Ghost Grabbers

Ghost Grabbers

1972 (estimated) TV Episode The Funky Phantom

Studio
Hanna-Barbera Studios.
In Association With: Air Programs International

Synopsis

Muddsy finally tells the gang why he and Boo went on the run from the Redcoats. He even tells about hiding in the clock that trapped them. He is soon kidnapped by men disguised as Redcoats, and forced to dig up the treasure the Brits buried. But now, it's under water.

Characters

Jonathan Wellington "Mudsy" Muddlemore, April Stewart, Skip, Augie, Elmo, Boo, Slippery Stark

Credits

Directing

Director
William Hanna, Joseph Barbera

Producing

Producer
William Hanna, Joseph Barbera
Associate Producers
Art Scott, Zoran Janjic

Voices

Voice
Daws Butler (Jonathan Wellington "Mudsy" Muddlemore), Tina Holland (April Stewart), Micky Dolenz (Skip), Tommy Cook (Augie), John Stephenson (Elmo, Slippery Stark), Don Messick (Boo The Ghost Cat), Julie Bennett, Barney Phillips, Jerry Dexter, Michael Road, Casey Kasem, Hal Smith, Jim MacGeorge, Allen Melvin, George Tyler, Janet Waldo

Music

Music
John Sangster

Editing

Editor
Doug Holder, Eddy Graham

Companies and other credits

  • A HANNA-BARBERA PRODUCTION
  • in association with
  • AIR PROGRAMS INTERNATIONAL
  • © 1971 HANNA-BARBERA PRODUCTIONS
  • INC

Production notes

In 1776, a cowardly New Englander named Jonathan Muddlemore grabbed his cat, Boo, and hid from British soldiers inside a grandfather clock in an old, abandoned mansion.

Two hundred years later, a vicious storm forced three teenagers to hole up in the mansion, where they proceeded to reset the aforementioned clock to midnight. This action released the ghosts of Muddlemore and Boo, and the pair teamed up with the teens to fight crime.

Dubbed "Muddsey" by the teens, the still cowardly Muddlemore turned invisible whenever he got frightened, which was quite often. The gang rode around in the Looney Duney dune buggy, crisscrossing America and stomping out evil. Boo's ghost had a dustup in every episode with Elmo, the teen's pet bulldog.

Animated in Australia, The Funky Phantom was noted for its unique sound effects, which were unlike those in any other Hanna-Barbera cartoon. The show's run of original episodes only lasted one season, with repeats being substituted for the second season. After being canceled in 1973, the show's episodes were incorporated into The Godzilla/Dynomutt Hour with the Funky Phantom, proving once and for all that if you like Revolutionary War-era ghosts, you'll love them even more if they're joined by a giant fire-breathing dinosaur and a robotic crimefighting dog.

This last series only ran two months, after which the Phantom and Boo presumably fled to the veritable sanctity of their grandfather clock, embittered by the phoniness of show business.

Pictures