# Underdog (1964)

> A mild-mannered shoeshine boy becomes the rhyming super dog Underdog to rescue his love Sweet Polly Purebred from villains like Simon Bar Sinister.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/4727

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 129
- Episode runtime: 10 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: animation, comedy, family
- Created by: W. Watts Biggers
- Network: NBC
- Cast: Wally Cox, Sandy Becker, Kenny Delmar, George S. Irving, Mort Marshall, Norma MacMillan, Delo States, Ben Stone
- TMDB rating: 7.1/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060037/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: breezy, comforting, playful, campy, cheerful

## Synopsis

Underdog (1964-1967) is an American Saturday morning animated series created by W. Watts Biggers and broadcast on NBC before moving to CBS. Its gentle engine is simple: meek shoeshine boy Shoeshine Boy secretly transforms into the caped canine hero Underdog whenever his love Sweet Polly Purebred falls into the clutches of schemers such as Simon Bar Sinister or Riff Raff. Each short episode runs about ten minutes and follows the same reliable pattern of peril, transformation, and rescue, with the hero delivering his signature rhyming couplets. Voice cast members Wally Cox, Sandy Becker, and Kenny Delmar gave the show its playful sound. Set in a generic, storybook mid-century world, it has a cheerful, breezy, comforting register aimed squarely at young children. Its slapstick villains and oversincere heroics keep the tone light rather than frightening. Across three seasons and 129 episodes, the show became one of the early Saturday morning cartoons and stayed in syndication into the 1970s. Fans of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Super Friends, and Mighty Mouse will find the same kind of rescue-driven, pun-loving fun.

## Shows like Underdog

- [Earthworm Jim (1995)](https://ember.film/tv/6155)
- [Inspector Gadget (1983)](https://ember.film/tv/3836)
- [The Adventures of Batman (1968)](https://ember.film/tv/29233)
- [Richie Rich (1980)](https://ember.film/tv/2878)
- [Wacky Races (1968)](https://ember.film/tv/925)
- [Gumby (1956)](https://ember.film/tv/15537)
- [The Atom Ant Show (1965)](https://ember.film/tv/20434)
- [2 Stupid Dogs (1993)](https://ember.film/tv/1808)
- [Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (1969)](https://ember.film/tv/873)
- [The Bullwinkle Show (1959)](https://ember.film/tv/962)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt