Is it alright to like Hanna Barbera?

Still working away on Parasite's Delight. I am trying to get myself used to the production schedule I have set.

My recent discovery of Top Cat has, as usual, led me to looking up other Hanna Barbera cartoons, as well as their history. I find that I gyrate more towards the TV characters from the late 1950's and early 1960's. Those characters include such charmers as Top Cat, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Quickdraw McGraw, Wally Gator, and of course, the Flintstones. However, I have also found that Hanna Barbera is blamed for the decline in the quality of commercial animation. This is particularly true in their 1970's stuff, which I have never been enthusiastic about (the Smurfs, Scooby Doo spin-offs).






I wish I knew where this came from. I want a larger version.

I love animation that has a lot of posing and acting (or what many call classical animation). I feel like I might be criticized for liking HB cartoons. But if there's anything I go for, its characters. No matter how they are drawn or animated, I like fully formed personalities. I see no reason not to like all different forms of animation. I even like stuff that hasn't lasted very long, and even some considerably unsuccessful stuff.



I am excited about the early stuff, because I find the characters to be quite appealing. I love charming characters, possibly because they have qualities I don't have. These same characters were reused in gang of 1980's Saturday Morning cartoons. Those shows, unfortunately, are too humiliating to watch, have terrible coloring (fast food coloring) and have infantile humor. But considering the financial trouble HB was going through at the time, I guess it shouldn't be too surprising. I believe those bad cartoons could have been great with the same characters, but just with better coloring and more inventive plots. I don't mind seeing these great characters over again.



I have been working on my technique lately, although they are less a priority than my film. Here I jotted down some expressions for practice. I just thought I'd share it. I am hoping to get more of my thesis up here, although not everything is as complete as the last clip I posted.

Emmett's Birthday and the discovery of TOP CAT

As usual, my birthday this year just happened to fall upon Thanksgiving, so my family and I had a double celebration. My sister, who is a culinary student, took charge of my birthday treat shown below. All I asked was no chocolate this year, and in turn, I got a lovely collection of cream-filled, sugar glazed pastries (I can't remember what the dish is called, but it was still great).


What did I do on my birthday besides eating? I discovered Hanna Barbera's Top Cat for the first time in my life. Although I had discovered many HB characters when I was a little kid (through one of our local video stores), I never found anything on Top Cat, even though the character popped up in HB images every so often. I found myself attracted to it, which is I guess isn't too sup rising. I find HB's characters to be among the most appealing, right up there with Looney Tunes characters and others.




Along with Top Cat, I also watched a Looney Tunes DVD with my Grandmother. She's getting up there, and it was wonderful to see her laughing. I showed her Bob Clampett's Book Revue with Daffy Duck (one of my favorites). And not only was she laughing, but she was excited to pick out all the celebrities parodied in the cartoon. A true classic.



I would like to wish whoever reads this blog a HAPPY THANKSGIVING.