Comic Conversations With Fred, Wilma, and Judy

If you've been following this blog for any significant amount of time, you likely know I love the old Hanna-Barbera vocal artists. From Daws Butler to Don Messick, I love their many performances, and I take great joy in finding lost or forgotten interviews with them. Today, I have three to share from 1991, all of which come courtesy of the Internet Archive!

The first one I'll share appeared in the June 1991 edition of Comics Scene Magazine, and is focused on the woman behind Wilma, Jean Vander Pyl. Highlights of this interview include Vander Pyl reflecting on three decades of The Flintstones, the production of the 1990 Jetsons animated feature, and how exactly she got involved in cartoons in the first place.

Just a month later, Comics Scene interviewed another member of the Flintstone household, Henry Corden. Interviews with Corden are a bit of a rarity (although I have one I'll share soon enough), so coming across this was most definitely a surprise. Corden discusses how he took over the role of Fred following Alan Reed's passing, comparisons to the then-new member of the animated sitcom class, The Simpsons, and his thoughts on the live-action movie. Out of the three, this one had the most new information in it, so it's easily my favorite of the set. Corden's interview starts on page 43.

Later that year in October, Janet Waldo, the talent behind many of Hanna-Barbera's heroines, sat down with the folks at Comics Scene. Clearly, someone on their editorial stuff must've been a big fan of Hanna-Barbera cartoons. This interview begins on page 30, and focuses on Waldo's voice-over career, her return as Judy Jetson in the 1980s revival, and of course, her removal from the Jetsons movie in favor of Tiffany. The most interesting piece of information from this article though? As far as Waldo knew, Joe Barbera was interested in making a new Jetsons spin-off at the time of this magazine's publication, titled Jetsons Juniors. Why oh why am I not surprised?

My 10 Favorite Hanna-Barbera Characters

 As promised, I return on the second day of the new year with a post different than most I've done so far. Since it's a new year and everything, I thought I'd start 2024 off with something that gives you guys more insight into my tastes regarding the Hanna-Barbera characters. Quite frankly, I couldn't think of anything better than ranking my ten favorite characters from their many productions. My only rules for this list is that I'm only including characters from shows created during their golden years (in my mind, that lasted from 1957 to 1969), and I'm only picking one character per franchise. Without any further introductions, let's get right into number ten!

Number 10: Scooby-Doo

If I'm being honest, I'm not the biggest fan of Scooby-Doo as a franchise. While I have a lot of nostalgia and great memories with the series, I feel like it's been milked for everything it's worth, and I also believe its success hurt Hanna-Barbera as a whole. But with all that being said, it would feel wrong to leave Scooby himself off of a list like this. As cliche as it sounds, Scooby was a big part of my childhood, and I can't let my more cynical feelings toward the franchise erase that. He's just a lovable great dane who, though he's quick to frighten, usually comes through at the end of the episode, even if he needs a Scooby Snack or two for encouragement. Not only is he a charming character, but I also credit him for introducing me to the rest of the HB characters, and I think other people my age who are interested in them feel the same way. Scooby's enduring popularity helps bring new people of all ages into the other Hanna-Barbera properties, and with an effect like that, how could I not put him here?

Number 9: Boo Boo

Going from one Don Messick-voiced character to another, Boo Boo is my favorite character out of the entire Yogi Bear franchise. Out of all the Hanna-Barbera characters, I think he's the one I most identify with; always cautious, tries his best to keep others out of trouble, and usually fails in the process. If that's not the story of my life, I don't know what is! His design is also adorable and enduring, and that goes for both his early appearance, and the more refined version of him most of us picture when we think of the character. While it's true that you can't have Boo Boo without Yogi, if I had to go with only one of the two, I'm going with the short one every time!

Number 8: Space Ghost

Like any other person who grew up in a world full of comic book movies, I love superheroes, so it's no surprise that one spot here goes to a Hanna-Barbera hero. But of the many they created, one stands above the rest, and that is Space Ghost. Whether it's the heroic crime fighter voiced by Gary Owens or the smarmy talk-show host portrayed by George Lowe, I love the guy. His design is great and instantly striking. Alex Toth really doesn't get enough credit for his work at Hanna-Barbera. His superpowers are also pretty unique. He can fly, turn invisible, has an impressive arsenal of weapons, and can breathe in space. Not too bad if I do say so myself! In general, I find myself attracted to superhero characters who deal with cosmic threats more than those who do their crime-fighting on Earth, so Space Ghost is just another one of those characters with whom I seemed destined to fall in love. And, of course, he's the only character here to have his own late-night talk show. That's gotta be worth something!

Number 7: Top Cat

When I think of underrated Hanna-Barbera cartoons, one of the first that comes to mind is Top Cat. The show only ran for one season, and while there were a few specials in the decades following, none of them even came close to capturing the charm of the original series. A big part of that charm came from the show's titular character, the most tip-top Top Cat! Wonderfully brought to life by Arnold Stang, Top Cat stands out from other Hanna-Barbera characters in that, to be totally honest, he really isn't that great of a person. He's a con artist, and he'll con anyone, even his friends if it means he can reap the rewards. While that might be a reason to dislike him, it's a big reason I love him. Not every protagonist has to be a good person to be likable, and that's something that I think animation often forgets. Sometimes, you need a character who's kind of rude to anchor a show, and that's something T.C. does very well. That being said, Top Cat does have moments of kindness throughout the series, showing that he's also something akin to a jerk with a heart of gold, one of my favorite character archetypes in media. His design is also just stellar. The combo of yellow and purple is kind of an odd one, but it fits well for a character like him.  T.C. isn't the nicest of characters, but he's one of my favorites for just that reason.

Number 6: Atom Ant

Time for yet another Don Messick-voiced character (spoiler alert: this isn't the last), but this time it's the pint-sized Atom Ant! Originally voiced by Howie Morris before Messick took over vocal duties, Atom Ant is another superhero to come out of the brains at Hanna-Barbera, although unlike Space Ghost and the others, Atom Ant leaned a lot more on comedy and wackiness than it did action and suspense. That change in focus doesn't stop him from being one of my favorite characters, however. Atom Ant is as charming as he is diminutive, and like Space Ghost before him, he benefits from having a unique set of superpowers at his disposal. I'm not exaggerating when I say Atom Ant could give most comic book superheroes a run for their money. Whether it was a mad scientist or a crazed animal, no villain was ever too big for this guy, which gives him a nice underdog quality that is hard to come by in superheroes. Out of the many small-sized superheroes out there, Atom Ant is the most charming of them all, and my favorite out of the bunch. Ant-Man and The Atom have nothing on this guy!

Number 5: Wally Gator

For most people, Wally Gator is far from the quintessential Daws Butler character, but he's my favorite, second only to another we'll be discussing soon. While many will write him and his series off as nothing more than a Yogi "ripoff", I find Wally to be a much more enduring character than Yogi. Daws' performance is wonderful as the character (although that's to be expected with him), and the character design is as warm and cuddly as you could get from an alligator. His goal in life is also, as weird as it sounds, quite a relatable one. He wants nothing more than to escape from the zoo and enter the outside world, just as many of us want to get away from our homes and explore the rest of the planet. I find him to be one of the HB characters I empathize with the most, which is quite the feat when you think about it. He's an anthropomorphic alligator who sounds like Ed Wynn and I can relate to his plight. How can you not love the guy?

Number 4: Muttley

Fourth place goes to one more Don Messick character, and in this spot, it's Muttley from Wacky Races. Messick voiced a lot of dogs for Hanna-Barbera, and Muttley is hands down my favorite of the pack. I'd describe Muttley as being almost like the "anti" Boo Boo. While Boo Boo always had an eye out for Yogi and wanted what was best for him, Muttley sees Dick Dastardly as a joke and is never one to give up an opportunity to laugh at his misfortunes. Speaking of laughing, can we all agree that Muttley has one of the best in animation? When you even think of the character, you can hear his snicker, so you have to give props to Messick for that. He's also got a great design, perfectly encapsulating that this mutt is anything but man's best friend. Overall, while Scooby might be the dog people most associate with Hanna-Barbera, I'll take Muttley over him any day!

Number 3: Quick Draw McGraw

Of the dozens upon dozens of characters Daws Butler voiced throughout the years, none do I love as much as I do Quick Draw McGraw. I love a good gunslinger, and while I wouldn't classify Quick Draw as a "good" one per se, he's still one of my favorite cowboys in all of fiction. Like any of the great western heroes, he means only the best, but he's far from the sharpest sheriff in the saloon. Yet again, I find myself relating to a Hanna-Barbera character, because I'm about as foolish and clumsy as Quick Draw is. Like all of Daws' major characters, his voice is excellent, and it's one you can hear as soon as you see an image of the character. Quick Draw McGraw being one of my favorite Hanna-Barbera productions certainly doesn't hurt his placement here, either. It's just a shame I can't place another character from the series, El Kabong, here as well. Say, has anyone noticed those two share a few similarities?

Number 2: Rosie the Robot

Though The Jetsons is one of my favorite Hanna-Barbera shows, I cannot say that I'm the biggest fan of the family as individual characters. For the most part, I find them to be a bit bland when compared to their stone-age predecessors. That cannot be said for Rosie, however. Memorably portrayed by Jean Vander Pyl, Rosie was practically the glue that held the Jetsons family together. As their maid, she took care of the majority of tasks inside the house. Without her, I can't imagine George and the rest would get much done! Though she's a maid, she's not the type of character to just blindly follow orders. She can talk trash just as well as anyone else and is a source for some of the show's best comedic moments (I particularly love it when she imitates Judy in love). Besides all of that, there's an innate cool factor to Rosie as a character. She's a robot maid who can do all of the things you don't want to, how can you not love that? You can keep your flying cars and foodarackacycles, because all I want in the future is a robot who'll clean my whole house. Maybe someday!

Number 1: Fred Flintstone

Surprising probably none of you, my favorite Hanna-Barbera character is the head of the Flintstone household, Fred Flintstone. The Flintstones is my favorite of their shows, and one of my favorite series period, and Fred's my favorite character from the show, so he was meant to be in this spot. What I like about Fred is that, more than any other character Hanna-Barbera has created, he is an everyman. While many probably don't see themselves in Wally Gator, Boo Boo, or the others we've looked at, Fred is intended to be like us. He cares deeply for his family, can't stand his job, and has his fair share of hobbies he's completely immersed with. I think I can safely say those are all things we can relate to, regardless of our backgrounds. He's also a pretty flawed protagonist. A lot of the conflicts in the shows are caused by him and especially his mouth, so he stands out from a lot of the warmer and friendlier characters Hanna-Barbera has given us. But even when he screws things up, he always finds a way to make it right, and we root for him every time. In conclusion, every animation studio has its mascot. Disney has Mickey, WB has Bug, Fleischer has Betty Boop, and in my eyes, Fred is the face of Hanna-Barbera. He might not be their most popular or recognizable character, but he's the one I, and I believe most people think of when they think of the studio. Between that, his personality, and his smooth voice (supplied originally by the late, great Alan Reed), Fred's easily my pick for the best Hanna-Barbera character of them all!

I hope you've all enjoyed this little dive into my favorites among Hanna-Barbera's colorful cast of characters. Tune in tomorrow, as I share with you not one, but three different magazine articles from some of Hanna-Barbera's most celebrated voice artists!

Hanna-Barbera and Hallmark Ornaments: A Truncated History

 No Christmas tree is complete without a healthy dose of ornaments covering it, and when you think of ornaments, what is the first company that comes to mind? For many of us, we will no doubt be immediately thinking of Hallmark. Their products eat up most shelf space at retail for ornaments, and they've tackled nearly every single intellectual property imaginable, and that includes the works of Hanna-Barbera Productions. For almost every year since 1994, Hallmark has made characters like Scooby-Doo and Fred Flintstone major players in their line of keepsake ornaments. So, to celebrate Christmas day and the end of the year, I thought I'd go through and look at some of the more notable ones in this line. We start at the beginning, with a 1994 ornament featuring Fred and Barney in the Flintmobile. For the time, the likenesses are pretty on point, at least for Barney. Fred looks a little off, though.

In 1995, in celebration of The Flintstones' 35th anniversary, Hallmark released not one, not two, but three different keepsake ornaments based on the series' pivotal characters. Of the trio, I think the Wilma and Betty one is the nicest looking. 

1996 saw Hallmark finally branch out from The Flintstones, giving us ornaments based on both The Jetsons and Yogi Bear. The former shows the family of the future in their main mode of transportation, while the latter has Yogi and Boo Boo noticing what else, a picnic basket!

It wouldn't be until 1999 that Scooby-Doo would finally get represented in the Hallmark keepsake line. This first ornament was a lunchbox and thermos modeled after Scooby and the gang. The following year, Shaggy and Scooby would get their first ornaments in the collection, but far from the last. Unsurprisingly, Scooby makes up most of the entries in the Hanna-Barbera keepsake line, with a new edition of the cowardly canine coming out pretty much every year, so for the sake of brevity, I won't feature all of them here today. If I did, what would I share with you guys next Christmas?

In 2001, Hallmark made yet another lunchbox ornament, this time themed after The Jetsons. Unlike the Scooby one, however, this one actually takes inspiration from a Jetsons lunchbox released during the show's original run. Below is the Hallmark version, and under it is the original for reference. The characters are more on model in Hallmark's rendition than in the first, but the layout of the characters is essentially the same.

Following this one, Hallmark backed off of all non-Scooby HB characters until 2007, when they made a new Flintstones ornament after over a decade since the last set. Unfortunately, this is easily one of the more unremarkable ones we've gotten. It's just Fred with a generic rock pun. At least the Fred featured here looks alright.

As "meh" as that Flintstones ornament was, it seemed like it rekindled interest in the Hanna-Barbera characters for the folks at Hallmark because, in 2008, they made several new ornaments, all based on different properties. We got the Flintstone family taking a joyride, George and Astro on the treadmill in a scene taken out of the original Jetsons credits, and making his Hallmark debut, Jonny Quest facing off against danger. A pretty good lineup if you ask me!

2009 gave us yet another Flintstones keepsake ornament. This time, it's Pebbles who gets some time in the spotlight. She's been featured in a few of these ornaments, but this one was truly her time to shine.

I now share two that came out in 2010, and both are among my favorites. The first is another Yogi Bear ornament, the first to come out since 1996. It's a huge improvement on the original, to say the least. We also got the first-ever Hallmark ornament of the Jetsons' robot maid, Rosie. This is probably one of the best pieces of Rosie merch that I've seen. It certainly beats out Kurt Adler's efforts, that's for sure!

It's been some time, so here's another Scooby-Doo ornament. This one came out in 2012, and it's among my favorites from the Scooby line. Also note that this is one of several in the keepsake series to feature sound effects.

In 2016, after yet another lengthy hiatus, we got a brand new Flintstones ornament. As of now, it is also their most recent. This one depicts Fred hopping off his work dinosaur, a scene we all know from the show's second intro.

Though Hallmark has been making Hanna-Barbera ornaments since 1994, they still appear to be interested in trying new things. This is evident by the franchise they picked to do an ornament of in 2018. Rather than another Flintstones or Jetsons one, we got our first ornament for Wacky Races, showcasing Dastardly and Muttley in their Mean Bean Machine.

Since then, sadly, we've only gotten ornaments for Scooby and the other members of Mystery Incorporated, but that isn't to say there haven't been some gems in that collection. 2019 saw the release of a cute ornament celebrating the franchise's fiftieth anniversary, and just this year, we received a lovely ornament of Scooby and Shaggy doing what they do best: shaking and shivering!

That's a brief rundown of Hallmark's association with Hallmark so far, but I'm sure we will get many more in the future. Maybe we'll even see new characters in the line one day, like Space Ghost or Huckleberry Hound. Hey, it took them nearly twenty-five years to delve into Wacky Races, so anything is possible! I sincerely hope you've all enjoyed this post, and I wish you all a very happy holiday season. Come back here on the second of January for my next post and the first one of the new year. I'll be counting down my ten personal favorite Hanna-Barbera characters, and I look forward to sharing that one with you guys as well. Until then, take care!

Video of the Week: The Jetsons Celebrate the Holidays at Radioshack

 For the last video of the week before Christmas day, I've got a pretty interesting find I thought I'd share with you all. I'm sure you are all aware of the Jetsons Radioshack commercials that aired during the late 90s. As weird as it might sound, these commercials might be the last major piece of media that the Jetsons were featured in (although you could argue that title also goes to the Electrasol ads or that strange WWE crossover from a couple years back). These commercials are pretty well-known among fans, but here is one I hadn't seen until a few days ago. Fittingly enough, it's a Christmas advertisement, showing the family preparing for the holiday season. This aired in late '98, and is the only commercial from the campaign to feature both Mr. and Mrs. Spacely. It sounds like Cosmo is voiced by Jeff Bergman to me, who has voiced the character in all of his appearances since Mel Blanc's passing. Mrs. Spacely, on the other hand, is clearly voiced by Jean Vander Pyl, who voiced the character in the original series alongside Rosie the Robot. Besides Janet Waldo as Judy Jetson, she was the only original cast member from the show to reprise their role in these ads. Check it out below!

That's it for today, but come back here on Christmas day as I look through some of the many Hallmark keepsake ornaments based on the Hanna-Barbera library. After that, I'll be taking a short break until right after the new year begins. I've got some really exciting things in the pipeline for the first month or so of 2024, so be sure to come back here on the 2nd of January for the first of those posts!

Christmas Wrapping, H-B Style

Throughout this month, I've looked at various Hanna-Barbera-based Christmas decorations, like stockings, cards, and ornaments. But what of one of the more overlooked yet still important parts of the holidays, wrapping paper? Suprising nobody, there's been plenty of those based on the Hanna-Barbera characters over the years as well. Today, I will go through some of the more interesting ones, and in chronological order. First off is this one from 1965 featuring some of the earlier HB characters up in the clouds. Technically, this is intended more for birthdays than Christmas, but the art in this is so good and unique that I couldn't help but include it here.

Next up, from 1986 and 1990 respectively, here are wrapping papers based on The Flintstones Kids and Yo Yogi!. Both of these were created by Celebrations by Gibson. One of the notable things about these is that it's one of the few instances I've seen of merchandise created for the Yo Yogi! series, for whatever that's worth.

Later on, in 1994, we got another Flintstones-themed set of wrapping paper, this time based on the classic interpretations of the characters. It's got a rather nice variety of renders for the characters, some of which I hadn't seen before finding this.

In 1996, we got probably the oddest roll of wrapping paper yet. This one, featuring the Cartoon Network branding, shows off characters from Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, and Wacky Races. Info regarding this one is rare, which makes me wonder if this only existed for promotional purposes, rather than for retail release. You also have to love both variations of Fred featured on the paper.

I don't know quite when this one was released, but judging the fact it credits WB, I assume this was from either the late 90s or the early 2000s. It's a Scooby-Doo-themed roll of wrapping paper, and I'm pretty sure my family had this (or something very close) back when I was little.

These next two are from sometime in the 2000s, and both showcase a whole assortment of different Hanna-Barbera characters. I believe these were also created by Hallmark. It's a little strange that only a few characters are sporting holiday decorations, while others use the typical stock art used in most modern merchandise. Still, I can't complain too much. Both include a diverse selection of characters, and are the obvious wrapping paper of choice for any Hanna-Barbera fan!

Miscellaneous Flintstones Christmas Goodies

 I've looked at a fair amount of Christmas memorabilia based around the Hanna-Barbera characters this month, but now, it's time to look at the more random and odd holiday items based around their most famous franchise, The Flintstones! Jumping right into things, here are two Flintstones Christmas cards from the tail end of the 80s, featuring Fred and Wilma in both their classic and Flintstones Kids looks. 

Here's a set of four Flintstones gift cards, featuring a shorter-than-usual version of Fred Flintstone. 

Up next is a Flintstones stocking and a set of nametags, both released in 1994.

Here's one more Christmas card, although this card is more on the recent side (I don't know quite when it was produced, unfortunately). A little disappointing that they used the same render of Fred on both the outside and inside.

And, of course, no look at Flintstones Christmas merch would be complete without mentioning Fruity Pebbles! The cereal has had many special editions and commercials tied into the holidays. Here's one such advertisement from 1995. This is actually an alternate version of an ad released several years earlier, with the most notable change here being Jim Cummings as the voice of Santa.

Video of the Week: Hanna-Barbera Shopping Metrô Tatuapé Commercial

 Like I said on this blog months ago, since the beginning of the new millennium, it has been the world of advertising where the Hanna-Barbera library of characters has primarily shown up (or, at least the ones who aren't Scooby-Doo). But while I'm sure you're all familiar with the gluttony of Fruity Pebbles commercials, or the series of Electrasol ads with The Jetsons, the commercials created for territories beyond America are usually relegated to obscurity. Here's one you might not have seen. From Brazil in 2010, this is a holiday commercial for the retail location Shopping Metrô Tatuapé. It features a pretty impressive collection of Hanna-Barbera characters advertising a promotion that the store had at the time. If anyone is versed in Portuguese, I'd love to see a translation of the dialogue, and whether or not the voice actors featured here are also their voice actors in any Portuguese dubs. All in all, it's a fun commercial, even if it's a bit on the short side.