadji was a stroke of smartness as well, here was a character in a cartoon from a background...no one else brought to the screen (Quick, tell me how many Indians from India are cast in Hollywood mainstream films? Cartoons? Commercials?) Of course by today's standards Haji might be a bit dry, but it was interesting to watch Jonny and Hadji interact.

Jonny Quest was NOT your run of the mill cartoon from that era. And to be perfectly honest..the opening and closing music and montage scenes were to die for, made me excited about the series just as much as the series itself. Cartoons today wont go through that much production. ("The Simpsons" being the exception!)

I recommend this 60's series highly to those who want to see the early Hanna-Barbera animation of action-adventure, done with pretty decent scripts that never talked down to its audience, even parents enjoyed this one. Smart, fun, sexy. See all of the installments if you can. Don't go to the 80's/90's ones, this is the set to get!

This was the high point of my Saturday cartoon watching as a kid. As long as I got to see Jonny Quest the rest of my viewing didn't matter. Jonny ruled then. JQ had everything. There was action, adventure, spies, bad guys, monster (both giant and smaller), mad scientists, rockets, planes, boats, tanks, army guys, submarines, espionage, intrigue and more. Hard to believe but all of this was packed into only a half an hour. Every saturday you got to see Jonny, Dr. Quest, Race Bannon, Hadji and Bandit save our country and/or the world. They went on adventures you could only dream about. This was the coolest cartoon on in it's day. Was there a better opening to a show. The instrumental opening was great. It let you know how much action was about to come your way. The only other opening I could remember like this was Bugs Bunny and the Flintstones and they had lyrics. Of all the cartoons on when I was a kid this one was the one that I made sure I watched. There hasn't been a cartoon like it since that could come close. Maybe Scooby-Doo, at least he had monsters, or bad guys posing as such to deal with. Even that doesn't match up to Jonny Quest. My parents would even sit down and watch it too. It was that entertaining. JQ had excellant stories to go with the action. For those who haven't seen it, the best five episodes are The Lizard Men, pilot episode, Dr. Sins Robot Spy, The Curse of Anubis, Turu the Terrible and the Invisible Monster. Jonny Quest was the best damn cartoon ever and remains so. JQ rules.

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.