Kid 'n Play (TV series)

Kid 'n Play is an animated cartoon series based on the real life hip-hop duo, Kid 'n Play. It ran for one season on NBC from September 8, 1990 to August 31, 1991. On the show, Kid 'n Play were portrayed as teenagers, but their recording careers remained the same as in real life, as did their character traits. Production was by Marvel Productions.

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". The lessons ranged from serious to lighter fare. One of the "less serious" episodes dealt with Kid's father not understanding hip-hop and Kid not having the means to put it in a positive light, to which he gets a trip back to the days of peakeasies and jazz to see the origins of his current music.

In 1992, Marvel Comics published a comic book based on the cartoon. The comic book ran for nine issues.

Cast

• Christopher "Kid" Reid - Himself (live-action segments)
• Christopher "Play" Martin - Himself (live-action segments)

Voices

• Tommy Davidson - Jazzy, Acorn
• Christopher Hooks - Christopher "Kid" Reid
• J.D. Hall - Pitbull, Mr. Reid
• Dorian Harewood - Old Blue
• Martin Lawrence - Wiz, Hurbie
• Dawnn Lewis - Lela
• Danny Mann - Hairy
• Brian Stokes Mitchell - Christopher "Play" Martin
• Rain Pryor - B.B.
• Cree Summer - Marika, Downtown

Crew

• Ginny McSwain - Voice Director

External links

• Kid 'n Play at the Internet Movie Database
• Kid 'n Play at TV.com
• Kid 'n Play at the Comic Book DB