Netflix is making a push in animated series revolving around the classic Japanese (and in this case, American) kaiju; Godzilla, King Kong (recently posted) and soon to come, Gamera. These has mostly flown under the radar, possible because the anime Godzilla movies they streamed were TERRIBLE.
However, let’s take a look at these monster cartoon. The first I can think of is the 1966’s The King Kong Show, when Rankin Bass ended up with the right to Kong. They team up with Toho to produce King Kong Escapes, and then with Toei Animation for this show. Famously–at least here on Jabootu–they also worked with the Toei studio to later produce such telefilms as The Bermuda Depths and The Last Dinosaur.
The King Kong Show basically plays like a ton of Hanna-Babera shows of the time, like Moby Dick and, later, the Godzilla Saturday morning cartoon. A family moves to Skull Island, and the son Bobby makes friends with Kong, and they fight dinosaurs and mad scientists, including Dr. Who, who also appeared in King Kong Escapes. Honestly, about the only thing I remember from this highly generic show is the theme song. That’s something, though, I guess. I can still sing at least parts of it, so….
