Turn Bob & Doug into ‘Toons? Take Off!

I love these guys, but this sounds like a bad case of empties to me: Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis are going to revive their famous Bob and Doug McKenzie SCTV characters in a new animated TV series. Here’s a look at what to expect, from a myspace clip promoting Thomas’ production house, Animax Entertainment.

Bob & Doug McKenzie on Animax Entertainment
The series is expected to take off, eh, in 2009. Global, where those early, wonderfully primitive SCTV episodes were shot, has got it in Canada.
Why am I nervous? Usually these ‘toon makeovers are exploitative cheapies that only undermine the greatness of what went before. In the ’60s, Bud Abbott, who owed the IRS a fortune, participated in a series of horrifying animated Abbott & Costello cartoons cranked out on the cheap by Hanna Barbera. (Lou Costello, mercifully, died in 1959 and never had to see this; his character was voiced by Stan Erwin.) The time lag between the cartoon series and A&C’s film comedy heyday was actually less than the time bridge between SCTV and the ‘toon McKenzies today. Here, for those with strong stomachs, is the intro:

Hanna-Barbera also did a Laurel and Hardy cartoon series. Talk about another fine mess. Thankfully no one remembers it.
Other really bad TV to ‘toon makeovers, most of which featured voice overs from original cast members: Star Trek, Gilligan’s Island, The Jackson 5, The Brady Bunch, The Addams Family, The Partridge Family and The Osmonds. Boy, weren’t they all classics.
The Three Stooges were really old when they did their barely-animated The New Three Stooges series in the mid-’60s featuring the voices of Moe and Larry and “Curly” Joe DeRita. Was it was mind-numbingly bad? Soitenly! Here’s a clip:

Can’t help but think this idea to animate Bob and Doug is the step just before selling their original toques on eBay but if anybody can turn the ‘toon trick it may be Thomas, who is down as chief script writer and executive producer of the animated series. His concern that continuing to drag he and Moranis’s aging mugs before the HD cameras might get, well, old fast is valid. Unfortunately, these ‘toon spinoffs usually get old fast, too.