There has long been a tradition of turning popular kids films into Saturday morning cartoon series. And with the success of the Beethoven franchise of films, it seemed only natural to give the lovably large mutt his own cartoon.

Much like the films, Beethoven was a huge St. Bernard who was loved by everyone in his family except dear old dad, George Newton, who was continuously tortured by his relentless canine antics. The only thing that kept him from giving the pooch the boot was that the rest of the family - wife Alice and kids Ryce, Ted, and Emily - adored their furry friend.  Unique to the cartoon series were the addition of a trio of canine cohorts – Ginger the collie, Caesar the bloodhound, and a little terrier named Sparky – and a little pet hamster named Mr. Huggs. Longtime Disney character actor, Dean Jones, who had made an appearance in one of the films as a villain, provided the voice of George.

Sadly, the immense popularity of the films didn’t carry over to the cartoon, and even though it was hard not to love the big guy, the Beethoven cartoon series only lasted a mere season. But that wasn’t the last of Beethoven, not by a long shot. Following the cartoon’s demise in 1993, there would be a third feature film released, as well as a number of direct-to-video video – proving that it was near impossible to keep this colossal canine down.