Animated Hero Classics

Synopsis

Animated Hero Classics is an educational Animated television series of programs co-produced by Nest Family Entertainment and Warner Bros. The series, geared toward elementary school aged children, includes twenty biographies of both female and male scientists, inventors, explorers, and social champions from around Europe, North America and the Middle East, including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Florence Nightingale, Harriet Tubman, Joan of Arc, Benjamin Franklin, Helen Keller, Marco Polo, Marie Curie and Louis Pasteur. The Children's Television Act of 1990 required terrestrial television networks to devote time to Educational and Informative programming for children. Even though Warner Bros' cable networks were not directly affected by these requirements, these programs were debuted on their HBO network's Saturday morning children's block as a show of good faith that the network was committed to quality educational programming for children. The dramatic biographies were meticulously researched by the producers and written to engage both children and adults, providing an entertaining and accessible way to learn about the positive impact that these women and men have had on our world.

First Air Date: 1991-06-01

Last Air Date: 2005-01-01

Number of Seasons: 2

Number of Episodes: 20

Created By: Richard Rich

Networks: HBO

View Technical Specifications on IMDb

Top Cast

Ray Porter as Narrator (voice)
Mark Hunt as Duke of Milan / Monk (voice)
William Dennis Hunt as Ludwig van Beethoven as an old man (voice)
Brian Nissen as Santos-Dumont (voice)
U. Jonathan Toppo as Minister of Agriculture (voice)
Dion Luther as Giovanni Francesco Sagredo (voice)
Joe Lynch as Talavera (voice)
Sheryl Taub as Queen Isabella (voice)
Paul O'Connor as Sumner (voice)
Hugh Dignon as Charles Lee (voice)

Seasons

Season 1 (1991)

No overview available for this season.

Episodes:

Ep. 1: Christopher Columbus (1991-06-01)

While the whole world sailed east on the path to find China, Columbus believed it could be reached in two weeks… by sailing west! Finally, after securing the support of Queen Isabella of Spain, Columbus set sail. After three weeks of sailing and no sight of land, his crew threatened mutiny. At the moment when all seemed lost and Columbus considered turning back, land was discovered. Columbus realized his dream and America was discovered.
Ep. 2: William Bradford: The First Thanksgiving

William Bradford fled with the Pilgrims to the new world, where he discovered that the price for religious freedom was hunger, sickness and death. As a peacemaker, he befriended the Native Americans who taught the struggling Pilgrims how to survive. By the end of the first year, William Bradford became Governor of the new land. After their first critical harvest, he set aside time for the Pilgrims and their new Native American friends to feast together and express their thanks to God. Thus, William Bradford became the Father of Thanksgiving Day.
Ep. 3: George Washington

George Washington, “The father of America,” comes to life in this remarkable story about his extraordinary accomplishments as a military leader. Retrace Washington’s steps from “the shot heard ’round the world” at Lexington to the dark days of Valley Forge. Follow his contributions to the forming of a new nation and final peace in 1783. This inspiring tale shows Washington at his best—courageous, determined, humble, brave, and patriotic.
Ep. 4: Benjamin Franklin

High into the stormy sky, a kite with iron points bobs in the wind. Suddenly, lightning cuts through the sky and a spark emits from the key attached to the kite string. As Ben Franklin watched the lightning in Philadelphia’s night sky, he came up with a brilliant discovery—one that would change the world forever. Now, through this remarkable story, you can join this remarkable scientist, inventor and statesman as he rewrites human history because of his experiments with electricity.
Ep. 5: Abraham Lincoln

Over a century ago, only one man stood in the way of the disintegration of the United States of America—and he was a gangly, storytelling country lawyer from Illinois with no political experience at the national level. And yet by the sheer force of his will and his uncompromising stand on critical issues, Abraham Lincoln not only saved the nation but carved out an immortal place in world history. This fascinating story inspires viewers with the life of America’s most beloved president.
Ep. 6: Thomas Edison

Never was genius more fun! Thomas Edison opens up the laboratory of America’s most celebrated inventor and invites you to explore its secrets. This fast-paced, bird’s eye view of Edison’s legendary career takes you to behind the scenes to reveal the daily discoveries with “the Wizard of Menlo Park.” Sprinkled with humor and packed with little-known details about the search for a working electric light bulb, this story will help you see for yourself why Edison quipped, “Genius is about one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”
Ep. 7: Florence Nightingale

It was the height of the Crimean War, and English soldiers were wounded and dying by the hundreds. The shocking conditions of British field hospitals only worsened potential recovery. Into these rat and flea-infested facilities stepped a woman of uncompromising convictions, great patience and an iron will. When Florence Nightingale, “The Lady of the Lamp,” arrived on the scene, the science and practice of nursing soon changed all over the world, forever.
Ep. 8: Pocahontas

Except for the raw courage of Native American princess, Pocahontas, the English settlers at Jamestown in the early 17th century would have died from starvation and exposure. Her brave intervention saved the settlers’ lives and brought peace between two very different peoples. Recapture all the drama and suspense that filled the early days of America’s colonization. History comes alive as you meet an inquisitive girl who grows into a great ambassador for peace.
Ep. 9: Louis Pasteur (1995-04-04)

The time is 1860, and cholera is beginning to spread throughout France's chicken population. Louis Pasteur and his assistant, Emile Roux, collect samples and deduce that disease can be transmitted through air. They then draw blood from the chickens and see an unidentified germ in the specimens. While Pasteur and Roux work with the samples of blood, Pasteur has a debilitating stroke. From his bed, he expresses his determination to live, and continues to work with Roux by writing him notes. He tells Roux to inject the chickens with the contaminated blood. The chickens die. When Pasteur finally comes back to the laboratory, they discover the blood has altered from time. When they inject this blood into the chickens again, the cholera germs are killed.They have created a vaccination for the chickens. Meanwhile, sheep begin to die from anthrax. Even though other scientists mock Pasteur's findings, they agree to let him experiment on 25 sheep...
Ep. 10: Maccabees: The Story of Hanukkah

Journey to Palestine of the second century B.C., where Antiochus, a Syrian-Greek king, rules over the people of Israel, confronting them with a trying test of their faith. They must bow down and accept the Greek gods…or die! Some submit, but not the Maccabees, a small group true to the faith of their fathers. The spirit and determination of the Maccabees lives today in the celebration of Hanukkah, The Feast of Lights.