So far, I've only blogged about table-top role-playing games. However, the movies and TV shows I watched as a child had a tremendous influence on the games I write and design. They remain some of my favorite sources of inspiration. So, we can call this subject RPG-adjacent.
Anyway, I asked ChatGPT the following question:
I'm midlife-crisis years old now, but when in I was kid growing up in the mid-1980's to early-1990's, many of the cartoon series I loved had an annoying, non-human, "little buddy" character. Even though I was the target audience, I always hated them. I know I wasn't alone! Slimer on "The Real Ghostbusters," Snarf on "Thundercats," Uni on "Dungeons & Dragons" . . .
Was one man responsible for this trend? One small group of people? Who the Hell thought these detestable characters were a good idea?
It replied:
There was a time when you could not turn on an action cartoon without encountering some tiny, squeaky, usually non-human creature whose apparent job was to spoil everything good about the show.
If you grew up in the mid-1980s through the early 1990s, you probably know the characters: Snarf on ThunderCats; Uni on Dungeons & Dragons; Orko on He-Man; Slimer on The Real Ghostbusters. Add T-Bob from M.A.S.K., Wheelie from Transformers, Kowl from She-Ra, and a small army of their helium-voiced cousins.
Which raises an interesting question: Who decided we needed them?
Exhibit A: Jules Bass.
Here's the closest thing I've found to a smoking gun.
In a February 7, 2002 fan-chat transcript, ThunderCats writer Peter Lawrence was asked whose idea Snarf had been. His answer was admirably straightforward:
“Snarf was invented by Jules Bass.”
Lawrence went on to explain that Bass wanted some light relief and believed that everybody loved a goofy animal sidekick.
There it is. Jules Bass, half of the legendary Rankin/Bass team, apparently looked at ThunderCats and thought it needed a furry, fretting little companion to lighten the mood. Ouch.
Exhibit B: Joseph Barbera and the Scrappy-Doo Precedent
Before the 1980s sidekick infestation, there was Scrappy-Doo, who debuted in 1979.
Cartoon writer Mark Evanier described the backstory in a series of firsthand posts on his blog, News From ME. Scooby-Doo was aging, ABC was contemplating cancellation, and Joseph Barbera wanted to revitalize the formula with a new character: Scooby's small, aggressive nephew.
According to Evanier's account, Barbera presented Scrappy as his own concept and hired Evanier to write the introductory episode. Evanier recalled that Scrappy became popular and boosted the show's ratings.
Pause on that for a moment. The addition of a little character wasn't just a creative experiment. It was a commercially successful way to extend the life of a cartoon.
That doesn't prove everyone else copied Scrappy. It does help explain why decision-makers might have viewed the tiny sidekick as a smart bet rather than an irritation.
Exhibit C: Filmation, Orko, and the Business of Being Cute
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe launched in 1983 with a muscular hero, sorcery, monsters, and a little floating magician who could barely perform magic without making a mess.
Orko wasn't in the original story bible written by Michael Halperin. In a 1998 interview, now preserved at He-Man.org, Halperin said Filmation created Orko partly because the production company had arranged to receive royalties when its newly invented cartoon characters became Mattel toys. He also described the character's purpose as a kind of court jester.
A separate 2013 interview with Mattel marketing director Mark Ellis reinforces the storytelling side: Filmation wanted comic relief, so it added characters like Orko, and the toy line then made room for them.
So with Orko, two incentives overlapped: the studio thought the story needed a clown, and original cartoon characters could also generate merchandise revenue. Lou Scheimer ran Filmation, though the available accounts don't establish that he personally invented Orko.
Exhibit D: Uni Was Literally Described as a “Mascot”
Uni, the little unicorn on Dungeons & Dragons, was particularly maddening to me because that show had a wonderful premise: a group of kids trapped in a dangerous fantasy world, fighting to get home. Why did we also need an adorable little creature bleating at them?
A transcription of a March 25, 1983 development document credited to Mark Evanier answers at least part of that question. It sets out Uni's role as Bobby's affectionate pet, describes her as cowardly but endearing, and explicitly says:
“Uni becomes a mascot.”
Not a misunderstanding by kids watching decades later. The role was written into the development material. That doesn't, by itself, tell us who first came up with Uni, but it does show how consciously the sidekick function was defined.
And here's the odd connection: Mark Evanier was involved in both Scrappy-Doo's introduction and Dungeons & Dragons. That isn't evidence of a secret mascot conspiracy. It is evidence of how small and interconnected the American TV-animation business was.
The Bigger Story: A Consulting Firm Called Q5
This is where the investigation stops being merely about goofy cartoon animals and starts sounding like corporate satire.
On September 3, 1987, journalist Diane Haithman published an extraordinary article in the Los Angeles Times: “How Image Makers Shape Kids' TV.”
It documented ABC's use of Q5 Corporation, a consulting company staffed by psychology, advertising, marketing and research professionals. Its mission was to help cartoons appeal more effectively to children. The company's president was Thomas J. Heinz; ABC's vice president of children's programming was Jennie Trias.
The consultants weren't merely counting how many kids watched each show. They made recommendations about characters, dialogue, presentation, and what children supposedly found appealing.
The newspaper's clearest example was The Real Ghostbusters. After input from Q5 and ABC, Janine was redesigned to look and behave more gently, and her relationship with Slimer was made warmer and more nurturing. The shift came with a move away from some of the show's more sophisticated jokes.
Writer J. Michael Straczynski, who had worked on the series, objected strongly. The Times reported that he felt the consultants were sanding away the quirks that made the characters interesting.
Further Reading & Original Sources
- Peter Lawrence fan-chat transcript (2002) — firsthand attribution of Snarf to Jules Bass.
- Mark Evanier, “Scrappy Days, Part One” and Part Two — firsthand accounts of Scrappy-Doo's development.
- Michael Halperin interview (originally 1998) and Mark Ellis interview (originally 2013) — why Filmation added Orko.
- Dungeons & Dragons series-bible transcription — development document dated March 25, 1983.
- Diane Haithman, “How Image Makers Shape Kids' TV”, Los Angeles Times, September 3, 1987 — reporting on Q5 Corporation and ABC.
I was of preschool age when I first saw Scrappy-Doo, Orko, and Snarf. I was indifferent to the first, liked the second, and hated the third. However, out of all of them, Slimer was the worst. He was somehow even more unbearable than Snarf and that's saying something!
