MoonDreamers

MoonDreamers
GenreAdventure
Fantasy
Sci-fi
Musical
Animation
Family
Magical girl
Created byJackie Waterman McLoughlin
Written byCynthia Friedlob
John Semper
Betty G. Birney
Evelyn Gabai
Lainy Morriss
Nancy Jane Batchelder
Ellen Guon
Chuck Lorre
Voices ofPeter Cullen
Jennifer Darling
Elizabeth Lyn Fraser
Melanie Gaffin
Robin Kaufman
Tress MacNeille
Clive Revill
Neil Ross
Theme music composerFord Kinder
Anne Bryant
ComposerRobert J. Walsh
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes16
Production
Running time11 minutes
Production companiesHasbro
Sunbow Productions
Marvel Productions
Original release
NetworkSyndication
ReleaseSeptember 25, 1986 (1986-09-25) –
January 8, 1987 (1987-01-08)

MoonDreamers is an American short-lived animated television series that aired in 1986 as part of the My Little Pony 'n Friends lineup.

My Little Pony aired the first 15 minutes and the second half rotated among MoonDreamers, Potato Head Kids and The Glo Friends,[1] all of which promoted toys from Hasbro.

Plot

The Moondreamers are a group of celestial people who create and deliver pleasant dreams to Earth children. Their main enemy is the evil Queen Scowlene who attempts to keep everyone awake at night with her nightmare crystals.

Characters

  • Crystal Starr (voiced by Tress MacNeille) - The protagonist of the series, who leads the Moondreamers and designs the stars.
  • Whimzee (voiced by B.J. Ward) - A Moondreamer who uses her imagination to create dreams for Dreamcasting.
  • Celeste - Her job is to ride on Galaxia and bring nighttime to earth so that dreams can begin to be sent out.
    • Galaxia - Celeste's magical space dragon with feather-like wings.
  • Sparky Dreamer - A brainy MoonDreamer who is often stuck fixing the mistakes of the other Moondreamers.
  • Dream Gazer (voiced by Jennifer Darling) - The eldest MoonDreamer, she is considerably older than the other members and is the wisest. She has a star tattooed over her left eye and has a very wistful voice. She stirs all the different ingredients that make dreams into a secret recipe called the imagination combination.
  • Bucky Buckaroo (voiced by Adam Carl) - A Moondreamer who takes the dream crystals to the stars on his favourite comet, Halley. In "Bucky's Comet", he's shown to have a crush on Crystal.
  • Blinky and Bitsy (voiced by Robin Kaufman and Elizabeth Lyn Fraser) - Two little Moondreamers in training, they are young girls who want to help the Moondreamers, but often get in the way. Blinky is quite outgoing while Bitsy is shown to be very shy.
  • Frolic - A Starfinder who explores the uncharted universe. He is accompanied by a peacock named Fluffin.
  • Stardust - A Starfinder who looks for lonely planets that need stars. He is accompanied by a ram named Hornsby.
  • Dawn - A Sunfinder who searches for the sun to start the morning. He is accompanied by a rabbit named Bunnyhop.
  • Dusky - A Sunfinder who places the sun at the spot where it is supposed to set. He is accompanied by a dog named Sunscout.
  • Sundazzle - A Sunsparkler who polishes the sun.
  • Fundreamer - A Sunsparkler who creates happy dreams for children.
  • Daystar - A Sunsparkler who supervises every sunny day.
  • Cloudpuff - A Sunsparkler who makes the designs of the clouds.
  • Ursa Minor (voiced by Melanie Gaffin) - Ursa Major's mischievous niece.

Villains

  • Queen Scowlene (voiced by Tress MacNeille) - The primary antagonist of the series who lives in Monstrous Middle. She is the mother of Scowlette. Scowlene hasn't slept a wink and has plans to take over Starry Up so that she could keep everyone up at night. In "The Poobah of Pontoon," it is revealed that Scowlene's older brother is the Poobah of Pontoon making him Scowlette's uncle.
  • Princess Scowlette - The daughter of Queen Scowlene, who seems to be about the same age as Whimzee and lives with her mother. She often tries to destroy the Moondreamers in order to impress her mother, though it never works out.
  • Professor Grimace (voiced by Clive Revill) - A mad scientist who helps Queen Scowlene with her plans by inventing machines that would go horribly wrong.
    • Igon (voiced by Peter Cullen) - A three-legged troll-like creature who acts as Professor Grimace's lab assistant.
  • Sleep Creeps - The minions of Queen Scowlene.
    • Shiner - A Sleep Creep who wakes children with his flashlight.
    • Creaky - A Sleep Creep who fills the night with creaks and groans.
    • Squawker (voiced by Tress MacNeille) - A Sleep Creep who makes loud noises that keep people awake.

Episodes

# Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Moondreamer Pt. 1"UnknownJohn Semper, Cynthia FriedlobSeptember 25, 1986 (1986-09-25)
Two Star Children named Blinky and Bitsy want to be Moondreamers, but then Scowlene and her Sleep Creeps attack.
2"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Moondreamer Pt. 2"UnknownJohn Semper, Cynthia FriedlobOctober 2, 1986 (1986-10-02)
The Moondreamers defeat Scowlene and Blinky and Bitsy earn their place as Moondreamers.
3"All In a Night's Sleep"UnknownBetty BirneyOctober 9, 1986 (1986-10-09)
Stumbles the Snoozer falls off the Dreamalong Drifter and onto Earth where he uncovers a sinister plot by Queen Scowlene.
4"The Star of Stars"UnknownAstrid Ryterband, John Semper, Cynthia FriedlobOctober 16, 1986 (1986-10-16)
The Moondreamers go on a quest to find their original base called the Star of Stars, but Queen Scowlene has taken control of it.
5"The Poobah of Pontoon"UnknownNancy Jane Batchelder, John Semper, Cynthia FriedlobOctober 23, 1986 (1986-10-23)
Queen Scowlene's older brother the incredibly fat Poobah of Pontoon returns and becomes Monstrous Middle's king. Due to Roary unknowingly stopping the Sleep Creeps earlier, Queen Scowlene and Scowlette plan to have the Poobah of Pontoon take Roary.
6"The Dreamkin"UnknownEllen Guon, John Semper, Cynthia FriedlobOctober 30, 1986 (1986-10-30)
A strange creature called the Dreamkin comes to life and Whimzee is sad to see it go.
7"Minor Problems"UnknownEvelyn GabaiNovember 6, 1986 (1986-11-06)
Ursa Minor flies into Sparky Dreamer's new machine and is cloned. Both sides have problems caused by the Ursas.
8"Igon the Terrible"UnknownBob Smith, Barry O'BrienNovember 13, 1986 (1986-11-13)
After being sent on a vacation to the Frightful Forest by Queen Scowlene for accidentally wrecking Professor Grimace's Anti-MoonDreamer Beamer, Igon ends up befriending a giant Gundar named Hebo after saving him from a volcano. As a favor to Hebo, Igon uses him to get revenge on Queen Scowlene and plans to take Starry Up for himself.
9"Stuck on Bucky"UnknownEvelyn Gabai, John Semper, Cynthia FriedlobNovember 20, 1986 (1986-11-20)
Sparky and Bucky use Galactic Glue and get stuck on each other. They must work together to foil an evil Scowlette invasion.
10"The Dreamnapping"UnknownChuck Lorre, John Semper, Cynthia FriedlobNovember 27, 1986 (1986-11-27)
A girl gets pulled into a dream by Queen Scowlene.
11"Bucky's Comet"UnknownBetty BirneyDecember 4, 1986 (1986-12-04)
Bucky wants Crystal Starr to think he's special, so he lassos a comet with Professor Grimace and Igon inside.
12"Dreamland Express"UnknownMark McClellan, John Semper, Cynthia FriedlobDecember 11, 1986 (1986-12-11)
N/A
13"Whimzee, Come Home!"UnknownBetty BirneyDecember 18, 1986 (1986-12-18)

Whimzee is afraid she has lost her imagination, so she goes to a world and battles a imagination demon.

Note: This is the only Moondreamers episode that does not feature Queen Scowlene.
14"Zodies on the Loose"UnknownKathy Selbert, John Semper, Cynthia FriedlobDecember 25, 1986 (1986-12-25)
Scowlene sets all the Zodiacs in the Blue Zoo loose, and it's up to Celeste and Galaxia to stop them all.
15"The Night Mare Pt. 1"UnknownLainy Morriss, John Semper, Cynthia FriedlobJanuary 1, 1987 (1987-01-01)
When Blinky and Bitsy are looking after a Starhorse named Andromeda at the Blue Zoo, the Starhorse falls into Monstrous Middle. Meanwhile, a horse-hating boy named Timmy falls into there.
16"The Night Mare Pt. 2"UnknownLainy Morriss, John Semper, Cynthia FriedlobJanuary 8, 1987 (1987-01-08)
Andromeda transforms into a Night Mare in Monstrous Middle and is captured by Scowlene, now it's up to Timmy, Blinky and Bitsy to save the day; Scowlene says "Timmy would like horses again" as the story ends.

Cast

Crew

Reception

  • 1988 Nominee Young Artist Award
    • Best Animation Voice Over Group
    • Elisabeth Fraser ('Bitsy')
    • Melanie Gaffin ('Ursa Minor')
    • Robin Kaufman ('Blinkie')
  • 1988 Nominee Young Artist Award
    • Best Animation Series or Special for Family Viewing

References

  1. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 575–576. ISBN 978-1476665993.