The Yogi Bear Ball Toss Game

 Here's a fun little game I learned of through an Instagram post recently. Below is a ball toss game themed around Yogi Bear, released by Transogram. They were the makers of many toys and board games from 1951 to 1971, with several being themed around the Hanna-Barbera characters. The objective is pretty simple: throw the balls into Yogi's mouth, and whoever scores the most points wins. Below is the packaging art, featuring some odd-looking children playing the game. Also note the art in the corner noting that this is inspired by Huckleberry Hound, as this was before Yogi got his own series.

Now, here's what the game looks like. He's got quite the smile if you ask me. I love the buck-teeth, and how it looks like he's got freckles. Yes, I know Yogi is typically featured with whiskers, but here, they look a lot more like freckles. Overall, this is a pretty odd piece of early Hanna-Barbera merchandise (which is saying a lot honestly), but I love stuff like this and I hope you guys do as well.

Video of the Week: Daws Butler on CNN

 It's not everyday you stumble upon a TV interview with Daws Butler, and for this week's video, I've got quite a special one. Below is a segment that aired on CNN on December 23rd, 1981 featuring an interview with Butler. It starts at about the 23-minute mark. In this interview, he primarily discusses how animation has changed over the course of his career, and the problems facing the industry. It's interesting to see how Butler's views of the industry at that time (animation being done by committee, the networks having more power than the artists) seem quite similar to the critiques levied at the industry today. The more things change the more they stay the same, am I right?

Butler was also joined in this segment by Richard Webb. Webb appeared on radio and on film, but he's probably best remembered for portraying radio hero Captain Midnight in a TV series that ran from 1954 to 1956. Give the video a look down below!

A Real Treat from Dick Bickenbach

 Tomorrow marks 117 years since animator Richard Bickenbach was born. He had an extraordinary career in the industry that spanned fifty years and saw him work with everyone from Ub Iwerks to, of course, Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera. He was one of many who joined the company in the aftermath of MGM closing down their animation unit, and he stayed with them until 1980. He played a big role in shaping the look of their early shows, and for many of us, when we imagine the likes of Yogi Bear and the Flintstones family, it's his art we see. 

Below is a short but nonetheless insightful piece about Bickenbach shortly after his retirement. This ran in The Desert Sun on January 31st, 1981, highlighting his appearance at the Palm Springs Women's Club. It also sheds some light on his pre-animation days, information that I had never heard of before finding this article. 

Palm Springs Women's Club

    The Palm Springs Women's Club will meet Monday at 314 S. Cahuilla Road at 2 p.m. The program titled "A Real Treat" will feature Dick Bickenbach, Dorothy Bickenbach, and Jim Bisso.  

    Dick Bickenbach studied music in Long Beach and won a scholarship to the Chicago College of Music. He studied with Frans-Proshowski and sang on a half-hour program at KNX radio. Dick is a graduate from UCLA and is the artist for the "Flintstones" and "Yogi Bear"/

    Dorothy Bickenbach, a graduate from USC played at KNX radio for the musicians where she met her husband. She has taught music and now, retired, gives her time to help students at C.O.D.

    Jim Bisso has been playing the mandolin since he was a child. Though he was in the electrical business for 35 years, his love for music never diminished. He enjoys playing today as much as he did when he was a child.

Welcome to the Hanna-Barbera Store

 Last year, I wrote up a post discussing the obscure and short-lived Hanna-Barbera stores, the studios' answer to Disney's then newly-launched retail locations. If you haven't seen that post and are interested, check it out here. Today, I return to this topic to present this newspaper ad for the grand opening of the first location, found inside LA's West Pavilion Mall. Fittingly enough, this weekend marked 34 years since it opened! Attendees could meet both Fred Flintstone and his current voice actor, see the Flintmobile, and grab goodies based on Jetsons: The Movie, which had just been released in theaters. It definitely sounded like a great opening for what could've been a great line of stores. You can thank Ted Turner for nipping that in the bud!

The Boomerang App Calls It a Day

Between the launch of MeTV Toons and a seemingly never-ending line of titles coming to Blu-Ray, the last few months have been pretty kind to Hanna-Barbera enthusiasts. Unfortunately, the news I report today is anything but. Effective September 30th of this year, the Boomerang app, which Turner launched in 2017, will be a thing of the past. And before you ask, no, this has no impact on the Boomerang TV channel.

In case you've never heard of it (which I think will be many of you, as Warner hasn't acknowledged it in years), the Boomerang app was exactly what it sounds like. For five bucks a month, viewers were treated to a bevy of Warner Brothers, MGM, Hanna-Barbera, and Cartoon Network titles. Basically, it was everything you'd want to watch on Boomerang, but couldn't, as it wasn't airing on the channel at the time of launch. It was a fine streaming service, but it rarely ever saw new titles added. The day-one content was nearly indistinguishable from what's available now. Considering how ignored it is by Warner, as well as how obsessed they are with cutting costs, I'm honestly surprised it took this long.

Though the Boomerang app is no more, they promise that a lot of the content will migrate to HBO Max (or Max, as they insist on calling it now). Some of it also appears to be headed to Hulu, as this last week saw The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and Josie and the Pussycats all debut on the service. Though it's nice to see these titles make their way to more accessible services, I am a little bummed to see this app join the streaming service graveyard. It was far from perfect, and I haven't been subscribed in years, but I don't think we'll ever see another streaming service with so many titles from these studios. I couldn't see Netflix or even Warners' own HBO Max carry all those direct-to-DVD Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry titles, for example.

Farewell to the Boomerang app. Say hi to Quibi for me. Actually, does anyone even remember that service?

Video of the Week: Dishwashing with The Jetsons

 Despite living in a future full of robot maids and flying cars, the world of The Jetsons somehow still deals with dishes that come out of the wash dirty. Thankfully, they have Electrasol to help them out. Back in the early 2000s, the family was used in a series of commercials to promote their products. These were done by Primal Screen, who did a ton of work for Cartoon Network over the years, and sadly closed their doors this past May. Below is one ad in the campaign, showing George (voiced by the legendary Billy West) discovering the joys of Electrasol. There were several ads in the campaign, including one that saw Janet Waldo reprise her role as Judy Jetson. As far as I'm aware, this was the last time she voiced the character.

Another interesting piece of trivia exclusive to this particular commercial is that the late Martin C. Croker animated portions of it. Croker animated several spots for CN over the years, but he's far better known for the voice roles he did in numerous Adult Swim shows, starting with Zorak and Moltar on Space Ghost: Coast to Coast. He was a tremendously talented individual who Adult Swim took for granted, and he was taken from us far too soon. He may no longer be with us, but he lives on through his voice roles and animated work.

The Warner Archive Presents: A Jonny Quest Double Feature

 What's a better way to start a new month than with the announcement of a new Hanna-Barbera title coming from the Warner Archive? Announced just last night, September 30th will see a Blu-Ray double feature release of two Jonny Quest movies: Jonny's Golden Quest and Jonny vs. the Cyber Insects. 

For those who don't know or don't remember, these were TV movies that acted as the finale for the classic era of Jonny Quest, shortly before The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest took the franchise in a new direction when it premiered in 1996. Golden Quest premiered on the USA channel in 1993, while Cyber Insects debuted on TNT in 1995. This is the first time either title has been available on Blu-Ray, though Warner Archive did release both on DVD back in 2011. No special features are included with the release, which is a shame, but not exactly shocking, either. 

As someone who remembers watching these when I was younger but nothing about the films themselves, I'm rather excited for this release. You don't see much discussion for these movies when people talk about the later incarnations of Quest, so I'm curious to see how they stack up against those. The September release date is also appropriate, considering that month will mark sixty years since the original series debut.