Wee Pals

"Wee Pals" is a syndicated comic strip about a diverse group of children, created and produced by Morrie Turner.

Background

"Wee Pals" first appeared on February 15, 1965. Syndicated by the Des Moines Register and Tribune Syndicate, the strip originally appeared in only 5 daily newspapers, as many papers refused to run a strip featuring black characters. After the assassination of Martin Luther King, the number of papers carrying the strip grew to 60; today it appears in over 100 dailies.

The strip is centered on the activities of a group of children from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. The regular characters include:

*Randy (African-American)
*Paul (Chicano)
*Diz (African-American, and blind)
*Ralph (Caucasian), the neighborhood bully
*Nipper (African-American)
*Mikki (African-American; about four years old)
*Oliver (Caucasian, and somewhat nerdy)
*Connie (Caucasian, and a feminist)
*Sybil (African-American)
*Rocky (Native American)
*George (Asian-American)
*Jerry (Jewish)
*Trinh (Vietnamese)
*Sally (nationality unstated, but deaf-mute)
*Wellington (nationality unstated; dark hair covering eyes)
*General Lee (their puppy)

The strip is currently distributed by Creators Syndicate. Turner still writes and draws the strips.

Animated series

"Wee Pals" was later animated as "Kid Power", which was produced by Rankin-Bass and Videocraft Productions. It aired in the USA on ABC television Saturday mornings

17 episodes were made, which aired from September 16, 1972 to January 6, 1973. Reruns continued to air on ABC until September 1, 1974.

Animation was done in Japan at Topcraft Studio.

taff

* Produced and Directed by Arthur Rankin Jr., Jules Bass
* Teleplay by William J. Keenan
* Associate Producer: Basil Cox
* Animation Supervision: Toru Hara, Tsuguyuki Kubo
* Music: Perry Botkin Jr.
* Songs by Jules Bass, Perry Botkin Jr.
* Editorial Supervision: Irwin Goldress
* Sound Engineers: Jim Harris, John Boyd

Voices

* Donald Fullilove (Diz and Randy)
* Michelle Johnson (Sybil)
* Charles Kennedy (Nipper)
* Allan Melvin (Jerry)
* Gary Shapiro (Jerry, Polly, and Wellington)
* Jay Silverheels Jr. (Rocky)
* Greg Thomas (Oliver)
* Jeff Thomas (Ralph)
* April Winchell (Connie)
* Carey Wong (George)

References

*Strickler, Dave. "Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924-1995: The Complete Index." Cambria, CA: Comics Access, 1995. ISBN 0-9700077-0-1.

External links

* [http://www.toonopedia.com/weepals.htm Wee Pals] at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
* [http://www.clstoons.com/paoc/morrie.htm An appreciation of the strip]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0356272/ Internet Movie Database: Kid Power]