(The Root) — Children of the '70s and in the decades that followed certainly remember the music of the immensely popular family singing group known as the Jackson Five: Tito, Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon and, of course, Michael. The brothers are perhaps lesser known for having their own cartoon series, Jackson 5ive.
On Jan. 15, DreamWorks Classics released Jackson 5ive: The Complete Animated Series, a complete collection of 23 episodes (including 46 original songs, such as "ABC") on DVD and Blu-ray. Fans of the real-life Jacksons or the animated ones can pick up the series at any major retailer.
The series ran during ABC's Saturday-morning cartoon block for just about a year, from September 1971 to October 1972. And nearly every episode centered on some adolescent problem that needed to be solved. As one might expect, the series also featured loads of great R&B-pop from the group that was woven into the fabric of each episode.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the series was a three-pronged effort. Motown Productions, the British animation company Halas and Batchelor, and Rankin/Bass Productions had a hand in getting it aired. The latter company created classic stop-motion animated TV seasonal specials such as Frosty the Snowman.
For more information, visit the Jackson 5ive website here.
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