The Jackson 5ive
Title Card
Format	Animated series
Voices of	The Jackson 5 Paul Frees (The J5's Producer/Additional voices) Donald Fullilove (Michael) Edmund Sylvers (Marlon) Joel Cooper (Jermaine) Mike Martinez (Tito) Craig Grandy (Jackie) Diana Ross (Diana)
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	23
Production
Producer(s)	Arthur Rankin, Jr. Jules Bass
Running time	30 min.
Production company(s)	Rankin/Bass Productions Motown Productions
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Original run	September 11, 1971 – September 1, 1973

The Jackson 5ive was a Saturday morning cartoon series produced by Rankin/Bass and Motown Productions on ABC from September 11, 1971 until September 1, 1973; a fictionalized portrayal of the careers of Motown recording group The Jackson 5. ABC rebroadcast the series during the 1984-1985 Saturday morning season, which were also years when Michael Jackson had been riding a wave of popularity. The series was animated mainly in London at the studios of Halas and Batchelor, and some animation done at Estudios Moro, Barcelona, Spain. The director was Spanish-American Robert Balser.

Contents 1 Overview 1.1 Music 1.2 Pets 2 Episodes 2.1 Season 1 2.2 Season 2 (billed as The New Jackson 5ive Show) 3 External links

[edit] Overview

Other than appearing in the introduction where actual photographs are shown morphing into animated cartoons, the actual Jackson brothers themselves—Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Michael—were unable to contribute to the show in any way due to scheduling conflicts. Only their music was used; however, during the music montages, a clipping of the Jackson 5 appearing in concert would air occasionally to blend in with the cartoon. Though Berry Gordy/The J5's producer did not provide the original voice (his character was voiced by Paul Frees) nor advertised his name, his character was frequently involved as the "adult figure" to the group. R&B/Pop singer Diana Ross contributed to voice her fictionalized self in the debut episode. The premise of the show is that the Jackson Five would have adventures similar to Josie and the Pussycats, Alvin & the Chipmunks or The Partridge Family, with the unique addition being that Berry Gordy, the manager of the band in the show's universe, would come up with an idea for publicity for the band, such as having to do farm work or play a concert for the President of the United States.

[edit] Music

A specially recorded medley of four Jackson 5 #1 hits—"I Want You Back", "The Love You Save", "ABC", and "Mama's Pearl"—served as the show's theme song. Each episode would feature 2 songs by the Jackson 5. The songs were derived from their albums Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5, ABC, Maybe Tomorrow, and Third Album (with the exception of their cover of the song "Bridge over Troubled Water"). In the newer episodes, from 1972-73, songs were derived from Michael Jackson's album Got to Be There and two songs from the Jackson 5 album Lookin' Through the Windows.

[edit] Pets

Because Michael Jackson owned many pets in real life, a few pets were added as extra characters to the cartoon. They included Michael's pet mice, Ray and Charles (alluding to singer Ray Charles), and his pet snake Rosie 'The Crusher'. Other than the mice chirping, the pets never spoke, but usually either attributed to assistance, mischief or joining the Jackson Brothers in performances on the show.

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Season 1

1. "It All Started With..."
2. "Pinestock U.S.A."
3. "Drafted"
4. "Mistaken Identity"
5. "Bongo, Baby, Bongo"
6. "The Winner's Circle"
7. "Cinderjackson"
8. "The Wizard of Soul"
9. "The Tiny Five"
10. "The Groovatron"
11. "Ray and Charles: Superstars"
12. "Farmer Jacksons"
13. "Jackson Island"
14. "The Michael Look"
15. "Jackson Street, U.S.A."
16. "Rasho-Jackson"
17. "A Rare Pearl"

[edit] Season 2 (billed as The New Jackson 5ive Show)

1. "Who's Hoozis?"
2. "Michael White"
3. "Groove To The Chief"
4. "Michael In Wonderland"
5. "Jackson and The Beanstalk"
6. "The Opening Act"

[edit] External links

• The Jackson 5ive at Cartoon Encyclopedia
• The Jackson 5ive at the Internet Movie Database
• The Jackson 5ive at TV.com

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