The Amazing 3 (1965)

 

Here's a rather unknown to the general public cartoon brought over from Japan in the wake of Astro Boy.  It was dubbed by Copri in Florida, and is pretty straightforward, like the other Japanese cartoon series they dubbed.  The basis is that three agents from Galactic Control are sent to Earth to see if the planet will be saved or destroyed.  They take the form of three animals, a duck with a Beatles hair cut, a horse and a rabbit.  They make friends with an Earthling named Kenny/Shinichi.  They help him and his secret agent brother Randy/Koichi defeat a host of vile villains over 52 episodes.  Then the moment of decision is upon them.

This is an interesting cartoon, with a good set up and lots of fun adventures.  It was shot in black and white, which could have been part of it's relative obscurity.  Kimba had already debuted in color, and by the mid-60s that was almost a requirement for new shows.  Somehow, 30 of the dubbed episodes survive, though they are not in pristine shape.  Some enterprising fans have subtitled about 5 episodes, which gives one a pretty good overview of the series.  Somewhere out there in the country could be a storage unit with all the negatives of the show.  We may never know.