Jay Ward Studios Animation Cels

Jay Ward was an amazing talent. He could find the humor in the trevails of the adult world, and make it accessible to kids. His first series of note, Crusader Rabbit, brought us the first syndicated animated series designed explicitly for television which was made during an era when the only cartoons being shown were taken from the movie theaters. Of course, Jay Ward's most famous series was Rocky and Bullwinkle, and rightly so. Written as a series of cliffhangers, the series would regularly spoof the cold war of the late 1950's and early 1960's. It was sharp enough to keep adults giggling while the kids could laugh at the goofy antics of "moose and squirrel." When Rocky and Bullwinkle had run their course, Jay took to producing television commercials for the breakfast cereals made by the Quaker Oats Company. He created the character Cap'n Cruch and his commercials were as funny as Rocky and Bullwinkle ever were, and for the same reason - it wasn't dumbed down for kids. Here are some examples.