View source for Animal Crack-Ups

{{Short description|American game show}}
{{distinguish|Animal Crackers (TV series)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
 | image            = 
 | caption          = 
 | genre            = [[Game Show]]
　| based_on         = [[:ja:わくわく動物ランド|''Wakuwaku Dōbutsu Land'']]
　| writer           = [[Todd Thicke]]
 | presenter        = [[Alan Thicke]]
 | voices                   = [[Susan Blu]]
 | narrated         = 
 | theme_music_composer     = {{Plainlist|
* Alan and Todd Thicke
* Gary Pickus
}}
 | opentheme                = 
 | endtheme                 = "Animals Are Just Like People Too" by Alan Thicke
 | producer         = {{Plainlist|
* [[ABC Productions]]
* [[Vin Di Bona Productions]]
}}
 | country          = United States
 | executive_producer       = [[Vin Di Bona]]
 | runtime          = 30 minutes
 | network          = [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]
 | first_aired      = {{Start date|1987|08|08}}
 | last_aired       = {{End date|1990|09|01}}
 | num_seasons      = 
 | num_episodes     = 
}}
'''''Animal Crack-Ups''''' is an [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] [[game show]] which aired in primetime from August 8 to September 12, 1987, after which it aired on Saturday mornings from September 12, 1987, to December 30, 1989, and again from June 2 to September 1, 1990.<ref name=Daytime>{{cite book |last1=Hyatt |first1=Wesley |title=The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television |date=1997 |publisher=Watson-Guptill Publications |isbn=978-0823083152 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofda00hyat/page/24/mode/2up|accessdate=22 March 2020|pages=24–25}}</ref> It was produced by [[ABC Productions]] in association with [[Vin Di Bona Productions]] (both companies also produce ''[[America's Funniest Home Videos]]'') and hosted by [[Alan Thicke]], who was on ''[[Growing Pains]]'' at the time. The program was based on a Japanese [[Tokyo Broadcasting System Television]] series, ''Wakuwaku Dōbutsu Land'' ([[w:ja:わくわく動物ランド|わくわく動物ランド]]).

The show's theme song was "Animals Are Just Like People Too", created by Thickovit music (Alan and Todd Thicke and Gary Pickus).<ref>Library of Congress.  "Animals are just like people too : Theme from Animal crack-ups."  Copyright registration PAu001011105.</ref>

==Gameplay==
Four celebrities competed. Host Thicke introduced a video clip about an animal; at some point, the video was paused and Thicke asked a question about the clip. The celebrities give their answers, after which the remainder of the clip was played, revealing the answer.

Any celebrities giving the correct answer received a point; score was kept by placing a stuffed animal (a monkey in the first season, a hedgehog in later seasons) in front of the celebrity's podium. Co-host [[Debbie Bartlett]] provided the stuffed animals. The celeb with the most toy animals/points won the game and $2,500 for their favorite animal [[Charitable organization|charity]]. If a tie occurred, the money was split between the charities.

On segues to two commercial breaks, a [[hedgehog]] [[puppet]] named "Reggie the Hedgie" (voiced by [[Susan Blu]], performed by [[Lisa Sturz]]) gave animal facts to the home viewers and read home-viewer mail.

==International versions==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Country !! Name !! Host(s) !! TV station !! Year aired
|-
| {{flagu|Japan}} '''(original version)'''
| ''[[:ja:わくわく動物ランド|わくわく動物ランド<br>Wakuwaku Dōbutsu Land]]''
| Various
| [[Tokyo Broadcasting System Television|TBS Television]]
| 1983–1992
|-
| {{flagu|Argentina}}
| ''Waku Waku''
| Héctor Larrea
| [[Azul Televisión]]/[[Canal 9 (Argentina)|Canal 9]]
| 1999–2000
|-
| {{flagu|Brazil}}
| ''[[:pt:TV Animal|TV Animal]]''
| [[Angélica (television host)|Angélica]]<br />[[Eliana (television host)|Eliana]]<br />[[Gugu Liberato]]<br />Beto Marden<br />Roberta Peporine
| [[Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão|SBT]]
| 1988–1992<br>1995–1996<br>2009–2010
|-
| {{flagu|Chile}}
| ''[[:es:Maravillozoo|Maravillozoo]]''
| Javier Miranda (1995-1999)<br>[[Paulina Nin]] (2000)<br>[[Antonio Vodanovic]] (2001-2002)
| [[Canal 13 (Chile)|Canal 13]] 
| 1995–2002
|-
| {{flagu|Netherlands}}
| ''[[:nl:Waku Waku|Waku Waku]]''
| [[Rob Fruithof]] (1988-1996)<br>Sybrand Niessen (1996-2000)<br>Paula Udondek (2000-2001)<br>Sosha Duysker (2022-)
| [[Nederland 1]]<br>[[NPO Zapp]] ([[NPO 3]])
| 1988–2001<br>2022–
|-
| {{flagu|Portugal}}
| ''Arca de Noé''
| [[Fialho Gouveia]]<br>Ana do Carmo<br>Carlos Alberto Moniz
| [[RTP2]]<br>[[RTP1]]
| 1990–1993<br>1994–1995
|-
| {{flagu|Spain}}
| ''[[:es:Waku Waku|Waku Waku]]''<br>''Jimanji Kanana''
| Consuelo Barlanga<br>[[Nuria Roca]]<br>Rosa García Caro
| [[TVE-1]]<br>[[La 1 (Spain)|La 1]]
| 1989–1991; 1998–2001<br>2003 
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060209024901/http://www.vdbp.com/2lvl_prog_02acu.html Vin Di Bona Productions]
* {{IMDb title|id=0092317|title=Animal Crack-Ups}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928014325/http://gscentral.net/crack.rm Clip of the show's theme song with scenes of animals]

{{Children's programming on the American Broadcasting Company in the 1980s}}
{{Children's programming on the American Broadcasting Company in the 1990s}}

[[Category:1987 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:1990 American television series endings]]
[[Category:1980s American children's comedy television series]]
[[Category:1990s American children's comedy television series]]
[[Category:1980s American children's game shows]]
[[Category:1990s American children's game shows]]
[[Category:1980s American comedy game shows]]
[[Category:1990s American comedy game shows]]
[[Category:American Broadcasting Company game shows]]
[[Category:American television series based on Japanese television series]]
[[Category:American television shows featuring puppetry]]
[[Category:American English-language television shows]]
[[Category:Television series about animals]]
[[Category:Television series by Vin Di Bona Productions]]


{{US-game-show-stub}}