King Features Trilogy, The

1 9 6 3 (USA)

With the success of the animated Popeye in 1960, the newspaper syndicate that owned the comic strip decided to animate some of their other popular characters under the blanket title The King Features Trilogy.

The first was Beetle Bailey, the half-asleep soldier who only kept his eyes open for work, and only so he could avoid it.

Beetle’s main foil at Camp Swampy was Sergeant Orville Snorkel, a tough regular army man who was often bested by Beetle.

The commanding officer on the quiet base was the lisping General Halftrack, who concerned himself more with his golf game than with his troops.

The second segment, Snuffy Smith, was about a loveable Hillbilly, who hated people invading his property and loved Moonshine. His second love was his rarely appreciated wife Loweezy.

Snuffy’s city cousin, Barney Google, sometimes made guest appearances.

Lastly, Krazy Kat was a bizarre cartoon starring the oddly drawn feline of the title. Krazy lived in Kokonimo Kounty and was in love with a sociopathic mouse named Ignatz. What Krazy saw in this dangerous brick-throwing rodent was never explained, much like the attraction of police dog Offisa Pup to Krazy.

This part of the show really needs to be seen to be believed . . .

For viewers who enjoyed these characters in the “funny papers,” these cartoons were quite a treat. Unfortunately, by the time the series was released in wide syndication in the late ’60s, few papers carried the strips, and The King Features Trilogy retreated to comic form.

Beetle Bailey
Howard Morris
Sgt. Snorkel 
Allen Melvin
General Halftrack 
Howard Morris
Snuffy Smith 
Paul Frees
Loweezy 
Penny Philips
Barney Google 
Paul Frees
Krazy Kat 
Penny Philips
Ignatz Mouse 
Paul Frees
Offisa Pup 
Paul Frees