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The Flintstones

The Flintstones

The Flintstones, a Hanna-Barbera animated series, is one of the most successful animated television series of all time, originally running in American prime time for six seasons, from 1960 to 1966, on the ABC network.

Overview

The show is set in a town called Bedrock in the Stone Age era, but with a society identical to that of the United States in the mid-to-late 20th century. The setting is in a fantasy world where dinosaurs, saber-toothed tigers, wooly mammoths and other extinct animals coexist with cavemen, who use technology equivalent to that of the 20th century, largely through the use of various animals. The characters drive automobiles made out of stone or wood and animal skins and powered by gasoline, although foot power is required to start the vehicles. Although the characters were set in the Stone Age, that never stopped the show's producers from making a Christmas episode during the original series' run (and several more Christmas specials in the decades that followed). One source of the show's humor was the ways animals were used for technology. For example, when the characters took photographs with an instant camera, the inside of the camera box would be shown to contain a bird carving the picture on a stone tablet with its bill. In a running gag, the animals powering such technology would look at the audience, shrug, and remark, "It's a living," or some similar phrase. Being set in the Stone Age allowed for endless gags and puns that involved rocks in one way or another, including the names of the various characters being "rock" puns; some such names included celebrities such as "Gary Granite", "Stony Curtis", and "Ann-Margrock." The series directly drew from The Honeymooners for its main quartet of characters: the blustering Fred Flintstone and his ever-patient wife Wilma Flintstone (née Slaghoople, though Pebble was also given on occasion) modeled after the Kramdens, and their friendly neighbors Barney Rubble and wife Betty Rubble (née Betty Jean McBricker) modeled after the Nortons. Later additions to the cast included the Flintstones' infant daughter Pebbles Flintstone and the Rubbles' abnormally strong adopted son Bamm Bamm Rubble. The Flintstones had a pet dinosaur named Dino (pronounced DEE-no, and which barked like a dog), and the Rubbles had a kangaroo-like animal named Hoppy. Fred Flintstone worked at a stone quarry and worked for several different bosses, the best known of which was the bald Mr. Slate. In later seasons, the Flintstones cast expanded to include The Gruesomes, their strange next-door neighbors (inspired by the then-popular monster sitcoms The Addams Family and The Munsters), and The Great Gazoo, an alien exiled to Earth who helps Fred and Barney, usually against their will. It has been noted that Fred Flintstone physically resembled voice actor Alan Reed. The voice of Barney was provided by legendary voice actor Mel Blanc, though five episodes in the second season used actor Daws Butler while Blanc was recovering from a near-fatal car accident. The similarities with The Honeymooners included the fact that Reed based Fred's voice upon Jackie Gleason's interpretation of Ralph Kramden, while Blanc, after a season of using a nasal, high-pitched voice for Barney, eventually adopted a style of voice similar to that used by Art Carney in his portrayal of Ed Norton. In the show's closing credits, Fred tries to "put the cat out for the night" but winds up getting locked out and yelling for his wife to come open the door: "Wilma! Come on, Wilma, open this door! Willllll-ma!" By the time the theme song "Meet the Flintstones" was used, Fred cut the yelling to: "Willllll-ma!" Although the cat, Baby Puss, was seen in the closing credits of every episode, it was rarely actually seen in any of the storylines. This running gag of having the lead character of the series ending up being helpless during the end credits in every episode due to the hijinks of a family pet would later be repeated by Hanna-Barbera in the series The Jetsons in which George Jetson ends up being caught on a treadmill that ends up spinning out of control. He also (as does Fred in this series) cries out for his wife, by asking her to stop the mechanism with the line, "Jane! Stop this crazy thing!"

History

treadmill Originally, the series was to have been titled The Flagstones, and a brief demonstration film was created to sell the idea of a "modern stone age family" to sponsors and the network. When the series itself was commissioned, the title was changed, possibly to avoid confusion with the Flagstons, characters in the popular comic strip, Hi and Lois. After spending a brief period in development as The Gladstones, Hanna-Barbera settled upon The Flintstones. Aside from the animation and fantasy setting, the show's scripts and format are typical of a 1950s American situation comedy, with the usual family issues resolved with a laugh at the end of each episode. Although most Flintstones episodes are standalone storylines, the series was significant in being the first American animated series to feature story arcs. The most notable example was a series of episodes surrounding the birth of Pebbles. Beginning with the episode "The Surprise", aired midway through the third season, in which Wilma reveals her pregnancy to Fred, the arc continued through the trials and tribulations leading up to Pebbles' birth, and then continued with several episodes showing Fred and Wilma adjusting to the world of parenthood. A postscript to the arc occurred in the third episode of the fourth season, in which the Rubbles, depressed over being unable to have children of their own (making The Flintstones the first animated series in history to address the issue of infertility, though subtly), adopt Bamm-Bamm. Another story arc, occurring in the final season, centered on Fred and Barney's dealings with The Great Gazoo. The series was initially aimed at adult audiences as the first season was sponsored by the cigarette company Winston and the characters appeared in several commercials for Winstons. The famous theme song "Meet the Flintstones" was not actually introduced until the third season (1962–1963), although early versions of the melody can be heard as background music in many episodes. The theme used for the first and second seasons, an instrumental called "Rise and Shine", was removed from all first and second season episodes in syndication from the 1960s through the early 1990s and replaced with the "Meet the Flintstones" opening, while a closing credits sequence taken from a later episode was substituted at the end. As a result, the closing credits for all first season episodes in syndication were incorrect for many years. New syndicated versions of the episodes in the 1990s restored the original first season credits and theme, albeit with cigarette and other advertising matter omitted. According to information provided on the DVD release of the second season, this decision was made because at the time syndicated programs were often aired out of their original broadcast order, and it was felt having the show jump between the different opening credits sequences would confuse audiences. Nonetheless, a number of later Flintstones episodes in syndication used an alternate version of the closing credits in which Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm are shown singing "Open Up Your Heart and Let the Sunshine In". The first season of the original series, with the original opening credits, as well as "Rise and Shine" restored but not the cigarette ads, was released on DVD in late 2003; season 2 was released in December 2004; season 3 in March 2005; and season 4 in November 2005. The remaining two seasons are expected to be released in 2006. Following the show's cancellation in 1966, a theatrical film based upon the series was released. The Man Called Flintstone was a musical spy caper that parodied James Bond and other secret agents. The movie was released on DVD in North America in March 2005. The show was revived in the 1970s with Pebbles and Bamm Bamm having grown into teenagers, and several different series and made-for-TV movies—including a series depicting Fred and Barney as police officers, another depicting the characters as children, and yet others featuring Fred and Barney encountering Marvel Comics superhero The Thing and comic strip character The Shmoo have appeared over the years. The original show also was adapted into two feature non-animated films, in 1994 and 2000. Only the advent of The Simpsons decades later brought cartoons back to American prime time network television with the kind of success The Flintstones enjoyed. And it was The Simpsons in 1997 that ultimately broke The Flintstones record as the longest-running prime time animated series. A number of episodes of The Simpsons made explicit or implicit references to The Flintstones - for example, in one episode of The Simpsons ("Marge vs. the Monorail") the starting sequence parodies the opening and theme song of The Flintstones, and in another episode ("Treehouse of Horror XII") Homer and Marge Simpson dress as Fred and Wilma Flintstone in the opening. In addition, the character Barney Gumble from The Simpsons is based on Barney Rubble. Another episode has Mr Burns greeting Homer, Marge & Maggie as Fred, Wilma & Pebbles. In Flintstones style, Homer says "Yabba Dabba Doo" when Mr Burns gives him a box of chocolates.

Music

The Simpsons The Flintstones was one of the more musical animated TV series, with many episodes featuring original, slightly rewritten, or actual popular recordings of the day, performed either by Fred, Barney, or a special guest star. One of the first song performances in the series was the old spiritual "When the Saints Go Marching In" performed by Fred in the first season episode "Hot Lip Hannigan" in a vocal style strongly reminiscent of jazz crooner Mel Torme. A later episode, in which Fred takes on the persona of teen idol "Hye Fye" sees him performing "Listen to the Rockin' Bird" - a rewrite of the standard "Listen to the Mockingbird". Again, Fred's voice sounds so much like Torme's that is speculated the singer provided the voice (this has never been confirmed and the singer is not credited in any event). As the series progressed, Fred was alternately depicted as being talented singer and being tone deaf, depending on the demands of the episode. Alan Reed himself sang several tunes, including "Christmas is My Favorite Time of Year" and "Dino the Dinosaur" in the series' often-replayed Christmas episode. Mel Blanc performed a few vocals, including a version of "Old Folks at Home", while Jean Van Der Pyl and Bea Benadaret sang two versions of "The Car Hop Song," one performing as a pair of young girls auditioning for a job with Fred and Barney's new hamburger stand, and a second version in character as Wilma and Betty. Many of the original songs in the series were composed by Hoyt Curtin. Many musical moments were provided by celebrity voice artists who lent both their vocal talents and their likenesses to characters. Hoagy Carmichael was the one of the first, introducing the original song "Yabba Dabba Doo!" in the second season premiere episode, "The Hit Songwriters" (in the same episode, Fred - on one of his tone deaf days - mangles Carmichael's "Stardust"). Ann-Margret, appearing in a fourth season episode, performed "I Ain't Goin' to Be Your Fool No More" and the ballad "The Littlest Lamb". James Darren, appearing as "Jimmy Darrock" performed "The Surfin' Craze", while The Beau Brummels performed "Laugh Laugh" which was a real-life hit for the group. One of the most fondly remembered songs of the series was "The Bedrock Twitch", performed by staff voice actor Daws Butler and later performed in one of the first live-action Flintstones film by The B-52s. Two other songs became standards on their own and are not always identified as originating with the Flintstones -- the seemingly endless singalong "Happy Anniversary" which is often performed at anniversary parties and the spiritual "Open Up Your Heart and Let the Sunshine In", the latter song being adopted as the series closing theme during the final season. During 1961, the cast members recorded an album of songs, in character, aimed at children. One of these songs, "Meet the Flintstones", was later adopted as the series' theme song beginning with the third season. In 1996, Rhino Records released The Flintstones: Modern Stone Age Melodies, an album containing a number of musical selections taken from the series was released.[http://www.filmmusic.com/soundtracks/database/?id=864] Missing from the collection are the two Ann-Margret songs, which have been released on the Bear Family Records label of Germany. The Simpsons carries on the tradition of incorporating music into its storylines.

Cultural References

The series spawned three breakfast cereals: the popular Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles, and the discontinued Dino Pebbles. Commercials for these cereals featured a gimmick in the form of Barney (who seems much smarter in the commercials than in the show itself) tricking Fred out of his cereal, usually by way of disguising himself as something completely different. Eventually, Fred catches on and gives chase after Barney as the ad ends. Early ads used the closing tagline, "Yabba-dabba-delicious!", but the phrase was removed during the 1990s. An enduring license has been a line of children's multivitamins called "Flintstones Complete" (more popularly known as Flintstones Vitamins); the first seasons of the series were, in part, sponsored by One-a-Day Vitamins. There has been a "Did You Know?" quiz circulating on the Internet for a number of years that asks which of the four main characters is not in Flintstone Vitamins. The answer, at one time, was Betty Rubble. However, since 1996, Betty has been in the bottle also. The Flintstones' car was removed to make room for Betty. The England cricketer Andrew Flintoff is nicknamed "Freddie" after Fred Flintstone, on account of both his similar surname and his "larger-than-life" character.

Trivia

While The Flintstones is generally considered the first cartoon to air in prime time, it was preceded by The Gerald McBoing-Boing Show, a cartoon based on an Academy Award-winning animated short. This half-hour show ran for a few months on Friday nights on CBS in 1958. However, it was a repeat of cartoons that had aired on Sunday afternoons in 1956. The Flintstones remains the first cartoon to have original programming aired in prime time.

Cast


- Fred Flintstone - Alan Reed (after Reed's death in 1977, the character was voiced by Henry Corden, who had provided Fred's singing voice at various times before then)
- Wilma Flintstone and (as of season 3) Pebbles Flintstone - Jean Vanderpyl
- Barney Rubble, Dino, and all the working animals - Mel Blanc, Daws Butler (five episodes of second season).
- Betty Rubble - originally Bea Benaderet, voiced by Gerry Johnson beginning in season 5
- Bamm Bamm Rubble (as of season 4) - Don Messick
- Mr. Slate - John Stephenson
- The Great Gazoo, and many other characters - Harvey Korman

Flintstones series and spin-offs

Television series


- The Flintstones (1960–1966)
- The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show (1971–1972): features Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm as teens
- The Flintstone Comedy Hour (1972–1973): new episodes of Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm combined with new Fred and Barney segments, songs-of-the-week, and wraparounds. Rerun during the 1973–1974 second season as The Flintstones Show.
- The New Fred and Barney Show (1979): Saturday morning revival of the original Flintstones format. Reruns of its episodes are featured in the package programs Fred and Barney Meet the Thing and Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo.
- The Flintstones Comedy Show (1980–1982): 90-minute Saturday morning series featuring the following segments:
  - "Flintstone Family Adventures": a segment similar to the original series.
  - "Bedrock Cops": Fred, Barney, and the Shmoo as police officers.
  - "Pebbles, Dino, and Bamm-Bamm": The two young teenagers and Dino solving mysteries ala Scooby-Doo
  - "Captain Caveman": a Superman parody segment featuring Captain Caveman, from Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, as the flying superhero and Wilma and Betty as the helpless reporters in distress (à la Lois Lane).
  - "Dino and Cavemouse": A chase-formula segment similar to Tom and Jerry.
  - "The Frankenstones": featuring the situation comedy of the Flintstones' Munsters-like neighbors (similar to The Gruesomes from the original series).
- The Flintstone Kids (1986–1988): one of numerous Saturday morning series to feature child versions of famous classic cartoon stars; this one features the cast of the original series as ten-year-olds, with "Captain Caveman...and Son!" as a backup segment.
- Cave Kids (1996): a preschool series featuring Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm as toddlers

Theatrical animated feature


- The Man Called Flintstone (1966, released by Columbia Pictures): designed as a send-off for the original series; features Fred taking the place of a lookalike who happens to be a James Bond-type spy.

Television specials and telefilms


- A Flintstone Christmas (1977)
- The New Fred and Barney Show (1979)
- The Flintstones: Little Big League (1979): features Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm as pre-teens
- The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone (1979)
- The Flintstones' New Neighbors (1980): Introduces the Frankenstones
- Wind-Up Wilma (1981)
- Flintstones: Jogging Fever (1981)
- The Flintstones: Fred's Final Fling (1981)
- The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones (1987)
- I Yabba-Dabba Do! (1993): Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm marry
- Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby (1993): Pebbles gives birth to twins, making Fred and Wilma grandparents
- A Flintstone Family Christmas (1993): Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm with their children at Christmas
- A Flintstones Christmas Carol (1994): a retelling of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol that features Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm as toddlers.
- The Flintstones On The Rocks (2001): Fred and Wilma face separation, but a jewel thief spoils things.

Home video releases

VHS

Most of these titles are out of print. Original broadcast or release dates and episode titles (where applicable) are listed in parentheses.

Original series


- The Flintstone Flyer (1960)
- The First Episodes (1960) (Flintstone Flyer, Hot Lips Hannigan, The Swimming Pool, No Help Wanted)
- The Best Of The Flintstones (Split Personality, Dress Rehearsal, Anne Margrock Presents, Stony Finger Caper)
- The Flintstones: How the Flintstones Saved Christmas (1964)
- The Flintstones: A Haunted House Is Not a Home (1964)
- The Flintstones: Stone-Age Adventures (Flintstone Flyer, Split Personality, The Twitch, Anne Margrock Presents, Ladies' Night At The Lodge)
- The Flintstones: Love Letters on the Rocks (1960)
- The Flintstones Meet Samantha (1965)
- The Flintstones: Pebbles, Babe in Bedrock (Dress Rehearsal, Most Beautiful Baby In Bedrock)
- The Flintstones: Bedrock 'n' Roll (The Girls' Night Out, The Twitch)
- The Flintstones: Hooray for Hollyrock (Hollyrock Here I Come, Anne Margrock Presents)
- Jealousy (1966)
- Dripper (1966)
- Rocky's Raiders (1966)
- The Flintstones: Page Right Out of History (Dress Rehearsal (1963), "Wacky Inventions" compilation)
- My Fair Freddie (1966)
- No Biz Like Show Biz (1965)
- The Flintstones: Fearless Fred Strikes Again (Buffalo Convention, Mother-In-Law's Visit)
- The Flintstones: Hop Happy (1964)
- The Flintstones: Ten Little Flintstones (1964)
- The Flintstones: Dino's Two Tales (Dino Disappears, Dino Goes Hollyrock)
- The Flintstones: Dino & Juliet (1964)
- The Flintstones: Wacky Inventions
- The Flintstones Meet The Great Gazoo (1965)
- The Flintstones: Gravelberry Pie King (1966)
- The Flintstones: Fred's Island (1966)
- The Flintstones: Surfin Fred (1965)
- Flintstones Adventures (The Girls' Night Out, Rock Vegas Story, Dino Disappears, Rip van Flintstone)

Spin-offs


- The New Fred and Barney Show (1970s)
- The Flintstones Comedy Show, Vol. 1 (1978)
- A Flintstones Christmas Carol (1994)
- The Flintstones: I Yabba Dabba Do (1993)
- The Flintstones: Flintstone Files (1979)
- The Flintstones Meet Rockula & Frankenstone (1979)
- Flintstones' Little Big League (1979)
- The Flintstones Comedy Show, Vol. 2 (1979)
- The Flintstones: Fred & Barney Get In Shape/Fred, the Junk Collector
- The Flintstones Comedy Show, Vol. 3 (1980)
- The Flintstones Comedy Show, Vol. 4 (1980)
- Best of the Flintstone Kids
- Christmas In Bedrock (1996)

Animated films


- The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones (1987)
- The Man Called Flintstone (1966)

Live action films


- The Flintstones (1994)
- Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000)

DVD

All titles and information listed below are based on Region 1 DVD releases. Original release or broadcast dates are listed in parentheses.
- The Flintstones (1994 live-action movie): Released March 1999
- The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000)
- The Flintstones: The Premiere: The Flintstone Flyer (1960): Released September 2003
- The Flintstones: The Complete First Season (1960): Released March 2004
- The Flintstones: The Complete Second Season (1961): Released December 2004
- The Flintstones: The Complete Third Season (1962): Released March 2005
  - Note: All episodes are in their original length except for "The Big Move," which is the syndicated version.
- The Flintstones: The Complete Fourth Season (1963): Released November 2005
- The Flintstones: The Complete Fifth Season (1964): Scheduled for release March 7, 2006
- The Man Called Flintstone (1966): Released in Canada April 2005 (US release canceled/postponed due to Columbia Pictures claiming ownership of the film) DVD release date for the sixth season has yet to be announced, but is expected to arrive in 2006.

See also


- Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles
- The Flintstones live-action movies
- The Jetsons
- List of The Flintstones episodes
- Bedrock (The Flintstones)
- Flintstones chewable vitamins

The Flintstones in other languages


- Chinese: 聰明笨伯 (Literally: The intelligent fool) or 摩登原始人 (Literally: The modern prehistoric man)
- Japanese: 原始家族 Genshi Kazoku (Primitive family) or 恐妻天国 Kyousai Tengoku (Wife-fearing Heaven)
- Croatian: Obitelj Kremenko
- Finnish: Kiviset ja Soraset (the names of the Flintstones and the Rubbles)
- French: Les Pierreafeu (from pierre à feu, literally "stone for fire", i.e. flint)
- German: Familie Feuerstein
- Hebrew: משפחת קדמוני Mishpakhat Kadmoni (lit. Prehistoric Family, from adam kadmon, meaning "prehistoric human")
- Hungarian: Frédi és Béni, a két kőkorszaki szaki (lit. "Fred and Ben, the Two Stone-Age Chums")
- Latvian: Flinstoni
- Polish: Flintstonowie
- Portuguese: Os Flinstones
- Russian: Флинстоуны (Fl'instouny)
- Serbian: Породица Кременко
- Spanish: Los Picapiedra ("The Stone Chippers")
- Swedish: Familjen Flinta
- Turkish: Çakmaktaşlar

External links


- [http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/F/htmlF/flintstones/flintstones.htm Museum of Broadcast Communications' entry on the Flintstones]
- [http://www.topthat.net/webrock/index.htm Webrock: The Flintstones and Hanna-Barbera Page]
- http://www.stonetrek.com
- Flintstones, The Flintstones, The Flintstones, The

Hanna-Barbera

Cartoon Network Studios, formerly known as Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc., is an animated cartoon studio that has produced television animation for over forty years. The company was founded in 1944 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animation directors William Hanna and Joseph Barbera as H-B Enterprises, through which the pair used to moonlight for television commercial production. After MGM shut down its animation studio in 1957, H-B Enterprises became Hanna and Barbera's full-time job, and the pair went immediately into the production of television cartoons such as The Ruff & Reddy Show and The Huckleberry Hound Show. By 1960, re-incorporated as Hanna-Barbera Productions, had become a leader in television animation production. While regularly criticized for its use of limited animation techniques, Hanna-Barbera Productions produced prime-time, weekday afternoon, and Saturday morning cartoons for all three major networks, and for syndication as well, along with a sporadic amount of feature film projects. Over a two-decade span of success, Hanna-Barbera introduced many successful cartoon series, including The Flintstones, The Jetsons, The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Yogi Bear Show, Jonny Quest, and Scooby-Doo, all of which would go on to become icons of American pop culture. From approximately 1970 to 1983, Hanna-Barbera Productions was the most successful television animation studio in the world, almost exclusively dedicated to producing Saturday morning cartoons. The company's fortunes declined some after weekday afternoon syndication became the most successful venue for television animation. In 1991 the company was purchased by Turner Entertainment, primarily so that Turner could use its 300-plus cartoon series library as the basis of the Cartoon Network cable television channel's programming. Re-christened H-B Production Company in 1992, and Hanna-Barbera Cartoons in 1993, the studio continued without active regular input from William Hanna or Joseph Barbera, who went into semi-retirement but continued to serve as figureheads for the studio. Turner turned Hanna-Barbera towards primarily producing new material for the Cartoon Network. With Hanna's death in 2001, the studio was renamed Cartoon Network Studios, and continues to operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Time-Warner.

Founding

Hanna and Barbera were first teamed together while working at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animation studio in 1939. Their first directorial project was a cartoon entitled Puss Gets the Boot (1940), which served as the genesis of the popular Tom and Jerry cartoon series. Hanna, Barbera, and MGM live-action director George Sidney formed Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1944 while working for the studio, and used the side company to work on ancillary projects, including early television commercials and the original opening titles to I Love Lucy. After an award-winning stint in which they won eight Oscars, MGM closed their animation studio in 1957, as it felt it had acquired a reasonable backlog of shorts for re-release. Hanna and Barbera hired most of their MGM unit to work for H-B Enterprises (later renamed Hanna-Barbera Productions), which became a full-fledged production company starting in 1957. The decision was made to specialize in television animation, and the studio's first series was The Ruff & Reddy Show, which premiered on NBC in December 1957. In order to obtain working capital to produce their cartoons, Hanna-Barbera made a deal with the Screen Gems television division of Columbia Pictures in which the new animation studio received working capital in exchange for distribution rights. The company never had a building of its own until 1963, when the Hanna-Barbera Studio, located at 3400 Cahuenga Blvd. in West Hollywood, California, was opened. The Columbia/Hanna-Barbera partnership lasted until 1967, when Hanna and Barbera sold the studio to Taft Broadcasting while retaining their positions at the studio.

Television cartoons

Taft Broadcasting Hanna-Barbera was the first animation studio to successfully produce animated cartoons especially for television; until then, cartoons on television consisted primarily of rebroadcasts of theatrical cartoons. Other Hanna-Barbera works included a theatrical cartoon series, Loopy De Loop, for Columbia Pictures from 1959 to 1965; and the opening credits to the ABC/Screen Gems television show Bewitched. Later, H-B would use the Bewitched characters as guest stars on The Flintstones. Many of Hanna-Barbera's original TV series were produced for prime-time broadcast, and they continued to produce prime-time TV cartoons up until the early 1970s. Such shows as The Huckleberry Hound Show (and its spin-off, The Yogi Bear Show), Quick Draw McGraw, Top Cat, Jonny Quest, The Jetsons, and especially The Flintstones were originally broadcast during prime-time hours, competing with live-action comedies, dramas, and quiz shows. The Flintstones in particular became a top-rated show. "The Blessed Event", the February 22, 1963 episode which depicted the birth of Pebbles Flintstone, was the highest-rated episode in the show's history, mirroring the I Love Lucy birth episode. But the Hanna-Barbera studio especially captured the market for animated TV shows produced for syndication and Saturday mornings, grabbing the majority of TV cartoon production and holding it for over thirty years. During the 1970s in particular, most American TV cartoons were produced by Hanna-Barbera, with the only competition coming from Filmation and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, plus occasional prime-time animated "specials" from Rankin-Bass, Chuck Jones, and Bill Melendez's Peanuts (Charlie Brown).

Quality controversy

Charlie Brown The Hanna-Barbera studio has been accused of contributing to the decrease in quality of animation and TV cartoons from the 1960s through the 1980s. This relates to their being one of the first studios to do animated cartoons for television and dealing with constrained budgets. The perception of cartoons as a "kid's medium" made them a low priority for television executives. For example, one 22-minute (30 minutes with commercials) episode of Josie and the Pussycats in 1970 had the same budget--$45,000--as one 8-minute Tom and Jerry short from the late-1940s. Such budgetary constraints demanded a change in production values. Hanna-Barbera introduced limited animation, popularized in theatrical animation by UPA, on the television series The Ruff & Reddy Show as a way of reducing costs. This led to a reduction in animation quality. The studio's solution to the resulting criticism was to go into features, producing both higher-quality versions of their TV cartoons (Hey There, It's Yogi Bear! in 1964, The Man Called Flintstone in 1966, and Jetsons: The Movie in 1990) and adaptations of other material (Charlotte's Web in 1973 and Heidi's Song in 1982). The field of animation reached its low point in the mid-1970s, even as the audience for Saturday morning cartoons was at its peak. The strong focus on scripting and dialogue that had carried the earlier cartoons was more or less gone by 1973, as the studio's output had increased to the point that story quality had to take a backseat to production output. By this time, most Hanna-Barbera shows had degenerated into variations on but a few themes, with each successful formula (The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, SuperFriends) milked dry through repetition. Various animation short-cuts became unfortunate Hanna-Barbera trademarks, such as plots being advanced by characters seen only as "talking heads," and crashes and disasters happening just off the frame, heard but not seen. The soundtracks rather than the visuals carried the majority of the plot and humor of the cartoons. This era of H-B animation is frequently skewered by Adult Swim (most notably Space Ghost: Coast to Coast) and in many of Robert Smigel's "TV Funhouse" segments on Saturday Night Live.

The slow rise and fall and the Turner rebound

Saturday Night LiveThe state of the field of animation changed during the 1980s, thanks to competitors' syndicated cartoon series based upon popular toys and action figures, including Filmation's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Rankin-Bass' Thundercats. The Hanna-Barbera studio fell behind, as a new wave of animators and production studios introduced variety into the market for TV cartoons in the 1980s and 1990s. Throughout the '80s, Hanna-Barbera churned out shows based on familiar licensed properties like The Smurfs, The Snorks, Pac-Man, The Dukes of Hazzard, Shirt Tales, Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Mork and Mindy, and Challenge of the GoBots, and also produced several ABC Weekend Specials. Some of their shows were produced at their Australian-based studio (a partnership with Australian media company Southern Star Entertainment), including Drak Pack, Wildfire, The Berenstain Bears, Teen Wolf, and CBS Storybreak. H-B also aligned themselves with Ruby-Spears Productions, which was founded in 1977 by former H-B employees Joe Ruby and Ken Spears. H-B's then-parent Taft Broadcasting purchased Ruby-Spears from Filmways in 1981, and Ruby-Spears often paired their productions with Hanna-Barbera shows. H-B also had a habit of making "kid" versions of popular characters in the 1980s, including The Pink Panther and Sons, The Flintstone Kids, Popeye and Son, and A Pup Named Scooby-Doo. In 1985, Hanna-Barbera launched The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera, a weekend-only program that introduced new versions of old favorites like Yogi Bear, Jonny Quest, The Snorks, and Richie Rich alongside brand new shows like Galtar and the Golden Lance, Paw Paws, Fantastic Max, and Midnight Patrol. The following year, H-B produced Yogi's Great Escape, the first entry in its Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10, a series of 10 original telefilms based on their popular stable of characters, including the popular crossover The Jetsons Meet The Flintstones. Throughout all of this, both Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears were subject to the financial troubles of parent company Taft Broadcasting, and had gradually moved away from producing everything in-house, deciding instead to outsource some of the production to studios in Taiwan, the Philippines, and Japan. Hanna-Barbera in particular was also held down by the demands of TV networks, mainly ABC, who insisted on rehashing Scooby-Doo many times over; this stifled creativity, leading many of the better writers and creative people to leave in 1989. They responded to a call from Warner Bros. to resurrect their animation department, ultimately developing Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs. In 1990, the bottom fell out: Taft Broadcasting (which had since changed its name to Great American Broadcasting in 1988) went bankrupt, and both Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears were put up for sale. In 1991, Hanna-Barbera and much of the original Ruby-Spears library were acquired by Turner Broadcasting. Filling the gap left by the departure of most of their creative crew during the Great American years was a new crop of animators, writers, and producers, including Pat Ventura, David Kirschner, Donovan Cook, Craig McCracken, Genndy Tartakovsky, Seth MacFarlane, David Feiss, Van Partible, and Butch Hartman. The new group was led by former Hanna-Barbera Australia head Buzz Potamkin. In 1992, the studio was renamed as H-B Productions Company, changing its name once again to Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. a year later. In the early 1990s, Hanna-Barbera created cartoon series like Tom and Jerry Kids (and its spin-off, Droopy: Master Detective) and The New Adventures of Captain Planet (a sequel to the original DiC/TBS Productions series Captain Planet and the Planeteers), and the ill-fated Yo Yogi!. They also introduced shows that were quite different from their previous releases, including Wake, Rattle, and Roll, 2 Stupid Dogs, Swat Kats, and The Pirates of Dark Water. In the mid-'90s, Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Network (which introduced many Hanna-Barbera shows to a new audience) launched the World Premiere Toons (later renamed What A Cartoon then Cartoon Cartoons) project, which introduced a brand new stable of characters and, in a way, changed Hanna-Barbera forever.

The Cartoon Network Studios era

After the merger between Turner Broadcasting and Time Warner in 1995, the conglomerate had two separate animation studios in its possession. Though corporately they were combined, Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros. Animation operated separately, a practice which they continue to do to this day. While WB Animation focused their programming on the-then new network, The WB, Hanna-Barbera began to solely focus on the Cartoon Network. Cartoon Network became the exclusive home of all new Hanna-Barbera productions. One of the first original series to air on Cartoon Network was Genndy Tartakovsky's Dexter's Laboratory, one of the first spinoffs from the What-A-Cartoon! (a/k/a World Premiere Toons and Cartoon Cartoons) project. Others followed like Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, and The Powerpuff Girls, the last series to use H-B's famous swirling star logo (which was first used in 1979). H-B also produced several new direct-to-video movies featuring Scooby-Doo (released by Warner Bros.) as well as creating a new Jonny Quest series, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest. Around 1998, the Hanna-Barbera name began to disappear from the newer shows from the studio in favor of the Cartoon Network Studios name (although the H-B logo was still shown together with the Cartoon Network logo at the end of shows until 2001). This came in handy with shows that were produced outside of Hanna-Barbera, but that Cartoon Network had a hand in producing, like aka Cartoons' Ed, Edd, and Eddy, Kino Film's Mike, Lu and Og, Curious Pictures' Sheep in the Big City, Codename: Kids Next Door, and Noodlesoup/Astrobase Go's The Venture Bros. (made for Adult Swim), as well as the shows the studio continues to produce, like The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Evil Con Carne, Samurai Jack, Megas XLR, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi (co-produced with Renegade Animation), and Camp Lazlo. When William Hanna died in 2001, an era was over. Though the Hanna-Barbera name remains for "classic" productions based on properties like the Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, and others, the studio bearing its name is now Cartoon Network Studios, which continues the traditions made from its founding fathers while creating new paths of their own. The name "Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc." is still its official name, used in official documents and copyright notices. In 2002, a brand new series about Scooby-Doo and the gang entitled What's New, Scooby-Doo? was released. Despite being produced at Warner Bros. Television Animation (not Cartoon Network Studios), the copyright message at the end of each episode states the author as "Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc." This is the only recent series in which Hanna-Barbera's name is mentioned as the author (as Cartoon Network's series are copyrighted by the channel itself).

Notable Hanna-Barbera/Cartoon Network Studios productions

For a complete list of Hanna-Barbera/Cartoon Network Studios productions, see List of works produced by Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Network Studios.

Closing logo history

See also


- Tom and Jerry
- Hollywood Animation: The TV Era

External links


- [http://www.wingnuttoons.com/Hanna_Barbera.html Hanna-Barbera according to Wingnut]
- [http://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/Hanna-Barbera_Studios/ Big Cartoon DataBase: Hanna-Barbera Studios]
- [http://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/Other_Studios/C/Cartoon_Network_Studios/index.html Big Cartoon DataBase: Cartoon Network Studios]
- [http://members.aol.com/vanman2677/hbfun.html Hanna-Barbera Fan Site]
- [http://www.cartoonnetwork.com.au/asp/scrapbook/studiotour.asp Hanna-Barbera studio tour] Category:Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Network Studios Category:Cartoon Network Category:Animation studios Category:Hollywood movie studios Category:Time Warner subsidiaries

Animated series

An animated television series or cartoon television series is a television series produced by means of animation. A note on usage: The duration of an individual episode varies from series to series. While some series may be produced as complete half hour programs, many cartoons are produced as short subjects of 15 minutes or less. These cartoons are grouped and mixed together according to network programming demands. Thus a particular animated series may appear in a number of formats, often anonymously, e.g. The Cartoon Hour. Below is a sample list of animated series (the list omits most animated series from Japan, also known as anime, which number in the thousands[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?list=9]):

1940s


- Crusader Rabbit (1949-1957)

1950s


- Captain Pugwash (1957-1966)
- Felix the Cat (new TV episodes) (1958-1960)
- Tom Terrific (1957-1959)
- The Space Explorers (1958-1960)
- Huckleberry Hound (1958-1962)
- Yogi Bear (1958-1988)
- Clutch Cargo (1959)

1960s


- The Alvin Show (1961-1962)
- The Archie Show (1968-1978)
- Batfink
- Beany and Cecil (1961-1970)
- The Beatles (1961-1970)
- Birdman (1967-1969)
- Casper and Friends
- The Flintstones (1960-1966)
- The Herculoids (1967-1969)
- The Jetsons (1962-1963, 1984-1985, 1987)
- Jonny Quest (1964-1965)
- Mary Mungo & Midge (1969)
- The Mighty Hercules (1964-1966)
- The Mighty Mightor (1967-1969)
- Peter Potamus (1964-1965)
- Rocket Robin Hood (1966-1969)
- Rocky & Bullwinkle (1961-1973)
- Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! (1969-1972; renewed under various other names through 1986)
- Shazzan (1967-1969)
- Space Ghost (1966-1968)
- Speed Racer (1967-1968)
- Spider-Man (1967-1970)
- Top Cat (1961-1962)
- Young Samson and Goliath (1967-1968)
- Underdog (1964-1973)

1970s

1970s
- Bagpuss (1974)
- Battle of the Planets (1978)
- Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972-1984)
- Hanna-Barbera's Cartoon Corral
- Hong Kong Phooey (1974-1975)
- I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali (1977)
- Il était une fois l'homme (Once Upon a Time...Man)
- Jabberjaw (1976-1978)
- The Jackson 5ive (1971 - 1973)
- Josie and the Pussycats (1970-1972)
- The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show (1971-1972)
- Princess Knight
- Roobarb (1974)
- Scooby's All-Star Laff-a-Lympics (1977-1979)
- Schoolhouse Rock (1973)
- Speed Buggy (1973-1983)
- Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1974)
- SuperFriends (1973-1985)
- The Tom & Jerry/Grape Ape/Mumbly Show (1975-1977)
- Wait Till Your Father Gets Home (1972-1974)

1980s


- Alvin and the Chipmunks (1983-1991)
- Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin (1987-1988)
- Around the World with Willy Fogg
- Bananaman (1983-1986)
- Beetlejuice (1989-1991)
- The Berenstain Bears (1985)
- Bertha (1986-1987)
- Beverly Hills Teens (1987)
- Bionic Six
- BraveStarr
- The Centurions (1985-1987)
- The Charlie Brown & Snoopy Show (1983-1985)
- Care Bears (1985-1990)
- Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (1989-1990)
- C.O.P.S. (1988-1989)
- Count Duckula (1988-1993)
- Dangermouse (1981-1992)
- Dennis the Menace (US)
- Denver, the Last Dinosaur (1988-1989)
- Drak Pack (1980)
- Star Wars: Droids (1985-1986)
- DuckTales (1987-1990)
- Dungeons & Dragons (1983-1986)
- Star Wars: Ewoks (1985-1987)
- Galaxy High School
- Galaxy Rangers
- Garfield and Friends (1988-1994)
- G.I. Joe (1985-1986)
- Adventures of the Gummi Bears (1985-1990)
- He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983-1985)
- Henry's Cat (1982-6)
- Il était une fois... l'espace (Once Upon a Time...Space)(1982)
- Il était une fois... la vie (Once Upon a Time...Life)(1986)
- Inhumanoids
- Inspector Gadget (1983-1986)
- Jem (1985-1988)
- The Jetsons (new episodes from 1984-1985 and 1987)
- The Littles (1983-1986)
- M.A.S.K. (1985)
- Monchhichis (1983)
- Muppet Babies (1984-1991)
- Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures
- The Mysterious Cities of Gold (Les Mystérieuses Cités d'Or) (1982)
- My Little Pony Tales
- The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1988-1991)
- The New Archies (1987-1989)
- Kidd Video (1984-1987)
- Pingu (1986)
- Pac-Man (1982-1984)
- A Pup Named Scooby-Doo (1988-1991)
- The Raccoons (1985-1991)
- Rainbow Brite (1984-1985)
- Real Ghostbusters (1986-1992)
- Richie Rich (Hanna-Barbera version) (1980 - 1984)
- Robostory (1985)
- Rude Dog and the Dweebs
- Sharky and George
- She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985-1986)
- Shirt Tales (1982-1984)
- Silverhawks (1986)
- The Simpsons (1989-present)
- The Smurfs (1981-1990)
- The Snorks (1984-1988)
- Spiral zone (1987)
- Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea (Les Mondes engloutis) (1985)
- SuperTed (1983-1986)
- Super Dave (1987)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987-1996)
- Thundarr the Barbarian (1980-1982)
- Thundercats (1985-1987)
- The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show (1980-1982)
- Transformers (1984-1987)
- Ulysses 31 (1981)
- Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light (1987)
- Voltron
- The Wuzzles (1985)

1990s


- 101 Dalmatians: The Series (1997-1999)
- 2 Stupid Dogs (1993-1995)
- AAAHH!!! Real Monsters (1994-1998)
- Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (1993)
- The Adventures of Tintin (1990)
- Æon Flux (1991-1995)
- Aladdin: The Series (1994 - 1997)
- Animaniacs (1993-1996)
- Archie's Weird Mysteries (1999-2000)
- Arthur (1996-present)
- Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995)
- Beavis and Butt-head (1993-1997)
- Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot (1999-2001)
- Blazing Dragons (1996-1998)
- Bobby's World (1990-1998)
- Bonkers (1993-1995)
- Bump in the Night (1994-1995)
- Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990-1991)
- Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys
- Captain Star
- CatDog (1998-2001)
- Celebrity Deathmatch (1998-2002)
- Courage the Cowardly Dog (1999-2002)
- Cow and Chicken (1997-1999)
- Cowboy Bebop (1998-present)
- The Critic (1994-1995)
- Cybersix (1999-2000)
- Daria (1997-2002)
- Darkwing Duck (1991-1994)
- Dennis the Menace (UK) (1996-1998)
- Detention
- Dexter's Laboratory (1996-1999)
- Digimon (1999-2003)
- Dilbert (1999-2000)
- Doug (1991-1999)
- Duckman (1994-1997)
- Dragon Ball (1995-2003)
- Dragon Ball Z (1996-2005)
- Earthworm Jim (1995-1996)
- Ed, Edd n Eddy (1999-present)
- Eek! the Cat (1992-1997)
- Exosquad (1993-1994)
- Family Guy (1999-2002, 2005-present)
- Freakazoid (1995-1997)
- Futurama (1999-2003)
- Gadget Boy & Heather (1995)
- Garfield and Friends (1988-1994)
- Gargoyles (1994-1997)
- Goof Troop (1992-1993)
- Hello Kitty's Paradise (1993-1994)
- Hercules: The Animated Series (1998 - 2000)
- Hey Arnold! (1996-2004)
- Home Movies
- Johnny Bravo (1997-2004)
- Jungle Cubs (1996-1998)
- Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist (1995-2000)
- King of the Hill (1997-present)
- The Little Mermaid (1992-1995)
- The Magic School Bus (1994-1997)
- Marsupilami (1995)
- Mickey Mouse Works (1999 - 2001)
- The Mighty Ducks (1996-1997)
- Mike, Lu & Og (1999-2000)
- Monster Force (1994)
- Nightmare Ned (1997)
- No-Talent Ass Clowns
- Oh Yeah! Cartoons (anthology series)
- Pepper Ann (1997 - 2001)
- Pinky and the Brain
- The Pirates of Dark Water
- Pokémon (1998-present)
- The Powerpuff Girls (1998 - 2005)
- Quack Pack (1997 - 1998)
- Raw Toonage (1992)
- The Ren & Stimpy Show
- Recess (TV series) (1997 - 2003)
- Richie Rich (Film Roman version)
- Road Rovers (1996-1997)
- Rocko's Modern Life
- Rugrats (1991-2004)
- Sailor Moon (1995-2000)
- Sabrina, The Animated Series (1999-2000)
- Sam & Max: Freelance Police!!! (1997-1998)
- Santo Bugito
- South Park (1997-present)
- The Schnookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show (1994)
- Space Ghost: Coast to Coast
- Spider-Man: The Animated Series
- SpongeBob SquarePants (1999-present)
- Starship Troopers
- Stressed Eric (1998, 2000)
- Superman: The Animated Series
- SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron (1993-1994)
- The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries
- TaleSpin (1990-1995)
- Taz-Mania (1991-1993)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987-1996)
- The Simpsons
- The Three Friends and Jerry
- The Tick
- Timon and Pumbaa (1995-1999)
- Tiny Toon Adventures
- Wallace and Gromit
- The What-A-Cartoon! Show (anthology series)
- The Wheezer Bros.
- What-A-Mess! (1995)
- Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?
- Wild West Cowboys of Moo Mesa(1992-1994)
- Wish Kid (1991)
- The Wizard of Oz (1990)
- X-Men

2000s


- 6teen
- The Adventures Of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
- Alienators: Evolution Continues
- All Grown Up! (2003-present)
- American Dragon: Jake Long
- Aqua Teen Hunger Force (2000-present)
- As Told By Ginger
- Astro Boy
- Atomic Betty
- Avatar: The Last Airbender
- Baby Looney Tunes (2002-2005)
- The Batman
- Batman Beyond
- The Boondocks (2005-present)
- Beyblade
- Braceface
- Brandy & Mr. Whiskers (2004-present)
- The Brak Show
- Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000-2003)
- The Buzz on Maggie
- Camp Lazlo
- Carl2
- ChalkZone
- Clangers
- Clerks: The Animated Series
- Clone High
- Code Lyoko
- Codename: Kids Next Door
- Cyberchase
- Da Boom Crew
- Danny Phantom (2004-present)
- Dave the Barbarian (2004)
- Dexter's Laboratory (2001-2004)
- Dragon Ball GT (2003-2005)
- Dragon Booster
- Drawn Together
- Duck Dodgers
- Evil Con Carne
- The Fairly OddParents
- Father of the Pride
- Fillmore! (2002 - 2004)
- Flint the Time Detective
- Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
- Fullmetal Alchemist (2004-present)
- Gadget and the Gadgetinis
- Game Over
- Gary the Rat
- Get Ed
- The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy
- Hamtaro
- Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
- Howard Stern, The High School Years (in development)
- Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi
- House of Mouse (2001 - 2004)
- Invader Zim
- Jackie Chan Adventures
- Justice League
- Justice League Unlimited
- Kim Possible (2002-2005)
- Lloyd in Space (2001-2004)
- The Legend of Tarzan (2001-2003)
- The Life and Times of Juniper Lee
- Lilo & Stitch: The Series (2003-2005)
- Martin Mystery
- Medabots
- Megas XLR
- Monkey Dust
- ¡Mucha Lucha!
- My Dad the Rock Star
- My Life as a Teenage Robot
- Naruto
- One Piece
- Ozzy & Drix
- Pokémon (1998-present)
- The Powerpuff Girls (1998-2005)
- The Proud Family (2001-2005)
- Ren & Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon
- Rocket Power
- Roobarb and Custard Too (2005)
- Sabrina's Secret Life (2003-2004)
- Samurai Jack (2001-2003)
- Sealab 2021
- Sheep in the Big City
- Silverwing
- South Park
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Static Shock
- Stripperella
- Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!
- Teacher's Pet (2000-2002)
- Teamo Supremo (2002-2004)
- Teen Titans
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003-)
- This Just In
- The Simpsons
- The Tofus
- Time Squad
- Totally Spies
- Transformers Armada
- Ultimate M.U.S.C.L.E.
- Un Posto al Sole Cartoon - UPASC
- The Venture Bros.
- The Weekenders (2000-2004)
- What About Mimi?
- What's New Scooby Doo? (2002-present)
- What's with Andy?
- Whatever Happened to Robot Jones?
- Winx Club
- W.I.T.C.H.
- X-Men: Evolution
- Xiaolin Showdown
- Yu-Gi-Oh
- Zeroman

See also


- Adult animation
- Animation in the United States in the television era
- Anime
- Cartoon Network
- Cartoon Network Studios (formerly Hanna-Barbera Productions)
- Children's television series
- Disney Channel
- Filmation
- Klasky-Csupo, Inc.
- Modern animation of the United States
- Nickelodeon
- Saturday morning cartoon
- Toon Disney
- Voice actor
- Walt Disney Television Animation

External links


- [http://www.toonopedia.com/ Don Markstein's Toonopedia] (Very large index page, suggest opening in new window)
- [http://www.bcdb.com/ The Big Cartoon Database]
- [http://www.tv.com/ TV.com]
- [http://80scartoons.net/toons/ 80sCartoons] Nostalgia for those who grew up in the 80ies in the West Category:Animation Animated series
-

Animation

Image:Animexample.gif
This animation moves at 10 frames per second.
Image:Animexample2.gif
This animation moves at 2 frames per second. At this rate, the individual frames should be discernible.
Animation is the illusion of motion created by the consecutive display of images of static elements. In film and video production, this refers to techniques by which each frame of a film or movie is produced individually. These frames may be generated by computers, or by photographing a drawn or painted image, or by repeatedly making small changes to a model unit (see claymation and stop motion), and then photographing the result with a special animation camera. When the frames are strung together and the resulting film is viewed, there is an illusion of continuous movement due to the phenomenon known as persistence of vision. Generating such a film tends to be very labour intensive and tedious, though the development of computer animation has greatly sped up the process. Graphics file formats like GIF, MNG, SVG and Flash allow animation to be viewed on a computer or over the Internet.

History

For a more in-depth look at the history of animation, please see the Wikipedia articles "Animated cartoon" and "History of Animation". The major use of animation has always been for entertainment. However, there is growing use of instructional animation and educational animation to support explanation and learning. The "classic" form of animation, the "animated cartoon", as developed in the early 1900s and refined by Walt Disney and others, requires up to 24 distinct drawings for one second of animation. This technique is described in detail in the article Traditional animation. Because animation is very time-consuming and often very expensive to produce, the majority of animation for TV and movies comes from professional animation studios. However, the field of independent animation has existed at least since the 1950s, with animation being produced by independent studios (and sometimes by a single person). Several independent animation producers have gone on to enter the professional animation industry. Limited animation is a way of increasing production and decreasing costs of animation by using "short cuts" in the animation process. This method was pioneered by UPA and popularized (some say exploited) by Hanna-Barbera, and adapted by other studios as cartoons moved from movie theaters to television. television

Famous names in animation

Famous names of the past

Famous names of the present day

Animation studios

Animation Studios, like Movie Studios may be production facilities, or financial entities. In some cases, especially in Anime they have things in common with artists studios where a Master or group of talented individuals oversee the work of lesser artists and crafts persons in realising their vision.

Animation studios of the past


- Bray Productions
- DePatie-Freleng Enterprises
- Filmation
- Fleischer Studios and Famous Studios
- Grantray-Lawrence Animation
- Hanna-Barbera Productions (now Cartoon Network Studios)
- Harman-Ising Productions
- Leon Schesinger Productions/Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. (a/k/a "Termite Terrace", now known as Warner Brothers Animation)
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Rankin-Bass
- Soyuzmultfilm
- United Productions of America (UPA)
- Van Beuren Studios
- Walter Lantz Studio
- PannóniaFilm Ltd. - http://www.mediaguide.hu/pannoniafilm/

Animation studios of the present era

Styles and techniques of animation


- Traditional animation
  - Character animation
  - Limited animation
  - Rotoscoping
- Computer animation
  - skeletal animation
  - Per-vertex animation
  - Cel-shaded animation
  - Onion skinning
  - Analog computer animation
  - Motion capture
- Stop-motion animation
  - Cutout animation
  - claymation
  - Pixilation
  - Pinscreen animation
  - Puppetoon
- Drawn on film animation
- Special effects animation

See also


- Animated series
- Anime (Japanese animation)
- List of movie genres

Further Readings


- Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, Disney animation: The Illusion Of Life, Abbeville 1981
- Walters Faber, Helen Walters, Algrant (Ed.), Animation Unlimited: Innovative Short Films Since 1940, HarperCollins Publishers 2004
- Trish Ledoux, Doug Ranney, Fred Patten (Ed.), Complete Anime Guide: Japanese Animation Film Directory and Resource Guide, Tiger Mountain Press 1997
- The Animator's Survival Kit, Richard Williams
- Animation Script to Screen, Shamus Culhane

External links


- [http://www.lollipopanimation.com Huge Cartoon Character Database]
- [http://www.3dnauta.com Anamorphosis 3D and others Animation - The roman walls of Lugo SF.]
- [http://www.awn.com/mag/issue3.2/3.2pages/3.2student.html Animating Under the Camera]
- [http://academic.evergreen.edu/curricular/eat/handouts/Pictures/CutSandPaintRules.pdf. Experimental Animation Techniques]
- [http://www.abc.net.au/arts/strange/workshop/style.htm Drawn Under-Camera Style Animation]
- [http://www.writer2001.com/animtech.htm Media & Techniques in Animation]
- [http://www.mattworld.2ya.com Matt World - Web-based animations from animator Matt Greenwood]
- [http://www.keyframeonline.com Keyframe - the Animation Resource]
- [http://www.nftsanimation.org The Animation Department of the National Film and Television School UK ]
- [http://www.animationnation.com Animation Nation - a forum for professional animators]
- [http://www.miyechi.com Anime Roleplaying]
- [http://www.public.iastate.edu/~rllew/chronint.html Chronology of Animation]
- [http://www.public.iastate.edu/~rllew/animelinks.html Animation links collection]
- [http://www.fh-wuerzburg.de/petzke/zagreb.html Zagreb Film]
- [http://www.safcakovec.com/ SAF], Čakovec school of animation
- [http://www.dmoz.org/Arts/Animation/ Animation Directory]
- [http://www.toonopedia.com Don Markenstein's Toonopedia]
- [http://www.bcdb.com/ Big Cartoon Database]
- [http://www.goldenagecartoons.com/ Golden Age of Cartoons]
- [http://www.saunalahti.fi/animato Hints and tips for the animation hobbyist]
- [http://www.acmeanimation.org ACME Animation]
- [http://www.awn.com Animation World Network]
- [http://www.animationarena.com/principles-of-animation.html 28 Principles of Animation]
- [http://www.animationmeat.com Animationmeat.com - Notes Model Sheets and Reference material by Professional Animators]
- [http://sjolander.homestead.com/SVENSHOGEXHIBITION2004.htm Ture Sjolander: The Artist that invented Computer Animation] Category:Film ko:애니메이션 ja:アニメーション th:แอนิเมชัน

United States

:For alternative meanings, see the disambiguation page for US, USA, United States, or American. The United States of America is a federal democratic republic situated primarily in central North America. It comprises 50 states and one federal district, and has several territories. It is also referred to, with varying formality, as the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., the States, or simply and most commonly, America. The official founding date of the United States is July 4, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress—representing thirteen British colonies—adopted the Declaration of Independence. However, the structure of the government was profoundly changed in 1788, when the states replaced the Articles of Confederation with the United States Constitution. The date on which each of the fifty states adopted the Constitution is typically regarded as the date that state "entered the Union" (became part of the United States). Since the mid-20th century, following World War II, the United States has emerged as a dominant global influence in economic, political, military, scientific, technological, and cultural affairs.

Geography and climate

The United States shares land borders with Canada (to the north) and Mexico (to the south), and territorial water boundaries with Canada, Russia, the Bahamas, and numerous smaller nations. It is otherwise bounded by the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea, in the west; the Arctic Ocean, in the northernmost areas; and the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea, in the eastern and southeastern areas. Forty-eight of the states are in the single region between Canada and Mexico; this group is referred to, with varying precision and formality, as the continental or contiguous United States, sometimes abbreviated CONUS, and as the Lower 48. Alaska, which is not included in the term contiguous United States, is at the northwestern end of North America, separated from the Lower 48 by Canada. The archipelago of Hawaii is in the Pacific Ocean. The capital city, Washington, District of Columbia is a federal district located on land donated by the state of Maryland. (Virginia also donated land, but it was returned in 1847.) The United States also has overseas territories with varying levels of independence and organization. When inland water is included in the total area, only Russia and Canada are larger than the United States; if inland water is excluded, China ranks third and the U.S. ranks fourth. The United States' total area is 3,718,711 square miles (9,631,418 km²), of which land makes up 3,537,438 square miles (9,161,923 km²) and water makes up 181,273 square miles (469,495 km²). The United States' landscape is one of the most varied among those of the world's nations: among its many features are temperate forestland and rolling hills, on the east coast; mangrove, in Florida; the Great Plains, in the center of the country; the Mississippi–Missouri river system; the Great Lakes, four of the five of which are shared with Canada; the Rocky Mountains, west of the Great Plains; deserts and temperate coastal zones, west of the Rocky Mountains; and temperate rain forests, in the Pacific northwest. Alaska's tundra, and the volcanic, tropical islands of Hawaii add to the geographic diversity. Hawaii The climate varies along with the landscape, from tropical in Hawaii and southern Florida to tundra in Alaska and atop some of the highest mountains. Most of the North and East experience a temperate continental climate, with warm summers and cold winters. Most of the South experiences a subtropical humid climate with mild winters and long, hot, humid summers. Rainfall decreases markedly from the humid forests of the Eastern Great Plains to the semi-arid shortgrass prairies on the high plains abutting the Rocky Mountains. Arid deserts, including the Mojave, extend through the lowlands and valleys of the southwest, from westernmost Texas to California and northward throughout much of Nevada. Some parts of California have a Mediterranean climate. Rainforests line the windward mountains of the Pacific Northwest from Oregon to Alaska.

History

American history started with the migration of people from Asia across the Bering land bridge approximately 12,000 years ago following large animals that they hunted into the Americas. These Native Americans left evidence of their presence in petroglyphs, burial mounds, and other artifacts. It is estimated that 2-9 million people lived in the territory now occupied by the U.S. before European contact, and the subsequent introduction of foreign diseases such as small pox that greatly d