Hanna-Barbera Store Concept Art

 Many times on this blog have I talked about the short-lived Hanna-Barbera stores that popped up in the nineties, but would you believe me if I told you it wasn't the first time the company attempted to enter the retail market? Much to my surprise, there were plans as far back as the 1970's to launch a Hanna-Barbera store. Here's some concept pieces for what the store could've looked like, which come from a Heritage Auctions listing. Check out their page about the auction for more info. 

One of the pieces that really caught my eye was this one, featuring Squiddly Diddly using his tentacles as a clothing rack. A very neat use of the character, though I couldn't for the life of me imagine Squiddly Diddly of all characters getting the spotlight at a store. 

Another interesting idea shown in this collection is an area based around Charlotte's Web, which Hanna-Barbera brought to life as a feature film in 1973. Judging by its presence here, I'm assuming all this art was made within a few years of that. The area is called "Charlotte's Yardage," and is themed to look like it came straight out of the movie. As much as I like the idea of every area being themed to a specific character, I feel like it would've made the store lack cohesion had it become a reality. I'd say that that was a reason this take on a Hanna-Barbera store never went anywhere, but that's just a guess on my part.

Here's a Scooby-Doo section, featuring a giant Scooby statue, and a background that feels straight out of the series. It seems like the idea here was that this area in the store would've been for footwear, which is a little random to theme around Scooby, to say the least.

Last but not least, is this totem pole of sorts, which I'd bet money on would've been the centerpiece of the store. It's got a nice selection of characters, but the statue itself is kind of odd in all honesty. Maybe it would've looked better had it actually been made, but it just looks awkward more than anything here.

And that's a quick look at Hanna-Barbera's first (as far as we know) attempt to get into retail. The artwork is pretty stunning, but as I mentioned before, the lack of cohesion I feel held it back. While it only lasted two years, I believe the actual Hanna-Barbera stores were much better thought out in terms of both representing the brand and feeling like one cohesive store, rather than a bunch of themed areas mashed together. But what do you all think? Should they have brought this version of the store to life, or is it best left as a couple of concept sketches?