YouTubing the Banana Splits

Can you name the four members of the Banana Splits? Think of the song, "...Flippin' like a pancake, poppin' like a cork, Fleagle, Bingo, Drooper an' Snork," But can you name which Banana Split was which animal? Aha! You're are supposed to know this stuff, people.

Fleegle is a beagle, Drooper is a lion, Bingo is a gorilla, and Snorky is an elephant. It is interesting to note that 3 of the 4 Banana Splits are endangered animals. (Save Drooper, Bingo, and Snorky from extinction!)

The Banana Splits were yet another Saturday morning cartoon show that tried to cash in on the bubblegum pop rock and roll music scene. The group seemed very like the Monkees or the Beatles. Drooper was sort of like John Lennon or Michael Nesmith. Bingo was sort of like Mickey Dolenz of the Monkees, who was sort of like Ringo Starr. Fleagle was sort of like Peter Tork (well, not really), and Snorky was not really like anybody, except perhaps Harpo Marx. (Snorky did not talk, he just made horn noises.)

The arch-enemies of the Banana Splits were the Sour Grapes Bunch, a group of five young girls that were the terrorist Al Queda to the Banana Splits' Freedom Fighters. The Banana Splits were often visited by a representative of the group, a Sour Grapes Messenger Girl. A Sour Grapes girl typically delivered a message, then danced about, then stuck her tongue out at the Banana Splits. I have no idea what that part of the show was about. I never did understand it. They seem to still have a fan base. This clip Features the Sour Grapes Bunch, but the audio is from Sheri & the Splits.

The show also had a talking ape, apparently (and rather gruesomely) stuffed and mounted on the wall, and a Cuckoo Clock that spoke as well. This appears to have been an homage to the Addam's Family, who had a mounted swordfish with a man's foot sticking out its mouth, a stuffed two headed turtle, and a polar bear skin rug in the entryway that roared when visitors step on it.

Banana Splits Show ran a bunch of different forgettable cartoons, including The Three Musketeers, The Arabian Knights, Micro Adventures, etc. They also ran the unforgettable Danger Island, with the proffessor's plucky daughter, Leslie Hayden, and her white pants that never got dirty even though they were stranded on a desert island!

The Banana Splits costumes were designed by Sid and Marty Krofft, who later hit it big with the likes of "H. R. Pufnstuf" and "The Bugaloos."

This is probably the best clip I found, it portrays Bingo's Birthday. There is dancing, wacky hijinks, and an exploding terrorist cupcake. Then Bingo receives a Magic Machine from the gang. All of the Banana Splits enter the machine..."The last one in is a Sour Grape Girl!" (They all fit? Of course! It's magic!), and they are transported to an alternate universe that looks suspiciously like a soundstage filled with theatrical smoke.

The show's biggest controversy: Did Bob Marley steal the melody for his hit "buffalo Soldier" from the Banana Splits theme song? I think that this video explains it all.

The Banana Splits Videos
Banana Splits intro [ 2, 3, 4 ]
Banana Splits original intro - Restored
Gonna Find A Cave
You're The Loving End
One Track Mind
A Banana Splits Clip
Doin' The Banana Splits - Sheri & the Splits
Banana Marley

Tra-la-la song lyrics

Related Links
Wikipedia: Banana Splits
wingnuttoons.com: The Banana Splits
thechestnut.com: Little Gems - The Banana Splits
bcdb.com: The Banana Splits Adventure Hour Episode Guide
wingnuttoons.com: "Confessions of a Sour Grapes Messenger Girl"

Vaguely Related Links
The Dickies play the The Banana Splits Theme.
Liz Phair performs The Tra La La Song, featuring Sailor Moon!
At Home With Rex Rabbit, featuring the The Tra La La Song.
A cheesy Banana Splits knock off, "the Skatebirds."
Entropia Universe to the Banana Splits tune, Gonna Find A Cave.
A clip of the Banana Splits theme song, featuring a dancing banana.
More than a little bit annoying, the Jumper Monsters Do Banana Splits.

Links that are not even vauguely related, but worth watching
Birthday Suit, which is an "early bubblegum pop music video/cartoon featuring the Chatanooga Cats that was played on the early Banana Splits during the late '60s. It's oh so wrong on so many levels..."

European teen popstar Lio sings her hit banana split, A brief video of girls dancing to Lio's banana split, and in a different version of the song, Lio sings Banana Split wearing a series of different outfits, including a nun costume and long split latex dress. You want more? Sandra Lou is retro-hot-pink delicous! Sandra Lou sings Banana Split. "Ooo-la-la!"

From The Muppet Show, the Swedish Chef demonstrates how to make a Banana Split, Keroro Gunso is unable to resist banana peels in Keroro Gunso doing a banana split, and from Not Another Teen Movie, the famous banana split scene.