''Tijuana Toads'' is a series of 17 theatrical cartoons produced by DePatie–Freleng and released through

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

Plot

The series was about two toads, El Toro and Pancho, who live in the Mexican city of

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

. Throughout the cartoon they try to eat their prey, but always get outsmarted. They would sometimes themselves be targeted by a bird,

Crazylegs Crane ''Crazylegs Crane'' is a 16-episode made-for-television cartoon series produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises in 1978 for ''The Pink Panther Show, The All New Pink Panther Show'' on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Production This was Craz ...

, and would in turn always outsmart him. The series introduced two characters who later got their own series. ''

The Blue Racer ''The Blue Racer'' is a series of 17 theatrical cartoons produced from 1972 to 1974 created by Friz Freleng and David H. DePatie. The character's first cartoon, ''Snake in the Gracias'', was released theatrically on January 24, 1971. Production ...

'' first appeared in "Snake in the Gracias" before getting his own series in 1972. ''Crazylegs Crane'' also spun off to his own series for television in 1978 on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. Both characters were voiced by Larry D. Mann, except in "Flight to the Finish" where Bob Holt voiced Crazylegs Crane. El Toro was voiced by actor

Don Diamond Donald Alan Diamond (June 4, 1921 – June 19, 2011) was an American radio, film, and television actor who portrayed "Crazy Cat", the sidekick and heir apparent to Chief Wild Eagle on the popular 1960s television sitcom, ''F Troop'' (1965–19 ...

and Pancho voiced by Tom Holland. Crazylegs Crane was voiced by Larry D. Mann. Directorial duties were split between

Hawley Pratt Hawley B. Pratt (June 9, 1911 – March 4, 1999) was an American film director, animator, and illustrator. He is best known for his work for Warner Bros. Cartoons and as the right-hand man of director Friz Freleng as a layout artist and later as ...

Art Davis Arthur David Davis (December 6, 1934 – July 29, 2007) was a double-bassist, known for his work with Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner and Max Roach. Biography Davis was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United Stat ...

, Grant Simmons, and Gerry Chiniquy. When the series began airing in 1976 as part of '' The Pink Panther Laugh and a Half Hour and a Half Show'', it was re-dubbed and renamed ''Texas Toads'' to make the series less offensive. A laugh track was added to the new soundtrack, and the toads were given the new names of Fatso and Banjo. Producer David H. DePatie later commented on the process:

Filmography

Note

''Tijuana Toads'' is the fourth cartoon series to appear in the

MGM Television MGM Television Worldwide Group and Digital (alternatively Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television Group and Digital, commonly known as MGM Television and then-known as MGM/UA Television; common metonym: Lion) is an American television production/dis ...

distribution package. ''Tijuana Toads'' broadcast it in channel of

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

and

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...

Remade and reused scenes and plots

* ''Tijuana Toads'' (first Episode, a.k.a. ''Tall in the Grass'') reused scenes based from ''

Tree for Two In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

'', ''Dr. Jerkyll's Hyde'', and ''

Two Crows from Tacos 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...

''. * ''A Pair of Greenbacks'' reused some scenes based on ''

Mouse and Garden ''Mouse and Garden'' is a 1960 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The Academy Award-nominated cartoon was released on July 16, 1960, and stars Sylvester. The title is a play on '' House & Garden''. Sylvester is voi ...

'' and ''

''. * ''Go for Croak'' reused the drinking of nitroglycerin trick from ''

Mouse Mazurka A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

''. * ''Never on Thirsty'' reused scenes from ''The Honey-mousers''.

Revivals

The characters were resurrected for the 1993 TV series ''

The Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the classic film '' The Pi ...

''. As the case when the original shorts were shown on TV, they were rebranded as the Texas Toads. The toads were redesigned as western sheriffs with oversized cowboy hats replacing their sombreros.

Home video

VHS

In 1987, ''Go for Croak'' was released on VHS as part of ''Cartoon Festival''.

DVD and Blu-ray

In 2016,

Kino Lorber Kino Lorber is an international film distribution company based in New York City. Founded in 1977, it was originally known as Kino International until it was acquired by and merged into Lorber HT Digital in 2009. It specializes in art house films, ...

released the complete series with the original soundtrack, digitally remastered from the original negatives and in the original ratio.

Popular culture

A restaurant dubbed under the name ''Pancho i Toro - Pizza & Grill Sesvete'' is located in Sesvete, Croatia.Restaurant
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External links

References

{{DePatie-Freleng Enterprises Animated duos Animated film series

Toads Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scienti ...

DePatie–Freleng Enterprises Fictional duos Fictional frogs Film series introduced in 1969 Television series by MGM Television The Pink Panther Show Fictional Mexican people Fictional anthropomorphic characters Male characters in animation Race-related controversies in animation Ethnic humour Stereotypes of Hispanic and Latino people