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On Aesop’s Tale of the Fractured Son

Fractured

Fractured Fairy Tales and Aesop & Sons were two segments on various versions of Rocky and Bullwinkle. They presented fairy tales or fables in a humorous, modernized manner while altering the storyline.

Commonalities

Debuted in 1959 on ABC’s Rocky & His Friends (The first of the Rocky & Bullwinkle show titles)

Produced by Jay Ward

Became part of The Hoppity Hooper Show in 1964

Became part of the Dudley Do-Right Show in 1969

Did not spinoff into books or comics

 

Fractured Fairy Tales

Fractured Fairy Tales had three different introductions

Produced by Jay Ward

Narrated by Edward Everett Horton

Voices by June Foray, Bill Scott, Paul Frees, and an uncredited Daws Butler

91 episodes were made; first – Goldilocks; Last – The Youth Who Set Out to Learn What Fear Was (Click for episode list)

Each episode 4½ minutes long

One of the few TV cartoon series with no continuing characters,

Enjoy the Three Little Pigs

.

Aesop and Son

Same theme music as Fractured Fairy Tales

Structure: Aesop attempting to teach a lesson to his son using a fable. After carefully listening to the story, the son undermines the moral with a pun.

Continuing Tag Line: ..and do you know the moral of the story?

39 episodes: First – The Lion and the Mouse; Last – The Fox and the Three Weasels (Click for episodes list)

Voices: Aesop by Charles Ruggles (the only Jay Ward character he did), Junior by Daws Butler

Here’s an episode: The Fox and the Winking Horse

51 thoughts on “On Aesop’s Tale of the Fractured Son”

    • Georgette,
      I’m not sure about when these appeared in the show. Given that Moose, Squirrel, and company were the headliners, it had to be at least at the half-way point.

      BTW …. got the slugger pic … thanks …. and I will look for it on my next trip.

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  14. That was fun, Frank. Thank you. Fractured Fairy Tales and Aesop and Son are how I learned some of the fairy tales and Aesop’s fables (which may be why I’m so warped…lol!). A couple of years ago I read Aesop’s Fable’s (the book of them is on the 1,001 Books to Read Before You Die list), and found them dry in comparison. Interesting, but not nearly as much fun (or as much pun). 😀

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  17. Jay Ward’s cartoons were so cheaply animated, but the storytelling was so rich. I always enjoyed Fractured Fairytales — and probably more than the real fairy tales. The details were so good in these cartoons such as the lazy wolf’s collection of girly magazines as he plots his way into the Pigg sisters’ lives. I also loved Edward Everett Horton’s narration. His voice was perfect. Great choice Frank!

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    • Lame,
      Ward sure had a fantastic writing team. Gotta love the way they wrote adult humor that captured (and kept) the attention of kids. … and gotta agree that EEH was a great narrator. … and I knew you would enjoy these!!!! As always, thanks for the input about animation.

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  20. Fractured Fairy Tales – an enjoyable trip back in time and redolent of the Rocky and Bullwinkle series which was similarly a rich stew of vocabulary and cultural snippets. I always admired it. These were, like many print comics, works of art in my opinion and stand in contrast to the bland material in early education, things like Dick, Jane and Spot.

    It is significant that children and adults alike enjoyed Rocky and Bullwinkle despite the simplicity of the drawings – the dialogue was the thing. I see a parallel in todays cinema – fancy computer graphics, no matter how realistic, can’t make up for a clever plot and good writing, and neither can good acting for that matter.

    There is a lesson in this for educators. Children are more clever and more absorbent of knowledge than we think. They gain from material on many levels: vocabulary, morality, grammar, syntax, and culture. My three year old granddaughter is glued to her iPad and YouTube. Scary.

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    • Jim,
      Cheers to another lover of the antics of Moose and Squirrel along with the other characters of the show. The scripts and embedded subtle stuff was brilliant, Cheers to your granddaughter … but I hope she doesn’t forget how to play the old fashion way.

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