Outside of one or two sports teams, my dad is a fanatic of few things. He loves playing military board games, but beyond that I've never seen him get overly excited over certain things. Tennessee Tuxedo is a different story, however, since he is one of the rare few people who will automatically mention it when discussing cartoons he liked as a kid. How big of a fan was he? He named our first dog after Tennessee's walrus friend, Chumley, and this was after he graduated from college.
Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales was a neat way to find out why my dad liked it. Although I wasn't completely blown away by the show, it has a fun nostalgia that is easy to appreciate. The animation isn't amazing by any means - I've seen better in Flash cartoons on YouTube - but that didn't stop other cartoons from becoming big hits (see Underdog or Rocky & Bullwinkle as examples).
Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales follows Tennessee Tuxedo (voiced by Get Smart's Don Adams) and his pal Chumley in their quest to improve living conditions at the Megalopolis Zoo, which is under the direction of director Stanley Livingston and his toady, Flunky. Yakety Yak and Baldy Eagle often join in on Tennessee's crusades, as does Tennessee's dog, Howler, who shows up in a handful of episodes. Tennessee also has a group of rivals over the course of the series. Though he usually ends up going head-to-head with Jerboa Jump, a kangaroo rat, he also butts heads with Jerboa's thug, Tiger Tornado.
Although Tennessee and the crew want better conditions at the zoo, most episodes usually involve Tennessee and Chumley finding a way out of the zoo, only to become entangled in some scheme or another. As it usually goes, Tennessee banks on his "superior intellect" to work out some great plan (which Chumley blindly goes along with), only to have to turn to Tenessee's friend, Professor Phineas J. Whoopee for a way out of the mess.
Whoopee's help is what sets Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales apart from other cartoons, in that it introduces some educational element into the show's plot. Although Whoopee's lectures don't provide Tennessee and Chumley with a direct answer, it usually gives them a clue as to how fix the situation. The idea behind the show was to allow kids to feel like they're learning alongside the duo. Although some of the explanations are a bit dry, they are still really informative and - at least in my opinion - do an excellent job of setting the table for future educational programs.
The DVD set includes all 70 episodes of the show, as well as episodes of "The King and Odie" and "The Hunter." As a bonus, you also get episodes of "Tooter Turtle" and " Klondike Kat."
Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales also includes commentary with animation historian Mark Arnold, as well as a few of the show's voice actors. As commentaries go, these are pretty good, particularly if you're a long time fan or happen to be interested in animation in general. You also get a small featurette on Tennesse Tuxedo, as well as a booklet documenting the show's history.
In terms of pure entertainment, Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales will have its audience. I can't see kids, at least really picky kids, wanting to watch because of the crude animation. Then again, the show is still entertaining enough that smaller kids may really enjoy watching. While I can't say I enjoyed the series as much as my dad, I liked it and recommend it for fans, or animation nuts.
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