Rubik, the Amazing Cube

Rubik, the Amazing Cube is a 1983 half-hour Saturday morning animated series based on the puzzle created by Ernő Rubik, produced by Ruby-Spears Enterprises and broadcast as part of The Pac-Man/Rubik, the Amazing Cube Hour block on ABC from September 10 to December 10, 1983 and continued in reruns until September 1, 1984. The Rubik half hour was broadcast in reruns as a standalone series on ABC from May 4 to August 31, 1985.[1]

Rubik, the Amazing Cube
GenreAdventure
Family
Written byTom Dagenais
Janis Diamond
Jack Enyart
Gary Greenfield
Mark Jones
Gordon Kent
Norman Maurer
Richard Merwin
Directed byJohn Kimball
Rudy Larriva
Norm McCabe
Voices ofRon Palillo
Michael Saucedo
Jennifer Fajardo
Michael Bell
Ángela Moya
Theme music composerDean Elliott
Opening themeMenudo
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes12
Production
Executive producersJoe Ruby
Ken Spears
ProducersMark Jones
Steven Werner
Running time30 minutes
Production companyRuby-Spears Enterprises
Release
Original networkABC
Original releaseSeptember 17 (1983-09-17) 
December 3, 1983 (1983-12-03)

The program features a magic Rubik's Cube named Rubik who can fly through the air and has other special powers. Rubik can only come alive when he is in a solved state.[2] The voice of Rubik, Ron Palillo, told TV Guide in 1983 that for the role, he spoke very slowly and then technicians sped up the tapes and raised the pitch in an Alvin and the Chipmunks-esque manner. Palillo said Rubik's giggle was very different from the trademark laugh of Horshack, his character on the TV series Welcome Back, Kotter, and that it was pretty "for an inanimate object".[3] It was also one of the first American animated series to feature a mainly Hispanic and Latino American roster of characters, along with voice actors.

Premise

Rubik falls out of the stagecoach of an evil magician, who later becomes the main villain of the series. Rubik helps Carlos, Lisa, and Reynaldo Rodriguez in foiling the magician’s attempts to recover him. Once, Rubik was recovered by a detective who is a relative of the magician, but then decides the children should keep Rubik, fearing that the magician would use him for evil and selfish purposes.

Outside of the evil magician, episodes usually deal with more normal adversaries, such as when Reynaldo runs afoul of a bully who thwarts his efforts to gain a potential girlfriend, while at the same time the bully makes himself appear decent to the girl. Rubik works in secret to expose the bully’s true brutal personality in front of the girl.

For dramatic purposes, Rubik often gets easily fully scrambled (such as by being dropped or grabbed by the family dog, and sometimes scrambles himself) and usually solved quickly by the Rodriguez children, although in stressful circumstances it takes them longer. When scrambled, Rubik can only be heard speaking gibberish and can sometimes be heard saying, "Help."

Cast

Additional voices: Jack DeLeon, Alan Dinehart, Laurie Faso, Takayo Fischer, Bob Holt, Tress MacNeille, Tysun McMullan, Neil Ross, John Stephenson, Janet Waldo, Alan Young

Theme Song

Tying into the human characters being Hispanic Americans, the theme song was sung by Puerto Rican boy band Menudo. Featured in the song were Johnny Lozada, Ricky Melendez, Charlie Masso, Ray Reyes and Roy Rossello.[4]

Lyrics

On a mysterious night, Rubik Cube appeared, bringing happiness.
Rubik Cube has changed everything in our lives.
He's colorful, magical, lovable.
Rubik, he's our friend.
Rubik, the Amazing Cube.

[5]

Episodes

No.TitleOriginal air date
1"Meet Rubik"September 17, 1983 (1983-09-17)
2"Back Packin' Rubik"September 24, 1983 (1983-09-24)
3"Rubik and the Buried Treasure"October 1, 1983 (1983-10-01)
4"Rubik and the Lucky Helmet"October 8, 1983 (1983-10-08)
5"Rubik and the Mysterious Man"October 15, 1983 (1983-10-15)
6"Rubik and the Pooch Nappers"October 22, 1983 (1983-10-22)
7"Rubik and the Science Fair"October 29, 1983 (1983-10-29)
8"Rubik in Wonderland"November 5, 1983 (1983-11-05)
9"Honolulu Rubik"November 12, 1983 (1983-11-12)
10"Rubik's First Christmas"November 19, 1983 (1983-11-19)
11"Saturday Night Rubik"November 26, 1983 (1983-11-26)
12"Super Power Lisa"December 3, 1983 (1983-12-03)

References

  1. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 -2003, The Shows M-Z (Volume 2) (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company. pp. 600, 691. ISBN 978-0786422562.
  2. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 519–520. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  3. "Palillo's Puzzled". TV Guide. 31 (45): 78. November 5, 1983. ISSN 0039-8543.
  4. Super Saturday: ‘Rubik The Amazing Cube’ (1983)
  5. Rubik The Amazing Cube Cartoon Theme Song | Intro | Opening
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