Roger Ramjet - Hero of Our Nation (Deluxe Collector's Edition) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Roger Ramjet" just might have been the quirkiest cartoon of the '60s. A homegrown Hollywood product, created and executed by UPA artist Fred Crippen and a gaggle of top L.A. comedy writers and radio pros, this is truly a 'toon like no other. Where else could you find the simplest sort of animation, an old-time radio feel, soap-opera organ music, and some clever MAD magazine-level scripts? Roger, that "All-American Good Guy and Devil-May-Care Flying Fool", is a scatterbrained superhero who's put into all kinds of places: period movie/TV landmarks (the Blunderosa Ranch), outer-space places (a space ship that steals beauty queens), a tennis match against a kangaroo ("Pancho Pouch")...you get the idea. I know I'd have loved this back in the day, but I don't believe it even aired here in New England.
It's never too late to discover a lost cartoon, however, and "Roger Ramjet"- whose likably-crude animation, cleaned up nicely here, made the work of Hanna-Barbera and Jay Ward look like Looney Tunes technicolor (check out the misspelled dialogue cards!)- is very enjoyable primarily due to the writing, all of which was done by a prolific comedy writer and L.A. kiddie-show host named Gene Moss, and one of the best groups of voice talent I've ever heard in the medium. First among them, of course, is one of my lifelong idols, the incomparable Gary Owens. In the mid-'60s, Gary was just making his name as a very witty drive-time deejay on local radio. His million-dollar voice and patented delivery of silly sayings with same really makes it. So does Dave Ketchum, a real sitcom warhorse with acting and writing credits longer than your arm, who took the stentorian narrator role in the tradition of "Bullwinkle"'s William Conrad and tweaked it with little winks and nods that showed he was having a great time pulling kids' legs. Gary and Dave are joined by Moss himself (as mini-mobster Noodles Romanoff), Bob Arbogast(an unsung comedy hero who created the "Question Man"/"Carnac" skits) and several others to give "Ramjet" an uncanny radio comedy sketch tone that not only would have been at home on many period AM stations, but gave these sometimes-dumb episodes a surprisingly classy feel. These were some of the best yuk-meisters in Hollywood cutting up after hours for kids of all ages.
An impressive 120 episodes (out of 156) appear on these CDs. There are no extras whatsoever, unless you count the little foam glider inside (talk about an el-cheapo bonus!) The episodes are listed by title only, and there's no way you can skip over the "Yankee Doodle"-style theme song which opened and closed each one. Fortunately, the menus- all rendered in old-time movie title-card form- neatly split the shows up into six or seven-episode clusters.
And what of Lompoc? That real-life town in central California was Roger's home base, along with his sidekick kids, the American Eagles. The kids are appealing side characters- Yank, Doodle, Dan and Dee (get it?) And, once every three episodes or so, you might catch not only some lame puns or non-PC guests (Beef and Chicken Enchilada, anyone?), but some great name-drops (Vera Hruba Ralston, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, even Rusty Warren). Like I said, these guys were pros who wrote for everyone from Bob Hope to Carol Burnett in non-'toon life.
If you're a fan of old-time radio comedy, classic TV variety/comic skits, or vintage MAD-level satire, "Roger Ramjet" is truly a lost find. Anyone who could slip the name "Rusty Warren"- a sassy singing comedienne (and classically-trained pianist) who was anything but kid stuff in the '60s- into a cartoon is OK by me. The lack of extras and bare-bones look keep this from getting a higher rating, but- OK, I'll admit it. I love Gary Owens. So ends this belated review of these 100-plus insegrevious episodes and adventures of "Roger Ramjet and the American Eagles!" (Cue Roger stumbling over a bucket).

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For the first time ever, 120 of the greatest Roger Ramjetcartoons ever are collected on DVD. It's all here: Roger Ramjet and HisAmerican Eagle Squad - Yank, Doodle, Dan, and Dee -- taking orders fromthe Pentagon's General Brassbottom and fighting the unpatriotic NoodlesRomanoff and the National Association of Spies, Traitors, and Yahoos(N.A.S.T.Y.). Combining the straight-faced patriotism of 1920s radioserials with the political commentary that came with the escalation ofthe Vietnam War, Roger Ramjet brought television cartoons to a newlevel. "Come back after the commercial," Roger warns in perfect deadpan,"or I'll make sure all you little kids are drafted." Simultaneouslysubtle, subversive, and good natured, Roger Ramjet is a lost classic ofAmerican satire.