After creating Rocky and Bullwinkle, Jay Ward and Bill Scott had a little nuttiness left over so they poured it into a new animated show called George of the Jungle that included three different segments, each starring a different cartoon character.

George, lately of the jungle, is what you get when you put the story of Tarzan in a blender and press ‘frappe.’ He lives in a tree in the jungle, a regular ape-man, but he’s not the smartest hominid around. George’s most famous blunder appears in the show’s opener, where he swings from vine to vine only to crash spectacularly against a tree trunk. Sometimes he even forgets that he sleeps 40 feet above the ground and steps off a branch expecting to find solid earth to support him and—you guessed it, he crashes again. Despite his lack of mental acuity, George is brave and kind-hearted and will always try to help the creatures that live in Imgwee Gwee Valley. Along for the ride are Ursula, his wife, who suffers the indignity of being called “fella” by her husband and their pet elephant Shep. George is convinced that Shep is a dog, albeit gray, huge and very fond of peanuts. Luckily for all involved, Ape, a very smart ape, helps out his friend George whenever he needs it. And George needs it a lot.

Following George is Tom Slick, a flashy racecar driver with an incredibly optimistic outlook on life. He makes the rounds on the racing circuit with his car, the Thunderbolt Greaseslapper and his less-interestingly-named girlfriend, Marigold. Keeping the Greaseslapper (wow, that’s a fun name to see over and over again) purring in top form is Gertie Growler, Tom’s loyal mechanic.

The third segment is Super Chicken, the tale of a brave millionaire who fights crime in his spare time. Oh, and he’s a chicken. Henry Cabot Henhouse III is the name and he has a lion for an assistant, the long-suffering Fred. The poor lion gets dragged into all manner of trouble, starting from the moment he hears his boss’s battle cry: “Quick, Fred, to the Super Coop!”

YouTube: