Bill Melendez Productions (partially found non-Peanuts media of studio; 1971-2005): Difference between revisions
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|imagecaption=The studio's logo as seen on ''Frosty Returns.'' | |imagecaption=The studio's logo as seen on ''Frosty Returns.'' | ||
|status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span>}} | |status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span>}} | ||
Bill Melendez Productions (also known as Melendez Films or Melendez Features, Inc.) was an animation studio founded in 1962 by Bill Melendez and his son Steven Melendez <ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melendez_Films</ref>. The studio is best-known for adapting the Peanuts comics to TV; an effort worth celebrating until its final special in 2006 with ''He's a Bully, Charlie Brown''. Alongside the Peanuts TV specials, '''the studio also produced content that doesn't remotely relate to Peanuts''', some of which are either lost or remain mysterious. | |||
{{NeedingWork|potential for better references}} | |||
Bill Melendez Productions (also known as Melendez Films or Melendez Features, Inc.) was an animation studio founded in 1962 by Bill Melendez and his son Steven Melendez <ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melendez_Films</ref>. The studio is best-known for adapting the ''Peanuts'' comics to TV; an effort worth celebrating until its final special in 2006 with ''He's a Bully, Charlie Brown''. Alongside the Peanuts TV specials, '''the studio also produced content that doesn't remotely relate to ''Peanuts''''', some of which are either lost or remain mysterious. | |||
Please note that this page lists obscure non-Peanuts content from the studio, so their ''Garfield'' specials as well as ''Frosty Returns'' and ''The Romance of Betty Boop'' will not be listed. | Please note that this page lists obscure non-Peanuts content from the studio, so their ''Garfield'' specials as well as ''Frosty Returns'' and ''The Romance of Betty Boop'' will not be listed. | ||
==List of non-Peanuts | ==List of non-Peanuts Material== | ||
===Babar (1968, 1971)=== | ===Babar (1968, 1971)=== | ||
Status: '''Lost''' | Status:<br><span style="color:red;">'''Lost''' </span>''(The Story of Babar the Elephant, Babar's Strange Planet)'';<br> | ||
<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span> ''(Babar Comes to America)'';<br> | |||
<span style="color:grey;">'''Existence Unconfirmed'''</span> ''(Babar III)'' | |||
Before Nelvana adapted the books to animation, Bill Melendez Productions | Before Nelvana adapted the books to animation, Bill Melendez Productions was one of the first to adapt ''Babar the Elephant'' into animation. The Babar specials were also the studio's first attempt at producing specials that are not related to the Peanuts comic strip and were one of the first animated pieces of Babar media. There were three Babar specials: ''The Story of Babar the Elephant'', ''Babar the Elephant Comes to America'' and ''Babar's Strange Planet.'' The former two were produced in 1968 and 1971, respectively, and both specials were released in out-of-print VHS tapes<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babar_the_Elephant</ref>. While ''The Story of Babar the Elephant'' remained unseen, the opening and closing credits to ''Babar the Elephant Comes to America'' can be seen on YouTube. ''Babar's Strange Planet'', on the other hand, was the rarest and most mysterious of the Babar specials, and outside of a mention on Bill Melendez's website, remained completely lost forever, and unlike the other two Babar specials Melendez did, it never received a home release. | ||
====Babar III==== | |||
''Babar III'' was the name given to a mysterious Babar special from the studio. Outside of a mere mention on the Bill Melendez website, whether or not it was a production title for ''Babar's Strange Planet'' or a different special entirely remains a complete mystery and completely unknown. | ''Babar III'' was the name given to a mysterious Babar special from the studio. Outside of a mere mention on the Bill Melendez website, whether or not it was a production title for ''Babar's Strange Planet'' or a different special entirely remains a complete mystery and completely unknown. | ||
===Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus (1974)=== | ===Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus (1974)=== | ||
Status: '''Found''' | Status: [https://dailymotion.com/video/x549mhp <span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] | ||
''Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus'' was a 1974 animated Christmas special based on the poem ''Is There a Santa Claus?'' first airing on ABC. The special won a 1975 Emmy award for outstanding children's special | ''Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus'' was a 1974 animated Christmas special based on the poem ''Is There a Santa Claus?'', first airing on ABC. The special won a 1975 Emmy award for outstanding children's special<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes,_Virginia,_there_is_a_Santa_Claus</ref>, Like with the Babar specials, the special's only home release was in VHS. The special is viewable on the Internet Archive in rather poor quality and in Dailymotion. | ||
===Molly and the Skywalkerz (1985, 1989)=== | ===Molly and the Skywalkerz (1985, 1989)=== | ||
Status: '''Found''' | Status: <br><span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span> ''(Happily Ever After, Two Daddies?)''; | ||
<br> <span style="color:grey;">'''Existence Unconfirmed'''</span> ''(Molly)'' | |||
''See [[Molly and the Skywalkerz (found made-for-TV films from Bill Melendez Productions; 1985-1989)]] for more information'' | '''Note:''' ''See [[Molly and the Skywalkerz (found made-for-TV films from Bill Melendez Productions; 1985-1989)]] for more information''. | ||
==== Molly ==== | ==== Molly ==== | ||
Like with ''Babar III'', the Bill Melendez website lists a strange, additional ''Molly and the | Like with ''Babar III'', the Bill Melendez website lists a strange, additional ''Molly and the Skywalkers'' film, simply titled Molly. It's unknown what the film is since there were only two films produced. | ||
===No Man's Valley (1981)=== | ===No Man's Valley (1981)=== | ||
Status: '''Found''' | Status: [https://youtu.be/rk0ryDyWGdw <span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] | ||
''No Man's Valley'' was an animated special produced in collaboration with Frank Fehmers Productions and the Rights Company of North America first airing on CBS in 1981. In this special, a rare Californian condor named Elliot finds a hideaway for endangered animals before the humans drive them into extinction. Unlike the other specials listed, this, alongside the three Cathy specials, never received a VHS release despite doing well in the ratings. The special as originally aired can be viewable on YouTube and the Internet Archive. The special is also the last notable film role of Joe E. Ross before passing away in 1982, a year after the special aired. <ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Man%27s_Valley</ref> | |||
===Cathy (1987-1989)=== | ===Cathy (1987-1989)=== | ||
Status: '''Found''' | Status: [https://lostmediawiki.com/Cathy_(found_animated_specials_based_on_comic_strip_series;_1987-1989) <span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>] | ||
''See [[Cathy (found animated specials based on comic strip series; 1987-1989)]] for more information'' | ''See [[Cathy (found animated specials based on comic strip series; 1987-1989)]] for more information'' | ||
===Casey and the Comics (unknown year)=== | ===Casey and the Comics (unknown year)=== | ||
Status: ''' | Status: <span style="color:grey;">'''Existence Unconfirmed'''</span> | ||
''Casey and the Comics'' was a very mysterious special that only got a mention on the Bill Melendez Productions website, which is the only source of existence the special has. It's unknown what's the plot of the special, what year it was made, who composed the music and who were the voices. It's also unknown what channel the special aired. No footage for the special is available and wasn't even released on home media. | ''Casey and the Comics'' was a very mysterious special that only got a mention on the Bill Melendez Productions website, which is the only source of existence the special has. It's unknown what's the plot of the special, what year it was made, who composed the music, and who were the voices. It's also unknown what channel the special aired. No footage for the special is available and wasn't even released on home media. | ||
===Jasper: The Story of a Mule (2005)=== | ===Jasper: The Story of a Mule (2005)=== | ||
Status: '''Found''' | Status: <span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span> (locked behind a paywall)' | ||
''Jasper: The Story of a Mule'' is the first installment in the ''Jasper the Mule'' series based on the character created by Meredith Hodges, the daughter of Peanuts creator Charles Schulz. This special is notable for being the final non-Peanuts special produced by Bill Melendez, and along with ''He's a Bully, Charlie Brown'' released a year later, was one of the final specials from Bill Melendez Productions before shifting its focus away from producing animated specials to producing commercials for business clients. The special was released on DVD and can be viewed on video on demand. | ''Jasper: The Story of a Mule'' is the first installment in the ''Jasper the Mule'' series based on the character created by Meredith Hodges, the daughter of Peanuts creator Charles Schulz. This special is notable for being the final non-Peanuts special produced by Bill Melendez, and along with ''He's a Bully, Charlie Brown'' released a year later, was one of the final specials from Bill Melendez Productions before shifting its focus away from producing animated specials to producing commercials for business clients. The special was released on DVD and can be viewed on video on demand. | ||
==Fred Basset and The Perishers (1976, 1979)== | ===Fred Basset and The Perishers (1976, 1979)=== | ||
Status: '''Partially | Status: <span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span> (both ''Fred Basset'' and ''The Perishers'') | ||
In the 70's, Bill Melendez Productions (alongside Clover for ''Fred Basset'' and FilmFair for ''The Perishers'') and its U.K. arm produced a series of cartoon shorts featuring British comic strip characters Fred Basset and The Perishers. The cartoons were released in 1976 and 1979 as interstitial material for the BBC. 20 cartoon shorts were produced for each series. Half of the Fred Basset cartoons were found in full via an out-of-print VHS tape and uploaded to YouTube, while the Perishers have their first minutes of two cartoons; ''The Magic Mirror'' and ''The Skateboarding Champion'' uploaded to YouTube, and unlike Fred Basset, the cartoons were released on DVD by Abbey Home Media. It's unknown if more cartoons could be found from their respective series<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Basset</ref><ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Perishers_(TV_series)</ref>. | |||
==Videos== | ====Videos==== | ||
{{Video|description1=The first few minutes of The Perishers cartoon "The Skateboard Champion".|description2=The full Fred Basset VHS tape (The Hound that's Almost Human!), which contains half of the 20 cartoon shorts produced.|id1=0rK6W5bQw9I|id2=53I6H-x_pQg|perrow=3|service1=youtube|service2=youtube|description3=The opening and closing to "Babar the Elephant Comes to America".|id3=RRx9j-pYZCQ|service3=youtube}} | {{Video|description1=The first few minutes of The Perishers cartoon "The Skateboard Champion".|description2=The full Fred Basset VHS tape (The Hound that's Almost Human!), which contains half of the 20 cartoon shorts produced.|id1=0rK6W5bQw9I|id2=53I6H-x_pQg|perrow=3|service1=youtube|service2=youtube|description3=The opening and closing to "Babar the Elephant Comes to America".|id3=RRx9j-pYZCQ|service3=youtube}} | ||
== External Links == | == External Links == | ||
* [http://www.billmelendez.tv The studio's official website] (needs Ruffle to access the site) | |||
== References == | |||
{{reflist}} | |||
[[Category:Lost advertising and interstitial material]] | |||
[[Category:Lost animation]] | [[Category:Lost animation]] | ||
[[Category:Lost TV]] | [[Category:Lost TV]] | ||
[[Category:Partially found media]] | [[Category:Partially found media]] | ||
Latest revision as of 21:20, 10 March 2024
.png)
The studio's logo as seen on Frosty Returns.
Status: Partially Found
This article has been tagged as Needing work due to its potential for better references.
Bill Melendez Productions (also known as Melendez Films or Melendez Features, Inc.) was an animation studio founded in 1962 by Bill Melendez and his son Steven Melendez [1]. The studio is best-known for adapting the Peanuts comics to TV; an effort worth celebrating until its final special in 2006 with He's a Bully, Charlie Brown. Alongside the Peanuts TV specials, the studio also produced content that doesn't remotely relate to Peanuts, some of which are either lost or remain mysterious.
Please note that this page lists obscure non-Peanuts content from the studio, so their Garfield specials as well as Frosty Returns and The Romance of Betty Boop will not be listed.
List of non-Peanuts Material
Babar (1968, 1971)
Status:
Lost (The Story of Babar the Elephant, Babar's Strange Planet);
Partially Found (Babar Comes to America);
Existence Unconfirmed (Babar III)
Before Nelvana adapted the books to animation, Bill Melendez Productions was one of the first to adapt Babar the Elephant into animation. The Babar specials were also the studio's first attempt at producing specials that are not related to the Peanuts comic strip and were one of the first animated pieces of Babar media. There were three Babar specials: The Story of Babar the Elephant, Babar the Elephant Comes to America and Babar's Strange Planet. The former two were produced in 1968 and 1971, respectively, and both specials were released in out-of-print VHS tapes[2]. While The Story of Babar the Elephant remained unseen, the opening and closing credits to Babar the Elephant Comes to America can be seen on YouTube. Babar's Strange Planet, on the other hand, was the rarest and most mysterious of the Babar specials, and outside of a mention on Bill Melendez's website, remained completely lost forever, and unlike the other two Babar specials Melendez did, it never received a home release.
Babar III
Babar III was the name given to a mysterious Babar special from the studio. Outside of a mere mention on the Bill Melendez website, whether or not it was a production title for Babar's Strange Planet or a different special entirely remains a complete mystery and completely unknown.
Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus (1974)
Status: Found
Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus was a 1974 animated Christmas special based on the poem Is There a Santa Claus?, first airing on ABC. The special won a 1975 Emmy award for outstanding children's special[3], Like with the Babar specials, the special's only home release was in VHS. The special is viewable on the Internet Archive in rather poor quality and in Dailymotion.
Molly and the Skywalkerz (1985, 1989)
Status:
Found (Happily Ever After, Two Daddies?);
Existence Unconfirmed (Molly)
Note: See Molly and the Skywalkerz (found made-for-TV films from Bill Melendez Productions; 1985-1989) for more information.
Molly
Like with Babar III, the Bill Melendez website lists a strange, additional Molly and the Skywalkers film, simply titled Molly. It's unknown what the film is since there were only two films produced.
No Man's Valley (1981)
Status: Found
No Man's Valley was an animated special produced in collaboration with Frank Fehmers Productions and the Rights Company of North America first airing on CBS in 1981. In this special, a rare Californian condor named Elliot finds a hideaway for endangered animals before the humans drive them into extinction. Unlike the other specials listed, this, alongside the three Cathy specials, never received a VHS release despite doing well in the ratings. The special as originally aired can be viewable on YouTube and the Internet Archive. The special is also the last notable film role of Joe E. Ross before passing away in 1982, a year after the special aired. [4]
Cathy (1987-1989)
Status: Found
See Cathy (found animated specials based on comic strip series; 1987-1989) for more information
Casey and the Comics (unknown year)
Status: Existence Unconfirmed
Casey and the Comics was a very mysterious special that only got a mention on the Bill Melendez Productions website, which is the only source of existence the special has. It's unknown what's the plot of the special, what year it was made, who composed the music, and who were the voices. It's also unknown what channel the special aired. No footage for the special is available and wasn't even released on home media.
Jasper: The Story of a Mule (2005)
Status: Found (locked behind a paywall)'
Jasper: The Story of a Mule is the first installment in the Jasper the Mule series based on the character created by Meredith Hodges, the daughter of Peanuts creator Charles Schulz. This special is notable for being the final non-Peanuts special produced by Bill Melendez, and along with He's a Bully, Charlie Brown released a year later, was one of the final specials from Bill Melendez Productions before shifting its focus away from producing animated specials to producing commercials for business clients. The special was released on DVD and can be viewed on video on demand.
Fred Basset and The Perishers (1976, 1979)
Status: Partially Found (both Fred Basset and The Perishers)
In the 70's, Bill Melendez Productions (alongside Clover for Fred Basset and FilmFair for The Perishers) and its U.K. arm produced a series of cartoon shorts featuring British comic strip characters Fred Basset and The Perishers. The cartoons were released in 1976 and 1979 as interstitial material for the BBC. 20 cartoon shorts were produced for each series. Half of the Fred Basset cartoons were found in full via an out-of-print VHS tape and uploaded to YouTube, while the Perishers have their first minutes of two cartoons; The Magic Mirror and The Skateboarding Champion uploaded to YouTube, and unlike Fred Basset, the cartoons were released on DVD by Abbey Home Media. It's unknown if more cartoons could be found from their respective series[5][6].
Videos
External Links
- The studio's official website (needs Ruffle to access the site)
References
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melendez_Films
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babar_the_Elephant
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes,_Virginia,_there_is_a_Santa_Claus
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Man%27s_Valley
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Basset
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Perishers_(TV_series)