Tales from the Cryptkeeper | |
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Genre | Animated, horror comedy, fantasy, science fiction, |
Developed by | Libby Hinson Ben Joseph |
Directed by | Laura Shepherd |
Starring |
John Kassir (voice) Elizabeth Hanna (voice) David Hemblen (voice) |
Country of origin | Canada France United States |
Original language(s) | English French |
No. of seasons | 3 |
No. of episodes | 39 |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) |
Robert Zemeckis Joel Silver Richard Donner David Giler Walter Hill |
Producer(s) |
Michael Hirsh Patrick Loubert Patricia R. Burns |
Editor(s) | Rick Hickson Glenn Lewis |
Running time | 22 minutes |
Production company(s) |
EC Comics Nelvana Limited Fantome Animation (Season 3) |
Distributor | Warner Bros. Television Distribution |
Release | |
Original network |
Canada YTV (1993–1994) Teletoon (1999–2000) United States ABC (1993–1994) CBS (1999–2000) |
Original release | September 18, 1993 | – October 25, 2000
Tales from the Cryptkeeper is an animated series aimed at children made by Nelvana Limited. It was shown on YTV in Canada and on ABC in the United States. In Canada, it still airs re-runs near Halloween on Teletoon. It was based on the live-action television show, Tales from the Crypt, which aired concurrently on HBO. Tales from the Cryptkeeper was aimed at children and this series was significantly milder than the live-action HBO version and all blood and gore were completely omitted in order to target the audience.
Most of the episodes take place within the fictional city of Gravenhurst, California, with a population of 55,232 people (this is established in episode #10 - "The Gorilla's Paw")
The series was cancelled on December 10, 1994. In 1999, the show returned to the air as New Tales from the Cryptkeeper. The animation was different from that of the previous episodes and it switched over to Teletoon in Canada, and also switched to CBS in the United States.
In this season, the Cryptkeeper was continually feuding with his , the Vaultkeeper and the Old Witch, who were continually trying to steal the show from him (as they didn't have one of their own), only to have their plans backfire on them. This season also saw the Cryptkeeper in different locales than his mansion, as he tried to elude his rivals.
Season three was the final season of the series and aired in 1999. It was the only season to not air on YTV in Canada and ABC in the United States. Instead, Tales from the Cryptkeeper aired on Teletoon in Canada and on CBS in the United States. Due to the adoption of a content ratings system and new FCC regulations over more educational content in children's cartoons in the United States, the third season aired with a TV-Y7 rating and an E/I badge (signifying that the show has educational content) at the beginning of the episode for the nation. Also, each episode has a moral that the characters learn the hard way, thanks to The Cryptkeeper interacting with the characters (such as posing as a store clerk in one episode) in the beginning of the episode. The animation quality in this season, is considerably lower than the first two.