Video of the Week: Geico Dishes Out a Flintstones Scoop

 It's time for this week's video, and what else could it be other than The Flintstones shilling for some random product? In this instance, we see them in a Geico commercial from around 2007. This one is actually kind of unique compared to a lot I've shown so far. Rather than having the characters going on about the joys of Geico, we see a sensationalized, TMZ-esque report, giving us "the real scoop" on the stone-age family. All of the footage comes from the original series, and this presentation style makes this ad one of the funnier I've seen. Check it out below!

Hanna-Barbera Cookie Jars at the Warner Bros. Studio Store

 Following the merger of Turner and Time Warner, the Hanna-Barbera characters became a common fixture of the short-lived Warner Bros. stores, alongside other properties like the Looney Tunes and DC Comics superheroes. There, you could find the characters as keychains, plush dolls, and the focus of today's post, cookie jars. For whatever reason, cookie jars were popular at these stores, so several Hanna-Barbera characters got turned into jars, some more than once! This isn't a comprehensive collection of them all, but I thought I'd share a few of my favorites, starting with this one of Scooby burning out of a TV set. Scooby-Doo got several cookie jars, which isn't a surprise, as these were made right around the time the franchise became popular again. Overall, it's a pretty good piece. I dig Scooby's expression, and the concept of him popping out of a TV is a lot more interesting than just being a statue of Scoob that has his head pop off.

Speaking of Scooby, here's a fun crossover jar featuring him alongside Dino and Astro, two of Hanna-Barbera's other canine companions (Dino may not have been a dog, but considering his personality, he might as well have been). This was the only cookie jar they did that crossed over characters, which is a real shame. This has to be one of my favorites in the line.

For The Jetsons, we got this lovely jar based off of everyone's favorite maid from the future, Rosie the Robot, who looks like she's ready to prepare some tea. There's actually another Rosie cookie jar that exists, but I think this one is a better depiction of the character, at least from images online. This one looks just a bit better proportioned than the later one. 

The Flintstones, to nobody's surprise, also had their fair share of cookie jars at the store. Below are three in the line: Fred at the quarry, Wilma and Betty, and one of the family in the Flintmobile. The first one looks great, but I feel the latter two leave a lot to be desired. Something about the faces on the Wilma and Betty jar just seems off, and that can also be said for the Flintmobile one. And no, I don't know why Wilma's wearing a blue dress in these. Perhaps they thought it looked more visually appealing?

With this lookback wrapped up, I'm curious if any of my readers have (or had) any of these, or anything else from the WB store. It sounds great from everything I've heard, so I'd love to hear about your experiences there. It's just a shame the store closed so early. We never even got a Funky Phantom jar!

HB Voice Actors in Classic TV Shows The Third

 It's been a minute, but I'm back again with another entry in my "Hanna-Barbera Voice Actors in Classic TV Shows" series! You know the drill by now, so let's get right into things with this segment on the beloved game show "What's My Line?," featuring Top Cat voice actor Arnold Stang alongside another name you've probably heard of, Betty White.

Next, meet George Jetson! Or, the man who breathed life into him, to be exact. This is George O'Hanlon as Joe McDoakes, the main character in a comedy series he portrayed for several years. These were made for theaters instead of television, but as these air often on TCM, I felt they were worth showing here. The one below is one of my personal favorites from the series, showcasing him as a bit of a model railroad addict. If you enjoy it, I'd definitely recommend watching more, as it really is a great series of films.

Finally, here's another on-screen appearance from Janet Waldo, this time on The Andy Griffith Show. While this isn't as remembered as her appearance on I Love Lucy, it's probably a good choice for second place. And rest assured, this isn't the last time we'll see Miss Waldo here. I haven't even gotten to Valentine's Day!

The Cartoon Network Dive-In Theater Tour

 Everyone who has even a passing interest in cartoons knows of Cartoon Network. For over thirty years they've been (or so they claim to be) the best place for cartoons. But in its early years, it was a much different story. The channel was brand new, and had to market heavily to attract viewers. Cartoon Network's marketing got pretty creative in its earlier years, and one of its most unique endeavors was the Cartoon Network Dive-In Theater Tour.

Running through the summers of 1995 and 1996, the Dive-In tour saw the channel take over various water parks in the United States. Each event featured previews of their series, as well as games and prizes. Below is a piece about one such event that appeared in the July 12th, 1996 edition of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Accompanying the article are several of the unique rafts and floats that were offered at these parks.

Casanova, other Toons capture attention of young park patrons

By Monica S. Skaggs

    Kitchen Casanova, one of the Cartoon Network's newest animated characters, won the heart of the 7-year-old Watauga girl last night.
    "I liked it when the food started burning." Kali Barber said as she sat scrunched up on a lounge chair next to her parents, Nancy and Steve Barber, and her 4-year-old sister, Lisa.
    The Barbers were among 775 people who turned out for the Dive-In Theater at NRH2O Family Water Park. The Cartoon Network took over the popular water park for a night of sneak-preview cartoons, prizes, and a visit by Space Ghost, a 40-foot blowup cartoon character clad in a swimsuit.

    Guests had a chance to preview five cartoons and a trailer of The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest on a 9-by-12-foot screen.
    "That's about as fresh as they get," said Paul Siefken, a Cartoon Network spokesman. "It's hot off the artist's pen."
    The antics of Kitchen Casanova, billed as "a love-starved Casanova who tries to cook up dinner as well as a little romance for his date," garnered several laughs from the young viewers.
    NRH2O was the first stop in an 11-city Cartoon Network tour that will include New York, Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco.
    "We're only one of two sites that were chosen last year, too," NRH2O spokesman Jack Thompson said. "We were so popular, they came back."
    At last year's first World Premiere Toons Dive-In Theater, children at NRH2O previewed a cartoon featuring a carrot-topped boy genius named Dexter. They—and other children around the country—apparently liked what they saw.
    "He's a big sensation now. He recently got an Emmy nomination," Siefken said. "We're using the World Premiere Toons as a pilot program. We show new talent to these kids, and when we find out what they like, we turn it into a series. Dive-In Theater is an excellent opportunity." 

    The Atlanta-based Cartoon Network, an all-animation channel, is operated by Turner Broadcasting System Inc.

If you'd like to know more about these events, check out this Twitter post from Brian A. Miller, who worked as a producer for Hanna-Barbera in its final years before embarking on a 21-year journey at Cartoon Network Studios. His account, in general, is worth a follow if you're a fan of either studio, as he's always sharing interesting stuff and great anecdotes from his time in the industry. 

Hanna-Barbera Characters on Italian TV Program "Carosello"

 As we all know, the Hanna-Barbera characters, not unlike those of Disney or Warner Bros., have managed to achieve fame all over the world. Whether it's Top Cat getting his own feature film series in Mexico or Johnny Bravo's enduring popularity in India, people across the globe can't get enough of their creations. This is arguably most evident in advertising. Just like in the states, the Hanna-Barbera characters have been used to sell products of all kinds in dozens of territories.

One of the more intriguing instances of their characters being used to sell items outside of the U.S. came about in the 1960s, when several of their properties were featured in the Italian TV series known as Carosello. Italian for 'Carousel', the show existed for the sole purpose of advertising products to viewers. Each airing was made up of several sketches, with each advertising a different product. As the show continued, the sketches became more unique; some were hand-drawn, some were done using stop-motion animation, and others remained in live-action. But the most interesting element of the show was that in its second year, it began using beloved animated characters to help promote its products. This included faces like Sylvester and Tweety of the Looney Tunes, Popeye, and a couple of Hanna-Barbera characters for added measure.

Four Hanna-Barbera series in total were featured on Carosello: The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Yogi Bear, and Huckleberry Hound. Each series advertised a different product. I'll start by looking at The Flintstones first, which promoted Neocid, a pest control spray. Below is one segment from the show featuring the characters. These aired on the show from 1965 to 1971 (that's at least what the Italian version of Wikipedia says). Several others can be found online, but I cannot say how many were actually made, nor how many have been archived. Studio Pagot handled the animation on these and most others, but occasionally had help from other studios. I've seen some sources online suggest Hanna-Barbera themselves were involved in animating these, but I don't know if there is any truth to that. 

While The Flintstones worried about flies and other insects, The Jetsons instead advertised various appliances. These segments were animated by the folks at Gamma Film and Studio Pagot. Here's one segment featuring the futuristic family, which apparently aired on Carosello in 1968.

Yogi Bear is featured in the segment below from 1974. He helped advertise a line of snacks from the San Carlo company. By this point, you can see that Carosello was kind of all over the place when it came to what they promoted. It didn't matter if it was food or pesticide, so long as it was something they could advertise to you! Unlike the others, however, I couldn't find other Yogi Bear Carosello segments. I'm sure they're out there, but this was the only one I could uncover.

I've got one last video to share, and this time around it's of Huckleberry Hound. He advertised a cream cheese snack known as "Formaggino Mio," as seen in this segment from 1969, which was animated by Studio Pagot. You might be surprised to see Huckleberry Hound here with a wife and child, but there's a reason for that. Apparently, Huckleberry Hound was outrageously popular over in Italy at the time, which led to him getting merchandise like books and comics that depicted him as more of a family man. 

That's everything for today, but I'm not done covering Carosello just yet. Later this month, I'll share some print ads done alongside the Flintstones sketches, as well as a newspaper piece from the 1970s discussing the show. If you found this as interesting as I did, I recommend you check out this site dedicated to the series. It's something akin to an encyclopedia on the show, and it proved invaluable in researching this article. If you want to see more of these segments or just want to know more about Carosello, there's nowhere better to do so than here!

Video of the Week: Summertime at Jellystone Resort

 With the summer officially here, a lot of you are probably thinking about places to get away and have some fun in the sun. And if you love Hanna-Barbera cartoons, you are most likely more than aware of Jellystone Park. For those unaware, Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park is a chain of campgrounds found throughout the United States and Canada, with the first launching in 1969 in Wisconsin. Over fifty years later, around 75 parks are active, with each aiming to offer families a great time with Yogi, Boo Boo, and the rest of his gang. 

That brings us to today's video. Here's a fun little commercial for a Chicago-based Jellystone Park, which aired in the area during 1999. Unfortunately, if you want to visit this particular park, you're out of luck. It was rebranded to Sun Retreats Millbrook sometime ago. At least you still have 75 or so to pick from if you want to visit one!

Janet Waldo is a Barbie Girl

 Everyone at this point knows Janet Waldo as a certified voice-over queen. On television, she portrayed Judy Jetson and many other cartoon characters. Over the air on the radio, she played Corliss Archer. Waldo's voice was often heard in many TV commercials in the 1950s and 1960s. One of her most enduring gigs in that field was as the narrator in many of the commercials for Mattel's Barbie line.

From my understanding, Waldo was the primary narrator in Barbie commercials from the 1960s until some point in the 1970s. Below are two ads in which her voice could be heard, both from 1964. The first advertises Barbie's travel costumes, while the second shows off Skipper, Barbie's little sister. I gotta be honest, until I found these videos, I didn't even know Barbie had a sister!

Top Cat: The F-14 Fighter Pilot

 Imagine this: a Hanna-Barbera character as the official mascot of a U.S. aircraft carrier. Sounds like the ramblings of a madman, but that's something that did happen! In 1988, the crew behind the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower asked Hanna-Barbera if they could make the character of Top Cat the mascot of their F-14 fighters. Hanna-Barbera allowed them to use the character, and cooked up this cel of Top Cat acting as a fighter pilot, which you can see below. The actual cel was autographed by Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera. This design was also used for patches that pilots could wear on their uniforms, although it doesn't seem like photos of these items are archived online. Still, it's a pretty cool, if odd, crossover if I say so myself!

More Hanna-Barbera Studio Store Goodies

 Back last fall, I made a post discussing the Hanna-Barbera studio store (which you can find here), which showed a couple of the many items sold at the store during its short life. Now, I come back with even more Hanna-Barbera memorabilia that only those who worked for the company could claim! Starting things off, we have some keychains. The first is a set of four Flintstones keychains, which rock the same designs seen in the 1994 Flintstones style guide. The second one is based on Muttley from Wacky Races, who we will be seeing again in this post.

If keys aren't your thing, then what about mugs? Around 1996, the store offered a line of three mugs, each based on different characters and series. You had Fred Flintstone (sporting his Craig Kellman design, the style of the time), Scooby-Doo, and once again, that nefarious Muttley. It would have been cool to see the latter two also in the Kellman art style, but I guess they wanted to go more classic for them here. Speaking of Kellman's designs...

Here are two baseball caps for Snagglepuss and Huckleberry Hound, both based off of Kellman's redesigns. When I made a post focused on these designs last year, I mentioned there wasn't really any merchandise for the non-Flintstones characters. To date, this is the only stuff I've ever found that does use Kellman's versions of the other HB characters. The designs are essentially the same, save for the character of course, which makes me wonder if there were more in this line.

Last but not least, I've got two ties to show off. Last time, I featured an Atom Ant one, and now, I have two for Space Ghost and Bandit of Jonny Quest. Both look fresh, and it's interesting to see Space Ghost merch released alongside Coast to Coast's original run, but still in the style of the original series. Also, note how they goofed up and colored his hands red instead of the usual white.

That's it for today, but I am 100% sure that the store had a lot more than what these two posts have shown. Researching this store can be a bit tricky, as many get it confused with not just the store for the Hanna-Barbera ride at Universal, but also the WB stores, and even Hanna-Barbera's own short-lived chain of stores (yes, those were a real thing. Check out this post for more). If any former HB employees are reading this blog, I'd love to hear your memories of the store and its offerings in the comments below! 

Video of the Week: Mel Blanc Goes Back to School

 Last week (May 30th to be exact) saw what would've been the 116th birthday of the one and only Mel Blanc. I planned to share a video of him for the occasion, but real-life problems prevented that. However, there's always tomorrow, and for this week's video, I present a great 1981 clip from KATU News, focusing on Mel Blanc returning to the high school he attended in Oregon for a reunion. It's a short interview, but it offers a great insight into how Blanc created the voices for many of the classic Looney Tunes characters, including Bugs, Tweety, Porky Pig, and more!

The Flintstones Meet the Jetsons Chess Set

 Here is an extremely cool (and rare!) piece of obscure Hanna-Barbera merchandise. It's a chess set themed after The Jetsons and The Flintstones, released by Franklin Mint in 1992! This company releases a bevy of high-end chess sets, in addition to die-cast cars, jewelry, art pieces, and more. As you can see by the photos, this piece lives up to its legacy of providing the best product possible. Out of all the merchandise I've seen for these characters prior to the 21st century, these may very easily have the best depiction of them. The character selection is also very thorough, with this being one of the few pieces of Jetsons merch I've ever seen where Cogswell gets some love! 

Now, if one wanted to get ahold of this back in the day, this was no ordinary chess set you walked into a store and bought. No, you had to be part of a subscription service Franklin Mint ran. Each month, you'd get a new chess piece, and as the final part, the board itself, which was limited to only 500. Because of the very unorthodox means of getting this item (how many subscription services have you heard of involving chess?), it's no surprise that a complete version of the game is a hard thing to come by. Listings for the full set on eBay run well into the thousands, and that's when you can even find them!

As a last note, it's interesting that the board is titled "The Flintstones Meet the Jetsons", while the 1987 TV movie was "The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones." You'd think they'd go with the same title the film went with, but I guess since The Flintstones was easily the more popular of the two by this point, they got first billing. I actually have a whole post coming this summer about the other times the two families met beyond that movie, so consider this post a prelude of sorts to that!

1990s Flintstones Branded Soda Cans

 Few things taste better on a hot summer day than a cold can of your favorite soda. Throughout the years, The Flintstones have been involved in numerous soda promotions, including the Yabba Dabba Dew drinks of the seventies, and a series of Pepsi bottles in the early nineties. One of the more overlooked Flintstones soft drinks was a straightforward set of sodas released in the nineties. Each can was adorned by a different character from the franchise, and each sported a distinct flavor. 

Interestingly enough, these sodas seemed to be at the very least a mild success, as sometime later in the decade, another line of these were put out. The character art is the exact same, but these later sodas have different flavors. Wilma and Betty also joined the fray this time around. You might also notice that the Hanna-Barbera branding seen on the first set is gone, which makes me believe these were released sometime after the studio was shuttered by Time Warner. Did any of my readers happen to drink or even see one of these back then? 

MeTV Toons News Roundup - May 2024

Early last month, animation fans all over the internet rejoiced when it was announced that Weigel Broadcasting and Warner Bros. Discovery were partnering to bring us MeTV Toons, an over-the-air channel dedicated to classic animation. I put out a post shortly after the news broke covering the first details, and since then, more has come out about the channel. With MeTV Toons only three weeks away from premiering, I've put together this post highlighting every bit of news you may have missed about the channel since its announcement. 

Let's start with what's the most important thing, the schedule! This past week, a graphic was put out featuring the schedule for most hours of the day. You can see it below. In regards to Hanna-Barbera programming, everything you see here had already been announced for the channel earlier, save for two blocks. On Sundays, viewers can look forward to "Flintstones Family Sundays" and "Scooby-Doo Sunday Specials." The Flintstones block will present movies and specials based on the series. June 30th, the channel's first Sunday, will see a presentation of The Jetsons Meet The Flintstones, while the following week is The Man Called Flintstone. The Scooby block will air later incarnations of the show, starting with The New Scooby-Doo Movies.

But what about the late-night and early-morning programming? Don't worry, the MeTV Toons website has the entire schedule available. During these hours, we will see a couple of Hanna-Barbera productions that marketing hadn't mentioned before. You'll see The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley, Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, and, much to my surprise, The Greatest Adventures: Stories from the Bible. Who would have thought?

As exciting as this is, just know that this channel is only getting started. Unlike, say, Boomerang, this isn't going to be the schedule forever. Within the first six months, you'll see more shows join the lineup. These additions include silent theatrical cartoons, as well as TV shows that haven't been aired in decades. Also airing on the channel will be a series called Cartoon College; interstitials that cover the history of these cartoons. Over 100 have been made so far, and they will cover a wide variety of topics. 

Now, I move on to what is, in my opinion, the most exciting tidbit I've heard yet. According to Jerry Beck, who did an interview with the Musical Innertube that a lot of this info comes from, Warner Brothers is undergoing a massive project that will see them restoring the ENTIRE Hanna-Barbera library. His words, not mine. Pretty exciting stuff, and knowing WB's history with restorations, I have no doubt that they will all look amazing.

So, how can you watch the channel? If you're looking to see if your antenna will pick it up, this website has a guide to every channel and location that currently carries it. If you don't see your area, don't fret just yet, as there are still a few weeks to go before the network goes live. Beyond that, the live TV streaming services Philo and Frndly will both carry it. A FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) version will appear during the fall, but will have a different schedule from the other versions. So even if you don't get it over the air, you can rest knowing there will be some way for you to watch. 

And I think that's everything! MeTV Toons sounds like a haven for us animation diehards, and I cannot wait for its premiere date. Like many of you, I just wish it was June 25th already! Before I sign off, I want to give a big kudos to the Twitter accounts MeTV Toons Updates and News and CN News/Schedules. Both have done a terrific job covering news for the channel, and I highly recommend giving them a follow if you're active on the platform. If any other big developments happen with the channel, I'll be sure to cover them, but until the 25th arrives, I think I've covered everything you absolutely need to know about it.