Colonel Bleep (1956– ) User Reviews

Stand By For Adventure!

[xyzkozak · 6/10 · 28 January 2015]

3.... 2.... 1!

Yes. I'll admit that these Colonel Bleep cartoons from 1956 are far from being great, but, all the same, their sometimes-educational stories of interplanetary adventure did have a cute charm all of their own.

These decidedly low-budget, limited-animation cartoons contained almost no dialogue at all between its characters. With the aid of sound effects, most of the stories were told through voice-over narration from actor Noah Tyler.

Colonel Bleep is a futuristic E.T. life-form from the planet Futura. Bleep has set up headquarters here on Earth on Zero-Zero Island, which is positioned on this planet's equator.

Bleep's 2 sidekicks in the show are his loyal space deputies, Squeek, the mute puppet-boy, and Scratch, a caveman recently awakened after several thousand years of deep sleep.

Together this brave trio battle intergalactic villains who pose a serious and immediate threat to the peace & safety of the universe.

It's quite clear that these full-colour cartoons are definitely geared to children, but I still liked them enough to give them a 6-star rating for their nostalgic value.

Nostalgia, that's all

[aa56 · 5/10 · 24 July 2010]

I remember learning things from this show. It was a cartoon educational piece; the stories were just appendages to the learning experience. I bought the DVD mainly for the nostalgia, and I was disappointed with the errors in the episodes. The one that stands out for me is the story of the origin of Zero Zero Island. The narrator says it's east of Africa rather than west, and the appalling thing is no one caught it, and it was broadcast like that. Maybe those errors were caught by some sharp kids. I see now how eerie the animation is. I find it somewhat appealing just because of its unique quality, certainly different from the conventional animation from Warner Brothers and the rest.

Meanwhile.... Back At Zero Zero Island....

[StrictlyConfidential · 5/10 · 7 September 2020]

Let's face it, folks! - The only way for you to get any real enjoyment and entertainment value out of watching "Colonel Bleep" (from 1956) is for you to be willing to cut this vintage cartoon some serious slack and, with that, forgive it for all of its obvious faults and flaws.

'Cause if you're expecting "Colonel Bleep" to live up to today's standards of CGI excellence, then, you're setting yourself up for some major disappointment here.

Anyway - I quite liked this show. It was actually fairly amusing (in a 1950s sort of way).

Cool Show

[lordimichael · 26 May 2004]

I was another person thinking I was the only one to remember this program. I dutifully and eagerly awoke every Saturday morning to watch Colonel Bleep battle the forces of evil. I was beginning to think I was losing my mind whenever I attempted to discuss the early Saturday morning cartoon lineups of the mid 1960's with anyone of my generation as not a soul, save myself seemed to remember this show, including my brother with whom I watched every week, LOL. My feeling is that the show actually was somewhat ahead of its time and perhaps too cerebral compared to its contemporaries, Johnny Quest, Bugs Bunny Rocky and Bullwinkle. I have not seen or heard of its release to DVD but would love to see them again.

It's been 50 years since I saw this cartoon!

[shemp47-1 · 1/10 · 20 December 2008]

I was born 1953 and grew up in the Chicagoland area. I always had very faint memories of seeing a cartoon about a guy in a space helmet, a boy in a cowboy hat and a caveman named "Scratch". "Scratch" is the only character name I could recall. The only episode I recall is the one where they use a time machine to go back to 1917 in the middle of a WW1 battle. Whenever I mention this show to anyone, including baby boomers my age, they thought I was making it up. No one remembered this show! I even searched and asked on the internet. I never met one person who recalled this cartoon. Imagine my amazement when I saw an ad in Filmfax magazine for DVD's of this show! I bought Volume 1 & 2 (hope they come out with them all) the WW1 episode is not on these DVD's. I'm now 55 and am watching a cartoon I'm sure I haven't seen since I was 5! Sure it's terrible, as a previous poster said, and I have to rate it awful, but this has great nostalgia value. Thanks!

I guess you had to be there for this one

[Damonfordham · 1/10 · 6 January 2009]

What often happens when people see a cartoon they haven't seen since their fond memories of childhood is that they often confuse happy childhood memories with what was actually good.

Colonel Bleep appears to be one such case. I saw a number of episodes (that I could stomach) on the Giant 600 Cartoon Collection DVD that I recently bought, which is overall an excellent set for adult cartoon fans. Aside form the attention to (pseudo) scientific detail which may have gotten kids of the time interested in science, I cannot see why anyone who did not watch this in childhood or a cartoon historian would (or could) sit through this! What a cheap bunch of junk! Cornball narration, stupid stories, horrendous animation, witless scripts, ad nauseum. This is like an animated version of "Rocky Jones Space ranger" which itself lacked the with and charm of Flash Gordon.

If you are a fifties child who liked this the first time around, then get your nostalgic fix on. Others-STAY AWAY!

It makes me happy I grew up after the show left the air!

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 29 September 2021]

My friend John recently copied an episode of "Colonel Bleep" for me and insisted I see it. Well, after watching it, I can only assume he was trying to either torture me OR get me to go off on a rant! I guess I'll just choose to go off on a rant!

"Colonel Bleep" represents the absolute nadir in quality animation. In other words, the very low cel count make the cartoon look more like a slideshow. It's about as far removed from high quality cartoons like Bugs Bunny, Tom & Jerry, and Mickey Mouse as you can find! While colorful and splashy (like an acid trip), the static nature of the cartoon combined with limp stories, the only voices being the animators while the characters make weird noises (probably done in order to make selling it to various language markets easier....or just laziness) make it a chore to watch....at least to adults and discerning kids.

This cartoon is proof that nostalgia is not always a good thing!

Innovative and out of this world!

[cshorton95 · 10/10 · 8 December 2015]

I've always been a huge fan of animation, especially the classics. I stumbled upon this gem a few years ago, and I think it is wonderful. I've never seen anything like this show before. I love its limited animation style - it is so futuristic looking, creative, and unique. As an artist who enjoys doing realistic and detailed drawings, Colonel Bleep inspired me to look into simple and modern art. Colonel Bleep was the first color cartoon made for television, and oh how the colors stand out! The vivid colors, designs, and simple backgrounds are visually pleasing. Each short is about five to seven minutes long, but they hold my attention and are short and fun. The narration by Noah Tyler is superb; I really like how he gets excited during certain moments of the show - you can tell he is enjoying telling each little story. The three main characters represent a different frame of time, and I find that very fascinating and clever. I also love the characters' designs; Colonel Bleep is just adorable (quite frankly one of the cutest as well as the most creatively designed cartoon character ever, according to me), Squeak is an impulsive but sweet little puppet boy, and Scratch is a kind-hearted and very brave caveman. Jack Schleh did a fantastic job directing the episodes. They may be too simple and shallow for some, but to me they're fun to watch. I was utterly dismayed after reading that more than half of the episodes were lost. I don't think this show deserves the harsh, negative reviews by some of the users. It was an early form of television animation from a low-budget company in the 50s; there's nothing obscene about the show. I highly recommend this stellar, sweet, and simple cartoon to anyone who loves animation.

10/10

It's All About The Lightning Bolts

[poozmeister-552-315057 · 8/10 · 11 December 2012]

A year or more ago I saw Facebook friends temporarily updating their profile pictures to cartoon characters that they related to. I thought about it a few days. I like The Flintstones, but I'm not any of them. Nor am I a Looney Toons character. Then it hit me - Colonel Bleep! I had completely forgotten about him and did not have a thought of him in many years. But then I remembered being transfixed by him when I was little. Despite the poor animation, and lack of character voices, I thought he was SO cool because he could pedal real fast and make powerful lightning bolts come out of his head. What little boy wouldn't want to do that! It's so nice to see him again on YouTube after all these years.

Saturday mornings, NBC (channel 4), 7:00AM

[rbknibb · 11 April 2003]

As a child, this was one of my favorite shows. It would start my Saturday morning lineup. Colonel Bleep and his friends would battle evil and go to far off worlds all in a half hour. I've only met one other person who remembers this show.

Colonel Bleep was my favorite

[pigfatProductions · 8 March 2005]

I remember Colonel Bleep and have mentioned it to many other baby-boomers for many years, but nobody else seems to remember it. My most vivid memory is when he was trapped in some sort of tube or cylinder and continued to change or shrink in order to escape. He had some sort of ray gun, if I remember it correctly. Sound familiar to anybody? I grew up in the New York City area and remember it on television somewhere in the late 1950's. Back then I did not pay attention to which channel any of my favorite TV shows were on...I just watched them. I think that most of us were like that. We just whined to our parents to watch something that was our favorite. I would like to see the Colonel Bleep that I remember once again

my first sci-fi influence

[uncle_alex · 19 August 2003]

This was probably the first sci-fi show I ever saw at age 6. I remember the characters were strange looking, and the animation somewhat limited compared to what the major studios were producing. Glad to see other people remember the Colonel, and there are a few websites devoted to him too. Thanks to Colonel Bleep for giving me a life-long interest in science fiction.

Colonel Bleep Is Alive in Memory!

[richard-756 · 24 January 2005]

Yes, the incredible internet has reunited us with Colonel Bleep! Spent years looking for the 50's show which made an indelible mark on our minds and it has surfaced! Thought we were the only ones who remembered, but alas, there are others! This stuff is classic invaluable, priceless history! Its amazing how much time and energy was spent before internet to re-unite with this cartoon. Great to see that others have the same memories and impressions of the show. We have spoken to many folks who just don't remember the Colonel. I suppose that it was not aired in some states. Actually I never knew it was in color since we had black and white. Caw! Caw! Richard

'Colonel Bleep,' for fans of animation and pop culture history!!!

[Frank_Stark · 27 October 2005]

The first color cartoon made exclusively for television in an era dominated by black-and-white sets! Finding the treasure that is 'Colonel Bleep,' was a decade-long trek. In an animation magazine, I read an interview with the animation director Jack Schleh, in celebration of the VHS release. The stills from the show, with their sharp line-work, really caught my eye. With advent of the Internet, I got the chance to see even more stills...and even hear the theme song. In 2005, I purchased a public-domain DVD of what episodes existed (twelve). I wasn't impressed with the plots so much as I was impressed with the sophistication of the show through simplicity. 'Colonel Bleep' works as a cartoon for the majority of black-and-white televisions that it was first broadcast to, but it works in color as well. The episodes are short enough to catch the attention span of small children and not long enough to both fans of animation. The official release came recently, with a DVD of 24 episodes...these contained episodes of an educational nature, which are fascinating, however dated (I get the same feeling looking at 50s-era issues of 'National Geographic'). No, Bleep isn't as slick as today's computer-assisted animation, but quite impressive for its time. A must-look for fans of animation and pop culture history!

Colonel Bleep Remembered With Fond Memories

[rpaltza · 17 July 2008]

I too thought I was the only one who remembered Colonel Bleep (although I had forgotten his name momentarily when I was in my early twenties, but my twin brother set me straight soon thereafter), as many in even my high school knew not whereof I spoke when I uttered the name, Colonel Bleep. I saw some episodes on YouTube last year, which made me recall with much fondness my childhood recollections of making sure I caught every episode on the weekday cartoon show, most particularly that opening countdown prior to the rocket launch.

As I look at the episodes on YouTube nowadays, several features of the cartoon seem rather peculiar, to wit: Col. Bleep needs to wear a helmet even on his home planet, whereas his associates Squeak and Scratch never needed to wear helmets, no matter where they were in outer space or which planet they were on. Interesting too, that Col. Bleep never walked, but pedaled that strange unicycle no matter where he went - even on his home planet! But to compare this cartoon, the first color one made for TV, with the likes of the successors, viz., Clutch Cargo, Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & Bullwinkle, and Bugs Bunny, is like comparing the Model T Ford to the Motorama models. I do appreciate, however, that there are a select few that still recall with much joy and enthusiasm the erstwhile escapades of Colonel Bleep!

Appalling

[Lupercali · 26 June 2005]

I recently bought a bunch of public domain DVD cartoon compilations, some of which didn't bother telling you which show you were watching episodes from. I eventually figured out I was watching 'Colonel Bleep'. Frankly I don't know what to say about this. I grew up on 60's HB animation, so missed out on this (albeit probably fairly narrowly. I can remember Crusader Rabbit). I was simply stunned at how utterly terrible CB is in every respect imaginable. Appalling animation, appalling stories, appalling narration. The only thing on any of the discs which actually beat it in the appallingness stakes was a 1960's ant-smoking cartoon from the Cancer Council of America. Sorry, but I don't have any sentimental attachment to this, and have to face it without rose tinted spectacles. Don't send me hate mail.