Hanna-Barbera Productions

Hanna-Barbera Productions got its start as an animation company in 1957 when former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animation directors WIlliam Hanna and Joseph Barbera, both of whom had created Tom and Jerry, and live-action director George Sidney teamed with Screen Gems, a TV unit of Columbia Pictures. It operated in this way until 1966 when it was purchased by Taft Broadcasting (yes, it has connections with our 27th President of the United States) and became its subsidiary. In its hey-day, Hanna-Barbera Productions created some of the most recognizable characters in TV history, including The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo,The Jetsons, and The Smurfs. The pair of Hanna and Barbera over the years won seven Academy Awards, eight Emmy Awards, and even a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Their fortunes would eventually shift in the 80’s when more focus was on weekday afternoon programming and less on Saturday morning cartoons. This problem has come to full fruition in the last couple years as most major networks have completely abandoned Saturday morning programming. There was that sweet spot when I was a kid, when there was plenty of quality programming at both times.

Hanna-Barbera cartoons were starting to lose their staying power in the 80’s compared to the 60’s and 70’s. Their output had slowed incredibly with their only hit being The Smurfs. In 1991, Ted Turner purchased Hanna-Barbera Productions, mostly to fill up programming for his new network, The Cartoon Network. Hanna and Barbera stayed on as consultants. It was also around this time that the company’s cartoons kind of went in two directions: one going for renewed nostalgia, and another into the edgier side of things. My childhood was filled with these cartoons. You had the newer versions of classic cartoons, most of which went with the “kid” versions of their classic characters. These were: A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Yo Yogi!, Tom and Jerry Kids, and The Flintstone Kids. Lots of animation companies employ this with their characters. Some cartoons are very much of their time and it’s harder to get the new generations to watch them, so they just take their characters and put them into new situations or present them in a different fashion (other examples: Muppet Babies, Goof Troop, Quack Pack, and Tiny Toon Adventures). You still see it today to a lesser extent. Movies are being made on old cartoons instead (Smurfs, Transformers, and The Chipmunks are recent ones), though that’s been happening since the 90’s, too (I’m looking at you, terrible Flintstones movie). The other subset of new Hanna Barbera cartoons were the edgier ones aimed at an older, more 90’s mentality group of kids. Pirates of Black Water, SWAT Kats, and The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest (also a reboot, but EXTREEEEEME!). I had no scruples as a child, I watched most anything you put in front of me. Turner eventually would merge with Time Warner in 1996 and the studio became a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Animation. I’ll get to Warner Bros. later, so don’t worry. Hanna-Barbera exists in name only, used in marketing for their characters. Their characters are still used and are in productions for kids, though only their most famous, such as The Flintstones, Jetsons, Smurfs, and Scooby-Doo. Scooby is by far Hanna-Barbera’s most successful character. There has been almost no lull in output for this character, with either a TV show, TV-movie, or film happening in most years. He’s by far my favorite Hanna-Barbera character and to me it's no wonder he’s been so successful.

Hanna-Barbera Productions created seven movies altogether over the years. Not all of them were using their characters either. That was not the case for their first two productions, Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear! And A Man Called Flintstone. Yogi came out in 1964 and was their first try at a theatrical film. The film did reasonably well at the box office and critically, with critics enjoying seeing something other than Disney films. A Man Called Flintstone was meant to the be the series finale of the show, and a parody on James Bond films. Coming out two years after Yogi, it was also a decent hit for not being a Disney film. Hanna-Barbera decided to adapt a book instead of using their own characters for their next film, Charlotte’s Web. They received permission from the book’s author, E.B. White, and were told by the author what parts that had to stay and what could be potentially changed. In the end they made the movie a musical and partnered with Sagittarius Productions. E.B. White hated that all those annoying songs got in the way of his story and ultimately regretted letting Hanna-Barbera adapt it. Released in 1973, the film was a moderate hit both critically and financially (noticing a trend?), but it really paid dividends 21 years later. It was released several times on VHS, but its 1993 release caused it to be one of the best-selling titles that year. Go figure! I know that this was definitely one that I rented a bunch of times as a kid, so maybe it was just a thing with 80’s/90’s kids? Also, this movie is legit sad, so hope you aren’t already feeling depressed before you watch it.

Besides live-action film C.H.O.M.P.S., Hanna Barbera took it easy with theatrical films until 1982’s Heidi’s Song. I’m actually a bit surprised that I had never heard about this film until now. We had a collection of some very obscure animated movies and TV shows (all recorded on blank VHS tapes, of course), so it’s a wonder this one wasn’t one of them. This one actually did better than any of the other Hanna-Barbera films so far, so that was a good thing, but I couldn’t really find anything about its critical reception, and considering that it took me this long to learn about it (I’m a crazy person when it comes to animation, as evidenced by this series), I’m going to guess it was a run-of-the-mill cartoon movie. If anyone has seen this one and loved it, let me know in the comments! Transformers competition/rip-off GoBots even got its own movie in the form of GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords in 1986. Unfortunately the movie came out the same time as Transformers: The Movie and ultimately only pulled in a little of a million dollars, with Transformers pulling in 6 million. That being said, Transformers budget was almost 6 million, so they didn’t do too hot either. I have never seen GoBots or anything about it, really. It was a little before my time, honestly.

Hanna-Barbera did something a little weird with The Jetsons. Its original run (1962-1963) lasted a little over six months and then ran on re-runs from then on. It was brought back for new episodes in 1985 and lasted two seasons. Not everyday that a cartoon gets brought back as the same exact show, not a reboot, twenty years later. With the renewed interest in The Jetsons, Hanna-Barbera decided to make a movie starring its futuristic family. The Jetsons Movie came out in 1990 and served as the last Jetson product until 2017 (it was a WWE tie-in, so yeah) mostly because the main voice cast passed away shortly after the movie, including the great Mel Blanc. The advanced age of the cast caused issues with the production, the first being that the voice of Elroy, Daws Butler, died before production could start. George O’Hanlan, voice of George Jetson, passed away right after recording his lines. Blanc also died during production, and they had to have Jeff Bergman fill in some of the lines for all the actors that had passed away. What everyone remembers about this film, however, was the casting of Judy Jetson’s voice. Janet Waldo, who just recently passed away, recorded all of her lines for the role, seeing as she was the character’s original voice actor. Hanna and Barbera had the bright idea that to really draw the kids in, they had to get a “star” to fill out a role. The hired teen singer Tiffany to be Judy and all of Janet Waldo’s recordings were erased. Legendary voice director Andrea Romano (she is connected to just about every Warner Bros. project) was so appalled with the decision that she had her name removed from the movie. The movie was released to terrible reviews, some focusing on the plot, others on Tiffany’s performance. It did reasonably well at the box office despite the awful reviews, making over $20 million theatrically. It would go on to make much more through video sales/rentals. I distinctly remember watching this quite a few times as a kid, but I think I knew at the time that it wasn’t that good.

Last of Hanna-Barbera’s theatrical films was 1993’s Once Upon a Forest, based on the Furlings characters created by Rae Lampert. Hanna-Barbera partnered with animators from all around the world to pull this movie off and billed it as a “new masterpiece” from the creator of An American Tail. Said creator was not Don Bluth or Steven Spielberg, but David Kirschner, who served as Executive Producer on An American Tail. Many found this to be a bit misleading, but how many times have you seen something like that advertised at the top of movie posters? Even with the recently popular environmental story-line, the movie was a box office bomb, grossing just $6.6 million against a budget of $13 million. Ouch. No wonder this was their last film. Hanna Barbera animation teams were spun off into Turner Animation and later into Warner Bros. Animation. Hanna-Barbera fared better than most studios through its long history, and its characters still live on today, which is more than can be said for Fleischer Studios and UPA. Yes, Betty Boop and Mr. Magoo are still recognizable to most generations, but when was the last time you saw them in anything? Who Framed Roger Rabbit? And the Mr. Magoo movie? I think what Hanna-Barbera learned from their theatrical ventures is that original movies or not, they were very capable of making decent films or very, very bad ones.

Top 10 Saddest Moments in Animation

I've decided that people aren't nearly sad enough, so I created this list! Hooray! Selections from this list are from varying animation companies, though mostly from Disney. Disney apparently knows how to pull on people's heartstrings. The only rule I made for this list was that there could only be one selection from one franchise. I have a ton of honorable mentions, but this list has all the scenes that have always affected me. If you haven't seen any of these movies, then you may not want to read the entry. Also, make sure you click the links in each of the titles!

10. "Mother Earth and Father Time" (Charlotte's Web)

This movie was a mainstay of my childhood, but I haven't had the pleasure of watching it since. That being said, it doesn't mean that I have forgotten about Charlotte's death at the end of Charlotte's Web. Charlotte has saved Wilbur from certain destruction by spinning messages of Wilbur's worth into her web for the world to see. He pays her back by protecting her egg sac which contains her unborn children. She tells a crestfallen Wilbur that she will pass away soon, and indeed she does, leaving behind her eggs. Adding insult to injury, after all the spiders hatch, they all fly away in the wind, much to Wilbur's dismay. Luckily for him, three stay behind to keep him company. The whole scene is sad of course, but it's Wilbur's reaction at the end that always gets me.

9. "Baby Mine" (Dumbo)

This movie moment is notorious in my house because my wife is literally unable to watch it. She has a good point, as this is a terribly sad moment. It's not higher on the list because everything get's better. Mrs. Jumbo has been locked up because she is believed to be a "mad elephant." Dumbo comes to see his mother and she rocks him back and forth with her trunk while the song "Baby Mine" plays. The song makes the whole scene worse. It was bad enough seeing the two elephants hesitant to leave each other, but the song just hits you. Like I said though, everything turns out alright in the end with the two being reunited.

8. "Kitty!" (Monster's, Inc.)

This scene takes place at the end of the movie when Sulley and Mike finally take Boo back to her room. There is a true friendship between Boo and Sulley, so the goodbye between them is a hard one to bear. The worst part is after Sulley leaves, Boo attempts to see him again by opening up her closet,  only to find clothes and toys. Boo's door is destroyed and it's assured that Sulley will never see Boo again. Luckily, Mike gets all the pieces of the door back and put them together for Sulley. The closing moment of the movie is Sulley stepping back into Boo's bedroom and hearing a familiar name. Happy tears.

7. "An Empty Chair" (Mickey's Christmas Carol)

This is another favorite animated feature from my childhood, and it has one of the rare moments that made me sad a child. For whatever reason, I didn't get sad during traumatic scenes when I was a child. Now that I'm older, these moments hit me harder than I could ever imagine. This scene has always made me sad. Scrooge meets the third spirit and learns that Tiny Tim has in fact passed away. You see Bob Cratchit walking up to Tim's grave with a crutch, tears flowing and everything. He sets the crutch onto the grave and slowly walks away with his family. Seeing Mickey Mouse cry is not cool. It's not something that I had ever experienced as a child so it was a complete shock. This scene still gets me today. I could only find this video on dailymotion so you will have to skip to the twenty minute mark to see the scene in question.

6. "Goodbye May Seem Like Forever" (The Fox and the Hound)

The Fox and the Hound is not a bright and happy story. In fact, it's pretty depressing. There's one moment in particular that breaks your heart, though. Widow Tweed adopts the orphaned fox, Tod, and cares for it until he reaches adulthood. Tensions mount between Tweed and her hunter neighbor, so she sees no other recourse than to take Tod to a game preserve, where she feels Tod with be safe. The movie may be about Tod and Copper's friendship, but the relationship between Tweed and Tod is a strong one, so it hurts to see her leave Tod behind. She loves Tod more than anything, and tries to put him out of harm's way, even if it means that she doesn't have his company anymore. People saying goodbye to pets in movies is hard as it is, but seeing an old woman force an animal that loves her from following her back home is heartbreaking.

5. "When She Loved Me" (Toy Story 2)

Seeing that I can't put moments from the same group of movies, I chose this one over any other Toy Story moment. A close second was Andy giving his toys away at the end of Toy Story 3. That moment stung (I felt like I got punched in the gut when Andy pulled Woody back toward him), but Jessie's song about her owner that eventually left her gets me every time. The whole thing is sad enough, but the beautiful song just makes it a million times harder. It's a song that speaks to anyone who has felt abandoned in life or in love. It's tragic and by far the saddest moment in the Toy Story trilogy. A fan theory that is making the rounds believes that Jessie's owner, Emily, is in fact Andy's mom. The evidence is the hat Emily wears is the same as Andy's. I don't know about you, but that just makes this whole thing far more tragic.

4. "The Hunter" (Bambi)

It's a given that this infamous death makes people's saddest moments list. It truly deserves to be there, though. This moment has made anti-hunting advocates and even vegetarians because it's so startling. What's so powerful about the whole scene is that you neither see the hunter, nor Bambi's mother getting shot. In fact, you never see the Hunter throughout the whole film, yet he completely drives the plot. He shoots Bambi's mother, so Bambi is instead raised by his father. The Hunter leaves his fire unattended and basically burns the whole forest down, leading to a climactic battle and the rescue of Faline. Anyway, the death of Bambi's mother isn't the really sad part about the whole scene, but what happens afterward. Bambi steps out of their home, calling for his mother. While Bambi blindly searches the forest, it begins to snow. The whole scene makes you believe that Bambi is now completely on his own, but then out of nowhere the Great Prince appears and coldly tells Bambi that his mother can't be with him anymore. Bambi slowly follows the Great Prince into the cold winter. It's a masterful scene and one that has resonated in people's minds for generations.

3. "A Mother's Sacrifice" (The Land Before Time)

Littlefoot and Cera are playing together when out of nowhere, Sharptooth (or as I called him as a child, Sharktooth) attacks. Luckily for them, Littlefoot's mother protects them. An earthquake causes Sharptooth to fall into a ravine, but not before he mortally wounds Littlefoot's mother. Littlefoot and Cera are now seperated from their herds and much journey to the "Great Valley" by themselves. Littlefoot's mother tells him that she will always be with him, and that she knows that he'll find a way to the "Great Valley" if he follows his heart. It's sad enough watching this and knowing that she's dying, but the fact that Littlefoot is completely oblivious to this fact is heart-wrenching. It's basically the same reaction that any child would have if their parent were dying. That is what makes this scene so hard to watch. Also the end with her cloud showing the way the "Great Valley."

2. "Carl and Ellie" (Up)

This is by far the saddest opening to any movie that has ever been made. Pixar movies can be pretty sad at times, but Up takes the cake and throws it out the window on your birthday. Carl and Ellie meet as children and both have an affinity for adventure. They vow that they will someday travel to Paradise Falls in Venezuela, but life keeps getting in the way. We watch as the couple gets married, prepares for children, and then finds out that they are unable to. That scene is sad enough, but it keeps going. Years pass and they are now old, and Carl decides it is finally time to go to Paradise Falls. Before he can surprise her with the airline tickets, Ellie gets sick and soon passes away. The scene of Carl sitting by himself after the funeral is by far the worst part. The whole scene is beautiful, extremely sad, and unforgettable. I don't think anyone expected this when going to see a Pixar movie about an old man. Oh, and being married has made this whole scene way harder to watch.

1. "Long Live the King" (The Lion King)

This scene has affected me more and more as the years go by. I don't know if it's because my father is getting older and I'm becoming more afraid that someday I'll lose him. It's harder to think about that when you're younger because you think you're parents are invincible. Now that I'm older, all these movies and shows about parents passing away is hitting me harder and harder. Growing up stinks sometimes. Anyway, this scene is about as infamous as Bambi's, if only for my own generation. Scar plans for Mufasa and Simba to get trampled by wildebeest, but Mufasa manages to save Simba. Mufasa attempts to get himself out of the gorge, but his lousy brother throws him back down to his death. Simba watches his father fall, but does not see how it happened. Simba tries to wake his father up, but to no avail. He cries out for help, and getting none, goes back to his father and puts himself underneath the fallen king's paw. That part kills me. Guh. What makes the whole thing worse is that Simba is made to believe that he is the reason his father is dead, so he carries that around with him for years to come. The relationship between Mufasa and Simba is just too relatable, and that's what makes this movie so great, and also very tragic.