''Wee Pals'' is an American syndicated

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

about a diverse group of children, created and produced by

Morrie Turner Morris Nolton Turner (December 11, 1923 – January 25, 2014) was an American cartoonist, creator of the strip ''Wee Pals'', the first American syndicated strip with an integrated cast of characters. Biography Turner was raised in Oakland, Ca ...

. It was the first comic strip syndicated in the United States to have a cast of diverse ethnicity, dubbed the "Rainbow Gang".

Background

When cartoonist

began questioning why there were no minorities in the comic strips, his mentor, ''

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ' ...

'' cartoonist

Charles M. Schulz Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz (; November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000) was an American cartoonist and the creator of the comic strip ''Peanuts'', featuring what are probably his two best-known characters, Charlie Brown and Snoopy. He is wi ...

, suggested he create one. Morris' first attempt, ''Dinky Fellas'', featured an all-black cast, but found publication in only one newspaper, the ''

Chicago Defender ''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against Jim ...

''. Turner integrated the strip, renaming it ''Wee Pals'', and on February 15, 1965, it became the first American syndicated comic strip to have a cast of diverse ethnicity. Initially syndicated by Lew Little Enterprises, it was then carried by the

Register and Tribune Syndicate The Register and Tribune Syndicate was a Print syndication, syndication service based in Des Moines, Iowa, that operated from 1922 to 1986, when it was acquired by King Features to become the Cowles Syndicate affiliate. At its peak, the Register a ...

, before moving to

United Feature Syndicate United Feature Syndicate (UFS) is a large American editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1919. Originally part of E. W. Scripps Company, it was part of United Media (along wit ...

in the 1970s. When it debuted, the strip originally appeared in only five daily newspapers, as many papers refused to run a strip featuring black characters.Jones, Steven Loring. "From 'Under Cork' to Overcoming: Black Images in the Comics," ''Ethnic Images in the Comics'' (The Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, 1986), p. 27. After the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the number of papers carrying the strip grew either to 60 or to more than 100 dailies (sources differ). As the comic strip's popularity grew, Turner added characters. He included children of more and more ethnicities, as well as a child with a physical disability. He also added a weekly section called "Soul Corner", which profiled notable African Americans from history. In its later years, the strip was distributed by

Creators Syndicate Creators Syndicate (also known as Creators) is an American independent distributor of comic strips and syndicated columns to daily newspapers, websites, and other digital outlets. When founded in 1987, Creators Syndicate became one of the few suc ...

Characters

* Nipper — African-American boy who always wears a blue or grey American Civil War

kepi The kepi ( ) is a cap with a flat circular top and a peak, or visor. In English, the term is a loanword of french: képi, itself a re-spelled version of the gsw, Käppi, a diminutive form of , meaning "cap". In Europe, this headgear is most ...

, and has a dog named

General Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of North ...

. Turner based Nipper on himself as a child. * Ralph —

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

neighborhood bigot and ruffian * Connie — athletic white girl who frequently clashes with Ralph over his

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...

and racism. She's an outspoken member of the neighborhood "Girls' Lib" organization (a play on the

Women's Liberation Movement The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminist intellectualism that emerged in the late 1960s and continued into the 1980s primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which effected great ...

) * Sybil — African-American girl who is also in the Girls' Lib organization. She is a very nice and respectful young girl who has a very good relationship with Connie. * Oliver — chubby, bookish white boy with glasses. * Diz —

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

boy who's never without his sunglasses and

beret A beret ( or ; ; eu, txapela, ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap, usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre. Mass production of berets began in 19th century France and Spain, and the beret remains ...

. He plays trumpet like his namesake

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

and often narrates the "Funky Fables" strips * Charlotte — white bespectacled girl who uses a wheelchair. She has a pet parrot named Polly Esther. * Randy (

) The second in command of the Rainbow Club who is very good friends with Oliver. He also has a one-sided friendship with Ralph. * Pablo (

Chicano Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American ident ...

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

) A happy carefree young boy who is very good friends with Randy and Jerry. He is often shown to be the

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

of the group. * Mikki (African-American; about four years old) A young girl who has a very big imagination. She is mainly seen with Jerry and Trinh * Rocky ( Native American) A respectful kind young boy who is very proud of his racial background. He is good friends with Randy and Nipper. * George (

Asian-American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

of Chinese origin) A quiet young boy with a vivid imagination who often discusses Chinese parables. He has a good relationship with Oliver, Nipper, and Jerry. * Jerry (

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

) An upbeat, happy, loyal young man with a very big heart. He is very good friends with Nipper, Oliver, Diz, Randy and Trinh. It's shown that he might have feelings for Sybil. * Trinh (

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

) A kind-hearted little boy who is very good friends with Mikki. * Sally (ethnicity unstated, but

deaf-mute Deaf-mute is a term which was used historically to identify a person who was either deaf and used sign language or both deaf and could not speak. The term continues to be used to refer to deaf people who cannot speak an oral language or have som ...

) A respectful young girl with a very kind heart. She appears in the later strips in the series. * Wellington (ethnicity unstated, dark hair covering eyes) A hip young boy who is mainly shown with Diz. It's shown in a earlier strip that he wears glasses underneath his bangs.

''Wee Pals'' bibliography

* ''Wee Pals That "Kid Power" Gang in Rainbow Power'' (Signet Books, 1968) ASIN B002T6NAOG * ''Wee Pals'' (Signet Books, 1969) ASIN B003ZUKTLW — introduction by

* ''Kid Power'' (Signet Books, 1970), ASIN B001IKPRM2 * ''Nipper'' (Westminster Press, 1971), ASIN B002IY2XOM * ''Nipper's Secret Power'' (Westminster Press, 1971) * ''Wee Pals: Rainbow Power'' (Signet Books, 1973) ASIN B000M8UYII * ''Wee Pals: Doing Their Thing'' (Signet Books, 1973) ASIN B00129HWKO * ''Wee Pals' Nipper and Nipper's Secret Power'' (Signet Books, 1974) ASIN B001M5GOOS * ''Wee Pals: Book of Knowledge'' (Signet Books, 1974) * ''Wee Pals: Staying Cool'' (Signet Books, 1974) * ''Wee Pals: Funky Tales'' (New American Library, 1975) ASIN B00072KLVE * ''Wee Pals: Welcome to the Club'' (Rainbow Power Club Books, 1978) ASIN B003VC7JQW * ''Choosing a Health Career: Featuring Wee Pals, the Kid Power Gang'' (Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, Health Resources Administration, 1979), ASIN B0006XCLLC * ''Wee Pals: A Full-Length Musical Comedy for Children or Young Teenagers'' (The Dramatic Publishing Company, 1981) ASIN B0006XW1I0 * ''Wee Pals Make Friends with Music and Musical Instruments: Coloring Book'' (Stockton Symphony Association, 1982) ASIN B00072YGD8 * ''Wee Pals, the Kid Power Gang: Thinking Well'' (Ingham County Health Department, 1983) ASIN B0007259DY * ''Wee Pals Doing the Right Thing Coloring Book'' (Oakland Police Department, 1991) ASIN B0006R4G98 * ''Explore Black History with Wee Pals'' (Just us Books, 1998) * ''The Kid Power Gang Salutes African-Americans in the Military Past and Present'' (Conway B. Jones, Jr., 2000), ASIN B0006RSDC4

Animated series: ''Kid Power''

During the 1972-73 television season, ''Wee Pals'' was animated as ''Kid Power'', a series produced by

Rankin/Bass Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City, and known for its seasonal television specials, usual ...

with animation done in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Topcraft Topcraft (トップクラフト ''Toppukurafuto'', also written as "Top Craft") was an animation studio established on February 1, 1972 by former Toei Animation producer Toru Hara, and located in Tokyo, Japan. It was famous for the production of ...

. It aired in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

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 ...

television on Saturday mornings. All of Turner's characters were featured, united through the coalition the characters dubbed "Rainbow Power." In ''The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows'', David Perlutter says, "The same broad ethnic mix s the comic making it one of the first television animation programs aimed at children to accurately reflect the racial diversity of America and thus providing for many others to follow." A total of 17 episodes were made, most of which aired from September 16, 1972, to January 6, 1973, followed by reruns. In the following year, a few new episodes that were unfinished during the first season aired on Sunday mornings (combined with reruns) until September 1, 1974.

Staff

* Producer/director:

Arthur Rankin Jr. Arthur Gardner Rankin Jr. (July 19, 1924 – January 30, 2014) was an American director, producer and writer, who mostly worked in animation. Co-creator of Rankin/Bass Productions with his friend Jules Bass, he created stop-motion animatio ...

Jules Bass Julius Bass (September 16, 1935 – October 25, 2022) was an American director, producer, lyricist, composer, and author. Until 1960, he worked at a New York advertising agency, and then co-founded the film production company Videocraft Interna ...

* Teleplay: William J. Keenan * Associate Producer: Basil Cox * Animation Supervision: Toru Hara, Tsuguyuki Kubo * Music: Perry Botkin Jr. * Songs: Jules Bass, Perry Botkin Jr. * Editorial Supervision: Irwin Goldress * Sound Engineers: Jim Harris, John Boyd

Voices

Donald Fullilove Donald "Don" Fullilove (born May 16, 1958 in Dallas, Texas) is an American actor, who has had a role in numerous projects over the course of his forty-year plus career in both films and television. he currently resides in Burbank California with ...

(Diz and Randy) * Michelle Johnson (Sybil) * Charles Kennedy (Nipper) * Gary Shapiro (Jerry and Wellington) * Jay Silverheels Jr. (Rocky) * Greg Thomas (Oliver) * Jeff Thomas (Ralph) *

April Winchell April Terri Winchell (born January 4, 1960) is an American actress, writer, and radio host. She is prehaps best known as the second and current voice of Clarabelle Cow, having voiced the character since 1996. Early life Winchell was born in 1 ...

(Connie) * Carey Wong (George)

''Wee Pals on the Go''

During the same 1972–73 television season, ''Wee Pals on the Go'' was aired by

KGO-TV KGO-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, serving as the San Francisco Bay Area's ABC network outlet. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, KGO-TV maint ...

, the ABC

owned-and-operated station In the broadcasting industry, an owned-and-operated station (frequently abbreviated as an O&O) usually refers to a television or radio station owned by the network with which it is associated. This distinguishes such a station from an affiliate ...

in the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

. This live-action Sunday morning show featured child actors who portrayed the main characters of Turner's comic strip, Nipper, Randy, Sybil, Connie, and Oliver.

References

External links

Wee Pals
at

* * {{Children's programming on the American Broadcasting Company in the 1970s American comic strips African-Americans in comic strips Topcraft Child characters in comics Children's comics Teen comedy comics 1965 comics debuts Gag-a-day comics Comics set in the United States Comics adapted into television series Comics adapted into animated series African-American comics