Waldo in Wonderland

 When you think of actress Janet Waldo, what cartoon characters come to mind? I imagine Judy Jetson, Penelope Pitstop, and Josie McCoy, among others, are the first you think of. Throughout her long career with Hanna-Barbera, she voiced many characters, some more famous than others.

One of those "others" happens to be Alice, the protagonist of the beloved Alice in Wonderland book. In 1966, Hanna-Barbera decided to give the storybook their own twist, leading to Alice in Wonderland (or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This?) premiering on the ABC network on March 30th, 1966. Written by comedian Bill Dana, the special brought together classic Hanna-Barbera voice actors with TV celebrities, giving us an impressive cast that included names like Harvey Korman, Alan Reed, Sammy Davis Jr,. Zsa Zsa Gabor, and last but most certainly not least, Janet Waldo.

The special, with its colorful imagery and memorable musical numbers, has made it somewhat of a forgotten gem in Hanna-Barbera's expansive library of animated works. Sadly, the special has never had any sort of home video release, and even re-airings have been few and far between. Thankfully, the special is easily available online, so if you haven't seen it before, I highly recommend checking it out. I do not think you'll come away disappointed.

With all of the backstory out of the way, it's time to celebrate this special 58th anniversary with this tremendous interview with the specials star, Janet Waldo. As she speaks with The Tampa Tribune, she discusses her voice-acting career thus far, from her work with Hanna-Barbera to more obscure gigs.

The Girl With Multi-Voice

By Bernie McGovern
Tribute Entertainment Editor

    When one picks up the telephone and chats with 75 people at once, he is either the President addressing the national association of something convention, or he's the butcher, baker, or anyone talking to Janet Waldo, the girl with multi-voice.
    Multi-voice isn't an affliction, it's a talent, and Janet Waldo has it. Putting just one of her approximately 75 voices, or "characterizations" as she prefers to call them, to work tonight, she will be speaking the title role in the ABC-TV animated special "Alice in Wonderland, or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing In a Place Like This?"

    Her voice on the special will be a 12-year-old giggle in the adaptation of Lewis Carroll's fantasy as modernized by writer-comedian Bill Dana.
    "I just like to do voices," she said calling as Janet Waldo. She stayed as Janet Waldo through most of the conversation but on occasion she would become a little old lady, or any other requested character.
    "I guess I started out just fooling around with my voice when I was a kid."
    That fooling around has paid off. She is "many" of the voices in the Hanna-Barbera cartoons, including about 10 different "characterizations" on "The Flintstones."
    "And I'm still fooling around with my voice," said Janet.
    "When my husband, or neighbors or anyone calls and I'm breaking in a new character, that character will answer the phone. If I succeed in fooling them, the character is ready."
    Janet is the wife of writer Robert E. Lee, co-author of "Inherit the Wind." The couple has two children and Janet claims the youngsters can do many of her voices as well as she can.
    She doesn't confine herself to cartoons. Her voice is widely used for dubbing. She's done some dubbing of foreign films, but mainly she does commercials.
    When those gorgeous things step out of the shower to tell the television audience about being really clean, the voice that comes through often is Janet's.
    "They're very pretty," said Janet, "but it's amazing how few models can talk."
    No mean looker herself, Janet started into show business as network radio and television's "Corliss Archer."
    She's worked theater and last season was a regular on the "Valentine's Day" series with Tony Franciosa.
    This season she has been featured on "Get Smart," "The FBI," "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" and "Please Don't Eat the Daisies."
    When working as a visual actress, the voice she uses is her own, at least she thinks so.
    The biggest danger to her busy career is the common cold which naturally alters her distinctive voice.
    "This show," said Janet about "Alice," "is a little different. It's completely modernized and it's a musical comedy."
    For all practical purposes, Bill Dana has just borrowed the Lewis Carroll characters and put them into a new storyline. He has a character for himself, the white knight who sounds like, "Jose Jimenez."

And with that, I can officially say posts for March are done and accounted for! That being said, I've got some exciting stuff coming in April, starting with a piece celebrating 24 years of the Boomerang channel. Until then, have a splendid weekend, and for those who celebrate the holiday, have a great Easter as well!

Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 Blu-Ray Box Set Review

 In 1987, Hanna-Barbera Productions went to work on a project that had never been done before or since in the history of television animation. Over a year, they released ten two-hour-long TV movies covering a large variety of their characters. These were referred to as the "Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10" series of films. Now, over thirty years since their TV debuts, the movies have returned thanks to the efforts of Warner Archive, and in Blu-Ray form no less!

Announced in January of this year and released in February, the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 Blu-Ray set was quite a surprise for many of us. I think many of us thought these movies would be left on DVD. Maybe one or two would get the Blu-Ray treatment, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine we'd get the entire set! And now, after several delays (you can blame work for that), I've come to dish out my thoughts on the package.

First things first, let's start with the packaging. The slipcase is simple but effective, giving viewers an overview of each movie, and some nice art of what they can expect from them. The movies themselves are divided into two Blu-Ray cases, with five in each. You've got Yogi representing the first half, while Judy Jetson is featured in the second case. Kinda figured they'd have Scooby appear in one of the cases (he does get three movies to himself, after all), but I'm glad they decided to represent one of the more obscure movies here. 

With the packaging out of the way, it's time to discuss the movies themselves! I won't get too in-depth with them, as I could be here all day on that subject, but in a nutshell, they are very hit-or-miss. Some are enjoyable, while others could not end soon enough. Here's a quick overview of my thoughts on each installment.

• Yogi's Great Escape - Too similar to 1964's Hey There, It's Yogi Bear! for my tastes. Not a bad movie per se, but it doesn't stand out from the former and is a weak start to these films.
• Scooby-Doo Meets The Boo Brothers - Out of the three Scooby films included here, this was my least favorite. A lot is going on here, and unfortunately, none of the storylines or ideas here merge into a truly satisfying feature.
• The Jetsons Meet The Flintstones - A fun romp combining Hanna-Barbera's most beloved cartoon families, but not without its drawbacks. The interactions between both families are few and far between, with most of the adventure leaving them on their own. A good time, but also a missed opportunity in some ways.
• Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose - Probably one of the odder entries, but that strangeness made it one of the highlights for me. It was a great treat to see Yogi with an extended cast of characters, and the storyline had plenty of twists and turns, which kept me invested in it. Again, probably not a great movie, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't fun!
• Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats - This one I'm mixed on. On one hand, seeing TC and the crew again (many of whom with their original VAs) was delightful, and the story was entertaining, if not formulaic. On the other, it feels more like an imitation of the original series than a continuation, lacking the feel and tone that made that series such a stand-out amongst other Hanna-Barbera productions. A good time, but I was left wanting more.
• The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound - Probably my favorite out of the whole series. Huckleberry Hound gets a well-deserved moment in the spotlight, and with writing duties handled by Tom Ruegger (whom you likely know for his work at WB Animation), it's one of the funnier entries for sure. The fact this was one of Daws Butlers' last performances as these characters also gives the movie a sentimental edge none of the others quite have.
• Rockin' with Judy Jetson - If any of these movies were in the running for a "Most 80s" award, this one would take it home. A fun adventure, but it suffers from the same problems as most later Jetsons media, namely going too far into sci-fi territory. The emphasis on Judy also means the other characters don't really have a lot going on here, unfortunately.
• Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School - the best of the Scooby movies presented here. The inhabitants of the Ghoul School are all memorable and welcome additions to the franchise, and the storyline here was a lot more enjoyable than the menagerie of plotlines in Boo Brothers.
• Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf - I know this is a fan-favorite, but I personally didn't care for it. Much like Boo Brothers, too many characters and storylines make for a film that ended up feeling more boring than actually exciting. I'd have gladly traded this one in for the Wacky Races movie we were supposed to get instead,

Overall, I found even the weakest films here to be at least a little entertaining, if only for how strange they were. The main problem with all the movies is, simply put, they are too long for their own good. That might sound like an arbitrary complaint, but you really feel the runtime of these movies. The majority of these would have been fine as 45 to 60-minute specials, but with the 90-minute runtime each movie had to fulfill, a lot of the movies feel like fluff and filler than anything of actual substance. But, with a set like this, you aren't necessarily buying it for the movies themselves. No, you're buying it to see them in high-definition for the first time, and on that front, they deliver...mostly.

Eight of the films look lovely and easily surpass their DVD counterparts Warner Archive put out over a decade ago, but then we have the last two films in the series: The Reluctant Werewolf and Invasion of the Space Bears. These films were never transferred to film, only tape, and due to that, the quality of these is pretty rough, especially compared to the other films in the set. While I understand the issue WB had here and I will say they still look better than the DVD versions, they aren't great looking, and if you are a fan of either movie, you will undoubtedly be disappointed with the end results. Below is a sample of screenshots for several of the titles, credit goes to Blu-Ray.com for all of these!

To make up for the poor quality of these last two titles, two bonus TV specials are included with them: Reluctant Werewolf gets Scooby Goes Hollywood, while Space Bears has Yogi's Ark Lark. I found both to be more entertaining than the actual movies, and they look beautiful. They made up the drawbacks with the films for me, but whether or not they'll do the same for you depends entirely on how you feel about them in comparison to the main features.

In conclusion, the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 Blu-Ray set is, much like the movies it contains, not perfect. The poor quality of the last two films, understandable as it is, does end the set on a sour note. But at the same time, I was never not entertained by them, warts and all, and it was awesome to see the rest of the set in such great quality. I can say that I am more than happy with my purchase, and I hope the positive reactions to the set galvanize Warner to continue adding more Hanna-Barbera titles to the archive line. There's a lot of shows and specials I know fans want, and I truly hope we get as many of them as possible. Say, that would make a good top-ten list...

David Feiss's Jetsons

 Back in June of last year, I discussed a proposed Jetsons reboot that Hanna-Barbera was considering in 1996. At that time, all that was known publically about the project was that prolific TV writer Ed Scharlach did a pilot for the series, focusing on George and Jane replacing Rosie with a human maid and that it was shelved around the time of the Warner and Turner merger.

Now, we know a little bit more about this series. Brian A. Miller, a former producer at both Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Network Studios, shared this piece of development art on his Twitter this past Friday. Below is the artwork, as well as Miller's comments on it.

"When I joined HB in 1996, they were exploring a reboot of THE JETSONS. During visual development we went out to several WAC creators to get their take. Here’s David Feiss’. Always so much life in his drawings. Unfortunately we never moved ahead with a series."

You heard that right, folks! David Feiss, known nowadays for creating Cow and Chicken and I Am Weasel, gave us this glimpse at what a version of the futuristic family would look like in his distinct artsyle. Funnily enough, Feiss was no stranger to Orbit City, as he had previously worked on the 1990 Jetsons feature as a key animator. As Miller mentions, Feiss was one of several artists who gave the project a shot. Who knows whether or not this is how the show would have actually looked had it gone into production (I think they would've gone back to something more classic), but it's a great glimpse into what could've been. I personally dig these designs and would have been totally down to see a full-fledged series using them. I also wonder if artwork from the other creators still survives. Imagine, say, Genndy Tartakovsky's take on The Jetsons. Perhaps Brian Miller will share more from this series in the near future!

UPDATE: Welp, barely an hour after this post went live, I find that Miller did indeed share more art from this project! Below is artwork featuring a new take on Judy Jetson, though Miller, unfortunately, could not remember who was behind this piece. Any readers who have an idea of the artist here?

Joe Barbera Chats with Animation Students

 This past weekend was Joe Barbera's birthday (March 24th to be exact), so what better way to celebrate than a belated video with the man himself? This is one I imagine most of you haven't seen before. Shot in 1990, this is an interview between Mr. Barbera and a group of animation students. The highlight of this video is definitely getting to see him draw Tom and Jerry, arguably his and Bill Hanna's most famous creations. It's not every day you get to see Joe actually sit down and draw, so it's pretty special to see here, even if the video quality isn't the greatest. Happy heavenly birthday Joe Barbera, and thanks for all the toons!

Video of the Week: Dancing Magilla Gorilla

 Here's a charming toy commercial from the 1960s. Created by Ideal Toys (who as you may know, were sponsors for Magilla Gorilla), this is a dancing Magilla Gorilla toy. Featuring the charming chimpanzee in his natural habitat, Mr. Peebles' shop, you could use the toy's transistor radio to make him strut his stuff! A fun commercial for what looks like a fun toy, and I have to add, it has a surprisingly faithful recreation of Magilla's design. Any viewers happen to have this or any other Ideal Toys products growing up?

Hanna-Barbera Superstars Return to TV!

 Among Hanna-Barbera loyalists, there's been a lot of talk regarding the "Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10" TV movies since they made their debut on Blu-Ray this last February. I'll save my own opinions on the films for my own review of the box set (which, I promise, is coming very soon), but until then, how about we look back to when the films were first announced to the general public? Coming from the Friday, August 21st, 1987 edition of Newsday, Joe Barbera speaks about how the movies came into being, and what viewers could look forward to seeing. Accompanying them is a nice ad that was sent out in emails, promoting the films' arrival to DVD over a decade ago!

A Comeback by the Hanna-Barbera Bunch

    After several seasons in which American kids turned their attention to toy-driven, metal-faced cartoon warriors, the old, cuddly bunch from Hanna-Barbera is staging an amazing comeback -- the Flintstones, Jetsons, Huckleberry Hound, Scooby Doo, Snagglepuss and even old Top Cat.
    The venerable Hanna-Barbera clan, owned by Taft Broadcasting, is producing 10 two-hour prime-time movies under the series name "Hanna-Barbera's Superstars" to air over the next year.
    Already, Worldvision, which is also owned by Taft and is syndicating the shows for Hanna-Barbera, has sold them in more than 70 percent of the nation's TV market.
    It will be the Hanna-Barbera cartoons' most significant evening TV exposure since "The Flintstones" became TV's first prime-time cartoon show in the early 1960s.
    What's behind the resurgence?

    "If there's such a thing as nostalgia, that's what's going on," said Joe Barbera, the patriarch of TV cartoons and creator of "The Flintstones," "Yogi Bear" and "The Jetsons."
    "Our shows have no death raids, no creatures from outer space, no characters with half-metal faces that talk in low growly voices," Barbera said. "Our characters are warm. We just have fun and people are searching for that again."    
    Barbera was noticeably taken by the Worldvision movie deal. "We offered them new Joe Barbera characters and they said, 'No, we want Yogi and the gang.' People want Yogi, well we're making new Yogi episodes."    
    Hanna-Barbera doesn't dominate Saturday morning TV as it did a decade ago, when it controlled almost 70 percent of the Saturday cartoon market. But it's still the leader, at about 35 percent.
    The company has found other lucrative outlets by battling in the TV syndication market and producing a highly successful Biblical videocassette series.
    Barbera, who is personally overseeing the scripts of the films, said owning established toon stars allows you to "concentrate on writing creative stories and play off the characters' personalities."
    In one of the upcoming movies, the Jetsons will meet the Flintstones. For Halloween, Scooby Doo becomes a reluctant werewolf. One of the films is a western, called "The Good, the Bad and the Huckleberry Hound."
    Barbera said the characters retain their charm in new settings partly because the same actors who supplied the original voice tracks are still employed by the Hanna-Barbera studio.
    People like Don Messick [voice of Boo-Boo, Ranger Smith, Scooby Doo and the Jetsons's Astro] and Mel Blanc [Barney Rubble and Dino] are going at it full-steam for us," Barbera said.

                                                                                                            -Scripps-Howard News Service

Overall, it's intriguing to hear about these movies in an early state, but I do find it a little funny how Joe remarks that their shows don't have any aliens in them. I guess Superfriends, Herculoids, and the Gobots weren't on his mind at that moment?

HB Characters in Cartoon Network Website Banners

 Here's something I thought would be fun to spotlight for a post. You see a lot of people reminiscence and archive the old Cartoon Network bumpers and promos that aired between shows, but not so much those that appeared on their website. So, without further introduction, here are some banner advertisements featuring the Hanna-Barbera characters from the CN website, circa 2000. The Flintstones, Wacky Races, Boomerang, and others are the centerpiece of these ads. Maybe there were more during this time, but these are the only ones I could discover from that point in the site's history. Very cool that they still work after all these years!

And, as a little bonus, here's an image that appeared on the site's game section during that time, with Squiddly Diddly playing a game (with two controllers I might add) and encouraging visitors to get Adobe Shockwave. Why did I throw this in with the banners? I don't know, I just thought it was neat!

Squiddly Diddly Pitch Art

 Here's a series I haven't really touched on before. Voiced by the genius Paul Frees and a master musician, meet Squiddly Diddly! Originally featured as part of segments in The Atom Ant and Secret Squirrel Show, Squiddly didn't quite make as big of a mark as those two characters, but all these years later, he still has his fans, and has made plenty of appearances in later Hanna-Barbera media.

Today, I share with you these pieces of pitch art done for Squiddly Diddly. Like the Impossibles ones I shared earlier in the month, these were done to sell the show to networks, and are pulled from Cartoon Network's old website. If I had to add my own two cents, I'd say I like how Squiddly looks here a bit more than in the final series. Not that the design we got is bad, I just think this one has more in the way of style and character.

Video of the Week: The Great Gazoo Invades Fruity Pebbles Commercials

 Saint Patrick's Day is this weekend, and what better way is there to celebrate it than with two videos featuring one of Hanna-Barbera's greenest characters? I am talking about the one and only Great Gazoo! While he didn't appear in the commercials as much as other supporting Flintstones characters, he did at least get to appear in two of them back in the 90s, both featuring Harvey Korman back in the role. This first one aired in 1996, and shows Gazoo helping Fred get back a bowl of Cocoa Pebbles from Barney. Henry Corden voices Fred as usual, and voicing Barney is Jeff Bergman.

This next one is a bit more interesting. Broadcast in 1998, this one shows Gazoo taking out the color orange from everything in the world, including Fruity Pebbles cereal. This was done to promote a contest where those who found rare boxes of orange pebbles would get a trip to Florida. Another interesting thing about this commercial is that it's one of the few I've seen featuring Wilma, voiced as always by Jean Vander Pyl. This might've actually been her last appearance as the character as well, considering this aired a year before her passing. All in all, this has to be one of the more unique commercials aired for Fruity Pebbles, and I hope you enjoy these!

Artists of Hanna-Barbera at Work

 The early years of Hanna-Barbera were truly stacked in terms of artistic talent. Off the top of my head, Carlo Vinci, Ed Benedict, Dick Bickenbach, Iwao Takamoto, Jerry Eisenberg, and Bob Singer are just some of the talented men who made the golden era of Hanna-Barbera what it was. So why don't we celebrate them by showing some of these men at work? From Cartoon Network's old "Hanna-Barbera Studio Tour" feature, here's a small set of photos featuring several of their artists doing what they do best.

First up is Dick Lundy. Best known for creating Donald Duck, Lundy worked for HB between the years of 1959 and 1973. His resume for them was quite large, beginning with Quick Draw McGraw, and ending with Captain Caveman, the latter of which was a freelance gig. 

Second up is Dan Gordon, who appears to be working on a scene featuring Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble. Gordon worked at several other animation studios before coming to Hanna-Barbera, including Fleischer and Famous Studios. He was among the first to be recruited by Bill and Joe to join their company, and worked there until he passed away in 1970. 

Third on the list is someone I've talked about a few times before, and that is Jerry Eisenberg. Son of comic book artist Harvey Eisenberg, Jerry started working at Hanna-Barbera in 1961 until he left the studio in 1977 to join Ruby-Spears. In the nineties, he would come back to the studio, and work on shows like Johnny Bravo and Tom and Jerry Kids. A talented man who I have only heard great things about, Eisenberg is among the last of the artists from Hanna-Barbera's early years still with us today.

Dick Bickenbach is the next artist I'd like to spotlight. A man whose resume includes cartoons for WB, MGM, and Hanna-Barbera, he was another one of their first recruits, and stayed with the company until 1980. Richard was one of the artists who really developed the classic art style that we all know Hanna-Barbera for, and remains one of their most famous employees. Below, we see him posing for a photo in the midst of doing layouts for a Scooby-Doo cartoon.

Speaking of everyone's favorite Great Dane, here's the man who designed him and the rest of Mystery Inc., Iwao Takamoto! Starting off as an artist for Disney, Takamoto joined Hanna-Barbera in 1961, and became one of their most important employees, handling directing and producing duties on many later projects. He stayed with the company until it closed its doors in 1996, but continued to consult productions featuring the Hanna-Barbera characters until he passed away in 2007. Below we see him, both with and without facial hair, doing what he does best.

Hanna-Barbera Goodies on Cartoon Network's Old Shop Website

 

Does anyone here remember CartoonNetworkShop.com? It's defunct nowadays (I believe it was shut down in 2021), but for a long time, it was the premiere destination for everything and anything Cartoon Network. In its earlier years, that also included merchandise for shows from Toonami, Adult Swim, and of course, Hanna-Barbera. Today, let's take a trip back to the far-off year of 2005 and see just what the website had to offer for fans of Flintstones, Scooby, and the other Hanna-Barbera classics.

If animation cels are your thing, this site had you covered and then some. An impressive set of limited edition cels were offered on the website, covering most of the classic series created by the studio. Unsurprisingly, most of them are based on The Flintstones, but there are plenty for Yogi Bear, The Jetsons, and several others.

As you go through, some other collectibles start to pop up, the most notable of these being statues. For the price of just 225 dollars, you could have a limited edition Fred or Barney statue. If you wanted a bit more bang for your buck, you could get the entire Jetsons family, as well as Rosie the Robot, for about the same price of both the Flintstones statues. The website also offered Bobbleheads from Funko, back in the days before they became known for their POP! vinyl figures. I unfortunately couldn't get images of them, but some of the bobbleheads offered included Elroy Jetson, Jabberjaw, and more.

If collectibles aren't your thing, maybe you'll be interested in their T-shirts? Interestingly enough, The Jetsons is the series that gets represented the most here. And don't you love that "Kiss my Astro" shirt? Seems like an odd thing to appear on a Jetsons shirt, but you have to remember this was still during the time when HB media was being tailored more towards the adults that grew up with the shows than younger audiences.

Last but not least, here's a look at all of the HB DVD's the website was selling at the time. It's nothing particularly noteworthy, simply the titles that were available at that time, but I thought it was interesting nonetheless. I must say, it's kind of crazy to see there was once a time when the first season of The Flintstones on DVD would cost you nearly seventy bucks. Nowadays, you can get the entire series on Blu-Ray for less!

The Train to Bedrock and the Future

 I shared several different pieces of Flintstones merchandise from the Marx company made during the show's original run back last month, and I am now back to share one I only learned of a few days ago. This item is a wind-up toy train that came in two different variations: Flintstones and Jetsons. Apart from the theming, the toys are essentially the same. See both of them below for comparison.

I think my favorite detail about these toys is the way they incorporate some of the more minor characters seen in both shows. For example, fan favorite Perry Gunite makes an appearance on the Bedrock Express. And how often do you see George Jetson's mother-in-law show up in merchandise? It's also fascinating to see these use some of the earlier versions of the characters, like how George is depicted with the cowlick that was seen in his model sheet, but never the series. In addition to that, Marx did a wonderful job making both look like they fit in their respective shows universe, rather than mere carbon copies. Even the littlest details between the two, like how the characters are displayed, are different. Overall, these are some real oddities among Marx's Hanna-Barbera toys, and among my favorite pieces they ever made.

Video of the Week: Top Cat Royal Bank of Scotland Commercials

 As much as I love sharing old commercials on this blog, something I enjoy even more is finding obscure commercials from countries outside the United States. The Hanna-Barbera characters have been used to sell all kinds of stuff all around the world, leading to some truly odd promotions. Take this series of Scottish adverts for the Royal Bank of Scotland, featuring Top Cat and the rest of his gang! Interestingly enough, this was one of the few Top Cat productions that released over there with the original title. For years, the show was referred to as Boss Cat in the U.K., as Top Cat was already the name of a cat food brand. Animation duties for all three ads were handled by Hanna-Barbera themselves. Check them out down below!

Introducing...The Impossibles!

 As the 1960s went on, Hanna-Barbera began to shift away from the comedic cartoons they had been known for since their inception, and started to focus more on action shows. Funny talking animals were out, and superheroes were in. It was this evolution that gave way to shows like Space Ghost, The Mighty Mightor, Shazzan, and many more. The Impossibles, however, was one of the more unique shows to come out of this era. Beginning in 1966, these were shorts that aired during Frankenstein Jr., revolving around a boy band that became crimefighters overnight.

Like any Hanna-Barbera cartoon of these days, the folks at the studio had to pitch the series to the networks in order to get it picked up. Below is a series of concept sketches that were presented during said pitch, archived through the Cartoon Network website of the early 2000s. Here, we can spot Fluid Man with a different color scheme, as well as an earlier title for the show. Wonder why they ditched the "Amazing" part of the title.

Penny Singleton: A Biography

 I'm sure you all are aware to some degree of the late Penny Singleton. Whether you know her for Jane Jetson, Blondie, or the many other roles she had across her decades-long career, she was absolutely one of the great and underappreciated talents of her era. However, few can say that they ever knew her personally. Steve Randisi is one of those individuals, and he's teamed up with Bearmanor Media to tell her story.

Published at the end of last year, Penny Singleton: A Biography showcases everything there was to the life of Penny Singleton. From her early days in vaudeville to her becoming the first woman president of the AFL-CIO, no stone is left unturned. Among the interviewees included in the book are Singleton herself, as well as many of her friends.

I know this seems a bit like a random post, but considering Singleton did have a major role in one of Hanna-Barbera's biggest shows (and I'm a fan of her work even outside of that), I felt like this deserved a shoutout here. My only mistake is I wish I had known of it earlier! I also have to give a big thanks to Kamden Spies for alerting me to this title.

If you're interested in purchasing Penny Singleton: A Biography, check it out on Bearmanor Media's official website, Amazon, and other similar websites. The book is available in both paperback and hardcover editions. I've already gotten a copy ordered, so get yours!

Huckleberry Hound View-Master Concept Art

 Back in January, I posted to this blog a series of concept sketches made for the Yogi Bear View-Master reel. Now, I'm back to post several that were made for the Huckleberry Hound reel. These, just like the Yogi Bear ones, come straight from the old Cartoon Network website. Sadly, I believe these were the only View-Masters they had concept art for. Other ones, like those done for The Flintstones, weren't available on the site as far as I can tell. But never mind what they don't have. Take a look below as Huckleberry Hound goes into outer space with these lovely sketches!

Video of the Week: All Aboard the Cartoon Express!

 We're all familiar with Cartoon Network, the very first channel to air cartoons 24/7, but I'm curious as to how many of you know of USA Cartoon Express. Airing on the USA Network between the years of 1982 and 1996, it was the first animation block to ever air on cable TV, and was a home for many Hanna-Barbera cartoons during this time. 

Over a dozen of their shows played on the block, making their characters a pillar of Cartoon Express. The characters even appeared in the block's bumpers, further demonstrating their importance to it. Below is a 1988 bumper advertising an airing of Huckleberry Hound and His Friends. I particularly love the ending of the ad, featuring several of the characters featured on Cartoon Express together. You gotta love Mr. T standing alongside Fred and Pac-Man!