Who Framed Fife & Joe

Think of illustrious cartoon teamings and a host of memorable characters springs to mind.

Yes, thanks to the magic of computer animation, yet another dynamic duo has entered the cartoon pantheon. And who better to jump out of the inkwell than Governor Fife Symington and Sheriff Joe Arpaio, those boffo buffoons whose real-life escapades are frequently wackier than anything you'll see on Saturday-morning TV?

How'd it happen? Simple. We just sent color photos of the boys--along with $24.95 per picture--to Sentimental Journeys, a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, mail-order company that offers to "give your child the lead part in a choice of six great cartoon adventures."

After receiving our "U.R. the Star" cartoons a few weeks later, we had to agree with the company's boast that the videos are indeed "a wonderful present."

Here, then, are your belated Christmas gifts, Fife and Joe! (We hope you won't mind sharing them with a few thousand of your little friends.)

Now, turn the page and thrill to cartoon antics that parallel the duo's real-life antics with amazing accuracy!

Fife in Circus Star
Is this 12-minute animated short simply a merry big-top romp? Or is it actually a darkly disturbing parable that transforms the Governor's Office into a symbolic carnival of shame, deceit and public outrage? You be the critic!

Is Fife's juggling act really a laughing matter?

Circus Star feeds himself to his critics.

In surrealistic homage to Fantasia's dancing hippos, Fife trips the heavy fantastic with a bevy of GOP mascots.

Sharks! Tightrope! An unidentified monkey on his arm! Cartoon as Freudian nightmare.

Do coming-attraction previews suggest that Circus Star is running on empty? In over his head?

Joe in Action Kid
Lights! Cameras! Action Kid! Everybody's favorite sheriff plays superhero!

Ever the shameless schmoozer, Joe makes the scene at Action Kid premiere.

Joe on the moon? Don't laugh. Before becoming sheriff, he and his wife attempted to market outer-space junkets through Starworld, their Scottsdale travel agency.

It's pink underwear for this no-goodnik!

After a hard day of superhero-ing, Joe saddles up for posse duty.

Action Kid cleans up crime-ridden downtown Phoenix streets.