Wally and Friends Make Their Way to Blu-Ray

 It looks like Christmas is coming earlier for Hanna-Barbera fans. Well, certain Hanna-Barbera fans, that is. On December 16th, both Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har and Wally Gator will come to Blu-Ray for the first time ever. Both releases will consist of two discs, derived from 4K restorations of the shows.

While I'm glad to see Warner Archive continue to pump out titles related to the Hanna-Barbera library, I must say I'm not the biggest fan of these toons. Wally Gator has its moments, and I very much enjoy the title character, but Lippy the Lion? My feelings on that show can best be summed up by a single "meh." It's also a little disappointing that neither release includes any bonus features, but given that the DVD releases didn't either, I cannot say I'm shocked. I don't even have a clue as to what they'd include.

Even though I'm not crazy about these shows, they clearly have their fans. If they didn't, WB wouldn't bother putting these out. I'm happy they're making them available to those who want them, and I hope they continue the solid work on these releases. 2025 saw plenty of great titles, including one none of us saw coming. I'm optimistic that 2026 will continue the trend.

Hanna-Barbera Gets Syndicated

 The summer is finally over. And with the peak of my job over with for this year, it's well past time I return to this blog. Today, I thought I'd start with a small but nevertheless interesting find. Below is an advertisement found in magazines from 1962 promoting the launch of The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series. As the page itself mentions, these were the very first cartoons the studio made for syndication, and the ad urges stations to add them to their schedules. 

The advertisement also proclaims that these new characters—Lippy Lion, Wally Gator, and Touche Turtle—will become just as beloved and popular as the likes of The Flintstones and Yogi Bear. I don't know about that, but I'll give them credit for being confident. And check out Wally's blue color scheme, as was seen on a lot of promotional material back then.

That's all I've got for you today, but I've got a surprise or two in store later this week. If you know whose birthday is coming up within the next few days, you'll already know what one post will be about. I'll just leave it at that. See you then, and I hope you've all had a most splendid summer!