So, we took a week off from Saturday Morning Cartoons… Ya girl was a bit burnt out what with all the fests and conventions overlapping in July. So here we are, back at it for August and today, today is special, today is a visit with the Snorks. You know, those weird little underwater beings that look kind of like Smurfs, but with breathing apparatus on their heads, a bit like a snorkel tube? Yeah, those cute little guys.
The Snorks were a cartoon of the mid to late 1980s based on the comic characters “Diskies” who first appeared in Spirou et Fantasio, a comic series quite popular in the French world. The property then changed hands and became a sort of counter Smurfs so the rights were bought off in 1977. A few changes later and a pilot episode of 3 minutes was created for these little guys. That pilot seems to be well and lost at the moment, but it led to the animated series released by Freddy Monnickendam in 1984. The hopes were to rival the Smurfs, but the popularity was not quite in the same stratosphere.
As with any good cartoon, it became fairly popular across the world which led to lots of merchandising. And by lots, I LOTS, in capital letters. It’s as if the merchandise was more popular than the show itself at times and with the current uptick in nostalgia entertainment, it seems to be making a comeback. The late 1980s saw just about everything from lunch boxes to toys to clothes to housewares with the Snorks on them. They were popular that was for sure, but not quite as popular as their rivals.
Produced by Hanna-Barbera, the show had a total of 65 episodes that aired from 1984 to 1989, including plenty of reruns. The story here was pretty simple, a village of small underwater creatures got up to hijinks and adventures in a half-hour-ish format. The name Snorks came from the sound their breathing tube make from time to time when they get excited. The whole of Snorkland was inspired by human life of course, but also offered audiences a bit of whimsy.
The Snorks as a series stopped airing in 1989, but starting in 2012, their adventures were released on DVD for the nostalgia audience and fans of 1980s animation. The 4 seasons were released in 3 boxed sets which are still available for purchase today without having to go the route of resellers.
