When 99 Was Animated

When Wayne Gretzky was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings, the world of entertainment threw its doors open to him. He began to meet actors and actresses at games and events who were fans of his, and they came to games to cheer on the Gretzky-led Los Angeles Kings against whomever was visiting. In doing this mingling, it seemed that Gretzky also found some opportunities passed his way to join various television shows where he could make a cameo appearance just for fun. Little did he know, at the time of the trade, that he'd be involved with a Saturday morning cartoon that featured him as one of its main stars and spawned a breakfast cereal that kids across North America would want for their morning meal!

From September 14 to December 7, 1991, NBC aired the ProStars cartoon that featured Wayne Gretzky's name and likeness alongside that of NBA superstar Michael Jordan and NFL and MLB superstar Bo Jackson. The three athletes would use their immense repertoire of skills to become fictional superheroes that helped children through conflicts while often looking out for causes that affected children.

It's at this point you may be smiling and thinking, "I remember that cartoon" if you're old like me. Or you might be thinking "this sounds ridiculous, Teebz" based on the paragraph above, and while you may be right on the surface the actual execution of the cartoon wasn't bad if you excused reality for 22 minutes.

It should be noted that Jackson and Gretzy would start the show as themselves in real-life, and they'd explain the premise of the show that was about to follow. Having Jackson and Gretzky in Los Angeles likely helped to achieve this as Michael Jordan was never in the pre-show introduction, but the two athletes achieved what they needed to do with these intros. It should be noted that the intro segment would be the only time that Jackson and Gretzky would appear in the show as themselves.

The animated version of Wayne Gretzky was voiced by a gentleman named Townsend Coleman, seen to the right. Townsend has been the voice to many great animated characters including Michelangelo of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fame, The Tick from the cartoon of the same name, Sentinel Prime of the 2009 Transformers: Animated series, and a whole host of other voices from various TV shows and movies. He's done a number of voiceovers for commericals including Taco Bell, Home Depot, and 7-Up, and he voices NBC promos for the network. While there may only be one Wayne Gretzky who played the game, there is only one man who voiced Wayne Gretzky on ProStars, and that man is uber-talented Townsend Coleman!

It's at this point you might be wondering why I'm talking about a 13-episode cartoon that spanned one season on NBC and didn't make the cut to be renewed for more seasons. What if I told you that could watch ten of those episodes in their entirety?

I was actually hunting for something else when I stumbled across a wbsite that calls itself Watch Cartoon Online. This online repository of cartoons is everything that one could want if one was seeking an older cartoon series or animated movie to watch as it has virtually everything. There are some exceptions where the site doesn't have a show or movie, but those are few and far between when it comes to what has been compiled on the site.

This link is where the ten episodes of ProStars can be found and watched! Again, suspend reality when you see things like the "boomarang puck" because it's a cartoon. The point is that the all-star athletes in Gretzky, Jackson, and Jordan are doing the right thing and teaching moral lessons about teammates, helping others out when they need a hand, and environmental issues. I don't want to say that the cartoon was ahead of its time, but we could use a few athletes setting good examples right about now.

I think the most interesting part of the shows, if we're being honest, are the questions and answers that Bo Jackson and Wayne Gretzky answer because it shows a lot about them. For example, Wayne Gretzky would pick Andre Agassi, the tennis star, as a "ProStar" if he could! Based on all the hockey players and athletes from other sports that he knows, who would have guessed Agassi as his choice? Questions like these are asked by kids at the end of each program, and we get to learn a little bit about Gretzky and Jackson more than what we already know!

If you want, feel free to browse the site, but I'll have another California-based hockey cartoon to discuss tomorrow. Check out ProStars with the animated Wayne Gretzky voiced by Townsend Coleman when you get a chance, and let yourself fall into a Saturday morning routine with a big bowl of cereal and cartoons on the TV... or wherever you're reading this!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!