Edited by Kevin Sandler and Tyler Solon Williams
University Press of Mississippi
April 23, 2024
292 pages
Softcover/Hardcover
$30.00/$110.00
As a child of the 1970s, my upbringing television-wise was focused initially on Sesame Street, but soon after that it was Hanna-Barbera cartoons – a lot of Hanna-Barbera cartoons. The studio built by Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera ruled Saturday mornings up until the mid-1980s, and for me that meant copious hours spent watching various iterations of Scooby-Doo and Super Friends, plus Jonny Quest, The Jetsons, The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop, Laff-A-Lympics, Super Globetrotters, Space Ghost, Dynomutt, and even new versions of The Flintstones— and so much more. Our local TV station also had reruns of the original Flintstones during weekday lunch hours for many years – conveniently beginning each episode at 12:05 pm, so that one had just enough time to run home for lunch before the show started. Nothing went with grilled cheese and tomato soup like the antics of Fred and Barney!
By the time I was done high school, the heyday of Saturday morning cartoons was over at the three main networks, and Hanna-Barbera would not see a resurgence until the era of Cartoon Network in the 1990s, by which time Hanna-Barbera was part of the Ted Turner empire. Hanna-Barbera ultimately got folded into Warner Bros. Animation after Turner Broadcasting and Time-Warner merged. However, while Hanna-Barbera faded away, my interest in them only grew. I collected books on animation history in general, and a few books on Hanna-Barbera specifically. I read the autobiographies of both Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera. And when their shows began to hit DVD, I collected them voraciously. I consider myself a bit of an “amateur expert” on the team and their output, and I’ve written many reviews and articles on Hanna-Barbera myself.
So, I was very pleased indeed to find out so much new information inside the subject of this review. Hanna And Barbera: Conversations compiles dozens of interviews and articles about the animation partners and the people that worked for them. Editors Kevin Sandler and Tyler Solon Williams have gathered these pieces from numerous sources spanning decades, and added a few pieces that are new as well. The articles are organized basically chronologically in terms of subject matter, starting with the duo’s days at MGM, through the Saturday morning heyday, and up to Cartoon Network and film adaptations.
To illustrate the book’s approach, the first two pieces (following an introduction and a helpful chronology) are retrospectives, beginning with a 1989 Variety article, followed by a 1993 piece. These articles cover how the celebrated creators of the Tom And Jerry cartoons won several Oscars for MGM, before they spent a year and a half running the studio, gaining valuable experience and contacts before the animation department was abruptly closed. Faced with the prospect of unemployment, the men got creative and formed a new industry in television cartoons.
An excerpt from Michael Barrier’s 1999 Hollywood Cartoons book follows, detailing the duo’s MGM days. Then, there’s a transcript of a California Institute Of The Arts presentation featuring old MGM hand Mike Lah, followed by more remembrances from other MGM hands like Ed Benedict and Jerry Eisenberg. Voice artist Daws Butler gets a Starlog article, as does collaborator Don Messick. Discussion of the influence (and contrasts with) other early television cartoons such as Crusader Rabbit and the later Jay Ward shows help to bring further perspective. A 1959 Kansas newspaper offers a look at the move to television. The book progresses right through the wonder years of Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear, the huge splash of cartoons hitting prime time with The Flintstones, and the development of Scooby-Doo. One gets the impression that no stone was left untenured, as we see articles from various magazines, transcripts of appearances and television interviews (even including ones from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), previously unpublished interviews, and personal remembrances.
Some of my favourite reads include Doug Wildey describing the creation of Jonny Quest, discussions about the move away from cartoon violence and the effect it had on networks and studios, the acquisition of Hanna-Barbera by Taft broadcasting, an in-depth look at Bill Hanna overseeing the formation of Hanna-Barbera Australia, Animation Blast’s interview with Iwao Takamoto, an appearance of Joe Ruby and Ken Spears on Stu’s Show, and John Canemaker’s coverage of Heidi’s Song. The transition to Cartoon Network under Ted Turner is covered, and how that led to What A Cartoon! and such series as Dexter’s Laboratory and Powerpuff Girls. There is simply a wealth of material here, and I do not think that I got bored once. I haven’t yet mentioned the Hanna-Barbera training program, or Darrell McNeil’s experience on Super Friends as H-B’s first black animator. And of course, there’s the music of Hoyt Curtin, the development and immense success of The Smurfs, and director Brian Levant’s positive reminiscence about The Flintstones film. It’s all in here. The volume closes with a fond remembrance of Joe Barbera by cartoonist Scott Shaw!
There is a common thread through all these pieces. Though Hanna-Barbera was often criticized for its limited animation, its many Scooby-Doo clones, and eventually outsourcing animation to a number of overseas studios, they also need to be celebrated for largely saving the animation industry in the United States. This is made clear as the dying days of theatrical shorts is examined. With the closure of animation studios such as the one at MGM, the future was bleak for countless writers, animators, storyboarders, inkers, and painters. The move to television was essential to the survival of the industry, but it took visionaries like Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera to recognize that and develop new ways of doing animation. The result was limited animation, yes, but also a whole new way of conceiving and presenting cartoons. Action had to be economical, and the small TV screens at the time demanded bigger close-ups and funnier dialog-based scripts. Voice actors like Daws Butler and Don Messick rose to the occasion, in stark contrast to the frantic but largely non-vocal Tom And Jerry cartoons. Meanwhile, hundreds of writers, artists, and support technicians had work in the TV industry. If not for Hanna-Barbera, most of those people would have remained out of work, or at least not employed in animation. And if not for that studio, we wouldn’t have the hundreds of characters that populated our childhood and that we can still enjoy to this day.
This book offers a balanced view of the studio, examining the warts and celebrating the victories. Scholars will appreciate the many viewpoints offered, and fans will enjoy learning the secrets behind their favorite cartoons. I heartily recommend Hanna And Barbera: Conversations.
is available to buy now at Amazon.com
