Everyone on Earth has heard of PEZ, a brand of candy dispensers featuring a variety of famous characters across multiple beloved franchises. However, I imagine only a few of you have heard of TV Pals. Released in 1975, these were more or less the same thing. Just like PEZ, they covered multiple beloved properties, including a few Hanna-Barbera characters. TV Pals of The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, and Huckleberry Hound were all made.
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Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Hanna-Barbera TV Pals
Friday, October 11, 2024
Jean Vander Pyl Speaks With Satellite Surgery
On this day in 1919, Jean Vander Pyl, the voice behind Wilma Flintstone and countless others, was born. I've shared TV interviews and print interviews involving her before, but today, I've got something a bit different. This is a radio interview Jean did sometime in the early 1990s (I'm guessing '93?) with Satellite Surgery. If the name doesn't ring a bell, that's because it was a program that only played on English airwaves. Eric Wiltsher conducts this interview, which focuses on the legacy of The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and the experience of returning to Wilma for the 1993 telefilms. From this interview, we also learn that Jean didn't exactly have great thoughts on the 1980s Flintstones projects. If you've ever seen any of those, can you really blame her?
Thursday, October 10, 2024
Video of the Week: A Spooky Fruity Pebbles Commercial
There's been no shortage of memorable Halloween-related commercials over the years, and the Fruity Pebbles cereal has had several. Check out this one from 1999, which sees Fred and Barney getting into the spirit themselves. It also gives us a look at Barney without his skin, if that's something you want to see. It's a pretty memorable commercial with some great animation courtesy of the legendary Scott Shaw. He's done tons of work for The Flintstones and Hanna-Barbera characters in general, and during this period, he oversaw many of the Fruity Pebbles commercials. Pretty much all of the ads in this era were well-animated and full of love for The Flintstones, and you can thank him for that. Perhaps another time I'll look at the evolution of the Fruity Pebbles ads, but if I were to pick out a "golden age" for them, it would certainly have to be when he was in charge. But don't simply take my word for it, see it for yourself right below!
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Nanco's Hanna-Barbera Halloween Plush Dolls
Halloween is fast approaching, so it's the perfect time to share some spooky Hanna-Barbera collectibles. Today, I bring you these two Halloween-themed plush dolls of George Jetson and Fred Flintstone, manufactured by Nanco. These were put out around 1989, and while they are the only Halloween-related toys Nanco made, they actually created a whole line of Hanna-Barbera plushies. The George plush is honestly pretty solid, but that Fred Flintstone could use some work. His short and stout build makes him look more like Barney dressing up as Fred, rather than Fred himself.
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
Elliot Field Plays the Hits
Not many people can say they've been a cartoon character, a disc jockey, or a mayor. Elliot Field, on the other hand, managed to be all three. Readers of this blog will know him best for his role as Blabber Mouse in the Snooper and Blabber cartoons, and for several roles in later episodes of The Flintstones.
As many of you may know from Yowp's latest post, Elliot Field sadly passed away on September 23rd at the age of 97. He was the last surviving cast member of Hanna-Barbera's 1950s output. In honor of his legendary career, I thought it was only appropriate to highlight Field's earlier years. Today, I bring you the following piece from The Daily Report, dated August 5th, 1959. This discusses his involvement in the opening ceremonies of the Ontario Plaza, and it also sheds some light on his entertainment career, which goes back even further than some may think.
Teener Dance Friday Stars Elliot Field
Elliot Field, KFWB disc jockey currently the rage of teeners throughout the Southland, will act as master of ceremonies at a special party and dance at the Plaza.
There will be dancing, prizes, and entertainment—and it's all FREE. Honored guests will be the queen candidates of the West End Community Fair who will be introduced by Field.
Elliot Field has made a rocket climb to stardom in Southern California over KFWB, Hollywood. He spins the wax as custodian of the "Fabulous Forty" top hits show which he likes to call, "Mayhem in the P.M."
Only 29 years old, Field started his career as a 12-year-old actor and m.c. He had his own DJ show at 15. A graduate of the University of Florida, Field gained his veteran's stripes via radio shows in Miami, Boston, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and waypoints.
At the Plaza, he'll be spinning his records for dancing, conducting contests, awarding prizes, and, of course, signing autographs for his many admirers.
So make it a date, kids. It'll be a real cool bash, and Elliot Field is the coolest, man, the very coolest!
Rest in peace, Elliot Field. My heart goes out to his family, his friends, and everyone else who was acquainted with him.
Friday, October 4, 2024
The Many Meetings of the Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Network Characters: Part Two
Just as promised, it's time I wrap up this week's Cartoon Network-related posts by looking at the later examples of their original characters crossing paths with their Hanna-Barbera forebearers. Today, we're discussing shows from the year 2000 and beyond. There aren't as many series that feature crossovers as there were in the nineties, and for reasons I'll get to later. In the meantime, let's start off with our first series of the day, Samurai Jack!
Over its five-season run, Samurai Jack contained references to all kinds of media that the crew were fans of, so it was no surprise that the show had a few nods to the Hanna-Barbera classics. In the second episode of the show, a character looking quite a lot like the big dog from 2 Stupid Dogs appears. Fitting, considering how much of the Jack crew came from that show. Later on, in "The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful," Quick Draw McGraw and Baba Looey appear as guests on the train the episode takes place inside. Greg Burson voices them here, as he did for most of their appearances following original actor Daws Butler's passing.
Thursday, October 3, 2024
Video of the Week: Parking Troubles at Cartoon Network HQ
Everyone loves a good crossover, and that's something Cartoon Network certainly knew. If crossovers and cameos in the shows weren't enough, the network commissioned many bumpers featuring their characters interacting. One of my favorites was one of the earlier examples, that being this bumper from 1999. It focuses on Fred Flintstone, Thundarr the Barbarian, and Chicken of Cow and Chicken, struggling to find a parking space at Cartoon Network. Beyond featuring some great character interactions, the ad also pokes fun at how the network's newer programming caused some of their older shows to lose airtime, a sentiment I have no doubt many viewers had at the time (and still have!). This spot was animated by the folks at Primal Screen, who did a lot of promotional work for CN until they closed their doors earlier this year.