| Liberty's Kids | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Created by | Kevin O'Donnell Michael Maliani |
| Developed by | Andy Heyward Michael Maliani Kevin O'Donnell Robby London |
| Written by | Doug McIntyre |
| Directed by | Judy Reilly Marsha Goodman Einstein |
| Presented by | Walter Cronkite |
| Voices of | Reo Jones Chris Lundquist Kathleen Barr D. Kevin Williams Walter Cronkite Sylvester Stallone Ben Stiller Billy Crystal Annette Bening Dustin Hoffman Michael Douglas Arnold Schwarzenegger Liam Neeson Whoopi Goldberg |
| Theme music composer | Matthew Gerrard |
| Opening theme | "Through My Own Eyes" performed by Aaron Carter and Kayla Hinkle |
| Ending theme | "Through My Own Eyes" performed by Aaron Carter and Kayla Hinkle |
| Composers | Eric Allaman Stephen C. Marston Craig Marks |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 40 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Andy Heyward Michael Maliani Robby London |
| Producers | Kevin O'Donnell Kaaren Brown |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production companies | DIC Entertainment Corporation WHYY |
| Original release | |
| Network | PBS Kids |
| Release | September 2, 2002 – April 4, 2003 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
Liberty's Kids (stylized on-screen as Liberty's Kids: Est. 1776) is an American animated historical fiction television series produced by WHYY and DIC Entertainment, and originally aired on PBS Kids from September 2, 2002, to April 4, 2003, with reruns airing on most PBS stations until October 10, 2004.[1]
The series was based on an idea by Kevin O'Donnell and developed for television by Kevin O'Donnell, Robby London, Mike Maliani, and Andy Heyward, initially under the name of Poor Richard's Almanac.[2] It received two Daytime Emmy nominations in 2003 and 2004 for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program (Walter Cronkite, playing Benjamin Franklin).[3] Its purpose is to teach its viewers about the origins of the United States. Like the earlier cartoon mini-series This Is America, Charlie Brown, Liberty's Kids tells of young people in dramas surrounding the major events in the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War.
The show features celebrity voice talents, such as CBS News anchorman Walter Cronkite (as Benjamin Franklin), Sylvester Stallone (as Paul Revere), Ben Stiller (as Thomas Jefferson), Billy Crystal (as John Adams), Annette Bening (as Abigail Adams), Dustin Hoffman (as Benedict Arnold), Michael Douglas (as Patrick Henry), Arnold Schwarzenegger (as Baron von Steuben), Liam Neeson (as John Paul Jones), Whoopi Goldberg (as Deborah Sampson), Charles Shaughnessy (as King George III), Michael York (as Admiral Lord Richard Howe), Ralph Fiennes (as General Lord Charles Cornwallis), Don Francisco (as Bernardo de Gálvez), and Aaron Carter (as Joseph Plum Martin) who lend credence to characters critical to the forming of a free country, from the Boston Tea Party to the Constitutional Convention.
The episodes run a half-hour, including segments that include "The Liberty News Network" or LNN (a newscast delivered by Cronkite summarizing the events of the episode, with each including his trademark sign-off "that's the way it is"), "Mystery Guest" (a guessing game where the kids guess a historical figure, who often is a character in the episode), "Now and Then" (a segment comparing life in the Revolutionary Era and today), and "Continental Cartoons" (a rebus word guessing game). The LNN segment art was directed by designer Mike Bundlie.[4] During syndicated airings, these are replaced by commercials.
- ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 493–494. ISBN 978-1476665993.
- ^ "PBS Announces Performing Arts Showcase Series". About PBS - Main. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
- ^ Liberty's Kids: Awards Internet Movie Database
- ^ "Mike Bundlie IMDb". Imdb.com. IMDb.