''The Fantastic Four'' is an American

animated television series An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...

produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. The program, featuring character designs by Alex Toth, aired Saturday mornings 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 ...

from September 9, 1967, to September 21, 1968. It lasted for 20 episodes, with repeat episodes airing on ABC for three years until the network cancelled the program. It was also rerun as part of the continuing series ''

Hanna–Barbera's World of Super Adventure ''Hanna–Barbera's World of Super Adventure'' is a 30-minute animated anthology wheel series produced by Hanna-Barbera which was broadcast in first-run syndication from 1978 to 1984. Overview The series was similar in scope to Hanna-Barbera's ...

''. The show was followed by another ''Fantastic Four'' cartoon produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, '' The New Fantastic Four'', in 1978.

Plot

In the show, the super-team battles some of their comic book nemeses, including

Dr. Doom Doctor Victor Von Doom is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first appeared in ''The Fantastic Four'' #5 in July 1962. The monarch of the fict ...

, the Mole Man and Diablo.

Voice cast

Credited cast

* Gerald Mohr - Mister Fantastic / Reed Richards *

Jo Ann Pflug Jo Ann Pflug is an American film and television actress. Early life Jo Ann Pflug was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to J. Lynn and Kelly Pflug. She was raised in Winter Park, Florida, where her father was elected mayor in 1958, and she graduated fr ...

- Invisible Girl / Susan Storm Richards * Paul Frees - The Thing / Benjamin J. Grimm, Uatu the Watcher, Additional Voices * Jac Flounders - Human Torch / Johnny Storm, Mole Man

Notable guest stars

* Tol Avery - Warlord

Morrat The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Skrulls first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jac ...

* Ted Cassidy - Galactus * Henry Corden - Attuma,

Molecule Man The Molecule Man (Owen Reece) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #20 in November 1963 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. He is often portrayed as a supervi ...

* Regis Cordic - Diablo * Frank Gerstle -

Blastaar Blastaar (, ), sometimes called the Living Bomb-Burst and Blasstaar, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Blastaar is an opponent of the Fantastic Four and lives in the Negative Zone. He is also a ...

Don Messick Donald Earle Messick (September 7, 1926 – October 24, 1997) was an American voice actor. He was best known for his performances in Hanna-Barbera cartoons. His best-remembered vocal creations include Scooby-Doo, Bamm-Bamm Rubble and Hoppy in ...

- Kurrgo, Skrull Emperor *

Marvin Miller Marvin Julian Miller (April 14, 1917 – November 27, 2012) was an American baseball executive who served as the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) from 1966 to 1982. Under Miller's direction, the players ...

Super-Skrull The Super-Skrull (Kl'rt) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, generally as an enemy of the Fantastic Four, the powers of whom he possessed. The character, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, first appeared ...

, King Toth * Vic Perrin -

Red Ghost Red Ghost may refer to: * Red Ghost (folklore), a 19th-century ghost seated on a camel *Red Ghost (character), a villain appearing in Marvel Comics * Red Ghost Cave Archeological District is a 10-acre (4.0 ha) archeological site in Oklahoma *Lady i ...

, Silver Surfer, Professor Gamma/The Demon * Mike Road - Prince Triton, Rama-Tut * Joseph Sirola -

* Hal Smith - Judge,

Klaw Klaw or KLAW may refer to: *Klaw (surname) *Kawhi Leonard (born 1991), American basketball player nicknamed "the Klaw" *Klaw (Marvel Comics), a fictional villain * Klaw Theatre, a broadway theatre in Manhattan, New York City *KLAW Klaw or KLAW may ...

, Otto Von Lenz * Ginny Tyler -

Anelle Abomination Absorbing Man Abraxas Abraxas, sometimes called the Dark Man, is a cosmic entity who embodies the destruction of the Marvel multiverse. The existence of Galactus prevents him from emerging. The character, created by Carlos Pach ...

* Janet Waldo -

Lady Dorma Dorma is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She first appeared when Marvel was known as Timely Comics. A native of the undersea kingdom of Atlantis, the character was Namor the Sub-Mariner's cousi ...

, Princess Perla

Production

The impetus for ''The Fantastic Four'' series began when Hanna-Barbera's agent, Sy Fischer, noticed his son reading a ''

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...

'' comic book. Fischer asked him if he would be interested in seeing it turned into a

Saturday morning cartoon "Saturday-morning cartoon" is a colloquial term for the original animated series programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks. The genre's popularity had a br ...

. Upon confirming his son's interest, Fischer took the idea to

Joseph Barbera Joseph Roland Barbera ( ; ; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist who co-founded the animation studio and production company Hanna-Barbera. Born to Italian im ...

who read the comic himself and agreed that it would translate well as a cartoon. The two soon contacted

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

at Marvel Comics to discuss their interest. After acquiring the rights, Barbera and Fischer successfully pitched the series to

for the 1967 TV season.

Episodes

Reception

In ''The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows'', David Perlmutter writes, "While Hanna-Barbera was, because of obvious production restrictions, unable to duplicate Lee and Kirby's complex, labyrinthine plotting from the comics, their 1967 adaptation of the Four was well produced in every other respect, and gave the team welcome exposure to those previously unfamiliar with their comic-book existence. The voice actors were unusually well cast, with Frees' Brooklyn-accented Thing standing out, and this helped compensate for the limitations of the animation process of the time. Unfortunately, the erroneous concerns about violence in the mass media ultimately marginalized the series, as it did others from the same time period."

Legal issues

The ownership of the show was split between Marvel Comics and

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

. The Walt Disney Company purchased Marvel Comics in late 2009. It is quite unlikely that Warner Bros. Discovery will release ''The Fantastic Four'' on any physical nor digital format, including the Boomerang app. Prior to 2009, the show re-ran on

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 ...

in the 1990s and on Boomerang in 2000. It never ran again after Disney’s ownership acquired Fox Kids Worldwide that has full rights to Marvel content. Time Warner ended distribution rights to ''Fantastic Four''.

References

External links

*
Marvel Animation Age: ''Fantastic Four'' (1967)

at the Big Cartoon DataBase
International Hero: ''Fantastic Four''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fantastic Four (1967 TV series), The 1967 American television series debuts 1968 American television series endings 1960s American animated television series American Broadcasting Company original programming American children's animated action television series American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated science fantasy television series American children's animated superhero television series Fantastic Four television series Television shows based on Marvel Comics Animated television series based on Marvel Comics Television series by Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera superheroes American Broadcasting Company animated television series