The Wuzzles

The Wuzzles is a 1985 animated television series created for Saturday morning television, and was first broadcast on September 14, 1985 on CBS.[2] An idea pitched by Michael Eisner for his new Disney television animation studio, the premise is that the main characters are hybrids of two different animals.[3] The original 13 episodes ran on CBS for their first run.[4]

The Wuzzles
Created byCarson Van Osten
Starring
Opening theme"The Wuzzles" performed by Stephen Geyer
Ending theme"The Wuzzles" (instrumental)
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Running timeapprox 22–26 mins
Production company(s)
DistributorBuena Vista Television
Release
Original networkCBS[1]
Picture format4:3
Audio format
Original releaseSeptember 14 (1985-09-14) –
December 7, 1985 (1985-12-07)

Premise

The Wuzzles features a variety of short, rounded animal characters (each called a Wuzzle, which means to mix up).[5] Each is a roughly even, and colorful, mix of two different animal species (as the theme song mentions, "livin' with a split personality"), and all the characters sport wings on their backs, although only Bumblelion and Butterbear are seemingly capable of flight. All of the Wuzzles live on the Isle of Wuz. Double species are not limited to the Wuzzles themselves. From the appleberries they eat to the telephonograph in the home, or a luxury home called a castlescraper, nearly everything on Wuz is mixed together in the same way that the Wuzzles are. The characters in the show were marketed extensively — featured in children's books, as poseable figures and plush toys (similar to Care Bears), and in a board game.

Disney premiered two animated series on the same day in the same time slot, 8:30 AM ET, in the United States, with the other being Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears on NBC,[6] and both series were successful during their first seasons. However, The Wuzzles ended production after its initial run largely due to the sudden death of Bill Scott, the voice of Moosel. However, Scott was also the voice of Gruffi Gummi, Sir Tuxford, and Toadwart (a.k.a. Toadie) on Gummi Bears (which also saw the deaths of voice actors Bob Holt and Roger C. Carmel within 15 months of one another) and Corey Burton and Carmel (later Brian Cummings in 1987) took over those roles. CBS canceled the show, and ABC (later acquired by Disney in 1996) picked it up and showed reruns during the 1986–1987 season; they aired it at 8:00 AM so that the two Disney shows would not be in competition with one another.

It was a bigger success in the United Kingdom, where the first episode aired as a theatrical featurette in 1986 alongside a re-release of Disney's Bambi. In the United Kingdom, The Wuzzles and Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears were originally screened on the same channel (ITV) in 1985/1986; therefore, both series enjoyed high popularity. Reruns of the show were aired on both The Disney Channel and Toon Disney. Songwriter Stephen Geyer performed the lead vocal and composed the theme song.

Characters
  • The Narrator (voiced by Stan Freberg): The never-seen narrator welcomes the viewer to "the Land of Wuz," and is heard throughout each episode.
  • Bumblelion (voiced by Brian Cummings): Half bumblebee and half lion, Bumblelion is mostly lion in appearance. He is a short, squat orange furred creature with a pink mane, fuzzy antennae, a lion's tail, small insect wings, and horizontal brown stripes up his tummy. He lives in a beehive, likes sports, is courageous, and has a crush on Butterbear. He is said to be the sort who "rush[es] in where angels fear to tread". He and Eleroo are best friends.
  • Butterbear (voiced by Kathleen Helppie-Shipley): Half bear and half butterfly, Butterbear is mostly bear in appearance. She has yellow fur with a white tummy, larger wings than the other Wuzzles, and short antennae with flowers on their ends. She is a keen gardener who is gentle and patient despite the crazy adventures of her friends.
  • Eleroo (voiced by Henry Gibson): Half elephant and half kangaroo. One of the larger Wuzzles, Eleroo is purple, with the body shape and tail of a kangaroo and an elephant's trunk and ears. He has a horizontally striped pouch (despite the fact that pouches are found only on female kangaroos). Eleroo has trouble remembering what he stores in his pouch. He is sweet, but accident-/disaster-prone. He and Bumblelion are best friends.
  • Moosel (voiced by Bill Scott): Half moose and half seal, although he also sports flippers like a pinniped. Moosel, the smallest Wuzzle, is blue and purple. He has a vivid imagination, which makes him believe in monsters. He is the youngest of the Wuzzles. He and Rhinokey are best friends.
  • Hoppopotamus (voiced by Jo Anne Worley): Half rabbit, half hippopotamus. She is called Hoppo by her friends. Hoppo is the largest Wuzzle. She is a hippopotamus with a rabbit's ears, buck teeth and a fluffy tail. She has blue fur with a purple tummy, and she loves to sing and act. Hoppo is a pushy demanding diva, but she can be sweet. However, when toughness is called for (particularly in dealing with the regular villain, Crocosaur), she is the toughest Wuzzle of all. Hoppo has a crush on Bumblelion, but Bumblelion has his heart set on Butterbear.
  • Rhinokey (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer): Half rhinoceros and half monkey, Rhinokey is mostly monkey in appearance. Rhinokey is a Wuzzle who has a rhino-like snout with a horizontal-stripped horn, pink fur, and rhino-like legs. He is in a posture that is very much like that of a monkey's. Rhinokey is a fun-loving, happy-go-lucky prankster. He loves to play practical jokes. He can be obnoxious, but he loves his friends. He and Moosel are best friends.
  • Crocosaur (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer): Half crocodile, half dinosaur, and the main villain of the show. Crocosaur (normally referred to as just Croc in the series) is bad-tempered, lazy, vile, ignorant, a bully, and does anything to get what he wants. He always wants the best of what the other Wuzzles have, but does not want to apply the effort to acquire it himself.
    • Brat (voiced by Bill Scott): Half wild boar, half dragon, and Crocosaur's chief sidekick. Brat sputters, raspberries, cries, laughs, yells, growls, and grunts in his speech, but Crocosaur always understands what he is saying. Like Crocosaur, he is very lazy and has a strong dislike towards the other Wuzzles coupled with a desire to have the best of what they have without applying any effort towards acquiring it. As his name implies, Brat is very bad-tempered and is often shown throwing tantrums when he does not get his own way. He is also greatly lacking in intelligence, and his incompetence often sees himself and Crocosaur falling victim to their own devices, which in turn occasionally sees the two of them falling out.
    • Flizard (voiced by Brian Cummings): Half frog, half lizard, and Crocosaur's other sidekick. Flizard is not particularly intelligent, but he means well, is more amiable in his manner than either Crocosaur or Brat, and relatively more tolerant of the Wuzzles, but nevertheless very loyal to Crocosaur; on occasions where Crocosaur and Brat fall out, it is often up to Flizard to try and patch things up between them. His character essentially emphasizes tolerance of others whom one is not particularly close to, while staying loyal to one's friends regardless of whether their plans are morally right or not. Flizard does not appear in every episode, only making sporadic appearances throughout the series.

Minor or one-shot characters
  • Tycoon (voiced by Gregg Berger): Half tiger and half raccoon. Tycoon is the rich kid of Wuz. He owns a money tree. He shows the other Wuzzles that he got his wealth from smart investing and saving his money, and teaches them about fiscal responsibility.
  • Officer Eaglbeagle (voiced by Bill Scott): Half Beagle, half bald eagle. He is a no-nonsense cop who appears in the episodes "In the Money" and "Klutz on the Clutch", both times dealing with illegal behavior from Rhinokey (allegedly robbing a bank and dangerous driving, respectively). His name may be a pun on the phrase "legal eagle".
  • Mr. Packcat (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer): Half packrat, half cat.
  • Mrs. Pedigree (voiced by Tress MacNeille): Half swan, half ostrich. She is a rich, sophisticated Wuzzle who is highly respected in the gang's hometown. She made very brief appearances in the episodes "In the Money" and "Klutz on the Clutch" before having a major role in "Class Dismissed" when she hosted a swanky party at her estate.
  • Transylvia (voiced by Tress MacNeille): Half vulture, half ape. She is the vampire-witch of the Terrified Forest. Her name is a pun on Transylvania. She looks a bit like the winged monkeys from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz or the Tengu of Japanese mythology, travels on a flying "boomerangstick" and is proud of the fact that people are scared of her, but seems to have self-confidence issues (until the end of the episode, anyway) and turned out to not be so scary once the gang got to know her (although she dissuaded them from telling anyone).
    • The Dingbats: Transylvia's henchmen, described as "part dingo, part bat, and ugly all over" by the Narrator. They do not speak (apart from a few snickers) and seem to be rather incompetent, bringing their mistress Butterbear when she told them to find butterberries.
    • The Gorantula: Half gorilla and half tarantula. Transylvia's pet, which was enlarged into an aggressive monster by a miscast spell and drove Transylvia out of her castle. The gang helped her to magically shrink it back to a more manageable size.
  • Peter Parafox (voiced by Brian Cummings): Half parrot, half fox and the owner of Parafox Studios in Hollywuz. He spent most of "Hooray for Hollywuz" ordering his Dogrilla (dog-gorilla) security to throw the persistent but unwanted Hoppo out of the studio. He does not seem to be able to say anything without squawking loudly at some point during the sentence.
    • Steven Sealbird: Half seal, half seabird and another Hollywuz movie director whose film making was interrupted by Hoppo. His name is a parody of movie producer Steven Spielberg.

Untelevised characters that appeared in books or as plush toys
  • Piggypine: Half pig and half porcupine. She befriends Angela in "Piggypine's Weighty Problem".
  • Koalakeet: Half koala and half parakeet. He is friends with Colin in "Koalakeet Saves the Day".
  • Pandeaver: Half panda and half beaver. He is the favorite Wuzzle of Gretchen in "A Hot Tip for Pandeaver".
  • Woolrus: Half sheep and half walrus. He is friends with Jeanette in "Woolrus' Sleepy Time Pal".
  • Skowl: Half skunk and half owl. He is the namesake of "Skowl Fixes Things for Croc".

Baby Wuzzles

These characters appeared only as plush toys.

Voices

Episodes
Nº Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"Bulls of a Feather"Carole BeersMark EvanierSeptember 14, 1985 (1985-09-14)
Eleroo adopts a baby brahma bullfinch and is reluctant to part with it, especially when the other Wuzzles wish to return it to its original mother. Meanwhile, Crocosaur plans to get wealthy with the baby brahma bullfinch.
2"Hooray for Hollywuz"Carole BeersKen Koonce,
David Weimers		September 21, 1985 (1985-09-21)
Hoppo attempts to reach her dream of becoming a star in Hollywuz.
3"In the Money"Carole BeersKen Koonce,
Bob Rosenfarb,
David Weimers		September 28, 1985 (1985-09-28)
Bumblelion finds money on the ground (which was stolen from the bank) and becomes rich, which puts a crimp in his friendship with the other Wuzzles.
4"Crock Around the Clock"Carole BeersKen Koonce,
David Weimers		October 5, 1985 (1985-10-05)
The stormy weather gets bad in Wuz, and with Crocosaur's house destroyed, he takes up residence with Butterbear, conning her out of her food supply.
5"Moosel's Monster"Fred WolfTed PerryOctober 12, 1985 (1985-10-12)
Moosel's imagination goes out of control when he accuses everything of being either a monster or an omen, and believes that a real and friendly monster is all in his head.
6"Klutz on the Clutch"Fred WolfKen Koonce,
David Weimers		October 19, 1985 (1985-10-19)
Due to Rhinokey's crazy driving, he is banned from driving and therefore banned from the upcoming race.
7"Bumblelion and the Terrified Forest"Fred WolfKen Koonce,
David Weimers		October 26, 1985 (1985-10-26)
Bumblelion and Hoppo go deep into the Terrified Forest to rescue Butterbear from an evil witch.
8"Eleroo's Wishday"Fred WolfMark EvanierNovember 2, 1985 (1985-11-02)
Eleroo wishes to fly using the wishing well.
9"Ghostrustlers"Fred WolfKen Koonce,
David Weimers		November 9, 1985 (1985-11-09)
With a plague in Wuz Town, the Wuzzles move to a ghost town that really is inhabited by ghosts.
10"A Pest for a Pet"Fred WolfMark EvanierNovember 16, 1985 (1985-11-16)
The Wuzzles get revenge on Rhinokey for playing jokes on them by playing a joke on him that makes him depart from Wuz.
11"The Main Course"Fred WolfKen Koonce,
David Weimer		November 23, 1985 (1985-11-23)
After being attacked by pirats (part parrot, part rat), the Wuzzles sail to an island where Hoppo is mistaken for a god by a tribe of pigmice (part pig, part mouse) who intend to throw her into a volcano as a sacrifice.
12"Class Dismissed"Fred WolfKen Koonce,
David Weimers		November 30, 1985 (1985-11-30)
When Butterbear is hired to make invitations to a ball, the other Wuzzles decide to get invited by bettering their class. Also, Crocosaur makes a bet with Butterbear about turning Brat into a sensible and polite Wuzzle.
13"What's Up, Stox?"Fred WolfKen Koonce,
David Weimers		December 7, 1985 (1985-12-07)
After visiting the new neighbor, zillionaire Tycoon (part tiger, part raccoon), the Wuzzles are given a money tree which they obsess over. Crocosaur, however, plans to steal it for himself.

Legacy

Butterbear and Rhinokey will appear in a future episode of DuckTales (2017). Unlike their original TV series' appearances, Butterbear and Rhinokey's designs are more realistic and animalistic.[7]

References
  1. "Team Disney-flying High In Burbank – Page 4 – Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. September 22, 1996. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
  2. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 708–709. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  3. "'Whats' Wuzn'T 'Wuzzles,' Federal Judge Determines – New York Times". New York Times. September 19, 1987. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
  4. "The Wuzzles Episode Guide (1985)". BCDB. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
  5. Rovin, Jeff (1991). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals. Prentice Hall Press. p. 290. ISBN 0-13-275561-0. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  6. "Disney Enters Saturday's Cartoon Fray". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved October 19, 2010.
  7. "'DuckTales' surprises Comic-Con with 'Rescue Rangers,' Lin-Manuel Miranda". EW.com.
  1. Animation outsourced to TMS Entertainment.
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