Remember that one day when you could wake up without an alarm? When you would get your favorite bowl of cereal and sit between the hours of 8 and 12? This is a blog dedicated to the greatest time of our childhood: Saturday mornings. The television programs you watched, the memories attached to them, and maybe introducing you to something you didn't realize existed. Updated every weekend.
His long and prolific career in television and film expanded to voice
acting in the late 80s. Among his Saturday morning credits was the recurring role
of Roland Daggett in Batman: The Animated Series;Vern in an
episode of Animaniacs (1993); Hudson in Gargoyles; J. Jonah
Jameson in Spider-Man: The Animated Series;Sgt. Mike Cosgrove in
Freakazoid!, which he would later reprise for an episode of Teen
Titans Go!;General Araneus in an episode of The Magic School Bus
(1994); Mr. Applegate in an episode of Life with Louie; Agent K’s
father in an episode of Men in Black: The Series;Granny Goodness
in Superman: The Animated Series;Thaddeus T. Third V in an episode
of Recess; Chuck Marshak in Max Steel (2000); Fixer in an episode
of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command; a guard captain in an episode of Duck
Dodgers; Uncle Ben in an episode of The Spectacular Spider-Man; Kent
Nelson in an episode of Young Justice; and an angry old timer in an
episode of SpongeBob SquarePants.
He was a background artist and art director that worked on Alvin & the
Chipmunks (1983), Histeria!, Digimon: Digital Monsters and SpongeBob
SquarePants.
Gwen Stefani with her Harajuku Girls: (from left) Maya Chino, Jennifer Kita, Rino Nakasone & Mayuko Kitayama.
Harajuku Girls was also the name she
gave the group of backup dancers she hired for the tour that wore make-up and
clothing meant to be evocative of the Japanese aesthetic. The Harajuku Girls
were comprised of Maya
Chino, Jennifer Kita,
Rino Nakasone
and Mayuko
Kitayama, who performed under the stage names “Love”, “Angel”,
“Music” and “Baby”, respectively, after the album. Along with the tour, the
Harajuku Girls served as Stefani’s entourage in public (it was alleged that
they were contractually
obligated to speak only Japanese in that instance), appeared with her
on interviews (where part of her gimmick was that she considered them imaginary
friends), and starred in 8 of her music videos (three of them would also appear
in No Doubt’s “Settle
Down”
video, sans Harajuku styling). Stefani would go on to use the name “Harajuku Lovers”
for a line of fragrances,
which came in caricature bottles fashioned after her and the Girls, and fashion
for Target also adorned with those
caricatures. During this period, many critics would come to regard Stefani’s
Harajuku Girls as not so much cultural appreciation, but more along the lines
of cultural
appropriation as well as reinforcing negative
ethnic stereotypes.
An example of the kawaii design applied to the scenery.
Fast forwarding to 2014, Stefani
announced the next Harajuku-inspired product: an animated series. A desire to turn
the Harajuku Girls into some kind of media project existed since the initial
album’s release, but it wouldn’t be until 2013 that she pitched it at Kidscreen’s
Asian Animation Summit.
Australia’s Network Ten
liked the idea and greenlit the production. Although this would be Stefani’s
first animated series, she had a familiarity with their inner workings through
her brother, No Doubt co-founder and former member Eric Stefani,
who worked as an animator on cartoons like A
Pup Named Scooby-Dooand The Simpsons.
HJ5: Love, Angel, G, Music and Baby, along with their manager, Rudie.
Initially titled Koo Koo
Harajuku, the show was developed by Steve Aranguren,
Gillian Carr
and Madellaine
Paxson and co-produced by Vision Animation,
Red Flags Fly and Moody
Street Kids, with DHX Media (now WildBrain)
handling distribution. Animated in Flash,
the series followed the adventures of teenaged band HJ5 as they often met with
challenges that prevented them from playing their gigs without interruption such
as unruly fans, fun-hating despots, or inventions gone amok. HJ5 was comprised
of leader G (modeled after Stefani, voiced by Maggie Cheretien), the glue of
the band who keept them together through tough times and represented bows; Love
(Daisy Masterman), the group genius whose inventions often caused more problems
than they solved and represented hearts; Angel (Emma Taylor-Isherwood), a
bubbly and cheerful fashionista who could be a bit of an airhead at times and represented
stars; Music (Sally Taylor-Isherwood), the sarcastic and strong-willed
second-in-command of the band who was both an amazing fighter and dancer and
represented musical notes; and Baby (Charlotte Nicdao), sweet and carefree to a
fault who loved adorable things and giving hugs (and was constantly hungry) and
represented cuteness. Their manager was Rudie Rhodes (Danny Smith), who was
enthusiastic but hard-lucked and clumsy and tended to get the band into trouble
through his antics and forgetfulness. Additionally, the band had a sassy
robotic personal assistant and chauffer named R.O.D. (Robotic
Obedient Driver), as well as several monster pets (cut little creatures that
could be domesticated or wild) and a Pomeranian named Chewie (based on
Stefani’s own pet). The characters, designed by Kyla May, were heavily
influenced by the Harajuku Girls while remaining ethnically ambiguous.
General Nofun holds HJ5 captive.
The series featured a number of
antagonists bent on ruining HJ5’s careers any way they could. Chief amongst
them was General
Ira S. Nofun (Paul Heng, Ian Bliss
in Australia), the leader of Nofunland who hated anything fun. His top man was Commander
Bo-ring (Bliss), who led a double life as pop star Baron Von Melody. Nofun
also had a cat, Moods
Meow, who had designs on world domination. Other antagonists included Madame Shhh, who
hated noise and wanted to soundproof everything through magic spells and
bubbles; Sammy Starr,
Rudie’s arrogant rival who used leet speak and tried everything to sign HJ5 to
him; Say-Wah (Nicdao), a technological whiz who wanted revenge on the band for
not accepting her into their ranks; The Kimberlys, a
rival band comprised of similar-looking girls all named Kimberly who wanted to
be famous without doing any of the actual work; Tizzie Lizzie (Natalie Bond),
the band’s biggest (and obsessive) fan and daughter of an incredibly wealthy
man who attempted to subjugate HJ5; Angelica (Amanda Harrison),
a young inventor and Love’s chief rial; Cici, the leader of a
mermaid singing group who felt they had sole performing rights in oceanic
territories; Panda Pete, a panda-obsessed businessman who wanted to make the
whole world kawaii (the
Japanese culture of cuteness); Mimi Di Pollo,
an extreme fashion designer who wanted revenge on HJ5 for firing her because of
her impractical outfits for them; and Bertrand, a smartphone modified by Love
to never become obsolete that evolved into a sentient despot, among others.
Baby and the monster pets.
Other characters included Colonel Spyke
(Jaqueline Brennan),
captain of the Harajuku Defense Squad who disliked HJ5’s music but didn’t
hesitate to employ their services on missions when needed; Twisty-T
(Smith), a prominent music producer Rudie always strove to impress; Jo Jo Jolie, a
fashion designer and Twisty T’s wife; Mauve Madison (Brennan in Australia,
Chrehtien in the US), a popular talk show host; Trixie La Trill
(Bond), a hair stylist and Rudie’s aunt with a desire to be famous; Sparski, a sentient
computer virus; and Krispin Krouton,
a tabloid journalist, among others.
Much like Stefani’s Harajuku Girls,
reception to the series was mixed and labeled as cultural appropriation. Reviewers
pointed out the whitewashing
and Westernization of Japanese culture while simultaneously eliminating
anything remotely Japanese from the show. Despite that, the
series was able to churn out 3 seasons and was nominated for an Asian Television Award
in 2016. For the third season, HJ5 embarked on a world tour that took them out
of Harajuku City to new and exotic locations with their own crazy themes, such
as bubblegum, musical instruments or yo-yos, via a teleporting tour bus
concocted by Love. The last five episodes of the series aired initially on Disney
Channel Australia before airing on 10 Peach.
DiC
Animation City, Bustin’ Productions, Inc., Reteitalia
MAIN CAST: MC Hammer
– Himself (live) Clark Johnson
– Hammerman/Stanley Burrell Ron Rubin
– Righty Susan Roman
– Winnie Jeff
Jones – Gramps/Soul Man Miguel Lee
– Unspecified Maurice Dean Wint
– Showbiz Joe Matheson
– Unspecified Neil Crone
– Ludwig Stevie Vallance
(as Louise Vallance) – Jody, various Carmen Twillie
– Fly Girls Born in Oakland, California,
Stanley Kirk Burrell got his start at age 11, earning money by performing dance
routines outside Oakland
Coliseum during Oakland
A’s
home games. Team owner Charles
Finley took notice of young Burrell and eventually made him
the team’s batboy. While working for the A’s, he performed at various clubs
while they were on away games under the moniker “MC” for “Master of
Ceremonies”. “Hammer” was soon added due to his resemblance to home-run king Hank
“The Hammer” Aaron. Hammer’s life probably would have played
out very differently if he made the cut for the San Francisco Giants
when he tried out.
MC Hammer, rocking his trademark parachute pants.
While Hammer loved baseball, he
loved rapping and performing a bit more. After a stint in college and the Navy, Hammer borrowed
some money from former A’s Mike
Davis and Dwayne Murphy
and launched his own record label: Bust
It Productions. Through it, he released the albums Feel My Powerand
Let’s
Get It Started. Both sold well enough to get him signed
to Capitol Records.
His next album, Please
Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em, became
the most successful rap record of all time by selling 10 million copies and
dominating the airwaves with singles like “U Can’t Touch This”.
Hammer produced and starred
in a film titled after the album and quickly pushed out his
next one, Too
Legit to Quit, in late 1991 (which was
also the first released after he dropped the “MC” from his name).
Stanley's magic shoes turn him into...Hammerman!
Because Hammer’s lyrics were clean,
he had appeal to both adults and children. With that in mind, Andy Heyward
approached Hammer about developing a cartoon based around him and his music. That
series was Hammerman, which depicted Hammer as a rapping and dancing
superhero. In the series, the lead character was Stanley Burrell (Clark
Johnson), a rec center organizer in the city of Oaktown (named after Hammer’s other
record label) who loved to dance. He was discovered by
a man known simply as Gramps (Jeff Jones) and his granddaughter, Jody (Steve
Vallance). Gramps had been the superhero Soul Man (patterned after James Brown)
throughout his life, but it was time to retire and pass the mantle on. He gave
Stanley his magic talking dancing shows, Righty (Ron Rubin) and Lefty, and they
turned Stanley into Hammerman with a black shirt, black parachute pants, and a
gold chain. Hammerman could rap and dance his way through most situations;
using musical notes to bring inanimate objects to life or imprison bad guys,
defying the laws of gravity or physics, etc. His parachute pants also served as
an actual parachute. Because his powers were so ill-defined (and verging on
god-like), the actual threat in each episode came from Stanley’s opportunity to
transform in time either because he was already caught up in the action as Stanley
or his shoes were out of reach for some reason.
Fly, magical music notes!
Only
Gramps knew about Stanley’s alter-ego, which was odd considering Jody was a
part of the search and aware of Gramps’ past tenure as a hero. Other characters
included Winnie (Susan Roman), who worked at the rec center and was an aspiring
veterinarian; Showbiz (Maurice Dean Wint), who was always trying to act like
Stanley’s manager and turn him into a professional performer; and, Ludwig (Neil
Crone) a street musician that played keytar (like his namesake, Ludwig
von Beethoven). Additionally, two identical girls dressed in spandex called Fly Girls
(Carmen Twille) would pop up from time to time, acting like a Greek chorus and seemingly
unnoticed by the other characters (however, they tended to get
caught up in the events of an episode). Among Hammerman’s foes were Defacely
Marmeister (John
Stocker), who loved graffiti and looked like an abstract
painting; Paula Bunion, who was obsessed with shoes; and Boss Grindenheimer (Dan Hennessey),
an evil genius and mad scientist.
Hammerman rescues Jody.
Hammerman debuted on ABC on September 7, 1991, a
co-production of DiC Entertainment
and Bustin’ Productions, a spin-off to Bust It. Reportedly viewing it as his
social responsibility, the series took inspiration from Fat
Albert and the Cosby Kidsby
having live-action wraparound segments featuring Hammer discussing the plot and
moral of the story with a group of kids on animated backgrounds from the show.
Hammer also interacted with his animated counterpart in the series’ intro,
rapping the theme song by him and Felton Pilate
that spelled out Hammerman’s origins. Additional Hammer songs were integrated
into the show’s soundtrack with additional music by The Music Team and Chase/Rucker
Productions. The series was written by Reed Shelly,
Bruce Shelly,
Bob Forward,
Eve Forward,
Martha Moran,
Robert Askin,
Steven Weiss
and Paul
Dell,
with the Shellys serving as story editors. Ed
Lee handled the character designs.
Hammer hanging out on set with kids to spell out today's moral.
DiC Entertainment had earned itself
a bit of a reputation in the industry for trying to produce a product as
cheaply as possible. Many would come to regard the company’s initials as
standing for “Do It Cheap”. However, while many of their productions still
looked decent despite animation limitations, Hammerman became the one
program that most embodied that distinction. While the intro, animated by
Milimetros Dibujos Animados, S.A., was animated smoothly enough, the show
itself, animated by Pacific
Rim Animation L.T.D., was horrendous by comparison. Instead of
the traditional 24 frames per second, Hammerman ran at 10 or less,
depending on the episode and scene. Many times, it looked as if the only things
animated were the keyframes (the start and ending positions of a movement),
with the in-betweens (the drawings that create the illusion of movement between
the keyframes) skipped entirely. Continuity mistakes were also common; such as
Jody being tied up and captured in one shot but free and escaping the next
without any kind of context.
Gramps with Ludwig and Jody.
Needless to say, the show performed
abysmally in the ratings and only lasted a single season of 13 episodes. This
also coincided with a turn in Hammer’s personal fortunes as Too Legit to
Quit failed to perform as well as the previous album. He spent the money
faster than it came in, resulting in his declaring
bankruptcy in 1996. Hammer eventually rebounded and continued
making music, working in the industry and investing, as well as riding a wave
of nostalgia to appear in reality
shows and commercials,
but had never reattained the level of success he originally experienced.
The villainous Defacely Marmeister.
While
Hammer the man continued on, Hammerman wouldn’t been seen again until
2014. The Cartoon
Network series Robot
Chickenran an episode called “Welcome to the Golf Jam”,
which saw disgraced
golfer Tiger Woods
attempting to rebuild his reputation by making his own Space
Jammovie. However, the only company that
would agree to partner with him was DiC. As a result, poorly animated versions
of several DiC characters appeared, including Hammerman (Zeb Wells).
One of the VHS tapes.
There was some merchandising to go
along with the show. Three episodes were released to
VHS
by Buena
Vista Home Entertainment in 1992; the only official releases
to date, with more episodes being made available via uploads on YouTube (although not all
in English). View-Master
would adapt “Defeated Graffiti” into three
slide reels. JusToys produced
a set of temporary
tattoos featuring the main characters and Hammerman’s shoes,
while Thermos made a lunch box
depicting Hammerman and Gramps hanging out with some neighborhood kids. White Castle even
hosted a strange
promotion where they gave out Hammerman toothpaste, a
toothbrush, a sponge and a bar of soap.
EPISODE GUIDE (airdates approximate):
“Defeated
Graffiti” (9/7/91) – Defacely Marmeister tricks neighborhood kids into
graffitiing up the buildings with his special paint that he can bring to life. “Winnie’s
Winner” (10/19/91) – Knowing Hammerman is always hanging around the rec center,
three villains drop off a bugged dog so that they can find and trap him. “Rapoleon”
(11/16/91) – Feeling like nobody pays attention to his beats because he’s
short, Raopoleon’s plan to turn himself larger ends up giving him the means to
make the world smaller. “Will
and the Jerks” (11/23/91) – UNAVAILABLE. “If
the Shoe Fits” (11/30/91) – Paula Bunion makes off with Lefty, who happens to
be in love with one of her boots. “Nobody’s
Perfect” (12/7/91) – Stanley’s brother invents a robot designed to make
everything perfect, but failed to take into account that we live in an
imperfect world. “Dropping
Out” – Hammerman tries to keep one of the rec center kids from dropping out of
school to play pro ball by taking him to the future. “Lights,
Camera, Hammer!” – Showbiz drags Stanley to a movie production and they both
end up captured on celluloid—literally. “Blast
from the Past” – Gramps is feeling pretty useless until one of his old foes
returns and gives Hammerman some trouble. “Who’s
Who” – UNAVAILABLE. “Work
This” – UNAVAILABLE.
