The Adventures of Paddy the Pelican


The Adventures of Paddy the Pelican is an American animated television series that debuted on local stations in Chicago during the 1950s.

Description

In the cartoon, Paddy's adventures were presented in comic strip drawings done by Sam Singer. The show appeared on the ABC network in the fall of 1950, but for only one month. The show aired on the ABC television network weekdays between 5:15 and 5:30pm from September 11, 1950 to October 13, 1950. Singer had also started producing a newspaper, Paddy Pelican Junior Journal.
The show is noted for its pencil tests that were never finalized to the actual animation, reused animation, rambling and apparently improvised voiceovers by the creator himself, a muffled and poorly synchronized soundtrack made by an organ, and general low-budget problems. The only music is a few chords played on an organ, although the title card is accompanied by a man making noises apparently intended to sound like a pelican squawking. All characters were voiced by Sam Singer.
Singer, who worked for Disney and other Hollywood animation studios, also produced a local children's television show, based on the Marshall Field's character "Uncle Mistletoe", as well as other early animated shows.

Episodes

#TitleOriginal air dateLength

Merchandise

Sam Singer had a coloring book published called The Paddy Pelican Story and Coloring Mak-A-Book. The Michigan State University Library currently has a copy of this rare coloring book in their possession.

Reception

This show gained infamy for appearing on Jerry Beck's Worst Cartoons Ever. On DVD, Two episodes of this show appeared on the DVD. Beck states that he could not find evidence that an animated adaptation was aired on TV, although there is evidence that the Paddy the Pelican character began in 1950 as a local TV puppet show on Chicago's WENR-TV, with Helen York and Ray Suber as puppeteers.