Looking Ahead: The Exposure Sheet in 2025

It's the last day of 2024, and what a year it has been! I had a tremendous year on this blog, and I don't intend on slowing down anytime soon. I've noticed I tend to make a lot of vague comments about future posts for the blog, so I decided to do something a bit different today. Instead of being vague, let me tell you exactly what's coming to The Exposure Sheet in 2025. Here are three major updates coming to the blog this year!

This February will be known as "Fantastic February", a month of posts celebrating the often-forgotten 1967 Fantastic Four cartoon made by Hanna-Barbera. It's not the greatest superhero series, but I rarely get to talk about another interest of mine (comics), and with a new Fantastic Four flick right around the corner, this just felt right. If you also love Marvel Comics and their first family, don't miss this one!

April sees the 25th anniversary of Boomerang, so look forward to "Boomer-April", another month-long tribute. I'll look back at the channel's history, the highs, the lows, and everything in between. If you happen to be around my age, Boomerang is likely how you found these shows. Without it, I probably would have never made this blog, so this is one I'm really excited to dig into.

For my last sneak peek, I have not a themed month but an ongoing series of posts that, like Fantastic February, will combine my love of cartoons and comics. As you all know, the Hanna-Barbera characters have appeared in many comics across many publishers; Harvey, Marvel, Archie, Charlton, DC, and more have all made comics featuring their characters. In a multipart series, I'll look at the history of Hanna-Barbera characters in comics, with each part detailing their tenure at a specific company. With how many comics have been made with them, this is going to take some time to complete. Nevertheless, I aim to have this series at least start this year. There's a lot to talk about here, both good and bad, and I cannot wait to discuss it with you here!

Those are a few things to expect this next year, but here's one final update that's a bit more immediate. Check back here on New Year's day as I count down the best ten classic Hanna-Barbera voice actors! You can probably guess who will be on that list, but I love to chat about voice actors, so I'm looking forward to getting this one out.

Have a Holly Jolly Questmas

Christmas is tomorrow, so here's one last present from me to you before the big day. From December 1994, here is a Cartoon Network promo with Space Ghost presenting the channel's Christmas schedule. The highlights include airings of Charlotte's Web, Dr. Seuss specials, A Space Ghost Christmas, and best of all, an eight-hour marathon of Jonny Quest on Christmas day! Quest never had his own holiday special unlike a lot of his Hanna-Barbera brethren, but this is probably the next best thing. Check this commercial out below!

With Christmas here, I'm taking a short break from the blog. Posts here will be paused until New Year's Eve when I return with a special post highlighting some plans for The Exposure Sheet in 2025! In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy the holidays and make the most out of the year's end. 

Even More Hanna-Barbera Christmas Cards

 Last Christmas, I put out a post focusing on some of the various holiday cards Hanna-Barbera gave out over the years. I enjoyed doing that one a lot, so I thought I'd revisit it this year. With how long the company was in business, chances are I'll do another one of these next year. Until then, I hope you enjoy the following Christmas cards of years past.

I'm sharing these in chronological order, starting off with this massive one from 1967. Santa's in the middle of delivering presents, but instead of reindeer, it's some of the various Hanna-Barbera animals. A fun crossover, even if in all honesty, Atom Ant could've done this all on his own.

Here's a very Flintstones-centric card from 1990. As this was the series' 30th anniversary, it makes sense they'd take center stage this year. We see the Flintstones and Rubbles in a sleigh above Bedrock, while Dino is their reindeer. A good card, but I wish there wasn't that border around it.

This next one isn't technically a Hanna-Barbera card, but a Warner Brothers one. Issued in 1996, the same year Turner and Warner merged, here is a card showing all their characters (or assets if you prefer corporate lingo) as one big happy family. It's one of the more interesting pieces in this series, and it's also kind of strange that the Hanna-Barbera library got more representation here than the Looney Tunes. Even the Real Adventures version of Jonny Quest is here, and he almost tanked the merger!

That's all I've got today, but I'll put out one more post tomorrow before the holiday arrives. It won't be anything major, but I think you'll enjoy it. Until then, have the happiest of holidays!

Video of the Week: A Chat With Three Smurfs

 Tomorrow marks 102 years since the multitalented Paul Winchell was born. He had an eventful life that saw him become everything from a ventriloquist to one of the first to patent an artificial art. But if you're visiting a blog about cartoons, chances are you mostly know him for his voiceover work: Tigger in Winnie the Pooh, Dick Dastardly in Wacky Races, and Gargamel from The Smurfs, among several others.

In celebration of his birthday, here's a short video featuring him alongside two of his Smurfs costars: Lucille Bliss and Alan Oppenheimer. This was filmed sometime during the late eighties, and is part of a larger interview with Winchell you can find on this Youtube channel, as well as the Children's TV Archive website. A really great video featuring three voice actors who rarely get the appreciation they deserve.

Coloring in Christmas With Yogi and Friends

 Have the holidays got you stressed? Perhaps you should sit down and relax with a coloring book featuring your favorite Hanna-Barbera stars. Over the years, many were produced, including a couple of holiday-themed ones. Here's a look at some of them, starting with what might be the best of them all: a Yogi Bear coloring book. This was released by Whitman in 1961 and features beautiful artwork adorning the front. Eagle-eyed viewers might also notice Pixie and Dixie near the bottom!

These next two are more themed toward all of the Hanna-Barbera characters, and their covers show them partaking in different Christmas activities. Of the two, I definitely prefer the first. The art and composition are just much nicer to look at. Honestly, some of the characters in the second look more like bobbleheads than the actual characters, though it's nice to see Mr. Jinks appear on one of these. 

Here are two Flintstones-focused coloring books. The first, from what I could gather, features art based on the 1977 Christmas special, while the second features appearances from other Hanna-Barbera characters. It's interesting to see the Flintstones alongside the Jetsons years before their crossover. Outside the World's Fair comic, merchandise like this is among the earliest instances of the characters crossing paths. It's a fun crossover all in all, even if a lot of the characters seem off proportionally. And is it just me, or did Wilma steal from Betty's wardrobe?

The Stars of Cartoon Network Celebrate Christmas

 There's a whole lot of Hanna-Barbera Christmas ornaments out there. Today, I present a set you probably have never heard of. I know I didn't! These are a set of glass ornaments released in 1995, all with Cartoon Network branding instead of Hanna-Barbera. I don't know if these were released through the usual retailers or at an employee store, but they sure are cool. Each one has unique artwork that, as far as I'm aware, has never been featured anywhere else.

This first one showcases several characters, from Dynomutt to Magilla Gorilla, dressed as Mr. Claus. Nothing particularly special, but the art is quite nice.

The second ornament presents several of the Hanna-Barbera ladies running in terror from one of the Hillbilly Bears and Slick McWolf, both ready for a kiss under the mistletoe. Yes, Mcwolf isn't a Hanna-Barbera character, but these are Cartoon Network ornaments. They were able to use characters from both Hanna-Barbera and MGM in early merchandise. 

The third ornament has Fred seemingly trying his hand at doing Saint Nick's job for him. Breezly takes the place of the reindeer, while it looks like Muttley is in the back attempting to ruin Fred's plan.

After that, we have an ornament including a group of characters putting together a Christmas tree. From the look of it, racing isn't the only thing Dick Dastardly has trouble with. Add Christmas lights to Dastardly's list of enemies.

Ornament number five has a couple of Hanna-Barbera characters singing Christmas carols. Everyone except Tom, that is, who clearly isn't a fan. Can't say I blame him!

The last ornament shows characters skating on ice...or trying their best to. You can't see them, but the other side features George Jetson and Red, another familiar face to fans of Tex Avery and his MGM cartoons. It's cool that they were able to use those characters in things like this, and kind of a shame that we don't see that these days.

Video of the Week: Have a Cocoa Pebbles Christmas

 When people think of Fruity Pebbles commercials, most remember the Christmas-themed commercial featuring Barney impersonating Santa before any other. It's a classic for sure, but today, I wanted to share a more obscure commercial for the cereal from the holidays. This one aired in 1998, about a decade after that initial one, and was for the cereal's chocolate offshoot, Cocoa Pebbles. Fred is visited by three ghosts, and one in particular really wants his Cocoa Pebbles. While it isn't as memorable as that earlier commercial, this one is still a lot of fun, and sports some wonderful work by the one and only Scott Shaw. Check it out!

 

The Flintstones Celebrate Christmas the Plush Way

 We've looked at ornaments and stockings, now it's time we look at a few Christmas-themed plush toys. For The Flintstones, there's been several; far more than for any of the other Hanna-Barbera series (not counting Scooby). Here's a look at all of the ones that I've seen, starting with two made for Fred and Barney in 1989 by Nanco. Nanco made several Hanna-Barbera plush dolls and also made a few Halloween-centric ones as well. Like their Halloween plush toys, they're pretty standard. Just the characters with presents in hand and Santa hats on their heads. Beyond the two Flintstones characters, George Jetson was also produced for this line.

Near the end of the 2000s, a company appropriately known as the Toy Factory produced four Flintstones plushies for the holidays. Among these were Fred, Dino, Pebbles, and Bamm-Bamm. If that lineup looks odd, that's because it is. For whatever reason, Barney didn't get a plush in this series. I looked, and it doesn't look like he exists. Very strange, but considering he was covered by other companies, it's not too much of a loss. This set looks pretty nice, and it's fun seeing characters like Dino get into the holiday spirit.

Around 2011, Sugar Loaf, a titan in the plush toy world, decided to give The Flintstones a new holiday makeover. Like Nanco's effort, they only did Fred and Barney, though we did get two different versions of the former. The plush toys themselves also heavily resemble Nanco's take, though these match the show designs much better. Ignoring the fact Fred and Barney are the same size, these are easily the best of the bunch. Barney is especially good, but the two Freds are also quite good. These could be found in claw machines around the time, which I assume is also how the other sets were made available. 

As a quick side note, before I end this post, you might have noticed that the above plush of Fred dressed as Santa doesn't match how he looked in the Christmas episode of the original Flintstones series. It does, however, match a similar design that's been used in numerous pieces of art and other merchandise. Here it is being used for a rubber toy that was released in the early nineties. Kind of interesting most merch tends to use this design, rather than any of the ones seen in official media. 

Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles Head to Blu-Ray

 The year may almost be over, but that's not stopping Warner Archive from announcing even more new releases. Coming at the end of January, the entirety of Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles will be yours to own on Blu-Ray. 

While the series has been available on DVD since 2011, this will be the first time it is available in high-definition. The release, which was made using the original camera negatives, will include two discs. With the many great HB titles Warner Archive has brought to Blu-Ray this year, it's fantastic to see that the trend will hopefully continue next year. There are still a lot of classic titles that need a Blu-Ray release, and I truly hope they get around to getting them out.

Video of the Week: Happy Holidays From Cartoon Network Video

 I've been starting to celebrate the holiday season on this blog, so it's only appropriate that my video of the week segment follow suit. For this first installment of the month, here's a 1996 VHS promo for Cartoon Network's Christmas offerings. Of the five tapes featured, three are of the various Flintstones specials, while the others are for Scooby-Doo and the obscure The Town That Santa Forgot. With the state of both series these days, it's odd to see The Flintstones get a bigger push than Scooby, but considering that this was shortly after The Flintstones film (and during a break in Scooby media), it makes sense. And, quite frankly, has anyone here seen The Town That Santa Forgot?

A Stocking Full of Pebbles

 Have you ever wanted a Hanna-Barbera character as a stocking stuffer? If your answer was "no," well, that's too bad because I've got three of them to share today! First up is this Scooby-Doo stocking, which was sold as part of the Warner Brothers store's Christmas offerings back in the late nineties. Even as someone who's not that big on Scoob, I must admit this is a really charming stocking.

These next two were produced by Kurt Adler, I'm guessing sometime around the mid-2000s as that was also the period they made Hanna-Barbera ornaments. They made stockings for both Pebbles and Boo-Boo, and feature designs unique to that particular stocking. These ones are also quite nice, though the star pattern on Boo Boo feels like an odd choice.

Hanna-Barbera Christmas Ornaments From Enesco

 Hello to all. I'd like to begin this post with an apology regarding the lack of posts over the last week. Not only was work murder, but I've also been dealing with a nasty cold. Thankfully, I've overcome all of that, and just in time to celebrate the holidays.

Last year, I showed off Hallmark's impressive line of Hanna-Barbera ornaments. Now, I return to show off Enesco's offerings from around 1999. Unlike Hallmark, Enesco focused on characters you don't really see merchandise of, at least these days. All of these characters were also branded as "Cartoon Network Classics", as was standard at the time. The first one I'll be showing is of the one and only Mr. Jinks, who has found a certain set of meeces in his stocking.

Jinks wasn't the only feline who got an ornament. He was joined by Snagglepuss, who had his head stuck in a wreath, and Top Cat, who looked to be getting the alley in the holiday spirit. Kind of a shame we didn't see any ornaments featuring the rest of T.C.'s gang, but I can't say I'm shocked.

The last two released in this set were Quick Draw, and of course, Yogi Bear. Yogi's got a picnic basket full of candy canes, while Quick Draw decorates a Christmas cactus. A very fun and fitting scenario for the character if you ask me. It's unfortunate we didn't see more in this particular series, but I'm happy with what they did. It isn't every day one of these licensees remembers that Pixie and Dixie exist!