Top Cat Goes Live

 Another day, another piece of obscure Hanna-Barbera media here on the Exposure Sheet. Last year, I made a post focused on a series of interviews featuring Top Cat made in the late nineties. These interviews showcased a CG-animated Top Cat speaking to a live-action guest. If you'd like to see that post, check it out here. At the time, I didn't know much about them, but since that post went up, I think I've come across enough to warrant a follow-up. 

These Top Cat interviews, officially known as Top Cat Live!, were the creation of a company called Modern Cartoons. Not a super well-known animation studio, but it did have at least one hit, that being the children's series JayJay the Jet Plane. The series was also a coproduction with Trash Television and Craftsman Productions (the latter I mentioned in the original post). What's interesting about the production side of this series is that Top Cat himself was brought to life through real-time motion capture, a technique that was pretty new at the time. Even more interesting is that the actor performing as Top Cat was none other than the legendary Tom Kenny. He's performed as T.C. a couple of times, and considering the timeframe this was produced in, this may have been the first. If you'd like to know more about the behind-the-scenes side of this series, check out this archived page on the Modern Cartoons website.

According to the December 1995 issue of Television Business International, twenty episodes of Top Cat Live! were created, intended to air on Cartoon Network's international feeds. I mentioned in the original post that Joe Barbera was interviewed, but Slash of Guns N' Roses, David Hasselhoff, and Dean Cain (Superman in Lois and Clark) also appeared. The series page on the Lost Media Wiki has a whole host of other guests featured on the show, but I didn't see any source for them, so I'm not too sure about how accurate they are. I also recommend checking this page out, as their updates are a big reason you're seeing this post.

While it seems like they were intended for international incarnations of CN, I think there were also plans to air them over here in the States as well. I brought these up on the Cartoon Research Facebook group, and a member mentioned having seen a segment on Entertainment Tonight about them. The segment focused heavily on the tech used to bring the series to life and featured Tom Kenny using the mocap technology to play Top Cat. Unfortunately, like most of this show, it too seems lost to time.

Now, I did say "most" of the show, because believe it or not, here is a segment from Top Cat Live!...in Italian. This is the Slash interview, and even though I don't understand the language, it's still rather cool to see Top Cat brought to life with 90s CGI. Hopefully, in the future, more episodes will be uncovered. Considering there were twenty episodes made, I'd say it's more likely than not. Until then, check out the Slash episode below, and give me your thoughts.

10 Oddball Hanna-Barbera Home Video Releases

It's safe to say that Hanna-Barbera's works have been well presented in various home video formats throughout the years. From the early days of VHS in the eighties to the modern Blu-Ray releases from Warner Archive, if you want to watch episodes of Flintstones or Scooby-Doo, you've had plenty of chances to do so. 

Now, with so many offerings, there have been more than a few strange releases of these cartoons over time. Today, I bring you ten of them, covering everything from VHS to DVD, and everything in between. I only have two particular guidelines for this list. For starters, I'm only looking at titles that were released in America. There are plenty of strange foreign releases, but I'll save those for another time. Secondly, these releases had to be ones the average person could buy. While some of these were released through strange circumstances, they all at least have that in common. Titles such as screeners, network tapes, or other promotional videos won't be considered. With that covered, let's get weird!

1. Animal Follies (VHS and Laserdisc, 1988)

Starting off with one of the oldest releases on this list, on the surface, Animal Follies looks like a pretty ordinary Hanna-Barbera compilation video. As the title suggests, it includes episodes from several animal-centric Hanna-Barbera cartoons. But what makes this release stand out from others, and earn a spot on this list, is the fact that this was the only time episodes from The Ruff and Reddy Show were released on home video. The show has yet to appear on DVD or Blu-Ray, and even future VHS releases skipped the series. So, if you want this particular series on home video, this is your only option.

2. The Flintstones and Jonny Quest: Quest For Fun (VHS, 1989)

Talk about a strange pairing! This VHS tape from 1989 contains two episodes from The Flintstones and Jonny Quest, those being "Calcutta Adventure" and "Glue For Two". Not only is the series pairing weird, but so are the episodes. You'd think they'd go with two episodes that have some sort of shared theme, but nope! This is also the only Hanna-Barbera VHS offering where Quest was paired with another series (technically, there was 1991's Festival of Fun, but that combined the contents of several tapes, this one included). If you ask me, it's a real shame we never got a Jonny Quest meets Squiddly Diddly tape.

3. The HBTV Releases (VHS and Laserdisc, 1986-1987)

How about a Hanna-Barbera release without any actual Hanna-Barbera cartoons? During the late eighties, the studio came up with the idea of "HBTV," music videos featuring footage from their series set to contemporary pop music. It was heavily inspired by Disney's own DTV, which itself came from Disney trying to ride the MTV hype. However, HBTV didn't leave nearly the impact those two did, with the experiment only yielding this set of four tapes. They mostly covered rock songs, but there was one country-themed release. Anyone here have one of these back in the day?

4. Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park (VHS, 1988)

Another music-themed release, this time focused on the so-bad-it's-good mess that is Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park. Some may consider this entry a cheat, but seeing as this was advertised alongside other HB titles, I think it counts among their releases. Beyond the fact that this is one of the only times the TV movie has been offered to consumers (remember, Kiss aren't exactly fans of this flick), it's honestly weird it got released at all considering its legacy. Kiss have never shied away from expressing their displeasure with the film, and they especially hated it during this period, so how on Earth did this get released? Well, while Kiss hates this movie, they love finding ways to make some quick cash. I guess the latter beat out the former in this case.

5. The Flintstones Collectors Edition Series (VHS, 1994)

Want to watch The Flintstones in its entirety? Today, you've got plenty of options. The show is available on DVD and Blu-Ray, streaming on Hulu and elsewhere, and you can purchase it through platforms like iTunes. Thirty years ago, however, it was a much different story. Getting entire seasons or shows on something like VHS was a rarity for several reasons, but Columbia House gave it a try. They worked to bring several TV shows to the format, and The Flintstones was one of 'em.

Released in 1994, "The Flintstones - The Collector's Edition" aimed to release as much of the show as possible on video. These tapes were only offered through a subscription, which does make sense. I imagine the number of people who wanted dozens of Flintstones tapes wasn't exactly large. There were 20 tapes, each with four episodes included. The first actually had five, as The Flagstones pilot was offered. This was the first time the pilot was available on home video. They only got through about half of season three before the plug was pulled, leaving the series unfinished. It's kind of weird that they didn't pull through to the end of that season, or at least get to "The Blessed Event", but I'm sure it came down to money at the end of the day. An entire decade would pass before Warner Home Video would begin putting the series out on DVD, finally allowing viewers to watch the entire series on home video.

6. Entertainment Weekly Presents: Cartoon Classics (VHS, 1995) 

Out of all the titles I share today, this might be the strangest. At the very least, it may be the most obscure. This Entertainment Weekly branded tape contains numerous Hanna-Barbera cartoons, including The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, and more. This is the only instance I've ever seen of Entertainment Weekly offering a VHS release, but what's really weird about this is how little info exists about it online. I only knew of it through a few Scooby-Doo fan sites and their home video databases. I don't know anything about how it was sold, and even auction sites like eBay draw a blank if you search it. I will say one thing though, and that's that I dig the cover art, which utilizes Craig Kellman's recently introduced redesigns for the characters. Pretty neat!

7. The Flintstones Collection (Laserdisc, 1997)

For my money, this has got to be the coolest release out of all these. Released only on Laserdisc in 1997, this collected the first fourteen episodes of The Flintstones, just as they originally aired in 1960. It also features an impressive set of bonus features, including an interview with Ed Benedict, The Flagstones pilot reel, commercials, and a look at the various Flintstones animators and how to spot them. The Laserdisc also features artwork and comments by a specific artist I don't really feel like talking about on this blog. But I'll be nice and say I do enjoy the piece that adorns the cover of this disc.

Apparently, this was supposed to be the first in a series of Flintstones laserdisc releases. Unfortunately, those never came to be because...well, it was 1997. Laserdisc wasn't exactly on fire, especially with DVD right around the corner. It's a shame we didn't see similar Hanna-Barbera releases to this one. Some of the special features on this really are cool, and it's crazy to me that they didn't throw these onto the Flintstones Blu-Ray set. You threw in that weird WWE crossover but none of this?

8. Cartoon Crack-Ups (DVD and VHS, 2001)

The very first time the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons were offered on DVD, this is probably the weirdest release on the format. First off, this is the only time Pixie and Dixie has been available on DVD. If you want to watch the series, this is your best bet beyond old Boomerang rips and such. But what's weirder is the title's inclusion of The Flagstones pilot reel. 

The pilot had been featured in releases both before and after this, but in this release only, the voices were all changed. Out was Daws Butler as Fred and Barney, and in his place came Henry Corden and Frank Welker respectively. BJ Ward replaced June Foray as Betty, and Tress MacNeille took over for Jean Vander Pyl as Wilma. I have no idea why this was done. Maybe it was a leftover piece of audio from an abandoned Flintstones project? Your guess is as good as mine. For the debut of Hanna-Barbera's classic shows on DVD, Cartoon Crack-Ups is pretty rough around the edges. Thankfully, later titles would go above and beyond, giving these shows the attention they deserve. Except for Pixie and Dixie, I guess.

9. Scooby-Doo 3 Disc Pack (VideoNow, 2003)

Remember VideoNow? A lot of you probably don't, so allow me to explain. VideoNow was a portable video player released by Tiger Electronics in the 2000s. Early models could only play video in black and white, but later ones supported color. There were a ton of animated titles released for the player, and with its continued popularity, Scooby-Doo was obviously one of them. This first release, back when the player only supported black-and-white video, contained three episodes from the original series. When you look at something like this, you really start to appreciate how far technology has come. 20 years ago, if you wanted to watch Scooby on the go, this was just about your best option. Nowadays, you can watch the entire series on your phone in better quality than even a DVD could achieve!

10. Yogi Bear Plush With DVD (DVD, 2010)

Speaking of remembering things, remember the 2010 Yogi Bear movie? Even I'm having trouble remembering anything about it, and I run a blog about this stuff! But with its release there of course had to be a big marketing push for it. This is how we got this Yogi Bear plush toy, which features three episodes from the original series on a bonus DVD. Those episodes are "Acrobatty Yogi", "Locomotive Loco", and "Yogi in the City". In all honesty, this is a pretty nice set, and I could totally see this being a gateway to get kids into classic Yogi after having seen the movie. Although that implies people did see this movie, and judging from the box office, I'm not so sure about that. Still, this is a really interesting release. It's a Yogi plush and a trio of Yogi episodes, you can't go wrong with that.

Video of the Week: That's Daws Butler's Line!

This year's Daws Butler week has come to an end, and to cap it off, I've got a short but sweet TV appearance from Butler, as well as two other classic voice actors. This is Daws' appearance in the short-lived 1980s TV series That's My Line. He's joined by Clarence Nash, the original Donald Duck, and Jack Mercer, the second and most well-known Popeye voice actor. We hear both of them do those voices, while Daws does a short performance as Yogi Bear.

What's interesting about this clip is that it actually ended a segment featuring two other names I'm sure you'll recognize. They are none other than Mel Blanc and his son Noel Blanc. If you'd like to see that section of the episode, check it out right here. That concludes Daws Butler week, but fret not. Daws played such a big part in Hanna-Barbera's history that you won't have to wait until next November to hear more about him. It'll only be a matter of time before we're talking about him yet again!

Daws Butler Heads to Comic-Con

Ever wanted to meet Daws Butler, as well as other classic names in both animation and comic books? Back in the mid-seventies, visitors to San Diego Comic-Con could do just that. From my research, Butler appeared at the convention at least three times from 1974 to 1976. The pictures you see are of him at the 1976 event. In the second photo, he is joined by his wife, Myrtis Butler.

Easily the biggest year at SDCC for Butler was in 1975. That year, Butler was given the Inkpot Award, an honor given to the best of the best in comics, animation, science fiction, and beyond. Other recipients of the award in '75 included Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Rod Serling, and Mark Evanier, who was good friends with Butler. If you don't follow his blog, News From ME, you should.

What I really wanted to share today is this snippet of audio we have of Butler being given the award. June Foray made the announcement, who earned an Inkpot Award herself the previous year (the first voice actor to have the award as well!). Daws accepted the award with a little help from one of his best friends, Huckleberry Hound. Take a listen to the recording here. I also recommend checking out the other snippets from this convention found in this link. If you love comics, you'd be crazy not to!

Top 5 Daws Butler Hanna-Barbera Roles

To say Daws Butler did a lot of voices for Hanna-Barbera would be the understatement of the century. One of the first-ever actors the studio employed, Butler worked alongside them until his passing in 1988, creating dozens of iconic characters in the process. But out of them all, which ones are among his best? 

Today, I bring you my picks for the top five Daws Butler-voiced Hanna-Barbera characters. I'm ranking them based on my enjoyment of the character, as well as their importance in both the history of Hanna-Barbera and Daws' career. Here goes nothin'!

Number 5: Elroy Jetson

The boy genius is a classic cartoon trope, and for my money, Elroy Jetson remains one of the best characters to use this archetype. Also my pick for the best character of the Jetsons household, Elroy's inventions and misadventures were always a highlight of the series, even in the much debated 1980s episodes. His relationship with Astro is also one of the best in the show, perfectly imitating a classic "boy and his dog" friendship, just in the future! Daws mentioned at one point that his four sons heavily influenced his performance as Elroy, and it was that creative decision that made Elroy such a memorable character. He acted like a real kid because he was based on some! To this day, it seems like most people pick Elroy as their favorite Jetson. Daws Butler's approach to the role is a big reason why. 

Number 4: Snagglepuss

When you step back and look at him, Snagglepuss is a pretty odd character, even for Hanna-Barbera. He's a feline who loves the theater and speaks in a style not unlike Shakespeare. Daws Butler not only made this character work, but work so well that people still remember him. He has all the makings of a classic cartoon character: an iconic design, memorable voice, classic lines, and a formula that always managed to entertain. The voice for Snagglepuss was heavily inspired by Bert Lahr, who actually threatened to sue out of fear that viewers would mistakenly believe he voiced the character. If that doesn't show Butler's imitation skills, I don't know what will. This actually caused Kellogg's to credit Butler in a commercial featuring Snagglepuss, making Butler probably the only voice actor to receive onscreen credit for an ad.

Number 3: Quick Draw McGraw

Out of all Daws' Hanna-Barbera roles, Quick Draw is probably my favorite. While he's not the greatest cowboy, Quick Draw's adventurous and heroic personality made him a character you could root for. He was a bit of an underdog, and you really can't go wrong with an underdog. It should be noted that Daws voiced not just Quick Draw, but also his faithful sidekick, Baba Looey. This is another great example of Butler's range. As a child, I had no idea they were voiced by the same person, so imagine my surprise when I found that out. Daws Butler, alongside his own faithful companion Don Messick, were Hanna-Barbera's most prolific actors in their early years, and for good reason. Either one could practically hold an entire cartoon on their own, and Quick Draw McGraw was proof of that.

Number 2: Huckleberry Hound

While Ruff and Reddy was the first Hanna-Barbera cartoon, it would be their follow-up, The Huckleberry Hound Show, that truly put them on the map. It also doubled as Daws' big moment in the spotlight. One of his personal favorite characters, Huckleberry Hound was laidback and cool, making him a great contrast to other, more ill-tempered characters. Whether he was a knight or a mailman, Huckleberry Hound always kept his cool, which often only added to the hilarity of the situation. Butler's sweet southern take on the character (which was, for the record, not influenced by Andy Griffith) was the finishing touch in making one of Hanna-Barbera's most beloved characters.

Number 1: Yogi Bear

When it comes to Daws Butler characters, there is no one more enduring, nor iconic, than Yogi Bear. Smarter than the average bear, Yogi is one of those cartoon characters it seems like we are born into this world knowing everything about. Just like Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse, we know how he sounds, his catchphrase, and what he does best. Or, in his case, what he'd like to do best. As you all know, Yogi started as a segment in Huckleberry Hound, but his popularity led him to get his own show. Nowadays, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who isn't familiar with him. It shows you that Daw really gave every role his all. Yogi Bear could have been just a segment inside another show and nothing more, but because of the life and warmth Butler gave the character, we're still talking about him, all these years later.

That's my personal list, but now, I open the floor to you. Who are your favorite HB characters portrayed by Daws Butler? Wally Gator? Cogswell? Dare I say, the Funky Phantom? I'm willing to hear them all!

Daws Butler Interviews

 We're fast approaching what would have been Daws Butler's 108th birthday, and just like last year, I'm celebrating it with a week of posts dedicated to Hanna-Barbera's most influential voice actor. To start things off, here is a thirty-seven-minute interview between Butler and Paul Maher. Maher was lucky enough to talk to a lot of the greats behind many of the cartoons for studios like Warners, Disney, Fleischer, and beyond. His website has an archive of many video and radio interviews (which you can find here), including three with Daws Butler. This first one, which I believe was recorded sometime in the 1970s, does a great job covering Butler's voiceover career, from his relationship with actors like Stan Freberg and Don Messick to his many voices at Hanna-Barbera. Take a listen right here!

Of course, this is only just the beginning of this celebration of all things Daws. Come back tomorrow as I countdown my five favorite voices Butler did for Hanna-Barbera.

Video of the Week: Penny Singleton Speaks

 The birthday of Penny Singleton, the original voice of Jane Jetson, will be here in a few days, so I'm sharing this lengthy video interview with her that was conducted in 1983. If you're familiar with her career, you won't be surprised to find out the majority of this is focused on the Blondie films, but The Jetsons does get a mention near the end of the video, much to the delight of the audience. Singleton didn't do a lot of interviews throughout her career, so this video was a real treat to discover. 

If you want to hear more from Singleton (and especially more on The Jetsons), I have to recommend tracking down the December 1995 issue of FilmFax Magazine. This includes not only a great interview with her on the show, but also interviews with Joe Barbera and Jean Vander Pyl. You can't go wrong with that!