Animation veteran Hal Seeger's The Milton the Monster Show was a little before my time, running on ABC's Saturday morning line-up from October, 1965 to September, 1968. Only 26 episodes were produced, but they proved popular enough to be re-run over and over again on the network schedule, only to appear in syndication for years afterwards, as well. Once I put the first disc in, I vaguely remembered seeing the loveable Milton the Monster character, so I imagine I must have caught it sometime during its syndicated reruns. But to be honest, he didn't really stick in my memory (which can be tough, with literally thousands of hours of Bug Bunny crowding my subconscious). It's always difficult to pass judgement on a movie or cartoon that you didn't experience first-hand. Memories and nostalgia are always potent factors in how we view titles from our childhood, particularly when the product was aimed at children. I remember loving the old ABC Archie show when I was a kid, but I haven't seen it since the 1970s. Would I like it today? I really don't know, but I bet a small part of me wouldn't like somebody passing judgement on it, when they didn't watch it as a kid like I did.

That being said, we still have to look at shows with today's eyes, so I can't say I was all that impressed with The Milton the Monster Show: The Complete Series four-disc set. Now, it's important to state right off the bat, that although these cartoons were made by adults, with various attempts at sophisticated humor sprinkled throughout to appeal to the adults who may have tuned in, these Milton cartoons were made for a very specific audience: young children. They weren't like the Looney Tunes cartoons that were made for a broad theatre audience. So, it's doubly difficult for me to pass judgement on them considering their age and their target audience. Straight up: I didn't find these cartoons that funny. I appreciated their relatively detailed animation style (in comparison to most other cheap Saturday morning knock-off cartoons of that era), and some of the jokes and situations were good for a chuckle. But The Milton the Monster Show: The Complete Series didn't hold any special appeal for me. Thinking that I might be missing something, I invited some of my kids to watch, so I could gauge their reactions.

Their reactions were a little better. A couple of the older kids (nine and thirteen) bowed out pretty quickly, but my three and five-year-old stayed around, and seemed to get a kick out of the big, loveable Southern-drawling Milton. The other cartoons that were packaged with Milton, including Fearless Fly and Flukey Luke, were less successful, even with the small children, so clearly, Milton was the star here.

Structured as a three cartoon half-hour show, each Milton the Monster episode includes a Milton cartoon, with two other supporting cartoons (Milton often provides "bumpers" for the commercial breaks). Milton, the accidental result of Professor Weirdo putting in more than a "tincture of tenderness" into Milton's chemical mix, comes out as a kind-hearted, slow-talking Southerner (Gomer Pyle was a huge TV hit at the time of Milton's production). With the help of his assistant, Count Kook, Professor Weirdo is constantly trying to use Milton for nefarious means, but the gentle giant always proves too kind to be much of a menace. Indicative of his gentle nature is his most "fearsome" physical trait: a harmless puff of smoke that comes out of his head. Fellow "Monsterteers" include Heebie, a Grim Reaper-looking character (who, by the way, scared the hell out of my little kid), and Jeebie, a one-eyed, one-toothed hairball, also work with Professor Weirdo to kick the ineffectual Milton off Horrible Hill, where they live in a scary castle.

Included on the roster of supporting players for the Milton cartoons are Fearless Fly, a Superman knock-off that features Hiram, a mild-mannered fly that turns superhero when he puts on his glasses. His main nemesis (after Count Kook and Professor Weirdo show up occasionally) is Dr. Goo Foo, an Asian stereotype villain with his assistant, Gung Ho. Flukey Luke tells the story of New Yawk-accented cowboy who has an Indian sidekick Two Feathers who speaks in a stereotypical Irish brogue. Penny Penguin, a snotty little penguin kid, Stuffy Durma, a hobo who inherits a fortune (animated by Jim Tyer), and Muggy Doo, Boy Fox, round out the bracketing cartoons.

Hal Seeger, a legend who worked on the Fleischer Popeye's and the Betty Boop comic strip, and who later produced the cult animated cartoon Batfink, obviously is trying to achieve more here with the Milton cartoons, using a more detailed, rounded animation style, with attempts at adult humor, courtesy of writers Jack Mercer and Kin Platt. And they succeed, up to a point. Milton is a pleasure to look at, especially compared to some of the more crude animated offerings from that period. And Bob McFadden's voice work is bright and cheerful. But the jokes and gags just aren't in sufficient enough supply to make Milton stand out among other classic Saturday morning cartoons. Largely seen as influenced by the then-current TV shows The Addams Family and The Munsters (actually, Milton was in pre-production prior to those shows), Milton certainly arose from the "monster craze" that swept juvenile popular culture during the late 50s and early 60s. And seen in that context, it is kind of fun. It's just not the "cult classic" that others would have you think.

DISC ONE:

Episode 1
Fearless Fly: Trick or Treatment
Flukey Luke: Loot Pursuit
Milton the Monster: Zelda the Zombie

Episode 2
Fearless Fly: Horse Shoo Fly
Muggy Doo: Gogh Van Gogh
Milton the Monster: Boy Meets Ghoul

Episode 3
Fearless Fly: Fatty Karate
Muggy Doo: You Auto Be In Pictures
Milton the Monster: Monsters For Hire

Episode 4
Fearless Fly: Captain Fligh
Muggy Doo: Doo or Die
Milton the Monster: Who Do Voodoo?

Episode 5
Fearless Fly: The Goofy Dr. Goo Fee
Muggy Doo: From Riches to Rags
Milton the Monster: The Pot Thickens

Episode 6
Fearless Fly: Sly Fly
Stuffy Durma: From Wrecks to Riches
Milton the Monster: Medium Undone

Episode 7
Fearless Fly: Throne For a Loss
Flukey Luke: Missin' Masters
Milton the Monster: Monster Mutiny

DISC TWO:

Episode 8
Fearless Fly: The Bomb's Rush
Penny Penguin: There Auto Be a Law
Milton the Monster: Ghoul School

Episode 9
Fearless Fly: Fly Hijack
Flukey Luke: Tired Gun
Milton the Monster: Hector the Protector

Episode 10
Fearless Fly: Si Si Fly
Flukey Luke: Palace Malice
Milton the Monster: Horrorbaloo

Episode 11
Fearless Fly: The House-Fly Guest
Muggy Doo: Fortune Kooky
Milton the Monster: Goon Platoon

Episode 12
Fearless Fly: Invincible vs. Invisible
Stuffy Durma: Suit Yourself
Milton the Monster: The Dummy Talks

Episode 13
Fearless Fly: Fly by Might
Stuffy Durma: Hobo Hootenanny
Milton the Monster: A Pie in the Sky

DISC THREE:

Episode 14
Fearless Fly: The Sphinx Jinx
Penny Penguin: Penny Ante
Milton the Monster: Monstrous Escape

Episode 15
Fearless Fly: The Spider Spiter
Penny Penguin: Sickened Honeymoon
Milton the Monster: Abercrombie The Zombie

Episode 16
Fearless Fly: Fearless Fly Meets the Monsters
Muggy Doo: Crumb-Bumming
Milton the Monster: V for Vampire

Episode 17
Milton the Monster: Monster vs. Monster
Fearless Fly: Martians Meet Their Match
Milton the Monster: Witch Crafty

Episode 18
Milton the Monster: Camp Gitchy Gloomy
Fearless Fly: Lets Phase It
Milton the Monster: The Hearse Thief

Episode 19
Milton the Monster: Boo to You
Fearless Fly: Under Waterloo
Milton the Monster: Kid Stuff

Episode 20
Milton the Monster: Horror Scope
Fearless Fly: Lady Deflyah
Milton the Monster: The Flying Cup & Saucer

DISC FOUR:

Episode 21
Milton the Monster: Monster-Sitter
Fearless Fly: Robinson Shoesole
Milton the Monster: The Moon Goons

Episode 22
Milton the Monster: Think Shrink
Fearless Fly: Private Fly
Milton the Monster: Skullgaria Forever!

Episode 23
Milton the Monster: Crumby Mummy
Fearless Fly: Stage Plight
Milton the Monster: Fort Fangenstein

Episode 24
Fearless Fly: Safari Harry
Stuffy Durma: Nuggets to You
Milton the Monster: Batnap

Episode 25
Milton the Monster: Dunkin' Treasure
Fearless Fly: Ferocious Fly
Milton the Monster: Monstrous Monster

Episode 26
Fearless Fly: Naploeon Bonafly
Flukey Luke: Violin Violence
Milton the Monster: The Mummy's Thumb

The DVD:

The Video:
Despite some minor wear and tear that's understandable for a forty-year plus cartoon, The Milton the Monster Show: The Complete Series full-frame video image looks quite nice, with some solid color hues, and a bright, focused transfer.

The Audio:
The English 1.0 mono soundtrack accurately represents the original TV broadcast presentation.

The Extras:
There are some interesting extras on The Milton the Monster Show: The Complete Series. On disc two, there's a fifteen-minute black & white, live-action short called Sheriff for a Day, with a copyright of 1954, which features actors (I believe they're young adults) with large costume heads depicting Flukey Luke and his friends, who are dogs here. It's set as a western, and it predates the cartoon version of Flukey Luke by almost ten years (I don't see how it can then be an adaptation of the cartoon, as I've read elsewhere). It's a cute show, which looks vaguely weird today, especially with those big paper mache heads. There's also some test footage from this short included. On disc three, there are some fascinating clips from creator Hal Seeger's home movies, showing him and Milton and Fearless Fly at the New York City Toy Fair in 1965. There's no audio, but it's really cool stuff, seeing how they might have tried to merchandise Milton, had he been more popular. On disc four, there's an extra Seeger cartoon, Wilbur the Wanted. A nice feature on all of the discs is the ability for you to watch all of a particular character's cartoons at once. So if Milton's your favorite, you can skip all the other ones.

Final Thoughts:
The Milton the Monster Show: The Complete Series is a sweet, good-natured cartoon from 1965 that should please fans who grew up on it, and young children today who may be looking for some funny/mildly scary cartoons. It's not a classic, but it might amuse you. Fans should buy this beautifully complete box set from Shout, but others might want to rent first. I recommend The Milton the Monster Show: The Complete Series.