History Creator / RubySpears

The history of the studio is a turbulent one. After its' founding in 1977, Ruby and Spears launched their own venture to add more competition to their former employer Hanna-Barbera. Even from the offset, many employees were shared between both houses in addition to the stylistic similarities of their output. Aside from similar sound effects, the animation style mimicked Hanna-Barbera's tried and true LimitedAnimation methods. The visual similarities led to many of the early Ruby-Spears shows, such as ''WesternAnimation/{{Fangface}}'', often being mistaken for actual Hanna-Barbera shows. Initially owned by Creator/{{Filmways}} from 1977 to 1980, in 1981 they were purchased by Taft Broadcasting, who also owned Hanna-Barbera, making them sister companies. Hence, they were animation's best example of FriendlyEnemy in the industry. Further, they understood that the generation of their time would determine the next path of UsefulNotes/WesternAnimation and planned accordingly.

The history of the studio is a turbulent one. After its' founding in 1977, Ruby and Spears launched their own venture to add more competition to their former employer Hanna-Barbera. Even from the offset, many employees were shared between both houses in addition to the stylistic similarities of their output. Aside from similar sound effects, the animation style mimicked Hanna-Barbera's tried and true LimitedAnimation methods. The visual similarities led to many of the early Ruby-Spears shows, such as ''WesternAnimation/{{Fangface}}'', often being mistaken for actual Hanna-Barbera shows. Initially owned by Creator/{{Filmways}} from 1977 to 1980, in 1981 they were purchased by Taft Broadcasting, who also owned Hanna-Barbera, making them sister companies. Hence, they were animation's best example of FriendlyEnemy in the industry.

* ProductionPosse: With Creator/HanhoHeungUp during the early 1980s, Creator/ToeiAnimation in the late 1980s and [[Creator/ProductionReed Ashi Production]] towards the end of their lifespan.

* FriendlyEnemy: With Creator/HannaBarbera; Ruby and Spears left the studio yet would continue their style, shared plenty of employees, co-produced shows with them, and even put out composite character ads. You don't get much more friendly in competition than this.

** Whether or not many of the Ruby-Spears personnel would use the word "screwed" is debatable. Joe Ruby and Ken Spears appeared in one special feature documentary that included one of their cartoons in a montage talking about the Hanna-Barbera studio. So they might choose a less harsh word.

For reasons unknown, ''WesternAnimation/SkysurferStrikeForce'' led the animation studio to its demise in 1996.

The history of the studio is a turbulent one. After its' founding in 1977, Ruby and Spears launched their own venture to add more competition to their former employer Hanna-Barbera. Even from the offset, many employees were shared between both houses in addition to the stylistic similarities of their output. Aside from similar sound effects, the animation style mimicked Hanna-Barbera's tried and true LimitedAnimation methods. The visual similarities led to many of the early Ruby-Spears shows, such as ''WesternAnimation/{{Fangface}}'', often being mistaken for actual Hanna-Barbera shows. Initially owned by Creator/{{Filmways}} from 1977 to 1980, in 1981 they were purchased by Taft Broadcasting who also owned Hanna-Barbera, making them sister companies. Hence, they were animation's best example of FriendlyEnemy in the industry.

However as was known Taft/GAB had a lot of problems starting in the late 1980s, leading to them to eventually put both Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears up for sale. The end result saw Turner Broadcasting purchase the Hanna-Barbera studio in full and the Ruby-Spears library prior to 1991. The studio itself however was allowed to go independent once more. After the sale, the company restructured into RS Holdings. This led to them working on projects such as ''WesternAnimation/WildWestCOWBoysOfMooMesa'', ''WesternAnimation/SkysurferStrikeForce'' and the American ''WesternAnimation/MegaMan'' cartoon.

The history of the studio is a turbulent one. After its' founding in 1977, Ruby and Spears launched their own venture to add more competition to their former employer Hanna-Barbera. Even from the offset, many employees were shared between both houses in addition to the stylistic similarities of their output. Aside from similar sound effects, the animation style mimicked Hanna-Barbera's tried and true LimitedAnimation methods. The visual similarities led to many of the early Ruby-Spears shows, such as ''WesternAnimation/{{Fangface}}'', often being mistaken for actual Hanna-Barbera shows. Initially owned by Creator/{{Filmways}} from 1977 to 1980, by 1981 there were owned by Taft Broadcasting who also owned Hanna-Barbera, making them sister companies. Hence, they were animation's best example of FriendlyEnemy in the industry.

** ''WesternAnimation/{{Centurions}}'' ended every episode with a science lesson from one of the characters.

* {{Animesque}}: ''Centurions'', ''Mega Man'', ''Skysurfer Strike Force'', ''Rambo'' and the 1988 ''Superman'' series. All of which, appropriately, were animated in Japan.

* AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle: Both the ''WesternAnimation/MisterT'' and ''WesternAnimation/ChuckNorrisKarateKommandos'' cartoons used live-action wraparound segments to set up the plot of the episode and to later tell the moral of the story.
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Centurions}}'' did the same thing, only in animation.

While Ruby-Spears did create a few original properties, during their heyday they became particularly well known for churning out a great deal of licensed properties. These ranged from animated adaptations of live-action sitcoms, to action shows centered on then-popular film and television celebrities (most notably, Creator/MrT and Creator/ChuckNorris), to the wildly successful 1980s update of ''WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunks''. They even collaborated with Creator/WarnerBros to adapt two Creator/DCComics creations: Plastic Man and ''[[WesternAnimation/RubySpearsSuperman Superman]]''. This even extended to toys (such as [[WesternAnimation/RubikTheAmazingCube Rubik's Cube]]) and [[WesternAnimation/SaturdaySupercade video]] [[WesternAnimation/DragonsLair games]].

One major point of confusion in regards to this history is that during the Turner Buyout, the Ruby Spears library was legally consolidated into the Hanna-Barbera one. This led to such confusion as Ruby Spears [=DVDs=] have fine print saying they are owned by Hanna-Barbera and even some of the back catalog being marketed as Hanna-Barbera titles. The rights to the shows they produced after 1991 are more split across various partners.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: To Hanna-Barbera. The company never quite had the same fame and staying power as their company, and to add insult to injury, their shows were occasionally branded as Hanna-Barbera's by accident. At one point a new pilot of there's was beaten by Scooby-Doo...in other words they were beaten by themselves.

* ''It's WesternAnimation/PunkyBrewster'' (the "It's" was never actually shown onscreen)

Ruby-Spears is an animation house that was one of the more prolific animation studios of the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Studio founders Joe Ruby and Ken Spears started out as sound editors at Creator/HannaBarbera in the 1960s, eventually moving up the studio ladder into writing positions. This later led to the two creating the iconic ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' franchise for Hanna-Barbera, though they also played a part in many of Hanna-Barbera's successes before and after Scooby-Doo. While the pair did not have a "Created by" credit on ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' [[note]]Though they received writing credit in every episode's ending credits[[/note]]], they did received a "Created By" credit for ''WesternAnimation/{{Jabberjaw}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/DynomuttDogWonder''[[note]]Which had CrossOver with Scooby-Doo.[[/note]]; they also co-created ''WesternAnimation/TheHoundcats'' and ''Bailey's Comets'' with and for [[Creator/DePatieFrelengEnterprises David [=DePatie=] and Friz Freleng]].)

One major point of confusion in regards to this history is that during the Turner Buyout, the Ruby Spears library was legally consolidated into the Hanna-Barbera one. This led to such confusion as Ruby Spears [=DVDs=] have fine print saying they are owned by Hanna-Barbera and even some of the back catalog being marketed as Hannah-Barbera titles. The rights to the shows they produced after 1991 are more split across various partners.

The history of the studio is a turbulent one. After its' founding in 1977, Ruby and Spears launched their own venture to add more competition to their former employer Hanna-Barbera. Even from the offset, many employees were shared between both houses in addition to the stylistic similarities of their output. Aside from similar sound effects, the animation style mimicked Hanna-Barbera's tried and true LimitedAnimation methods. The visual similarities led to many of the early Ruby-Spears shows, such as ''WesternAnimation/{{Fangface}}'', often being mistaken for actual Hanna-Barbera shows. Initially owned by Creator/{{Filmways}} from 1977 to 1980, by 1981 there were owned by Taft Broadcasting who also owned Hannah-Barbera, making them sister companies. Hence, they were animation's best example of FriendlyEnemy in the industry.

The history of the studio is a turbulent one. After its' founding in 1977, Ruby and Spears launched their own venture to add more competition to their former employer Hanna-Barbera. Even from the offset, many employees were shared between both houses in addition to the stylistic similarities of their output. Aside from similar sound effects, the animation style mimicked Hanna-Barbera's tried and true LimitedAnimation methods. The visual similarities led to many of the early Ruby-Spears shows, such as ''WesternAnimation/{{Fangface}}'', often being mistaken for actual Hanna-Barbera shows. Due to corporate buyouts, by 1981 there were owned by Taft Broadcasting who also owned Hannah-Barbera, making them sister companies. Hence, they were animation's best example of FriendlyEnemy in the industry.

Ruby-Spears is an animation house that was one of the more prolific animation studios of the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Studio founders Joe Ruby and Ken Spears started out as sound editors at Creator/HannaBarbera in the 1960s, eventually moving up the studio ladder into writing positions. This later led to the two creating the iconic ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' franchise for Hanna-Barbera, though they also played a part in many of Hanna-Barbera's successes before and after Scooby-Doo. (They did not have a "Created by" credit on ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' [well, not exactly[[note]]They did have writing credit, as seen during the closing credits.[[/note]]], but they did on ''WesternAnimation/{{Jabberjaw}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/DynomuttDogWonder''[[note]]Which had CrossOver with Scooby-Doo.[[/note]]; they also co-created ''WesternAnimation/TheHoundcats'' and ''Bailey's Comets'' with and for [[Creator/DePatieFrelengEnterprises David [=DePatie=] and Friz Freleng]].) Their former employer had a great influence on the new studio's output. Aside from similar sound effects, the animation style mimicked Hanna-Barbera's tried and true LimitedAnimation methods. The visual similarities led to many of the early Ruby-Spears shows, such as ''WesternAnimation/{{Fangface}}'', often being mistaken for actual Hanna-Barbera shows.

While Ruby-Spears did turn out a few original properties, during their heyday they became particularly well known for churning out a great deal of licensed properties. These ranged from animated adaptations of live-action sitcoms, to action shows centered on then-popular film and television celebrities (most notably, Creator/MrT and Creator/ChuckNorris), to the wildly successful 1980s update of ''WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunks''. They even collaborated with Creator/WarnerBros to adapt two Creator/DCComics creations: Plastic Man and ''[[WesternAnimation/RubySpearsSuperman Superman]]''. This even extended to toys (such as [[WesternAnimation/RubikTheAmazingCube Rubik's Cube]]) and [[WesternAnimation/SaturdaySupercade video]] [[WesternAnimation/DragonsLair games]].

The history of the studio is a turbulent one. After their founding in 1977, Ruby and Spears launched their own venture to add more competition to their former employer Hanna Barbera. Although even from the offset many employees were shared between both houses and the style as mentioned above was quite similar.They were purchased in 1978 by Creator/{{Filmways}}. Filmways next sold the company to Taft Broadcasting in 1981, making it a sister company to Hanna Barbera. From here the two studios were as high an example of FriendlyEnemy as you can get.

However as was known Taft/GAB had a lot of problems starting in the late 1980s. They put both Hanna Barbera and Ruby Spears up for sale. The end result saw Turner Broadcasting purchase the Hanna Barbera studio in full and the Ruby Spears library prior to 1991. The studio itself however was allowed to go independent once more. After the sale, the company restructured into RS Holdings. This led to them working on projects such as ''WesternAnimation/WildWestCOWBoysOfMooMesa'', ''WesternAnimation/SkysurferStrikeForce'' and the American ''WesternAnimation/MegaMan'' cartoon.

One major point of confusion in regards to this history is that during the Turner Buyout, the Ruby Spears library was legally consolidated into the Hanna Barbera one. (Hence why all Ruby Spears [=DVDs=] have fine print saying they are owned by Hanna-Barbera) The rights to the shows they produced after 1991 are more split across various partners.

* ProductionPosse: With Creator/HanhoHeungUp during the early 1980s, Creator/ToeiAnimation in the late 1980s and [[Creator/ProductionReed Ashi Production]] towards the end of their lifespan.
* ScrewedByTheLawyers: Upon the Turner buyout, the Ruby-Spears library was sold and merged into the Creator/HannaBarbera one (in contrast to the Turner one that WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry are under) so the Ruby Spears dvds are prone to not mentioning the Ruby-Spears name. Even though they were sister studios with a very friendly relationship, it is important to remember which were which.
** Whether or not many of the Ruby-Spears personnel would use the word "screwed" is debatable. Joe Ruby and Ken Spears appeared in one special feature documentary that included one of their cartoons in a montage talking about the Hanna-Barbera studio. So they might choose a less harsh word.
* ScrewedByTheNetwork: While there is often considered a divide between Creator/CartoonNetwork and Hanna-Barbera, Ruby-Spears technically is involved in this as well. From the above mentioned legal choice, most of the problems you can read on the Hanna-Barbera page under this section also apply to Ruby-Spears reruns.

* FollowTheLeader: ''WesternAnimation/{{Fangface}}'' was one example of this, with the catch that it was created by the same people who created the original Scooby-Doo in the first place.

The history of the studio is a turbulent one. After their founding in 1977, Ruby and Spears launched their own venture to add more competition to their former employer Hanna Barbera. Although even from the offset many employees were shared between both houses and the style as mentioned above was quite similar.They were purchased in 1978 by Creator/{{Filmways}}. Filmways next sold the company to Taft Broadcasting in 1981, making it a sister company to Hanna Barbera. From here the two studios were as high an example of FriendlyEnemey as you can get.

Ruby-Spears is an animation house that was one of the more prolific animation studios of the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Studio founders Joe Ruby and Ken Spears started out as sound editors at Creator/HannaBarbera in the 1960s, eventually moving up the studio ladder into writing positions. This later led to the two creating the iconic ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' franchise for Hanna-Barbera, though they also played a part in many of Hanna-Barbera's successes before and after Scooby-Doo. (They did not have a "Created by" credit on ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' [well, not exactly[[note]]They did have writing credit, as seen during the closing credits.[[/note]]], but they did on ''WesternAnimation/{{Jabberjaw}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/DynomuttDogWonder''[[note]]Which is a sort of SpinOff of Scooby-Doo.[[/note]]; they also co-created ''WesternAnimation/TheHoundcats'' and ''Bailey's Comets'' with and for [[Creator/DePatieFrelengEnterprises David [=DePatie=] and Friz Freleng]].) Their former employer had a great influence on the new studio's output. Aside from similar sound effects, the animation style mimicked Hanna-Barbera's tried and true LimitedAnimation methods. The visual similarities led to many of the early Ruby-Spears shows, such as the ''Scooby-Doo'' knock-off ''WesternAnimation/{{Fangface}}'', often being mistaken for actual Hanna-Barbera shows.

The history of the studio is a turbulent one. After their founding in 1977, they were purchased in 1978 by Creator/{{Filmways}}. Filmways sold the company to Taft Broadcasting in 1981, making it a sister company to Hanna-Barbera. Eventually their entire library prior to 1991 was sold, along with Hanna-Barbera, to Turner Broadcasting (later Time Warner), and legally consolidating the two libraries into one. (Hence why all Ruby Spears [=DVDs=] have fine print saying they are owned by Hanna-Barbera) After the sale, the company restructured into RS Holdings. This led to them working on projects such as ''WesternAnimation/WildWestCOWBoysOfMooMesa'', ''WesternAnimation/SkysurferStrikeForce'' and the American ''WesternAnimation/MegaMan'' cartoon. The rights to many of these later shows have scattered as their partners absorbed them.

For reasons unknown, ''WesternAnimation/SkysurferStrikeForce'' led the animation studio to its demise in 1996. A lot of the Ruby-Spears animation studio's cartoons still hold favorably among the public to this day.

* FriendlyEnemy: With Creator/HannaBarbera; Ruby and Spears left the studio yet would continue their style, shared plenty of employees, co-produced shows with them, and even put out composite character ads. You don't get much more friendly in competition then this.

Ruby-Spears is an animation house that was one of the more prolific animation studios of the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. Studio founders Joe Ruby and Ken Spears started out as sound editors at Creator/HannaBarbera in the 1960s, eventually moving up the studio ladder into writing positions. This later led to the two creating the iconic ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' franchise for Hanna-Barbera, though they also played a part in many of Hanna-Barbera's successes before and after Scooby-Doo. (They did not have "Created by" credit on ''Scooby-Doo'', but they did on ''Jabberjaw''; they also co-created ''WesternAnimation/TheHoundcats'' and ''Bailey's Comets'' with and for [[Creator/DePatieFrelengEnterprises David [=DePatie=] and Friz Freleng]].) Their former employer had a great influence on the new studio's output, as the animation style mimicked Hanna-Barbera's tried and true LimitedAnimation methods. The visual similarities led to many of the early Ruby-Spears shows, such as the ''Scooby-Doo'' knock-off ''WesternAnimation/{{Fangface}}'', often being mistaken for actual Hanna-Barbera shows.

While Ruby-Spears did turn out a few original properties, during their heyday they became particularly well known for churning out a great deal of licensed properties. These ranged from animated adaptations of live-action sitcoms, to action shows centered on then-popular film and television celebrities (most notably, Creator/MrT and Creator/ChuckNorris), to the wildly successful 1980s update of ''WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'', to a great deal of collaboration with Creator/WarnerBros to adapt several Creator/DCComics mainstays for Saturday Morning. This even extended to toys (such as [[WesternAnimation/RubikTheAmazingCube Rubik's Cube]]) and video games.

* ''Dink, the Little Dinosaur''

* ''WesternAnimation/RubySpearsSuperman''

* ''WesternAnimation/SkysurferStrikeForce''

* AnAesop: Since many of these shows were based on either [[MerchandiseDriven toys]] or [[CelebrityToons celebrities]], a number of them were wrapped around morals to try and make them appear more respectable.
* AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle: Both the ''WesternAnimation/MisterT'' and ''WesternAnimation/ChuckNorrisKarateKommandos'' cartoons used live-action wraparound segments to set up the plot of the episode and later tell the moral of the story.

* ''The Puppy's Great Adventures'' (first a series of specials, then a regular series that aired as part of ''The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour''; co-production with Creator/HannaBarbera)

For reasons unknown, ''WesternAnimation/SkysurferStrikeForce'' led the animation studio to its demise in 1996. A lot of their cartoons still hold favorably among the public to this day.

The history of the studio is a turbulent one. After their founding in 1977, they were purchased in 1978 by Creator/{{Filmways}}. Filmways sold the company to Taft Broadcasting in 1981, making it a sister company to Hanna-Barbera. Eventually their entire library prior to 1991 was sold, along with Hanna-Barbera, to Turner Broadcasting (later Time Warner), and legeally consolidating the two libraries into one. (Hence why all Ruby Spears [=DVDs=] have fine print saying they are owned by Hanna-Barbera) After the sale, the company restructured into RS Holdings. This led to them working on projects such as ''WesternAnimation/WildWestCOWBoysOfMooMesa'', ''WesternAnimation/SkysurferStrikeForce'' and the American ''WesternAnimation/MegaMan'' cartoon. The rights to many of these later shows have scattered as their partners absorbed them.

Ruby-Spears output slowed dramatically by the late 1990s, and while the studio still exists today, it's a shadow of its former self and mainly handles some direct-to-video productions. However, like their predecessor, a lot of their cartoons still hold favorably among the public.

* FriendlyEnemy: With Creator/HannaBarbera, Ruby Spears left the studio yet would continue their style, shared plenty of employees, co-produced shows with them, and even put out composite character ads. You don't get much more friendly in competition then this.
** You can consider it a full on adoption now that Warner Brothers just considers the Ruby Spears library a part of Creator/HannaBarbera. both legally and in marketing.[[note]]This has gotten better, however: later Warner Archive releases have stopped using the Hanna-Barbera name on the main package. But do notice in the legal paragraph Hanna Barbera is still named owner on the Heathcliff and Centurions dvds.[[/note]]

Ruby-Spears output slowed dramatically by the late 1990s, and while the studio still exists today, it's a shadow of its former self and mainly handles some direct-to-video productions. However, like their predecessor, a lot of their cartoons still hold favorably among the public and is often a sort of contention with the InternetBackdraft