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King Leonardo and his Short Subjects Cartoon

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King Leonardo - A Cartoon Classic from 1960

King Leonardo and his Short Subjects was a Saturday morning cartoon series from 1960 to 1963. Released by Total Television it was originally aired on NBC.

This was one of my favorite cartoons to watch as a kid. It was a funny and different style of cartoon with unique characters and hysterical plots. Lasting only 30 minutes the cartoon segments were not too long and usually included around 5 per show.

My personal favorite segments were The Hunter, as I found that dog to just be hysterically funny. King Leonardo was funny but the dog detective still makes me laugh.

Image Credit: Photo of a King Leonardo comic book in my inventory of ephemera.

King Leonardo

King Leonardo is a lion and the ruler of the land of Bongo Congo, a country whose main export is bongo drums. His faithful assistant is Odie Cologne, who happens to be a skunk, would really be a better ruler. Leonardo bungles most of his efforts as the King but his heart is always in the right place.

Biggie Rat and Leonardo's brother Itchy are always trying to overthrow Leonardo from the throne. They are even more inept than Leonardo, however and never get the job done. They are usually assisted by Professor Messer and Biggie's sister Carlotta in their attempts to take over.

Image Credit: Toon Tracker

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Common Phrases of the Cartoons

The main characters had some phrases that were used a lot in the different segments of the cartoon series:

  • King Leonardo - "Confound it, that's the most unheard of thing I ever heard of!"
  • Odie Cologne - "Ah, Sire!"
  • Biggie Rat - "Dig me?"
  • Itchy Brother - "Yeah, Big, I dig."
  • The Hunter - "That's a joke, son."
  • Tooter Turtle - "Please, Mr. Wizard; it's what I want to BE."
  • Mr. Wizard - "Be just vhat you is, not vhat you is not. Folks vhat do zis are ze happiest lot."

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The Hunter Cartoons

These were my favorite segments in the King Leonardo Show. The Hunter, a dog detective, was a lot like Foghorn Leghorn. The dog was just down right funny!

He was a crime-fighting bloodhound with a southern accent. His nemesis was usually The Fox.

The Hunter carried a business card that read "Have Nose, Will Hunt". His boss was Officer Flim Flanagan.

The hystical bumbling of this dog detective always seemed to work out in the end with the capture of the con-man The Fox.

Image Credit: Toon Tracker

The Hunter

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Tooter Turtle Cartoons

These segments featured Tooter a turtle who never seemed to be happy with his life. He would visit Mr. Wizard the Lizard and ask to be put into a different life.

The wise Mr. Wizard would first try to talk Tooter out of his choice. The turtle would say, "Please, Mr Wizard; it's what I want to BE!" The lizard wizard would give in and magically transform Tooter.

Of course, Tooter would find himself in some sort of catastrophe and yell, "Help me, Mr. Wizard!". As Tooter would be coming back to Mr. Wizard his usual phrase would be "There's no place like home."

Image Credit: Toon Tracker

Mr. Wizard The Lizard:

"Drizzle, Drazzle, Druzzle, Drome, time for zis one to come home!"

Tooter Turtle

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Find King Leonardo Items

King Leonardo cartoon items can be found at the popular auction site, eBay.
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Ah Sire! Could You Leave your comments?

Please, leave your comments and let me know you stopped by. Tell me if you remember this classic cartoon show, King Leonardo And His Short Subjects.

  • wordstock Dec 31, 2010 @ 9:10 pm | delete
    My husband say the quote from Mr. Lizard and cracked up. That's the phrase he uses most often and I always wondered where it came from. Angel blessed.
  • blue22d Aug 14, 2009 @ 1:32 pm | delete
    I just came over from the Senior Squids.....this is adorable. I wish I was with my grandchildren to read this to them. ***** from me and a lensroll over to my best online reference lens.
  • LindaJM Aug 10, 2009 @ 3:53 pm | delete
    How about another poll choice: "I'm too OLD - I never got to see any of them!" I guess I was a teenager at the time, but I don't remember this cartoon at all.
  • paperfacets Aug 10, 2009 @ 3:37 pm | delete
    Missed these. I think because (ahhum) I am a bit older.
  • LaraineRose Aug 9, 2009 @ 7:00 pm | delete
    Thanks for introducing these cartoons to me. Never saw them .. I wonder how I missed them. Wish we could see more of them. 5*s
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Copyright: King Leonardo and his Short Subjects May 18, 2009 by BevsPaper (Beverly Owens).

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BevsPaper

I used to watch the King Leonardo And His Short Subjects cartoons when I was a kid.

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Cartoons By Total Television 

producers of King Leonardo

Created and Produced by Total TeleVision Productions

Created and Produced by Total TeleVision Productions

by: Mark Arnold

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