1 9 7 2 – 1 9 7 3 (Australia)
16 x 22 minute episodes
When Phineas Fogg (voiced by Alastair Duncan) and Belinda Maze (Janet Waldo) are unable to marry because her uncle, Lord Maze (Owen Weingott), objects to his niece marrying a commoner, Fogg accepts Lord Maze’s challenge to travel around the world in eighty days to prove himself worthy of the girl.
Believing him incapable of the feat, Lord Maze wagers twenty thousand pounds (about $42,000) against him and hires, unknown to Fogg, the evil saboteur Mister Fix (Max Osbiston) to foil the attempt and ensure his winning the bet.
Fogg, and his aide, Jean Passepartout (Ross Higgins), depart from England (the series is set in 1877) in a hot air balloon – accompanied by Passepartout’s pet monkey, Toto – and begin their quest. Fogg and Passepartout dispense geographical knowledge to the audience at each of their stops.
Episodes depict Fogg’s attempts to overcome the foul deeds of Mr Fix and complete his journey within the allotted time.
Based on the novel by Jules Verne, the cartoon series was produced by Air Programs International, an Australian studio, who would become an Australian branch of Hanna-Barbera.
Phineas Fogg
Alastair Duncan
Jean Passepartout
Ross Higgins
Mister Fix
Max Osbiston
Belinda Maze
Janet Waldo
Lord Maze
Owen Weingott