# "Clutch Cargo" cartoon series **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [September 16, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-cargo-cartoon-series/553971 "2010-09-16T15:10:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-cargo-cartoon-series/553971/1 "2010-09-16T15:10:32Z")
> **[How did they make those weird lip movements in the old Clutch Cargo cartoon...](https://www.straightdope.com/21341553/how-did-they-make-those-weird-lip-movements-in-the-old-em-clutch-cargo-em-cartoon-series)** I’ve never heard of this show before, or this freaky dialogue technique. I can see why it was never too popular: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFnLirXjjto](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFnLirXjjto) ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-cargo-cartoon-series/553971/2 "2010-09-16T15:35:12Z")
I remember _Clutch_ and _Space Angel_ quite well. Both were staples on the old [_Garfield Goose_](http://www.toontracker.com/garfieldgoose/garfield.htm) show in Chicago. > [@Cecil](#): > > The technique was also used for things like flame. …If you could even call it a “technique.” I recall an episode which featured a circus tent burning down, and they simply set a drawing of a tent on fire and filmed it! Funny stuff. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-cargo-cartoon-series/553971/3 "2010-09-16T16:00:15Z")
Yeah, I remember it too and even as a 5 or 6 year old thought this is way freaky. _C’mon, Paddlefoot!_ One thing it did do was make Johnny Quest seem cutting edge. ---
**Author:** ![paperbackwriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@paperbackwriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paperbackwriter)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-cargo-cartoon-series/553971/4 "2010-09-16T17:51:22Z")
One of the extras on the _The Incredibles_ DVD is a “canceled cartoon pilot” done like this. Actually, Pixar being Pixar, even their intentionally-poor job comes off looking better than _Clutch Cargo_ Still, the voiceover commentary by Frozone and Mr. Incredible is highly amusing. ---
**Author:** ![rootbeer277](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@rootbeer277](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rootbeer277)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-cargo-cartoon-series/553971/5 "2010-09-16T17:51:24Z")
If anyone’s interested in seeing more of this amazing syncro-vox technology, there’s a bonus feature on Pixar’s The Incredibles DVD of a pilot Mr. Incredible and Frozone cartoon done in this style. If you watch it with the commentary track, it’s a hilarious satire of the style done by Craig T. Nelson and Samuel L. Jackson done in-character. Bonus trivia: In Pulp Fiction, during the flashback scene with Christopher Walken, there’s a Clutch Cargo cartoon playing on the TV in the background. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-cargo-cartoon-series/553971/6 "2010-09-16T18:07:59Z")
That’s one helluva simulpost. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-cargo-cartoon-series/553971/7 "2010-09-16T18:13:31Z")
Clutch cargo was all kinds of awesome and strange. It’s one of those forgotten cartoons, that was totally weird. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-cargo-cartoon-series/553971/8 "2010-09-16T18:41:18Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Clutch cargo was all kinds of awesome and strange. It’s one of those forgotten cartoons, that was totally weird. It’s iconic within the animation industry. It defines the bottom of the scale. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-cargo-cartoon-series/553971/9 "2010-09-16T19:05:39Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > > [@NAF1138](#): > > > > Clutch cargo was all kinds of awesome and strange. It’s one of those forgotten cartoons, that was totally weird. > > It’s iconic within the animation industry. It defines the bottom of the scale. The animators I have spoken to have always given me the impression that it doesn’t so much define the bottom of the scale as it defines what the scale might look like if it were on drugs. It \*is \*very well loved though. ---
**Author:** ![Blakeyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blakeyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blakeyrat)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-cargo-cartoon-series/553971/10 "2010-09-16T20:13:00Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > > [@NAF1138](#): > > > > Clutch cargo was all kinds of awesome and strange. It’s one of those forgotten cartoons, that was totally weird. > > It’s iconic within the animation industry. It defines the bottom of the scale. I dunno; we get Japanese imports now. The most famous example being Dragonball Z with approximately 5 new frames of animation _per episode_ and dialog consisting primarily of grunting. Although my personal favorite was .hack, a “cartoon” with no animation at all. It was just stills sliding past the camera while characters (whose mouths were either obscured, or too far away to require animation) yammered at each other. A full episode of .hack consisted of about 8-10 backgrounds, maybe 10 frames of animation for a single sequence near the climax, and 22 minutes of annoying voices. That said, both of those are better than Clutch Cargo, judging by that clip on YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-cargo-cartoon-series/553971/11 "2010-09-16T21:12:31Z")
> [@Blakeyrat](#): > > > [@TriPolar](#): > > > > It’s iconic within the animation industry. It defines the bottom of the scale. > > I dunno; we get Japanese imports now. The most famous example being Dragonball Z with approximately 5 new frames of animation _per episode_ and dialog consisting primarily of grunting. > > Although my personal favorite was .hack, a “cartoon” with no animation at all. It was just stills sliding past the camera while characters (whose mouths were either obscured, or too far away to require animation) yammered at each other. A full episode of .hack consisted of about 8-10 backgrounds, maybe 10 frames of animation for a single sequence near the climax, and 22 minutes of annoying voices. > > That said, both of those are better than Clutch Cargo, judging by that clip on YouTube. There was an early Marvel Comics series that consisted of still images taken directly from print form. The images were moved around on the screen, but there was rarely any further animation. But the artwork was much higher quality than anything in a Clutch Cargo episode. Even the minimal animation in South Park is accompanied by a story and jokes that some people enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-cargo-cartoon-series/553971/12 "2010-09-20T19:40:24Z")
Today, so many years after _Clutch Cargo,_ some public figures who have had extensive Botox work bring back memories of Clutch Cargo; that is, only the lips move, and the rest of the face looks like a still photo. On different sides of politics, wags point at Nancy Pelosi and Charles Krauthammer. Joan Rivers pokes fun at herself, “Am I smiling? I can’t tell.” By the way, wasn’t there another alliteratively named cartoon series that used the same weird technique? I can’t recall the name, right now. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-cargo-cartoon-series/553971/13 "2010-09-20T19:51:03Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > Today, so many years after _Clutch Cargo,_ some public figures who have had extensive Botox work bring back memories of Clutch Cargo; that is, only the lips move, and the rest of the face looks like a still photo. On different sides of politics, wags point at Nancy Pelosi and Charles Krauthammer. Joan Rivers pokes fun at herself, “Am I smiling? I can’t tell.” > > By the way, wasn’t there another alliteratively named cartoon series that used the same weird technique? I can’t recall the name, right now. You might be conflating Tom Terrific and Space Angel. Space Angel, I believe, used the same technique, and Tom Terrific was primitively animated, but in a different way. ---
**Author:** ![qazwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5fc32e/32.png) [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-cargo-cartoon-series/553971/14 "2010-09-21T02:06:24Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Yeah, I remember it too and even as a 5 or 6 year old thought this is way freaky. > > _C’mon, Paddlefoot!_ > > One thing it did do was make Johnny Quest seem cutting edge. Clutch Cargo even made Speed Racer look good! ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-cargo-cartoon-series/553971/15 "2010-09-21T05:07:03Z")
Unless I missed it, I didn’t see anyone mention yet that it’s also used in the very beginning of Spongebob cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-cargo-cartoon-series/553971/16 "2010-09-21T13:04:28Z")
My mother once bought some videos for my kids that were made by Disney. Winnie the Pooh and a Robin Hood thing, if I recall correctly. They consisted _only_ of stills captured from the real movies with narration. Complete ripoff. Now that’s cheap, which goes with Disney of course. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-cargo-cartoon-series/553971/17 "2010-09-21T19:47:15Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > My mother once bought some videos for my kids that were made by Disney. Winnie the Pooh and a Robin Hood thing, if I recall correctly. They consisted _only_ of stills captured from the real movies with narration. Complete ripoff. > > Now that’s cheap, which goes with Disney of course. That doesn’t sound like Disney, actually. One of the things they’re known for is the quality of the animation. Even the direct to video movies are done well. I doubt they would jeopardize their reputation by selling such a product. I wonder if your mother acquired some kind of bootleg without realizing it. I mean, why would Disney bother to make a crude no-animation version of its own movie, instead of just making a dub of the whole movie? It would actually cost more to do the ‘cheap’ version. (Although, for that matter, why would a bootlegger not just copy the whole movie? Hmmm…) Anyway, it seems unlikely that these were official Disney products. I don’t suppose you still have them around? Conan O’Brien used to do fake interviews using a still image of a famous person and “Clutch Cargo” lips. ---
**Author:** ![Blakeyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blakeyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blakeyrat)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-cargo-cartoon-series/553971/18 "2010-09-23T19:19:35Z")
> [@fgasparini](#): > > > [@ftg](#): > > > > My mother once bought some videos for my kids that were made by Disney. Winnie the Pooh and a Robin Hood thing, if I recall correctly. They consisted _only_ of stills captured from the real movies with narration. Complete ripoff. > > > > Now that’s cheap, which goes with Disney of course. > > That doesn’t sound like Disney, actually. One of the things they’re known for is the quality of the animation. Even the direct to video movies are done well. Uh, no they weren’t. They were better than Clutch Cargo, but nothing that could be reasonably called “quality.” (With a couple exceptions-- the Aladdin sequels were ok, for example.) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-cargo-cartoon-series/553971/19 "2010-09-23T21:28:40Z")
> [@fgasparini](#): > > That doesn’t sound like Disney, actually. One of the things they’re known for is the quality of the animation. Even the direct to video movies are done well. I doubt they would jeopardize their reputation by selling such a product. I wonder if your mother acquired some kind of bootleg without realizing it. I mean, why would Disney bother to make a crude no-animation version of its own movie, instead of just making a dub of the whole movie? It would actually cost more to do the ‘cheap’ version. (Although, for that matter, why would a bootlegger not just copy the whole movie? Hmmm…) Anyway, it seems unlikely that these were official Disney products. I don’t suppose you still have them around? Nope, actual Disney products. At that time they weren’t releasing the actual movies onto video. This was one of their little gimmicks to make money off their brand name. And yes, I still have at least one. “Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree” is right here on my lap. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-cargo-cartoon-series/553971/20 "2010-09-25T03:23:30Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Unless I missed it, I didn’t see anyone mention yet that it’s also used in the very beginning of Spongebob cartoons. Of course! :smack: “Are you ready, kids…?” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clutch-cargo-cartoon-series/553971.md?page=2)