Just as promised, it's time I wrap up this week's Cartoon Network-related posts by looking at the later examples of their original characters crossing paths with their Hanna-Barbera forebearers. Today, we're discussing shows from the year 2000 and beyond. There aren't as many series that feature crossovers as there were in the nineties, and for reasons I'll get to later. In the meantime, let's start off with our first series of the day, Samurai Jack!
Over its five-season run, Samurai Jack contained references to all kinds of media that the crew were fans of, so it was no surprise that the show had a few nods to the Hanna-Barbera classics. In the second episode of the show, a character looking quite a lot like the big dog from 2 Stupid Dogs appears. Fitting, considering how much of the Jack crew came from that show. Later on, in "The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful," Quick Draw McGraw and Baba Looey appear as guests on the train the episode takes place inside. Greg Burson voices them here, as he did for most of their appearances following original actor Daws Butler's passing.
Years after the series ended its run on CN, Adult Swim decided to bring it back with one last season to close out the story. While much changed about the show in this more mature form, its love of references remained. In one of the final episodes, Astro from The Jetsons appears. Everyone says The Flintstones and The Jetsons take place simultaneously, but what if Samurai Jack and The Jetsons existed in the same future? Probably not, but I'd say it's a lot more likely.
Around the same time Jack premiered, so too did The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. Of all the shows CN has produced, I think this one easily has the most callbacks and cameos to the Hanna-Barbera cartoons of yesterday. There are so many I'll probably miss a few, especially since a lot of them are rather short. But enough about the amount of them, how about the cameos themselves?
Starting us off, the first HB character to appear in the show were Yogi and Boo Boo in the season two episode "Here Thar Be Dwarves!" These versions of the characters are noticeably more manic and grotesque than usual. Tom Kenny voices Boo Boo like in most appearances during this time, but Yogi is played by actor Dave Fouquette. This is, as far as I know, the only time he voiced him. The two bears would later appear in the episode "Irwin Gets a Clue," alongside Secret Squirrel, Huckleberry Hound, and Snagglepuss. Each one served as little more than punchlines, as they were all hit by oncoming traffic.
In the following season, the episode "Reap Walking" featured an appearance from all of Mystery Incorporated. Their scene lasts all of two seconds, with none of the characters moving or saying anything. Scooby would later appear in the episode "Keeper of the Reaper," where he'd testify against Mandy. Just like in all of his modern appearances, Scooby was voiced by Frank Welker. This episode also contains yet another cameo from Yogi. I wonder which HB character was the Billy and Mandy teams' favorite?
Season five featured two HB character appearances. Grape Ape made a cameo in "Giant Billy and Mandy All-Out Attack," but the far more interesting one was Fred Flintstone's role in the episode "Modern Primitives." Portrayed as a brainless caveman who'd been stuck in a block of ice, this was the only time in the series a classic character had an active role in an episode. He was portrayed by James Arnold Taylor, who also filled the role in Fruity Pebbles commercials at that time. Barney and Betty even appeared in the episode's end credit sequence. As you can see, the majority of HB character appearances played the characters as the butt of jokes, which is something that I've always appreciated Warners for letting them do. So often, classic characters are treated as sacred objects, put on a pedestal that isn't to be touched. Every once in a while though, it doesn't hurt to have a little fun with them, and do something nobody else would think of doing.
After Billy and Mandy concluded in 2007, the amount of Hanna-Barbera references in Cartoon Network shows went down. And when I say they went down, I mean they became non-existent. Why? Well, blame it on licensing. As you all know, when Time Warner and Turner merged, control of the Hanna-Barbera properties went over to WB. This gave them control of not only new productions but the existing characters and licenses as well. Because of this, CN now had to pay a licensing fee to air Hanna-Barbera shows. This is why those shows slowly began to disappear from the network in the early 2000s. This fee extended, naturally, to cameos as well. According to Maxwell Atoms, the creator of Billy and Mandy, the channel was initially positive towards these references. As the show continued, however, they began requesting the team to back off from these cameos, likely to avoid those aforementioned fees. While it's unfortunate, I understand that thought process from the higher-ups. After all, why spend money to license Snagglepuss if he's just going to appear in a five-second shot of one cartoon?
From that point on, the Hanna-Barbera characters disappeared not just from the network, but from cameos as well. The only one I know of during this time was in a 2015 episode of Uncle Grandpa, titled "Uncle Grandpa Retires." Dick Dastardly and Muttley appear in a crowd, and that's about it. Kind of a random appearance, but it's a pretty random show, so I guess it tracks.
The relationship between the Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Network characters would change again in 2019. Following the AT&T and Warner merger (remember that?), a lot of restructuring occurred, including the moving of CN's operations underneath WB. This meant they were once again part of the same family as the Hanna-Barbera library. The days of needing to pay a license to use those characters were over, and the company was quick to take advantage of that. In 2021, Straight Outta Nowhere, a crossover between Courage the Cowardly Dog and Scooby-Doo, was released on home video. The movie itself is, honestly, rather forgettable, but it was astonishing to see characters from these two studios interact again after so long.
And now, what better way to end this saga of CN and HB characters meeting than by talking about a crossover of epic proportions? Jellystone!, a series revolving around classic Hanna-Barbera characters, will have a crossover episode containing an assortment of Cartoon Network characters. If you can think of a character, the chances are high they'll show up. The episode, "Crisis on Infinite Mirths," doesn't have a release date, but I'm confident we'll see it next year. It's kinda funny. In the old days, it used to be Hanna-Barbera's characters appearing in new CN shows. Now, it's the other way around, as if they're repaying them. Feels like this whole saga has come full circle, wouldn't you agree?
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