The Magilla Gorilla Show is one of those mid-60s Hanna-Barbera cartoons that almost everyone has heard the theme song from, even if they couldn’t tell you a single plot detail. “We’ve got a gorilla for sale” lodges itself in your brain and stays there forever.
The show ran for one season in 1964 and got pulled into Hanna-Barbera’s revolving syndication catalog for decades afterward, which is how three generations of kids ended up knowing who Magilla was without anyone in their household actively watching the original episodes.
Quick facts: The Magilla Gorilla Show aired in syndication from January 14, 1964 to 1967. Produced by Hanna-Barbera. Magilla was voiced by Allan Melvin. The show was sponsored by Ideal Toy Company, which was unusual for the era. Magilla has since appeared in multiple Hanna-Barbera ensemble shows and the modern HBO Max revival Jellystone!
What Is The Magilla Gorilla Show?
The setup is simple and immediately iconic. Magilla is a gorilla. He lives in the display window of Mr. Peebles’ pet shop. Mr. Peebles is desperately trying to sell him. Nobody wants to buy a gorilla, partly because he’s a full-sized gorilla and partly because he keeps causing chaos.
Every now and then, someone will actually buy Magilla — usually by accident, sometimes deliberately. Things go badly. Magilla ends up back at the pet shop by the end of the episode. Mr. Peebles starts the whole cycle over again the next morning.
The show was built around this loop. Magilla would either escape the pet shop, get bought by someone, or get involved in some plan that always ended with him returning to the window display. It’s a perfectly designed comedy engine for short cartoon segments.
The Magilla Gorilla Theme Song
The earworm: “We’ve got a gorilla for sale, Magilla Gorilla for sale…” The theme song is one of the most recognizable Hanna-Barbera openings ever produced. It immediately establishes the premise (gorilla for sale) and sticks in the brain for life. Generations of people who never watched a single full episode can still hum it.
The song is short, sharp, and committed to the bit. The whole show is in those first few bars.
The Main Characters
Magilla Gorilla
The titular gorilla. Voiced by Allan Melvin (who also voiced Sgt. Carter on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. and various other Hanna-Barbera characters). Magilla is friendly, well-meaning, and accidentally destructive. He wears a bow tie, a hat, and shorts with suspenders — which is somehow the most distinctive gorilla costume in animation.
His personality is essentially “eager dog in gorilla body.” He wants to please. He wants a home. He wants people to like him. He’s just so big and clumsy that everything around him breaks.
Mr. Peebles
The exasperated pet shop owner. Voiced by Howard Morris. Mr. Peebles is the show’s straight man and ultimate victim. He’s trying to run a small business. He has this gorilla. The gorilla is the problem. He wants to sell the gorilla. He cannot sell the gorilla. He has been trapped in this situation for years.
Mr. Peebles’ weary frustration is half the comedy of the show. He’s not mean to Magilla — he likes him, in his way — but he absolutely cannot afford to keep housing a gorilla in his shop.
Ogee
A little girl who frequently comes by the pet shop and wants to buy Magilla. She actually likes him and would happily take him home. Her parents refuse, because they are reasonable people who do not want a gorilla. Ogee’s recurring appearances give the show a “someone DOES love Magilla, it’s just not allowed” emotional undercurrent.
Mr. Twiddle
A recurring customer who occasionally appears to either buy Magilla, return Magilla, or simply complain about Magilla. He’s one of several side characters who rotate through the pet shop across the season.
The Other Segments on The Magilla Gorilla Show
Like most Hanna-Barbera shows from this era, The Magilla Gorilla Show was actually an anthology format with multiple segments per episode. The lineup:
- Magilla Gorilla — the headlining segment
- Punkin’ Puss & Mush Mouse — a cat-and-mouse hillbilly comedy with the cat (Punkin’) and mouse (Mush) constantly feuding in a country setting
- Ricochet Rabbit & Droop-a-Long — a Western parody with Ricochet, a fast-shooting rabbit sheriff, and his slow, laconic deputy Droop-a-Long Coyote
The Ricochet Rabbit segments have aged especially well. The rabbit sheriff zipping around at impossible speeds while his deputy moves at half speed is a gag that translates clean to modern animation sensibilities.
The Ideal Toy Company Sponsorship
One of the more unusual things about The Magilla Gorilla Show was its sponsorship. The show was largely funded by Ideal Toy Company, which produced a line of Magilla Gorilla plush toys, board games, and other merchandise.
This kind of single-sponsor model was on its way out by the mid-60s. Most cartoons were transitioning to network financing with multiple advertisers. The Magilla Gorilla Show’s sponsorship deal was a holdover from an earlier era of TV.
The toys did fine but didn’t become huge. Magilla was never going to compete with bigger Hanna-Barbera properties like Yogi Bear or The Flintstones in the merchandising department.
Why The Magilla Gorilla Show Only Lasted One Season
The honest answer: The show was produced for syndication rather than for a major network, which meant its budget and episode count were limited from the start. After the original run, it cycled through syndication for years and became a familiar Saturday morning presence, but no new episodes were made. Hanna-Barbera was producing so many shows in the mid-60s that not every property got a long original run.
Magilla didn’t die. He just stopped being made. The original 31 episodes kept running on syndication for decades.
Magilla Gorilla in Later Hanna-Barbera Shows
Magilla became one of those Hanna-Barbera characters who kept showing up across the studio’s various crossover shows:
- Yogi’s Ark Lark (1972) — Magilla joins the cast in this Hanna-Barbera ensemble TV movie
- Yogi’s Treasure Hunt (1985-1988) — recurring appearances
- Wake, Rattle & Roll / Fender Bender 500 (1990) — appears in this racing-themed crossover segment
- Yo Yogi! (1991) — modernized cameo
- Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law (2000-2007) — appears in an episode as Apache Chief’s friend, classic adult-comedy treatment
- Jellystone! (2021-present) — current Hanna-Barbera revival with Magilla as a recurring character
The Harvey Birdman appearance is a particular highlight for adult fans of the character. The show used Magilla as part of its absurd take on legal proceedings, and it’s classic Adult Swim energy.
Magilla in Jellystone!
The modern era: Like many forgotten Hanna-Barbera characters, Magilla got new life in Jellystone!, the HBO Max series that reimagines the entire Hanna-Barbera catalog in a chaotic small-town setting. The Jellystone! version of Magilla brings the character into 2026 sensibilities while keeping the core appeal intact.
Jellystone! has been one of the best things to happen to deep-catalog Hanna-Barbera characters. Magilla, alongside Mudsy from The Funky Phantom, Snooper and Blabber, and others, gets to keep being a working character instead of just a syndication ghost.
The Voice Cast
The original 1964 voice cast was anchored by Allan Melvin as Magilla, with Howard Morris as Mr. Peebles. Both were established voice actors with significant non-cartoon work:
- Allan Melvin — best known for live-action TV roles including Sgt. Carter on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. and Sam Franklin on The Brady Bunch. His voice acting work included a long list of Hanna-Barbera characters.
- Howard Morris — comedian, actor, and director who worked extensively with Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows. He also directed and acted in The Andy Griffith Show (where he played the iconic Ernest T. Bass).
The Magilla Gorilla cast wasn’t just voice talent — these were working comedy actors who brought their live-action timing to animation.
Magilla’s Cultural Footprint
Despite only running one original season, Magilla Gorilla became a recognizable Hanna-Barbera character:
- His name became cultural shorthand for “big lovable gorilla” in casual conversation
- The theme song became an earworm classic
- He’s been referenced in countless other shows and films over the decades
- The “unsellable pet shop animal” premise has been borrowed by various other cartoons
The “Magilla” name: In some American slang, “the whole magilla” came to mean “the whole thing” or “the entire deal.” There’s some debate about whether this slang predates the cartoon (it’s likely Yiddish in origin) or was popularized by it, but the cartoon definitely amplified the phrase’s recognition.
Where to Watch The Magilla Gorilla Show
As of 2026, the original Magilla Gorilla Show is available on Boomerang (the Hanna-Barbera classic streaming service) and occasionally on Max’s classic Hanna-Barbera catalog. Episodes also surface on YouTube periodically.
For modern Magilla, Jellystone! is on HBO Max.
The Magilla Gorilla Legacy
The honest take: Magilla Gorilla is a perfect example of a Hanna-Barbera character who’s bigger in cultural memory than his actual production history would suggest. One season, 31 episodes, modest original ratings — and yet decades of name recognition, theme song familiarity, and ongoing appearances in modern Hanna-Barbera projects.
That’s the magic of a great character design and a great theme song. You can build a 60-year cultural presence on those two things alone, even if the actual show is barely remembered scene-by-scene.
Magilla deserves more credit than he gets. He’s a cheerful, hopeful, gentle giant who just wants a home, and that’s a premise that ages well. The Jellystone! revival proves it.
So, did you grow up watching Magilla Gorilla in syndication, or is the theme song the main thing you remember? For me, it’s 100% the song. Couldn’t tell you a single episode plot, but “we’ve got a gorilla for sale” is permanently lodged in my head.
