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Will Hanna and Joe Barbera might be credited for popularizing a form of animation that allowed it to be produced at a tremendously rapid clip. Looking at the producing pair's early works like "The Huckleberry Hound Show" and "The Quick Draw McGraw Show," one can see "limited animation" at work. That is: characters were designed in such a way that only parts of them would need to be animated to complete a scene. Faces were conceived at three-quarters, letting characters look to the side or full front depending only on their eyes. Necks were covered by ascots or ties, allowing heads to be animated while bodies remained static. 

Because of this design, Hanna-Barbera could produce multiple animated series on a notoriously fast TV production schedule. Hanna-Barbera exploded in the late 1950s, and dominated Saturday morning through the early 1980s. 

The crown jewel in their output was, of course, "The Flintstones,...

At this point, the accepted line on "The Simpsons" is that it hasn't been good for decades, which is sort of true, even if the new seasons suggest otherwise. Now that the show is on Disney+ and has been fully integrated into the house of mouse, it has seemingly completed its transformation into exactly the kind of commercialized pop culture product it once so deftly lampooned. But while it's easy to take shots at a show that's been on the air since the late-'80s one thing you simply can't knock is the voice acting talent.

Since 1989, the central cast has remained unchanged, with Dan Castellaneta, Yeardley Smith, Julie Kavner, and Nancy Cartwright giving voice to Matt Groening's original vision of the modern American family for 34 seasons straight. But back when "The Simpsons" was getting started, none of the cast could have known what they were signing up for.

The new animated anthology miniseries "Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi" is now streaming on Disney+, and brings us a new perspective on Count Dooku: a view of him in his earlier years before the corruption of the Sith took him and twisted him into Darth Tyranus. 

The man behind Count Dooku's voice, Corey Burton, has been a voice actor for decades, providing voices you hear almost every day. From the tram operator at Disneyland and "Star Wars" characters like Count Dooku and Cad Bane, all the way to Captain Hook, Spike Witwicky and Shockwave from "Transformers," and even James Bond, Jr., Burton has shaped the audio landscape of Saturday morning cartoons and theme parks for decades. We were able to have a wide-ranging conversation with him about the beginnings of his career, his work as Count Dooku, and the legacy of "Star Wars."

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On Sept. 23, 1962, ABC debuted The Jetsons at 7:30 pm to television audiences. Like the Stone Age Flintstones, the futuristic animated family sitcom would become an enduring franchise for producers Hanna-Barbera. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review of the first episode, “Rosey The Robot,” is below:

The Jetsons is based on the same premise as The Flintstones, with the difference that the projection is in the future instead of the past. A family situation comedy, done in animation (and for those with color sets, color), the new Hanna-Barbera production should attract a good audience.

The jokes are familiar, but the setting gives them novelty and an added dimension, and cartooning is certainly suited to the TV screen.

Larry Markes’ script for the initial episode lightly sketched in the characters, mother, father, two children (boy and girl) of the Jetsons, a 21st Century family.

Jokes...

This year is a big one for science fiction mythology. If there is any truth in advertising, The Jetsons will be celebrating a blessed pre-event this year. According to the math, 2022 is the year George Jetson will be born. When it premiered on ABC on Sept. 23, 1962, The Jetsons’ promos explained the series, which had plotlines as old as The Flintstones, was set exactly 100 years in the future.

Everything there is to know about George, voiced by George O’Hanlon, seems to be laid out in the theme song. He is the husband of Jane Jetson (Penny Singleton), they have a teenage daughter Judy (Janet Waldo), who goes to go to Orbit High School, and a son named Elroy (Daws Butler), who orbits middle school. George works at Spacely’s Space Sprocket. Modern science has not yet determined what a space sprocket actually does, but we can assume it will be...

Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 2

Blu ray

Warner Archive

1948-55 / 1.33:1 / 143 min.

Starring Blasé Basset Hounds, Antisocial Alley Cats, Swivel-hipped Sex-bombs, Hot-to-Trot Wolves

Directed by Tex Avery

With their bawdy gags and come-hither chorus girls, Tex Avery’s cartoons might seem better suited to the burlesque stage than a movie theater. Your living room is another entertaining alternative and Warner Archive delivers with Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 2—their new Blu ray set continues the exploits of the madman of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, an artist whose illogical art was produced with mathematical precision and a libido in hyperdrive. Warner has pulled 21 shorts from the vaults for the follow up to their Screwball Classics Vol. 1—it covers roughly the second portion of Avery’s 12 year stint at MGM and though there’s nothing here as explosive as King Size Canary (the ne plus ultra of Avery cartoons) or as groundbreaking as Red Hot Riding Hood,...

The names of the legendary animators of the 30s and 40s have faded with time, except to the connoisseurs and collectors, which is a shame. Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett, and Tex Avery should be as well known as respected as is Walt Disney, though these days, the latter is better known as an entrepreneur than an animator.

This is why we should love and support Warner Archive, for gathering the forgotten but still vital cartoons of the past and making them available in contemporary forms, which brings me to the just-released Tex Avery Screwball Classics: Volume 2. One a single disc we have 21 cartoons to enjoy, most of which hold up extremely well.

Avery, to those who recognize the name, certainly know him for his work on Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, and Bugs Bunny. But, after he moved to MGM, he continued to offer up side-splitting entertainment with characters such as...

At long last a beautifully restored and mastered selection of a number of cartoon king Tex Avery’s brilliant, innovative and (most of all) hilarious MGM shorts comes to Blu-ray via the Warner Archive, with the implied promise of more volumes to come. Some of his greatest cartoons are included, and many of these shorts have likely not looked and sounded so good since their original theatrical release. This is a virtual godsend for the director’s legion of fans, and a worthwhile introduction for those yet unfamiliar with Avery’s uniquely zany oeuvre.

Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 1

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1943-1951 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 138 min. / Street Date February 18, 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Voice characterizations: Not credited onscreen, but voices include Bill Thompson, Frank Graham, Kent Rogers, Sara Berner, Daws Butler, John Brown, Wally Maher, John Wald, Patrick McGeehan, Dick Nelson, Don Messick, Billy Bletcher, Connie Russell, Tex...

The Jetsons: The Complete Original Series

Blu ray

Warner Archive

1962/ 1.33:1 / 629 min.

Starring George O’Hanlon, Penny Singleton

Directed by William Hanna, Joseph Barbera

In 1962 Kennedy’s New Frontier was in full effect – the country was still celebrating John Glenn’s heroics and Disney’s Tomorrowland had proved so popular it tacked on a monorail. Flush with the success of The Flintstones, Hanna-Barbara decided it was high time for The Jetsons, a space age sit-com set in a cartoon Utopia. Premiering on a Sunday night in the fall of ‘62 it was the first animated program to be broadcast in color, an eye-popping upgrade that only enhanced the show’s futuristic appeal.

The Flintstones owed its inspiration solely to The Honeymooners but The Jetsons relied on a long line of family-centric fare from The Life of Riley to Make Room for Daddy. The chief cook and bottle-washer was George Jetson, an...

Chicago – Who are the voices in our lives that really matter? If you were a cartoon fan in the 1980s and ‘90s then it was Rob Paulsen, the source for Pinky (“Pinky & the Brain”), Yakko (“Animaniacs”) and a myriad of others. Recently Paulsen beat cancer, which threatened his career, and he tells the story in the new book … “Voice Lessons.”

The subtitle of “Voice Lessons” is “How a Couple of Ninja Turtles, Pinky and an Animaniac Saved My Life” (written with Michael Fleeman) and to know Rob Paulsen is to realize his deep appreciation and love behind his creations. But beyond that passion, he also is endeared to the admirers of his work, the millions of children and now grown-ups who continue to embrace his characters and the voice behind them. Beating his cancer gave Paulsen a new purpose in his life, to use his gifts “…on the biggest scale I can.

Chicago – If the words, “We’re Animaniacs…” immediately makes you think, “While Bill Clinton pays the sax…” then you’ll want to experience voiceover artist Rob Paulsen, the iconic character of Yakko on that series, as well as Pinky (“Pinky and The Brain”) and Donatello/Raphael (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”), among many other cartoon legends. Rob, with Animaniacs composer Randy Rogel, will be appearing in “Animaniacs Live!” at the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts in Grayslake, Ill., on Saturday, March 3rd, 2018 (click link below for details).

Rob Paulsen was born in Michigan, and like other hopeful dreamers, moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s to pursue acting work. It was a chance audition in 1983 with the “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” cartoon series that launched him into a lifelong pursuit, leading him to do voice characters for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” the aforementioned “Animaniacs,” “Pinky and the Brain,...

Chicago – If the words, “We’re Animaniacs…” immediately makes you think, “We have pay for play contracts…” then you’ll want to experience voiceover artist Rob Paulsen, the iconic character of Yakko on that series, as well as Pinky (“Pinky and The Brain”) and Donatello/Raphael (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”), among many other cartoon legends. Rob, with Animaniacs composer Randy Rogel, will be appearing in “Animaniacs Live!” at the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts in Grayslake, Ill., on Saturday, March 3rd, 2018 (click link below for details).

Rob Paulsen was born in Michigan, and like other hopeful dreamers, moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s to pursue acting work. It was a chance audition in 1983 with the “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” cartoon series that launched him into a lifelong pursuit, leading him to do voice characters for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” the aforementioned “Animaniacs,” “Pinky and the Brain,...

Chicago – If the words, “We’re Animaniacs…” immediately makes you think, “There’s baloney in our slacks…” then you’ll want to experience voiceover artist Rob Paulsen, the iconic character of Yakko on that series, as well as the voice of Pinky (“Pinky and The Brain”) and Donatello/Raphael (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”), among many other cartoon legends. Rob, with Animaniacs composer Randy Rogel, will be appearing in “Animaniacs Live!” at the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts in Grayslake, Ill., on Saturday, March 3rd, 2018 (click link below for details).

Rob Paulsen was born in Michigan, and like other hopeful dreamers, moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s to pursue acting work. It was a chance audition in 1983 with the “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” cartoon series that launched him into a lifelong pursuit, leading him to do voice characters for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” the aforementioned “Animaniacs,...

Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Tuesday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best show currently on TV?” can be found at the end of this post.)

This week’s question: Who is your favorite voice actor for animated characters on TV? Why?

Dave Trumbore (@DrClawMD), Collider

My knee-jerk reaction was either Kevin Conroy or Mark Hamill for their roles as Batman/Bruce Wayne and The Joker, respectively, because “Batman: The Animated Series” is always on my mind. But thinking a moment more, my favorite voice actor (and arguably the best in the biz) is Frank Welker.

Read More:‘Big Mouth’ Season 1 Voice Cast: A Visual Guide To The Adult Voices Behind The Tweens

His name might not be a household one, but with over 800 credits and nearly 50 years in the industry, Welker’s voice definitely is.

On Friday I learned that one of my childhood heroes died. June Foray passed on at the age of 99.

Ms. Foray was a voice actress working in animated features all her long career, as well as in comedy shorts and appearances on Johnny Carson and with Stan Freberg, Daws Butler, and Frank Nelson. She was the voice of Grandmother in Mulan, of Betty Lou Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas and, most important to me, she was the voice of Natasha Fatale and Rocky the Flying Squirrel on the various Rocky and Bullwinkle shows created by the legendary Jay Ward.

Rocky and Bullwinkle had a huge impact on me as a kid. All of Jay Ward’s stuff had a combination of sophisticated and low-brow humor. There were elements of satire combined with a lot of really bad puns.

Originally, the dimwitted Bullwinkle was the sidekick to the plucky hero Rocket J.

In my apparent continuing quest to interview all the great voice actors living today (because they are the most fun, okay?), I now bring you my interview with the talented and Emmy-winning Maurice Lamarche, a.k.a. The Brain, Squit, Kif Kroker, Morbo, Lrrr, several Futurama robots, Dr. Egon Spengler, Dizzy Devil, Yosemite Sam, Mr. Freeze, Victor von Doom, General Var Suthra, Mortimer Mouse, Chief Quimby, and more.

It was a real pleasure to speak with Maurice, who I’ve been listening to in various guises since I was a wee thing (I was a big Inspector Gadget fan as a child; and then with Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and Futurama being amongst my other favorite shows through the years, I guess I’ve pretty much been listening to Maurice all my life!). It was also great to see him do many of his excellent voices and impressions both during the interview,...

The new trailer is here for Mr. Peabody & Sherman.

Based on Jay Ward’s classic cartoon, Mr. Peabody is the world’s smartest person who happens to be a dog. When his “pet” boy Sherman uses their time traveling Wabac machine without permission, events in history spiral out of control to disastrous and comical results. It’s up to this most unexpected of father-son teams to somehow put things back on track before the space-time continuum is irreparably destroyed.

Did you ever watch the original Peabody and Sherman show during the 60′s and early 70′s when it was on TV?

It was part of the Rocky & His Friends that played on Sundays and featured “Fractured Fairy Tales” (narrated by Edward Everett Horton, the segments featured character voice work by June Foray, Bill Scott, Paul Frees, and an uncredited Daws Butler,) “Dudley Do-Right” and “Peabody’s Improbable History.” After the original R&B episodes aired,...

At Dragon Con a few weeks ago, I was delighted to catch up with voice actor John Dimaggio (a.k.a. Bender from Futurama) once again. John was at the con for several voice actor and Futurama panels, and also to continue spreading the word about his new voice actor documentary, I Know That Voice, which I interviewed him and the other producers about during San Diego Comic-Con. John was actually selling limited collector’s edition/advance copies of the documentary at the con, so not only did I check in with him on further documentary news, but I also snagged a copy of the film! Read on for our short I Know That Voice follow-up interview, and my review of the documentary!

What has the reception to the I Know That Voice documentary been at Dragon Con, and have you sold some of the advance copies?

It’s been really wonderful.

The Hanna-Barbera machine was showing its age by the 1970s. After producing countless hours of programming for the three networks’ Saturday morning schedules, it was clear that the creative juices were drying up. They were also struggling to come with creative variations on the talking animals theme, especially as the hand-wringing parents were getting increasingly vocal about violence depicted on programming intended for impressionable children.

All of which may well explain the not-terribly-original Help…It’s the Hair Bear Bunch series that ran on CBS from 1971-1974 and has been only sporadically seen since. Still, that has not stopped Warner Archive from collecting the complete series and releasing it in a three-disc set.

All the veteran animators, writers, and voice artists gave us a professionally looking and sounding series. It just wasn’t very original or funny or topical. The closest we get is Hair Bear, with his afro, at...

Here’s something you’ve probably never seen before: a Tex Avery cartoon from 1955 produced by Walter Lantz simply called “Sh-h-h-h-h-h”. This was Tex Avery’s last animated short cartoon. The sounds of the trumpet player and the laughing woman who keep the man awake through the night are taken directly from the novelty OKeh Laughing Record, which was released in 1923. The voice, of course, is Daws Butler. Beyond that, we should obviously say no more. Enjoy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Glenn Hauman on Google+...

Looks like it is just Interview Central around here these days, folks. Because following up on last week’s column, in which I briefly recapped my Awesome Con DC experience and posted my interview with the fantastic Phil Lamarr (go read/listen if you missed it last week! Good stuff!), I now get to share with you my Awesome Con DC interview with the excellent Billy West! Hooray!

Even if you somehow haven’t heard the name Billy West, before, I almost guarantee you’ve heard his voice. Voicing everything from classic cartoon characters like Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Woody Woodpecker, and Popeye to four of the main characters on Futurama (Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg, and Zapp Brannigan), Billy has voiced characters on a myriad of other shows as well, including title characters for Nickelodeon’s Doug and The Ren & Stimpy Show; and is also...

While you savored your colorful eggs, Marshmallow Peeps, and chocolate bunnies this past holiday weekend, many ventured out to their local theaters to cheer on the Joes in G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Paramount Pictures’ Easter basket was overflowing as the action-figure fueled movie took in over $132 million across the globe. Here in the U.S. the Jon M. Chu sequel totaled in the $51 million range.

This isn’t the first cartoon franchise to hit the big screen and won’t be the last. When TV was king, Frankenstein, Jr. and The Impossibles, Pirates of Dark Water, Valley of the Dinosaurs teleported us to another place and the animation studio Hanna-Barbera reigned supreme in every kid’s universe.

Filmgoers have seen their beloved Saturday morning shows and comic book heroes transfer from the small screen to wildly, gigantic movie heroes. Whether you grew up with them as a kid planted in front...

Though The Jetsons has become one of the most beloved animated TV series in history, the show lasted just one season. It aired on Sunday nights on ABC and was the first color series to be broadcast on the youngest network (at the time anyway). Few ABC stations were broadcasting in color back then so most people who did watch the show saw it in black and white.

The 24 episodes became very popular on Saturday mornings and ran on all three networks at various times over a span of 20 years. In the early 1980s, Hanna-Barbera began producing new episodes specifically for syndication.

By September 1985, the original 24 episodes were combined with 41 new episodes. George O'Hanlan, Penny Singleton, Daws Butler, Janet Waldo, Don Messick, Jean Vander Pyl and Mel Blanc all returned to reprise their original roles -- though they...

For some, age defines you. You are either young or old. For others, age is a number and you remain your youthful, exuberant self. Then there are the ageless wonders, among them actress Janet Waldo. Generations of people have grown up with Janet’s work even though her name may not be a familiar one. The 87 year old actress sounds as vibrant as she did when she first wowed audiences on radio with Meet Corliss Archer.

Today, she is best known as Judy Jetson or Penelope Pitstop, but she has portrayed countless characters of all ages in a rich career that includes stage, screen, television and tons of animation. After high school in Seattle, Waldo, a distant relative of Ralph Waldo Emerson, was performing in local theater when she won an award presented to her by fellow alum Bing Crosby, who was accompanied by a latent scout. She left for...

Hanna-Barbera was clearly running out of steam in the later 1980s as their style of animation and storytelling was no longer in synch with its young viewers. As a result, they did an awful lot of recycling of concepts including the two season-long Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 which took Yogi Bear, the Flintstones and the Jetsons and told longer, and not necessarily better, stories in ten stories. The ten telefilms ran during the 1987-1989 seasons and since then have been in rotation on cable’s Boomerang channel with Warner Archive slowly releasing them to eager fans who can’t get enough of these properties. Their last release from this series was The Flintstones Meet the Jetsons.

This week, from Warner Archive, comes the release of Rockin’ with Judy Jetson, a Jetsons’ film that puts the focus squarely on the teen daughter, who is usually overshadowed by the rest of the cast. That...

It was an event that cartoon fans had been fantasizing for years. In 1987, many years after the cancellation of both The Flintstones and The Jetsons, this TV movie was released as part of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 -- a group of 10 animated movies that were created for syndication. Though the two animated series were often compared to one another, it was the first meeting of the space-age and stone-age families. Many of the original voice actors returned to perform their trademark characters.

In the movie, Fred Flintstone (Henry Corden) and Barney Rubble (Mel Blanc) are fired from their jobs at the quarry and are afraid to tell their wives. In the future, George Jetson (George O'Hanlon) is having work issues of his own with Mr. Spacely (Mel Blanc). To escape his problems, George takes his family on a little vacation, courtesy of son Elroy (Daws Butler)...

Have you ever known a set of twins that were nothing alike? Then you’ll have some idea of what to expect from this puzzling cartoon duo. The format divides its time evenly between The Space Kidettes, starkly reminiscent of The Jetsons in style and tone, and Young Samson & Goliath, which is comparable to Thundarr the Barbarian. Depending on your level of intimacy with Hanna-Barbera canon, you will or won’t be familiar with the three different animation styles they employed across their wildly diverse series of cartoons.

The premises for both halves are amazingly simple, but if you love this type of Hb cartoon, that won’t surprise you in the slightest. Each new 12-minute adventure sees The Space Kidettes stumble across some new invention or creature and they make the best of their situation, while Young Samson & Goliath either defeats a beast or rescues a maiden. It’s simple,...

If Yogi Bear could ever have worked as a film, that time was around 1962 when the original The Yogi Bear show had just stopped producing new episodes. It wouldn’t have been a particularly polished film, but it would have stayed true to its roots in both tone, cast, and style. Daws Butler and Don Messick were the original bear duo and their voices in the roles are as iconic as the famous catchphrases; because of this, the announcement that Dan Aykroyd would take on the role of Yogi in the Yogi Bear movie and that he wouldn’t be studying Butler’s method put a lot of Hanna-Barbera traditionalists on edge. Were they right to worry? Yes, but not about him.

First, the things Yogi Bear did right. Do Yogi (Aykroyd) and Boo Boo (Justin Timberlake) like to steal picnic baskets? Yes. Does Yogi hatch stupid plans that Boo Boo warns him against?...

What can a pic-a-nic basket hold? A whole lot of fun for the entire family! The latest installment of the beloved brown bear that talks is coming to theaters in 3-D. This rendition has another twist though.it is live action with animation. There have been a couple animated movies/specials over the years since the animated series rolled out of the Hanna-Barbera production company back in 1961. Only running for 2 seasons, Yogi the Bear and his sidekick Boo Boo have remained iconic animated characters for almost 50 years. .

‘Yogi Bear. has the characters everyone has loved over the years and a couple new ones too. Yogi, voiced by Dan Akroyd (Ghostbusters, Antz) is no stranger to comedy. The majority of his career has been in and around comedy, if not live action then animation. His voice is unimpeachable as Yogi, which was originally uttered by Daws Butler Aka Voice Magician. Justin Timberlake (Yu-Gi-Oh!

Warner Home Video has just re-released Yogi Bear's All-Star Comedy Christmas Caper, an animated holiday special from 1982. Along with Yogi and Boo Boo, the special features a number of classic Hanna-Barbera characters like Quick Draw McGraw, Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss, Doggie Daddy and his son Augie, Hokey Wolf, Snooper, Blabber, Pixie and Dixie, Mr. Jinks, Wally Gator, Yakky Doodle, Magilla Gorilla, and even special appearances by Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble.

The style of the artwork doesn't look much like the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the 1960s. However, the actors working on the special reads like a list of who's who of legendary voice talent. The cast, mostly playing their original characters, includes Daws Butler, Don Messick, Henry Corden, Mel Blanc, Allan Melvin, Jimmy Weldon, John Stephenson, Hal Smith, Janet Waldo, and Georgi Irene.

Esteemed comics and TV writer Mark Evanier wrote...

In an effort to clean out their attics in the ol' archive and offer up some quick DVD purchases for those parents intent on giving their kids some context for the upcoming Yogi Bear movie (as much as is needed for a bear that steals picnic baskets), Warner Brothers released Yogi Bear's All-Star Comedy Christmas Caper on DVD on December 7th. Oh, and hey, it ties in to the holiday season too.

Yogi Bear and his pal Boo Boo live in Jellystone Park, where they constantly sneak behind the back of Ranger Smith to steal picnic baskets from unsuspecting vacationers. Yogi made his debut in 1958, as part of "The Huckleberry Hound Show." The character proved so popular, he was given his own show in 1960, also sponsored by Kellogg's Cereals. In addition to Yogi, the show featured separate cartoons with the new characters Snagglepuss and Yakky Doodle. Through 1962, 70 Yogi Bear cartoons were produced,...

Get ready to start the Wacky Races! If you were watching Saturday morning TV in the late 1960s, you surely remember Wacky Races.

The animated series ran for 17 episodes on CBS and was produced by Hanna-Barbera. Each week, a group of very strange characters and their equally odd vehicles would take part in a cross country race for the title of "wackiest racer." It features the talents of legendary voice actors Daws Butler, Don Messick, John Stephenson, Janet Waldo, Dave Willock, and Paul Winchell.

Though it's essentially an ensemble show, Penelope Pitstop (the only female driver) and her pink Compact Pussycat car are often featured. Other racers are the Slag Brothers in the Bouldermobile, the Gruesome Twosome in the Creepy Coupe, Professor Pat Pending in the Convert-a-Car, Red Max in the Crimson Haybailer, Sergeant Blast and Private Meekly in the Army Surplus Special,...

#235 (Vol. 2 #7): The Chief And The King

When I was a child I enjoyed all sorts of animated cartoon series I saw on television, perhaps more or less equally. But as an adult, watching these cartoons again, I discovered that some, notably Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes grew in my estimation, while others, notably the Hanna-Barbera television cartoons of the late 50s through the 1960s, dropped considerably. I still find the early Hanna-Barbera characters–Yogi Bear, et al.–appealing, thanks to their visual design, primarily by the late animator Ed Benedict, and especially the great voice acting by Daws Butler and his colleagues. But while I can name numerous Warners cartoons whose direction and writing make them great and classic–What’s Opera, Doc?, One Froggy Evening, and on and on–are there individual Hanna-Barbera TV cartoons from the 50s and 60s that are anywhere near that league?

That’s why...

#233 (Vol. 2 #5): Cunning Canines

One of the animated films nominated for an Academy Award this year is live action director Wes Anderson’s venture into stop-motion animation, Fantastic Mr. Fox. This is based on Roald Dahl’s children’s book, which draws upon the traditional characterization of the fox as a trickster, which goes back to Aesop’s fables and the European tales of Reynard the Fox. Other wild members of the dog family likewise have appeared as tricksters, notably the coyote in Native American mythology, and sometimes the wolf.

Thinking about Hanna-Barbera’s 1960s animated trickster Top Cat for a forthcoming installment of this column led me to consider another example of the canine trickster: Top Cat’s predecessor at Hanna-Barbera, Hokey Wolf. Baby Boomers may find this chilling, but 2010 marks Hokey Wolf’s 50th anniversary. Yogi Bear (another trickster) had originally appeared in cartoons in The Huckleberry Hound Show...

It looks like some famous faces may be on their way to Jellystone Park. Anna Faris, Dan Aykroyd, and Justin Timberlake are in talks to star in the upcoming Yogi Bear feature film.

Created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, Yogi Bear debuted on The Huckleberry Hound Show in 1958 and soon graduated to his own show, The Yogi Bear Show and numerous spin-offs.

Yogi was originally voiced by the legendary Daws Butler. Following his death in 1988, many of Butler's characters were taken over by Greg Burson, one of Butler's students. Yogi's pal, Boo-Boo, was performed by Don Messick until his retirement in the 1990s and has since been played by Tom Kenny and John Kricfalusi.

When the upcoming live-action Yogi movie was discussed last year, Ash Brannon (Surf’s Up, Toy Story 2) was slated to direct. The...

Ever forget to turn off your Monday-Friday alarm on the weekend’s eve? Beep beep…Beep Beep…Beep Beep…“Oh man. Work.” You exhale a long sigh and as you start to sit up, a suspicious feeling comes over you. Your brow furrows as your sleepy fog cloaks clear thinking—ahh yes. It’s Saturday. Two choices: either go back to sleep or get your day started off any way you want. When you’re a kid, the choice here is easy: flip on the morning’s cartoons. As an adult, the decision becomes tougher. Unless of course you were a child of the 1970s and have recently acquired the new box set, Saturday Morning Cartoons:1970s Volume 1. If so, the nostalgia will beckon you from catching a few more Z's and you’ll probably end up in the kitchen pouring a bowl of cereal to eat in front of the television.

The Jetsons was Hanna-Barbera’s answer to its own question. Creating The Flintstones in order to use every rock, stone and boulder joke in the English language, they realized they’d missed a valuable comedy niche: the future. I believe it was David X. Cohen who noted that adding “space” (or a similar celestial phrase) to any word instantly makes it better and funnier. For example, take pope. Now add “space”. Space pope. That’s an improvement. Cosmic Toast. Galactic hangover. It all works, and it’s but one of the many keys to the comedy of The Jetsons.

Most of the episodes follow George’s struggles with an evil boss or a malfunctioning robot in fantastical sci-fi situations. The futuristic concept makes it unique for its time, but it still has the same sitcom tropes set in a new time period. Lost pets, surprise parties and new cars compose...

As the 1970s dawned, I was 12 and no longer as interested in Saturday morning fare. There was Little League which was either in the morning or afternoon and I found myself drifting more towards the Bowery Boys shorts that ran on channel 5 after the cartoons wore themselves out. My younger siblings watched, but not with the same passion I had shown just a few years earlier.

For me, the Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s Vol. 1 , coming tomorrow from Warner Home Video, was more introductory than revisiting my childhood. Having just finished the 1960s volume, it was startling to see how rapidly things had changed. Spies and super-heroes were rapidly supplanted by large gaggles of people either playing music or solving mysteries or both. The disc opens with a cheat, an episode of The Jetsons, which may have run in the 1970s for the umpteenth time, but was emblematic of an earlier era,...

After months of deep space-like silence, it appears that the The Jetsons movie project is still alive -– almost two years since it was first announced. So, when will the futuristic family finally be ready to make the jump from animation to live action? Will we have to wait until the 24th century?

Following the success of The Flintstones, Hanna-Barbera's The Jetsons animated series first aired in primetime during the 1962-63 season. Set in the far-flung future, the show gives a humorous take on our lifestyle and revolves around the Jetson family -- working-stiff father George (George O'Hanlon), mother Jane (Penny Singleton), daughter Judy (Janet Waldo), son Elroy (Daws Butler), Astro the dog (Don Messick), and Rosie (Jean Vander Pyl), their robot maid. Other voices are provided by Mel Blanc and Howard Morris.

Unlike The Flintstones, the show only lasted one season but it became a staple of Saturday morning...