I imagine a decent amount of you have been enjoying the Quick Draw McGraw Blu-Ray set that released a few weeks back. I'm currently rewatching it and preparing for a review of the set that should be out later this month, but in the meantime, here's a little something special. This is a bumper for Quick Draw McGraw that Boomerang played in 2002. It's essentially a music video, with the song featuring tons of quotes and sound effects from the series. A very cool bumper, especially when they could've easily just thrown out an ad saying the name of the show and when it aired instead. That would've definitely been the cheaper option, but they went all out, and I think that's one of the reasons so many Cartoon Network and Boomerang commercials are still remembered. You wouldn't see this amount of effort from any TV network these days, that's for sure!
Here's something rather neat I found recently. These are four "WeB Cards" based on different Cartoon Network shows that were available on the Warner Brothers website circa 1997. Many were offered on the site, ranging from Looney Tunes to Batman, but only four were derived from the Hanna-Barbera cartoons. These are more or less greeting cards that you could send via email with a personalized message. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but a fun blast from the past that was the early internet days.
Each of these follow a standard design format of the character under the Cartoon Network logo with a colored background and the character's name at the bottom. They also have a trademark notice to the left, in case you forgot that this Cartoon Network card was owned by Cartoon Network.
Though Cartoon Network had several original shows airing by this point in time, only one series was represented here: Cow and Chicken. You'd think they'd have gone with the more popular Johnny Bravo or Dexter's Laboratory, but I'm not complaining. This is the only card to feature two characters as well.
I think the most random character included in this assortment has to be Mr. Spacely. Not George or any other member of the Jetsons family, but Spacely, pictured doing what he does best. Maybe somebody at WB is a big Mr. Spacely fan? Then again, he is one of several characters Mel Blanc voiced for HB, so maybe that was why he was chosen.
25 years ago today, The Flintstones: On the Rocks premiered on Cartoon Network. Made at Cartoon Network Studios by much of the crew behind Dexter's Laboratory, the special is notable for several reasons. It was the first Flintstones project released after William Hanna's passing, and it would be the last for almost fifteen years. It's more adult tone and subject matter made it stick out when compared to most other Flintstones spin-offs. The special has also seen only a handful of TV airings, and has never gotten any kind of home video or streaming release.
While its tone and art style might be different from most Flintstones iterations, like many of them, it remains contentious among fans of the original show. Some love the special and consider it the best thing to be done with the characters since the sixties. Others were put off by its tone and see it as a low point for the franchise. The reaction was so polarizing that it actually led to Cartoon Network axing a Quick Draw McGraw special made by the same crew. Now, with all that being said, how do I feel about this special?
First things first, what's this thing about? On the Rocks follows Fred and Wilma during probably the lowest point of their marriage. Neither one can stand the other, so the Rubbles invite them on a trip to Rockapulco in the hopes it will repair their strained relationship. Things continue to deteriorate, especially when a jewel thief named Xavier becomes enamored with Wilma following a bag mix-up. It's up to the titular Flintstones to not only stop this thief, but more importantly, save their marriage. It's a story plucked right out of the classic series, but with a more adult edge, but I'll speak more on that later.
I'll begin with the positives of this flick, the first being its presentation. This special looks amazing. Craig Kellman's redesigns for the characters have never looked better, and the backgrounds wouldn't feel out of place in a classic Flintstones episode. Even the stop-motion segment looks fantastic, and is easily a highlight. While the visuals are great, I think On the Rocks is just as good in the audio department. Despite none of the original four cast members being present in this, all of their successors do an excellent job filling the void. Tress MacNeille is pitch perfect as Wilma, and Kevin Michael Richardson's Barney brings to mind Mel Blanc's take on the character in the original series earliest episodes. It's details like that that really make this feel like an episode that could have existed in those first two seasons. You can't go wrong with the great John Stephenson returning as Mr. Slate, either. The use of Hoyt Curtin's classic score is another welcomed addition, and something that was sorely missed from later Flintstones spin-offs.
The more adult tone of On the Rocks is maybe the "make or break" element for many. For me, I am firmly in the former camp. I'm all for the more serious vibe, and I honestly don't understand some of the criticisms against it. A lot of the hate this special gets is because of how Fred acts, but I don't think it's that out of line for him. Fred can be pretty despicable at times, even in later Flintstones media. I don't think he's out of character at all, especially considering the severity of the situation he's in here. I feel people's reaction to him has more to do with animation fans' weird disdain for "jerk" characters than anything else. And while this special does skew older with its story and humor, you have to remember that The Flintstones wasn't just for kids when it first premiered. That only happened with the later seasons and especially the spin-offs. For a franchise that became so kiddy it eventually turned its characters into literal children, it's a great return to its roots. Even if you despise this film, you have to at least give the team behind it some kudos for showing restraint. A worse creator would have heard "adult Flintstones" and gone as raunchy as possible, but these guys tried to make something that still felt in line with what had came before, and I applaud them for that.
If the special has any major flaws, it's the humor. It's not necessarily bad, but it's very "hit-or-miss." Several jokes go on for far too long, which isn't that bad when it's funny, but when the joke isn't amusing to begin with? Man is it rough. There's a gag early on with a bird repeatedly squawking and it's tantamount to nails on a chalkboard. A lot of director Chris Savino's work is full of jokes like this, and even in a one-hour special he couldn't help himself. It's not funny in an eleven-minute Dexter episode, and it's not much better here. The pacing is another element of the special that feels a bit off. Some scenes overstay their welcome, while others end before they really get going. Maybe it's a result of the one-hour runtime, but it leaves On the Rocks feeling not as tight as it could be.
Despite those gripes, On the Rocks is an entertaining entry in the Flintstones canon. It's nothing mind-blowing or earth shattering, but it accomplishes what it set out to do and does it well. This is basically an early Flintstones episode if the crew weren't held down by budget or animation constraints, and I think that's awesome. They didn't try to reinvent the wheel or make the characters something they weren't, which is where most of the problems with later Flintstones installments came from. Yes it's a little rough around the edges, but it's got charm, style, and genuine heart. Not too unlike Fred himself if you ask me. But what do you think? If you've seen this special, I'd love to read your thoughts on it, whether they be good or bad. Do you feel this special is an overlooked gem, or is this better off being forgotten?
It's always fun to touch on older Hanna-Barbera collectibles here, but something I love to do even more is talk about unreleased merchandise. And that's exactly what we're doing today. This is a set of four Jetsons glasses that were set to be released by Kraft in 1990, I imagine as part of the merchandising blitz that accompanied the feature film. Below you can see what they looked like with and without the original labels.
So, what's the inside story on why these never made it to retail? Unfortunately, the reason isn't anything particularly shocking. Hamilton Projects, who produced a huge amount of Hanna-Barbera goodies at the time, didn't get the licensing approval these needed, and so they never saw release. Those that were made were actually mandated to be destroyed, but considering the existence of photos like these, you can see that didn't quite pan out. Even nowadays these sometimes pop up on auction sites, so if you'd like to own one of these, you definitely have the chance. I probably wouldn't use them for their intended purpose at this point, but you guys do you!
Everything ends eventually, and today marks the end of "Space Ghost October." I hope you've enjoyed these posts, but I've got one more before I call it a day. And what could be a grander sendoff to this Space Ghost celebration than a reminder of the time he ran for president?
In 2000, Cartoon Network launched the first of two faux presidential elections, which pit dozens of the network's stars against one another to see who was the most popular of them all. The winner would receive their very own marathon on the channel. Though Space Ghost certainly gave his all in his campaign (as seen in these hilarious promos), the winner would ultimately be Scooby-Doo, with the Powerpuff Girls and Bugs Bunny in second and third place respectively. Anybody here recall participating in this event? I'd love to know who you voted for (or would've voted) in the comments down below.
Alex Toth has got to be one of my favorite character designers to work at Hanna-Barbera, if not animation as a whole. An exceptional artist who worked at nearly every other comic book company in the business, Toth brought a superhero sensibility to the world of Hanna-Barbera cartoons. Whether you love the likes of Space Ghost, Birdman, and The Herculoids is irrelevant. His work on these shows is nothing short of fantastic, and a big reason these characters are discussed to this day. And on this particular day, I'm sharing some of the great character artwork he did while working on the original Space Ghost.
This first piece shows some head turns from Space Ghost himself, alongside some notes highlighting things to keep in mind when drawing the character.
Second up, we have a collection of Space Ghost's most fearsome adversaries: Brak, Black Widow, and not one, but two designs for Metallus. The one on the right is what ended up in the show, but I must say the design on the left isn't too shabby, either. Of course, it also goes without saying that Brak and the Black Widow are great designs in their own right. A superhero is nothing without a good set of villains, and Space Ghost is no slouch in that department.
I'm not done discussing Space Ghost's villains just yet. Here's a look at one my personal favorites, Moltar. It's like a hazmat suit with an added dose of pulpy science fiction, how can you not love it? Whether it's with his original yellow and white colors or the more iconic red and gray, it remains one of the most memorable in the show for me at least. I'd love to know from you all what you're favorites are as well.
Lastly, ever wondered what Space Ghost looks like without the cowl? Well, here you go. Not exactly the most shocking reveal, but you never do see him like this in the show itself so I'm not surprised it's a little bland. It's also interesting that the model sheet mentions the show as "Space Ghosts," which makes me wonder if this is a remnant of the show from before it became a more straight forward superhero cartoon.
While exciting powers and a cool costume are key to making a great superhero, they aren't everything. For starters, what good is a hero without a voice? In the case of a character like Space Ghost, I don't think anyone could imagine a better pick to bring him to life than the indelible Gary Owens.
I've discussed Gary Owens a few times on this blog, but I can't stress enough how perfect he was for this character. Owens voice was practically made for a superhero, so it's no wonder he voiced so many throughout his life. You've also got to hand it to Owens for giving the character a genuine personality. Everyone and their mother knows who Superman or Batman are, but nobody knew who Space Ghost was. There were no comics to draw on for inspiration, leaving Owens to create the character using just a script and his own vocal chords. Space Ghost could've easily been a character forgotten to time, but he endures to this day, thanks in large part to both Alex Toth's striking design and Gary Owens fantastic vocal work.
With all that being said, just where did Owens' love of voice acting begin? Give this piece from the Wisconsin State Journal a read to find out that and more. This ran on December 7th, 1980, and is a great breakdown of Owens career to that point. It even makes mention of the then-upcoming Space Stars, though it is referred to as "Space Heroes" here.
Despite this month being a celebration of Space Ghost, I haven't touched on its late-night follow-up, Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, a whole lot. Today marks my first post of the month focused entirely on this show, and what better place to start than the beginning. Check out this commercial for the show's premiere, which consists mostly of footage from the first few episodes. Nothing too shocking, but it's still very cool to see the beginnings of the show that would change Cartoon Network forever.
Out of all the Hanna-Barbera protagonists, I feel like Space Ghost is the last one I'd pick to be transformed into a bean bag plush toy. WB must've felt differently though, considering they went and made one of their own back in 1999.
While many of the cast members on Space Ghost pulled double duty with their characters (and some did even more), I believe Ginny Tyler had the hardest job. She had to voice not only the heroic and youthful Jan, but also the vile and decrepit Black Widow. A very difficult task, but to Tyler, I imagine it was just a normal Thursday.
Over five decades, Ginny Tyler maintained an impressive career largely due to her flexible voice. Like many of her contemporaries, Tyler got her start in radio before transitioning to cartoons following the TV animation explosion of the 1960s. Her first roles at Hanna-Barbera were relatively small, but memorable nevertheless (who could forget the Carhops from The Flintstones?). Space Ghost gave her her first major characters, and she would become a notable member of the Hanna-Barbera voice actor stable afterwards. Tyler could be heard in Cattanooga Cats, Jeannie, Fantastic Four, and Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo. Towards the end of the 1970s, Tyler relocated to Seattle and largely retired from voice acting. She was named a Disney Legend in 2006, and passed away on July 13th, 2012 at the age of 86.
We could sit here for a long time discussing Ginny Tyler's work at Hanna-Barbera, Disney, and elsewhere, but I've got something a bit different in mind. Below is a story about Tyler that appeared in the May 8th, 1968 edition of The Signal. It focuses on a Mother's Day performance featuring Tyler, showcasing her fantastic musical abilities that could also be heard on the various Disney records she appeared in. A short profile on both Tyler and the Festival Players is also included.
Alex Toth wasn't the only comic book legend to work on Space Ghost. Believe it or not, but Jack Kirby, the king behind characters like Captain America, Hulk, and the Fantastic Four, also lent his artistic prowess to the show.
During the 1980s, Kirby worked as a character designer on several Hanna-Barbera cartoons, and one of those were the Space Ghost segments found in 1981's Space Stars. While these installments aren't exactly as fondly remembered as the originals, Kirby's designs were easily among the highlights. In celebration of his amazing work, here's a collection of art he produced during his time on the series.
Below is a model sheet of a character Jack designed for the show, Eclipse Woman. She appeared in the ninth Space Ghost segment of the show, and was one of the series' new villains. While she may not be as beloved as some of Space Ghost's other adversaries, her design is unmistakably Jack Kirby.
Here's another villain he helped design, the Toymaker. The model sheet here actually calls him "Toyman," but his name was changed in the final series, I imagine to avoid confusion with the DC Comics supervillain. Speaking of DC, Toymaker as presented in the model sheet wouldn't look at all out of place in New Gods. Fitting, as that comic was created by Jack himself. A very cool design that, unfortunately, doesn't look nearly as interesting in the finished product.
Last but most definitely not least, we have Kirby's concept art of Krugar the space pirate. The character was very much in the vein of Brak from the original series, but Jack Kirby was able to make this guy feel totally distinct. He's far more cat-like than Brak ever was, and the pirate motif is on full display through his wardrobe.
Halloween's a little over two weeks away, so here's a treat to get everyone in the spirit. This is a promo that aired on Cartoon Network in the late nineties and features Daphne and Shaggy spoofing the opening scene of the horror film Scream. A funny commercial that I couldn't see the CN of today doing, and as many have pointed out, it's even a tad ironic, since actor Matthew Lillard went on to play Shaggy in the live-action Scooby films a few years after Scream (and eventually the character in animation as well). Give it a look below!
While Jonny Quest may have been the first character Tim Matheson voiced for Hanna-Barbera, he wasn't the last. Matheson carved out a nice niche as the studio's main actor for teenage heroes, and the most notable example after Quest himself is Space Ghost's Jace. He wasn't the initial choice for the character (newspapers from the summer of 1966 indicate Jay North was initially intended for the role), but it's hard to imagine anyone else playing him. Alongside fellow Space Ghost sidekick Jan, the duo gave the show's core demographic characters to latch onto. After all, as cool as Space Ghost is, he's not exactly the most relatable guy to a kid. Jan and Jace are, and part of that is thanks to their excellent vocal performances. Just as he did for Quest, Matheson gave Jace the perfect combination of heart and heroism.
For those who want to know more about Matheson's time at Hanna-Barbera, I cannot recommend Kevin Scott Collier's Jonny Quest Speaks: Jonny, Sinbad Jr. and Me enough. The book is exactly what you'd want with a title like that, and it's a great read if you're a fan of any of the shows he starred in. You're probably more than familiar with it if you follow Cartoon Research, but in case you've never heard of it, definitely check it out. Below is a short preview of the book, containing a portion of an interview with Matheson describing his time on Jonny Quest and the show's legacy.
Maquettes are among my favorite pieces of animation memorabilia, and luckily enough for me, the characters of Space Ghost are among those fortunate enough to be turned into these special statues. Today, I'm showing off three different Space Ghost maquettes made in the 2000s, beginning with this 2002 statue of Space Ghost himself. This fellow was sculpted by animator Tony Cipriano and was limited to a quantity of only 500.
Man, oh man, do I love this guy. For starters, he looks like he came straight off the television screen and into your collection. To say this is a faithful recreation of Alex Toth's classic design would be an understatement. I also love the almost asteroid-like base, which is way better than the boring black base you see most of these sport. It's a shame these are so expensive nowadays, as I would love to get my hands on one.
Around the same time, Cartoon Network put out these statues of Zorak and Brak, which I think is a testament to both the popularity of the Coast to Coast series and to the beauty of Alex Toth's design work on the original show. How many other cartoons can you think of that had their supporting cast made into statues?
2,500 statues were made for both characters, but I couldn't find listings for these on any auction sites, so I wouldn't be shocked if they were just as expensive as the Space Ghost one is. It's a shame we never got maquettes for Moltar or any of the other Space Ghost villains, for that matter, but maybe another company will come along one day and give this line a second shot. There's certainly a lot of potential for modern Space Ghost merchandise, if nothing else.
Since this month is all about Space Ghost's 60th anniversary, let's look at how Tooncast celebrated his 45th in 2011. For those unaware, Tooncast is a Latin American channel dedicated to classic cartoons from the WB library, not unlike Boomerang. They've made some pretty memorable bumpers throughout the years, not unlike CN or Boomerang, and this is definitely one of them.
The commercial advertises a block of Space Ghost episodes for the series' anniversary, using clips of the show's many villains laughing at a guy dancing around in a Space Ghost costume. Pretty silly stuff, especially when you realize the actor in the costume is Andy Merill. Merill voiced Brak on Space Ghost: Coast to Coast and spent years working with both Cartoon Network and Boomerang on various productions and bumpers, including this one. Truthfully, this wouldn't feel even a tiny bit out of place in an episode of Coast to Coast. Far stranger things happened in that series, that's for sure!
If you thought Warner Archive was slowing down their Hanna-Barbera releases after this month's Quick Draw McGraw collection, think again. Coming November 24th, all of The Yogi Bear Show will finally be available on Blu-ray. 34 episodes of Yogi, Snagglepuss, and Yakky Doodle goodness will encompass this six-disc collection, which is set to retail for $40. Check out the cover art for the release below. It's not exactly an amazing cover, but if the worst thing I have to say about this news is the packaging, I'd call that a win.
As excited as I am for this collection, I find it a little crazy that we only got this after both Quick Draw and Huckleberry Hound saw complete series releases. I'm not complaining, but you'd think it would be the other way around. Either way, I'm glad this show is getting its long-awaited Blu-ray treatment, and I can't wait for what Warner has in store for us as we move into 2027. Fingers crossed this Paramount merger nonsense doesn't derail those plans. I never thought I'd write that sentence on this blog, but here we are.
As a superhero action cartoon, you'd think Space Ghost would have been merchandised for all he was worth, but, shockingly, toys and other items from the show's original run are pretty scarce. But that doesn't mean they were nonexistent, as evidenced by today's focus: these Space Ghost puzzles released by Whitman. Whitman released several pieces based on the show, but I think these are among the best they had to offer. So let's take a look at some of these!
This first one shows Space Ghost leaping into battle in an effort to save his trusted monkey companion, Blip. Is now a good time to mention that I never particularly cared for Blip? He's certainly not the worst animal sidekick character Hanna-Barbera created, but for me, he was proof that they were a little too focused on sticking to their established formulas around this time, rather than doing what made sense for the show. That being said, the art here is lovely and dynamic, so I can't complain that much.
Space Ghost October continues with yet another trip to the past. This time, we're looking at how viewers first got a glimpse of the space-bound superhero with both a newspaper preview and an advertisement for the original Space Ghost series. I'll start with this piece the Edmonton Journal ran in its September 10th, 1966 edition. Among other details, it mentions Space Ghost's often-forgotten secret identity and a character originally planned to have a much greater presence in the show.
Today marks our first "Video of the Week" segment during Space Ghost month, and what better way to kick things off then with not one, but two commercials for the series during its original run?
This first commercial does a good job highlighting not just Space Ghost himself, but also his villains, as well as the other superhero shows that Hanna-Barbera were pumping out at the time. A pretty short promo, but you can't say it beats around the bush.
The second ad is similarly short, and previews both Space Ghost and Dino Boy. Most of you probably know this, but Dino Boy was the series that accompanied Space Ghost during its original run. I also find it funny how much more screentime the former gets over the latter in this commercial. Clearly whoever edited this knew what the more interesting series was.