“I'm a collector of cartoons.”

Personally, when I hear “Michael Jackson” and “cartoon” in the same sentence, I immediately think of the Jackson 5ive Animated Series. I also think about his love for Disney and about that memorable 1993 cover of Disney Adventures magazine.

I’ve spoken about the Jackson 5 series on the blog  before and talked about how much Michael loved being a cartoon with his brothers in the ‘70s.

“I was already a devoted fan of film and animation by the time ‘The Jackson 5ive’ Saturday morning cartoon show started appearing over network television in 1971… I loved being a cartoon. It was so much fun to get up on Saturday mornings to watch cartoons and look forward to seeing ourselves on the screen. It was like a fantasy come true for all of us” - Michael Jackson.

As an 80’s baby, I grew up watching several animated versions of Michael in shows like South Park, Robot Chicken, and Family Guy. But, I enjoy the features most that involved Michael in the creative process or included his songs in the finished product.

Michael Jackson was a big fan of the art of animation and cartoons in general. He spoke about it in the February 1983 issue of Rolling Stone.

"All the Disney stuff, Bugs Bunny, the old MGM ones. I've only met one person who has a bigger collection than I do, and I was surprised – Paul McCartney. He's a cartoon fanatic. Whenever I go to his house, we watch cartoons. When we came here to work on my album, we rented all these cartoons from the studio, Dumbo and some other stuff. It's real escapism. It's like everything's all right. It's like the world is happening now in a faraway city. Everything's fine.” – Michael Jackson

Michael  enjoyed being a cartoon on Saturday morning television and although he hasn’t spoken much about it publicly, he probably also got a kick out of some of the later projects too! Some of these are more well-known than others but, they’re all unique and interesting to me. Here I have compiled a list of Michael in cartoons and/or in animated form that I personally love and have enjoyed.

1.Flintstones Kids

It’s only right to kick this list off with the first successful primetime animated series here in America, The Flintstones. Ranked the second greatest cartoon of all time by TV Guide Magazine, The Flintstones premiered in September 1960. The wild success of the stone-age themed series led to several spin-off series, including the Flintstone Kids.

Running for two seasons from 1986-1988, the series followed the childhood adventures of main characters Fred, Wilma, Barney, Betty, and Dino.

The special episode called “Just Say No” aired first on September 15th, 1988. It was shown both in a primetime time slot and on Saturday morning as an ABC Weekend Special. In “Just Say No” the Flintstone kids try to save up to see the Michael Jackstone concert. While working an odd-job, Wilma meets an older kid that offers her drugs. She of course, refuses. But the incident inspired the kids to start an anti-drug campaign, warning other kids about the dangers of drug use.

In the 1980’s, United States President, Ronald Regan expanded upon drug control policies that had first been established by President Nixon in the ‘70s. These policy changes have often been referred to as “The War on Drugs”. At the same time, First Lady Nancy Reagan spearheaded a national advertising campaign called “Just Say No”. The campaign’s focus was to educate children on the dangers of drug use and provide them with tools to evade the peer pressure surrounding it by suggesting different ways to "say NO".

This special episode of the Flintstone Kids was one of many at the time, that addressed recreational drug use, the dangers of it, and educated children on how to resist peer pressure.

A song by Latoya Jackson, also called “Just Say No” is featured in the episode. Michael’s sister released this song for the First Lady's campaign on her 1988 album “La Toya”.

If you are lucky enough to find a copy of the episode online, you can hear a snippet of it playing while the Flintstone Kids are creating their anti-drug campaign materials.

I listened to the song recently for the first time and I actually like it! It’s super catchy and very 80’s but, I think it works well for its purpose. The only other song I really like by La Toya is “Heart Don’t Lie” and “Just Say No” has become my second favorite.

Click HERE to listen to Latoya Just Say No.

When the kids finally make it to the Michael Jackstone concert, he hits the stage to perform a song to the melody of “Beat It”.

“They told the girl

Why don't you step over here

You wanna be cool

Take a look in here

They wanna do drugs

And they're words are really clear

So beat it!

You don't need it!

(Say no!)

You don't need friends

Doing things that are wrong

There's lots of kids like you

Who are cool and strong

It might be kinda tough

But you can move along

So beat it!”

Much like the Jackson 5ive Animated series, Michael did not record the voiceover for his character on the Flintstone Kids. Folk rock musician Kipp Lennon (who also voiced Michael’s singing voice in The Jacksons: American Dream movie) was sourced to do the voice work for Michael Jackstone.

Did I forget to mention that Jackstone is also sporting Michael’s signature jheri curl and one glove? I suppose he should have also had on penny loafers but hey, it was the stone age.

2.Alvin and the Chipmunks

Alvin and the Chipmunks hold a special place in my heart. Along with the Jackson 5 Christmas album, the Chipmunks Christmas vinyl was also on replay in my childhood home. I still listen to both of those albums today when I feel nostalgic. Although the two are linked together in my mind for these reasons, Michael Jackson made appearances in the Alvin and the Chipmunks animated series twice and its worth noting. 

In a 1989, episode of the Alvin and the Chipmunks animated series, the boys end up performing in a joint concert to benefit charity with Michael. The episode features Alvin dancing on the stage along with Michael during his Motown 25 performance of "Billie Jean". Michael isn't animated here but, is incorporated into the scene in a style similar to the live-action and animation mashup film, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?".

Click here to check out a short clip.

Hosted by The Fresh Prince (now better known as Will Smith) the 1992 video release “Rockin’ With The Chipmunks” featured Alvin dancing along with Michael in the short films for “Beat It” and “Smooth Criminal”.

Originally appearing as a television special entitled “Rockin’ Through the Decades,” the special looks at different eras of music and pop culture through the eyes of the Chipmunks.

Although Michael isn’t technically animated, Alvin interacts with Michael and even does the lean. (but not before falling flat!).

I vaguely remember seeing this special on television as a kid but, watched it again recently as I wrote this post. Something about Alvin tapping on Michael’s shoulder during “Smooth Criminal” before joining him in dance, made me a bit emotional. I remember watching Michael as a kid and feeling like he was just MAGIC. I wanted to be a part of the videos and I wanted to just be in his presence. That’s how much I looked up to and admired him. I suppose kids watching this episode back then and even kids who may come across it on Youtube now, might feel the same.

If you’d like to watch Rockin’ Through the Decades, here is the special in it’s entirety:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovNMU0dAqNg

3. The Simpsons 

If you didn't know already that Michael was a fan of The Simpsons, check out the end of the full version of his short film for "Black or White". Following the Panther Dance scene, the camera zooms out to reveal Bart Simpson watching the video in his living room. 

Michael approached the Simpsons with interest in being a guest star, calling producer James L. Brooks, pretty much out of the blue. His appearance was a little more complicated than the previous two on this list, although his involvement was much more significant. Initially, Michael wanted to voice a character and sing a song in the season 3 episode, “Stark Raving Dad” but couldn’t due to contractual obligations. So instead he voiced the character of Leon Kompowsky and wrote the song “Happy Birthday Lisa,” but tapped the voice talents of Kipp Lennon once again to perform the singing parts. 

Leon Kompowsky was a mental patient who, who thinks that he's Michael Jackson. His speaking voice IS Michael but, he takes it even further, referencing "Ben", "Billie Jean" and even moonwalking. 

Michael would only commit fully to doing the guest spot upon hearing a full table read through, according to Al Jean, who co-wrote the episode with Matt Reiss. Which is also important to note, had never happened before or since, in Simpsons history. In an article from a Vancouver Sun article from October 2009, Jean recalled the “Stark Raving Dad” project as “the most high pressure assignment of [his] life, except for doing the Simpsons movie”.  He remembered his brief encounter working with Michael on the episode fondly.

Michael's parts were recorded with little fanfare, as he arrived alone to the studio. Lennon recalled recording his scenes while Michael did his too and how amused Michael was with his vocal impersonation. Airing over a year after it was completed, “Stark Raving Dad” was received positively and did well in the Nielsen ratings. The episode aired on September 19th 1991 and Michael was credited under an alias for voicing the character, John Jay Smith. This was done because along with his request of a final table read, Michael also asked for his name not to be in the final credits. However, after its airing The Simposns team decided, that if a celebrity wanted to do a guest appearance, they must be credited using their real name.

After Michael's passing, "Stark Raving Dad" was played again on Fox Networks on July 5th, 2009 in tribute to him. 

It's still considered to be one of the top guest star appearances in Simpsons history.