Tijuana Toads
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Tijuana Toads is a series of 17 theatrical cartoons produced by DePatie–Freleng and released through United Artists.[1]
Plot
[edit]The series concerns two toads, El Toro and Pancho, who live in the Mexican city of Tijuana. Throughout the cartoon they try to eat their prey, but always get outsmarted.[2] They would sometimes themselves be targeted by a bird, Crazylegs Crane, and would in turn always outsmart him.
The series introduced two characters who later got their own series. The Blue Racer first appeared in "Snake in the Gracias" (1971) before getting his own series in 1972. Crazylegs Crane first appeared in "Go for Croack" (1969), and also spun off to his own series for television in 1978 on ABC. Both characters were voiced by Larry D. Mann, except in "Flight to the Finish" where Bob Holt voiced Crazylegs Crane.[3][4]
El Toro was voiced by actor Don Diamond and Pancho voiced by Tom Holland. Crazylegs Crane was voiced by Larry D. Mann. Directorial duties were split between Hawley Pratt, Art Davis, Grant Simmons, and Gerry Chiniquy.[3]
When the series began airing in 1976 as part of The Pink Panther Laugh and a Half Hour and a Half Show, it was re-dubbed and renamed Texas Toads to make the series less offensive.[3] A laugh track was added to the new soundtrack, and the toads were given the new names of Fatso and Banjo.[3] Producer David H. DePatie later commented on the process:
"When they (Tijuana Toads) went on television, we had to completely change them around and the series became known as the Texas Toads, and we had to redo all of the tracks that had any type of ethnic content and it really watered down the series. We all thought it was a hell of a lot more funny when it was the Tijuana Toads, but at the time we had to do it in order to bring the thing on television".[5]
Filmography
[edit]| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tijuana Toads (TV title: "Tall in the Grass") | Hawley Pratt | John W. Dunn | August 6, 1969 | |
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Toro tries to catch a grasshopper, and will not let Pancho help him. | |||||
| 2 | A Pair of Greenbacks | Art Davis | John W. Dunn | December 16, 1969 | |
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Toro and Pancho fight over a cockroach. | |||||
| 3 | Go for Croak | Hawley Pratt | John W. Dunn | December 25, 1969 | |
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Crazylegs Crane tries to catch Toro and Pancho. Note:First appearance of Crazylegs Crane. | |||||
| 4 | The Froggy Froggy Duo | Hawley Pratt | John W. Dunn | March 15, 1970 | |
|
Toro and Pancho hang out in Acapulco, but a nearby hotel cook is assigned with getting frog legs for the French ambassador, so he goes after Toro and Pancho, but keeps crossing paths with a tough outlaw named El Pumo. | |||||
| 5 | Hop and Chop | Grant Simmons | Dale Hale | June 17, 1970 | |
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Toro and Pancho try to catch the Japenese Beetle. Note: Only Tijuna Toads cartoon directed by Grant Simmons, the only other Depatie-Freleng cartoon he directed being "The Foul Kin" (Roland and Rattfink); first appearance of the Japanese Beetle. | |||||
| 6 | Never on Thirsty | Hawley Pratt | John W. Dunn | August 5, 1970 | |
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Toro and Pancho are thirsty and spot a pool, but they must get past the guard dog to reach it. | |||||
| 7 | A Dopey Hacienda | Hawley Pratt | John W. Dunn | December 6, 1970 | |
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A cat tries to catch Toro and Pancho. | |||||
| 8 | Snake in the Gracias | Hawley Pratt | John W. Dunn | January 24, 1971 | |
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Crazylegs Crane gets amnesia while trying to catch Toro and Pancho, who inadvertely make him think he is a frog too. Meanwhile, the Blue Racer starts trying to catch Toro and Pancho, but Crazylegs thwarts him. | |||||
| 9 | Two Jumps and a Chump | Gerry Chiniquy | John W. Dunn | March 28, 1971 | |
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Crazylegs Crane tries to catch Toro and Pancho again, but the duo quickly escape. When Pancho mistakes his reflection for another frog, so Toro comes over to fight it, but before he can do anything, Crazylegs returns, and the chase continues. | |||||
| 10 | Mud Squad | Art Davis | John W. Dunn | April 28, 1971 | |
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Toro and Pancho are hungry, so they steal an egg, but it hatches and out comes a baby alligator which starts biting Toro. | |||||
| 11 | The Egg and Ay-Yi-Yi! | Gerry Chiniquy | Dale Hale | June 6, 1971 | |
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Toro and Pancho spot an egg and decide to take care of it, and it soon hatches and out comes a baby Crazylegs Crane, and Toro and Pancho have to repeatedly feed him fruit. It's not long until Crazylegs has grown up, and (not knowing Toro and Pancho are frogs) asks to change his menu to frogs, forcing Toro and Pancho to doublecross him. | |||||
| 12 | Fastest Tongue in the West | Gerry Chiniquy | Larz Bourne | June 20, 1971 | |
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Toro and Pancho come across a tough frog that is an outlaw, and Toro and the outlaw fight over who has the fastest tongue. | |||||
| 13 | A Leap in the Deep | Hawley Pratt | John W. Dunn | June 20, 1971 | |
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A frog that is bigger than Toro join Toro and Pancho's swamp, forcing them out. Believing the ocean is a big swamp, Toro and Pancho decide to live at it, but Crazylegs Crane lives there and tries to catch them again. | |||||
| 14 | Croakus Pocus | Art Davis | John W. Dunn | December 26, 1971 | |
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A Witch tries to catch Toro and Pancho. | |||||
| 15 | Serape Happy | Gerry Chiniquy | John W. Dunn | December 26, 1971 | |
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Toro and Pancho try to catch a grasshopper. | |||||
| 16 | Frog Jog | Gerry Chiniquy | John W. Dunn | April 23, 1972 | |
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With the help of Pancho, Toro starts working out so he can lose weight and regain his girlfriend's affection. | |||||
| 17 | Flight to the Finish | Art Davis | John W. Dunn | April 30, 1972 | |
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Crazylegs Crane tries to catch Toro and Pancho again. The toads have eventually hid in an old shack, and Crazylegs tries to get in via disguises, but Toro and Pancho don't fall for them. | |||||
Note
[edit]Tijuana Toads shorts aired on Cartoon Network and Boomerang.
Remade and reused scenes and plots
[edit]- Tijuana Toads (first Episode, a.k.a. Tall in the Grass) reused scenes based from Tree for Two, Dr. Jerkyll's Hyde, and Two Crows from Tacos.
- A Pair of Greenbacks reused some scenes based on Mouse and Garden and Two Crows from Tacos.
- Go for Croak reused the drinking of nitroglycerin trick from Mouse Mazurka.
- Never on Thirsty reused scenes from The Honey-mousers.
Revivals
[edit]The characters were resurrected for the 1993 TV series The Pink Panther. As the case when the original shorts were shown on TV, they were rebranded as the Texas Toads. The toads were redesigned as western sheriffs with oversized cowboy hats replacing their sombreros.[3][6]
Home video
[edit]VHS
[edit]In 1987, Go for Croak was released on VHS as part of Cartoon Festival.
DVD and Blu-ray
[edit]In 2016, Kino Lorber released the complete series with the original soundtrack, digitally remastered from the original negatives and in the original ratio.
Popular culture
[edit]A restaurant dubbed under the name Pancho i Toro - Pizza & Grill Sesvete is located in Sesvete, Croatia.[7]
External links
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 147. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7.
- ^ Rovin, Jeff (1991). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals. Prentice Hall Press. p. 263. ISBN 0-13-275561-0. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Beck, Jerry (2006). Pink Panther: The Ultimate Guide to the Coolest Cat in Town. New York, New York: Dorling Kindersley, Ltd. p. 614. ISBN 0-7864-2256-4.
- ^ Television Cartoon Shows: The shows, M-Z. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. 2005. p. 614. ISBN 0-7566-1033-8.
- ^ David H. DePatie interview, December 2010
- ^ The Texas Toads (Spanish dubbed version)
- ^ Restaurant