Hanna-Barbera

William Hanna and Joseph Barbera

Hanna-Barbera was a prolific animation studio which, between 1957 and 2001, produced scores of animated television series and specials, as well as a few forays into theatrical films. The company took its name from William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, who first teamed as co-directors of the Tom and Jerry theatrical shorts for MGM. When MGM closed its doors, Hanna and Barbera struck out on their own, producing limited animation television product which came to dominate network Saturday morning slots for decades. Their earliest series was Ruff and Reddy, followed by Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, The Flintstones, The Jetsons and Scooby-Doo, amongst others. One of their more notable successes in the 1980s came from licensing a group of popular Belgian comic characters for a long-running animated series, The Smurfs.

In 1990, Hanna Barbera was one of several companies which collaborated on Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue, with the Smurfs sharing screentime with the Muppet Babies. Though the studio itself no longer exists, having been absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation in 2001, its extensive sound-effects library is still in wide use, and has been heard in several Muppet/Henson contexts since the 1980s, most notably the Muppet Babies animated series.

References

• In 1994, Jim Henson's Creature Shop supplied animatronic dinosaurs and other prehistoric characters for the live-action movie version of The Flintstones, and would do the same for the prequel The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas. William Hanna and Joseph Barbera made cameo appearances in both films.
• David Barrington-Holt and the Creature Shop were the Creative Supervisor/Character Design for the live-action adaptation of Scooby-Doo
• On Sesame Street, in a Season 16 episode, one of the kids has two goldfish named Tom and Jerry. When Olivia learns of their names, she says, "Well, I won't go into that."
• The seventh-season Muppet Babies episode "Muppet Babies: The Next Generation" spoofed several space-themed films and TV series, including The Jetsons. The equivalent here is The Spacetons, with Baby Kermit in the George Jetson role, Baby Piggy spoofing Jane, and Baby Rowlf as "Rowlfo the Dog" (the equivalent to Astro).
• In Muppets Tonight episode 103, Sal Minella addresses Bobo the Bear as "Yogi the Butthead," an allusion to Yogi Bear.
• In The Muppets comic strip, a Whatnot autograph hound pursues a flattered Fozzie because she has mistaken him for Yogi Bear.
• In Episode 3908, Telly compliments Baby Bear's clever idea, to which he replies that he's "smarter than the average bear," in reference to Yogi Bear.
• In Episode 4055, Papa Bear reads from a book of bear names when trying to come up with a name for their new baby. Among the names he suggests are "Yogi Bear" and "Boo-Boo."
• In A Muppet Christmas: Letters to Santa, Bobo tackles Fozzie and calls him "Yogi."
• In the Sesame Place stage show, The Not-Too-Spooky Howl-o-ween Radio Show!, Grover (dressed as a pumpkin) must leave the scene after The Count's "Five Little Pumpkins" poem. Before he leaves, he utters "Exit Grover, stage left!," referencing the catchphrase of Snagglepuss.

Trivia

• Both Yogi Bear and Scooby-Doo were included on Animal Planet's 50 Greatest TV Animals, along with Big Bird and Kermit.

Connections

Several voice actors in Hanna-Barbera series were also heard in Sesame Street inserts.

• Daws Butler voiced Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Elroy Jetson, Augie Doggie, Quick Draw McGraw and dozens of others for Hanna-Barbera.
• Casey Kasem voiced Shaggy on Scooby-Doo, Alexander Cabot in Josie and the Pussycats and Robin in Superfriends.
• Howard Morris voiced Atom Ant, Mushmouse and Mr. Peebles on The Magilla Gorilla Show; Grandpa Jetson, Jet Screamer and others on The Jetsons, and various roles on The Flintstones, amongst others.
• Gary Owens voiced Space Ghost, the Blue Falcon and various narrators.
• Hal Smith voiced several roles on The Flintstones, Yappy and the king in Yippee, Yappy and Yahooey, Santa Claus in multiple HB specials and series episodes, Coil Man in The Impossibles and others; on Sesame Street, he voiced a bear, ant and elephant in a short about cooperation and taking turns.
• Arnold Stang voiced Top Cat; on Sesame Street, he was heard as a mad scientist who invents the letter H.
• Mo Willems directed a Quick Draw McGraw short, "City-E-Scape", for Cartoon Network.
• Nancy Cartwright had voice roles on Richie Rich, Shirt Tales and other 1980s HB series. On Sesame Street, she and her co-stars from The Simpsons performed in the celebrity version of "Monster in the Mirror".
• Bob Arbogast had voice roles on Monchhichis and Galtar and the Golden Lance.

Other actors who lent their voices or appeared in Muppet/Creature Shop productions also had Hanna-Barbera connections.

• Cynthia Adler voiced various Hanna-Barbera cartoons including The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan
• Greg Berg voiced Huckleberry Hound on Yo Yogi!
• Dom DeLuise voiced Mr. Evictus on The Roman Holidays
• Micky Dolenz voiced various Hanna-Barbera cartoons including The Funky Phantom and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids
• Jodie Foster voiced Pugsley on The Addams Family and Anne Chan on The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan
• Harvey Korman performed the voice of the Great Gazoo during the last season of The Flintstones (1965-66).
• Danny Mann voiced additional characters in Yo Yogi
• Mona Marshall did additional voices in Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo
• Rob Paulsen voiced Corky in The Snorks, Hadji in The New Adventures of Jonny Quest, and Dickie Dastardly in Yo Yogi!
• Martin Short voiced Ed Grimley on The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley
• John Stephenson voiced Mr. Slate in The Flintstones. Dr. Benton Quest in Jonny Quest, various villains in Scooby Doo, Doggie Daddy in several productions, and others
• Frank Welker voiced Fred on Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! and its spinoffs, Dynomutt, Jabberjaw, Bandit in The New Adventures of Jonny Quest, Puppy and Hefty Smurf in The Smurfs, Foofur and many others.