The New Fantastic Four

The New Fantastic Four
GenreSuperhero
Action
Adventure
Created byStan Lee
Based on
Fantastic Four
by
Written byStan Lee
Directed byBrad Case
Voices of
Narrated byDick Tufeld
Theme music composer
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producerLee Gunther
Producers
Editors
  • David H. DePatie, Jr.
  • Richard Gannon
  • Richard Corwin
Running time21–22 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 9 (1978-09-09) –
December 16, 1978 (1978-12-16)
Related
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

The New Fantastic Four (on-screen title: The Fantastic Four) is an animated series produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises and Marvel Comics Animation in 1978.[1] It is the second animated series based on Marvel's comic book series Fantastic Four, following a 1967 series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions.[2]

The 1978 series replaced the character of the Human Torch with a robot named H.E.R.B.I.E. (Humanoid Experimental Robot, B-type, Integrated Electronics) because the 1978 television rights to use that character were tied up by a proposed television pilot movie in development by Universal Studios that ended up never being produced.[3][4]

Ownership of the series passed to Disney in 2001 when Disney acquired Fox Kids Worldwide, which also includes Marvel Productions.[5][6][7]

  1. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 317–321. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  2. ^ Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. pp. 96–98. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Is it true that the Human Torch was replaced in the 1978 Fantastic Four cartoon show because the network was afraid that kids would imitate him and set themselves on fire?" -- POVOnline.com. Retrieved on 7 December 2007. Archived 28 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #16!". 15 September 2005.
  5. ^ "U.S. Copyright Public Records System".
  6. ^ "Disney+ and Missing Saban Entertainment & Fox Kids-Jetix Worldwide Library - StreamClues". 14 September 2022. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Liste - BVS Entertainment | Séries".