Remember when Thanksgiving came with a helping of cartoons? Before streaming menus and downloading another app, a television promo like this could settle what you were watching that night.
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This lineup brought together Bugs Bunny’s Thanksgiving Diet, Daffy Duck’s Thanks-for-Giving Special, The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn’t and Horton Hears a Who! Turkey, stuffing and a little cartoon chaos sounded like a pretty good combination.
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Bugs Bunny’s Thanksgiving Diet arrived in 1979, mixing classic theatrical cartoons with new scenes of Bugs running a diet clinic. Even an old gag got a fashionable update: the party inside Yosemite Sam’s oven received disco music!
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Daffy’s special gave him another chance to demand the spotlight, introducing a new Duck Dodgers adventure. His idea of “thanks-for-giving” was having everyone thank HIM for the memories.
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The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn’t had some familiar talent hiding behind its woodland characters. Scooby-Doo creators Joe Ruby and Ken Spears wrote the story, and Jeremy Squirrel was voiced by Hal Smith, better known as Otis on The Andy Griffith Show.
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Horton wasn’t originally a Thanksgiving special at all. The 1970 television adaptation became part of this holiday lineup, with Hans Conried, Disney’s Captain Hook, supplying Horton’s voice.
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And the music deserves a little attention, too. Dr. Seuss wrote Horton’s song lyrics, Eugene Poddany composed the music, and the soundtrack was recorded in stereo even though the original television broadcast was mono. Hoyt Curtin handled the music for The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn’t.
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Which of these specials do you remember watching, and what cartoon belongs on your Thanksgiving lineup?
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