The Super Globetrotters
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this vintage cartoon can be a little incoherent -- perhaps not surprising, considering that every episode requires the villain to be defeated in some way that includes a basketball game. Although the content is tame, very young children aren't likely to "get" it.
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What's the Story?
The Globetrotters were a cultural phenomenon in the 1970s, and a phenomenal basketball team in their own unique way. In that era, it was inevitable that they'd become the stars of a crime-fighting superhero cartoon. In every episode, the teammates appear first as their non-super selves in a Globetrotter context -- a game at the White House, for example. Then the CrimeGlobe alerts them to some nefarious plan, and the break out their individual super powers, ranging from the memorable Sphere Man (a wildly strong human basketball) to Gizmo Man, whose giant afro contained every gadget needed to carry out any crazy scheme. In the end, their basketball skills combined with their powers to save the day.
Is It Any Good?
Any child who likes basketball and superheroes is going to get at least something of a kick out of THE SUPER GLOBETROTTERS. The wildly antic basketball games in most episodes add something different and fun to the usual superhero-gang set-up (although anyone who's seen the Globetrotters live or even on television will want nothing more than to show their kid how much more fun the real thing was). Compared to today's similar offerings, The Super Globetrotters is mild and even sweet, with its laughable villains, implausible violence, and bad one-liners, and completely age-appropriate for young grade-schoolers.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the original Globetrotters and how they came to be turned into cartoon characters. Can you think of any other real people or TV characters from live shows that have become cartoons? What things can cartoon characters do that real people can't?
TV Details
- Premiere date: September 22, 1979
- Cast: Buster Jones, Scatman Crothers, Stu Gilliam
- Network: Boomerang
- Genre: Kids' Animation
- Topics: Superheroes
- TV rating: TV-G
- Last updated: March 30, 2022
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