The Get Along Gang: Cover of a Marvel comic book.

THE GET ALONG GANG

Original Medium: Greeting cards
Produced by: American Greeting Cards
First Appeared: 1984
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American TV cartoons of the 1980s tended not to be about bold, daring individuals breaking out of the crowd to accomplish great deeds. Parent Action Groups held a lot of power in television, and their agenda called for …

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… kids' entertainment to emphasize what they considered positive social values. Judging from what got on the air, the accomplishment of great deeds by single people, acting on their own, seems to have taken a back seat, in their estimation, to simply getting along. The Get Along Gang is a perfect example of the emphasis '80s kidvid placed on group harmony over individual validation.

Like several other '80s cartoon shows, this one started in greeting cards. American Greeting Cards, where Popples and Care Bears began, introduced the gang in 1984, in both cards and cartoons. Production of the half-hour Get Along Gang TV show was initially done by Nelvana Ltd. (Eek! the Cat, Adventures of Tintin). In 1986, DiC Entertainment (Captain Planet, He-Man & the Masters of the Universe) did a second series. There were 26 episodes in all.

To put across the idea of the effort it sometimes takes to get along, the gang members each had an insufferable trait. (This also had the salutary effect of keeping characterization for the large cast cheap and easy.) Dottie Dog was impatient and sometimes reckless. Woolma Lamb was vain and selfish. Bingo Beaver liked to play practical jokes. Portia Porcupine, the youngest, was whiny, and threw fits when things didn't go her way. And so on — there were about a dozen in all, including the leader, Montgomery Moose, an okay guy, but very clumsy.

Voices included, but were not limited to, Bettina Bush (Rainbow Brite), Scott Menville (Jonny Quest in the 1980s episodes), Sherry Lynn (various voices in The Iron Giant, Toy Story TaleSpin, and elsewhere), Don Messick (Scooby-Doo, Atom Ant and much, much more) and Frank Welker (Jabberjaw, Dynomutt, Don Coyote).

There were also books, toys, clothing, etc. Marvel Comics did six issues about them under its Star Comics imprint (Top Dog, Royal Roy), in 1985 and '86. But they were very much a product of their time, and are seldom seen anymore.

— DDM

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Text ©2003-09 Donald D. Markstein. Art © American Greetings.