The Story of The Beatles Cartoons & Why They Will Never Be Shown Again

Broadcast for three seasons between 1965 and 1968, The Beatles cartoons entertained a generation of kids who grew up on Saturday morning cartoons in The States. Although never shown in the UK, it was not only made by a UK animation studio but was also voiced by one of Britain's best known comedy actors of the 1960s. In this video, we'll trace its history from concept to cancellation and find out why you can't watch it today.

Unfortunately, Mitch Axelrod's book is currently out of print, but it can be found used on sites such as eBay.

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Thank you!

[dustingreskie]

As a kid growing up in Australia, I used to watch these every morning before primary school in the late 70s. It helped cement my love of the Beatles. Great memories.

[harold]

Initially the Beatles hated the cartoon, but it grew on them. George Harrison stated that he always liked the cartoon, due to its “so bad it’s good” quality.

[rocktober]

Andrew, this is an excellent video, I'm 71 and I used to watch The Beatles Cartoon every Sat. morning. Never to old for a good cartoon.

[kcjepsen]

Thanks for posting! I am 62 and this cartoon is my earliest musical memory. Have loved The Beatles ever since!

[billleary]

I first saw these cartoons on MTV in 1986/1987. I remember not loving the voices but loved the music especially hearing the mono version of Paperback Writer for the first time. This series should be revived on Disney + although disclaimers should be had for some of the episodes. Yellow Submarine would not exist without these cartoons. Mitch Axelrod’s book on the cartoons is essential reading for Beatles fans. Another wonderful video Andrew, thank you so much!

[jcisme]

My father was one of the animators in Australia that worked on these.

[jtlynn]

You can count me in as one of the early readers who loved the lyrics/sing-along section. I was second-youngest of five, and my older siblings owned the first 4 or 5 Capitol albums so I knew the songs going in. One of my earliest memories is of watching the show on Sunday mornings, which would put that at the end of the reruns of the original series. Thanks for another great video!

[andymassingham]

Small but important fact; Professor Hinkle (in the clip from Frosty The Snowman) was actually voiced by the great camp comedian Billy DeWolfe whom, to be fair, sounded a lot like Paul Frees. Great episode as usual!

[dukeviking]

Apple Corp. loves to market the images of this show but snubs the restoration and release of this commercially. While this isn't on the art level of Yellow Submarine this still deserves an official release. Luckily I have a copy of this series for my personal enjoyment.

[williamschneider]

In 1987, when The Beatles were being released on compact disc, MTV here in the United States aired repeats of these cartoon shorts.

[mikeedwards]

As a kid growing up in the 60’s I remember watching the series every Saturday morning. Without fail!

[w.llawrence]

Sullivan was not my introduction to the Beatles-the cartoons were. Every time I hear the opening chord of "A Hard Day's Night" I still see the image of cartoon Ringo unplugging his drums.

[jimcabezola]

OMG! I forgot about these cartoons! Saw them in the '60s! Embarrassed to say that I first heard a lot of Beatles songs from this TV show and not the radio or records. Mahalo for bringing this memory back!

[DrGaryGreen]

In 1980 I was stationed in Incirlik Turkey with the US Air Force. My roomie was a professional broadcaster who was good friends with Paul Frees. I got to listen to many a cassette tape of Paul Frees talking about all nature of stuff. What a wonderful voice.

[denniswood]

As the show went on of course, they added new songs; "And Your Bird Can Sing" was the opening theme song with the 1966 season. It was trippy to hear "Rain" & "Tomorrow Never Knows" on the later shows. Interesting, I never knew the background how ABC aired this series.

[themirrorsofmymind]

PAUL: (or was it John?) _"Did you say you're Cupid, or stupid?"_

RINGO: _"Cupid, with a K."_

OTHERS: _"Oh, dear..."_


That's the only dialogue I remember from the cartoon.

[WaterShowsProd]

Paul Frees had one of the most versatile voice acting careers in the industry. While fans can often recognise him no matter where his voice turns up, most people are still surprised to learn he was also the original Pilsbury Dough Boy. He remains an influence and inspiration for those of us doing that work today.

[CopyKatnj]

When ever I hear "And Your Bird Can Sing" I think of the cartoon series and the song has become my most favorite Beatles song.

[larryinc]

The voice actors for the Japanese dub of this show is wild, with most of them going on to have long careers in notable anime and video games.
Ringo was voiced by Kazuyuki Sogabe, who was Psycho Mantis in Metal Gear Solid 4, and has credits in Fist of the North Star, Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Super Robot Wars, and One Piece.
George was voiced by Hideyuki Tanaka, who was Otacon in Metal Gear Solid series, and also has One Piece, Fist Of The North Star, Ranma 1/2, and many many others.
John was voiced by Masato Ibu, who was Lord Farquaad in the dub of Shrek 1.

[stephentoto]

Finally someone does a documentary on the "Beatles Cartoon Series", I always asked Beatles fans why are they not out, they all would say to me, good question?, so well done, on a side note, MTV was the last channel to Broadcast these, and I have bought bootlegs from that source.