# Hanna-Barbera cartoon formulas **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 18, 2004, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanna-barbera-cartoon-formulas/251091 "2004-06-18T18:27:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanna-barbera-cartoon-formulas/251091/1 "2004-06-18T18:27:57Z")
Inspired by **Chastain** ’s [Scooby-Doo thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=262292). 30 September 1960: The Flintstones, essentially a prehistoric “Honeymooners” 23 September 1962: The Jetsons, almost exactly “The Flintstones” around the 23rd Century. “Scooby Doo, Where Are You?” established a new formula in 1969, one which continued with “Josie and the Pussycats” and “Speed Buggy”: ```auto Scooby Doo Josie Speed Buggy Hunky driver Fred Alan Mark Ditzy girl Daphne Melody Debbie? Studious girl Velma Josie? Debbie? Spacy guy Shaggy Alexander Tinker Nonhuman friend Scooby Sebastian Speed Buggy ``` Any others? ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanna-barbera-cartoon-formulas/251091/2 "2004-06-18T18:38:47Z")
I think Jabberjaw also fell into the Scooby Doo formula–a bunch of stupid teenagers (including a goofy Shaggy-analogue) and a talking shark were in a band in a futuristic undersea society. Awful. But then again, I’m probably the biggest Hanna-Barbara hater you’ll find. ---
**Author:** ![paperbackwriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@paperbackwriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paperbackwriter)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanna-barbera-cartoon-formulas/251091/3 "2004-06-18T18:41:14Z")
You have Debbie in two achetypes in one show. Even more illogical, these are mutually-exclusive roles. I think you have to ditch her from the above analysis, since she really doesn’t match to either Velma or Daphne well. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanna-barbera-cartoon-formulas/251091/4 "2004-06-18T18:54:45Z")
There’s the Smurfs formula… they’re H-B, right? Community of tiny anthropomorphic but explicitly nonhuman creatures distinguished by exaggerated personality characteristics. Includes the Snorks as an adherent. And were the Monchichis H-B? Hmmm. Maybe not H-B, but defintiely a formula. And please don’t forget the Scoobyesque [Funky Phantom](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066656/). ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanna-barbera-cartoon-formulas/251091/5 "2004-06-18T19:00:08Z")
I read that some Hollywood director/producer earlier last century stated there were only two basic plots in every film that came his way: Cinderella and Goldilocks. He always chose Goldilocks, he always rejected Cinderella. Most dramatic entertainment is essentially formulaic. Especially comedy - just look at Shakespeare. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanna-barbera-cartoon-formulas/251091/6 "2004-06-18T19:02:12Z")
> [@paperbackwriter](#): > > You have Debbie in two achetypes in one show. Even more illogical, these are mutually-exclusive roles. I think you have to ditch her from the above analysis, since she really doesn’t match to either Velma or Daphne well. I don’t remember much about the show so I’ll have to take your word for it. Out she goes. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanna-barbera-cartoon-formulas/251091/7 "2004-06-18T19:07:59Z")
Heh, actually I’d go back further and list _Jonny Quest_ (1964) as the real prototype for _Scooby_ and the shows that followed. Hunky driver? Race Bannon. Ditzy character? Jonny, really. Studious character? Hadji. Spacy guy? Dr. Quest. 😃 Non-human friend? Bandit. And what about the plots? Team rushes around solving mysteries which more often than not involve ghosts or monsters. Yeah, I know the tone and aniomation styles were considerably different, but beneath the surface differences was the usual H-B cannibalism of its own ideas. Oh, yeah, and I’d include the original _Space Ghost_ as well. Same deal, IIRC; traveling team of four, non-human character for comic relief. Anyway, H-B has always been all about formula. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanna-barbera-cartoon-formulas/251091/8 "2004-06-18T19:10:37Z")
“Top Cat” (1961) owes a lot to “The Phil Silvers Show (Sgt. Bilko),” even to using one of the same actors. Then there’s the comic adventurer and sidekick model: Quick Draw McGraw --\> Baba Louie Richochet Rabbit --\> Droopalong Super Snoop (“Snooper”) --\> Blabbermouse (“Blabber”) The “three cartoons packaged as one” model: Peter Potumus Wally Gator Magilla Gorilla (all essentially interchangeable) Huckleberry Hound Yogi Bear ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanna-barbera-cartoon-formulas/251091/9 "2004-06-18T19:20:19Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Heh, actually I’d go back further and list **Jonny Quest** (1964) as the real prototype for **Scooby** and the shows that followed. > > Hunky driver? Race Bannon. > Ditzy character? Jonny, really. > Studious character? Hadji. > Spacy guy? Dr. Quest. 😃 > Non-human friend? Bandit. > > And what about the plots? Team rushes around solving mysteries which more often than not involve ghosts or monsters. > > Yeah, I know the tone and aniomation styles were considerably different, but beneath the surface differences was the usual H-B cannibalism of its own ideas. > > Oh, yeah, and I’d include the original **Space Ghost** as well. Same deal, IIRC; traveling team of four, non-human character for comic relief. These were before my time but I’ll go along with it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanna-barbera-cartoon-formulas/251091/10 "2004-06-18T19:38:22Z")
The human characters in Scooby Doo are lifted almost directly from the late 50’s sitcom **The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis**. Fred = Dobie Gillis Daphne = Thalia Velma = Zelda Shaggy = Maynard G. Krebs Originally the gang’s pet Great Dane was a minor character. But when the show was pitched to the network, it was judged to be too dark and scary. During the retooling into the silly Scooby Doo that we know, the dog was reinvented as the title character. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanna-barbera-cartoon-formulas/251091/11 "2004-06-18T19:50:32Z")
So what was the deal with Penelope Pitstop? Besides the bondage angle. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanna-barbera-cartoon-formulas/251091/12 "2004-06-18T19:54:39Z")
Tsk. Shame on all of you. Have you forgotten that the essential make-up of the Hanna Barbera universe fell into three categories and was painstakingly explained to us in 1976? The series: LAFF-A-LYMPICS The teams– Yogi Bears: All the anthropomorphic funny animals that existed (largely) sans humans in their own shows: Yogi, Boo-Boo, Grape Ape, Quick Draw McGraw, Huckleberry Hound, Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy. Scooby Doos: All the teams with ditzy teenagers and weird nonhuman sidekicks including CAPTAIN CAVEMAN, SPEED BUGGY, JEANNIE and JABBERJAWS. Included a few others like BLUE FALCON and DYNOMUTT and PENELOPE PITTSTOP and HONG KONG FOOEY. Really Rottens: All the villains and weird creatures, including SMEDLEY and that evil family that lived next door to the Flintstones that ripped off the Munsters and the Addams Family. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanna-barbera-cartoon-formulas/251091/13 "2004-06-18T20:02:30Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > So what was the deal with Penelope Pitstop? > > Besides the bondage angle. I’d say either [Pauline Marvin](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0004465/combined) or [Pauline Hargrave](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025644/combined). Mostly the former if the tied-to-the-tracks bit was used. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanna-barbera-cartoon-formulas/251091/14 "2004-06-18T20:54:52Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > Really Rottens: All the villains and weird creatures, including SMEDLEY and that evil family that lived next door to the Flintstones that ripped off the Munsters and the Addams Family. Do you mean Dick Dastardly? He was the mustache-twirling HB villain, with his snickering dog Muttley. You may have been thinking of Snidely Whiplash, from Dudley DoRight (not an HB cartoon). However, even though I never really watched the Flintstones, I don’t remember evil neighbors! ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanna-barbera-cartoon-formulas/251091/15 "2004-06-18T21:17:17Z")
Just as a reference, here’s Joseph Barbera’s credits: [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0053484/](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0053484/) And here’s William Hanna’s [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0360253/](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0360253/) They were responsible for an ungodly amount of animation, that’s all I have to say. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanna-barbera-cartoon-formulas/251091/16 "2004-06-18T21:30:57Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > The series: LAFF-A-LYMPICS > > The teams– > > Yogi Bears: All the anthropomorphic funny animals that existed (largely) sans humans in their own shows: Yogi, Boo-Boo, Grape Ape, Quick Draw McGraw, Huckleberry Hound, Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy. > > Scooby Doos: All the teams with ditzy teenagers and weird nonhuman sidekicks including CAPTAIN CAVEMAN, SPEED BUGGY, JEANNIE and JABBERJAWS. Included a few others like BLUE FALCON and DYNOMUTT and PENELOPE PITTSTOP and HONG KONG FOOEY. It was the Yogi Yahooies and the Scooby-Doobies. You did get the Really Rottens correct, though. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanna-barbera-cartoon-formulas/251091/17 "2004-06-18T21:52:45Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Do you mean Dick Dastardly? He was the mustache-twirling HB villain, with his snickering dog Muttley. You may have been thinking of Snidely Whiplash, from Dudley DoRight (not an HB cartoon). However, even though I never really watched the Flintstones, I don’t remember evil neighbors! I remember them. They were the quintessential Bad Neighbors, of course. They weren’t in many episodes (couldn’t have been more than a half-dozen, maybe much less), and the basic plot was that they’d do something annoying or offensive, and then Fred would do something back, and so forth. It gave the 'stones someone bad to play off, rather than having to rely on the Rubbles. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanna-barbera-cartoon-formulas/251091/18 "2004-06-18T22:48:57Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > “Top Cat” (1961) owes a lot to “The Phil Silvers Show (Sgt. Bilko),” even to using one of the same actors. > > Then there’s the comic adventurer and sidekick model: > > Quick Draw McGraw → Baba Louie > Richochet Rabbit → Droopalong > Super Snoop (“Snooper”) → Blabbermouse (“Blabber”) Don’t forget Secret Squirrel → Morrocco Mole One feature of the Josie and the Pussycats/Scooby Doo/Speed Buggy/Jabberjaws groups that represented a departure from the Jonny Quest paradigm was that there was always a rock band playing a song during a chase scene. The inference a preadolescent **kaylasdad99** always drew was that the youngsters were the rock band. I still have nightmares about that freaking shark sitting behind a drum kit. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanna-barbera-cartoon-formulas/251091/19 "2004-06-18T23:22:24Z")
> [@dantheman](#): > > I remember them. They were the quintessential Bad Neighbors, of course. They weren’t in many episodes (couldn’t have been more than a half-dozen, maybe much less), and the basic plot was that they’d do something annoying or offensive, and then Fred would do something back, and so forth. It gave the 'stones someone bad to play off, rather than having to rely on the Rubbles. They were the [Gruesomes](http://www.animationusa.com/picts/hbpict/3_Gruesomes.jpg), and they were modeled much more on the Addams Family than the Munsters. ---
**Author:** ![WortMeWorry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@WortMeWorry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WortMeWorry)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanna-barbera-cartoon-formulas/251091/20 "2004-06-19T00:18:44Z")
Let’s not forget all the Wonderful super hero cartoons. The Impossibles…Rock band, and bizarre super trio, Coil Man, Multi Man, and Fluid Man. Birdman…A man with wings, who could use solar energy to attack his enemies, or form shields to defend himself. Space Ghost…Intergalactic crime fighter. He not only had various Energy Rays, but could turn invisible. Just don’t get me started on the twins. The Hurculoids…A family of primitives living on a bizarre planet. They just happen to have their own army of mutant animals. But the best had to be, The Super Globtrotters…They ripped off the Impossibles for 3 of the characters. There was a Coil Man clone, and a Fluid Man clone, and a Multi Man clone. Plus a human basketball and my favorite, Gizmo. Gizmo had an afro that he could use to hide a Buick. I know there are more,with luck I won’t remember them. :eek: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanna-barbera-cartoon-formulas/251091.md?page=2)