Saturday Morning Cartoon Fix: Trollkins

If there is one thing that I miss most about growing up in the 80s, it would have to be watching Saturday morning cartoons! There was nothing like pouring yourself a bowl of your favorite cereal and getting up early to watch great cartoon shows. So why can't we relive a little of that now? Thanks to Youtube, we can watch full episodes of those great 80s animated shows (some of which are not yet available on DVD.) So, come rediscover your forgotten Saturday morning cartoons with RD80s Saturday Morning Cartoon Fix! This week's feature cartoon is Trollkins!

Take the hot pursuit of The Dukes of Hazzard and put it in the village of The Smurfs and you had the recipe for the short-lived 1981 cartoon Trollkins! The tree-community stories of Trolltown revolved around main characters Blitz, Pixlee, and pet Flooky. Causing trouble most of the time was the biker gang called the Troll Choppers. Mayor Lumpkin and Sheriff Trolsom, who were the fathers of Blitz and Pixlee respectively, were the two responsible for holding the bikers in line. Sheriff Trolsom also had two deputies Dotty and Flake who were about as helpful as Enos and Cletus on The Dukes of Hazzard.

Trollkins theme

The southern-fried antics of the Trollkins only lasted for a single season of 13 episodes from Sept 1981 - Sept 1982. Looking back, it's not surprising that they didn't have much success because the series debuted on the same day as The Smurfs. Stiff competition when you consider the instant popularity of The Smurfs, but Trollkins did, however, boast a pedigree of 80s voice talent such as Frank Welker, Peter Cullen, and legendary Mel Blanc. Trollkins has been broadcast in reruns several times over the years courtesy of the USA Cartoon Express, Cartoon Network channel, and Boomerang channel. Warner Home Video has yet to release the series to DVD.

Each episode of the Trollkins contained two mini-episodes which ran for about 10 1/2 mintues. I've found two episodes on YouTube that I've embedded below, which includes part one of the very first episode. And for your cereal fix, I've found a Fruity Pebbles commercial from 1981 featuring a traditional Barney ploy to steal Fred's cereal. Enjoy rediscovering the Trollkins!

Episode 1 Part 1- "Trolltown Goes Trollywood"