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Rambo: The Force of Freedom is an animated series based on the character of John Rambo from David Morrell's book First Blood and the subsequent films First Blood and Rambo: First Blood Part II. This series was adapted for television by story editor/head writer Michael Chain and the series even spawned a toy line. The cartoon ran for 65 episodes, and was produced by Ruby-Spears Enterprises. The series debuted on April 14, 1986 as a five-part miniseries, and was renewed in September as a daily cartoon. Rambo was cancelled in December of the same year.
Rambo the force of freedom part 1 classic cartoon review
Plot
In the cartoon, John Rambo is part of a team called "The Force of Freedom" that goes on missions around the world battling a paramilitary terrorist organization named S.A.V.A.G.E. (short for Specialist-Administrators of Vengeance, Anarchy and Global Extortion).
The Force of Freedom
John Rambo (voiced by Neil Ross) - The main protagonist of the series. He leads the Force of Freedom in fighting S.A.V.A.G.E. when called in by Colonel Samuel Trautman. When not on missions, Rambo would either be shown tending to an animal or helping kids with their survival training.
Colonel Samuel Trautman (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer) - He serves as the group's commanding officer. He would often call in Rambo during his break time. Colonel Trautman would sometimes accompany Rambo on his missions.
Edward "Turbo" Hayes (voiced by James Avery) - An African-American mechanical engineer and race car driver. According to his toy bio, Turbo is also a First Lieutenant who graduated from the US Air Force Academy.
Katherine Anne "K.A.T." Taylor (voiced by Mona Marshall) - An Asian-American military girl who was a master of disguises, gymnastics, and martial arts alike. K.A.T. seemed to have a crush on Rambo. She is based on Co-Bao from Rambo: First Blood Part II.
White Dragon (voiced by Robert Ito) - A heroic ninja who is Black Dragon's twin brother. According to his toy bio, White Dragon had also developed a ninja training program for the U.S. military.
T.D. "Touchdown" Jones - A former football player and ally of Rambo. He joined the Force of Freedom at the time when Mad Dog's gang forces elderly couples out of their homes as part of General Warhawk's plot to dig into a military base and steal a top secret new supertank in "Blockbuster".
Chief - An Native American ally of Rambo. He joined the Force of Freedom after he rescued his friends in the swamp and from S.A.V.A.G.E. following the plane crash and helped prevent General Warhawk from burying the gold in the sacred grounds on Spirit Island (where the graves of Chief's forefathers are located) in "Skyjacked Gold".
S.A.V.A.G.E.
S.A.V.A.G.E. stands for Specialist-Administrators of Vengeance, Anarchy and Global Extortion. They always have goals for world domination until they end up fighting the Force of Freedom, especially Rambo. In addition to a substantial number of soldiers, among the members of S.A.V.A.G.E. are:
General Warhawk (voiced by Michael Ansara) - The reflective sunglasses-wearing leader of S.A.V.A.G.E. who serves as the primary antagonist of the series. General Warhawk was previously a European army captain who was convicted of selling state secrets and deported for his coup. He then organized and built S.A.V.A.G.E.
Sergeant Havoc (voiced by Peter Cullen) - General Warhawk's second in command and top enforcer. He has strength that rivals Rambo's strength. Sergeant Havoc was previously a drill sergeant for the free world. After being court-martialed for spying, he joined up with S.A.V.A.G.E.
Gripper (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - A European mercenary with a metal right hand (hence the name) that wears an eyepatch. He was a former member of the French Foreign Legion until he was dismissed after failing to recognize the surrender flag.
Nomad (voiced by Ed Gilbert) - A burnoose-wearing Middle-Eastern terrorist. He was a wandering nomadic warrior that calls no country his home. Nomad leads a group of outcasts which consists of cutthroats and thieves.
Mad Dog (voiced by Frank Welker) - The leader of an unnamed biker gang who sports a mohawk and a S.A.V.A.G.E. logo tattoo on his chest. He is first called Spike in the episode "Battlefield Bronx," but renamed Mad Dog in all subsequent episodes. According to his toy bio, Mad Dog was found unfit for military services and has an extended criminal record for theft, reckless driving, and arson.
Animal - Member of Mad Dog's biker gang.
Jerkface (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - Member of Mad Dog's biker gang.
Razor (voiced by Frank Welker) - Member of Mad Dog's biker gang.
Black Dragon (voiced by Robert Ito) - A rogue ninja who is the twin brother of White Dragon. He is known as the greatest assassin that ever lived. Black Dragon would sell his service to any group that would pay his fee with his recurring clients being S.A.V.A.G.E.
Snakebite (voiced by Peter Cullen) - A man who was born and raised in the Okeefenokee Swamp and likes wild animals like venomous snakes, insects, and black rats which he carries in his Beast Pack.
Dr. Hyde - A cybernetic mad scientist whose head is in a dome-shaped helmet.
There were also some one-shot characters who were members of S.A.V.A.G.E. that appeared in one episode. The following are listed in order of appearance:
Count - A descendant of Vlad III the Impaler who worked with General Warhawk on two occasions. The first time was when it involved capturing Nobel Prize–winning physicist Herbert Kengsington in "Deadly Keep." The second time was when he helped General Warhawk in a plot to capture the President of the United States in "Return of the Count."
Rama - The leader of the Cult of the Cobra. He only appeared in "Cult of the Cobra" where he and his group helped General Warhawk into halting the food shipments to the Indian Province of Asam in a plot to force the people of Asam to make General Warhawk their dictator.
Pandora (voiced by Mona Marshall) - A female panthertrainer working for General Warhawk. She only appears in "Raid on Las Vegas" where she assisted in a plot to rob the Las Vegas casinos.
Sheik Hassat - A sheik who assisted General Warhawk in a plot to blow up the shipping businesses on the Suez Canal.
Mike Flynn - An old friend of Rambo's who ended up stealing the XK-7 fighter jet and used it to assist General Warhawk in enslaving the Zimboli to mine diamonds for him.
Varinia - A female operative of S.A.V.A.G.E. Only appearing in "Fire in the Sky", she assisted General Warhawk, Sergeant Havoc, Gripper, and Nomad into stealing a submarine called the USS Typhoon and plans to auction it to any terrorist that is interested in it.
Captain Scar (voiced by Peter Cullen) - A pirate captain who assisted General Warhawk in a plot to raise the sunken Liberte submarine off the coast of Hong Kong.
Admiral Nomak (voiced by Lennie Weinrib) - An admiral who assisted General Warhawk twice. First, he helped General Warhawk in "Raise the Yamato" to raise the Yamato Battleship in order to take over Tierra Libre. He then appears in "Pirate Peril" along with Captain Scar assisted General Warhawk in a plot to raise the sunken Liberte submarine off the coast of Hong Kong.
Mombo Igthayan (voiced by Mona Marshall) - A Haitian Voodoo magician who assisted General Warhawk in a plot to enslave the Haitians and mine the island.
Dr. Blackburn - A scientist who assisted General Warhawk in a plot to use a mind-control box on a killer whale named Korac and attack the NORAD Bases.
Iron Mask - A criminal who assisted General Warhawk in a plot to locate an old war plane containing a fortune of gold.
Jerry Goldsmith's scores for First Blood and Rambo: First Blood Part II were licensed for use in the series and tracked throughout (mostly from Rambo: First Blood Part II), with his music for the film's trailer for Rambo: First Blood Part II, used as the opening and closing themes. It was supplemented by original music composed by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy, who received an "additional music by" credit.
DVD releases
Lions Gate Home Entertainment (which also owns the DVD rights to the Rambo films) has released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 in 6 volume sets.
Merchandising
Rambo: The Force of Freedom also spawned a line of toys (as with the majority of older series, the Rambo toy line lasted longer than the television series itself).
Controversy
Rambo was the first R-Rated film property to be given a treatment of a children's cartoon show.
Fictional countries and back-stories are featured, some of them echoing historical or current events. In order to meet Federal Communications Commission decency standards and make the series viewable for children, the violence level was significantly reduced compared to the films.
The cartoon generated a mild controversy at the production studio, with writers wondering how they could present a child-friendly main character who was created as a troubled Vietnam War veteran suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The show's child psychology advisors believed that the target audience, young children and preteens, would not grasp that aspect of David Morrell's character. They recommended that the cartoon not make any references to Vietnam, POWs, or Rambo's experiences in 1982's First Blood and 1985's Rambo: First Blood Part II.
