''Kid 'n Play'' is a 1990 animated cartoon series based on the real life hip-hop duo,

Kid 'n Play Kid 'n Play is an American hip-hop duo from New York City that was most popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The duo was composed of Christopher Reid ("Kid") and Christopher Martin ("Play") working alongside their DJ, Mark "DJ Wiz" Eas ...

. It ran for one season on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

from September 8 to December 8, 1990. On the show, Kid 'n Play were portrayed as teenagers, along with their friend Jazzy, their producer Hurbie and their DJ Wiz, but their recording careers remained the same as in real life, as did their character traits. Production was by

Marvel Productions New World Animation Ltd., formerly known as Marvel Productions, was the television and film studio subsidiary of the Marvel Entertainment Group, based in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It later became a subsidiary of ...

and

Saban Entertainment Saban Entertainment, Inc. (along with Saban International; currently operating under the legal name is BVS Entertainment, Inc.) was a worldwide-served independent American-Israeli television production company formed in 1980 by Haim Saban and S ...

. The real Kid 'n Play appeared in live-action wraparounds of the cartoons, but voice actors took over for the animated versions of the duo. The show stressed positive role models, teaching children how to get along with each other and stay out of trouble. Akin to the ''House Party'' films, Play was the less responsible member of the duo, cooking up get rich quick schemes, while Kid, the more responsible member, would usually be made to clean up messes. Oftentimes the issue would be resolved by the characters' girlfriends, or sometimes by an elderly jazz musician who wore a blue beret and was aptly named "Old Blue". Also along the crew is Kid's Mohawk pet dog Hairy. The lessons ranged from serious to lighter fare. One of the "less serious" episodes dealt with Kid's father under the impression hip hop is bad and Kid not having the means to put it in a positive light. Old Blue offers to help by sending Kid on a trip back in time to the era of jazz and 1920s speakeasies to help better understand its roots.

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

published a tie-in comic book which ran for nine issues in 1992. The series was created by

John Semper John Semper Jr. is an African-American screenwriter, producer and story editor with numerous credits in animation for television. He has worked for miscellaneous companies as Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros. Animation and Hanna-Barbera Product ...

Jr. and Cynthia Friedlob who also served as the show-runners and head-writers. They would later go on to write Kid 'N Play's third live-action feature, ''

Class Act ''Class Act'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Randall Miller and starring hip-hop duo Kid 'n Play. An urban retelling of Mark Twain's ''The Prince and the Pauper'', the film was written by Cynthia Friedlob and John Semper from a sto ...

'', for

Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

. Semper would later produce and be the head-writer for "Spider-Man: The Animated Series," for Marvel Films Animation. Ownership of the series passed to

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

in 2001 when Disney acquired

Fox Kids Worldwide ABC Family Worldwide is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Television that is responsible for the operations of the U.S. cable network Freeform. The company was originally formed as International Family Entertainment, a spin-off of the Christian Broad ...

, which also includes

. But the series is not available on

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

Cast

Christopher Reid Chris Reid (born 1971) is a Scottish football goalkeeper. Chris or Christopher Reid may also refer to: People *Christopher Reid (rapper) (born 1964), American actor, comedian, and former rapper *Christopher Reid (writer) (born 1949), Hong Kong-bor ...

as himself (live-action segments) * Christopher Martin as himself (live-action segments) *

Salt N Pepa Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

as themselves (live-action segments) *

Kool Moe Dee Mohandas Dewese (born August 8, 1962), better known by his stage name Kool Moe Dee, is an American rapper, writer and actor. Considered one of the forerunners of the new jack swing sound in hip hop, he gained fame in the 1980s as a member of one ...

as himself (live-action segments) * Tony! Toni! Tone! as themselves (live-action segments) *

DJ Spinderella Deidra Muriel Roper (born August 3, 1970), known professionally as DJ Spinderella or simply Spinderella, is an American DJ, rapper and producer. She is best known as a member of the hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa. Roper occasionally appeared in '' T ...

as herself (live-action segments)

Voices

Jack Angel Jack Angel (October 24, 1930 – October 18, 2021) was an American voice actor, comedian, and radio personality. He provided voice-overs for animation and video games. Angel had voiced characters in shows by Hasbro and Hanna-Barbera such as ''Su ...

Tommy Davidson Thomas Davidson (born November 10, 1963) is an American comedian and actor. He was an original cast member on the sketch comedy TV show ''In Living Color'', Mitchell on ''Between Brothers'' (1997-1999), Dexter on ''Malcolm & Eddie'' (1999-2000) ...

as Jazzy, Acorn * Chris Hooks as Christopher Reid * J. D. Hall as Pitbull, Mr. Reid *

Dorian Harewood Dorian Harewood (born August 6, 1950) is an American actor, best known for playing Jesse Owens in ''The Jesse Owens Story'' (1984), Paul Strobber on '' Strike Force'' (1981–1982), and Rev. Morgan Hamilton in '' 7th Heaven'' (1996–2003). Ea ...

as Old Blue *

Martin Lawrence Martin Fitzgerald LawrenceStated in interview on ''Inside the Actors Studio'' (born April 16, 1965) is an American comedian and actor. He came to fame during the 1990s, establishing a Hollywood career as a leading actor. He got his start playin ...

as Wiz, Hurbie *

Dawnn Lewis Dawnn Jewel Lewis (born August 13, 1961) is an American actress. Lewis is best known for her role as Jaleesa Vinson–Taylor on the NBC television sitcom ''A Different World'' from the series beginning in 1987 until the end of its fifth season in ...

as Lela *

Brian Stokes Mitchell Brian Stokes Mitchell (born October 31, 1957) is an American actor and singer. A powerful baritone, he has been one of the central leading men of the Broadway theater since the 1990s. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 2000 for ...

as Christopher Martin *

Danny Mann Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to the male name Daniel. It may refer to: People *Danny Altmann, British immunologist *Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer *Danny Baker (born 1957), English journalis ...

as Hairy *

Rain Pryor Rain Pryor is an American actress and comedian. Her television credits include sitcoms ''Head of the Class'' and '' Rude Awakening''. She is the daughter of comedian Richard Pryor. Early life Pryor was born in Los Angeles, California, the daugh ...

as B.B. *

Alaina Reed Alaina Reed Hall (November 10, 1946 – December 17, 2009) was an American actress and singer who portrayed Olivia Robinson, Gordon's younger sister, on the PBS children's television series ''Sesame Street'', and Rose Lee Holloway on the NBC sit ...

* Terri Semper *

Cree Summer Cree Summer Francks (born July 7, 1969) is a American-Canadian actress and singer. She has worked extensively in animation, voicing long-running characters such as Susie Carmichael in ''Rugrats'' and Elmyra Duff in ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' and r ...

as Marika, Downtown, Carrie

Additional voices

Charlie Adler Charles Michael Adler (born October 2, 1956) is an American voice actor and voice director. He is known for his roles as Buster Bunny on ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', Ed and Bev Bighead on ''Rocko's Modern Life'' and Ickis on ''Aaahh!!! Real Monst ...

Susan Blu Susan Maria Blue, better known as Sue Blu, is an American voice-actress, voice-director, and casting-director in American and Canadian cinema and television. She most notably voiced Arcee in '' The Transformers: The Movie'' and Seasons 3 and 4 of ...

* Tom McHugh *

Rob Paulsen Robert Frederick Paulsen III (born March 11, 1956) is an American voice actor, known for his roles in numerous animated television series and films. He received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program and three Anni ...

Les Tremayne Lester Tremayne (16 April 1913 – 19 December 2003) was an English actor. Early life Born in Balham, London, he moved with his family at the age of four to Chicago, Illinois, where he began in community theater. His mother was Dolly Trema ...

Janet Waldo Janet Waldo (born Jeanette Marie Waldo; February 4, 1919 – June 12, 2016) was an American radio and voice actress. In animation, she voiced Judy Jetson in various Hanna-Barbera media, Nancy in ''Shazzan'', Penelope Pitstop, Princess from ''Batt ...

Patric Zimmerman Patric Laine Zimmerman (born October 10, 1954 in Los Angeles, California) is a retired American voice actor. Career Due to Daws Butler's death in 1988, he voiced Elroy Jetson in the 1990 film ''Jetsons: The Movie''. He also did the voices of Au ...

Episodes

References

External links

* * *Kid 'n Pla
Season 1 Playlist
1990s American black cartoons 1990 American television series debuts 1990 American television series endings NBC original programming Marvel Comics titles American children's animated comedy television series 1990s American animated television series Cultural depictions of American men Cultural depictions of hip hop musicians Black people in art Animation based on real people Television series based on singers and musicians Comics based on television series English-language television shows Television series by Marvel Productions Television series by Saban Entertainment American television series with live action and animation {{Marvel-title-stub