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Post by brutalis on Aug 2, 2016 8:42:00 GMT -5
The joys of Saturday morning cartoon's. Hanna Barbera and Filmation ruled the airwaves with so many wonderful cartoon series to choose from. HB had the edge as for having truly funny cartoons in their early years and then they progressed into great action adventure shows before settling into repetitive series syndrome. Filmation gave us continuations of classic television series into further cartoon seasons after cancellation while continuing the action adventure themes admirably before creating the weekday afternoon maxi-series of cartoon's with He-Man.
There are far too many series from both companies to list but here are a few favorite memories.
Hanna Barbera: home of the Doo. Scooby still reigns to this day as one of the great concepts that while remaining virtually the same comes up with wonderful new continuations of itself for new generations. From there i love the HB action shows: Space Ghost, Jonny Quest, Herculoids, BirdMan, Frankenstein Junior, Moby Dick, Mighty Mightor and such. Even through today these shows garner attention and even reinvention in comic books.
Filmation: i grew up with their various Archie series and love the Funhouse (Laugh-in style quick dumb jokes/humor) format which carried over into the Groovie Goolies. From there it was all adventure for me with Star Trek, Zorro, The Lone Ranger, Tarzan and last but not least Flash Gordon. Filmation gave us great science fiction and pulp action renewing these classic characters for a new group of youngsters that may have never known of them before.
Praise to both companies for filling my weekend and childhood with fun, laughs and adventure!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2016 9:24:32 GMT -5
I prefer Hanna Barbera over Filmation anyday of the week. Why? ... Space Ghost and the Herculoids!
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 2, 2016 18:22:29 GMT -5
I prefer Hanna Barbera over Filmation anyday of the week. Why? ... Space Ghost and the Herculoids! Yeah, as much as I loved He-Man growing up HB I think had a far better output. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2016 18:46:47 GMT -5
I prefer Hanna Barbera over Filmation anyday of the week. Why? ... Space Ghost and the Herculoids! Yeah, as much as I loved He-Man growing up HB I think had a far better output. I know what you mean here. |
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Post by dupersuper on Aug 2, 2016 21:26:20 GMT -5
Ah, the Filmation Star Trek animated series...the least animated Star Trek series.
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Golddragon71
Full Member
Immortal avatar of the Dragon Race The Golden Dragon
Posts: 343
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Post by Golddragon71 on Aug 4, 2016 22:28:24 GMT -5
I really Loved Filmation when they weren't overly preachy (He-Man, Fat Albert etc)
the other shows mentioned (Lone Ranger, Black Star, Trek, Tarzan, Zorro and even New adv of Batman to a degree) were much easier to take as they usually left the "lesson" tip the end
That said, I just can't say anything against the Studio that gave us Challenge of the Super Friends (It's the major reason I'm a DC Guy and not just a Bat-Fan)
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2016 23:50:40 GMT -5
Hanna Barbera or Filmation? Yes please, with some Ruby-Spears thrown in for good measure too if you don't mind.
-M
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2016 23:53:32 GMT -5
Fans of Filmation might want to check out this book...  it comes highly recommended by the hosts of Pod Stallions and I have been trying to track down a copy for a few weeks now. -M |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2016 8:15:35 GMT -5
Filmation certainly produced a variety to choose from, but I always liked the Hanna-Barbera offerings better. Scooby Doo, Josie and the Pussycats, Dyno-Mutt and Blue Falcon, Hong Kong Phooey, Jabberjaw, Superfriends, Jeannie, Speed Buggy, Laff-a-lympics....great stuff! From Filmation, I enjoyed the live action Shazam and Isis shows as well as the animated Batman show. Archie too.
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Post by brutalis on Aug 8, 2016 8:21:57 GMT -5
i love both companies for what they delivered to us in our youth. I believe Hanna Barbera skewed to a younger demographic and as they were the true creators for television cartoons becoming popular and the entire Saturday morning creation i have to give them credit. But after their successes they started to repeat themselves over time. It was Filmation who took the Saturday cartoon and moved it forward with more shows which attracted older teen viewers. I know over time while i still loved my Superfriends i was more into Archie early mornings and then waiting for the later morning to dig into Star Trek, Flash Gordon and such shows. So young me gives the thumbs up to HB and teen me thumbs up for Filmation.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2016 13:13:57 GMT -5
I love Filmation, but the one thing that annoys me about a lot of their shows was the cutesy (usually an animal or fantastic creature) mascot that they felt they had to include in a lot of shows. If it was to appeal to kids, they got it dead wrong because most kids I knew and people I have talked to as adults who watched Filmation shows as a kid despised the cutesy mascot.
-M
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 15, 2016 22:04:05 GMT -5
I love both. Filmation had some good comedy, in the Archie cartoons and especially the Groovie Goolies (awesome show). They excelled at adventure and were very progressive in their casting of characters, as seen in The Space Sentinels. Their live action stuff was pretty good, too. They usually had better stories than Hanna-Barbera and that is where they really put their emphasis.
Hanna-Barbera had the clout and better production values. However, Filmation was able to keep their production in the US (until the very end). H-B started farming things out, by the 70s, to Australia and elsewhere. H-B had guys like Alex Toth designing characters, and Ken Ruby and Joe Spears developing shows (before splitting off to form their own company). 60s H-B ruled the roost, though Filmation was in there swinging. The Adventures of Batman was exciting and had real fights, which is part of the reason why the 70s were so devoid of violence. H-B does have the edge on comedy and did produce the seminal superhero cartoon of the era. Filmation was a bit more innovative, incorporating rotoscoping to add movement in Tarzan and Flash Gordon. Flash Gordon was a thing of beauty, due to the budget for the original prime time movie, which became the basis for the first third of the serialized first season. It looked fantastic and they recycled the shots endlessly.
Both fell into formulas.
Highpoints for me:
HB
Space Ghost
Jonny Quest
Flintstones
Jetsons
Herculoids
Frankenstein Jr
Scooby Doo
Super Friends
Challenge of the Superfriends
Dynomutt
Space Stars
Filmation
Adv. of Batman
Star Trek
Archie
Archie's TV Funhouse
Tarzan
Flash Gordon
Space Sentinels
Zorro
Sabrina and the Groovie Goolies
Shazam (live action and cartoon)
Isis
Jason of Star Command
Meanwhile, no love for Rankin-Bass? Depatie-Freleng? Ruby-Spears? Total Toon? Jay Ward?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2016 10:26:23 GMT -5
I love both. Filmation had some good comedy, in the Archie cartoons and especially the Groovie Goolies (awesome show). They excelled at adventure and were very progressive in their casting of characters, as seen in The Space Sentinels. Their live action stuff was pretty good, too. They usually had better stories than Hanna-Barbera and that is where they really put their emphasis. Hanna-Barbera had the clout and better production values. However, Filmation was able to keep their production in the US (until the very end). H-B started farming things out, by the 70s, to Australia and elsewhere. H-B had guys like Alex Toth designing characters, and Ken Ruby and Joe Spears developing shows (before splitting off to form their own company). 60s H-B ruled the roost, though Filmation was in there swinging. The Adventures of Batman was exciting and had real fights, which is part of the reason why the 70s were so devoid of violence. H-B does have the edge on comedy and did produce the seminal superhero cartoon of the era. Filmation was a bit more innovative, incorporating rotoscoping to add movement in Tarzan and Flash Gordon. Flash Gordon was a thing of beauty, due to the budget for the original prime time movie, which became the basis for the first third of the serialized first season. It looked fantastic and they recycled the shots endlessly. Both fell into formulas. Highpoints for me: HB Space Ghost Jonny Quest Flintstones Jetsons Herculoids Frankenstein Jr Scooby Doo Super Friends Challenge of the Superfriends Dynomutt Space Stars Filmation Adv. of Batman Star Trek Archie Archie's TV Funhouse Tarzan Flash Gordon Space Sentinels Zorro Sabrina and the Groovie Goolies Shazam (live action and cartoon) Isis Jason of Star Command Meanwhile, no love for Rankin-Bass? Depatie-Freleng? Ruby-Spears? Total Toon? Jay Ward? You made excellent points of both Hanna Barbara and Filmation ... I was surprised that brutalis left out Rankin-Bass, Depatie-Freleng, and the others that you mentioned here. |
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Post by Warmonger on Oct 16, 2016 10:40:18 GMT -5
Hanna Barbera in a landslide
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 18, 2016 1:15:17 GMT -5
Rankin-Bass was a bit hit and miss, with the excellent King Kong, in the 60s, and the groovie Jackson 5 and Osmond cartoons in the early 70s. They produced several features for the ABC Saturday Superstar Movie, including Willie Mays and the Say Hey Kid, That Girl in Wonderland, The Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters; and the very odd Red Baron (with dogs as the characters). After the early 70s, they mostly seemed to stick with work on tv specials.
Depatie-Freleng was a major player, with the Pink Panther Show, the Tijuana Toads, The Ant & the Aardvark, Return to the Planet of the Apes, New Fantastic Four, and Spider-Woman; the latter of which led to Marvel purchasing the studio, to produce cartoons of the Marvel heroes.
Ruby-Spears was late in the 70s and the early 80s, with the classic Thundarr, Plastic Man (and related cartoons), Heathcliff, Mister T, Alvin & the Chipmunks, a slew of video game cartoons, and increasingly cheap and bad cartoons, like Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos. Of course, they did the post-Crisis Superman cartoon, forever known as the Ruby-Spears Superman.
Jay Ward goes without saying: Bullwinkle, Dudley Doo-Right, Fractured Fairytales, Mr Peabody & Sherman, George of the Jungle, Roger Ramjet.
Total Television is one of my favorites, mostly active in the 60s: Underdog, Tennessee Tuxedo, King Leo & Ode Cologne.
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