The Wuzzles

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Disney's Wuzzles
Format	Animated series
Created by	Michael Eisner
Starring	Alan Oppenheimer Jo Anne Worley Henry Gibson Kathy Helpie Bill Scott Brian Cummings
Narrated by	Stan Freberg
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	13
Production
Running time	approx 22-26 mins
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS (1985-1986) ABC (1986-1987)
Original run	September 14, 1985 – December 7, 1985

Disney's Wuzzles is an American animated television series created for Saturday morning television, and was first broadcast on September 14, 1985 on CBS. An idea of Michael Eisner (Othello Bach actually came up with the idea with her Firffel line) for his new Disney television animation studio, the Wuzzles are animal creatures composed of half of one animal and half of another. Only 13 episodes of Wuzzles were produced, making it the shortest running animated series produced by Disney. A second season was planned to be made, but the future episodes were never made due to the death of Bill Scott (the voice of Moosel). Scott's death, however, did not stop a second season of Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears, which premiered the same day as Wuzzles (and also starred Bill Scott). One season later, Wuzzles moved to ABC (which was eventually sold to Disney) for reruns, and disappeared from network television after that.

Premise

Wuzzles features a variety of short, rounded animal characters (each called a Wuzzle). Each is a roughly even, and colorful, mix of two different animal species (as the theme song mentions, "...livin' with a split personality"), and all the characters sport wings on their backs. All of the Wuzzles live on the Isle of Wuz. Double species are not limited to the Wuzzles themselves. From the appleberries they eat to the telephonograph in the home, or a luxury home called a castlescraper, nearly everything on Wuz is mixed together in the same way the Wuzzles are. The characters in the show were marketed extensively. The characters were featured in children's books, as poseable figures and plush toys (similar to Care Bears), and in a board game. Disney premiered two animated series on the same day, Wuzzles and Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears, but on different networks. The Wuzzles was on CBS, and Gummi Bears was on NBC. Although Gummi Bears was a successful series, Wuzzles was not, at least in the US. However, it does have a fan base today. It was a much bigger success in the United Kingdom where the pilot episode aired as a theatrical featurette. In the United Kingdom, Wuzzles and Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears were originally screened on the same channel (ITV) in 1985/1986, therefore both series enjoyed high popularity, and Wuzzles was also repeated on the BBC in 1987. Reruns of the show were aired on both Disney Channel and Toon Disney. Lead vocal on the theme song for Wuzzles is performed by songwriter Stephen Geyer.

Characters

• Bumblelion (voiced by Brian Cummings): Half bumblebee and half lion, Bumblelion is a short, squat orange furred creature with a pink mane, fuzzy antennae, a lion's tail, small insect wings, and horizontal brown stripes up his tummy. He lives in a beehive, likes sports, is courageous, and has a crush on Butterbear. He is said to be the sort who "...rush in where angels fear to tread". He and Eleroo are best friends.
• Butterbear (voiced by Kathleen Helppie-Shipley): Half bear and half butterfly, Butterbear is mostly bear in appearance. She has yellow fur with a white tummy, larger wings than the other Wuzzles, and short antennae with flowers on their ends. She is a keen gardener who is gentle and patient despite the crazy adventures of her friends.
• Eleroo (voiced by Henry Gibson): Half elephant and half kangaroo. One of the larger Wuzzles, Eleroo is purple, with the body shape and tail of a kangaroo and an elephant's trunk and ears. He has a horizontally striped pouch (despite the fact that pouches are found only on female kangaroos). Eleroo has trouble remembering what he stores in his pouch. He is sweet, but accident/disaster prone. He and Bumblelion are best friends.
• Moosel (voiced by Bill Scott): Half moose, half harp seal. Moosel is a small Wuzzle. He has antlers and flippers. Moosel has a vivid imagination, which makes him believe in monsters. He and Rhinokey are best friends.
• Hoppopotamus (voiced by Jo Anne Worley): Half rabbit, half hippopotamus. She is called Hoppo by her friends. Hoppo is a Wuzzle who is a hippopotamus with a rabbit's ears, buck teeth and a fluffy tail. She loves to sing and act. Hoppo is a pushy demanding diva, but she can be sweet. However, when toughness is called for (particularly in dealing with the regular villain, Croc), She is the toughest Wuzzle of all. Hoppo has a crush on Bumblelion, but Bumblelion has his heart set on Butterbear.
• Rhinokey (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer): Half rhinoceros and half monkey. Rhinokey is a Wuzzle who has a rhino-like snout with a horizontal-stripped horn, pink fur, and rhino-like legs. He is in a posture that is very much like that of a monkey's. Rhinokey is a fun-loving, happy-go-lucky prankster. He loves to play practical jokes. He can be obnoxious, but he loves his friends. Rhinokey is Moosel's best friend.
• Tycoon (voiced by Gregg Berger): Half Tiger and half Raccoon. Tycoon is the rich kid of Wuz. He owns a money tree. He shows the other Wuzzles that he got his wealth from smart investing and saving his money, and teaches the Wuzzles about fiscal responsibility.
• Croc (also voiced by Alan Oppenheimer): Half crocodile, half dinosaur; The main villain of the show. Croc is bad-tempered, lazy, vile, ignorant, a bully, and does anything to get what he wants. He always wants the best of what the Wuzzles have, but does not want to apply the effort to acquire it himself.
• Brat (also voiced by Bill Scott): Half dragon, half frog, Croc's chief sidekick. Brat sputters, babbles, and grunts in his speech, but Croc understands what he is saying. Like Croc, he is very lazy and has a strong dislike towards the Wuzzles coupled with a desire to have the best of what they have without applying any effort towards acquiring it. As his name implies, Brat is very bad tempered and is often shown throwing tantrums when he does not get his own way. He is also greatly lacking in intelligence, and his incompetence often sees himself and Croc falling victim to their own devices, which in turn occasionally sees the two of them falling out.
• Flizard (also voiced by Brian Cummings): Half frog, half lizard, Croc's other sidekick. Flizard is not particularly intelligent, but is more amiable in his manner than either Croc or Brat, and relatively more tolerant of the Wuzzles, but nevertheless very loyal to Croc. Flizard is the only main character who does not appear in every episode, only making sporadic appearances throughout the series.
• Narrator (voiced by Stan Freberg): The narrator of the series, who would often be heard at intervals and broke the fourth wall, telling the audience points where he considered trouble ahead for the Wuzzles or explaining a certain facet of the island of Wuz.

Characters that appeared in books and as plush toys, but not on TV

• Piggypine: Half Pig and half Porcupine.
• Koalakeet: Half Koala and half Parakeet.
• Pandeaver: Half Panda and half Beaver.
• Woolrus: Half Sheep and half Walrus.
• Skowl: Half Skunk and half Owl.
• Dragonpuss: Half Dragon and half Octopus.
• Penrot: Half Parrot and half Penguin
• Torcrab: Half Crab and half Tortoise
• Molepion: Half Mole and half Scorpion
• Snakehorse: Half Snake and half Horse
• Sharkray: Half Shark and half Stingray
• Spuidog: Half Squid and half Dog
• Dolcat: Half Dolphin and half Cat
• Squifox: Half Squirrel and half Fox
• WolDuck: Half Duck and half Wolf
• Batther: Half Bat and half Panther
• Mousepard: Half Mouse and half Leopard
• Peligull: Half Pelican and half Seagull
• Meerbot: Half Meerkat and half Robot
• Roosthen: Half Rooster and half Hen
• Vulstrich: Half Vulture and half Ostrich
• Spiraffe: Half Spider and half Giraffe
• LadyFish: Half Ladybird and half Swordfish
• Sawwhale: Half Sawfish and half Killer Whale
• SunFlower: Half Sunflower and half Sunfish
• Lobpill: Half Lobster and half Spoonbill
• Monplant: Half Monster and half Piranha Plant
• Phoemaid: Half Phoenix and half Mermaid
• Peagle: Half Peacock and half Eagle
• Falson: Half Falcon and half Bison
• Hammerheadloo: Half Hammerhead Shark and half Buffalo
• Deerdillo: Half Deer and half Armadillo
• Soulcondor: Half Soul Bird and half Condor
• Apeilla: Half Ape and half Gorilla
• Cacbra: Half Cactus and half Zebra
• Puzzlejay: Half Monkey Puzzle and half Jay

Episode list

1. Bulls of a Feather (first broadcast September 14, 1985)
2. Hooray for Hollywuz (first broadcast September 21, 1985)
3. In the Money (first broadcast September 28, 1985)
4. Crock Around the Clock (first broadcast October 5, 1985)
5. Moosel's Monster (first broadcast October 12, 1985)
6. Klutz on the Clutch (first broadcast October 19, 1985)
7. Bumblelion and the Terrified Forest (first broadcast October 26, 1985)
8. Eleroo's Wishday (first broadcast November 2, 1985)
9. Ghostrustlers (first broadcast November 9, 1985)
10. A Pest of a Pet (first broadcast November 16, 1985)
11. The Main Course (first broadcast November 23, 1985)
12. Class Dismissed (first broadcast November 30, 1985)
13. What's Up, Stox? (first broadcast December 7, 1985)

DVD release

Many DVDs have been available for sale online, but are not official releases. Whether Disney plans to release the series on DVD is unknown.

Popular culture

• The Wuzzles are parodied in the Robot Chicken episode "Especially The Animal Keith Crofford" with Bumblelion voiced by Breckin Meyer, Butterbear voiced by Vanessa Hudgens, and Eleroo voiced by Seth Green. The three Wuzzles wonder how their parents got together as Bumblelion envisioned that a bumblebee and a lion had sex with each other and Eleroo envisions the same thing with an elephant and a kangaroo. When they ask Donkeyhuman (a modified Hoppopotamus figure that's voiced by Seth Green) the same question, he starts to explain only to be cut off by the other Wuzzles who don't want to know.

External links

• The Wuzzles at the Internet Movie Database
• The Wuzzles at TV.com