I was checking the official Daws Butler website recently, and saw this article about him, written back in 1985. Butler is perhaps best known as the major voice talent in the early Hanna Barbera period.
Anyway, I found the article to be quite an intrigue. By 1985, Hanna Barbera was going even lower creatively, and their shows from that period are barely remembered. Butler, who died in 1988, expresses his dissatisfaction with the animation industry in this article. I find it comforting to know he felt this way. I don’t want to repeat what the article said, so I clipped the part I liked. I suggest you read it.
Recently, somebody uploaded a bunch of episodes of a HB all-star show called Yogi’s Treasure Hunt on YouTube. And what can I say, other than its a really bad show. But its bad in rather amusing way. At least I am amused by it, because it stars characters I really enjoy. One thing that makes this show watchable are the voice talents employed in it. Among those are Charlie Adler, Michael Bell, and veterans Frank Welker, and Don Messick. I can safely say these guys provided the last little bit of soul left in these economically bloated shows.
And despite being able to afford more animation than before, the look of the shows is still terrible. The Korean labor practice is, in my opinion, one of the worst practices in the animation industry. There’s no director to approve, and there are mistakes that are more noticeable than ever. Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera blew so many opportunities to re-invent their characters, and take them to new heights.
If anybody wants to see these, I suggest the episodes “Goodbye Mr. Chump” and “Snow White and the Seven Treasure Hunters.” I chose not to embed them here, because I think I got the point across already.
John Kricfalusi took Yogi Bear to a whole new level with his Ranger Smith cartoons, the most notable of which is "Boo Boo Runs Wild." His cartoons proved a new way of bringing these characters to life, mostly due to his great admiration of character designer Ed Benedict.
