Classic Television -- Saturday Mornings

Here Comes The Grump

Original channel

NBC

Original run

September 6, 1969 – April 25, 1970

Here Comes the Grump is an animated cartoon series produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises and aired on NBC from 1969 to 1970.

The main character was a small, grumpy wizard who put a spell of melancholy on the kingdom of the Princess Dawn. The Princess and her friend Terry Dexter (a boy from the "real" world) searched for the Cave of the Whispering Orchids to find a crystal key to break the spell, while the Grump tried to stop them. In each episode the Grump flew a dragon named Dingo, chasing Terry and Princess Dawn. This led them to bizarre places with strange characters, such as the Blabbermouth of Echo Island, where the mountains were made of living Swiss cheese.

The Princess had a pet named Bip — a vaguely doglike creature with tentacular legs, that sniffed clues like a hound dog, turned around by pulling in its tail and head and popping them back out at opposite ends, and communicated in the sounds of a soprano bugle. In most episodes, the Princess and her friends traveled in a flying car supported by a big balloon.

A recurring gag was that at the very last minute when the Grump was about to catch up with Princess Dawn, the Dragon would sneeze and burn the little wizard.

The character of the Grump was based upon Yosemite Sam, also created by Friz Freleng. The Grump's Dragon was similar to Sam's in "Knighty Knight Bugs", right down to the fiery nasal explosions upon its master.