The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan

I have warm childhood memories of watching Charlie Chan and the Amazing Chan Clan, starring the always fabulous Keye Luke and the classic Charlie Chan films starring Warner Oland, Sidney Toler, and Roland Winters. I even enjoyed Ross Martin's Chan movie The Return of Charlie Chan a.k.a. Happiness Is A Warm Clue, and eventually read the original Chan mysteries by the great Earl Derr Biggers and Charlie Chan Returns by Dennis Lynds.Growing up on all things Chan was wonderful, and a big part of that fun was Charlie Chan and the Amazing Chan Clan. Yes it is silly, but what do you expect from a children's cartoon? I loved it as a boy and will always be grateful for the happy memories.

This can be pretty much seen as the end of the line for the teen sleuth cartoon series that pretty much dominated Saturday mornings for much of the late 1960's to early 1970's. Unfortunately, this follows the usual pattern of most of those shows. The kids discover a mystery that is baffling the police and try to solve it themselves. However, the main twist in this series is that the kids are all the children of the famous detective Charlie Chan, who is finally played by an Asian actor, even though it is just the voice of Keye Luke. Of course, Keye Luke played Lee Chan (aka Number 1 Son) in the movie series. However, that is probably the only thing that distinguishes this from the other teen detective series that were on at the same time. Another thing that I didn't like about it was that the kids did all the work while their father who pretty much does nothing during each episode winds up solving the mystery. Also, you know that it is a turkey when this show is pretty much used to try to sell very lame bubble gum rock songs, a la shows like "Josie and the Pussycats" and the second season of "Scooby Doo, Where Are You". Thankfully, this show only lasted one season and it marked the beginning of the end of the teen sleuth comedies.

This is one of the more interesting interpretations of the legendary detective created by Earl Derr Biggers in 1925. For one, it is the only time an Asian actor had taken on the role (voice of Keye Luke, who actually played the Number One Son on the big screen). For another, it follows one of the more popular Hanna-Barbera formulae of the time: a family or group with a pet (in this case, Chu-Chu, probably a Shih Tzu). And for yet another, the voices of the 10 children that form the clan were provided by actors of Asian lineage. (However, Jodie Foster did provide Anne's voice toward the end of its shamefully short run.) While not a particularly amazing rendition of the Chan franchise, the Scooby-Doo-tinged misadventures of the well-meaning and highly dedicated clan as they try to be worthy of Pop's enduring legacy, coupled with the nifty transforming vehicle, make for a hilariously interesting supporting cast. Now, why the animators had to turn around and make Charlie into an incompetent figurehead when he was portrayed on the big screen as so much more is very hard to understand.

The theme track is only truly memorable, if at all, for the whispering male voice ("that's the Chan Clan").

I saw this one quite a few times on Cartoon Network's "Boomerang" previews, and I must admit: It really sucks. If you've seen any of the great Charlie Chan movies, you will HATE this cartoon. It stars Charlie Chan (in cartoon form), who along with his kids (I think there were 10 of them plus a dog I think. I can't remember.) solved crimes that idiotic villians committed. And that basically sums it up there.

I got to admit, this has to be one of the WORST Hanna-Barbera cartoons ever, and a slap in the face to Charlie Chan fans everywhere. If you ever see this one by accident, just change the channel. It's a waste of time. 0/10

I only saw these episodes in syndication and it only adds to the theory of how generic some of the animation in Hanna-Barbera cartoons were back in the 1970s. In another "Scooby-Doo" rip-off (even though it was based on Charlie Chan movies), "The Amazing Chan..." always had a mystery to solve where Chan's kids would figure out the mystery and Chan himself would add the finishing touches. But the most generic element of this cartoon (other than the tendency for the characters to pass the same scenery whenever they're running or riding in a car) was to see the kids play in the band. They were always moving the same way while different songs were playing (notice the two kids in the back playing horns and trumpets but you hear none of those instruments, as well as the girl playing the tambourines; same goes for the guy just tapping the drums and the lead singer just moving his/her lips, not matching any of the lyrics). Maybe kids weren't supposed to notice these things, but hey, I did.