Camp Candy is an animated television series produced by DIC Animation City, Saban Entertainment and Worldvision Enterprises, in association with Frostbacks Productions, with comedian John Candy providing the voice for an animated version of himself. Thirteen new episodes ran in syndication in the 1992 season, distributed by Worldvision Enterprises, along with repeats of the previous episodes. The series was later rerun on the Fox Family cable channel from 1998 to 2001. Ownership of the series passed to Disney following Saban Entertainment's closure in 2001.
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Plot
The show is set in a fictional summer camp run by John Candy. Twenty-six episodes of the series aired during the 1989 and 1990 television seasons on the NBC television network. Almost all episodes would begin with John Candy trying to demonstrate an outdoor skill (or on occasion, coach a sport) to some kids, which would reminded him of a story, which he would tell in the episode's narration. Candy was a dedicated and responsible leader of Camp Candy, a summer camp that was presumably built by him years ago with the help of the townspeople, Harry, Botch, and Molly, and he frequently tries to get various kids to get along. A majority of the episodes focused on Candy himself, namely having to stave off the bankruptcy or destruction of the camp due to the plots of Rex DeForest III or within everyday struggles.
In the third season, Candy appeared in live action segments, talking about nature and ecology. Several characters originating from SCTV that were performed by Candy or otherwise also made guest appearances that season.
Characters
John Candy (voiced by himself) is the fictional version of the actor who is the proprietor of Camp Candy. John is a friendly and big-hearted yet clumsy everyman with a strong sense of humor, as he jokes around, makes puns, and loves to engage in witty banters with those who antagonize him in almost every episode. In nearly every episode, John encounters a problem that may cause Camp Candy to be shut down by either the schemes of Rex DeForest III or outside forces, but he always manages to somehow end the day coming out on top. John is noticeably large and portly as he loves food and has a large appetite, yet he is in good shape and is often thought of as being very attractive, even "handsome" by many female characters, mostly by Molly. He has shaggy dirty blonde hair and typically wears an army green shirt with pockets in the front over a white T-shirt, a whistle around his neck, army green shorts, and brown boots, but he has been seen in a variety of outfits.
Nurse Molly March (voiced by Valri Bromfield) is the nurse at Camp Candy. Molly is highly qualified as she regularly goes out of her way to treat any medical problem no matter how serious or trivial. She, however, can come across as being naive and overeager and has a strong tendency to have her head in the clouds, as opposed to the more down-to-earth John, as well as possessing a number of unusual pastimes, such as sharing John's love of polka music, i.e. the Shmenge Brothers. Molly is well-known for having an obvious crush on John, frequently flirting with him while tends to his frequent injuries; John, aware of Molly's feelings for him, is shown to have feelings for her in return from time to time, as they become a couple near the end of the series. Molly has shoulder-length blonde hair and a rather prominent nose (which John affectionately refers to as "a nose that wouldn't quit", implying that he notices her beauty), and mostly wears bright red earrings, matching lipstick, and a white nurse's uniform she rarely takes off.
Robin (voiced by Danielle Fernandes in season 1, Cree Summer in season 2, Candi Milo in season 3) is a nature lover who is known for her sweet, shy and sensitive personality. She is very good at understanding and communicating with animals and loves being out in the wilderness, taking in all the nature around her. She hates to see any environment in danger or any animal hurt and wants to help everyone anyway she can. She is an African-American with her black hair tied in twin buns and wears a t-shirt with the letter C, shorts, white socks and gray sneakers.
Episodes
Cast
Production
Songs
Harry Nilsson wrote the series' theme song, which he sang with Candy. In both versions, the closing credits featured songs about Camp Candy that were sung to the tune of various folk songs such as "Bingo" (spoofed as "Candy"), "I've Been Working on the Railroad" (parodied as "I've Been Camping at Camp Candy"), "Comin' Around the Mountain", "Over the River and Through The Woods" (parodied as "Over the Field and Through the Woods"), "Yankee Doodle Boy" (parodied as "Big John Candy"), "The Bear Went Over the Mountain" (parodied as "A Jolly Good Camp"), "Tiny Tim, the Turtle" (parodied as "We Have a Camp Called Candy"), "Row Row Row Your Boat" (parodied as "Camp Candy Is a Scream"), "Reuben and Rachel" (parodied as "Robin and Iggy"), "On Top of Old Smokey" (parodied as "On Top of Mount Frostback") and "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze" (parodied as "Circus Parade").
Comics
The animated series spawned a brief comic book series based on the show; also entitled Camp Candy, it was published by Marvel Comics' Star Comics imprint.