Magilla Gorilla Show, The: The Complete Series (Blu-ray Review)

Reviewed by: Tim Salmons
Review Date: Apr 17, 2025
Format: Blu-ray Disc

Director

William Hanna, Joseph Barbera

Release Date(s)

1964-1966 (March 25, 2025)

Studio(s)

Hanna-Barbera Productions (Warner Archive Collection)

Film/Program Grade: B
Video Grade: A-
Audio Grade: B
Extras Grade: C+

Review

Hanna-Barbera Productions continued its streak of first-run syndicated cartoon extravaganzas with wacky anthropomorphized characters in The Magilla Gorilla Show, airing for three seasons from 1964 to 1966 before being chopped up for re-runs. Magilla Gorilla, a dopey but lovable primate who sits in the window of Mr. Peebles’ pet shop, waits for someone to come along and take him home. Unfortunately, he causes an awful lot of mayhem for his string of new owners, and despite his low, low price, he’s always returned, at Mr. Peebles’ frustration. Magilla’s friends come along for their own cartoon adventures, as well. In (ping, ping, PING) Ricochet Rabbit & Droop-Along (coyote), the quick-footed sheriff and his slow-witted deputy take on outlaws in the old West. And in Punkin’ Puss & Mushmouse, the southern-fried cat and mouse feud it out.

Today, mostly people in their 40s or older will remember who these characters are, or will have seen any of the cartoons they appeared in. They’re among the lesser Hanna-Barbera canon, especially since the full original versions of the shows they came from has been absent from the public until now. A DVD release of the show in 2006 axed the opening and closing credits, as well as Magilla’s brief interstitials. Because the cartoons from the show don’t really tie in with each other aesthetically or narratively, they’ve been reworked into different configurations over the years for television. It wasn’t until (almost) the full show (minus references to the Ideal Toy company, who sponsored the show) began airing on MeTV Toons that we started seeing the show as it was originally intended.

As with all Hanna-Barbera cartoons, especially those that aired from one week to the next, episodes of The Magilla Gorilla Show tend to get repetitive, especially in the age on binge-watching when you can see them back to back with nothing to stop you but the “Stop” function on your remote control. Magilla gets into a variety of mischief, but always winds up back at the pet shop; Ricochet Rabbit and Droop-Along take on various outlaws, but always get their man in the end; and the most repetitious of all, Punkin’ Puss and Mushmouse, do almost nothing but fight, with Punkin’ Puss usually being the aggressor and Mushmouse never learning any lessons after briefly getting the upper hand. On the other hand, the charms of the characters and the voice actors will win you over. The show is set up so that you can enjoy your favorite characters when their cartoon comes along in succession, so the show offers you a variety in that sense.

Above all else, having The Magilla Gorilla Show in its complete original form since it aired from 1964 to 1966 is what makes you appreciate each of these cartoons individually more than you would seeing them separated from the show. It’s the breadth of the program and not the individual parts, so to speak. It’s a fun show and reminds you of the simpler times of your childhood, even if you weren’t alive at the time the show initially aired, or when and if you saw these cartoons pop up in places like the USA Cartoon Express in the late 1980s. However, having them together again as they originally aired is a real treat.

The Magilla Gorilla Show was produced using traditional cel animation, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The Warner Archive Collection brings the show to Blu-ray for the first time, restored using 4K scans of the original camera negatives (as well as a few other elements), and presented on three, dual-layered BD-50 discs. For the first time on home video, the show’s original 23 episodes from its first two seasons are complete with the original opening and closing credits sequences, including the “A Screen Gems Presentation” tag at the end, as well as interstitials and all references to the Ideal Toy company. Since the third season switched networks and featured eight new Magilla Gorilla segments mixed in with previously-seen segments of the other cartoons, as well as cartoons from The Peter Potamus Show, those eight are presented separately as bonus extras. However, they’ve received the same treatment as the cartoons featured in the main program.

While there are some flaws along the way, mostly due to the limititations of the elements used to put the show back together in the first place, the overall picture quality is wonderful. Natural film grain with any and all flaws in the animation are left intact, with bitrates sitting between 20 and 40Mbps, usually hovering somewhere in the middle to upper range. The line art is never compromised and the show features vibrant color with deep blacks and excellent contrast. There are some minor inconsistencies along the way, but nothing that prevents enjoyment of the show. Some of the interstitials and closing credits sequences, particularly the pre-closing credits So Long closer, appear to have come from alternate print or 16mm elements. However, even from faded materials, everything has been cleaned up and color corrected to help blend everything together as much as possible. The Magilla Gorilla cartoon That Was the Geek That Was is most obviously from a lower quality source, presumably due to the original camera negative being too damaged or missing altogether. It’s the least appealing visually, but it’s only 7 minutes out of nearly 600. The only minor caveat in terms of the show’s completeness is that the closing credits are sped up with a slightly altered music cue, which was likely done for later syndication. It’s a mild oversight. Otherwise, the show is colorful, clean, organic, and 99.9% complete.

Audio is presented in English 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. Recorded for 1960s television, these tracks were never meant to have any major dynamics. Nevertheless, they offer excellent support for dialogue, music, and sound effects. They’re mostly clean outside of very mild hiss, crackle, and thumps along the way. Like the video, the audio sounds patched together from different sources, as well. There’s some unevenness here and there, such as the audio for the Ricochet Rabbit and Droop-a-Long cartoons Cactus Rackus and Space Sheriff, which sound a little muddier comparatively. It’s not a deal-breaker though as the majority of the show sounds fine.

The Warner Archive Collection spreads The Magilla Gorilla Show: The Complete Series across three Region-Free 1080p Blu-ray discs alongside an insert that re-uses the artwork from the 2006 Classic Collection and 2017 Diamond Collection DVD releases. Episodes of the show can be watched all at once, individually by episode, or by individual Magilla Gorilla, Ricochet Rabbit & Droop-a-Long, and Punkin’ Puss & Mushmouse segments. The following episodes and segments, as well as bonus materials, are presented on each disc.

DISC ONE: EPISODES 1-8

Big Game / Atchison, Topeka & Sam Jose / Callin’ All Kin (24:37)
Gridiron Gorilla / Good Little Bad Guy / Small Change (24:38)
Private Magilla / Cradle Robber / Hornswoggled (24:38)
Bank Pranks / West Pest / Muscle Tussle (aka Gall of the Wild) (24:38)
Groovey Movie / TV Show / Cat Nipped (24:38)
Airlift / Annie Hoaxley / Army-Nervy Game (24:37)
Come Blow Your Dough / School Daze / Seein’ Is Believin’ (24:38)
Mad Scientist / Sheepy Wolf / Courtin’ Disaster (24:37)

DISC TWO: EPISODES 9-16

Masquerade Party / Big Thinker / A Tale of Two Kitties (24:38)
Come Back Little Magilla / Two Too Many / Chomp Romp (24:39)
Fairy Godmother / Bad Guys Are Good Guys / Catch as Cat Can Day (24:37)
Planet Zero / Itchy-Finger Gun Slinger / Jump Bumps (24:37)
Prince Charming / Clunko Bunko / Nowhere Bear (24:38)
Motorcycle Magilla / Slick Quick Gun / Legend of Bat Mouseterson (24:37)
Is That Zoo? / Mostly Ghostly / Super Drooper (24:40)
Bird Brained / Will O’ the Whip / Pep Hep (24:37)

DISC THREE: EPISODES 17-23

Circus Ruckus / Cactus Ruckus / Shot at and Missed (24:36)
That Was the Geek That Was / Rapid Romance / The Mouse From S.O.M.P. (24:39)
Montana Magilla / El Loco, Loco, Loco, Loco Diablo / Host of a Ghost (24:38)
Wheelin’ and Dealin’ / Big Town Show Down / Feudal Feud (24:38)
Mad Avenue Madness / Space Sheriff / Heir Conditioning (24:38)
Beau Jest / Red Riding Ricochet / Hyde and Shriek (24:38)
Super Blooper Heroes / Jail Break-In / Misfortune Cookie (24:38)

Here Comes a Star (SD – 25:11)
Magilla Theme Song Live and Unplugged (SD – 1:44)
Mr. Peebles Pet Shop (Gallery) (SD – 13:58)
Bonus Cartoons:
- Camp Scamps (HD – 7:05)
- Deep Sea Doodle (HD – 7:05)
- High Fly Guy (HD –7:05 )
- Magilla Mix-Up (HD – 7:05)
- Love at First Fight (HD – 7:05)
- Makin’ With the Magilla (HD – 7:04)
- Pet Bet (HD – 7:05)
- The Purple Mask (HD – 7:06)

Most of the extras, aside from the bonus cartoons, carry over from the 2006 DVD release. The show’s layout artist Jerry Eisenberg introduces Here Comes a Star, which was an introductory piece made for television to promote the show. Eisenberg returns to introduce a piano-driven version of the show’s theme song, performed by William Hanna and composer Hoyt Curtin. In Mr. Peebles Pet Shop, Eisenberg, animation historian Jerry Beck, and voice actor Allan Melvin (the voice of Magilla) detail the history of the show and its characters. Last are the aforementioned bonus cartoons, which are encoded at a lower bitrate than the main features, but feature the same clean, colorful visuals.

Since The Peter Potamus Show aired concurrently with The Magilla Gorilla Show, and is referenced in one of the closing numbers, it’s likely that we’ll see that appear on Blu-ray sooner rather than later. And if the quality here is any indication, we’ll be adding another fine Hanna-Barbara cartoon release to our home video shelves, courtesy of the Warner Archive Collection. Highly recommended.

- Tim Salmons

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