Beany and Cecil
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Beany and Cecil was a cartoon that ran from 1962 to 1967. It was created by Bob Clampett. Clampett created Cecil as a boy after seeing the top half of the dinosaur swimming from the water at the end of The Lost World. Clampett originally created the series as a puppet show called Time for Beany, which ran from 1949 to 1954. Time for Beany featured the talents of veteran voice actors Stan Freberg and Daws Butler. Clampett revived the series in the 1960s in animated form, though Freberg and Butler did not reprise their roles.
Beany and Cecil, the animated version, ran in prime time during the 1962 TV season, and the 26 shows (including 78 cartoons) were then repeated on Saturday mornings for the next five years. The cartoon featured Beany, a boy, and Cecil the Sea-Sick Sea Serpent embarking on a series of adventures, often to discover ancient civilizations and artifacts. These escapades were rife with cartoon slapstick and countless puns.
The show was revived in 1988 by DiC. Only eight episodes were ever made, and only five episodes ever aired. This incarnation of the show was produced and directed by John Kricfalusi, who would later create Ren and Stimpy.
[edit] Characters
Beany, a young, cherub-faced boy with a propeller Beanie that allows him to fly ( the "Beanie", complete with helmet and propeller, became a popularly marketed novelty). Beany is a good-hearted, upbeat lad, and is somewhat obnoxious at the same time. In most episodes, Beany would be kidnapped by the villain, crying "Help, Cecil! Help, help!" to which Cecil would reply "I'm comin', Beany-boy!" as he raced to the rescue. This has become something of a catchphrase.
Cecil, a large green sea serpent with a pronounced lisp, is fiercely loyal to Beany but not too terribly bright. Cecil's trusting good nature invariably winds up with him being taken advantage of by the villains, and he often ends up absorbing a great amount of physical abuse (getting smashed flat, losing his head, having his skin burned off, being shattered to pieces), all within the laws of cartoon physics. The end of Cecil's tail was never seen: it always extended off-screen, or was hidden behind an obstacle. This is likely a joking reference to the original Cecil, a hand puppet whose tail was likewise hidden (because it didn't exist).
Cecil also has a superhero alter-ego known as Super-Cecil. In this guise, he wears a modified Superman shirt (complete with cape).
Captain Horatio Huffenpuff, also called "Uncle Captain", is Beany's kindly uncle and the Captain of the Leakin' Lena, which takes the pals from one destination to the other. The Captain is always willing to instruct Beany and Cecil on their latest assignment, but refuses to put himself in any personal jeopardy, locking himself in the belowdecks for most of the episodes.
Crowy, the navigator of the Leakin' Lena. He is a crow, and unsurprisingly spends most of his time in the crow's nest. He speaks in a squawky voice and has a tendency to faint dead away whenever the ship encounters some sort of hazard.
Dishonest John, the villain of the piece. He is dressed like a Simon Legree character, and he is constantly scheming to foil Beany and Cecil's adventures. His catchphrase is a sinister "Nya ha ha!". Whenever Dishonest John's schemes are revealed to the heroes, Cecil tends to respond with an aghast "What the heck! D.J., you dirty guy!". When Dishonest John receives his inevitable comeuppance, it is usually just as painful as the abuse Cecil has endured in the rest of the episode. Dishonest John also has a supervillain alter-ego known as The Bilious Beetle. In this guise, he can fly under his own power and sports a painful stinger.
[edit] Trivia
- One episode ("Trip to the Schmoon") had the Leakin' Lena travel in space to "the moon's moon", called the Schmoon, from Yiddish humorous formation. To present the passage as unearthly, the music played as the ship travelled was Tchaikovsky's instantiating celesta piece, Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy.
- The puppet origins and the form of Cecil inspired the famous Science Fiction author Larry Niven to invent an important extra-terrestrial race called Pierson's Puppeteer within his Known Space series of novels and short stories.
- On an episode of the ABC sitcom Full House, Uncle Jesse asks Joey Gladstone what rhymes with Lamborghini and Joey Gladstone replies, "how about Cecil and Beany?"
- Dishonest John inspired Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott (members of the band AC/DC) to write the song Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.
