Yakky Doodle in Ha-Choo to You!

Produced and Directed by Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera.
Credits: Animation – Ralph Somerville, Layout – Tony Rivera, Backgrounds – Fernando Montealegre, Written by Mike Maltese, Story Director – Alex Lovy, Titles – Art Goble, Production Supervision – Howard Hanson.
Voice Cast: Yakky Doodle – Jimmy Weldon; Chopper – Vance Colvig; Fibber Fox – Daws Butler.
Music: Hoyt Curtin.
Episode: Production R-13 (sixth Yakky in production).
Copyright 1961 by Hanna-Barbera Productions.
Plot: Cold-ridden Chopper tries to stop Fibber Fox from eating Yakky. Instead, everyone ends up with a cold.

Fairy tales have always been fodder for animated cartoon writers. In Ha-Choo to You!, Mike Maltese doesn’t actually do a straight parody of any fairy tales but he incorporates aspects of them into his story. We don’t get a farce on “Little Red Riding Hood” or “The Three Little Pigs,” but elements from them are woven in as characters, wittingly or unwittingly take on fable roles.

The thing binding this all together is the fact that Chopper has a cold (he chased a cat into a refrigerator before the cartoon began). He’s comforted in the fact that Yakky is bringing him a basket of hot bone soup. Don’t ask why the soup doesn’t leak through the basket. Just accept it and move on.

After Yakky burns our ears singing special soupy lyrics to “Camptown Races,” Fibber Fox enters the picture. “Well, for heaven’s sake, it’s Little Red Riding Duck taking hot soup to his grandmama,” says the fox, regardless of the fact Yakky isn’t wear a red hood. Fibber goes through the Red story to himself, including the shortcut to grandma’s. “I know a shortcut for that duck. (Points) Right into my stomach.” Fibber gives an evil grin, then frowns to the camera. “For Pete’s sake, stop wincing,” he says to the audience. “Foxes have to eat, too, you know.” While characters in Hanna-Barbera cartoons talk to the viewers all the time, this is a rare occasion when one directly chastises the people watching at home.

After burning his hand in the soup (Yakky invites him to try it as an appetiser and, yes, he did know there soup was in there) , Fibber carries on with the Red Riding Hood analogy, dumping Chopper from his dog house over a cliff and then taking his place as Yakky arrives. Now the duck gets in on the routine. “My, what a big nose you have, Chopper.” Yes, he cannot tell he is addressing Fibber who doesn’t even look like Chopper; Yakky is not terribly bright in this one. Chopper arrives to punch out Fibber but sneezes him and the duck through the back of the dog house. “Oh! You’re Fibber Fox. You’re not Chopper,” says Yakky. Hey, MENSA! Sign up that duck.



After being sneezed out of some hiding spots, the Yakky-clutching Fibber runs into a house. Chopper switches fairy tales. “You better open up or I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll sneeze your door down!” That’s exactly what he does. “Well! If I had known you were coming, I would have baked a cake. With a bomb in it, of course,” says Fibber. Before the dog can clobber Fibber, he gives the fox his cold. The last sequence has Yakky bringing them both hot bone soup, but then he gets a cold and the cartoon ends with the lot of them in bed.



The credits say the backgrounds were painted by Monte.



Some dry brushwork from members of Roberta Greutert’s ink and paint department.



There’s nothing spectacular about the music. All the cues are familiar and fit the action.

Finally, an endless cycle. There are eight drawings of Fibber Fox, one to a frame. The background takes up 24 frames before repeating. Alas, Fibber is doomed to run forever without eating that duck.

Yakky Doodle in Mad Mix Up

Produced and Directed by Joe Barbera and Bill Hanna.
Credits: Animation – Bob Carr, Layout – Jack Huber, Backgrounds – Art Lozzi, Written by Mike Maltese, Story Director – Paul Sommer, Titles – Art Goble, Production Supervision – Howard Hanson.
Voice Cast: Chopper – Vance Colvig; Yakky – Jimmy Weldon; Fibber Fox, Mad Scientist – Daws Butler.
Music: Hoyt Curtin.
Episode: Production J-64 (final Yakky production of 1961 season).
Copyright 1961 by Hanna-Barbera Productions.
Plot: A mad scientist temporarily switches the brains of Yakky and Chopper, confusing Fibber Fox.

The best part of this cartoon is Art Lozzi’s establishing shot. Excellent design and colour, and I like the brush strokes in the sky in the background. The next-best part is the takes and expressions that animator Bob Carr gives to Fibber Fox.

The plot is pretty simple. A crazy scientist with a large head and a voice similar to Wally Gator wants to test his Switcho Brain Machine. Yakky and Chopper knock on his door. They’re thirsty from hiking. The scientist offers them Chinese tea (and “Chinese hats”) but switches their brains (and strength) instead. “Hurrah for me!” he shouts.



Yakky and Chopper beat it out of the castle. The scientist tells us the effect only lasts an hour.

The bulk of the rest of the cartoon is spent with Fibber Fox totally baffled about why Yakky can beat him up and Chopper is swimming like a duck.



Anticipation and extremes.



Fibber tries putting on glasses to make sure he’s not seeing anything. Fibber thinks he’s hallucinating (“Well, gosh, I’m entitled to a little hallucination now and then”) so he tries a cold shower, a little exercise and fresh air to snap out of it. Of course, it all fails.



The effect wears off...



Now Chopper as himself bashes Fibber to the ground. “Hallucination or no hallucination, I can go along with the gag.” Fibber starts acting like a dog and a duck. “Look, I’m a dog! Bark, bark, bark!” “I’m a duck! Quack, quack, quack!” (Fibber even flies for good measure).



“Hey,” says Chopper. “What’s wrong with him?” “Maybe it’s something he didn’t eat,” suggests Yakky. Chopper unnecessarily repeats Yakky’s line, adds his “Now, ain’t that cute” catchphrase and the cartoon ends. And so does this post.

Yakky Doodle in Beach Brawl

Produced and Directed by Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera.
Credits: Animation – Don Patterson, Layout – Jack Huber, Backgrounds – Dick Thomas, Written by Mike Maltese, Story Director – Paul Sommer, Titles – Art Goble, Production Supervision – Howard Hanson.
Voice Cast: Yakky Doodle – Jimmy Weldon; Chopper – Vance Colvig; Fibber Fox, Shark – Daws Butler.
Music: Hoyt Curtin.
Episode: Production R-61 (aired in last episode of the first season).
Copyright 1961 by Hanna-Barbera Productions.
Plot: Fibber tries to catch Yakky on a beach outing, but Chopper and a shark get in the way.

Mike Maltese couldn’t get away from the idea of disguises and French romantics. At Warner Bros. he developed Pepé Le Pew, the French skunk who chased after a cat disguised as a skunk. In one of his first Hanna-Barbera stories, Lamb Chopped (1959), a French ram rushes into the picture to romance Quick Draw McGraw disguised as a sheep. And in this cartoon, a French shark tries to woo Fibber Fox disguised as a shark. How Mssr. Shark concludes Fibber is of the female gender is one of those plot holes you just have to ignore.

Maltese also loaded up on air-coming-out gags in this cartoon. He has three of them. Yakky’s rubber horse is punctured by Fibber’s hook. Chopper sticks a pin in a beach ball that Fibber’s hiding in and explodes it. And Chopper pulls the plug out of an inner tube Fibber is on and shrinks it.

The story is pretty straight-forward. Chopper is taking a day off from his watchdogging duties to lie on the beach. He covers himself with sun-tan oil (over his fur?!) and then buries himself in the sand. Yakky comes along with his inflatable beach horse. Meanwhile, Fibber Fox is fishing off a peer. All he’s catching is old boots. Yakky floats over. “Well! Shiver me hungry timbers. It’s a sea-going type duck. Ready for plucking, canning and picnicking,” exclaims Fibber. Yakky and he have a nice little conversation. “The fishing’s great, it’s the catching that’s awful,” says the fox, who then declares “the duck season just opened” and snags the horsie with his hook. “Hey! What’s the big idea?” cries Yakky. But Fibber rips a hole in the beach toy when he pulls out the hook, and Yakky jets out of the picture. “Now just a duck-roasting minute!” yells Fibber. “I haven’t told you the big idea.”

Yakky yells for Chopper and the cartoon takes a familiar turn. “Oh come on!” shouts Fibber, chasing after the duck on the beach. “Don’t get full of sand. It gets in my teeth.” Yakky is instructed by Chopper to close his itty-bitty eyes. Punch! Fibber lands inside a beach umbrella that Chopper tosses into the water.



Fibber puts a fin on his back and swims toward Yakky. That’s when the French shark shows up. “ ‘Allo baby doll! Where have you been all my life,” he parlez while hugging the fox, as a Hoyt Curtin solo piano cue plays in the background. “You are different from the other girl sharks, no?” Fibber runs away on the water in terror. “Aw well,” says the shark to the camera. “There are other girl fish in the sea, yes?” The gag ends with Chopper handing Fibber a “life saver”—which is really a set of barbells. Splash! Curtin’s xylophone cue based on a few bars of “Entrance of the Gladiators” is heard to end the gag.

Fibber hides in a huge white beach ball. He can’t reach Yakky through a little flap in it (for some reason, the ball doesn’t deflate when it’s open). Chopper kicks it. Fibber screams in pain. “Hey! Who said ‘Yow-wow-ouch’?” wonders Chopper who, after a bit of dialogue with Fibber inside, punctures the ball which zooms into the sky and explodes. Crash to the ground. End scene.

Next, Fibber blows up an inner tube. “We’re going to launch for a lunch. Nice and quiet. Now just the barely discernible swish of an oar in the water,” he says as he paddles next to the duck fishing in a boat. Chopper swims underwater and pulls the plug on the inner tube. Purely for the sake of convenience, Yakky and his boat are no longer there when the shot cuts back to the fox on the shrunken tube. Convenient, because the shark returns, looking for l’amours. The irritated Fibber bashes him on the head with the oar. “Sacroiliac! Then you are not the girl shark after all,” growls the shark. Fibber quickly sinks into the water and then realises the position he’s in. “Now then,” says the angered shark. “We have a score to settle, yes?” Fibber swims quickly to shore (with boat motor sound in the background, the one in the opening of the Wally Gator cartoons) with the shark after him. Crash into a huge rock on the beach. End scene.



The cartoon ends with a pun. Chopper and Yakky are baking a fish on the beach. Chopper wonders what Fibber’s eating. Cut to Fibber on the pier, holding a stick with boots over an open campfire (on a wooden pier?!). “Well, for heaven’s sake,” he asks us. “Haven’t you heard of a shoes-kabob?” Yakky and Chopper laugh. Fade out.



There’s not much else to say. The shark design (by Jack Huber) is good. The sound cutter opens things with a nice little tenor sax/guitar cue that evokes Hawaii. Actually, all the music suits the cartoon.

Yakky Doodle in Foxy Friends

Produced and Directed by Joe Barbera and Bill Hanna.
Credits: Animation – Bob Carr, Layouts – Dan Noonan, Backgrounds – Bob Gentle, Written by Mike Maltese, Story Director – Art David, Titles – Art Goble, Production Supervision – Howard Hansen.
Voice Cast: Bigelow – Doug Young; Yakky Doodle – Jimmy Weldon; Fibber Fox, Big Brother – Daws Butler.
Music: Hoyt Curtin
Episode: Production R-46.
Copyright 1961 by Hanna-Barbera Productions
Plot: Bigelow the mouse tries to stop Fibber Fox from eating Yakky Doodle for lunch.

“Oh, no! A hero mouse! What’s the world coming to?” exclaims Fibber Fox.

Yes, it’s Bigelow, the mouse with the Jimmy Cagney voice and tough-guy persona and...and...well, nothing else.

Mike Maltese continued to drop Bigelow into the cartoon series he wrote—Augie Doggie, Snagglepuss—perhaps thinking there was something amusing about a miniature tough guy. I’m really at a loss to think of a lot of funny things Bigelow ever said or did. And there are certainly none in this cartoon.

He pushes a garbage can along a street as Fibber Fox falls toward it. “Happy landing, you big bully,” he says. When Fibber crashes into it, “Glad your dropped in, chum.” Then he shoves the can rolling into a construction pit. “Goodbye, knucklehead,” is his parting comment.

Fibber, who could be witty, just isn’t in this cartoon. “Well, gosh! If you can’t take a little joke, well, gee whiz!” is the best Fibber can muster after Bigelow lights his paper airplane on fire. The best pun he has is when he drops the garbage can over Bigelow then adds “And no cover charge, either,” before slamming the lid on. But there are times that he is sailing through the air or plummeting to the ground where he really doesn’t react at all. I’m sure Bill Hanna appreciated the cost saving of sliding a cel of a drawing over a background.

Yeah, Maltese had to churn out a story a week for Hanna-Barbera, so they all couldn’t be gems.

There’s one scene that evokes memories of his days at Warner Bros. Bigelow points to a cannon in a park and shouts to Fibber “The mouse is in there! The mouse is in there!” Fibber falls for it just as Yosemite Sam or Elmer Fudd would do. Naturally, because this is a cartoon, the cannon is live, even though it is a monument from 1891, and Fibber is fired into a police telephone on a pole. “Well, for heaven’s sake! How long do I have to wait? All I want is a doctor,” he says into the mouthpiece.

Then there’s a scene where Yakky and Bigelow start blowing up balloons to lift themselves into the air. There’s no preparatory dialogue; they just go ahead and do it. And the running gag to set up the ending doesn’t come until halfway through the cartoon. Just about every tired old impression of Cagney included the phrase “You dirty rat!” and something to do with “my brother.” Maltese brings Bigelow’s brother into the plot, as the mouse threatens the fox with him, and then the brother shows up toward the end, scaring Fibber out of the cartoon. (Daws Butler gives the brother a dopey kind of English accent). Yakky observes “Boy, Bigelow, your brother is big.” The mouse responds with “That’s right. My brother’s big, all right. But he ain’t tough. Like me, see?” Then the two laugh to end the cartoon with one of Hoyt Curtin’s familiar playoff cues in the background.



The cartoon does give you a chance to count how many times Yakky, Fibber, Bigelow or any combination thereof run past the same box shrubbery in the background. Bob Gentle is the background artist in this cartoon. He also painted courthouse/city hall clock tower. As soon as I saw the way the bricks and some of the roof boards had a thick outline, I thought “Oh, it looks likes Bob Gentle.”



There’s nothing distinctive about Bob Carr’s animation in this cartoon and all the Curtin cues are short and familiar.