Collection: The Beatles Cartoon Biography and Art Gallery Collection

The Beatles Cartoons ran from 1965 to 1969 on American Broadcasting in the US (only 1965 to 1967 was first run; all later transmissions were reruns). The series debuted on September 25, 1965 and ended on September 7, 1969. A total of 39 episodes were produced. The Beatles Cartoon series was shown on Saturday mornings at 10:30 AM EST until the 1967 third season when it was moved to 12:00 PM EST. Each episode has a name of a Beatles song, so the story is based on its lyrics and it is also played at some time in the episode. The original series was rebroadcast in syndication by MTV in 1986 and 1987 and on the Disney Channel. The Beatles Cartoon series was a historical milestone as the first weekly television series to feature animated versions of real, living people.

The iconic band from Liverpool, England, The Beatles, earlier on called The Quarrymen, were founded in 1957, by High School students and friends, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The much younger guitarist George Harrison, who had been hanging around and playing with the band, finally earned his way in a bit later. In 1960, The Quarrymen became The Beatles and added drummer Pete Best and bassist Stuart Sutcliffe before heading to Hamburg for several months of demanding gigs. Upon their return, the band members, save for Sutcliffe, who had left the band for art school gigged around Merseyside and caught the attention of local record store manager Brian Epstein, who offered to become the band's manager. Epstein got the band signed with Parlophone and coaxed them out of their leather jackets and into their signature tailored suits, ties, and mop-tops. At this time, Pete Best was ousted from the group and replaced by Ringo Starr.

The single "Please Please Me" established the group in the UK and they crossed the pond with "I Want to Hold Your Hand." What followed in the years after was Beatles mania in its purest form: No. 1 single after No. 1 single and screaming fans that drowned out the band playing at live shows. The Beatles cemented their image with the cheeky musical comedy "A Hard Day's Night" and continued to release albums and singles that were both innovative and popular. With "Revolver," the band added string quartets, Eastern-influenced sounds, and more complex lyrics and arrangements; "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" pushed into psychedelic; "The White Album," mostly written while the band was taking a course in transcendental meditation in India, took their songwriting to new heights. The Beatles recorded subsequent albums amid growing tension and disagreement over how to run the band. The final album to be recorded, "Abbey Road," appeared in 1969 and "Let It Be," which was recorded prior to "Abbey Road," came out in 1970, just two weeks after Paul McCartney released a solo album and announced that he was leaving the band.

Jon Blosdale is the owner/artist for the DenniLu Company, an animation art company that is officially licensed by Apple Corps Ltd. to manufacture and market animation art of the original 1960’s Beatles "Saturday Morning Cartoon" series and Yellow Submarine. Prior to getting involved with the Beatles animation art, Jon Blosdale had a career behind the scenes in film and television as a producer and production manager. Throughout his producing career, Jon has worked with Robert Conrad’s television company, director Charlie Matthau and on a variety of commercials. In 1998, utilizing his parent’s names (Dennis and Lucette), Jon formed the DenniLu Company and traded in his 20 year career in film and TV production for a new start in the computer graphics business. Six years later in 2004, the DenniLu Company signed a licensing contract with Apple Corps Ltd. and has since added Yellow Submarine animation art to his company's offering.