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Quest: How the World’s Most Ambitious Animated Series Came to Television (or, “Quest File 0-37″)

jonny quest

Like many of us, Jonny Quest was among my absolute favourite shows when I was a kid. It’s one of the few that still holds up (well, to a point anyway) over four decades later. Alex Toth’s and Doug Wildey’s stunning designs and storyboards, along with lush adventurous musical scores by Hoyt Curtin, put it in a class all its own. (And do not mention that “other” Jonny Quest show from the late 90s because la-la-la-la-la-la-la-I-can’t-hear-you!)

So I was delighted when a friend pointed me to this wonderful (fan-made?) Jonny Quest documentary. It’s a bit of a mystery exactly who made it, other than that it was “supposedly made for a one time screening at a private function.”

The whole video clocks in at about 2 hrs and 20 minutes, broken down into 27 short chapters on YouTube, and assembled into this single playlist (two chapters are missing). It’s the perfect way to spend next Saturday morning while you enjoy your Pop Tarts and coffee in bed!

If you’d like to create a single file, you can download all the clips from Chris Webber’s blog (he’s the fellow who posted the work on YouTube, but not its author) and assemble them together into a single file. (If you do, and manage to upload it somewhere to share with others, please let me know and I’ll add the info to this post.)

About the video, Chris says:

The original creators of the documentary have given me permission to share this unique documentary but ask once again that if you do download it and decide to copy it or share it, please do not sell it or in any way create profit with it. This was their sole requirement for posting it on YouTube and now here on this blog.

  • http://haikuewe.blogspot.com/ haikuewe

    It is uplifting / To see that some folks create / Sans dollars in mind

  • http://haikuewe.blogspot.com/ haikuewe

    It is uplifting / To see that some folks create / Sans dollars in mind

  • pandafresh

    i remember hearing Alex Toth absolutely hated this cartoon. i mean i like it, but the super limited animation is a bit annoying, especially when you take a look at his awesome character designs.

  • pandafresh

    i remember hearing Alex Toth absolutely hated this cartoon. i mean i like it, but the super limited animation is a bit annoying, especially when you take a look at his awesome character designs.

  • http://tumblr.luclatulippe.com/ Luc Latulippe

    The limited animation was necessary to fit the budget and schedules of the shows, as they explain in detail in the video.

    Also, almost everything I’ve read about Toth points to him “hating everything.” For all we know, he was probably just an extremely outspoken person with a short fuse and not much patience with other people, thus anything he’d say probably got interpreted as though he hated everything or was a jerk. Most of us will never know either way.

    Animation projects, being what they are, rarely manage to look better than the weakest links in the production staff and executives. The show still aimed higher than most ever had before, and higher than almost anything since. From my time in the industry, it’s something of an impossible miracle when a project DOES come through as beautiful and “good” from beginning to end. It’s nearly impossible to manage the hundreds/thousands of people necessary/available who work on any given animation project.

  • http://www.luclatulippe.com Luc

    The limited animation was necessary to fit the budget and schedules of the shows, as they explain in detail in the video.

    Also, almost everything I’ve read about Toth points to him “hating everything.” For all we know, he was probably just an extremely outspoken person with a short fuse and not much patience with other people, thus anything he’d say probably got interpreted as though he hated everything or was a jerk. Most of us will never know either way.

    Animation projects, being what they are, rarely manage to look better than the weakest links in the production staff and executives. The show still aimed higher than most ever had before, and higher than almost anything since. From my time in the industry, it’s something of an impossible miracle when a project DOES come through as beautiful and “good” from beginning to end. It’s nearly impossible to manage the hundreds/thousands of people necessary/available who work on any given animation project.

  • http://www.coroflot.com/public/individual_details.asp?individual_id=240340 ThunderCat78

    This was AMAZING!! The person who created this video clearly has a deep love for the Johnny Quest mythos. Thank you whomever you are!! I really enjoyed the whole series of videos, and for animation enthusiasts like myself it was a real treat. If only most DVD extras were this in-depth and created with as much love for the source material.

  • http://www.coroflot.com/public/individual_details.asp?individual_id=240340 ThunderCat78

    This was AMAZING!! The person who created this video clearly has a deep love for the Johnny Quest mythos. Thank you whomever you are!! I really enjoyed the whole series of videos, and for animation enthusiasts like myself it was a real treat. If only most DVD extras were this in-depth and created with as much love for the source material.

  • Colierrannd

    I can't thank you enough for sharing this. I was looking for a more general but in depth documentary on Hanna-Barbera but found this and it is exceptional. I wish I knew who made it, I'd like to shake their hand and thank them. Again, thanks for sharing.