Get Along Gang, The (CBS 1984, Don Messick, Frank Welker)

Like The Care Bears, this series was based on characters featured in a line of children’s books and greeting cards. The gang was composed of a variety of animals, all of whom seemed to be in their early teens. The basic message of The Get-Along Gang was that even though people—or rather animals—are different, they can all still ‘get along’.

Each character possessed a certain character flaw that often hampered his or her friendships. Woolma Lamb, for example, was extremely vain, while Dotty Dog could be very careless. Even Montgomery Moose, the de facto leader of the group, was known to be clumsy at times. Nevertheless, by the end of each episode, the gang would naturally overcome their differences and realize how lucky they were to have each other.

The gang often came up against opposition from truly unfriendly characters, like Catchum Crocodile and Leland Lizard. Why reptiles always portrayed the villains on the show was never explained. Aren’t reptiles ‘people’ too?

While the premise of the series seemed simple, the message was often a powerful one. The Get-Along Gang became popular enough to spawn a line of figures based on the characters, in addition to running two years on CBS before beginning its run in syndication.

The pilot for the series featured voice talents such as SCTV’s Dave Thomas and a theme song by John Sebastian.

production details
USA | CBS | 14×22 minutes | Broadcast from 15 September 1984

Creators: Andy Heyward, Jean Chalopin
Theme Music: John Sebastian

voice cast
Scott Menville
Don Messick
Nicky Katt
Sparky Marcus
Frank Welker
Timothy Gibbs
Chuck McCann
Georgi Irene
Bettina Bush
Sherry Lynn