The Jackson 5ive
The Jackson 5ive was a Saturday morning cartoon series produced by Rankin/Bass and Motown Productions on ABC from September 11, 1971 until 14 October 1972; a fictionalized portrayal of the careers of Motown recording group The Jackson 5. The series was rebroadcast in syndication through Worldvision Enterprises during the 1984–1985 Saturday morning season, during a period when Michael Jackson was riding a major wave of popularity as a solo artist. The series was animated mainly in London at the studios of Halas and Batchelor, and some animation done at Estudios Moro, Barcelona, Spain. The director was Spanish-American Robert Balser.
Overview
The Jackson 5ive was a Saturday morning cartoon series produced by Rankin/Bass and Motown Productions on ABC from September 11, 1971 until 14 October 1972; a fictionalized portrayal of the careers of Motown recording group The Jackson 5. The series was rebroadcast in syndication through Worldvision Enterprises during the 1984–1985 Saturday morning season, during a period when Michael Jackson was riding a major wave of popularity as a solo artist. The series was animated mainly in London at the studios of Halas and Batchelor, and some animation done at Estudios Moro, Barcelona, Spain. The director was Spanish-American Robert Balser.
Arthur Rankin, Jr.
Producer
Episodes
1. It All Started With...
The alleged story of how Diana Ross discovered The Jackson 5,we all know who originally discovered them. Anyway,the story begins when Ms. Ross finds a pink snake in her dressing room,which turns out to be Rosey,the brothers' pet snake.Fearing that something bad will happen to Rosey,Michael gets on his bike and heads down to the arena,Marlon,Jermaine,Tito, and Jackie follow him in Tito's old beat-up car. After getting Rosey out of harm's way,Michael and his brothers become fast friends with Ms. Ross and later on she discovers how talented they are and invites them to Detroit,MI for an audition with her record company (Motown),but the brothers have other ambitions:Jackie wants to be pro-basketball player, Tito wants to design and build cars,Jermaine wants to be a chef,Marlon wants to be a scientist,and Michael hopes to be a cowboy and run his own ranch. After sleeping on it,the Jackson 5 decides to head to Detroit to make music.
2. Pinestock, U.S.A.
The Jackson 5 head out to the country to perform a concert in the wilderness.This concert is promoted by a greedy millionaire named,Mr. Carruthers,who plans to have all the trees cut down before the big show.But the brothers are so concerned about the animals in the forest that they feel that what Mr. Carruthers is doing is wrong,so when they get wise on Mr. Carruthers' plans,he decides to have his lumberjacks put the J5 in a deep,dark cave where water begins to leak into the cave,but thanks to Ray & Charles (with help from some moles),the brothers escaped unharmed and plan to get revenge on Mr. Carruthers and his lumberjacks.
3. Drafted
The Jackson 5 prepare for a concert at Fort Paratroop.Michael and Marlon decides to march with some inductees and gets (accidently) inducted to the service.Jackie,Tito,and Jermaine must find a way to get their younger brothers out before their show.
Cast & Crew
Paul Frees
(voice)
Joel Cooper
Jermaine Jackson (voice)
Donald Fullilove
Michael Jackson (voice)
Mike Martinez
Tito Jackson (voice)
Edmund Sylvers
Marlon Jackson (voice)
Craig Grandy
Jackie Jackson (voice)
