Hanna-Barbera Studios: A-C: The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show: The Atom Ant / Secret Squirrel Show

• Hanna-Barbera Studios.

• Featuring:

   Atom Ant, Secret Squirrel, Morocco Mole, The Hillbilly Bears, Precious Pup, Squiddly Diddly, Winsome Witch.

• Originally Released in 1965.

• Originally Aired on

  NBC

  .

• Running Time:

   60 minutes.

• Color

• U.S.A.

The Atom Ant Show made up a half-hour of the popular Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show. These cartoons spoofed the then-popular superhero and spy genres, respectively, and enjoyed immense success themselves.

The star of the show was a very able arthropod who could not only fly, but also lift more than ten times his own body weight. Atom Ant communicated with his superiors via the antennae on his helmet, awaiting their orders to go capture an array of enemies, whose names were conveniently listed in Atom's "Crook Book." Even though Atom was not so easy to see, he could always be heard, shouting his battle cry of “Up and at 'em, Atom Ant!”

Though he packed a mean punch alone, Atom Ant shared his half-hour with other HB cartoon characters. Precious Pupp, a conniving dog with a very raspy laugh, lived with Granny Sweet, who was always speeding off on her motorcycle, leaving Precious to play man of the house.

Also on the bill were The Hillbilly Bears, a clan who lived in the mountains and lazed around to the sound of the banjo. Paw Rugg, the muttering head of the family, spent most of his time asleep, awaking only to blast someone off his property with a shotgun. Maw Rugg smoked a pipe and ran the house, while daughter Floral and son Shagg were constantly wreaking havoc and avoiding responsibility.

Atom Ant split off from its parent show to become The Atom Ant Show for several months, but at the start of the 1967 fall season, ant and squirrel were reunited for another year of The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show. Also shown in 1970's “The Banana Splits And Friends Show”, a syndicated, half-hour repackage of "The Banana Splits Adventure Hour.