Atom Ant (originally voiced by Howard Morris, then by Don Messick in later episodes) is a superhero ant who operated out of an anthill in the countryside, where he possessed such things as a mainframe computer and exercise equipment. His powers mostly consisted of the ability to fly, superspeed, incredible strength, and invulnerability. His catchphrase was "Up and at 'em, Atom Ant!" He was often contacted by the police, who sent him out on an assignment.
Some of these missions parodied the missions of Batman. The police force was constantly shown to be underfunded and inept, as they relied on Atom Ant to do all their police work. As seen in "Nobody's Fool," the only two police officers were the chief of police and deputy chief. The department only possessed one rusted patrol car. Atom Ant fights various villains including recurring ones like Ferocious Flea (voiced by Don Messick) and mad scientist Professor Von Gimmick.
Other appearances
Atom Ant later appeared in Yogi's Ark Lark and its spin-off series Yogi's Gang voiced by Don Messick.
In the early 1990s series, Yo Yogi! with Don Messick reprising Atom Ant. In the episode "Super Duper Snag," it was revealed that his Atomic Helmet is his source of power.
Hi-Tech Software released a budget labeled computer game for the Commodore 64 in 1990 called Atom Ant: Up and Atom. The idea of the game is to fly and collect a certain amount of bombs scattered around high rise buildings and 'atomize' them in a special bubble-like device at the top of each area (a game design influenced by Tehkan's Bomb Jack).
Cartoon Network produced a short cartoon in their "Groovies" series featuring Atom Ant which contained bits of audio tracks from the Atom Ant cartoon, as well as audio from the classic Cold War civil defense film, Duck and Cover. The short can still sometimes be seen on Boomerang.
Atom Ant as a picture made a cameo in the "Agent Penny" episode of the Super Secret Secret Squirrel segment of 2 Stupid Dogs.
Atom Ant made a cameo in a MetLife commercial that aired in 2012.
Atom Ant's catchphrase of "Up and Atom!" is also used by comic book superhero Radioactive Man in The Simpsons.
Atom Ant was featured in the Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law episode "Incredible Hippo" voiced by Maurice LaMarche. He appears as the defendant accused of radioactive contamination by the EPA.
The episode "Up And Atom" is available on the DVDSaturday Morning Cartoons 1960's Vol. 1. The episode "Atom Ant Meets Karate Ant" is available on the DVD Saturday Morning Cartoons 1960's Vol.2. The episode "The Big Gimmick" is available on the DVD Best of Warner Bros. 25 Cartoon Collection Hanna-Barbera. On October 6, 2015, Warner Archive released Atom Ant: The Complete Series on DVD in region 1 as part of their Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.
In 2016, The Atom Ant Show was made available for download via iTunes Store.
Voices
Howard Morris as Atom Ant (Season One), Muscles' Boss
Don Messick as Atom Ant (Season Two), Ferocious Flea, Mr. Muto, Narrator
Animation: George Kreisl, Irv. Spence, Edward Aardal, Don Lusk, Bob Carr, Don Patterson, C.L. Hartman, Bill Hutten, Dick Lundy, Allan Wilzbach, Carlo Vinci, Ken Southworth, Jack Parr, Rudy Cataldi, Jerry Hathcock, Louis Kachivas
Layout: Willie Ito, Dick Bickenbach, Brad Case, Lin Larsen, Homar Jonas, Bruce Bushman, Alex Ignateiv, Walter Clinton, Morris Gollub
Background: Richard H. Thomas, Ron Dias, F. Montealegre, Bob Gentle, Fernando Arce
Camera: Frank Paiker, Charles Flekal, Norman Stainback, Roy Wade, Frank Parrish
Film Editing: Warner Leighton, Don Douglas, Larry Cowan, Greg Watson, Dan Finnerty, Tony Milch, Kenneth Spears, Ed Warschilka, Milton Krear
Sound Direction: Richard Olson
Atom Ant
Copyright C MCMLXV-VI Hanna Barbera Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved
Approved MPAA Certificate No. 19034
RCA Sound Recording
This Picture Made Under the Jurisiction of IATSE-IA Affiliated with A.F.L.-C.I.O
