Tom of T.H.U.M.B.

*Tom of T.H.U.M.B.*
Tom of T.H.U.M.B.
Also known as	Tom Thumb
Japanese name
Kanji	キングコング⅐親指トム
Revised Hepburn
Transcriptions
Revised Hepburn	Kingu Kongu 00+1⁄7 Oyayubi Tomu
Genre	Science fiction comedy
Based on	Tom Thumb; by English folklore
Voices of	Carl Banas; Susan Conway; John Drainie; Billie Mae Richards; Alf Scopp; Paul Soles; Bernard Cowan
Theme music composer	Maury Laws
Countries of origin	United States; Canada; Japan
Original languages	English; Japanese
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	25
Production
Executive producers	Arthur Rankin Jr.; Jules Bass
Producers	William J. Keenan; Larry Roemer
Running time	28 minutes (regular episodes); 56 minutes (special episode)
Production companies	Videocraft International; Toei Animation
Original release
Network	ABC (United States); NET (Japan)
Release	September 6, 1966 –; March 4, 1967

Tom of T.H.U.M.B. (Japanese: 001/7おや指トム, lit. '001/7 Tom's Thumb'). is an American anime-influenced animated series produced by Videocraft International (later Rankin/Bass) of North America, and Toei Animation of Japan. ABC would run the series in the United States on Saturday mornings between September 6, 1966, and March 4, 1967, as it was bundled with The King Kong Show.^[1]^[2]

Synopsis

A parody of spy films of the 1960s called Tom of T.H.U.M.B. (based on the character in English folklore 'Tom Thumb'), about a secret agent for T.H.U.M.B. (short for Tiny Human Underground Military Bureau) named Tom and his Asian sidekick Swinging Jack, who are accidentally reduced by a shrinking laser ray gun to 3 in (76 mm) tall.^[3] The pair are sent out in a variety of miniature vehicles by their bad-tempered boss Chief Homer J. Chief to foil the fiendish plots of M.A.D. (short for Maladjusted, Anti-social and Darn mean), an evil organization made up of black-hatted and black-cloaked scientists "bent on destroying the world for their own gains".

Plot

One day, Tom is sweeping in the laboratory, he then falls down the stairs and is recovered by his Asian sidekick Swinging Jack (simply Jack in the Japanese version). The two are accidentally zapped with a raygun, shrinking them to 3 in (76 mm) tall.^[4]

The pair become agents of the miniature bureau of T.H.U.M.B. (the Tiny Human Underground Military Bureau) by their bad-tempered boss Chief Homer J. Chief to foil the plots of M.A.D. (Maladjusted, Anti-social and Darn mean), who are an agency of black-hatted and black-coated villains determined to destroy the world for their gains.

Characters

Tom (トム)

Voice: Carl Banas, Japanese voice: Shinsuke Chikaishi

Head of T.H.U.M.B., him and Swinging Jack were shrunken.

Swinging Jack (ジャック)

Japanese voice: Shun Yashiro

Tom's Asian sidekick, who was also shrunken.

References

↑ "KING KONG Cartoon Series Guide". www.scifijapan.com. Retrieved 2026-01-05.
↑ Eury, Michael (2007). Comics Gone Ape! The Missing Link to Primates in Comics.
↑ Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 250. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
↑ Wesley Hyatt (1997). The encyclopedia of daytime television. Internet Archive. Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0-8230-8315-2.

[1] "KING KONG Cartoon Series Guide". www.scifijapan.com. Retrieved 2026-01-05.

[2] Eury, Michael (2007). Comics Gone Ape! The Missing Link to Primates in Comics.

[Daytime-3] Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 250. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved 19 March 2020.

[4] Wesley Hyatt (1997). The encyclopedia of daytime television. Internet Archive. Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0-8230-8315-2.

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