I was 4 or 5 when these cartoons aired around 1968 and 1969, but I saw them recently for the first time in years with adult eyes, and here goes.
I read somewhere that the GGG's were the first children's cartoons about genocide, and this is sadly true. Part of the theme song goes-
Two little Indians, no others near. Colonel he vows these two soon disappear. Fighting the army with soldiers galore. What can two Indians do? (Gibberish) Go go gophers, watch them go go go. (2X)
Here comes the colonel with his sergeant, Both are a-roarin' and a-chargin'. Go go gophers, watch them go go go. (2X)
Okay, to put all of this in context, two Indians of the Gopher Tribe are all that remain of their clan as the pompous and ignorantly arrogant Col. Kit Coyote (Carson?) and his Sergeant (the apparent voice of reason whose catchphrase is "Begging the Colonel's Pardon,") try to wipe them off the land of Gopher Gulch. One Indian, the silly looking Ruffled feathers, speaks in bizarre babbling (boolagoolaboolaboolagoolaboolagoo) which can only be translated by his friend Running Board (apparently the Chief), who speaks stereotypical Hollywood Indianspeak, ("Him heap upset" is a sample line). The show is essentially a series of Wile E. Coyote/Roadrunner type episodes of Kit Coyote & the Sergeant trying to get this twosome off of the land they covet.
While it could be argued that the Gopher Indians are shown as the heroes of the show as they constantly outwit Kit Coyote and his sergeant, many modern audiences, especially of the PC crowd, would read far more into this than what was probably intended. A lot of folks would now recoil in horror at the idea of a kid's cartoon taking a humorous look at the extermination of the American Indians from their land. This issue aside, the small children of 1968 and 1969 (such as myself) who watched this at the time had no such issues with this and laughed at Kit Coyote's stupidity AND Ruffled Feather's babbling. However, this is not likely to appeal much to modern children and the parents who get this DVD for nostalgic warm and fuzzies will quickly tire of the same story being told over and over in each episode. OK as a curiosity piece, but not much else.
I read somewhere that the GGG's were the first children's cartoons about genocide, and this is sadly true. Part of the theme song goes-
Two little Indians, no others near. Colonel he vows these two soon disappear. Fighting the army with soldiers galore. What can two Indians do? (Gibberish) Go go gophers, watch them go go go. (2X)
Here comes the colonel with his sergeant, Both are a-roarin' and a-chargin'. Go go gophers, watch them go go go. (2X)
Okay, to put all of this in context, two Indians of the Gopher Tribe are all that remain of their clan as the pompous and ignorantly arrogant Col. Kit Coyote (Carson?) and his Sergeant (the apparent voice of reason whose catchphrase is "Begging the Colonel's Pardon,") try to wipe them off the land of Gopher Gulch. One Indian, the silly looking Ruffled feathers, speaks in bizarre babbling (boolagoolaboolaboolagoolaboolagoo) which can only be translated by his friend Running Board (apparently the Chief), who speaks stereotypical Hollywood Indianspeak, ("Him heap upset" is a sample line). The show is essentially a series of Wile E. Coyote/Roadrunner type episodes of Kit Coyote & the Sergeant trying to get this twosome off of the land they covet.
While it could be argued that the Gopher Indians are shown as the heroes of the show as they constantly outwit Kit Coyote and his sergeant, many modern audiences, especially of the PC crowd, would read far more into this than what was probably intended. A lot of folks would now recoil in horror at the idea of a kid's cartoon taking a humorous look at the extermination of the American Indians from their land. This issue aside, the small children of 1968 and 1969 (such as myself) who watched this at the time had no such issues with this and laughed at Kit Coyote's stupidity AND Ruffled Feather's babbling. However, this is not likely to appeal much to modern children and the parents who get this DVD for nostalgic warm and fuzzies will quickly tire of the same story being told over and over in each episode. OK as a curiosity piece, but not much else.