During the rise of television in the s when film studios ceased producing cartoons, Hanna and Barbera saved the field of animation through talent, innovation, and hard work. Hanna and Barbera left MGM when the studio stopped production on animated films. Capitalizing on the changing viewing habits of audiences, the partners achieved immediate success on TV with The Huckleberry Hound Show and Yogi Bear in , followed by the groundbreaking prime-time series, The Flintstones , in Throughout the next 40 years, Hanna-Barbera produced an astonishing 1, hours of original animation in individual cartoon series for television.
When Cartoon Network was formed in , Hanna-Barbera supplied most of the programming. Hanna-Barbera was eventually absorbed by Warner Bros. Included within the exhibition will be original animation art, sketches, model sheets, photographs, archival materials, toys and other commercial products, and an interactive installation that will draw from the vast library of characters created by Hanna-Barbera.
An exhibition catalogue will include a foreword by Jayne Barbera, daughter of studio founder Joe Barbera, and essays by animation historians Jerry Beck and Michael Mallory. It was a cat and mouse. This cartoon provided Barbera a chance to work again with his old friend from New York, Harvey Eisenberg, who created the layouts.
Though recognizable as Tom and Jerry, the characters were named Jasper and Jinx in this cartoon. Just as they were unsure about animating a cat and mouse duo in , creating an animation studio devoted to television cartoon production would take talent, innovation, and hard work. I did the storyboards at home.
My daughter Jayne colored in the drawings. Though planned animation did have its detractors, this more simplified way of animating required more effort in other areas. TV was typically thought to be a family viewing device and it was unusual to see a show intended directly for young viewers. However, since it was determined that adults watched the least amount of television on Saturday mornings, it appeared to be an ideal time to air child-centered programming.
Cartoon shows were almost completely filled with recycled film shorts that were separated by hosted segments. With episodes running only seven minutes long, starting in December it was syndicated into markets where it was included in shows with other cartoons that were introduced by a host. Debuting the following year, The Huckleberry Hound Show became the first half hour animated series to air without a host.
From the beginning, Hanna and Barbera possessed the foresight to produce all of their television cartoons in color, even though none of the networks were broadcasting in color and it would be years before the first cartoons were aired in color. It is neither. The whole series is weak. Most of my old friends and veteran colleagues remember them as an incredibly fruitful period of television production.
As their audience aged, Hanna and Barbera became aware that many cartoon viewers were becoming interested in the escapades of James Bond on the big screen and the adventures had by Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, and the Justice League in the pages of comic books. In , CBS executive Fred Silverman, a fan of animation, worked closely with Hanna and Barbera to develop an idea of an animated team of mystery solvers.
In a throwback to TV cartoon presentations from the s, Hanna-Barbera began developing a program of animated shorts introduced by hosts, in this case humans in animal suits that were designed by pre-fame producers Sid and Marty Krofft. In NBC considered eliminating their Saturday morning cartoon schedule, replacing it with a Saturday edition of its weekday morning news show Today.
He also began timing cartoons, a task at which he excelled. Using the index of twenty-four frames a second in animation movement, I figured that a twelve beat was half of that, so every time it clicked it would be twelve frames. A Cast of Friends , p. Hanna continued to work alongside the two men, mastering every skill required to produce and direct animated shorts. To Spring debuted in and details in vivid Technicolor the fantastical world of underground-dwelling gnomes who are tasked with changing the season from winter to spring.
Retitled The Captain and the Kids , the cartoons never took off with audiences, partly due to the difficulty inherent in transferring the strong ethnic German accents of the characters from print to screen, but also because of the rising anti-German sentiment in the late s.
It was a cat and mouse. YouTube, 25 March This cartoon provided Barbera a chance to work again with his old friend from New York, Harvey Eisenberg, who created the layouts. Though recognizable as Tom and Jerry, the characters were named Jasper and Jinx in this cartoon. Producer Fred Quimby did not envision a future for Jasper and Jinx and opined correctly that cartoons featuring a cat and mouse were not a new idea.
Fortunately for Hanna and Barbera, a Loews, Inc. Production drawing from the Tom and Jerry short Flirty Birdy , So he came back to his own studio, MGM, and to us. From to , Barbera and Harvey Eisenberg published several comic books under the Dearfield Publishing label.
In , Hanna and Barbera were again involved in motion pictures when they animated Tom and Jerry in an underwater sequence with swimming actress, Esther Williams, for Dangerous When Wet. Re-titled Good Will to Men for the modern version, the story used mice as the protagonists, while in an effort to update the tale, the cartoon was filmed in CinemaScope and contained images of newer weaponry that was used in World War II.
Both versions were nominated for Academy Awards. Unfortunately, for the two men who had strengthened the quality of animation at MGM over the last twenty years, the end of their time at the studio was drawing near.
Paramount Pictures, Inc. The Court determined that movie studios were violating antitrust laws and could no longer be in the business of owning theaters. To make up for the lost revenue, studios began charging independent theaters more money to exhibit their films. However, theaters were no longer beholden to the studios for which films they could screen. Accordingly, studios moved to produce films that would turn a profit.
Thus began a major slump in the film industry that lasted until The loss of theater revenue was only the first hit to the continued marketability of animated short films. The expansion of televisions into homes would also deal a heavy blow. In , less than one in ten households owned a television, but within the next decade nine out of ten families would have one.
The convenience of free less the cost of an expensive set in-home visual entertainment programming meant a further decrease in film attendance. By the late s, the same set was available for half the price. The cost margin allotted to produce animated film shorts was much less than the cost of big-budget live-action films.
Studio heads determined that they had enough canned animation sitting in their vaults to re-run the shorts in theaters and on television ad infinitum, and therefore the outlay of funds on production of additional shorts was unnecessary. Accordingly, they began to sell off their catalogues of animated shorts to television.
Jekyll and Mr. I did the storyboards at home. Nobody was working. The UPA animation studio, founded in by a group of former Disney artists, commonly used limited animation, or planned animation, as a visual device in their cartoons.
Planned animation used fewer cels than full animation as practiced by Disney. For a standard Disney feature, the film would be projected at the standard 24 frames per second with each frame having different animation. Planned animation provided for fewer frames, so that instead of each frame having a new image, frames would be repeated two or three times, resulting in just twelve or eight different frames per second.
However, Hanna-Barbera adapted the technique out of necessity. While film shorts could take several months and cost tens of thousands of dollars, television animation required a much quicker production schedule with a markedly reduced budget.
The reduced cost of planned animation vs. This also meant using as much of a cel as possible to construct a scene. My Life with a Thousand Characters , p. Just because planned animation cost significantly less than full animation did not mean the quality of the cartoons suffered, though more effort was needed in other areas.
The writing had to be better scripted, the gags had to be funnier, the cameraman had to be more creative, and the sound effects more expressive.
On the morning of Saturday, August 19, , for the first time in history, children turned on their family television sets to find two shows that were meant just for them. TV was typically thought to be intended for family viewing, and it was unusual to see a show directed at young viewers. However, since it was determined that adults watched the least amount of television on Saturday mornings, it appeared to be an ideal time to air child-centered programming.
Mittell, Jason. Prime Time Animation , p. Using this material, CBS began airing the first Saturday morning cartoon series. Instead, director George Sidney introduced them to executives at Screen Gems television distribution who were interested. They were part of the original Hanna-Barbera company. Hollywood Cartoons , pp. Hanna and Barbera recruited the best writers and artists in the business. Additionally, many Disney employees were laid off after Sleeping Beauty ended production and were now available for work at Hanna-Barbera.
At the time that Hanna-Barbera began producing cartoons for television, Saturday morning shows were often serials, such as The Lone Ranger , The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin , and Sky King , or hosted variety shows that were produced within local markets. Cartoon shows were almost completely filled with recycled film shorts that were separated by hosted segments.
With episodes running only seven minutes long, beginning in December it was syndicated into markets where it was included in shows with other cartoons that were introduced by a host. Fortunately, in casting Ruff and Reddy , we immediately discovered two great voice actors, Daws Butler and Don Messick.
Messick remained with the company until shortly before his death in From the very beginning, Hanna and Barbera possessed the foresight to produce all of their television cartoons in color, even though none of the networks were broadcasting in color and it would be years before the first cartoons were aired in color.
Hanna, p. Debuting in , The Huckleberry Hound Show became the first half-hour animated series without a host. Culhane, John. Hanna-Barbera 25 Years , p.
His laconic southern drawl symbolized his easy-going attitude. There was no problem that could upset Huckleberry Hound and no conflict too great to overcome.
His long-term memory, however, was still on call, so much so, in fact, that he sang the entire theme song to Yogi Bear for me. He knew the lyrics well because he had written it. Sharing a similar plot base as Tom and Jerry , Mr. Jinks was a cat who frequently butted heads with mice Pixie and Dixie, though their relationship was much friendlier than that of their predecessors.
A good catchphrase will become part of the zeitgeist for generations, reaching through all segments of society. In fact, bars would advertise Huckleberry Hound happy hours during the airing of the program.
Mittell, p. Carl Iwasaki , Bar patrons watching Huckleberry Hound , Following on the surprise success of their cartoon series among adults, in Hanna and Barbera set out to create an original adult-oriented prime time cartoon series, something that had never been done.
Barbera recalls that the idea for The Flintstones took some time to develop. They considered introducing various types of characters throughout history—Pilgrims, hillbillies, Romans, Native Americans—before ultimately deciding on cavemen. A prime time cartoon aimed at adults was a hard sell in In order to write for an adult audience, for a cartoon that was inspired by The Honeymooners , Barbera brought in an actual writer from The Honeymooners. However, Barbera soon discovered that he just could not write for animation.
The original name for The Flintstones was The Flagstones. Walker was upset that the name closely resembled the surname of his cartoon family —the Flagstons. Barbera, p. It is neither. The whole series is weak. However, as the channel grew, so did the initiative to bring new original content to the channel. The studio at the time had an influx of younger talent that had been brought in to the fill the gap left by the earlier exodus.
In , Hanna-Barbera was internally reorganized as Hanna-Barbera Cartoons and with a new sub-entity that began to refocus their efforts towards what was originally called "World Premiere Toons", essentially allowing many of the younger members of the studio to launch their own pilots in the hopes of becoming new original shows.
Originally this was only seen as a sub-division while the rest of the studio made their efforts to switch over from other channels. This reunited a few H-B shows that had been in the hands of Warner Bros. Television, for that matter is still separate from the Turner and H-B libraries, but can be co-marketed when they wish. From this point Hanna-Barbera was slowly merged into Warner Bros.
Animation with the intent that the new company didn't need more than one animation studio. This however didn't go entirely smoothly. You had very pro WB people who didn't want to be associated with HB in any way. You had HB people that felt the new generation disrespected the HB legacy.
You had younger employees not wanting to be shackled to the WB or HB legacies. In late , the company was purchased by Turner Broadcasting System, who used much of the H-B back catalog to program its new channel, Cartoon Network. Both Hanna and Barbera went into semi-retirement after Turner purchased the company, continuing to serve as mentors and creative consultants.
From , Hanna-Barbera Productions, now a subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting System, boasted a library of several thousand cartoon episodes. Hanna-Barbera accounted for the bulk of the programming on Turner's Cartoon Network cable service.
Since the s Hanna-Barbera has produced, in addition to the cartoons, a number of films and specials for television including The Gathering , The Stone Fox , and Going Bananas , as well as live-action feature films including Jetsons: The Movie , The Pagemaster and The Flintstones In the company was renamed Hanna-Barbera Cartoons.
With William Hanna's death in , the studio was absorbed into its parent, and the spinoff Cartoon Network Studios continued the projects for Cartoon Network output.
Joseph Barbera continued to work for Warner Bros. Animation until his death in The long and productive partnership between William Hanna and Joseph Barbera has yielded some of television's most successful and enduring programs. Cartoon series such as The Flintstones , The Jetsons , and The Huckleberry Hound Show are as popular with audiences today as they were when first shown.
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