| Snorks | |
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 Title card | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | Nic Broca |
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| Composer | Hoyt Curtin |
| Country of origin |
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| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 65 (108 segments + pilot episode)(list of episodes) |
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| Release | September 15, 1984 (1984-09-15) – March 15, 1989 (1989-03-15) |
Snorks is an animatedfantasy children's TV series created by Nic Broca and produced byHanna-Barbera Productions alongSEPP International S.A. in collaboration with3M France. It ran for a total of four seasons, consisting of a pilot episode and 65 episodes (108 segments), onNBC in the U.S. from September 15, 1984, to March 15, 1989. The program continued to be available insyndication from 1987 to 1989 as part ofThe Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera's third season.[1]
In 1977,Freddy Monnickendam, a Belgian businessman and artist, first made contact with the comics industry when he negotiated the rights for theSmurfs comics toFather Abraham. He later became the head ofSEPP, a branch ofDupuis, as an editor responsible for the merchandising of the Smurfs' comic series. Then he negotiated the contract betweenPeyo,NBC andHanna-Barbera for the creation of a newSmurfs cartoon series; Peyo wanted the show to be as faithful as possible to his original comics, but Monnickendam wanted it to be more mainstream and accessible. These negotiations would later result in a legal dispute between two people due to the division of the rights and the money involved. As a final result, Monnickendam decided to compete with the Smurfs' success, starting a new series of cartoons.
In June 1981,Nic Broca created the earlier character designs that were made for "Diskies", a very early iteration, made for the comic seriesSpirou & Fantasio.[2][3] While initially created as robot characters, they were developed into minute sea animals, and with funding fromPersil's Belgian branch, the very firstSnorks comic book was published in January 1982 by Broca himself.[4] Freddy Monnickendam, after battling with fellow Belgian cartoonist Peyo in court, searched for a series that could battle the success ofThe Smurfs, as he tried and failed to buy its rights since 1977. He acquired the Snorks' rights from Nic Broca, and both began a partnership with Hanna-Barbera for the production of this new animated series. After that, a three-minute Snorks pilot episode was then made for the TV network NBC, although it has not been seen by the public.
Snorks premiered on September 15, 1984, and ended on May 13, 1989. It aired for five years. Unlike Freddy Monnickendam had hoped, he was unable to take the Snorks' success to the same heights asThe Smurfs, which resulted on the end of his partnership with Broca, and finally, the disbanding of SEPP. Although the Snorks' success was limited, the animated TV show gained fans worldwide, making appearances in popular culture and gaining several product lines.[5]
The Snorks are a tribe of small, colorful anthropomorphic sea creatures that live in the fictional Mediterranean undersea realm of Snorkland. They havesnorkels on their heads, which are used to propel them quickly through the water.[6][7]
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| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| Pilot | 1982 (1982) | |||
| 1 | 13 | September 15, 1984 (1984-09-15) | December 15, 1984 (1984-12-15) | |
| 2 | 10 | September 14, 1985 (1985-09-14) | December 21, 1985 (1985-12-21) | |
| 3 | 13 | September 12, 1987 (1987-09-12) | December 15, 1987 (1987-12-15) | |
| 4 | 29 | September 12, 1988 (1988-09-12) | March 15, 1989 (1989-03-15) | |
Snorks ran for a total of four seasons, consisting of a pilot episode and 65 episodes (108 segments), onNBC in the U.S. from September 15, 1984, to March 15, 1989. The program continued to be available insyndication from 1987 to 1989 as part ofThe Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera's third season.[1]
In the 1990s, it aired on both USA Network and Cartoon Network in the U.S.
From 2001 until 2014, it also aired on CN's spin-off channel Boomerang.
In some other country around Europe, it aired on ITV, RTL, MTV3, TF1, Italia 1, VARA, and Cartoon Network Scandinavia.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment's vintage DVD video lineWarner Archive releasedSnorks: The Complete First Season on DVD in Region 1 on September 25, 2012 as part of theirHanna-Barbera Classic Collection label. The release is available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.[8] In addition, 39 episodes have been released onHulu per a distribution agreement withContent Media Corporation. Warner Archive releasedSnorks: The Complete Second Season on DVD in region 1 on July 7, 2015,[9] and laterSnorks: The Complete Third and Fourth Seasons on December 6, 2016.[10]
| DVD name | Ep # | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| The Complete First Season | 13 | September 25, 2012 |
| The Complete Second Season | 10 | July 7, 2015 |
| The Complete Third and Fourth Seasons | 42 | December 6, 2016 |
As of 2025, it never streamed onHBO Max because of lawsuits and trademark.
