Aquaman

Famed Filmation cartoon series of the 1960s.

These days some young people take comic book heroes just so seriously and sometimes they struggle with the old stuff. I am a middle aged guy who sometimes likes to return to more harmless days of my youth by watching Batman (1966), Shazam! (1974) and Aquaman (1967).

Just watched Aquaman (1967) on DVD. Granted on first viewing I did struggle with the too simple plots, but then gave it a second go and totally warmed to the bright remastered colours, the voice artist work and the great music cues! Also, I love live-action Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964), so it is nice to have another 60s underwater series - even if it is a cartoon.

In a nutshell, old boys like me will love going down memory lane but young fans of today's CGI epics might might find it a bit too old school for them.

The summer of 1967 was one of the most exciting times of my youth, once CBS started to run their advertisements for the "Superman/Aquaman Hour Of Adventure." I'd been an avid fan of Aquaman and Aqualad stories since their days in Adventure Comics, and, being that Aqualad was my favorite hero, I also followed his adventures with his land-bound friends, The Teen Titans. Imagine my surprise to find that there would be an animated series based on my favorite heroes, something I could enjoy every Saturday, instead of waiting for the comics to hit the stands.

The voice actors in the "Aquaman" series were amazing, most notably the manic performances of Ted Knight as the narrator, as well as playing nearly every villain featured. I can only imagine the contortions he went into while delivering lines for the Sea Sorcerer or Captain Barracuda. (I'd have paid to see that)! Marvin Miller, previously the voice of TV's "The Millionaire," made for a wonderfully regal yet benign Aquaman, and Jerry Dexter's voicing of Aqualad quite nicely matched the innocent zeal of Aquaman's faithful friend and sidekick. (Every time I see the "Jumpin' Jellyfish" ride at Disney's California Adventure, I hear Jerry's voice in my head saying that line). Diana Maddox had more work at playing the winsome Wonder Girl in the "Teen Titans" cartoons than as Mera, here featured as the Aqua-Duo's gal pal, rather than the wife she was to Aquaman by that time in print stories. Also of note is Pat Harrington Jr's giddy delivery of Speedy in the three "Teen Titans" cartoons, ever the smart-aleck, quick-witted Boy Bowman, coupled with his performance as the youthful Ray Palmer, aka The Atom. (Hopefully those fun outings with the Justice League Of America members and the Titans will appear on DVD in similar fashion following the "Aquaman" DVD). Additionally, the lush soundtrack for this series matched the sumptuous seascape backgrounds, making these undersea romps just as memorable as the inviting image of the ever-glowing Atlantean dome featured at the close of each show.

Unlike the far more sinister and serious Aquaman later featured in Warner Bros. Animation's series "Superman" and "Justice League," these outings with the Aqua-Duo (or "Marine Marvels," take your pick) are a joy: light on violence (though Aqualad gets banged up early and often) and long on aquatic splendor, always ending in mirth and a hearty "Let's head for home, Tadpole" ...or "Squirt," "Sardine," "Shrimp" or "Minnow." (You'd think Aquaman could have had the decency to give the kid a real name, wouldn't you)? It didn't matter that the Sea King had to have a power shift (his hard water abilities) swiped from his wife, or that Tusky gets to save the day almost as often as our heroes. Our Marine Marvels knew how to show off their wondrous undersea world to its best advantage and, to this day, the series remains Filmation's most beautiful effort.

It's sad that it took forty years for WB Animation to clean up those bleeding reds from the old film stock and issue these fabulous cartoons as they originally appeared. I could almost forgive them for the travesty of the Cartoon Express edited versions of the 1990s. (I said "almost")! It is, as Aqualad says, "great fun" to see our intrepid aquatic heroes riding the waves to adventure in glorious comic book colors once again. Filmation owned my Saturday mornings in the late 1960s and I love reliving that era through these marvelous episodes.

Compared to just about every DC animated show that has come since, Aquaman (1967) falls short in just about every regard. This show was from the classic era of saturday morning cartoons where you would just enjoy your time with your favorite characters. I think this format still has a place in the modern age of cartoons, but the writing needs to be there. What they had here was as barebones as you could get, with no depth, no characterization, and no plot. Unfortunately this show has just been outclassed by the nearly 60 years of DC animation that has come after it, and that means there isn't really a place for Aquaman (1967) anymore. I will say it was cool seeing classic versions of the "Super Friends" as a DC fan, and sometimes the show was so bad it was funny. Pass on Aquaman (1967).

Aquaman (1967-1969) is a series that I recently watched on HBOMAX. The storyline follows Aquaman and Aqua Lad as they do their best to keep keep the underwater civilization of Atlantis safe. We also get to enjoy independent adventures of members of the Justice League of America as they do their best to keep the dry land safe too.

This series was created by Hal Sutherland (Flash Gordon) and contains the voices of Ted Knight (Caddyshack), Marvin Miller (Dead Reckoning), Jerry Dexter (Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends), Gerald Mohr (The Angry Red Planet) and Pat Harrington Jr. (One Day at a Time).

The animation for this series is so fun and I adored the universe and creatures created to fight Aquaman and the JLA. The narration for this series is tremendous and the voices for the characters were perfectly selected. Black Manta was awesome. The sound effects for various actions in this were dated but fun. Aqua Lad calling Aquaman "Big Daddy" was awkward and their pet names overall made me feel a bit uncomfortable. The JLA episodes were awesome and definitely made me smile.

Overall, this is a tremendous series and is absolutely a must see. I would score this an 8/10 and strongly recommend it.

One of the first and one of D.C.'s best series. Full of action and many other things that just happened in the 60's. Only the animation is so good.