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Have you ever played the game in your local newspaper in which you are shown two almost-identical drawings and asked to find the differences between the two? At first the two images look to be the same but after closer inspection differences emerge. Well, we can play a very similar game comparing the Jonny Quest opening and closing credits with the episodes. At first glance these sequences appear to be lifted from the episodes, but a closer look reveals differences that tell a different tale.

What does this all mean?
It indicates (at least to me) that the process of creating Jonny Quest was not cut-and-dried. Even after animation sequences were created, changes in coloration (even some major changes) occurred and, in at least one case, the figures in the cells were re-drawn. This may be standard procedure for animation productions, but we, the end viewers, hardly ever realize the immense and intense effort that took place.

Note: In the following table, the credit sequence images are on the left and the corresponding episode images (as closely matched as possible) are on the right.

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Opening Credits

natives in canoes - Pursuit of the Po-Ho Background and foreground scenery is a bit more detailed in the credit sequence

man running through jungle - Dragons of Ashida (The fact that there were differences was originally reported by Manny Karas) In the credits, the man is wearing a yellow shirt, white headband, blue sash or belt, and gray pants; in the episode, it's blue shirt, red headband, yellow pants and no belt. Also in the episode, the foreground and background scenery was slightly different.

pteranodon swooping 1 - Turu the Terrible In the episodes, Turu is black on top with purple underside, a yellow beak, bright red inside the mouth, and a green eye; in the credits he is shown purple on top with lighter purple underneath, a white beak, duller red inside the mouth, and a red eye. Additionally, while some scenes in the episode took place at night, the scenes with the cells used in the credits occurred during the day, hence the different background.

panther leaping - Pursuit of the Po-Ho Background scenery slightly different between credit and episode; also credit sequence has panther seen in slight closeup compared to episode.

crocodile diving into water - Pursuit of the Po-Ho Background scenery slightly different between credit and episode

pteranodon swooping 2 - Turu the Terrible Color scheme and background are different (see previous entry)

soldiers firing machine gun at robot spy; bullets hitting robot; tank firing at robot; tank shell hitting robot - The Robot Spy Robot in episode is black, not purple as in credits. In episode, scene occurs at night, not during the day as in the credits. The background scenery is different than in the episode; instead of the scene occurring in the desrt, it occurs in the confines of the Quest lab complex surrounded by buildings. Even in the few scenes shown outside the lab, there are no large mesas of bluffs, just rounded hills.

explosion - There are many explosions in Jonny Quest, many of them very similar to the one in the opening credits. I have not yet been able to locate the exact episode equivalent at this point, but I haven't given up yet.

mummy walking along corridor; mummy crashes through wall - The Curse of Anubis This appears to be a direct lift from the episode.

men in gas masks firing rifles - Calcutta Adventure In the episode, there is a railing in front of the men as they shoot; other than that, the credit sequence is pretty much a straight lift from the episode.

mummy lifting man overhead - The Curse of Anubis This is a direct lift from the episode.

Race shooting a rifle - The Robot Spy Background (wood-beam wall) is different than in episode, and the position of Race in the frame is slightly different.

ceiling collapsing on mummy and man - The Curse of Anubis This is a direct lift from the episode.

men on flying platforms - The Fraudulent Volcano In the episode, the men's uniforms were gray instead of red. Also, the platforms looked more finished in the credits; in the episodes, they're much less metallic in appearance. The jagged rock background was not seen in the episode.

condor swooping; Bandit running; condor snagging Bandit by his collar and lifting him into the air - Shadow of the Condor The background scenery for the credit sequence shows a sandy, beach-like terrain (possibly from Mystery of the Lizard Men), whereas in the episode, the scene took place in the courtyard of a castle.

three snakes wiggling along the ground - The Curse of Anubis Very slight difference from episode: The background seen in the credit sequence did not appear in the episode with the adders moving from right to left. However, the background did appear (oriented slightly differently) in the episode with the snakes moving from left to right when Hadji "charmed" them to leave.

two large dragon-like reptiles on leashes, walking through the jungle - Dragons of Ashida In the episode, all of the dragons were a dark green in color instead of the yellow and brown colors seen in the credits. And note the subtle differences in the drawing of the dragons themselves. For example, in the episodes the dragon's teeth were slightly smaller and did not protrude when their mouths were closed; in the credits the dragon mouths were never quite closed. (It looks as if the versions seen in the credits were redrawn slightly for the episode.) The position and posture of the dragons with respect to the background scenery is also slightly different.

Race swinging on a rope on an old ship, hitting a lizardman who had pinned Jonny to the deck - Mystery of the Lizard Men This is a direct lift from the episode.

A lizardman swinging a high-tech gun around, and firing a laser beam from the ship - Mystery of the Lizard Men Very nearly a direct lift from the episode; however in the episode when the laser is fired the scene is red-tinted to emphasize the laser.

Dr. Quest sitting at the controls of his para-power ray gun, followed by a shot of the gun firing - The Robot Spy The credit sequences are direct lifts from the episode, although the order of appearance is switched (in the episode the parapower gun fires first, then we see Dr. Quest at the controls.).

A laser beam hits the ship firing the original beam, causing the ship to explode - Mystery of the Lizard Men Very close to a direct lift from the episode, with the only noticeable difference being the scene is red-tinted in the episode.

Quest jet flying through clouds, then character introductions within the cockpit of the plane, followed by a final shot of the jet flying through clouds - Pursuit of the Po-Ho This appears to be a collection of several scenes strung together from the episode, subtly changed so each character doesn't speak, but simply looks around. In the episode, look for the scene where they are flying over the jungle, just before Dr. Quest makes his announcement to the Po-Ho.

Closing Credits

hovercraft fleeing from African natives in uproar, enters jet via open door, door closes, spears bounce harmlessly off jet, jet takes off - unaired film for unrealized Jack Armstrong project n/a

boat hits debris, flies into the air, lands on pursuing Lizard Men and boat - Mystery of the Lizard Men This appears to be a direct lift from the episode.

jungle river scene with monkey watching on branch - Pursuit of the Po-Ho The only apparent difference between the credits and the episode is the background and extreme foreground scenery.

Jonny and Hadji in scuba gear, descending - The Dreadful Doll Very close to a direct lift with a few color changes: in the episode, Hadji is wearing yellow swimtrunks, not black; the scuba tanks are yellow instead of silver, and the scuba fins are.green instead of red.

Monkey chattering on branch - Pursuit of the Po-Ho The credit sequence appears to be a direct lift from the episode.

Jonny and Hadji swim outside diving bell with Dr. Quest inside - The Dreadful Doll At first glance, this appears to be very close to a direct lift (with the same color changes noted in the previous scuba scene). However, look at the positioning of Jonny and Hadji around the bell. In the credits, they are positioned correctly; in the episode Jonny and Hadji are just a bit too low to reconcile the positions of their hands and the lip of the port of the diving bell.

Hadji playing flute in street with cobra swaying and rope levitated - Calcutta Adventure Basically the same in the episode and the credits, although the episode showed Hadji and the cobra in a tighter shot. Also, in the credits, the cobra's tongue flicks out while Hadji plays the flute with his eyes looking down. In the episode, when the cobra's tongue flicks out, Hadji is looking at the cobra; by the time Hadji lowers his eyes again, the cobra's tongue is back inside it's mouth.

Jonny riding a camel bareback - The Curse of Anubis This seems to be a direct lift from the episode.

A pteranodon diving - Turu the Terrible In the episode the pteranodon had a different color scheme (see the opening credits entry for details). Also, the background used in the credits does not match the one used in the episode.

Dr. Quest and Race using rocket belts, cruising among jagged rocks, with gun and bazooka - Turu the Terrible In the episode, the background is similar to the one in the closing credits, but it is subtly different. Also note the change is color scheme not only for the bazooka but the characters clothes. And I never did locate the episode frame in which Race's head is positioned exactly the same way it is in the credits; it may have occured during the part of the episode sequence that occurred before the "fade-in" from the previous scene where they are flying up the cliff face, or it may have been lost in the right-to-left "wipe" used at the end of the scene to transition to the next scene.

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Jonny Quest and distinctive likenesses © Hanna-Barbera. All other images, image designs and other image work on this site are © ClassicJQ.com, © Hanna-Barbera or as noted. Text content is © ClassicJQ.com, except where noted otherwise, and may not be shared or re-published without the consent of the author. This is strictly a fan-based site, and is in no way affiliated with or approved by Hanna-Barbera or any other organizations, unless specifically indicated otherwise.