Kid 'n Play (TV series)

Kid 'n Play is a 1990 animated cartoon series based on the real-life hip hop duo Kid 'n Play. It ran for one season on NBC from September 8 to December 8, 1990. On the show, Kid 'n Play were portrayed as teenagers, along with their friend Jazzy, their producer Hurbie and their DJ Wiz, but their recording careers remained the same as in real life, as did their character traits. Production was by Marvel Productions and Saban Entertainment.

The real Kid 'n Play appeared in live-action wraparounds of the cartoons, but voice actors took over for the animated versions of the duo. The show stressed positive role models, teaching children how to get along with each other and stay out of trouble. Akin to the House Party films, Play was the less responsible member of the duo, cooking up get rich quick schemes, while Kid, the more responsible member, would usually be made to clean up messes. Oftentimes the issue would be resolved by the characters' girlfriends, or sometimes by an elderly jazz musician who wore a blue beret and was aptly named "Old Blue". Also along the crew is Kid's Mohawk pet dog Hairy. The lessons ranged from serious to lighter fare. One of the "less serious" episodes dealt with Kid's father under the impression hip hop is bad and Kid not having the means to put it in a positive light. Old Blue offers to help by sending Kid on a trip back in time to the era of jazz and 1920s speakeasies to help better understand its roots.

Marvel Comics published a tie-in comic book which ran for nine issues in 1992.

The series was created by John Semper Jr. and Cynthia Friedlob who also served as the show-runners and head-writers. They would later go on to write Kid 'N Play's third live-action feature, Class Act, for Warner Bros. Semper would later produce and be the head-writer for "Spider-Man: The Animated Series," for Marvel Films Animation. It was cancelled after one season as George H. W. Bush signed a deal to require educational programming for children in the following season.

Ownership of the series passed to Disney in 2001 when Disney acquired Fox Kids Worldwide, which also includes Marvel Productions.

Cast

 * Christopher Reid as himself (live-action segments)
 * Christopher Martin as himself (live-action segments)
 * Mark "DJ Wiz" Eastmond as himself (live-action segments)
 * Salt N Pepa as themselves (live-action segments)
 * Kool Moe Dee as himself (live-action segments)
 * Tony! Toni! Tone! as themselves (live-action segments)
 * DJ Spinderella as herself (live-action segments)

Voices

 * Jack Angel
 * Tommy Davidson as Jazzy, Acorn
 * Chris Hooks as Christopher Reid
 * J. D. Hall as Pitbull, Mr. Reid
 * Dorian Harewood as Old Blue
 * Martin Lawrence as DJ Wiz, Hurbie
 * Dawnn Lewis as Lela
 * Brian Stokes Mitchell as Christopher Martin
 * Danny Mann as Hairy
 * Rain Pryor as B.B.
 * Alaina Reed
 * Terri Semper
 * Cree Summer as Marika, Downtown, Carrie

Additional voices

 * Charlie Adler
 * Susan Blu
 * Tom McHugh
 * Rob Paulsen
 * Les Tremayne
 * Janet Waldo
 * Patric Zimmerman