Next Hanna-Barbera set? (3 Viewers)

[Mark Y]

The saddest thing about Huckleberry Hound is, according to stuff Earl Kress posted at various times over the years, prior to the Warner Bros. buyout, Turner had a complete set of 35mm Huckleberry Hound shows in the original broadcast format, including all the interstitials. But after Warner bought Turner's company, it was all junked because they were only B&W copies. So the result was, when they went to put together the DVD set, Mr. Kress was going to use those B&W copies to research where the various interstitials belonged, so the shows could be reconstructed properly. (They had found several in color 35mm film, but not all.) But they were already gone, so that plan was shot. They did reassemble the premiere episode with the majority of the interstitials in color where they existed (and a few in black and white) but after that all they had to go on was pure speculation, so the other four "shows" were put together using whatever else they had, as long as they had an opening and closing cast segment and three short cartoon intros, from various sources. Even the commercials added to the premiere episode can't be right, since one is a Beatles parody and the premiere show is from 1958. They did the best they could with what they have, and I'm glad we got what we got -- though there is still more of this footage that didn't make the "Volume 1" set, some with Hokey Wolf. How I wish the TV-on-DVD boom could have happened 20 or 30 years ago. Go back a couple buyouts and mergers ago. What if Worldvision could have released season sets of Huckleberry Hound back in 1985? When the shows aired on USA Cartoon Express, they only used a few of the interstitials, and only showed them a couple times, and they clearly were not the ones that would have originally been in that particular episode. But they had pristine 35mm material on 90% of the cartoons, and they even had them formatted correctly within the shows -- the first show was Yogi/Pixie/Huck, the second was Pixie/Huck/Yogi, the third was Huck/Yogi/Pixie, etc. USA actually ran them like that, so H-B or Worldvision must have had some records documenting what was supposed to go where and in what order. And I strongly suspect they had a LOT more of the footage than they do now, or at least the archives were better organized.At this point, I'd just like to see the rest of the cartoons come out along with whatever other footage still exists, maybe as extras.

 

[Kirben]

How does Warner Archive decide which titles will be initially released on pressed DVDs? I was surprised a spin-off like Gilligan's Planet is been replicated, while other more well known recent releases (The Jetsons and Jonny Quest) were not.

 

[JoeDoakes]

How does Warner Archive decide which titles will be initially released on pressed DVDs? I was surprised a spin-off like Gilligan's Planet is been replicated, while other more well known recent releases (The Jetsons and Jonny Quest) were not.

The Jetsons and Jonny Quest sets that were released were 1980s revisitings. Generally, I think that they are pressing the most popular sets. Now, how they decide what to release is a mystery to me.

 

[younger1968]

Over the years WB has said they plan to released all the HB cartoons to dvd. Yet the releases have been few and far between. Take Gilligan as example and you will see it was schedule for released and then delayed due to quality of the backup as such it ws going to take more time restored the show. One has to be wondering if many shows are suffering the same type of issues with the quality of the films/tapes/etc.

The other issues for me is that saturday morning cartoon people like myself are now in our 40s to mid fifties as such the window keeps closing on the old show. The new generation of kids in many cases are not interested in the old cartoon due to how animation was done in the past.

Clue Club is another example for me as it was on one of HB polls, but was never released, why?

We also know from the previous posts shows like Jeannie, Partridge Family 2200AD, Brady Kids, Harlem Globe Trotters, etc have licensing issues. Yet when you watch Goober and the Ghost Chaser the Partridge Kids are included in their episodes or Harlem Globe Trotters are with the Scooby-Doo Movies or sets like the Brady or Partridge family has one episode of the cartoon. I realize licensing can be complicated, especially when dealing with estates, but something does have to give as part resolving the releases of the HB cartoons. I am still disappointed that Scooby-doo movies does not have all the movies due to fact there are issues with licensing!

 

[JoeDoakes]

I was never really convinced that licensing accounted for all of the missing Scooby Doo Movies, although it may have accounted for some. Clue Club is one of my favorite 1970s HB cartoons, and why it hasn't been issued yet, I find bizarre. With the New Adventures of Gilligan, I have to wonder if there isn't some legal issue that is delaying it, that WA has not told us about. As it has been delayed for 4 years and counting, something must be up with it. As for the younger generation, my kids love the HB cartoons. Not surprisingly, the various 1970s era Scooby Doos lead the pack, but they've watched a lot of them and liked them. My biggest concern is not with the kids, but with WB, they seem to do a lousy job with keeping a lot of it relevant. Disney managed to do proabably the best classic character reboot ever with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, which is a great show for toddlers. When WB has done a classic characrter reboot, they've given us Looney Tunes Unleashed, a show so poorly conceived is seems like something that would be part of a parody of Hollywood studio decision making. Personally, I have thought that Yogi Bear and many of the other HB characters would do great in a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse type show geared for little kids, and such a show would really help to keep the characters in the public eye. WB doesn't seem very interested in that though.

I really appreciate that WA is continuing to release classic animated shows, and I actually purchase most of them, but like you I continue to be frustrated as what they are not putting out, and mystified as to the choices they make. Personally, I think WA would generate some goodwill with their fans if they would be a bit more upfront about what's going on.

 

[Randy Korstick]

Ray answered it already but yes The Jetsons and Johnny Quest were the lesser 1980's reboots and not the original classic 1960's shows. Had WA released the original 1960's versions they would have been pressed but those were released by WHV to retail. Both 1960's shows are among my favorites but I passed on the 1980's reboots. Gilligan's Planet is a curious choice for pressed but they must have thought it was going to be a decent seller because of the Gilligan connection and all the request they had for the two Gilligan cartoons although many wanted the first show before this one.

How does Warner Archive decide which titles will be initially released on pressed DVDs? I was surprised a spin-off like Gilligan's Planet is been replicated, while other more well known recent releases (The Jetsons and Jonny Quest) were not.

 

[JoeDoakes]

I was looking on ebay and found this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=261207060971&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en#ht_9840wt_1066. It a promotion package for HB cartoons from 1967. I figured you al must be interested in at least looking at it. Note: it's not my item and I don't know the seller.

 

[younger1968]

I was never really convinced that licensing accounted for all of the missing Scooby Doo Movies, although it may have accounted for some. Clue Club is one of my favorite 1970s HB cartoons, and why it hasn't been issued yet, I find bizarre. With the New Adventures of Gilligan, I have to wonder if there isn't some legal issue that is delaying it, that WA has not told us about. As it has been delayed for 4 years and counting, something must be up with it. As for the younger generation, my kids love the HB cartoons. Not surprisingly, the various 1970s era Scooby Doos lead the pack, but they've watched a lot of them and liked them. My biggest concern is not with the kids, but with WB, they seem to do a lousy job with keeping a lot of it relevant. Disney managed to do proabably the best classic character reboot ever with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, which is a great show for toddlers. When WB has done a classic characrter reboot, they've given us Looney Tunes Unleashed, a show so poorly conceived is seems like something that would be part of a parody of Hollywood studio decision making. Personally, I have thought that Yogi Bear and many of the other HB characters would do great in a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse type show geared for little kids, and such a show would really help to keep the characters in the public eye. WB doesn't seem very interested in that though.

I really appreciate that WA is continuing to release classic animated shows, and I actually purchase most of them, but like you I continue to be frustrated as what they are not putting out, and mystified as to the choices they make. Personally, I think WA would generate some goodwill with their fans if they would be a bit more upfront about what's going on.

Hi Joe,

Thanks for your post!

I am mystified as well to selection of the shows released to DVD. You look at early on and you will see shows like Hong Kong Phoey or Funky Phantom or Goober and Ghost Chasers or other shows were released before other shows, why? I look at my collection as such in many cases I have the shows that I want in my collection. However, there are some shows I like to add as such I will continue to watch the releases to see if they are something I want to own. My cartoon delight ends about 1982 as I had moved into other things as part becoming a teenager.

 

[Regulus]

My cartoon delight ends about 1982 as I had moved into other things as part becoming a teenager.

I never grew up! (For more information check out my post in the "What's the last TV DVD you bought?" Thread.)

 

[younger1968]

I never grew up! (For more information check out my post in the "What's the last TV DVD you bought?" Thread.)

I love your comment!! My point was more about after 1982 the cartoons imho were not very good. I was not into transformers or GI Joe or others. I stick with the cartoons that I grew up with as a child!

 

[Regulus]

I love your comment!! My point was more about after 1982 the cartoons imho were not very good. I was not into transformers or GI Joe or others. I stick with the cartoons that I grew up with as a child!

I feel sorry for today's kids, IMO most kids shows "Jumped the Shark" after the "EI" format was passed into law in the late 1990s.

On the other hand I have given vintage DVDs of Hannah-Barbara and Filmation Cartoons as Birthday and Christmas to some of my friend's kids and they lapped them up. One kid even said "These Shows are BETTER than the ones I used to watch" after I gave him over a dozen HB , FLM and all the Gerry Anderson "Supermarionation" sets for Christmas.

 

[Mark Y]

The ebay item in post #2298 cannot be from 1967 -- the Columbia Pictures Television logo is from the mid to late 1970s and in 1967 they would have been known as Screen Gems.Post #2299 -- by all accounts they are releasing stuff first that exists in presentable form with minimal or no restoration necessary. Since most of the 1960s shows that featured individual segments were chopped up, that presents a problem. Hence my frustration with so little 1960s material released.

 

[Mark Y]

I looked a little closer at that ebay item -- it confirms that there were 28 Hokey Wolf cartoons, not 29. Good to know.

 

[younger1968]

I have watched Goober and the Ghost Chasers as well as Funky Phantom over the past few weeks. I usually throw a cartoon into the dvd player before I got bed as way to relax.

The Funky Phantom has grown on me as it is very funny, especially the phantom. I like how phantom takes historical events and then says he was there with Washington or other historical figures. The cast is always there correct the phantom mistakes and that to me how makes the show very interesting!

Goober and the Ghost Chaser imho is better after the partridge kids leave the show. I was not big on inclusion of the partridge kids and felt it was over kill.

This week I plan to watch jabberjaw, speed buggy, valley of the dinosaurs, superfriends and the Addams Family.

 

[ClassicTVMan1981X]

I can only hope that 2015 will be a better year for Hanna-Barbera DVD releases.

~Ben

 

[Regulus]

I can only hope that 2015 will be a better year for Hanna-Barbera DVD releases.

~Ben

Me too. I wonder why The Adventures of Gulliver and The New Adventures of Huck Finn haven't made it to DVD. Both were wildly popular in syndication. I never saw the latter until it was syndicated ( It aired opposite Lassie). Both shows were bundled with the syndication of The Banana Splits along with the former and two other animated series, Atom Ant and Secret Squirrel. I'm fortunate to have acquired these two along with Lassie via "other means" but I'd be more than happy to get the official releases if they're ever released.

 

[Mark Y]

My guess on Huckleberry Finn is probably elements-related. I remember any time I saw an episode on Cartoon Network/Boomerang it looked like it was probably 16mm film sourced with no show opening -- in other words, probably a syndication print which would have had the Banana Splits intro replacing the original. If they do release Huckleberry Finn eventually, if there is any reconstruction involved, I hope someone remembers that there were two different intros used, one with Aunt Polly and one without. The character (and actress) are listed in the closing credits of some episodes but not others. The intro also established the Injun Joe character played by Ted Cassidy, and Ted Cassidy often would appear as that week's villain (predating the current trend of having a recognizable star drawn in their own likeness in animation). There is one episode called "The Little People" which is based on the Gulliver's Travels story. When it ran as part of the syndicated Banana Splits package it was the third episode in the sequence. The closing credits footage is a little different, and I wonder if this one was produced first -- also, unlike the other episodes the episode title and writers are not shown on screen, and the episode seems to begin in the middle of the action as if something is missing. Maybe this was the pilot? In any event, I hope whatever's missing is not "lost."I would definitely pick up both Huckleberry Finn and Gulliver if they were to be released. As for the Banana Splits, it would be at the top of my wish list if it were available. I would like to see the original one-hour shows in their original format, and whatever new footage from the second season that can be found as extras. It would be really nice to have the brief redubbed clips from the syndicated show as extras too, where they have them introducing the various cartoons added to the series in reruns. That would probably be the best place to put those, if anywhere.Hopefully it will all come out some day. Potamus, Atom Ant, Secret Squirrel, Wally Gator and his entourage are all near the top of the list for me, alongside Quick Draw and the rest of the Hound.

 

[JoeDoakes]

I can only hope that 2015 will be a better year for Hanna-Barbera DVD releases.

~Ben

I'm still hoping for surprises before the end of the year.

 

[Randy Korstick]

Yeah me too. I'm expecting at the very least 1 classic 60's -70's show and possibly 2 or 3 by the end of the year.

I'm still hoping for surprises before the end of the year.

 

[Towergrove]

The folks over at Warner Archive have indicated in recent Facebook postings that there is more Hanna B coming so lets hope its soon. It seems that recently every other week they are releasing an animated production. This week it was Young Justice. Lets see what happens in a few weeks.