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...