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4 Cartoon Versions of Live-Action Sitcoms

January 18, 2016

We recently told you about some arguably inappropriate cartoon remakes of R-rated movies, but here are some that make a little more sense: Saturday morning version of kid-friendly sitcoms.

Bob Denver Gilligan's IslandGilligan’s Planet (1982-83)

Gilligan’s Island was not a big hit when it originally aired from 1964-1967, but became a smash when it was endlessly repeated in reruns on local stations, often in after-school time slots. That’s why in 1982, CBS premiered a Saturday morning take called Gilligan’s Planet. Instead of being lost on an island, Gilligan, the Skipper, and the rest are lost in space.

It’s Punky Brewster (1985)

NBC had a hit family sitcom in the mid-’80s with Punky Brewster, which starred Soleil Moon Frye as an abandoned little girl who goes to live with a grumpy old man. While that show was grounded in reality, the cartoon version was not. Punky and her friends meet a magical leprechaun/creature named Glomer who transported them through space and time.

The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang (1980-81)

Happy Days was a cultural phenomenon. The #1 show on TV, it spawned spinoff hits like Laverne and Shirley and Mork and Mindy and made huge stars out of Ron Howard and Henry Winkler, as the iconic Fonzie. (Fonzie was so popular that Happy Days almost had its name changed to Fonzie’s Happy Days.) Kids loved the gentle, ‘50s-set comedy and ABC created a cartoon version in 1980 called The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang. The plot: Fonzie, Richie, and Ralph Malph (and Fonzie’s dog, Mr. Cool) meet a girl from the future named Cupcake, who takes them on time-traveling adventures.

The Dukes (1983)

Kids loved The Dukes of Hazzard, even if the plots were a little inappropriate. (The Duke boys were bootleggers and tried to avoid the police and the corrupt local government, while their cousin Daisy wore very short shorts.) The 1983 cartoon version was about the Duke boys and Daisy racing around the world in their car, the General Lee, to win a big cash prize to save Uncle Jesse’s farm.

Trivia Books