User Reviews

OK, so I'll admit maybe it could've included Liz and Flash and maybe it could've had have some more Aunt May. But as far as complaining about the animation and the fact that Spider-man "doesn't have all webs on his costume" is just ridiculous as the show had a very limited budget. Although.... One thing I didn't like was the voice acting, really no excuse for that Jameson was good, Betty Brant was decent but, that was really it. Spider-man sounded like an a man in his mid-30s so it definitely didn't deliver, and I want that "energy" from that Spider-man. The kind of energy that just gets you excited a good voice actor can do that, Mark Hamill's Joker did that. But in the end I actually thought the makers did a pretty good job with what the had to work with. It could've been a LOT worse. And also, this show gave us the classic Spiderman theme song that pretty much everyone knows. So all in all it pretty decent especially the 1st season, It's kinda a either you "Love' it or you "Hate" it show. However, I'm sure nostalgia could be maker true haters rate it higher

The animation was not great by present standards, but through the age of 12 or so this series hit the spot. Further, though they leaned heavily on repeating with stock footage, most of it was pretty good and represented the action and strength of the character well. Every once in a while they turned the background sideways or something and achieved a startling effect without using new elements.

I love that Peter Parker sounds like a boy and Spidey sounds like a man. It's the uni, don't you know.

They best part for me is the theme song, one of the best of all time, and all of the incidental music (even the bulk of the special effects). Crime jazzy and dark. All of the episodes had great, swinging musical textures and overtones.

The Bakshi stuff is stellar. Really idiosyncratic and daring. Spidey ends up removed to different dimensions and levels of the earth, battling the supernatural than the super- villainous. The humans are generally pawns caught in a cosmic battle between good and evil and Spidey comes through, natch. The oft-referred to backgrounds (black, dark blue, purples, fiery reds, etc., were awesome, as were the castles and thorny, leafless backdrops (ala Sleeping Beauty). The color schemes were sickening (purple and off greens with splotchy reds and hints of bruisy yellow. Brilliant. The music also took a further leap from poppier crime jazz and soda stand teen rock to psych-out freak rock interludes, darker crime jazz, and even odd sci-fi and kraut-rockish stretches. Watch the first episode on disc 3 or 4, the one with the Mole Men. The music is absolutely incredible.

My two kids, 3 and 5, respectively, love these Spider-Man cartoons. They hold up for me, as well.

The thing that really made this show special was the music. Bachelor pad band leader Ray Ellis composed, and conducted a wide range of dramatic secret-agent-style cues for the first season, and these bits got reused to good effect in the following seasons. Bob Harris and Paul Francis Webster contributed the theme song with its frenetic off-kilter drum riffs. Starting in season 2, the creators began dipping into the KPM music catalogue bringing to light ice-cool jazz gems such as Syd Dale's "The Hell Raisers" and David Lindup's "Stand By." Some of the same cues would later pop up in TV shows such as "Dallas." Paul Kligman's J. Jonah Jameson and Paul Soles' Peter Parker voice work was absolutely wonderful. It's hard not to imagine their voices when reading the comics.

The animation art is fairly dynamic, and resembles the work of John Romita who served as a consultant. Comic artist Gray Morrow even worked as one of the animators. Ralph Bakshi who would later become famous for "Lord of the Rings" and "Fire and Ice" took over as director in the second season. The most obvious mark of his influence was the dark multi-coloured clouds that appeared as backgrounds in some of the more psychedelic episodes.

Overall one of the more interesting animated series' of its time.

I think that today's Spiderman animated series doesn't even come close to being as good as this. My mother says "the animation was bad but at least they had an excuse back then." When you're a little kid like that you tend not to care what other people think. I didn't really care what my mother thought at the time because she wasn't a little kid back then so how could she have possibly known about the animation of these films? I think to get a good enough prospective of it you have to see it through a young child's eyes. Seeing their favourite comic book super heroes coming to life right before their very eyes and wondering how did they do that? That's what this cartoon series has meant to me. I didn't really care one way or the other just how bad the animation was or how corny the jokes were. I just saw it as "it's Spiderman! Shut up and let me enjoy it" (Note that I never would have said that out loud when I was a kid but it was just something that I was thinking at the time.) Spiderman is probably one of my most favourite cartoon superheroes next to Wolverine from the X-Men but that's a different comment all together.

For those of us that used to watch this in the 70s as kids, this is some classic stuff. The first series was by far the best Spidey cartoon, no other comes close. The second series left many of us shaking our heads at the psychedelic backgrounds and made-up Spidey villains.

They tried to update the Spider-man cartoon in 1981 and 1994 but that stuff was just a lame copy of the original. The newer Spidey cartoon movements and voices are wrong, the writing is bad, and they just don't get it. Take it from an artist here who used to read the Classic Spider-man comics before they ruined them in the 90s+ with bad art, bad stories, bad all around. John Romita was the best one by far. Once you are brought up on the original comics and cartoons nothing else is acceptable.

Sure, the animation could be better in the old cartoon but back then it was cool. It's still OK and the DvDs have them remade nicely. The haters giving this bad reviews are just silly kids who don't know better since all they have is Spongebob and Pokeman and all this new crap. Cat-dog? WTF???

This Spider-man cartoon came out around the same era as Scooby-Doo, Wacky Races, Herculoids and other great classic Saturday morning cartoons. The pioneers back then were ahead of their time. The junk cartoons nowadays don't even come close!

This DVD is worth the $47 I paid for it. Buy it to relive some cool cartoons from your past, don't buy it if you are some snooty kid who was born in the 80s that can't grasp the concept of great cartoons.

I know that this show was the first attempt to put the "Spiderman" character onto the small screen but in my opinion, it has become slightly over-rated as there have been far better adaptations since. However, the above show isn't bad and there are some good stories. The animation is very limited and therefore, the lack of money tends to show. I recall first seeing this late 1960s attempt back in the late 1980s. I had rented a video that had 2 episodes and I still remember the first episode from the video - it had Dr. Octopus in it. I felt so disappointed by the series as I was expecting to see the classic 1981 version. In the ensuing years, I have grown to quite enjoy this early series, albeit in a limited way. The theme tune is rather corny to say the least but it isn't hard on the ears.

The show has the essence of the '60s intact. It's campy, cheap-looking and that adds to its charm. Remember why Adam West's Batman became popular? It's on the same lines. Not every Spidey iteration needs to be brooding. We have the wonderful '94 series for that. Let's not foul mouth the first ever Spider-Man animation just because it was more cartoonish than sombre.

Although I was born the same year that Spider-man went off the air in 1970, it ran in syndication, which I watched all the episodes when it aired. Compared with the contemporary cartoons of my childhood such as Speed Racer, The Superfriends, Most of Filmation Studios animation, etc., the original Spider-Man cartoon, by far, had better graphics, music, etc. than the subsequent "Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends" among other recent Spider-Man episodes, although they were more advanced, consistent, and greater story lines. Spider-Man had an original animation theme, such as the original Lone ranger Cartoon of the 1960s (Format Films). This Spider-Man will always remain a classic to me.

When I was a very small boy in the 1970s I used to love this show. That is because I had no taste. I recently purchased the box set because of nostalgia and it is really off-putting how bad the material is. In each 20 minutes or so of the program there are perhaps forty-five seconds of original animation. The vast majority of the show is stock animation repeated over and over, and, in the later episodes, stills that are manipulated (spun around, zoomed in on, etc.) In the earlier episodes the backgrounds are at least colorful, but in later episodes they get dark and inexplicably expressionistic. And why do the episodes introduce only three characters: Peter Parker, J. Jonah Jameson, and Betty Brant? What about Flash Thompson? Aunt May? -- There are dozens of potential characters that should have been introduced.

Okay, now I have that out of my system...

The music score is pretty cool, and while the show has its flaws, it captures something of the swinging attitude that "Smilin' Stan Lee" and "Jazzy Johnny Romita" brought to the early Spider-Man comics. --> NOT MUCH, but something.

The "Spider Man and His Amazing Friends" show from the 80s is far superior, as are the cartoon shows from the 90s. It's too bad Marvel animation couldn't have come up with something of the quality and intelligence of the Batman Animated Series and its several spin- offs.

Although the animation was terrible by today's standards, this series had a style that was very much in keeping with the 60's Spider-man comic books. There were a standard set of shots with Spidey swinging along buildings, or coming right at the screen, which they used over and over and over again.

Some of the episodes were taken right from the comic books(such as the one where Jameson sends a robot with his face on it after Spider-man--it even used lines directly from the comic). Others were rip offs of shows from Rocket Robin Hood(in particular the "Dimentia Fiiive!!!" one). These were the worst ones because they tended to meander and frequently had these psychedelic background skies that were really depressing to stare at.

It was a good show for laughs--intentional and otherwise. Whenever I read a Spider-man comic--I think of J. Jonah Jameson, Peter Parker, and Spider-man with the voices they have in this series.

Note: the music was actually pretty good--very fast moving--and of course the title song with its memorable lyrics: "Spider-man, Spider-man, does whatever a spider can, can he swing from a web? Take a look overhead, hey there, there goes the Spider-man!"

Once you hear that song--you'll never get it out of your head.

this animated Spider man series ran 3 seasons with 77 episodes.i remember watching it as a kid and loving it.i finally bought it on DVD and i love it just as much today.sure the sound effects are cheesy, as is the music. and you can tell they had a very limited budget to work with and there are a lot of goofs in the show,but so what.that's all part of its charm.the villains are great and a lot of action is packed into the roughly 12 minute episodes(some are around 20 minutes)the Theme song is brilliant,and actually not in a cheesy way,it's instantly infectious and memorable. after you hear it once ,it'll probably stick in your head.not many shows form that era stand the test of time,but this one certainly does.for me Spider-Man the animated series(1967)is a well deserved 10/10

Everybody's favorite web slinging superhero came to TV with this ultra groovy series, with each of the three seasons distinguishing itself quite handily.

I agree with the idea that had the series been more consistent all the way through, it wouldn't be as noteworthy today. But in the first season, when Spidey was mostly battling villains from the comic books, it was fun but less experimental.

Then animation legend Ralph Bakshi took over for the second and third seasons, and things got MUCH weirder and freakier. Then the stories would have Spidey battling more "out there" (and often green skinned) baddies, and fending off a variety of monsters (which made quite an impression on my young mind) in spooky sci-fi, horror, and fantasy type plots. The backgrounds were, as many viewers point out, quite trippy, and the music got even cooler as the production dipped into the KPM music library. The great jazz tune "The Hell Raisers", for example, is a highlight, and decades later it became recognizable as the tune playing under the promo sequence on all Something Weird DVDs.

The third season ended up recycling characters, and stories, quite a bit, usually with just enough variation to not feel like complete carbon copies. As everybody knows, 'Spider-Man' even borrowed two episodes from the 'Rocket Robin Hood' series, with Spidey replacing the image of RRH in those instances.

Spidey was an irresistible good guy to this viewer. When in his everyday persona as troubled teen Peter Parker, he would be faced with any number of problems. He was quiet and unassuming. But once he donned the costume, he became much cockier and much more of a wise ass. (His voice would also miraculously deepen.) As for villains, The Vulture was always such a hoot. The ego on that guy was hilarious. J. Jonah Jameson was priceless, what with his ridiculous vendetta against Spidey and obsessive need to paint Spidey as an evil doer.

Incidentally, it's my hope that some other company will re-release the series on DVD since that Buena Vista set went out of print long ago and naturally started commanding some rather unfortunate prices.

Eight out of 10.

compliments of your friendly neighborhood Spiderman.

Peter Parker is a teenage photographer working at the Daily Bugle in NYC. He is secretly Spider-Man. His self-aggrandizing boss J. Jonah Jameson is obsessed with bringing down Spider-Man's reputation. Betty Brant is the redheaded secretary.

This is the first Spider-Man cartoon and about five years after his first appearance in the comics. The first season has Spider-Man battling many of his classic foes. The episodes are usually divided in two with a different villain for each part. Seasons two and three had Ralph Bakshi as the new showrunner as costs get cut. He created his own villains and the animation style is changed. It's a little cheaper and has that grimy 70's style. The changes are not all bad. I do like the weird sky and Spider-Man's origin is shown at the start of the second season. It was odd that the show didn't start with his origin story. In the end, I like the first season more. Also, it doesn't get more iconic than the Spider-Man theme.

I grew up watching this series in the early 1970s, and I'm happy that someone finally placed them onto DVDs. The set of 6 discs is rather deep, with all the episodes filling the DVDs. It's rather thin on extras. But there are what, 3 hours per disc? And the episodes are in chronological order, from the first to the final episode.

Some of the episodes weren't digitally remastered, as most seem to have been, but heck, when I compare them to the VHS tapes I used to purchase at comic book shows where the tapes were recorded from UHF stations yielding poor reception, I won't complain. I'm just glad they're here. For the price, it's plenty of bang for the buck.

As for the episodes, Ralph Bakshi took over as producer midway through the run of the original episodes (his cartoons can be found about midway through the third DVD). Reading through postings on the net, people have said that Bakshi took over and operations moved from Canada to the US when it was cheaper then to produce the animation in the states... and some staff cutting was done while the episodes were still cranked out at a good pace. Hence, people claim, a good bit of regurgitation of characters and plot lines increased. FYI, the Canadian episodes had Spidey webbing in clear skies, while the Bakshi episodes introduced eerie, watercolored skies.

I'm a visual guy, and love the vibrant tones. Plus, it seems as though the music picked up a lot with the change. I just "dig" the way the music sounded. You can even hear a musician yelp every now and then in some jam sessions. So, I can't go Bakshi bashing. Usually, it's the networks that trim budgets, and Bakshi, I feel, had to make due. He did the best he could, I think, and I bet that if the budget had been fat, Bakshi would have had the animators take time and add depth and detail.

FOLLOWING THE OTHER animated series from Marvel Comics, THE MARVEL SUPER HEROES by about a half a year, this was the first on screen incarnation of "THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN"; being creator Stan Lee's top solo hero creation. The series boasted of having much of the same creative talent as was involved with the other, previous series; namely Steve Krantz and Ralph Bakshi of KRANTZ FILMS.

THIS SERIES DEBUTED on ABC TV at the same date as Hannah-Barbera Productions' adaption of Marvel Comics' THE FANTASTIC FOUR. We can't recall the exact time slots; but, we do know that they were back to back. It was a good time for Comic Book Super Heroes!*

THE ONE VERY 'Marvel Comics' element and Stan Lee trademark was included; after being totally absent from the MARVEL SUPER HEROES program. That would be the interjection of humor. SPIDER-MAN was steeped in it; what with a lot of wisecracking in voice over by the main character and with the lyrics in the now very well known theme song!

AS FOR THE general feel of the show, it did seem to be just a trifle tame; as compared to the comic book adventures. This sort of comparison may not be completely fair; but they are made and always will be.

IN OUR OWN humble opinion, the voice provided for Peter Parker/Spider-Man seemed to be just a little too mature. This is,of course, a small (even picayune) complaint and was not by any means, a major flaw.

OTHERWISE, THE VOICE actors did a fine job and were well cast in their characterizations of J. Jonah Jameson, Betty Brant and the others. This added to the use of many of "Spidey's" enemies from the comics (Green Goblin, Mysterio, Rhino), great stories and the original musical theme & incidental music all made for a most acceptable adaption.

TOPPING ALL OFF was the animation; while no 'FANTASIA" here, it is excellent for Television. Whereas MARVEL SUPER HEROES showcased the most beautiful artwork, skillfully copying it directly from comics page, its animation was extremely limited. SPIDER-MAN made up for the slack with its movement. And, when all is said and done, the name of the game is "Motion Pictures!"

"HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!"

NOTE: * Following the success of "BATMAN" (Greenway Prod./20th Century-Fox) on ABC in January of 1966, everyone jumped on the proverbial "Super Heroes Bandwagon." CBS had THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN (later THE SUPERMAN-AQUAMAN HOUR OF ADVENTURE), the previously mentioned MARVEL SUPER HEROES Syndicated show and ABC's FANTASTIC FOUR and SPIDER-MAN. Other comic book-like characters also emerged; such as Hannah-Barbarra's SPACE GHOST and MIGHTY MIGHTOR.

A very badly aged cartoon that is painful to watch. The only valid reason to see it is the historical value of the series as one of the first and oldest cartoons dedicated to the character of the weaving cobwebs.

The problem with comic books today, is that they are waaayy too sophisticated for most kids to comprehend... I read Spiderman when I was 6 and 7 years old (I read it when I was older as well, but I will get to that) and I could follow the stories to some exent, but mostly I read it because the cartoon was soooo cool (much cooler than any later Spiderman incarnations)... the animation was quirky, the voices were very Shatnerian (I think I just invented a word, and I will now use it frequently), but it was fun and it made sense to a young mind.

Now, don't get me wrong about comic books, I really appreciated the more sophisticated stories when I was a teenager, but I have no idea how the medium will gain new fans when you cannot hope to get involved with them until you are at least a teenager (when such things are uncool)... and a lot of the material is too intense for young eyes anyway... maybe a line of comics for younger fans would be good. I dunno, but I feel bad that my kid will likely not have comic book heroes in his life to any meaningful degree... I just wish that cool shows like Bakshi's Spiderman were still on the air to fill in the gaps.

This cartoon is just silly fun that doesn't take itself seriously. You shouldn't either.