tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403931334822730200.post6736479903420554119..comments2024-03-28T21:16:57.556-07:00Comments on Yowp: Yogi, Christmas and Who?Yowphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09264605351878574044noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403931334822730200.post-4424777741113522422010-12-21T19:59:28.778-08:002010-12-21T19:59:28.778-08:00Ah...good point on Morgan, Yowp. I thereby stand c...Ah...good point on Morgan, Yowp. I thereby stand corrected.Steve Carrasnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403931334822730200.post-29055579049751062712010-12-17T20:15:23.676-08:002010-12-17T20:15:23.676-08:00There's still designing to do if there are ext...There's still designing to do if there are extra characters (Santa, etc.) or if the main characters get costumes (hats, gloves, etc.) Plus, sometimes the props are thrown in under character design. :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403931334822730200.post-67341360942335172852010-12-17T08:54:44.100-08:002010-12-17T08:54:44.100-08:00Steve, I remember Morgan's name from the Jones...Steve, I remember Morgan's name from the Jones Tom and Jerrys.<br /><br />I've always been curious what character design would be involved for characters that are already established. Would it involve size comparisons? Or just some poses to send overseas to the animators?Yowphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09264605351878574044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403931334822730200.post-26030138666163800562010-12-17T08:24:27.051-08:002010-12-17T08:24:27.051-08:00I have never heard of Iwao using a pseudonym, and ...I have never heard of Iwao using a pseudonym, and I worked with the guy for almost 15 years. Don Morgan did a lot of designing while at HB. :-)<br /><br />I have to say though, that the credits are not always right. I have seen names on the character design credits that had nothing to do with the designing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403931334822730200.post-8208813160223099912010-12-16T23:14:05.777-08:002010-12-16T23:14:05.777-08:00Hanna-Barbera seemed to get off on recyling charac...Hanna-Barbera seemed to get off on recyling characters and songs in this special...in "Yogi's First Christmas" songs go bakc as far back as 1971!<br /><br />I saw this when it first aired and my teenage ears heard a freakin' laugh track. Too bad I guess I was the only smart teenage watcher of these, reayd to change channells and NOT looking forward to my cartoon counterparts in Scooby type showss.LOL.<br /><br />PS Character design is assigned to one Don Morgan----apparently it wasn't Iwao Takamoto using a pseudonym?Steve C.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403931334822730200.post-48815250959695606582010-12-16T19:29:57.750-08:002010-12-16T19:29:57.750-08:00Bob Ogle also wrote some great Disney comic books ...Bob Ogle also wrote some great Disney comic books for Gold Key (Western Publishing) in the mid-sixties – uncredited, of course, around the same time he was writing Tom and Jerry shorts for Chuck Jones. He wrote some Donald Ducks and the earliest adventures of Super Goof, among others. <br /><br />Of course, there were also the Dick Tracy and Mister Magoo TV cartoons for UPA, and the original 1968 Archie series for Filmation. That’s a guy I’d like to have known more about. <br /><br />Yowp, funny you should have such an odd dream in this post – because the Yogi Bear CGI film seems to have had a similar effect on MY sleeping hours. But, instead of a nightmare, it was a funny and unusually vivid dream. <br /><br />If you care to check it out, a recap is at my Blog: <br /><br />http://tiahblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/really-strange-dream.html<br /><br />Funny thing is, this REALLY WAS my dream. It sounds made-up to spoof Yogi and Hitchcock, but it was the real deal, just as I experienced it. <br /><br />Hope you find it as amusing as I did.Joe Torciviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00421096229407174474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403931334822730200.post-31972420972727189822010-12-16T07:53:58.942-08:002010-12-16T07:53:58.942-08:00I think it's difficult for anyone to write a f...I think it's difficult for anyone to write a feature length treatment for characters that were developed and created for a series of shorts. Expanding them into 90 minutes always seemed like watering down the ketchup to me. The three telefilms that HB created for their Superstars 10 series of TV movies in the late 80s are a perfect example of this. Talented writers just couldn't pull it off. Plus, I think the theme of one of them (the Spruce Goose?? Really??) was a dreadful idea in the first place. Even Daws Butler couldn't pull that one out of the trash.<br /><br />Scott :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403931334822730200.post-35673680454109972492010-12-16T05:57:01.723-08:002010-12-16T05:57:01.723-08:00I own this special. It's okay. The Yogi spec...I own this special. It's okay. The Yogi special that Mark Evanier wrote, "Yogi's All-Star Comedy Christmas Caper" is the best of the three Yogi Christmas specials.Greg Chenowethnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403931334822730200.post-77792531004689023522010-12-15T21:20:49.991-08:002010-12-15T21:20:49.991-08:00Thanks for the insight, Anon. It may be even worse...Thanks for the insight, Anon. It may be even worse today in that there's now a whole generation that's grown up with a system that entertainment can only be created through market research and focus groups. So we get stuff like a reality show about rehabbing celebrity vampires.Yowphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09264605351878574044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403931334822730200.post-19576347671798818972010-12-15T16:57:16.024-08:002010-12-15T16:57:16.024-08:00"Casper and the Angels" is a perfect exa..."Casper and the Angels" is a perfect example of how a network executive bungled a sales pitch and created an ink and paint disaster. This series, as it was produced and aired was never created by Hanna-Barbera for a series. It came about after Joe Barbera had a sales meeting with the head of NBC daytime. HB did have a deal with Harvey Comics to exploit the Casper character. They also -- as was very popular at the time -- have a few pitch boards prepared for animated versions of "CHiPS" and a "Charlie's Angels-type show. Margaret Loesch told the story much funnier that I am trying to write here, at Joe Barbera's memorial service. It was the NBC executive that combined the three ideas into one series and told JB that if they developed that series, she'd buy it. The rest is history. Unfortunately, this scenario happens more often than not. It's a shame that HB gets the blame when all they were trying is to keep the studio doors open. On the other hand, there was quite a bit of schlock coming from 3400 Cahuenga Boulevard during this period. As much as I LOVE the studio, the clunkers (in my opinion anyway) came from this time period.<br /><br />Casper's voice, by the way, was provided by Julie McWhirter Dees. I agree it's a pale comparison to Norma McMillan and others that voiced the character before her. She also voiced the animated "Jeannie" in the series of the same name, and Bubbles in "Jabberjaw" (a Gracie Allen rip-off).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403931334822730200.post-1717792803754255122010-12-15T15:56:53.376-08:002010-12-15T15:56:53.376-08:00Yeah, I know about these shows. That Capser specia...Yeah, I know about these shows. That Capser special used to come on the 'Teletoon Retro' late night block for years, and I managed to catht it a few times, to my ultimate displeasure. It's stupid. <br /><br />I've never yet seen "Yogi's first christmas" in it's entirnety yet, but I've seen the way it worked it's way into holiday-oriented programming over the years as well.<br /><br />Those Autralians were not too good at making cartoons, but they never really made anything that required better talent.Zartok-35https://www.blogger.com/profile/00449976580118722879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403931334822730200.post-73638961431574422872010-12-15T15:50:55.086-08:002010-12-15T15:50:55.086-08:00Bob Ogle goes back aways further than that. He has...Bob Ogle goes back aways further than that. He has early 1940s roots at Disney too, working as an assistant director with Paul Satterfield on Fanatsia and Bambi.Zartok-35https://www.blogger.com/profile/00449976580118722879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403931334822730200.post-65577639523784181952010-12-15T15:37:04.040-08:002010-12-15T15:37:04.040-08:00Chris, I think Ogle was at Disney in the '50s ...Chris, I think Ogle was at Disney in the '50s alongside a pile of others who ended up at H-B. <br />Iwao's book mentions Ogle liked to have a libation or two on occasion.<br /><br />Marc, thanks for the note. The two posts are coincidental; this one has been in the can since the weekend when I stumbled on the cartoon by accident looking for something else.Yowphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09264605351878574044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403931334822730200.post-70402249284330647852010-12-15T14:56:20.324-08:002010-12-15T14:56:20.324-08:00This special will be much better with more squash-...This special will be much better with more squash-and-stretch and without Casper, but it's like the executives don't seem to understand this.<br /><br />This special was aired as far i remember in CBC in the mid-90's at 4 O'clock or something. I remember watching also the superior Pink Panther Christmas special but then being a tradition to ran in Teletoon Canada for years now.<br /><br />Frustrating to see Hannukah bleeping like it's a curse word. Naturally, kids are more educate today but in same time diss their own culture and origins than the older generations.Martin Juneauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00193943985570930659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403931334822730200.post-49469641923598163722010-12-15T14:05:08.717-08:002010-12-15T14:05:08.717-08:00Unfortunately I'm very well aware of this spec...Unfortunately I'm very well aware of this special's existence. I used to see it all the time in the shelves of rental video stores and eventually I watched it at one point.<br /><br />The special's writer, Bob Ogle, apparently got his start sometime in the early 1960s, writing on the made-for-TV "Mr. Magoo" and "Dick Tracy" cartoons. He later worked on several of the Chuck Jones-produced "Tom and Jerry", then worked at various other places.<br /><br />The names of layout and animation artists in the credits suggests that this was produced at Hanna-Barbera's Australian studio (Hanna-Barbera Pty. Ltd.). That may explain why you are not familiar with most of the names.Brubakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10741995395720022279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403931334822730200.post-10360121111235903412010-12-15T12:36:46.972-08:002010-12-15T12:36:46.972-08:00Check out today's POV by Evanier. He goes into...Check out today's POV by Evanier. He goes into greater detail of how the special was made (quickly) and who is really responsible for the censorship.Marc Greisinger aka "Alex the Goon"https://www.blogger.com/profile/16798100177226822865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403931334822730200.post-14870976953803586192010-12-15T12:21:34.886-08:002010-12-15T12:21:34.886-08:00The Big Three networks had a tendency in the late ...The Big Three networks had a tendency in the late 70s-mid 80s to air prime-time specials (usually of a seasonal basis) starring classic animated characters and/or those appearing in their concurrent Saturday AM shows. Scooby-Doo, the Flintstones, the Smurfs, Pac-Man and the classic H-B gang were showcased in this way. So too were the Warner Brothers gang and the reincarnated Chipmunks.<br /><br />So this special was an extremely misguided example of the subgenre. But some syndication executives must have thought enough of teamed H-B characters in a Christmassy atmosphere to result in the following year's two-hour YOGI'S FIRST CHRISTMAS. Both specials relied heavily on the ear-worm song "Coming Up Christmas Time" (probably a Paul DeKorte original), which in now way could believably emit from the windpipes of Yogi, Huck, Quick Draw, Snagglepuss et al.<br /><br />Mark Evanier's YOGI'S ALL-STAR CHRISTMAS CAPER, aired on CBS two years beyond, fared much better. The many cameos helped, as did a generally irreverent attitude. There was even a reappearance of some 1961-vintage Hoyt Curtin score!Howard Feinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403931334822730200.post-70897672553980291502010-12-15T12:05:24.789-08:002010-12-15T12:05:24.789-08:00During the 70s and 80s, Hanna-Barbera managed to p...During the 70s and 80s, Hanna-Barbera managed to pick up the rights to animated properties previously under ownership to other studios. Their financially (if not critically) successful rendition of Popeye for CBS's Saturday AM lineuo in 1978 apparently led to their acquisition of fellow Famous/Paramount denizen Casper the following year.<br /><br />Sometime in late 1979 someone at NBC's and/or H-B's brain trust got the brilliant idea to team their 'new' Saturday AM star Casper with some of the classic H-B characters who had already appeared in numerous recent revival series. To say this was an awkward teaming is a vast understatement. Awkward is not an adequate term to use for the prospect of a Butler-voiced H-B character address The Friendly Ghost by name.<br /><br />And Casper's regular 1979-80 Saturday AM show was a single-season failure. Wonder why?Howard Feinnoreply@blogger.com