Pac-Man is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and based on the Namco video game franchise of the same title. It premiered on ABC and ran for 44 episodes over two seasons from September 25, 1982, to November 5, 1983. It was the first cartoon based on a video game. It was the highest-rated Saturday morning cartoon show in the US during late 1982. Upon its debut, it was watched by an audience of over 20 million children in the US, in addition to adults. The show also inspired the 1984 arcade game Pac-Land.

Plot

The show follows the adventures of the title character, Pac-Man, his wife Pepper Pac-Man (Ms. Pac-Man), their child Pac-Baby, their dog Chomp-Chomp and their cat Sour Puss. The family lives in Pac-Land, a place in which the geography and architecture seem to revolve primarily around sphere-like shapes. Most episodes of the series center around the ongoing battle between the Pac family and their only known enemies, the Ghost Monsters: Inky, Blinky, Pinky, Clyde, and Sue. They work for Mezmaron, whose sole mission is to locate and control the source of "Power Pellets", which serve as the primary food and power source for the city, and also is the deus ex machina in virtually every episode. The second (and final) season later introduces Super-Pac and Pac-Man's teenage cousin P.J.

Production

During his time working as a theatrical agent, Marty Ingels was handling calls on behalf of his client Robert Culp. After briefly being disconnected, Ingles attempts to re-establish contact connected him by accident to Hanna-Barbera executive Gordon Hunt who exclaimed "We got the rights to Pac-Man!" In response, Ingles was left confused as to what Pac-Man was, initially thinking it was a luggage company. After going into his pitch for Culp, Hunt interrupted Ingles to compliment him on his New York accented voice, which led to Hunt offering Ingles the voice of Pac-Man after sampling approximately 173,000 other voices.

Influence

The show's initial success inspired ABC's rival CBS to create Saturday Supercade, which featured other video game characters from the golden age of video arcade games. Some of the next Namco games were based on or influenced by the cartoon. Pac-Land and Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures are major examples. Also, the Tengen release of the original Pac-Man arcade game for the Nintendo Entertainment System features box art based on the cartoon. The show is also seen as setting the stage for other animated series of the 1980s that would adapt not only video games, but other franchises including toys.

Controversy

As the first season aired, scenes of Pac-Man "chomping" the Ghost Monsters and being "chomped" himself were considered too "violent". These scenes were toned down in subsequent episodes to provide less direct scenes of the characters "chomping" one another.

Voice cast

Main

Additionals

Episodes

Season 1 (1982)

Aired as part of The Pac-Man/Little Rascals/Richie Rich Show.

Season 2 (1983)

Aired as part of The Pac-Man/Rubik, the Amazing Cube Hour.

Specials

Pac-Man Halloween Special

The Halloween special consisted of two segments from the show, "Pacula" and "Trick or Chomp". The special aired during Saturday morning programming on ABC on October 30, 1982. It has been replayed on channels like Cartoon Network and Boomerang during Halloween in later years until 2014.

Christmas Comes to Pac-Land

In this Christmas special, Pac-Man and his family help Santa Claus (voiced by Peter Cullen) after he crash lands in Pac-Land (after the reindeer were startled by the floating eyes of the Ghost Monsters after Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and Pac-Baby chomped them). Mezmeron was the only character from the cartoon that is not in the special (although his lair, which is covered in snow, appears). It was shown every December on the Boomerang Christmas Party until 2014.

Broadcast history

Pac-Man aired on ABC Saturday Morning in the following formats: Since the original run, reruns have turned up on the USA Cartoon Express on USA in the 1980s, Cartoon Network from 1995 to 1999, and Boomerang from 2000 to 2014. The Christmas-themed episode aired each year as part of The Boomerang Christmas Party, an annual marathon of classic Christmas cartoons, but is no longer seen on the channel's rotation. In the United Kingdom it was first Broadcast on TVAM as a part of the Roland Rat show.

Home media

In 1982, Worldvision Home Video Inc. (under Rainbow Products Ltd.) distributed a Pac-Man and Family VHS in Australia (catalogue number RCV 9019) and featured the episodes, Pacula, Trick or Chomp, Super Ghosts, The Pac-Man in the Moon, Invasion of the Pac-Pups, and Journey to the Center of Pacland. In 1988, the special Christmas Comes to Pacland received a VHS release in the United States. In 2012, Warner Archive released both seasons of Pac-Man on DVD in region 1 as part of their Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection. The first season was released on January 31, followed by the release of the second season on September 11. The Christmas themed episode is included on the Season 2 DVD despite airing during the show's first season. Despite Warner Bros. Discovery holding a majority of the rights to Hanna–Barbera, this program is not available on Max. However, the series has been airing on WBD's WB TV FAST channel Cartoon Rewind on Amazon's Freevee since April 2024. It's also available for purchase on the Xbox Live Marketplace.