The Fantastic Four is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. The program, featuring character designs by Alex Toth, originally aired on Saturday mornings on ABC from September 9, 1967, to September 21, 1968. It lasted for 20 episodes, with repeat episodes airing on ABC for three years until the network cancelled the program. It was also rerun as part of the continuing series Hanna–Barbera's World of Super Adventure.
The show was followed by another Fantastic Four cartoon produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, The New Fantastic Four, in 1978.
Contents
Plot
In the show, the super-family go on many adventures. They cross paths with various figures and have battles against their comic book rogues, including Dr. Doom, the Mole Man, Galactus and Diablo.
Voice cast
Credited cast
Gerald Mohr - Mister Fantastic / Reed Richards
Jo Ann Pflug - Invisible Girl / Susan Storm Richards
Paul Frees - The Thing / Benjamin J. Grimm, Uatu the Watcher, Skrull Emperor (in "Behold a Distant Star"), King Tok (in "The Micro World of Dr. Doom"), Impostor (in "The Deadly Director"), Additional Voices
Jac Flanders - Human Torch / Johnny Storm
Notable guest stars
Tol Avery - Warlord Morrat (in "Behold a Distant Star")
Ted Cassidy - Galactus (in "Galactus")
Henry Corden - Molecule Man, Attuma (in "Danger in the Depths")
Regis Cordic - Diablo (in "Diablo")
Jack DeLeon - Mole Man
Frank Gerstle - Blastaar
Don Messick - Kurrgo (in "Prisoners of Planet X"), Skrull Emperor (in "Invasion of the Super Skrulls")
Marvin Miller - Super-Skrull (in "Invasion of the Super Skrulls"), Emperor (in "The Micro World of Dr. Doom")
Vic Perrin - Red Ghost, Professor Gamma/The Gamma Ray (in "Demon in the Deep"), Silver Surfer (in "Galactus")
Mike Road - Prince Triton (in "Danger in the Depths"), Pharaoh Rama-Tut (in "Rama-Tut")
Joseph Sirola - Dr. Doom
Hal Smith - Klaw, Judge (in "The Terrible Tribunal"), Otto Von Lenz (in "The Deadly Director")
Ginny Tyler - Anelle (in "Behold a Distant Star")
Janet Waldo - Lady Dorma (in "Danger in the Depths"), Princess Perla (in "The Micro World of Dr. Doom")
Production
Grantray-Lawrence Animation had originally wanted Fantastic Four for a segment on The Marvel Super Heroes, but Marvel Comics decided not to sell them the rights. The impetus for The Fantastic Four series began when Hanna-Barbera's agent, Sy Fischer, noticed his son reading a Fantastic Four comic book. Fischer asked him if he would be interested in seeing it turned into a Saturday morning cartoon. Upon confirming his son's interest, Fischer took the idea to Joseph Barbera who read the comic himself and agreed that it would translate well as a cartoon. The two soon contacted Stan Lee at Marvel Comics to discuss their interest. After acquiring the rights, Barbera and Fischer successfully pitched the series to ABC for the 1967 TV season.
Broadcast
The series was broadcast on ABC from September 9, 1967 through August 30, 1970. Beginning October 3, 1992, Cartoon Network began airing the series as part of their Boomerang programming block dedicated to showcases of older cartoons until October 1996.
Reception
In The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows, David Perlmutter writes, "While Hanna-Barbera was, because of obvious production restrictions, unable to duplicate Lee and Kirby's complex, labyrinthine plotting from the comics, their 1967 adaptation of the Four was well produced in every other respect, and gave the team welcome exposure to those previously unfamiliar with their comic-book existence. The voice actors were unusually well cast, with Frees' Brooklyn-accented Thing standing out, and this helped compensate for the limitations of the animation process of the time. Unfortunately, the erroneous concerns about violence in the mass media ultimately marginalized the series, as it did others from the same time period."
Stan Lee, despite initially voicing optimism on both The Fantastic Four and 1967 Spider-Man series, expressed dissatisfaction with the end result stating that the comic books were written in mind with an older audience while the shows felt like they were tailored towards six-year-olds. Lee attempted to voice input to both Spider-Man producer Krantz Films and The Fantastic Four producer Hanna-Barbera, but gave up after determining their sole concern was with pleasing the sponsors. In contrast to Lee, Marvel Comics' owners Martin Goodman and subsequently Cadence Industries, were satisfied with the series as they had secured a percentage of the gross revenue from the series all through their syndication.
The show is briefly referenced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025).
Legal issues
The ownership of the show was split between Marvel Comics and Hanna-Barbera. The Walt Disney Company purchased Marvel Comics in late 2009. Prior to 2009, the show re-ran on Cartoon Network in the 1990s and on Boomerang in the early 2000s. Legal battles has happened between The Walt Disney Company, who owns Marvel, and Warner Bros. Animation, who inherited Hanna-Barbera in 2001.