You probably remember the chocolate factory. Or the Vitameatavegamin pitch. Everyone knows the black-and-white Lucille Ball, the one with the expressive face and the iconic "Waaaaah!" But if you dig into the archives of 1950s animation, you’ll find something a bit different. There’s an I Love Lucy cartoon that exists in the margins of television history, and honestly, it’s one of the coolest relics from the golden age of sitcoms. It wasn't a full-blown Saturday morning spinoff like The Flintstones or The Brady Kids. Instead, these animated sequences were the secret sauce that glued the original show to its sponsors.
Most people don't realize that in the early 50s, the line between entertainment and advertising was basically non-existent. You didn't just watch a show; you watched a brand. For I Love Lucy, that brand was Philip Morris cigarettes. To make the transitions into commercials feel seamless, the creators hired animation legends to turn Lucy and Ricky into cartoons. It’s a trip. Seeing a 2D, hand-drawn Lucy Ricardo skip across the screen to present a pack of smokes is definitely a "different time" moment, but the craftsmanship is undeniable.
Who Actually Made the I Love Lucy Cartoon?
Let’s talk about the talent. This wasn't some cheap, outsourced job. The animation was handled by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera while they were still at MGM, and later by the team at UPA (United Productions of America). If you look at the lines—the sharp, stylized aesthetic of the I Love Lucy cartoon—you can see the exact same DNA that gave us Gerald McBoing-Boing and The Jetson’s.
It's actually kind of wild.
You have the most famous woman in the world being distilled into a few ink lines. The animators had to capture her "stick-out" hair and those massive eyes without making her look like a generic caricature. They nailed it. The opening credits for the first few seasons featured these animated versions of Lucy and Ricky climbing over a giant pack of Philip Morris cigarettes.
Eventually, when the show went into syndication, these bits were hacked off. Why? Well, by the 60s and 70s, TV stations couldn't exactly air cartoons of beloved icons shilling tobacco to kids. That’s why the "Heart Logo" we all know today was created. It was a replacement. A clean, corporate way to hide the fact that the I Love Lucy cartoon was originally an elaborate ad.
The Lost Animation of the 1950s
The sheer volume of animated material produced for the show is surprising. We aren't just talking about a five-second loop. There were unique segments where the cartoon Lucy would interact with the animated Philip Morris "Johnny" mascot. These were high-budget productions.
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- The UPA style emphasized "limited animation."
- This meant they focused on bold colors and graphic shapes rather than the fluid, realistic movement of Disney.
- It made the cartoon Lucy look modern.
- It felt like mid-century modern art coming to life.
I've spent a lot of time looking at these frames. What's fascinating is how much character they squeezed into a character that didn't even speak. Most of these spots were set to the iconic theme music, relying entirely on pantomime. It’s the purest form of Lucille Ball’s comedy—physical, exaggerated, and perfectly timed—just rendered in ink.
Why Didn't They Ever Make a Full Series?
You’d think a full-length I Love Lucy cartoon would have been a slam dunk in the 70s. After all, The Addams Family, Gilligan’s Island, and Star Trek all got the Saturday morning treatment.
The truth? Lucy was a perfectionist.
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, through their company Desilu, controlled their image with an iron fist. They knew that Lucy’s magic was in her face—the specific way her mouth would quiver before a sob or the "look" she gave the camera. Translating that into a 22-minute cartoon on a 1970s budget (which was notoriously cheap) would have probably looked terrible. Imagine a Hanna-Barbera version of Lucy with three frames of movement. It would have been a disaster for the brand.
Also, the show was already perfect. Even in the 1960s, I Love Lucy was the gold standard for reruns. There was no need to "cartoonize" it to find a new audience because kids were already watching the live-action show. It's one of the few sitcoms that is truly timeless. You don't need a cartoon Lucy to fall off a surfboard when the real Lucy already did it better in high-definition (well, high-definition for the time).
The 2000s "Lulabelle" Misconception
If you search for an I Love Lucy cartoon online, you might stumble across some weird mentions of a "Lulabelle" pilot or modern reboots. Let’s set the record straight: there has never been an officially sanctioned, full-length animated series. There have been digital experiments and some "Lucy and Desi" inspired characters in other media, but nothing that carries the torch of the original 1950s animation.
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The closest we ever got was a series of animated interstitials used for the I Love Lucy DVD releases and some 50th-anniversary specials. These were nostalgic callbacks, lovingly recreating the UPA style from the original commercials but without the cigarettes. They are cute, but they lack the "smoke-filled room" energy of the 1951 originals.
How to Find the Original Animation
If you want to see the real deal, you have to look for the "Original Sponsor Openings." They’ve been restored on the high-end Blu-ray sets. It’s a total trip to see the cartoon Ricky Ricardo lighting up a smoke while the cartoon Lucy dances around. It’s a window into a version of America that doesn't exist anymore.
- Search for "Philip Morris Lucy Opening" on archival sites.
- Look for the UPA-produced commercials from 1952.
- Check out the "Lucy Goes to Scotland" episode intro—it’s a rare example of the animation style shifting for a specific theme.
The Legacy of Animated Lucy
It’s weird to think about, but the I Love Lucy cartoon bits actually influenced how sitcoms were marketed for decades. It proved that you could take a live-action star and turn them into a graphic icon.
Think about the Bewitched opening. That iconic cartoon Samantha twitching her nose? That exists because I Love Lucy proved that animation could make a show feel "magical" and "breezy" before the actors even said a word. The animated intro became a staple of 60s TV—I Dream of Jeannie, The Mary Tyler Moore Show (in some variations), and The Nanny all owe a debt to those first few ink lines of Lucy and Ricky.
Honestly, the animation is a testament to how big the show really was. You don't animate a sitcom unless it's a cultural phenomenon. It’s the ultimate badge of honor.
Actionable Steps for Lucy Fans
If you're obsessed with TV history or just love the Ricardo family, don't stop at the reruns. Here is how you can actually experience this "lost" side of the show:
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1. Hunt for the "Restored" Episodes Don't settle for the chopped-up versions on standard cable. If you want to see the I Love Lucy cartoon sequences, you need the "Ultimate Season" DVD or Blu-ray sets. These include the "as-aired" versions that haven't been seen on broadcast TV since the 1950s.
2. Explore the UPA Style If you dig the look of the Lucy cartoon, look up the UPA (United Productions of America) library. They were the rebels of the animation world who rejected the "Disney look." Understanding their philosophy makes you appreciate why the Lucy animation looks so "mod" and cool compared to other cartoons of the era.
3. Visit the Museum If you're ever in Jamestown, New York, go to the National Comedy Center and the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum. They have incredible archives regarding the production of the show, including how they handled the branding and the animation.
4. Check Out "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" Rarities Sometimes the hour-long specials that followed the original series used different animated bumpers. These are harder to find but are a goldmine for anyone trying to track every single frame of animated Lucy in existence.
The I Love Lucy cartoon might be a footnote, but it’s a stylish, fascinating one. It reminds us that even back in 1951, Lucy was more than just a character—she was an icon that could be drawn with three circles and a squiggle and still be recognizable to millions. That’s real staying power.
Go find those clips. They're a blast.