The Lionheartsis an Americananimated television seriesfromMGMthat aired on Saturday and Sunday mornings insyndicationfrom September 19 to December 12, 1998.[1]The series aired on syndication in the United States and was also seen inAustraliaandLatin America(translated into Spanish asLos Corazón de León).The Lionheartswas one of the last television series produced byClaster Television IncorporatedandMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation.
| The Lionhearts | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Animated sitcom |
| Created by | Byron Vaughns |
| Written by | Ruth Bennett Greg Antonacci Mark Bennett Richard Gitelson Joanne Pagliaro Bill Braunstein Peter Hunziker |
| Directed by | Byron Vaughns |
| Voices of | William H. Macy Peri Gilpin Natasha Slayton Cameron Finley Nicolette Little Harve Presnell |
| Theme music composer | Mark Watters Lorraine Feather |
| Opening theme | "Roar",performed by Randy Crenshaw |
| Composer | Mark Watters |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No.of seasons | 1 |
| No.of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Paul Sabella Jonathan Dern Ruth Bennett |
| Producer | Byron Vaughns |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production company | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation |
| Original release | |
| Network | Syndication |
| Release | September 19– December 12, 1998 |
Plot
editThe Lionheartsfocuses on the behind the scenes life ofMGM'smascot,Leo Lionheart,and his family.[2]The series shows the Lionhearts living in a normal house and living a normal life just like non-celebrity families. Most of the members of the family are named after famous MGM movie stars. The characters first appeared on a series ofSing-Alongchildren's videos released by MGM in 1997. The original character designs (especially those of Spencer and Kate) were greatly modified for the TV series.Ashley Tisdaleprovided the voice of Kate in the Sing-Along videos, whileCharles Rocketwas the voice of Leo, Lana was voiced byDebra Jo RuppandChris Marquettedid the voice of Spencer[1].
Characters
editLionheart Family
edit- Leo Lionheart Jr. (voiced by:William H. Macyin the TV series,Charles Rocketin the "MGM Sing-Along" videos): Leo is the father, husband and provider of the family. He is 37 years old and works as the mascot for MGM's movies, a role which was passed onto him by father Leo Sr. One of Leo's favorite things to do when he gets the chance is to nap. In the TV series, he wore a blue sweater. In the "MGM Sing-Alongs" videos, he was typically naked, but sometimes wore a gray shirt, a black trenchcoat and hat when going to or leaving work.
- Lana Lionheart (voiced by:Peri Gilpinin the TV series,Debra Jo Ruppin the "MGM Sing-Along" videos): Lana is the mother and wife of the family, she is also the glue that keeps the family from falling apart. She used to work as an acrobat in the circus, but ever since she became a mother it seems she became a stay at home mother. She is 33 years old. She was named afterLana Turner.In the TV series, she had short red hair and wore a magenta long-sleeved blouse and cyan pants. In the "MGM Sing-Alongs" videos, she wore a purple dress that varied between long-sleeved, short-sleeved and sleeveless.
- Kate Lionheart (voiced by: Natasha Slayton in the TV Series,Ashley Tisdalein the "MGM Sing-Along" videos): Kate is the oldest of the three children Leo and Lana have, she's 10 years old. She likes toe-mail,talk to her friends, ride horses and go to school. Kate is very tolerant of her siblings, and a very polite girl overall. Kate is named afterKatharine Hepburn.In the TV series, she had red hair in a ponytail and wore a pink t-shirt with a red heart in the center, dark pink pants, and teal sneakers. In the "MGM Sing-Alongs" videos, she was much younger, had glasses and short hair, wore a blue dress with white polka dots and was barefoot.
- Spencer Lionheart (voiced by:Cameron Finleyin the TV series,Chris Marquettein the "MGM Sing-Along" videos): Spencer is the middle of the three children, he's 8 years old. His dreams are to one day be a big-timerock n' rollstar. One of his major flaws at times is he doesn't finish what he starts. He takes his name fromSpencer Tracy.In the TV series, he had auburn hair with sideburns, freckles and wore a red tank-top with a "4" in the center, blue jeans, and black-and-white sneakers. In the "MGM Sing-Alongs", he was much younger, was shirtless, wore red shorts, and his shoes were green-and-white.
- Judy Lionheart (voiced by: Nicolette Little in the TV series, Kylie Erica Mar in the "MGM Sing-Along" videos): Judy is the youngest of the children, she's 4 years old. She is very curious and loves to play. She also looks up to her sister Kate as her heroine. Judy is named afterJudy Garland.In the TV show, she wore pink overalls. In the "MGM Sing-Alongs" videos, she was more of a toddler and wore a pink shirt.
- Leo Lionheart Sr. (voiced byHarve Presnell): The grandfather of Kate, Spencer, and Judy, who is also Leo Lionheart's widowed father and in his late 60's. He has relations to thetitularcharactersof theTom and Jerryseries. He demands his son to be less humble and act more like a star and the center of attention, which Leo Jr. has problems with. As an example, he does demand Leo Jr. to have someone to open the door for him.
Humans
edit- Director (voiced byJoe Pantoliano): A director who works with Leo at MGM Studios.
- Dorothy (voiced byBetty White): Leo's makeup artist who can't see very well.
- Freddy (voiced byWallace Shawn): Leo's talent agent.
- Hank (voiced byJeffrey Tambor): MGM's president.
- Jennings (voiced byMichael Jackson): Grandpa Leo's chauffeur who drives the limo. Like Dorthy, he has a terrible vision and causes multiple crashes.
Guest stars includedTom Kenny,Carlos Alazraqui,Justin Shenkarow,Edie McClurg,Clancy Brown,Tom Arnold,Karl Malden,Ben Stein,Craig FergusonandKathy Ireland.
Production
editThe series was announced in 1997, the brainchild of John Symes, then president of MGM Worldwide TV Group.[3]MGM Animation signed actors William H. Macy, Peri Gilpin, Jeffrey Tambor and Betty White, among others, to provide voices producing 13 half-hour episodes ofThe Lionhearts,set for a September 1998 bow in syndication.[4]MGM Animation tapped sitcom scribe Ruth Bennett as exec producer and head writer for the series.[5]
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Family Circus" | September 19, 1998 | |
|
Kate and Spencer are not enjoying their weekend with their parents. Advice from Leo's father helps him sort out their troubles to make their weekend fun. | |||
| 2 | "Survive" | September 26, 1998 | |
|
Leo takes his family out camping in Dirk Flannery's Sharkmobile, but get locked outside the car, forcing them to use some survival skills for a camp out. | |||
| 3 | "But Some of My Best Friends are Clowns" | October 3, 1998 | |
|
Leo's relaxation time is interrupted by the arrival of Lana's clown friends. Then Leo tries to convince his clown-hating neighbors to respect them. | |||
| 4 | "No Place Like Home" | October 10, 1998 | |
| 5 | "Singin' in the Mane" | October 17, 1998 | |
|
A remark from Hank leads Leo to believe that he is starting to lose his mane with age. Spencer tries to convince Kate to help him join the school chorus, who are getting tickets to see his favorite rock band, Isaac Iceberg and the Titanics. | |||
| 6 | "The Poem" | October 24, 1998 | |
|
Kate must write the perfect poem to be the best and smartest student in the class, but she loses it accidentally after it turns out to be one of Spencer's songs, and Kate has to confess the truth about her missing poem. | |||
| 7 | "Greta Garbo Ears" | October 31, 1998 | |
| 8 | "The Treehouse" | November 7, 1998 | |
| 9 | "Brown Dog Day" | November 14, 1998 | |
| 10 | "Leo's Diet" | November 21, 1998 | |
|
Leo must lose 10 pounds and remove a piece of his gray mane in order to prevent Leonardo Bartholomew, MGM's hottest actor, from taking his place for MGM's 75th anniversary gala. | |||
| 11 | "The Pony Show" | November 28, 1998 | |
| 12 | "Don't Bug the Neighbors (Part 1)" | December 5, 1998 | |
| 13 | "Don't Bug the Neighbors (Part 2)" | December 5, 1998 | |
References
edit- ^Perlmutter, David (2018).The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows.Rowman & Littlefield. p. 361.ISBN978-1538103739.
- ^Erickson, Hal (2005).Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003(2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 499–500.ISBN978-1476665993.
- ^"MGM tooning up series about Leo".11 December 1997.
- ^"MGM's Leo finds his voice".3 June 1998.
- ^"Bennett to feed 'Lionhearts'".11 February 1998.