First off, yes, the animation is extremely limited in this series. Expect a lot of repeated shots and minimal movement. It's almost more like an "enhanced comic book" at times rather than a full fledged cartoon. This comes with the territory of television animation from the 1970s. However the art itself is usually not bad to look at, and on a few occasions shows flashes of beauty and brilliance. Where the show really shines however is the writing, which is surprisingly ambitious and mature for the time. In re-imagining the PotA franchise to be more like the original novel with relatively technologically advanced Apes. RttPotA definitely falls outside of the timeline of the original film pentalogy and the live action TV series. But also utilizes fan-favorite characters like Cornelius and Zira to create a world both familiar and fresh.Be that as it may the show is far from perfect, sometimes the limited animation gets tiresome and the actor who played Bill is so wooden I could almost swear I heard him confusedly deliver a line then turn the page in his script once or twice. But overall this is an excellent effort and as someone who was not yet born when it aired and had not seen it until the DVD release I was very pleasantly surprised by how much of the genuine PotA feel they were able to capture for the Saturday Morning Audience. Just be sure to watch the series in the originally intended chronological order (the default on the DVDs) rather than the jumbled-up original air-dates, and GO APE!

The good:This is definitely not a typical kids' cartoon. It has a plot, and generally sticks with it from episode to episode. Like Star Trek: Enterprise, you could watch any few episodes individually OK, but you need to watch the series in order (see Wikipedia for order) to get the most out of it.The bad:Return to the Planet of the Apes isn't really an appropriate title for this series. Only the viewer is returning (assuming they saw the films or live action series).It doesn't fit well within the Planet of the Apes timeline, unless you allow for multiple timelines branching off from the 20th century. Earth was supposed to be destroyed, or at least rendered uninhabitable, by Taylor in the 2nd film. (I haven't seen the other series, so maybe they explain there how it is inhabited later, but this animated series gives no explanation).The series seems to be a remake or reboot of the first two films, plus some unfortunate additions, most notably in the forms of a giant living ape god Kigor, and a ridiculous "monster bird", which is where this series jumps the shark. If it was ever up for renewal, this concept probably sunk it.The animation is stunningly bad. Often, objects will change color for no apparent reason. Other times objects will move that should not move (and further will move exactly the same way as other objects on the screen). One scene in particular in "Screaming Wings" has Bill operating a crane connected to a train, and it looks like it was drawn by a toddler. And I challenge anyone not to burst out laughing when the humans start to run, like QWOP. And while the jazz/experimental score is sort of interesting at first, it's often out of step with the visuals, and it grates on you as a you go along. You begin to grit your teeth every time the descending bell noise happens.This series is only for the most desperate of Planet of the Apes fans, perhaps the incarcerated or institutionalized. That's a shame, because it could have been good.

Whenever a cult U.S. science fiction series gets cancelled, fans bombard the studios with letters demanding its reinstatement. The animated spin-off was a way of giving them what they wanted without actually having to go so far as to commission a new season. 'Star Trek' was the first to go down this route. 'Return To The Planet Of The Apes' debuted one year after the short-lived live-action version with Roddy McDowall, Ron Harper and James Naughton. It was from DePatie/Freleng Enterprises, also responsible for 'The Pink Panther' cartoons. It chose not to continue Virdon, Burke and Galen's quest for a way to escape General Urko's gorilla army, but brought in new heroes - astronauts Bill Hudson and Jeff Allen, both of whom look as though they have fallen out of the pages of a Jack Kirby comic. There is also a female - Judy Franklin - who gets captured early on by 'under dwellers' ( similar to those seen in 'Beneath The Planet Of The Apes' ) who rename her 'Ooosa' and treat her like a god. Only one series character made it into the cartoon - Urko ( voiced by Henry Corden ). No 'Galen', but 'Cornelius' is back, as is his wife 'Zira'.The first episode - 'Flames Of Doom' - follows the beginning of the first film fairly closely ( for some reason Dr.Hasslein is renamed Stanton ). Our heroes fall through a time warp into the year 3979 A.D. and find a world dominated by apes, and where humans are slaves. Fearing that the humans will instigate a rebellion against the old order, Dr.Zaius commands General Urko to recapture them at all costs. The show expanded the concept considerably. 'Ape City' in the movies/T.V. show consisted of makeshift huts and dwellings, whereas this one is reminiscent of Ancient Rome with its statues, ionic columns and coliseums. The apes have modern technology such as cars, planes and television ( in one episode, there is a reference to a new movie called 'The Ape Father'! ). Before they got about on horseback, now they drive tanks and motorbikes. In some ways this is closer to Pierre Boulle's original conception than previous versions. Grotesque monsters such as a sea serpent and an ape skull appearing out of nowhere in the night sky were added to the mix.Like the live action show, the films' social commentary was eschewed in favour of straightforward action adventure. The quality of the animation is alas so basic that at times one is reminded of 'Cheapo Cartoon Man' from L.W.T.'s 'End Of Part One'. Whenever someone runs, you can see the same background flying past every few seconds. As for the voice artistes, it is a pity that neither Roddy McDowall nor Mark Lenard were brought back. Their replacements are simply awful. Austin Stoker's 'Jeff' sounds like Leslie Nielsen, 'Cornelius' appears to be voiced by Stan Laurel, and Claudette Nevins' 'Nova' modelled on Marilyn Monroe.Watching this again recently I was slightly surprised at how disturbing some of it was. The opening titles start with a slow pan across desert towards what seems to be humans staked out to be eaten by vultures. Then there's a close-up of a gorilla leering into the camera to the accompaniment of lightning flashes.13 episodes were made. I.T.V. showed it shortly after its U.S. debut but it did not make the same impact here as its predecessor. Many people thought it a cynical attempt to get more milk out of the cash cow. For all its faults, I do like the show, and it is vastly superior to Tim Burton's 'reimagining' ( isn't that an annoying word, by the way? ).

I remember seeing this as a kid, and I finally got myself a copy of the complete series on video. The cartoons series is a laugh to watch now, especially since some of the language used may not be politically correct according to year 2000 standards. Nether the less, the series was fun to watch. The whole cartoon tv-series focuses on a "cat and mouse chase", whereby three stranded astronauts are chased across the four corners of the earth by superior intelligent apes.