Comical Animal Heroes, Part One: Up And At 'Em!

According to an old superstition, stepping on an ant brings rain.

But, I and everyone else who's seen Atom Ant, knows that stepping on him brings bumps, bruises, and white flags. He is, after all, a superhero, and a most convincing one. He'd go after villains big and small, including other ants, and his rival Ferocious Flea. Sometimes, the bad guys would take advantage of his weaknesses for picnics and sugar.

So when did I see this amazing insect? The answer will probably surprise you. Not until the early '70's, when he joined the cast of "Yogi's Gang." What about the original show? I didn't see that until the first quarter of 1978, when it was part of "The Banana Splits And Friends" syndicated package, by which time I was a sophomore in high school. Why such a late start? Well, prior to 1967, I watched little if any TV, so there was a lot I missed out on. At least I was able to make up for lost time, and say I was very taken with the little guy, even seeing the reruns on Cartoon Network.

Now for the other components:

"Precious Pupp." He was memorable for his deceptive ways. But he wasn't the first snickering dog voiced by Don Messick. That "honor" goes to Mugger, the vicious circus dog from "Hey There, It's Yogi Bear," a year earlier. But Precious was good enough for me. His owner Granny Sweet never caught on to his mischief, except for the episode "Pup, Skip, Jump," in which she took in a homeless puppy, caught Precious bullying him, and scolded him for it! I thought, "Ah, she finally knows the truth." But in all other episodes, she remained oblivious.

What I liked about Granny was that, she, like many of today's senior citizens, opted for an active lifestyle instead of hanging out in a rocking chair and knitting. She rode a motorcycle, bowled, and even entered a skiing contest. When she hit the slopes, she revealed she was 71, or as she put it, 21 + 50.

"The Hillbilly Bears." Amusing indeed. Paw Rugg was lazy enough for Maw Rugg to prod into action. The recurring theme was their ongoing feud with the Clodhoppers, complicated by the fact that daughter Floral Rugg was in love with one of the Clodhoppers' sons, and vice versa. But the funniest episodes were those that had Paw Rugg contending with wildlife, be it a catfish, gopher, raccoon, or woodpecker.

So "The Atom Ant Show" is another one I thoroughly enjoyed, despite putting it off for 13 years. Up And At 'Em, Atom Ant! I say!

Trivia Question 31: In his first episode, Atom Ant pursued a criminal named for what legendary singer?

Answer: Big Fats Domino.

I remember a friend at college would constantly mention how ridiculous it seemed to him that when Atom Ant ran out of power, he would simply lift weights to regain it. I could understand that, when one is really tired, they generally don't consider working out at that moment. Yet then again, most people aren't cartoon ants. Again, I haven't seen too much of the little guy, but I did like a short where an oriental ant who knew karate (of course) was pitted against Atom Ant. In the end, the other ant befriends Atom and defeats the crooks who originally sent him to defeat Atom. I also recall one where a sexy female ant was used to seduce Atom while the bad guys attempted to get away with their crime. Atom stopped them at the very end though.

Precious Pupp--reminds me a bit of the Shep from the Warner Brothers short "Fresh Airdale" in the fact that the owner thinks he's such a wonderful dog when he really isn't. However, there was something about Precious that was actually funny, whereupon, I found nothing funny about Shep. Also, Precious wasn't that bad, I mean, he did thwart a robber attempting to rob Granny, and defeated the local dog catcher who was not a very nice man, so I guess there was some good in that dog.

From what I've seen of the Hillbilly Bears--Paw was pretty funny due to his mumbling voice. The first short I ever saw was the one where Paw somehow becomes a rock star--the song he sings is a riot.