Hanna Barbera Shorts Thread

Don't know if we've had a thread for these, but thought they deserved one at least. I admit given the company's fame for it's limited animation and endless cash ins, I often forget there is a lot of charm and personality in HB's stuff, especially their earliest solo projects (even if a lot of it is admitedly ripped off current celebrities at the time). :P

I have childhood memories watching Pixie and Pixie, Quick Draw Mc Graw and Yakky Doodle, though some of them have rarely had recent exposure outside the odd merchandise (I have memories of Yogi Bear too of course, though only the newer spin offs, I don't think the original shorts were aired much here).

edited 18th May '13 6:27:05 PM by Psi001

Admittedly, Hanna-Barbera's early cartoons suffer in comparison to those of other studios. I would point out that Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera were once happily working for MGM Studios, making mostly Tom and Jerry cartoons. When producer Fred Quimby retired, Bill and Joe took control of the Animation Department. Yay.

Then MGM management decided to shut down their animation department, thinking that they could simply reissue their in-stock cartoons as needed. Imagine being put in charge of long-time friends and coworkers, and your first assignment is to pass out pink slips. Yeah, it was just that wrenching.

So, using their own savings as starter funds, Hanna and Barbera started their own studio for cartoons, trying to convince sponsors to fund a The Honeymooners-based cartoon series titled The Flagstones. The name was later changed to The Flintstones to avoid conflict with Mort Walker's Hi and Lois.

It was a wobbly start for the studio, but it worked. Naturally, Hanna and Barbera looked to other established productions for inspiration, seeking to duplicate their success. This was furthered by investors feeling more secure with a production based upon a known quantity as opposed to an untried unknown. It wasn't until Hanna-Barbera Studios had amassed enough venture capital that they could field virgin projects, such as The Adventures Of Jonny Quest.

The Sixties were challenging to the upstart H-B studio. They didn't have the moolah to be polished or groundbreaking. However, let me point out that all three broadcast networks, ABC CBS NBC, were buying their output. Even if H-B cartoons weren't a critical success, they certainly were marketable. Ultimately, Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera are enshrined in the Hall Of Fame at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in North Hollywood.

I thought Ruff & Reddy was the first Hanna-Barbera TV show.

That's true: Ruff And Reddy was Hanna-Barbera's first made-for-television cartoon series. The thing is, Ruff And Reddy episodes were only 4 or 5 minutes long, not enough to fill a 30-minute show. They had to lease other content to fill the airtime, such as The Fox and the Crow or Western Animation/Li'lAbner. The Flintstones was their first stand-alone television production, running about 22 minutes per episode. Sources: My Life In Toons by Joe Barbera / The Big Cartoon Database under Hanna-Barbera.

...But I thought this was the Shorts Thread!

So, Pixie and Dixie is on Boomerang and... does anything else Mr. Jinx is a role practically made for Christopher Walken? If he weren't based off of Marlon Brando in a Streetcar Named Desire, I'd even say he was some sort of prophetic time-displaced Walken parody.

edited 17th May '14 12:23:23 AM by KnownUnknown

The Mexican dub made him a Spaniard from Andalucia, and it worked beautifully.

So I blew my dad's mind a few weeks ago when I pointed out how all the HB characters from their golden age had collars of some kind to mask how their heads and bodies were on separate layers, like Flash animation, and next time he thought of them, he couldn't stop noticing it and thinking about it.

Anyone remember Officer Pooch? One of the rare non-Tom and Jerry MGM shorts Hanna Barbera did, and I think one of their first shorts ever (or at least the first they received credit on). In my opinion it's kinda So Okay, It's Average, but with pretty animation. Yay Furry Confusion.