The Beatles

I couldn't have been more than four or five when this show came out! Many years later (like 25!) "I'll Follow The Sun" came on the radio at work. I mentioned to my friend how whenever I heard this song I could vividly recall how it was featured in one of the episodes of the cartoon, even though I only saw the episode once in my life. She said she saw it as a child as well and clearly remembered the scene, with the sun in one corner and the Beatles in a cluster looking up and following it. And strangely, it was the one and only element either one of us could remember about the series at all. I would love to have the opportunity to see this series again, perhaps on Cartoon Network or TV Land.

The thing I remember most about this series was the fact that George's speaking voice sounded exactly like Frankenberry's, from the Frankenberry/Count Chocula breakfast cereal commercials that were popular at the time...In other words, nothing even remotely resembling the baritone nasal scouse of the real George Harrison. I also seem to recall a couple of occasions where the animators didn't quite get the lead vocalist correct (in one episode, Paul was singing lead on "No Reply"). In spite of all that, the series still managed to be quite entertaining, and was the first place I had ever heard the songs "From Me To You" and "Paperback Writer." I only owned Beatle albums and not singles, and neither of those songs were on any Beatle LPs at the time.

The Beatles cartoon has become beloved and notorious for its production values: wonderful songs used as a backdrop for cookie-cutter stories and shoddy yet funkylicious animation that fits the time period these shorts were made. I've only ever seen this cartoon through bootlegs; and that's another thing, this cartoon has NEVER seen an official release on home video formats. There aren't even official VHS tapes of the show. You can only get bootlegs on eBay or YouTube if you're lucky. This show is like The Star Wars Holiday Special of hard-to-get television 'gems' that we're still waiting to be released on DVD.

This show has The Beatles, and the real stars of the show are really the songs themselves; it doesn't matter what context they're played in, they're always good tunes to listen to. Now Apple Corps, King Features Syndicate and company, can we PLEASE get an official DVD release of this nugget of television animation history?

I remember watching episodes of this on Sunday mornings on KPLR, channel 11 in St. Louis in the late 1970s or early 1980s. The one that sticks out in my mind for some reason was "Ticket to Ride". I loved the singalongs, and as my father only had the later Beatles albums, it got me familiar with their earlier work. All I've seen is crummy copies of copies sold on Ebay and at Beatlefest...when will this actually be released on video/DVD, good quality copies? You know there's a market for it...there's even a wonderful book about the cartoon series!

I recall only bits and pieces of the show and would love to see it again on TV. It probably is dated but would bring back a lot of memories. I remember the scene where the Beatles were performing in the Roman Coliseum and the beat was causing it to fall apart.