Seinfeld, The Animated Series

Did you know that some people never knew about the Seinfeld cartoon?  To quote Jerry Seinfeld, "Who Are these people?!?"

Cartoon Seinfeld characters first appeared in 1998, and were created by artist Glen Hanson (known for his work in illustration, comics, and animated shows like MTV's Spy Groove and a proposed TV series version of Disney's The AristoCats).

The Seinfeld animated series took viewers places that the live action show never could.  This included guest cameos by some very famous personalities, including Monica Lewinsky, who played "Gipple" in the episode The Double Date With Mulva and Gipple.

In Three Men and an Ugly Baby, Ted Danson and Bill Cosby guest star as Jerry's new neighbors, Bill and Ted.

Danson and Cosby also appeared in the episode Bill and Ted and Jerry's Excellent Adventure.

Kramer gets cloned in Kramer VS Kramer, and becomes a co-owner of a diner in Green Eggs and Pigman.

Kramer also becomes a Ninja in Kung Fu Fighting With Donna Chang.

Elaine continues to explore her writing and cartooning career by scripting a children's show in Spongebobworthy.

Jerry's postman nemesis ruins the holidays by sending everyone to jail (for mail fraud) in How The Newman Stole Festivus.

Kenny Rogers Roasters chicken restaurants had a special Bobble Head promotion to promote the Seinfeld cartoon.

The taxi cab display with all four Seinfeld bobble head figures is highly valued by collectors.

Of course I've made up most everything I've written here (there was NOT a Seinfeld Animated Series), but the content (totally out of context) could be found in a special issue of TV Guide in May of 1998.

This special Seinfeld issue of TV Guide featured covers by legendary illustrator Al Hirschfeld.

There were covers for Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer.

Hirschfeld's work has been enjoyed and admired for decades, and even served as the inspiration for Disney's Aladdin and the Rhapsody in Blue segment of Fantasia 2000.

For more fun, check out NBC It! Seinfeld and Wings Kellogg's Cereal Prizes (which is real!!).

NBC It! Seinfeld And Wings Kellogg's Cereal Prizes

In 1993, NBC did something different to promote its prime time Thursday night TV lineup. Seinfeld and Wings appeared on boxes of Kellogg's cereals aimed at adult consumers.

Jerry and Elaine did not share a cereal box with Tony the Tiger on Frosted Flakes. Instead, they could be found on the more healthy-sounding Low Fat Granola With Raisins. It's too bad they did not make a creative special edition cereal called Jerry-O's or Kramer Krunch.

Cereal played an important role in the world of Seinfeld, a show based on the life of comedian Jerry Seinfeld that first aired in 1989.

A special Seinfeld cereal bowl was available through the mail.

The bowl was $4.95 plus two Proof of Purchase (UPC symbols) from Kellogg's Low Fat Granola Cereal.

You'll need a good breakfast to stay sharp. Someone may ask you who invaded Spain in the 8th century, and you'll want to be able to remember the answer.

Because you had a good breakfast, you'll remember that Spain was invaded by the Moops. Some may dispute your answer, and say it was the Moors that invaded Spain. But you remember reading the answer was the Moops when you played Trivial Pursuit.*

*Taken from the Seinfeld episode, "The Bubble Boy."

There were never Seinfeld action figures or paper dolls, but Kellogg's did offer cut-out characters to help you attempt be the master of your own domain.

The cast of Seinfeld had some animated roles, too. Jerry Seinfeld created Bee Movie (2007) for DreamWorks Animation. Jason Alexander (George) was a prolific voice-over actor. He starred in the prime time USA Network series Duckman in 1994. He played Abis Mal the thief in the animated Disney Aladdin TV series, also in 1994. In Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) he was Hugo the Gargoyle, and in 101 Dalmatians II (2003) he voiced a Corgi named Lightning. Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine) was Princess Atta in Disney Pixar's A Bug's Life (1998). Michael Richards (Kramer) starred as the Wolf in Disney's rarely seen Redux Riding Hood animated short in 1997. Wayne Knight (Jerry's nemesis, Newman) provided the voice for Tantor the elephant in Disney's Tarzan (1999).


Kellogg's Frosted Bran featured a Wings cereal box prize.

Wings debuted in 1990 and was sort of a spin-off of NBC's "Cheers." A few characters from Cheers also appeared on Wings and later on Frasier.

Interestingly, Thomas Haden Church (Lowell on Wings), Peri Gilpin (Roz on Frasier) and John Mahoney (Martin Crane on Frasier) had appeared in episodes of Cheers as different characters. Peri Gilpin was also on Wings as another different character (as a crazy date for Brian).

Wings was set on the island of Nantucket. Since it was not too far from Boston, it was easy for Norm, Cliff Clavin, Rebecca, Frasier and Lilith to leave their favorite bar and mingle with Joe (Tim Daly), Brian (Steven Weber), Helen (Crystal Bernard), Lowell (Thomas Haden Church), Roy (David Schramm), Fay (Rebecca Schull) and Antonio (Tony Shalhoub) at the airport.

Like Seinfeld and Cheers, Wings also featured rising stars over the years. Megan Mullally (from Will and Grace) and Matthew Fox (from Lost) both had memorable roles on Wings, even though each only appeared on the show one time.

The Wings crew needs energy to take folks on that flight to Kennebunkport. Sorry, no meals are served on Sandpiper Air. Helen's lunch counter does serve breakfast, including Kellogg's Frosted Bran cereal.

Looks like we are ready for take-off! Though it may not be a good idea to eat a bowl of bran cereal before getting on a small airplane. Was there a bathroom on Sandpiper Air? I sure hope so.

Lowell has the instructions on how to assemble your Wings Glider.


Not pictured is my favorite character from the show, cab driver Antonio (Tony Shalhoub) who joined the cast in 1991, originally as a waiter. These days Tony Shalhoub is known for his role as a detective on "Monk" and as Luigi in the Disney Pixar Cars universe.