Beginning
in syndication on August 23, 1965, Do Do - The Kid From Outer Space
imitated the popular Japanese imports of the time ('Astro Boy', 'Kimba').
The British-made cartoon, from Halas and Bachelor productions, featured
the adventures of Do Do and his pet company, aliens from the atomic
planet Hydro. They came to Earth to assist Professor Fingers, a noted
scientist, in his research on many scientific mysteries left unresolved.
The
Halas and Batchelor Studios had been founded in 1940 by Hungarian-born
John Halas and his wife Joy Batchelor. In 1954, the studio had produced
the first full-length cartoon to be produced in the United Kingdom -
Animal Farm, based on George Orwell's book. Throughout the history of
the studio, it had concentrated its attention on sponsored films of
all kinds. In addition to its original works, Government sponsored and
industrial cartoons, the studio also animated The Jackson 5ive and The
Osmonds cartoons for Rankin-Bass, and the 1973 version of The Addams
Family and The Partridge Family:2200 A.D. cartoons for Hanna-Barbera.
In
Europe, Do Do aired not long ago on The Children's Channel, a London-based
pan-European satellite TV channel and on "Super RTL" a German satellite
station that runs kids cartoons.
- Lee Edlestein
