phoenix2rachelsummers From 1969 to 1971, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, the same studio responsible for the often wonderful Pink Panther and The Inspector cartoons, produced 17 cartoons featuring The Ant and the Aardvark. They always focused on a frustrated aardvark (for those who don't know, aardvarks are a species closely related to anteaters) in his hopeless pursuit of one clever, smart-mouthed ant. The characters were designed in same witty style as the Pink Panther and Inspector characters, and John Byner, who was at the time a very popular TV comedian, did both their voices perfectly. The title sequence was charming, with the letters coming to life and chasing each other, and most of all, the delightfully upbeat music, composed and conducted by Doug Goodwin, was so good that every member of the studio band was listed in the credits.Unfortunately, the Ant and Aardvark cartoons were just never that funny. Despite having the same writers as the Pink Panther and Inspector, the jokes and slapstick almost always fell flat. Part of the problem was that the basic concept was derived from the Tweety and Sylvester cartoons which producer and studio head Friz Freleng had directed during the 40s and 50s. The Ant and the Aardvark series was never able to transcend its derivative nature, to the point where the final cartoon, "From Bed to Worse," was a scene-by-scene ripoff of one of the Tweety and Sylvester cartoons.This is a real shame, because there was potential here for something much more enduring. The Ant and the Aardvark is one of the few cartoon series that I actually would like to see remade by modern animation talents, in the hopes of unearthing that potential.

MovieMusings Whether Saturday morning cartoons or the 4:30 pm showing after school back in the 70s, the Pink Panther Show was great, and The Ant and the Aardvark were a great part of it.The ant was cool, always just a step ahead of the aardvark. They both would talk to the camera with humour and witticisms. The voice of the aardvark, with his attitude, was among the best in cartoon history.Somehow, these great cartoons have got to be archived, if only they could be retailed in a collector's series or something, I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd be ready to buy in an instant.They sure don't make cartoons like they used to.

marvelous-marv I loved this cartoon very much as well as its big brother, The Pink Panther. Why they don't make cartoons like this anymore, I'll never understand.Jackie Mason NEVER, EVER did any voices on this cartoon. The Jackie Mason-type voice was the incredible impressionist/comedian/actor John Byner doing a dead-on impression of Jackie Mason. Byner did both the Ant & the Aardvark, which isn't unusual as most cartoons have voice actors doing multiple voices. Look at The Simpsons --- Hank Azaria & Harry Shearer probably did about 30 voices between them on a regular basis.

Rakkasanfido As grateful fan of growing up and watching Warner Bros., cartoons over the years, with the crazy slap-stick humor of Foghorn Leghorn, Wile E. Coyote ("Super Genius"), Bugs Bunny and so on, I also made watching the Pink Panther series as a religious event. So thank goodness, I was able to enjoy United Artist's additional cartoon segments that would accompany the Pink Panter, "The Ant And The Aardvark.""The Ant And The Aardvark" episodes were just hilarious, one right after the other. It was a great 'cat-n-mouse' cartoon between an ant who was constantly being pestered by a determined and sometimes too-clever-for-his-own-good ardvark. Even just listening to the cartoon was funny, the ant had a casual, relaxed voice, while the aardvark had an accent almost to the tune of "Rocky" (Sylvestor Stallone). I loved the sound effects whenever someone would fall, get crushed or run into something.. I can still hear it all now. Man how I miss watching those cartoons.It's a shame it isn't on regular broadcast channels anymore, or as an opening for a movie, like cartoons once were in the theaters and drive-ins back then. If ever available to rent or buy, do it, you won't regret watching these characters.