A Quick Update

 Hey everyone! I'm making this post just to address where exactly I've been these last couple of days. I had a few posts intended to go up this week, but for reasons out of my control, I couldn't get them out. What was the reason? Well, a tornado came in through my town. Don't worry; I'm fine, as are my loved ones and my home, but it's left me without internet all week. It was only this morning it came back on, so I felt I owed you all an explanation about what's been going on.

Assuming the weather isn't an issue, there will be a lot to look forward to seeing here come June. Come back here on Monday, and I'll have a post rounding up every bit of news on the forthcoming MeTV Toons network. There's been plenty of updates on it since the initial announcement, and I can't wait to share it with you!

From Scooby-Doo 3 to Jonny Quest: The Unmade Live-Action Hanna-Barbera Flicks

 Following the release of 1994's The Flintstones live-action film, Hollywood got to work doing what it does best: milking something for everything it's worth. Since Flintstones was such a success, the next place to go was to make live-action movies of other Hanna-Barbera cartoons. Many have been in development over the last thirty years, but aside from Scooby and Yogi, they have yet to materialize. So what were some of these canceled live-action Hanna-Barbera movies? Find your seat in the theater, and sit back as we discuss several movies that will not be coming to a theater near you.

The Jetsons

The Flintstones have two live-action films under their belts, but what of their futuristic counterparts, The Jetsons? Believe it or not, The Jetsons had been in the works since 1985, a couple years before The Flintstones even began development. The film continued to be in various stages of development until 2015 when Warner Brothers pulled the plug and elected to make an animated version instead. Over those thirty years, numerous writers and directors bounced around the project. Joe Dante of Gremlins was going to direct it at one point, and there were even rumblings of Stephen Spielberg doing it. I've actually discussed this movie in great detail before (check that post out right here), so I won't dwell on it too much today, but it's kind of funny to see that, even in live-action, The Jetsons seem destined to be outdone by their stone-age ancestors.

Scooby-Doo 3

Intended for a 2006 release date, Scooby-Doo 3 would've been the finale of the live-action Scooby-Doo film series that began in 2002. In the director's chair would've been James Gunn, who wrote the first two flicks, and would go on to helm several films for both Marvel and DC Comics. Had it been made, it would've been his first directing gig in Hollywood. The plotline here revolves around Mystery Inc. visiting a town in Scotland infested by monsters, only to learn that the monsters are the victims of this story. Gunn said in a 2019 interview that the reason the film didn't come to pass is because the second movie simply didn't do well enough to justify another. However, between Gunn's return to WB and the surge of nostalgia surrounding these movies, there might be a chance that this film will happen after all. Maybe.

Hong Kong Phooey

Nope, your eyes are not deceiving you. The image above comes from test footage for a live-action take on Hong Kong Phooey, featuring Eddie Murphy in the title role. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news in 2009 that Warners was looking to bring Hong Kong Phooey to the big screen, and not long after, Alex Zamm was in the director's chair (you may know him for "classics" like Inspector Gadget 2). 2011 saw the announcement that Eddie Murphy would play the character, and after that...nothing! Near the end of 2012, the aforementioned test footage was leaked, and that was pretty much the last we heard of the film. If I had to wager a bet, I'd say the poor critical and box-office reaction to the Yogi Bear film that was released a few years prior played a role in putting this project on ice. If you'd for some reason like to see this footage, check it out here. This was also not the only project the live-action Yogi Bear movie would affect, but we'll get to that later.

Jonny Quest

Out of all the Hanna-Barbera properties, Jonny Quest feels like the obvious choice to turn into a Hollywood mega-franchise. It appeals to people young and old, mixes action and adventure, and has a colorful cast of heroes and villains. But despite numerous attempts over the years, the Quest crew has yet to get the silver screen treatment. The first attempt was by Turner Pictures in the nineties, who wanted Richard Donner (who had been considered for Flintstones years prior) to direct. A script was finished, but the film never happened. Years later, WB revived the project, and it's been in various states of development since. In 2018, Chris McKay, hot off The Lego Batman Movie, was hired to direct. He said a script had been turned in in 2021, and there hasn't been a peep since. Considering WB doesn't seem to be into much at the moment aside from DC adaptations, I doubt this version will manifest. That being said, I don't think it's the last we've heard of this one, either. If you'd like to know more about this one, stay tuned. I've got a post all about it which will be coming this fall!

Johnny Bravo

Swapping out one Johnny for another, there were talks about doing a big-screen version of Johnny Bravo in the early 2000s. Variety announced in late 2002 that WB planned on doing the movie with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as the character (funnily enough, The Rock would later on be considered for the role of Race Bannon in one version of Jonny Quest). And that's more or less where the story ends. As far as we know, no writer or director was ever hired for the movie. Why it didn't move forward is anyone's guess as well. Maybe the box-office failure of that year's Powerpuff Girls movie scared WB off from doing more films based on Cartoon Network properties? Or maybe The Rock felt he was too big for this kind of movie? The world may never know!

Yogi Bear 2

Remember when I said the live-action Yogi Bear movie killed plans for other Hanna-Barbera movies? Well, add this one to the body count. Yogi Bear 2 was the planned sequel to the original Yogi Bear released in 2010. For those expecting this would've been a David Lynch film, you'll sadly be disappointed. News broke in late 2012 that the film was in development, with the writers from the first returning to pen this entry, while Jay Chandrasekhar of Super Troopers fame directing. And just like the Johnny Bravo film, apart from that, nothing more was said. Again, seeing as the first movie didn't exactly light the world on fire, it's no surprise that this one didn't happen.

Space Ghost

When you think of Jason Segel, you might think of him as an actor, or as a comedian. But how about a Space Ghost fanboy? In a podcast he did with Deadline last year, Segel mentioned that he's a big fan of Space Ghost, and wrote a script around him in his free time. Nothing he said necessarily indicates the film is in active development, and it's unclear if he was referring to the original series or Coast to Coast, but Space Ghost is another character who could lend himself well to live-action if given the proper time and care. In an age full of so many silver-screen superheroes, it's kind of shocking it took someone this long to give Space Ghost a shot!

And Many More...

Those are the biggest projects I could find information on, but that isn't to say these were the only Hanna-Barbera films ever considered. For example, after the success of the first Scooby-Doo movie, James Gunn was approached to write films for both Jabberjaw and Captain Caveman, though he declined. Considering the sheer amount of characters found in the Hanna-Barbera library, I'm confident there are a lot more out there that we have yet to learn of. Maybe when the day comes when we learn of canned films for Sealab 2020 and Magilla Gorilla, I'll revisit this list. Until then, I'm curious to hear from you guys as to which films you would have liked to have seen made. And no, "none" isn't an answer!

The Flintstones Movie at 30: Thirty Facts About the Live-Action Film

Thirty years ago this month, the town of Bedrock changed forever. For thirty years before that, Fred, Wilma, and the rest of The Flintstones cast had only ever been realized through drawings. But in 1994, Universal Pictures, Steven Spielberg, and director Brian Levant gave the series the big budget, live-action feature film treatment. On May 27th, 1994, The Flintstones opened in theaters and became one of that year's biggest films.

All this time later, the film stands as arguably the last major installment in the Flintstones franchise. Ask most people under thirty about the characters, and I guarantee they will point to the '94 movie as their only frame of reference. The film's quality is also quite contentious, with some fans loving the film, and others hating it. Personally speaking, I can't say I'm a big fan of the movie. While it isn't without its merits (like the production design and cast) and it was clearly made with love for the source material, at the end of the day, this is a comedy, and it's not particularly funny. Having rewatched it recently for this post, some things got a laugh out of me, but nothing I can remember while writing this. It's a great example of a film that had far too many cooks in the kitchen, but I'll get to that later. 

Love the film or hate it, its place in the history of The Flintstones is undeniable, and to celebrate its 30th anniversary, here are thirty fast facts about the movie.

1. A Rocky Start - The Flintstones movie began life in 1985 when producers Joel Silver and Keith Barish bought the rights for a live-action film based on the series. They put Steven D. Souza on writing duties and planned on bringing in Richard Donner (Superman, The Goonies) to direct. (Entertainment Weekly Issue 225)

2. The Flintstones of Wrath - Five years and several writers later, Mitch Markowitz came on board and wrote a script that was reportedly inspired by The Grapes of Wrath. This script featured Fred and Barney going on a big adventure searching for work after their homes were rocked by a major depression. Needless to say, this was not the script that made its way to the screen. (The Los Angeles Times)

3. The Man Called Flintstone - After years of troubled development, Steven Spielberg bought the rights to the film, which would now be made through Amblin Entertainment. His first motion? To cast John Goodman in the lead role. Spielberg had already planned to cast him as Fred since working with him on the film Always in 1988. (John Goodman Breaks Down His Most Iconic Characters) 

4. The Good Scout - Goodman wasn't exactly enthusiastic about playing Fred, but that isn't to say he didn't care for The Flintstones. On the contrary! He was a big fan growing up and was often upset about missing new episodes due to Cub Scout meetings. (Disney Adventures Magazine, June 1994) 

5. Flintstone Fanboy - Of all the directors such a big feature could have gotten, why did Spielberg choose Brian Levant, whose resume was mostly TV writing credits? To put it simply, Levant was a Flintstones fanboy. He has an impressive collection of Flintstones memorabilia and knows the show inside and out. (Flintstones DVD Bonus Features)

6. The Ones That Got Away - As with any movie, many actors were considered to fill out the Flintstone and Rubbles families. Before Spielberg's involvement, John Candy was looked at to play Fred. Beyond that, Catherine O'Hara, Tracey Ullman, and Danny Devito were considered for Wilma, Betty, and Barney respectively. (The Los Angeles Times, January 17, 1993)

7. The Sharon Stone Story - One of the characters created specifically for this movie is Sharon Stone. Played by Halle Berry, she was Fred's secretary after his big promotion, and a henchmen of sorts to the film's villain, Cliff Vandercave. Now, would it shock you if I told you the character was originally intended to be played by the real Sharon Stone? Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately, depending on your thoughts on the movie), she had to turn the offer down due to scheduling issues. (ScreenCrush: See the Cast of 'The Flintstones' Then and Now)

8. The Flintstone 35 - How many writers does it take to make a Flintstones film? Thirty-five, apparently! Initially, Levant brought in a group of eight writers who had cut their teeth on various sitcoms, but as time went on and more meetings happened, so did the number of writers. That's not even getting into the amount of rewrites Levant himself did. (Entertainment Weekly Issue 225)

9. Betty Backlash - In the case of film adaptations, it's common for there to be backlash against actors who fans feel don't fit the part of their favorite characters. The Flintstones was no exception to this, and no actor had it harder than Rosie O'Donnell, who played Betty Rubble. Many bemoaned the choice, and as the film's release moved closer and closer, some of the criticism began to get just plain nasty. If you think I'm exaggerating, take a look at the photo on the side for proof (sourced from Cartoon Kingdom Magazine). While I understand the criticism towards her in the role, there's a big difference between critiquing and blind hatred, something fanboys still don't get. 

10. Creator Cameos - The Flintstones had more than a few appearances from those who brought the original cartoon to life. Jean Vander Pyl, the original Wilma Flintstone, portrayed the character of Mrs. Feldspar, who can be seen during Fred's surprise party. Harvey Korman, who gave life to Gazoo, portrays the Dictabird and archived audio of Mel Blanc was reused for Dino. Last but most certainly not least, Joe Barbera is seen driving a Mersandes, while Bill Hanna plays an executive at Slate and Company.

11. Additional Cameos - Several notable individuals from outside Bedrock also appear throughout the movie. Late-night host Jay Leno hosts a Bedrock cop show, comedic legend Jonathan Winters acts as a coworker of Fred and Barney, and the B-52s appear as the BC-52s.

12. Enter Elizabeth Taylor - One of the biggest gets for The Flintstones had to be Elizabeth Taylor in the role of Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law. Taylor hadn't appeared in a film since 1988, and this would be her final film role before her passing in 2011. She was a challenging get, too. Taylor did the film on one condition and one condition only: she had to be given a gift on every single day of production. (Kyle MacLachlan on Diner's on Me)

13. In the Town of Bedrock - To bring the Flintstones home to life, the production went out to both Utah and California. One of those California locations, a street in Vasquez Rocks, was open for visitors to tour after filming before it was demolished. You can see a tour of said location here.

14. A Glassless Production - Because all of the cast members for this movie had to be barefoot, extra safety precautions were made to make sure nobody involved would injure their feet. Chief among these was a rule that no glass was allowed on set, for reasons I think should be obvious. (Flintstones DVD Bonus Features)

15. Wilma's Wisdom - Let's go back to Miss Vander Pyl for a moment. After getting the part of Wilma, Elizabeth Perkins contacted her for help getting the character's voice right. Her advice? It's not "Fred," it's "Fre-ed!" (Variety Magazine, July 23, 1993)

16. Puppet, Man, Dinosaur - The process of bringing Dino to life was an arduous one. Initially, Jim Henson's Creature Shop was to create an animatronic version of the character, but his range of motions proved too expressive to do through these means. Then, they went for the classic "man in a suit" approach. A man named Dave Foreman played the character for two weeks before, yet again, it was decided things weren't working. Finally, they settled on using CGI to create Dino, though Henson's animatronic was used in certain shots. ILM was the effects house that handled creating Dino from that point on. (The Flintstones: The Official Movie Book)

17. Deleted Scenes - Like every other movie, a couple of scenes for The Flintstones were filmed, but didn't make it into the finished movie. However, if you're looking for them, you won't find them on DVD or Blu-Ray. Instead, you'll have to look at TV airings of the film, as some of them have the scenes reinserted in the film. There are also deleted scenes not seen on TV, but referenced in merchandise for the movie. For example, take a look at this trading card, which indicates that Jean Vander Pyl would've had an actual conversation with John Goodman's Fred. 

18. A Flintstones Christmas Story - During one scene, eagle-eyed viewers may notice a leg lamp, not unlike the iconic one seen in A Christmas Story. Being that this is a Flintstones movie, though, it is given an appropriate stone-age makeover.

19. Meet George Jetson - When Barney takes up a new job as an ice cream truck driver, its jingle has more than a passing similarity to the main notes of another Hanna-Barbera classic. The truck is playing the theme to none other than The Jetsons.

20. No Toilet Paper Here - When Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera got the chance to visit the set for the Flintstones' house, the two were pretty pleased with everything they saw. Except for one thing, that being a roll of toilet paper in their bathroom. Hanna remarked that there shouldn't be such a thing in the Stone Age, prompting them to swap it out for birch bark. (Hanna and Barbera Conversations)

21. First for Fur - The Flintstones might not strike you as a groundbreaking leap for visual effects, but it did just that through the appearance of Baby Puss. The character was the first ever to be made up of CGI fur. (Patricia Netzley, Encyclopedia of Movie Special Effects)

22. Gone in (Less Than) Sixty Days - The Flintstones might have languished in pre-production, but the actual shooting of the film was the opposite. The entire ordeal was over and done in just 55 days. (Total Film, April 2024)

23. The Flagstones - One of the more subtle references to the original series comes in when Mr. Slate calls Fred "Mr. Flagstone." That, of course, alludes to the title of the short film used to pitch the series, The Flagstones.

24. Music From Bedrock - As was standard at the time, The Flintstones had a soundtrack released alongside the movie. Weird Al Yankovic, Green Jelly, Stereo MC's, and more appeared, alongside a cover of Meet The Flintstones by the B-52's. That song even got its own music video!

25. A Mob of Merchandise - If you wanted Flintstones goodies after leaving the theater, Universal and their 500(!) licensing partners had you covered. You practically couldn't go anywhere without seeing Goodman's gob in caveman clothes, from clothes to books to toys to video games. One of the highlights of this product line? A plush doll of Fred Flintstone, complete with a disturbingly realistic John Goodman face. (The Daily News, May 31, 1994) 

26. Introducing Tonight's Host, Fred Flintstone! - To help market the movie, John Goodman appeared on Saturday Night Live shortly before its premiere. One of the highlights of this appearance was a skit where he helped educate viewers on Flintstones names, complete in Fred's wardrobe! Check out that clip here.

27. A Smash Success - To say The Flintstones was a hit would be putting it mildly. It had the biggest opening weekend for a Memorial Day release, and the biggest opening weekend in May period until Twister torpedoed it two years later. The film ended its run with a gross of  $340 million, making it the sixth highest-grossing film of 1994. (Box Office Mojo)

28. The Flintstones Trilogy? - Despite the film's success at the box office, we strangely never got a Flintstones 2. But that wasn't from a lack of trying. Universal had plans for an entire Flintstones trilogy, with the idea being that the movies would be shot back-to-back, Back to the Future Style. John Goodman had no interest in playing Fred Flintstone again and personally asked Spielberg to not pursue them. As a result, no real development was made for a sequel, and Universal opted to do a prequel instead, giving us Viva Rock Vegas in 2000. (Total Film, April 2024)

29. Accolades (Or Lack Thereof) - While The Flintstones was a big hit financially, it was a much different story critically. Critics largely panned it, with the flick ending up on many "worst of 1994" lists. It also earned a few Razzie nominations, winning both "Worst Screenplay" and "Worst Supporting Actress" for Rosie O'Donnell as Betty Rubble. 

30. The Creators React - So the critics didn't exactly go crazy for the film. What did Joe Barbera and William Hanna, the men who brought The Flintstones to life, think of it? According to director Brian Levant, they were over the moon. After seeing the film early, the two men hugged Levant, tears in the eyes of both. At a time when both men were more concerned with their legacy than anything else, it clearly meant the world to see one of their most prized creations brought to the big screen. (Hanna and Barbera: Conversations)

That's about all I have to say on The Flintstones, but come back here next Monday, as I discuss several other live-action Hanna-Barbera films that never got off the ground. Until then, I leave you with this comic panel of Fred meeting Fred. Enjoy!

Video of the Week: The Flintstones Arrive at Rocdonald's

 This week's video spotlight is a special one, because I've got not one, but two videos to share! This month marks the 30th anniversary of the live-action Flintstones film, and I have three posts dedicated to celebrating it, starting with today's entry. These are two commercials from Mcdonald's (rechristened as RocDonald's to go with the film's stone-age setting) that were released to promote their tie-ins to the movie. The first one presents both the Grand Poobah Super-Size meal, as well as a special RocDonald's T-shirt, probably now available at a thrift store near you.

This second one advertises a line of four Flintstones glass mugs that the fast-food chain was offering at the time. I'm guessing these sold pretty well, as barely a year later, McDonald's would do another line of mugs for Batman Forever, a similarly big summer blockbuster. This ad, like the prior one, also features an appearance from Rosie O'Donnell as Betty Rubble. Anyone here who had any of these mugs back in the day?

Review: Hanna and Barbera Conversations

A few months ago, I began very early work on a top ten list that would feature on this blog, chronicling what I believe to be the top ten best books focused on Hanna-Barbera. One reason that post is taking so long is because of the research process; making sure I've read every title discussing the company and the people who built it. Another reason is that the list is always shuffling in my mind. And, recently, a new title has become a candidate for appearing on this list. That book's name is Kevin Sandler and Tyler Solon Williams' Hanna and Barbera: Conversations.

Released by the University Press of Mississippi, Conversations is exactly what it says on the front. The book is a collection of interviews, press pieces, and many other first-person accounts from those who worked alongside Bill and Joe during their historic career in animation. The back of the book promises that it will be a lively portrait of the two men, and in that regard, it is a triumph and then some. You get a handle on what these two men are like very well. You understand their strengths and weaknesses, where one excelled and the other lacked. Whether it's Joe's great sense of business or Bill's hospitality, their personalities come alive through this book, making them less like these mythic legends of animation and more like the real people they were. 

Now, what about the interviews? As both individual pieces and a collection focused on telling you the history of Hanna-Barbera, they are phenomenal. Some I feel are stronger than others, and some you may have read prior, but I never found myself bored with a single one. The inclusion of each one also felt necessary to showcase the company's history. Just like I never saw one as boring, I never thought one was unnecessary, either. There's a great diversity in the names picked, too. Animators (Tom Sito), voice actors (Daws Butler), writers (Mike Maltese), and executives (Fred Seibert) all get the chance to shine and add their own personal experiences to the Hanna-Barbera story. Below are a few of my favorite pieces the book spotlights.

• Ed Benedict's discussion with Amid Amidi. I loved hearing him share his thoughts on how his character designs were animated, crude as some of them may have been!

• Darrell McNeil's look back on his Superfriends days. The first black animator the studio employed, his love of both the studio and superheroes is more than evident. You can practically feel his enthusiasm jump off the page.

• Tom Minton shares the story of his time in the Hanna-Barbera animation training program. An extremely prolific artist who's worked everywhere from Disney to WB, he sheds some much-needed light on an area of Hanna-Barbera history that has largely been overlooked. Out of these three segments, this chapter was probably my favorite.

I've been talking a lot about the good in this book, but that's not to say the book is without its drawbacks. For one, some of the content inside the interviews can be a little redundant. I swear you hear Joe Barbera at least three or four times talk about how long he and Bill worked at MGM on Tom and Jerry and how many awards they won. It does get a bit tiresome, but at the same time, that's not the fault of Sandler and Williams, or even the writers of the original pieces. It makes sense why that's discussed, it's just something that gets repetitive, especially if you're reading a lot of the book in a single sitting. Some might also be disappointed at some of the omissions included (or not included) in this title. Discussion about major shows, like The Flintstones, is almost nonexistent, and while there's a good deal of the talent behind their early work featured here, it would have been nice to hear from more of them. I'm sure others will levy these critiques toward the book, but for me, I can't say I agree with them. If you're interested in hearing more about how The Flintstones came into being, several books cover that. And while I would have loved to hear more of the early Hanna-Barbera artists talk, there are only so many sources they could have pulled interviews from (and that's assuming they'd be given the permission to republish them). 

In conclusion, Hanna and Barbera: Conversations is a must-add to any animation researcher collection, whether you're a Hanna-Barbera diehard or not. Out of all the books I've read that walk the reader through the studio's history, this is easily one of the best. From their high points to their lows, it tells you everything you need to know about the duo, and why they're still worth talking about so many years later. It doesn't matter if you're a Hanna-Barbera know-it-all or someone with a passing curiosity in them, it's a book that enthralls you from beginning to end. I found it hard to put down, and in my mind, that's the biggest compliment I can give a book. Give it a read for yourself. I can assure you, that you will not come away disappointed.

That's all I've got to say for today, but tomorrow will be this week's featured video. The first in a trilogy of posts loosely related, let's just say it's about to get real on this blog. What on Earth does that mean? Check back tomorrow to find out!

Putting Huckleberry Hound Together

 Today, I've got a puzzle to share with you all. Well, several puzzles, actually. Here is a set of four Huckleberry Hound puzzles, released by the Milton Bradley company in 1960. As you can see from the piece count and age rating, this was aimed at especially young audiences. The box art for the puzzles can be seen below.

Now, onto the puzzles themselves. The first one I'm discussing is pretty interesting, as the concept sketch is available online. This comes from the Cartoon Network website of the early 2000s, which I feel like I've mentioned way more than I ever thought I would. It depicts a game of golf with Huckleberry, Yogie, Mr. Jinks, Pixie, and Dixie. I cannot say for certain, but I'm pretty sure it was Dick Bickenbach who did the designs for these, as well as the art featured in previous posts focused on Huckleberry Hound merch. The characters certainly look like how he drew them in his model sheets.

The other three puzzles, unfortunately, do not appear to have their concept counterparts available online, or at the very least, the CN website didn't host them. These feature the characters mentioned above in other activities, such as a pool party. Boo Boo also seems to join in on the fun in these ones. The second one in this set, which features Huckleberry Hound by himself, strikes me as the oddest of the bunch. It's him spinning a yo-yo, which isn't weird at all, but it's the fact he doesn't have his hat on. I can't explain why, but it makes him almost look not at all the character. Crazy what kind of difference a hat can make!

Video of the Week: Yogi Bear Figures Out Mortgages

 Yogi Bear feels like a weird choice to be the headliner of a mortgage lender commercial, but in 2018, that was exactly what he ended up doing. This ad was produced by Rocket Mortgage, and tells a story involving Yogi getting to know the ropes of mortgages, with some help from Boo Boo, of course. A very weird ad, but a pretty charming one as well. The animation here is just as charming, feeling much like what a modern take on Yogi Bear could be. Maybe someday we'll get something like that, but for the moment, I guess this is the closest thing we can get.

A Hanna-Barbera Voice Actor Jamboree

 It's no secret that Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera earned an impressive list of awards throughout their legendary partnership. They racked up Oscars, Emmys, Annies, and so on. One of the more overlooked awards, however, was in 1983, when the pair were gifted a Golden IKE Award by the Pacific Pioneers in Broadcasting.

Now, a lot of you are probably wondering what the Pacific Pioneers in Broadcasting even is. From what I've gathered, it was a company founded in 1966 with the mission to preserve the Golden Age of radio. It appears to still be active, and since its inception, it's gone on to also focus on preserving the history of classic TV. By the time the eighties rolled around, the company was run by a fellow named Harry O'Connor. O'Connor seems to have had a lot of history with several of the biggest names in classic animation. In the late sixties, for example, filled several roles (the most notable being producer) at Mel Blanc Associates, which dabbled in several business ventures, like the creation of ads for both TV and radio.

In January of 1983, the duo that launched Hanna-Barbera was given a Golden IKE Award in Studio City, located in Los Angeles, California. And let's just say they brought in a lot of friends for the occasion.

Just take a moment to soak in that image. The amount of talent in that room is truly astonishing. Unfortunately, Joe Barbera and Daws Butler didn't seem to be present, though. This photograph was taken by the Daily News, and is dated on the back to January 21st, 1983. Despite my best efforts, however, I couldn't find any articles from this paper during this time focused on the event. I was able to find these two other photos, both featuring Mel Blanc. The first features him alongside Fred and Barney, while the other, a color photo, showcases him standing alongside Henry Corden and Gay Autterson. I imagine this one came from some magazine of the day.

Overall, this is a really cool piece of Hanna-Barbera history if you ask me. How many other photos have you seen featuring so many classic voice actors together? I didn't know him personally (O'Connor passed away in 2013), but Harry really seemed to have respect for all those amazing cartoon voice actors who came from radio. Beyond his relationship with Blanc, shortly after this, Casey Kasem and Gary Owens both became board members of the PPB. He seemed to have a love of these mediums that's rare both back then and especially now. I think I should turn this story over to you guys now. Did any of you see stories about this event in the press back then? If you did, I'd be happy if you left a comment informing me of what you remember!

Bill and Joe Look Back

 The year is 1994. The Flintstones, at the time the longest-running prime-time animated series, is about to get the live-action film treatment. Hanna-Barbera is gearing up for a major reinvention of the way they approach cartoons, with the What a Cartoon! show launching on Cartoon Network the following year. It was a busy time for the company, but where were the men the studio was named after? At this point in their careers, Joe Barbera and Bill Hanna didn't have much of a say in the day-to-day operations, but they'd still come in frequently and offer their opinions. The thing the two were far more concerned with now was their legacy. After rarely giving interviews throughout the 70s and 80s, the 90s saw Bill and Joe become far more candid, giving many interviews that chronicled the entirety of their animation careers.

One such piece appeared in the Asbury Park Press on May 22nd, 1994. Check out a conversation with Bill and Joe as they look back on their humble beginnings, their days at MGM, the formation of Hanna-Barbera, and the origins of one of their most enduring creations, The Flintstones.

Cartoon Czars

By MARK VOGER
PRESS STAFF WRITER

    

    Two wrongs made a right in 1957; 1.) MGM closed down its animation studio, effectively putting William Hanna and Joseph Barbera out on the streets, and 2.) the still-new medium of television was in dire need of fresh cartoons.
    Since that time, Hanna and Barbera have built a cartoon empire, producing 3,500 half-hours of animation for 350 different series, specials, movies, etc., handily snaring eight Emmys (to add to their seven Oscars).
    Just consider the pantheon of characters created by these two living legends of animation: Yogi Bear, the Jetsons, Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Augie Doggie, Pixie and Dixie, Snooper and Blabber, Touche Turtle, Squiddly Diddly, Snagglepuss, Dick Dastardly, Wally Gator, Magilla Gorilla and hundreds more.
    How would your childhood have been, had these characters never existed?
    On Friday, Hanna-Barbera Productions' greatest creation is getting Spielberg-icized. "The Flintstones"—starring John Goodman as gruff-but-lovable caveman Fred—is a shoo-in as this simmer's "Batman" or "Jurassic Park." Perhaps you've already obtained your tie-in glass mug from "RocDonalds?"
    Hanna and Barbera, both 83—who made bare-foot cameos in the forthcoming film—spoke with SECTION X in back-to-back phone interviews conducted in January, a week before the Los Angeles earthquake that shook their studios.

 Early Days

    Born in New Mexico, William Hanna began his career in the early '30s at Harman-Ising Studios, working on "Looney Tunes" and "Merry Melodies." He joined MGM's animation studio as a director and story editor in 1937.
    Born in New York's Lower East Side, Joseph Barbera did magazine illustrations before working at Fleischer Studios and Van Buren Studios. Hanna hadn't been at MGM long before Barbera joined him at MGM's animation studio in June of '37.
    For MGM, the fledgling team created Tom and Jerry, the cartoon cat and mouse, in their very first joint effort: "Puss Gets the Boot" (1940).
    Recalls Hanna: "We had this cat-and-mouse idea, and made one. It was looked at and we were told not to make any more. They felt the cat and the mouse was good for just one, period.
    "Well, that show went into the Texas circuit, and a lady—her name was Mrs. Short—wrote a letter to our boss and said, "When are you going to make some more of those delightful cat and mouse stories?"
    "So, he said, 'Go ahead and make some more.'
    "We started making them then, and I think that was practically the only thing we did for the next 20 years."
    During their two decades at MGM, Hanna and Barbera developed a kind of "shorthand" production system that gave them an advantage over competing studios.
    Recalls Barbera: "Back then, when (Friz) Freleng or Tex Avery did a cartoon, they'd sit and work on the idea and mull it over. Sometimes, they talked to a story man, but they still controlled the story. Each individual—like Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng or Tex Avery—had to work on the story, sketch it themselves, time it themselves and hand it out to the animator themselves.
   "That way, they were hard pressed, I'll tell you. Tex never got more than four or five out a year, and the studio was screaming at him that he was supposed to be doing eight cartoons a year.
    "When we started—Bill had been timing and directing, and I had been a story man and an animator— we almost automatically split the job up.
    "Say, for instance, we had an idea. We called it 'Bowling Alley Cat,' a 'Tom and Jerry.' I'd say to Bill, "That's a heckuva good title. Why don't we do that?" He'd say, 'Fine.' Now, he's busy at that moment handing out the animation for one we just finished, right? So I would start on  'Bowling Alley Cat.'
    "We never had a script. I would write the story as I drew it. And I would also be laying it out, production-wise. So, when I got it through, it was ready to go into production. As I finished the boards, I would hand them to Bill and he would time it out, make what you call 'sheets' (drawings), call the animator in, give him the artwork we had done and give him the scenes to do.
    "It was that simple."

The shutdown of 57'

    But by 1967, Hollywood's golden age had long since faded and business was slipping.
    "Television, at that particular time, was making inroads on the theaters, and they were suffering," Hanna recalls. "Warner Bros. was closing down, MGM was closing down, Disney was slowing down, and there were very few (animated) pictures being produced for the theater at all."
    "MGM was in great financial trouble," Barbera says. "They discovered that they could reissue our older 'Tom and Jerry' cartoons and get as much income as making a new one. That's how popular Tom and Jerry were. So, they said, 'Wait a minute. Let's not make any new ones. We don't have to spend the money."
    "Which was very shortsighted of them."
    "I think we had made 160 'Tom and Jerry' cartoons," Hanna says. "That many cartoons could service the theatrical circuits without any trouble at all. They had plenty there to keep the whole thing going indefinitely, and they tried to, but they didn't figure it right."
    "They hit the panic button," Barbera says. "Because, the next man who took over the presidency of MGM said, 'Who the hell did this? It's the stupidest move you ever made!'"
    Says Hanna: "So, Joe and I were the first ones to turn to television. We had to. There was no other place for us to go."

TV or not TV? 

    Not that television welcomed Hanna and Barbera with open arms.
    "Television was brand new," Barbera says, "and we were turned down and rejected by everybody because they knew that making cartoons the way we were making them was too expensive. Those cartoons we made for MGM cost anywhere from $40- to $60,000 for five minutes. That's what they were running.
    "Finally, Screen Gems agreed to do a series of five-minute shorts. I had worked up a storyboard and my daughter, Jayne—she was about 12—colored it at home. We went to Screen Gems and they kind of reluctantly decided to make a deal with us to produce five-minute cartoons. And do you know what the budget we got for that was? $3,000. We went from $60,000 to $3,000."
    "In order to accomplish this," says Hanna, "we had to change the way we made cartoons. In 'Tom and Jerry,' there was hardly any dialogue at all. It was all action. It required a great many drawings to make. When we made the cartoons for television, we used a lot more dialogue, and not as many drawings are required for that."
    "We'd use every trick that we knew about," Barbera says. "Taking drawings and moving them. Jiggling the screen. Zooming your camera in and out. Doing every trick you can to impart motion with the least amount of drawings.
    "Now this is out of—either you call it "Yankee ingenuity" or desperation. But you have to remember that we had to do it. There was no market and there was no money. So, we had to adapt.
    "And what happened was, we rejuvenated the whole industry. No one was doing cartoons when we did that. It worked, and it worked very, very well. The entire industry came back."

Off and Running

    "Ruff and Reddy" was the first animated series produced by Hanna and Barbera for television. After the success of "Ruff and Reddy," Hanna-Barbera productions cranked out one small-screen hit after another: Huckleberry Hound, Pixie and Dixie, Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw and Augie Doggie all brightened the childhoods of the baby boomers of the late '50s and early '60s.
    "We blossomed," Barbera says. "Instead of doing eight five-minute cartoons a year—which would be 40 minutes, right?—we were doing an hour and a half to two hours a week."
    As such, Hanna and Barbera had to further streamline their respective roles in their burgeoning operation.
    "We both worked on the development of characters," Hanna says. "When we would have a character and a format set up in our minds, Joe would then work with the writers/ He also directed the voice talent.
    "For my role, I was doing the timing and the animation. I worked with the artists, going over the scenes. Joe and I together would look at the pencil tests, and call for whatever corrections were needed."
    Barbera took on another role, "I ended up going out, being the salesman," he says. "I had to get on the darn plane in the wintertime and fly to Chicago or New York or St. Louis or wherever to pitch the shows. When I came back, I'd put 'em into work and record 'em and cast 'em, and Bill would supervise the production end.
    "It got to a point where they thought it was so easy that Bill would walk in and say, 'Hey, I need seven shows this year,' and walk out, right?
    Do you know what it means to sell one show?"

Birth of Bedrock

   

Of all the shows he pitched, Barbera's toughest sell might have been when he tried to convince network executives and advertising sponsors to buy a revolutionary concept: the first-ever prime-time animated series, "The Flintstones."
    "There were a lot of misgivings about whether it would work or not," Barbera recalls. "It caused quite a flurry. I can understand that, because it was so new. They were afraid. An animated show on prime time? At 8 o'clock at night?"
    The producer spent eight weeks in New York trying to sell the series. "I was pitching and pitching and pitching," he says. "People on Madison Avenue would be told, 'Go on up to the Screen Gems office and get a look at this crazy guy doing all the voices and all the sound effects.' That's the way I had to do it, right? This was a cartoon show—this was not live action. So, I'd take all the parts, do all the voices and keep pitching.
    "Everybody loved it. Nobody bought it. They kept loving it and passing, until the very last day."
    After ABC-TV finally bought "The Flintstones," Hanna and Barbera gave the project a great deal of special attention.
    "At that time, our thinking was, we were making a nighttime show," Hanna recalls. "Let's try and do as good a job as we can, and live up to the confidence they had in us to do it. W worked hard on developing the models, the selection of the voices, the quality of the animation."
    The rest is television history. "The Flintstones" debuted on Sept. 30, 1960, and for six seasons used its prehistoric setting to poke fun at exploding suburbia and advancing technology.
    Adults and children alike followed the adventures of Fred, Wilma, Pebbles, Barney, Betty, Bamm-Bamm, Dino and all the other citizens of Bedrock.
    Many more Hanna-Barbera-produced cartoon series followed, but none seem to possess that same spark of resonant warmth and humor as "The Flintstones." Both Hanna and Barbera consider the thexploits of the "modern Stone Age family" to be their crowning achievement.
    "The outstanding thing, and possibly the most original," says Barbera, "was 'The Flintstones.'"
    Says Hanna: "I think that—whether I should admit this or not—Joe and I, going back to 'Tom and Jerry,' have been very lucky in being able to do cartoons that have universal appeal. 'Tom and Jerry' seemed to be as well liked by adults as by children.
    "'The Flintstones,' of course, was geared more to adults, but I guess we were just lucky that kids seemed to enjoy 'The Flintstones,' too.
    "So, I honestly think we just kind of lucked out."

That's it for this piece, but I'm not done sharing words from Bill and Joe just yet. I'm currently working on a review for the recently released book, Hanna and Barbera: Conversations. Spoiler alert: it's excellent, and if you want to know more about the history of the studio, it covers that and then some. The review should go up sometime next week, but I've got a few surprises in store until then. Check back tomorrow, and we'll discuss one of the many awards the duo received, and the many friends who came along to celebrate the occasion.

1990 Jetsons Ceramic Mugs

 Ever wanted to take a sip of coffee straight out of George, Jane, Judy, and Elroy's craniums? I doubt anyone will say yes to that, but if you did, these guys have got you covered. Released in 1990 as just one of the many product tie-ins to the Jetsons feature film, this is a set of four ceramic mugs released by a company called Vandor. From my research, they're still around and making mugs today, although nothing quite as interesting as this set. 

Above is a group photo of the mugs; goodness gracious, they are creepy! Well, the George mug isn't too bad in all honesty, but the others? I could do without them thank you very much! Jane and Judy look particularly ghastly. I also can't imagine these would work all that well practically. They look like they'd suffer the same problems most of those "character heads as coffee mugs" have. They're neat in design and a fun oddity, but I couldn't see myself or anyone else drinking something out of them. And how come we didn't get Rosie, Astro, or Spacely?

An Early Mother's Day Post

 What's this, a blog post on Saturday? Has the world fallen into chaos? No, but I have some really big news that I felt deserves a little post of its own. If you're a regular visitor to the Cartoon Research website, you may know this already, but if you aren't (you definitely should be), I'm ecstatic to say that I contributed to a post uploaded to the site this past Friday. The piece, written by Michael Lyons, celebrates Mother's Day by looking at "The Blessed Event," the episode of The Flintstones where Pebbles is born. Lyons, who I've mentioned here a couple times and collaborated with for my "Favorite Flintstones" post in February, was kind enough to ask both myself and Greg Ehrbar (another name I bring up frequently) to say a few words on why the episode stands as one of the most important in the series.

As somebody inspired to create this blog partially by the Cartoon Research team, contributing to a post on the website was nothing short of a dream come true, and it was a lovely piece to work on. You can find Lyons' post right here. His features are some of my favorite on the site, so adding to those was something special. 

That said, I hope everyone has a great Mother's Day tomorrow, and I'll sign off with this funny Cartoon Network print ad from 1993 celebrating the holiday. Be sure to thank the Wilma Flintstones, Jane Jetsons, and Race Bannons in your life, and I'll see you guys again next week!

Gary Owens Remembered

He was a voice actor, a radio DJ, a writer, a comedian, and a surprisingly good basketball player. This is Gary Owens, friend of those who want no friends, going places and losing things.

Born in South Dakota on May 10th, 1934, Owens was a man of many talents. He's best known for his various disk jockey gigs and as the announcer of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, but for us here at The Exposure Sheet, we will remember him best as one of the most underrated cartoon voice actors of the 1960s. Gary Owens's cartoon history actually goes back to before he ever voiced any characters. His radio career saw him cross paths with legends like June Foray and Paul Frees, and he wrote for Jay Ward cartoons like Rocky and Bullwinkle. But his booming voice and deadpan sense of humor were a perfect fit for cartoons, and in 1965, he played his first cartoon character when he took on the title role of Roger Ramjet. Just a year later, Hanna-Barbera got ahold of him, and he began voicing his most enduring character, Space Ghost.

Over the next forty years, Gary Owens was heard in an impressive catalog of cartoons. You could hear him in The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, Ren and Stimpy, Batman: The Animated Series, SWAT Kats, and Dynomutt. Many of these shows had him taking on the role of narrator, making him the go-to voice in animation when you needed someone to set the stage for your show. Owens even had a small cameo appearance in Space Ghost's late-night series, Coast to Coast, and would reprise the role in a 2011 episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Tragically, that would be his final voice-acting role.

On February 12th, 2015, Gary Owens died of complications from diabetes. He had been dealing with the condition since childhood, and it sadly claimed his life. In memory of him on what would've been his 90th birthday, below is a piece dedicated to him from UPI writer Vernon Scott, relatively early in his animation career. 

Regular 'Laugh-In' Show Opener Is Busy Radio Announcer, Writer
By Vernon Scott

   

     HOLLYWOOD (UPI): Gary Owens is the nut on "The Rowan and Martin Laugh-In" who stands in front of a microphone, holding a cupped hand to his ear and opens the show by announcing "Morgul as the friendly drelb."
    There is no Morgul. A drelb is a furry, sick-looking abominable snowman. But Owens is real enough and even shows flashes of sanity.
    In addition to his playing straight man to the resident dingalings on the show, Owens is a disk jockey for radio station KMPC in Hollywood from 3-6 p.m. daily.
    When he isn't taping the "Laugh-In" or spinning records, the South Dakota native is doing commercials. Last year his voice was heard in no fewer than 350 commercial pitches in addition to providing the vocal cords for cartoon characters "Space Ghost" and "Roger Ramjet."
    Owens is married to a pretty girl named Arieta whom he met on the campus of Dakota Wesleyan University. They exchanged vows in 1956. They are the parents of Scott, 9, and Christopher, 5.
    Their Encino estate in the San Fernando Valley is complete with a swimming pool, a full-time maid, and three dogs: Two dachshunds, Julie and Rosebud, and a terrier who answers to Skoshi.
    Owens is proud of the fact that he began bread-castings in the Dakotas when he was only 16. He did his first announcing job with another Dakotan, Lawrence Welk.
    The many-faceted Owens has three offices, one at home, another at KMPE, and a third in a Hollywood office building which is filled with filing cabinets of gags, trivia, and information for his radio show.
    At the moment he is completing his first book, "Gary Owens Looks at Radio," a tome on humor scheduled for publication in September.
    Owens manages to juggle his busy schedule because the producers of the NBC TV comedy sensation allow him to "wild-track" his "Laugh-In" bit on tape Tuesday mornings. He returns Wednesday evenings—after his radio show—to tape scenes with other members of the wacky staff.
    To relieve the tensions of his fast-paced life, Owens plays basketball on a regulation outdoor court flanking his home.

Video of the Week: Wacky Races Go Live

Over the years, many Hanna-Barbera cartoons have been looked at to make the jump from the second dimension to the realm of live-action (I'll discuss many of these attempts later this month), but one that has not is their 1968 classic, Wacky Races. There was an animated movie announced in 2018, but it looks like there's not a lot of interest in turning this series into a feature film. Now, a TV commercial, that's a different story. In 2013, Peugeot commissioned an ad for their Peugeot 208, and the Wacky Races cast came along for the ride.

I've shared a lot of commercials featuring the Hanna-Barbera characters on this blog, but out of them all, this might be my favorite. For one, it's nice to see the characters do more than simply shill for the advertised product. Secondly, you can tell this was a labor of love from the crew here. All of the characters and vehicles make the jump from animation to live-action very well. Even Muttley looks pretty good, which is impressive considering the small budget this commercial undoubtedly had. When you look at this ad, you can understand why we've never gotten a Wacky Races live-action movie. This commercial already did it perfectly!

Yogi Bear and Friends Call it a Night

 There's nothing better to have by your bedside than a lamp, and over the years, many Hanna-Barbera series have been represented in lamp form. Today, I'm going to showcase some of my favorites, from the bizarre to the beautiful. Let us begin with a few you've probably seen before. These are some of the very first Hanna-Barbera lamps released. Below, you'll see Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, and Quick Draw McGraw. Others were produced as part of this line, but these seem to be the most common. Yogi doesn't look too far off his animated counterpart, but Huckleberry Hound and Quick Draw could use a little work. This was one of several pieces of early Huckleberry Hound merchandise to sport the infamous red color scheme, while Quick Draw looks a bit more like Dino in cowboy clothes than everyone's favorite sheriff.

Around the same time these lamps were released, the Arch Lamp Company made these headlamps for both Yogi and Huckleberry Hound. I only discovered these very recently, and I have to say, I really like these ones. Yes, the colors are still off, but they look pretty close to the characters. For 1962, I'm impressed!

Moving on to the 80s, here's a Flintstones lamp, as well as a Jetsons one. Both look pretty similar, so I imagine these were made by the same company. I could easily have made this post just about Flintstones lamps, but I decided to focus on this one for now, as it's another that many don't seem to know even exists. The Jetsons lamp is interesting if solely for the fact that it features Orbitty, a character made for the 80s episodes, but was mostly ignored in merchandise. Here, we see him asleep with both Elroy and Astro.

This next one is a really special one, and one I'd love to have in my own collection. Released in 1996, this is a lovely lamp featuring Quick Draw McGraw and Baba Looey, the former of whom appears to have gotten his behind pricked by a cactus. These sport Craig Kellman's redesigns for the characters, and I never would have imagined such designs would translate so well in 3D. Ain't it crazy to see this one compared to that first Quick Draw lamp? 750 of these were made, but I don't know where this lamp was sold. If I had to guess, I'd say the WB Studio Store, but your guess is as good as mine.

For the last lamp I'm showing in this post, I thought I'd go with what is perhaps the most obscure one. This is a lido lamp made in 2000, to help promote the launch of Cartoon Network's Boomerang. Like the Quick Draw lamp, I have no idea where this was sold, but considering there isn't a lot of info on it online, it's safe to say this is one of the rarer Hanna-Barbera lamps. The piece uses the Boomerang branding and is adorned with those memorable figurines that were featured in the channel's original bumpers. 

Snacks at the Hanna-Barbera Studio Store

 Now here's a little something I found on eBay the other day that caught my eye. Below is a bottle of candy representing Scooby-Doo and the snacks named after him.

Ok, so it's an old piece of Scooby-Doo-themed candy. There's been plenty of those over the years, so what's special about this one? Unlike your various Scooby cookies and Scooby gummies, this was offered only to Hanna-Barbera employees at the studio's store, which opened in the early 1990s. I've talked about the offerings of said store a few times in the past, but I never once heard anything about candy until now. Others were also available to purchase, such as this bottle referred to as Droopy's Drops (pictured alongside a Droopy keychain the store also sold).

I couldn't tell you what the Scooby snacks tasted like (and judging by their appearance, they don't look particularly tasty), but the Droopy candy was similar to jawbreakers, according to an older eBay listing. Maybe there were more done, but these were the only ones I could find anything about online. If any of my readers happened to have worked for Hanna-Barbera back then, did you ever try any of these? Furthermore, do the Scooby snacks taste as bad as they look?