Jonathan Swift's classic novel of 1726 became a very good Saturday Morning cartoon series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. However,this was basically for its time a modern version of the story with some of the satire retained mixed in with various adventure plots. In this version,Gary Gulliver(voiced by Hanna-Barbera stockplayer Jerry Dexter),accompanied by his faithful dog Shag,attempted to locate his father Thomas Gulliver,who disappeared on a mysterious island in the land of Lilliput. The kingdom of Lilliput was a land of six-inch people led by King Pomp,and Gary's miniature pals Flirtacia(who was King Pomp's daughter)along with Eager,Glum,and Bunko as they tried to help him find his dad while avoiding Captain Leech,who each week tried unsuccessfully to get Gary's treasure map.
This cartoon premiered in 1968,almost a year before "Scooby Doo,Where Are You?",and two years before "Josie And The Pussycats",when Hanna-Barbera during that time were in the process of producing their last of the successful action/adventure cartoons that ran from 1966-1968. Speaking of the cast,regular Hanna-Barbera stockplayer John Stephenson(who was also known as the voice of Mister Slate on The Flintstones,and also was the original voice of Dr. Benton Quest on Jonny Quest,and other characters)was not only the voice of Gary's father Thomas,and also Captain Leech,and King Pomp. Ginny Tyler(who was the voice of Jan from Space Ghost)was the voice of Flirtacia,while the rest were done by Hanna-Barbera regulars Don Messick,Allan Melvin,and Herb Vignan.
The series originally aired on ABC-TV from September 14,1968 until September 5, 1970. Only the first season aired original episodes until August 30,1969. The second and third seasons were repeats. Among the episodes were "Dangerous Journey"(the pilot),and other including "The Valley of Time","The Forbidden Pool","Hurricane Island","The Capture", "The Peril of the Lilliputs",and "The Little Man Of The Year",and "The Missing Crow",made up for the 13 episodes that this series produced. After its run in 1970,the series showed up against,this time in syndication for part of "The Banana Splits Adventure Show",until its final airing in re-runs until 1971.
