Here are storyboard drawings I snagged a long time ago for one of the Huck bumpers. I’ve blown them up about as much as I can before they get too fuzzy. Notice some colour instructions. I don’t know who the artist is; it don’t think it’s Dan Gordon or Warren Foster. Huck looks pretty good here. I like the poses on Jinks. He was funnier in these mini-cartoons than he was in some of the longer ones. (Note: see the comment section for more on this).
These little cartoons added a lot to the enjoyment of watching the Huck, Yogi or Quick Draw half hours. If you’ve seen the Huck DVD, you’ll notice more care was put into animating some of them than the actual cartoons; there’s far more body movement. Here’s one you’ve probably seen before. I’ve been told Ed Love animated this and others, although he did no cartoons in Huck’s first season, and his style is a lot jerkier in his first H-B cartoons (see Mike Kazaleh’s comment on who actually animated this).
Hey, Yowp. Frequent reader of your blog, first-time commenter. Thanks so much for all you do to keep Hanna-Barbera cartoons in the public consciousness. I really hope you can keep this blog going. Failing that, I hope you can at least keep everything you've already posted available on the Internet. I've always enjoyed reading the storyboards and the newspaper articles you post here. They expose me to aspects of the Hanna-Barbera studio which, before I stumbled upon your blog, I never thought I would have been able to witness. One question about this particular post: Why is there a Cartoon Network logo on these storyboard drawings? Were they once featured on Toonheads, or something like that? It's too bad you couldn't remove the logo, because I can't read part of what the characters are saying.
ReplyDeleteYears ago, when CartoonNetwork.com was TRULY CartoonNetwork.com, the site had this baadasss place within it called the "D.O.C. (Department Of Cartoons)". Mainly, this was a repository for storyboards, model sheets, episode design sheets, layouts, and size charts.
DeleteThat is why there is a CARTOON NETWORK logo on those storyboard drawings.
Thanks for your response, Doz. That makes sense. It sounds like it was an awesome yet educational section of the website. I grew up in the '90's and 2000's, and I didn't get Cartoon Network in my area until 2004, so I missed out on Cartoon Network's glory days. Thus, I was only vaguely familiar with a very few Hanna-Barbera cartoons until 2009, when I decided to do a project on the history of cartoons for my history class. Since then, I've gotten acquainted with Huck, Yogi, and so many more, and I truly believe that H-B shows, especially the earlier ones, are among the greatest cartoons of all time. I mean that 100%. It's really sad to see Cartoon Network lose sight of H-B. I was so disappointed when CartoonNetwork.com took down the little biographies of Bill Hanna, Joe Barbera, Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, etc., which had been on the website for years. Maybe CN is slowly making a comeback, though. At least now they show the classic Looney Tunes again, and at least they have always shown Tom & Jerry. I'm hoping that as Warner Bros. continues to make new movies based on H-B properties, Cartoon Network will begin to showcase more classic H-B cartoons.
DeleteI feel like a whole generation of CN viewers missed out on "D.o.C." simply because CN decided to drop it while it was still a valuable place and could afford to expand itself over the years.
DeleteI agree Chris. I remember our area got CN in 1992. It was a dream come true, especially for the generation that watched the H-B Shows in first run. I miss it. Also thanks Doz, I too was wondering why the " Cartoon Network " logo was on the storyboard.
DeleteNowadays, Cartoon Network got very, very modernized.
DeleteThe bumper in the video is animated by Phil Duncan. The storyboard looks like it was drawn by Gene Hazelton.
ReplyDeleteMike, thanks for your always expert eye. What's puzzling is Duncan never animated cartoons at HB in the 1958-60 period. I don't think the commercial division was set up yet. It seems odd they wouldn't use their regular animators. Evidently there's a piece of the studio story I don't know.
DeleteI'm also recognizing the Gene Hazelton's artwork on the storyboards of the bumpers of The Huckleberry Hound Show (Hanna-Barbera/Columbia Pictures, 1958-62).
ReplyDeleteAlias, the bumpers from The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Quick Draw McGraw Show (Hanna-Barbera/Columbia Pictures, 1959-62) and the classical Yogi Bear Show (Hanna-Barbera/Columbia Pictures, 1960-63) aren't seen here in Brazil since the early 70s.
I think Gene drew these boards, too. Also being a print cartoonist, he always drew boards a bit tighter and more on-model than most folks. Plus, t I've never seen another H-B board man to nail such specific, appealing expressions on the characters.
ReplyDeleteThose are some amazing drawings, regardless of who drew them. Hits the “Triple Crown” of On-Model (I’d say BETTER than merely “On-Model”), Detail, and Poses!
ReplyDeleteIf they are Gene’s, then I have a whole new level of respect for him, beyond his great newspaper comic strip work.
And, consider the irony of Cartoon Network (even in their “Great Old Days”) posting something wonderful like this, yet never showing the Huck and Yogi cartoons with theme, credit, and interstitial sequences.
Not to present an opposing viewpoint from the esteemed Mssrs Kazaleh & Shaw, but my first thought when I saw this (beautiful) storyboard was that it reminded me of the ads you've posted in the past that were by Dick Bickenbach... Jim Engel
ReplyDeleteThe bumpers and interstitials are really what make these early H-B shows work so well. I have never understood why the individual cartoons are so often shown in isolation outside the context of their original shows. In these interstitials, the characters interact with each other, almost like live performers doing extra bits between acts, and they joke and kid around with each other and show their camaraderie as members of the troupe. It adds dimension and meaning to their solo adventures in the cartoon shorts--in which the characters seldom if ever cross over, but pretty much remain isolated in their own respective "worlds." Also, being freed from the necessities of having to resolve a plot allows for us to see the characters in a less restrictive mode. These in-between bits provide a larger context in which to better appreciate the short cartoons that they introduce.
ReplyDeleteOn the Huckleberry Hound DVD set, there are a handful of shows that have been "reconstructed" using some of these interstitials, and those are the shows that I tend to go back to repeatedly, with much greater frequency than the rest of the material on the discs...even though, in isolation, the remaining shorts are still good.
Scarecrow: It sounds as if you’re as “fond” (If so MILD a word could possibly describe the way I feel) of those interstitial segments as I am. Whenever any of them turn up on a DVD set, it’s always a “Snuffles-Dog-Biscuit-Level” treat for me.
DeleteExtra commercial time, as we all know, is the reason the interstitials have fallen into such deep obscurity, because they were easily the “first thing to go” once the notion of cutting for time took hold. Of course, that doesn’t explain why the Huck and Yogi shows in particular have also permanently shed their opening and closing theme segments for their all-too-infrequent appearances on the Warner-owned cable channels.
An odd melding of opening and closing theme segments occurred in the mid-eighties airings of these cartoons on USA Network’s Cartoon Express. There, the opening theme sequence of THE YOGI BEAR SHOW was followed by a Yogi cartoon, a Pixie and Dixie, and a Huckleberry Hound, ending with the abbreviated (1965, Post-Kellogg’s) closing theme and credits sequence for THE HUCKLEBERRY HOUND SHOW. …Go figure!
Yowp, thanks for presenting those (Yogi looks like your original owner!) I've got those Huck DVD's and I have those on the last DVD..Yowp,Yowp..:)Steve
ReplyDeleteOh, Phil Duncan animated the video? When I saw this on DVD, I guessed Irv Spence. But you guys obviously know better and shows what little I know compared to you guys! Thanks Yowp and Mike! :)
ReplyDeleteJerry, I don't know better, but I'll take Mike's word for it. Mike's seen a pile of Duncan's stuff from working in commercial animation.
ReplyDelete