The Adventures of Paddy the Pelican

The Adventures of Paddy the Pelican is an animated television series that debuted in children’s local stations in Chicago in 1950s. It is exceedingly rare, but has gained some fame for appearing on Jerry Beck’s “Worst Cartoons Ever.” On the DVD, he states that he has not found any evidence that this particular animated adaptation was aired on TV, although there is evidence that the Paddy the Pelican character began in 1950 as a local TV puppet show on Chicago’s WENR-TV. Paddy’s adventures were presented in comic strip drawings done by Sam Singer. This show was scheduled to appear on the ABC network in the fall of 1951; Singer had also started producing a newspaper, Paddy Pelican Junior Journal. The animated episodes currently in existence all have copyright dates of 1954.

The show is notable and infamous for its shoddy pencil-sketch artwork, reused animation, rambling and apparently improvised voiceovers, muffled and poorly synchronised soundtrack, and general low-budget problems. The only music is a few chords played on an organ, although the title card is accompanied by a man making noises apparently intended to sound like a pelican squawking.

Singer, who worked for Disney and other Hollywood animation studios, also produced a television Uncle Mistletoe local children’s television show, based on the Marshall Field’s character of the same name, as well as other early animated shows.