The best and worst of 2019

I think everyone just wants to leave the year behind us all, and I may have to agree with them.  However, we have some good to talk about alongside the not so good.

Best animated feature

This was mostly a year of IP, IP, and more IP, so it was hard to find the movie of the year.  Here was the conclusion I came up with

Despite being IP, people loved it.  Pixar claims to have worked their heart and soul to make it just like the first 3 films.  It was also the most built up over the years as opposed to Frozen 2.  Frozen 2 had luke warm reviews, while Toy Story 4 opened with rave reviews.  Klaus spent most of its time on Netflix despite being well received.

Worst Animated Feature

There were so many bad ones too that came out such as Ugly Dolls and Playmobile Movie.  But the worst one has to be.....

Let me tell you something, if all you have to offer in the trailer and advertisements are all the celebrity voices that are in this film like Alec Baldwin, you're in trouble.  Entertainment Studio may be an independent, but they seem to not have their ground yet on feature films, and this will go up there as one of the worst.

Best Animated TV series

The attention on TV shows are becoming less and less relevant each year.  Despite this, there are some fan favorites.  This year's best series is........

 Developed for television by legendary cartoonist Lauren Faust, this adaptation of DC Super Hero Girls made for Cartoon Network is surprising.  The fact that it is a role model show for girls and at the same time they got away with a lot of stuff this time, making this "little girls show" not so little is astonishing.  Punching in the face and mentions of a Mash Pit, Faust has done it again



Worst Animated TV Series

For the third year in a row, this crap again????  I've said it before and I'll say it again: NOBODY THAT I KNOW EVEN KIDS WATCH THIS SHOW!  It's loud, annoying, and unfunny.  They're now also bashing the classic stuff like Scooby-Doo and even their original Teen Titans series, so they are the lowest of the low in my bar.  Worse, Cartoon Network just plays this all the time.  WAAAAYYYY too much time for a network that's supposed to show all kinds of cartoons 24hrs a day.  Thank God for Boomerang, and when HBO Max comes, brace for impact!

Best Streaming Series

The streaming wars are getting tighter, and the cartoons on these services are getting much much better.  We've got new and creative shows this year even if it's from IP, and even better content is coming next year.

Green Eggs and Ham

From Ellen Degeneres and Warner Bros. Animation answers the question if you can make something out of a short children's story.  Based on the classic story by Dr. Seuss, this series has proven very well done on Netflix.  The quality is fantastic and the character development of Sam I Am and Green Eggs Guy is amazing.  I've not heard a lot of bad things about it.  That's not to say the Depatie-Freleng isn't great, it still is, but this is how you reboot a classic.

Worst streaming series

Speaking of reboots.....

Here's a reboot no one asked for.  Streaming on Boomerang, a terrible cartoon getting a terrible reboot (how fitting).  It's even worse than the original.  The characters are creepy, and it's just a kiddie show.  Everyone talks about how bad the new She-Ra is, everyone talks about how bad the new Care Bears are, but these were already well established and well beloved by many (not by me, but someone).  Monchhichis......NOBODY WATCHED.  Perhaps it should have stayed in the Warner Bros. vault.


Best anime series

And now for the best anime of the year.  This year it is..........

Making it for the second year in a row, this was out of all the anime shows this year the most hyped.  Countdowns leading up to the fourth season in October makes you realize the popularity of the franchise.  And why not?  It is about a hero's journey after all.  Heck there are even more interesting merchandise out there for My Hero Academia.  That being said however, a huge shout out to Sarazamai, which is from the twisted yet interesting mind of Ikuhara (Sailor Moon, Revolutionary Girl Utena).  I also hear that Pretty Cure had a good season this year.

Best anime feature

There weren't a whole lot of features this year, but there were some interesting ones no doubt

It was a tough one out of many, but I hear Weathering with You is the best one.  So much so that it's even gonna play locally, so it must be interesting.  Of course, GKids always tries to find the best one.  Feel free to debate me as to whether or not I'm wrong.  I may go see it soon.

Best anime dub

Now onto the dubs.  We finally got a dub of Sailor Stars which is great, but there was one dub that got a lot of attention this year.

Dragonball Super: Broly

Broly one best anime feature last year, but this year was the dub of it by Funnimation.  This was the moment everyone talked about how great Vic Mignona was as Broly in terms of how the character feels and getting along with Goku and others at the end (oops, I shouldn't have said that but oh well).  Unfortunately it brought about a new kind of battle that wasn't in the film, but rather the media.  Allegations began coming out against Vic from both some fans and some of Funnimation's voice actors.  Vic was fired and discredited from the bonus features of the Blu-ray.  The out-roar for support for both the alleged victims and Vic began, splitting the anime community, and the #IStandWithVic / #KickVic movements began, bringing out damming truths, lies, and sins from both sides of the spectrum.  We hope things will be settled soon, but for now, this dub will become infamous in more ways than one.  [NOTE: This article is strictly for the best and worst of the year, any arguments from both movements will NOT be tolerated on this blog]

Worst anime dub

There really wasn't a bad dub this year.  Really there wasn't, but there was one that was controversial.

Neon Genesis Evangelion

This legendary anime got a brand new English dub for Netflix this year, and while I did enjoy it very much, it had some issues fans noticed.  Specifically, any gay references tend to be erased, which was very weird considering it's 2019.  My major beef was that they couldn't clear Fly Me to the Moon.  However, it's great the Evangelion is back as I consider it the greatest anime you should watch. 

Best DVD/Blu-ray

Wow, there were so many great releases this year.  A lot of stuff that has never before put out on home video came out like Sailor Stars, New Scooby Movies, and more.  Plus HD versions of Batman Beyond, Johnny Quest, Scooby-Doo, The Jetsons, and Teen Titans originals got fans excited. 

It's a TIE!!!!!  And for the second year in a row being Popeye.  Not only are these never before put out on home video, but not at all unlike last year's release, these films were remastered using the original nitrate negatives and their Paramount logos restored.  No more faded red prints that continue to air to this day.  These cartoons, in some cases, were rescued from being lost forever, so we thank Warner Archive for bringing us these great classic cartoons.  Here's hoping for more in 2020.








Worst DVD/Blu-ray release

Best of Warner Bros. 50 Cartoon Collection: Scooby-Doo

There were a lot of great Scooby-Doo releases this year for his 50th, and I was hoping this 5 disc gift set for those who aren't major fans but still like Scooby-Doo would be a nice compilation showcasing Scooby-Doo over the years......it wasn't.  The episodes are out of order; you'd get a Scooby-Doo Where Are You, then a What's New Scooby-Doo, then a Scooby-Doo Show, and then Be Cool Scooby-Doo, and there's no episode guide to find them on what disc.  This was just cheaply slapped on 5 discs without any love and care.  Sure it has different Scooby-Doo shows from the past 50 years, but it is a disorganized mess similar to Classic Media's Harveytoons Complete Collection a decade ago (yeah...it's that bad).  It's also not the "Best of Scooby-Doo" because Shaggy and Scooby Get a Clue is on here as is Be Cool Scooby-Doo.  I was very underwhelmed by it. Go for nicer compilations starring Scooby and the Gang.

Another Top forgotten Christmas Cartoons

There are more Christmas shows out there than meets the eye.  Heck, Hallmark themselves have put out too many to count.  As such, even the cartoons could be swept under the rug.  This is another list of some of rarest yet in some cases the best Christmas Cartoons ever made.  Missed the previous list, come on over here

1. Spinach Greetings (early 1960s)

It's not the rarest of the bunch since Popeye is everywhere again, but I can't say it's the easiest to find.  The TV Popeyes of the 1960s result to over 200 cartoons making this a needle in the haystack.  Good news, the story of how Popeye saved Christmas from the wicked Sea Hag could easily be tracked down with this, and the Youtube channel is currently promoting it,

2. From All of Us to All of You (1959)

As part of his anthology series on TV, Walt Disney himself brought us this special treat.  Hosted by Jiminy Cricket and special appearances by Mickey and Pluto, it's a showcase of Christmas cartoons with great moments from classic Disney favorites.  Despite this, the show had some re-edits over the years.  Surprisingly, it's currently more popular overseas causing most of the segments to be restored, but sadly, even they have re-edits to promote recent films like Frozen and Moana.  Many different color segments were found over the years, but the last remaining segments left only exist in kinescope form in black and white.  I believe Disney has everything well preserved, but until we know for sure, frankensteined versions of the show has been (illegally) uploaded to Youtube being the only versions available at this time.

3. Santa and the Three Bears (1970)

This is a crazy story so hang on.  Legendary Hanna-Barbera writer Tony Benedict self produced this in hopes of a network picking it up.  Originally gonna be called a Yellowstone Christmas, all three networks turned it down for not having a villain in the story.  He tried approaching WB/7arts for a theatrical distribution, but was then asked to pad it to make it longer and was renamed Santa and the Three Bears.  The story was about a couple of bear cubs who hear about Christmas from the ranger, so they try to stay up and celebrate despite it being hibernation time.  The film was finished, but WB/7arts said no.  Finally, a distributor in Florida who somehow owns the defunct park Pirates World and also makes kiddie films and porn bought it to sell in theaters.  It was a success, but Benedict received no money for his baby.  The company is long gone, and the film only now circulates in grey market form varying in quality.  Mr. Benedict, however, still has the master negs for the original Yellowstone Christmas half hour special and has uploaded it on his vimeo page.

4. Casper's First Christmas (1979)

Ok so what happens when Worldvision owns the rights to both Hanna-Barbera and Harvey Comics?  the answer, combine them.  A typical plot for Casper as he wants to celebrate Christmas instead of scaring people, but atypical when who should pay his house a visit for Christmas but the likes of Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss, and more.  It's also been confused with Yogi's First Christmas which came out THAT SAME YEAR. Same songs, same characters (minus Casper), nearly same plot.  Typical Hanna-Barbera at the time.  This confusion led to it swept under the rug by the general public, though Boomerang still runs it annually.

5.  The Berenstain Bears Christmas Tree (1979)

Speaking of bears, Stan and Jan's Berenstain Bears lands in their first TV outing in which Papa decides to cut down a Christmas Tree.  Along the way, the Bears learn about the true meaning of Christmas, thinking of "nature's creatures great and small, fellow creatures one and all."  The show was a success, and led to more specials and a TV show, but time passed on the Bears and the specials are no longer running on air despite being on home video a lot over the years.  This combined with the 2003 PBS edition of The Berenstain Bears being the more popular adaptation pushed all other shows and specials aside, thus making it on this list.

6.  The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives (1932/33)

Even the great WB cartoons have their lost moments.  As part of their Merrie Melodies series, this one is about a poor boy who seems to not have any Christmas presents, but Santa Claus arrives to take him to his workshop up at the North Pole.  Despite being a Looney Tunes cartoon, here's why it's rare: 1. it's in black and white, 2. none of the popular characters were in it or created at that time, 3. there are scenes that depict typical racial stereotypes being a product of its time, and 4. it contains outdated celebrity/radio references throughout.  It has since fell into the public domain, making it possible you've at least seen snippets.

7. Toyland Premiere (1934)

This early Walter Lantz short is heavily inspired by the Macy's Santa Claus Parade (now called the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade).  In it, Santa flies down from the North Pole to visit with famous celebrities such as Universal's own Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, bringing with him giant balloons and funny floats to kick off the holiday season.  Like the previous entry, it is a product of it's time.  Many faces may be unfamiliar by most and it also includes politically incorrect humor.  Surprisingly, it has appeared on Woody Woodpecker DVDs.

8. The Snowman (1932/33)

Now for the darker side of Christmas.  An Eskimo and his friends build a giant snowman that ends up coming to life.  But he doesn't sing and dance nor says "Happy Birthday!"  No no...he becomes an evil monster that wrecks havoc and terrorizes the creatures of the north.  When it aired on TV, only black and white prints circulated making this not run-able by the time color came in.  Thanks to Thunderbean Animation and the hard work Steve Stanchfield and his team did, they were able to restore the original theatrical color version.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! 

TV Specials no longer "Special" anymore??????

The holiday season is here, which means it's time for the annual viewings of Charlie Brown, Frosty, Rudolph, and The Grinch.  In fact, this year, Frosty the Snowman will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary, and has stayed on its original network longer than any other special.  HOWEVER, Freeform secured the rights for cable broadcasts of Rudolph and Frosty, their first ever cable airings this year.  Knowing how Freeform plays their movies and shows to death at random times, one now begs to wonder......are they really special anymore??????

What made these specials so..well..special to begin with is that in the days that they were made, you only saw Rudolph ONCE A YEAR, you only saw Charlie Brown ONCE A YEAR, The Grinch ONCE A YEAR.  NO VHS at that time, only the very rich may have had the Sony CV-2000, if they did however, the tapes were in black and white, 1 hr, and 200 line resolution (bad quality).  The only way you saw them was the entire family gather around and watch together on one of only three networks.  No cartoon series of Charlie Brown was made at that time, and high quality stop motion Animagic was not often seen on TV in those days, so when Rudolph and The Year Without a Santa Claus came on, it was a very big deal.

The downfall came with two inventions: cable and VHS.  At first, VHS was used to only record the specials when they aired, but finally companies like Family Home Entertainment finally put them out for home video.  It took a while for cable to take charge of these specials since they were and are still powerhouse ratings (similar to the Super Bowl).  The first big get was in 1986 when The Grinch moved from CBS to the Turner Cable Networks (due to the purchase of the pre-1986 MGM film library).  Ten years later, The Family Channel, now called Freeform, began their 25 Days of Christmas by acquiring broadcasting rights of the Rankin/Bass library from both Golden Books and Warner Bros. EXCEPT for Rudolph and Frosty (still held onto by CBS) and Cricket on the Hearth (due to unpopularity).  Turner acquired Hanna-Barbera in 1991 causing reruns of their holiday specials to air over the Turner networks and would become a holiday staple for both Cartoon Network and Boomerang over the years.

Still, TV over the air specials were winning ratings games.  You could only watch Rudolph, Frosty, and Charlie Brown at least ONCE PER YEAR.  CBS also aired Garfield throughout the 90's and a new special, Frosty Returns, and despite the pre-1974 Rankin/Bass ownership changes, CBS maintained Rudolph and Frosty even to this day.  However, CBS officially retired Garfield's Christmas, and ABC picked up the broadcast rights to the Peanuts specials in 2000.  ABC also brought back two popular specials for over the air in the mid 2000's: The Grinch and Santa Claus is Coming to Town.  New Charlie Brown specials were made as were some new specials by Disney, Pixar, and Dreamworks.  But as cable became the main place for cartoons, episodes and specials based off of them were the newest and most popular of the newer specials.  Rugrats, Hey Arnold, Spongebob, Ed Edd n Eddy, Powerpuff Girls, and Phineas and Ferb all had holiday shows.  The older specials on cable had constant reruns.  It's almost as if The Grinch and Year Without a Santa Claus aired everyday at anytime.

Worse yet, television changed to where more commercials were needed.  As such, the older specials began airing edited, time compressed, or both.  Rudolph was the first victim.  The peppermint mine scene had not been shown since it's original airing in 1964 (but has shown up in recent home video releases).   Charlie Brown also had some edits to clean it up and make it look better than originally aired (music added and some retakes, but nothing too major or noticeable since it was only seen once before), but by the 1980's, it too became edited.  Chopped up versions of Santa Claus is Coming to Town, the Grinch, The Year Without a Santa Claus began airing over the networks, so many different edits each year not knowing which songs and scenes will be cut.  The weirdest one is CBS's Rudolph broadcast as shown and explained here:

As it stands now, Frosty and Charlie Brown officially airs uncut (though that may change when Freeform begins airing Frosty).  In 2018, the WB owned Rankin/Bass specials moved over to AMC as part of their Christmas line up and began airing most of them uncut by allowing more airtime.  The true way to watch them uncut was and is DVD and Blu-ray.  Despite this, CBS, NBC, and ABC continued to win the ratings game with these specials, but is it all over now that Freeform grabbed the at long last cable rights to Rudolph and Frosty????

The answer: maybe yes and maybe no.  Despite all of these major changes going on at the end of this decade, cord cutting has reached an all time high.  People may only have over the air antenna and replaced cable with streaming (Hulu, Netflix, etc.).  Perhaps that fact alone may still keep ratings constant for.....a while......but it's thunder may not last very long.  Perhaps time will tell.

Regardless of what the TV industry may think about these specials, this is proven true: once upon a time these specials during their prime charmed and helped people bring Christmas joy and memories for over 50 years.  You couldn't wait til the day Rudolph would air, but were sad when it came to an end since you wouldn't see it again until next year.  Seeing them brings back Christmas memories than are now being passed down to children and grandchildren.  Rudolph's red glow, Frosty's magic hat, Kris Kringle putting one foot in front of the other, and Charlie Brown finding the true meaning of Christmas.....perhaps it's those memories that still makes them special to this day, and so long those memorable Christmas moments still holds strong, these specials will ALWAYS be "special".

Classic Disney Shorts: Your Guide to streaming online

With the success of my blog post about the 1960's Popeyes on Youtube, and with Disney + just launching, it's time to do another similar post regarding the original cartoons shorts featuring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, Goofy, and the Silly Symphonies.  Today, we take a look at where you can find these shorts online.  Sadly, it's not the entire library, but there are some gems to check out.

NOTES:  These must be officially licensed by Disney.  No pirated, fan sites, or personal Youtube uploads listed here
                All shorts are in HD unless noted otherwise
                This is for the older cartoon shorts only.  No other series and movies starring Mickey and the gang are included on these lists
                Have a Laugh cut down versions do not count; these must be their complete versions with their original soundtracks
                Since many of the shorts overlap, any shorts exclusive to such websites are highlighted in bold.

First up is the newly launched Disney +.  It is being suggested that this is where you'll find the most shorts, many exclusive.

List of shorts on Disney +:
* Steamboat Willie (1928)
* Flowers and Trees (1932)
* Babes in the Woods (1932)
* Santa’s Workshop (1932) NOTE: Edited 
* Ye Olden Days (1933) 
* The Three Little Pigs (1933)
* The Pied Piper (1933)
* The Grasshopper and the Ants (1934) 
* The Big Bad Wolf (1934)
* The Wise Little Hen (1934)
* The Goddess of Spring (1934)
* The Tortoise and the Hare (1935)
* The Band Concert (1935)
* The Golden Touch (1935)
* On Ice (1935)
* Three Little Wolves (1936)
* Three Blind Mouseketeers (1936)
* Elmer Elephant (1936)
* Mickey’s Rival (1936)
* Thru the Mirror (1936)
* Toby Tortoise Returns (1936)

* Hawaiian Holiday (1937)
* Clock Cleaners (1937) NOTE: 2001 restoration for Walt Disney Treasures as opposed to the HD restored version and has edited Donald Duck dialogue 
* The Old Mill (1937)
* Lonesome Ghosts (1937)
* Mickey’s Trailer (1937)
* Boat Builders (1938)
* Donald's Golf Game (1938)
* Ferdinand the Bull (1938)
* Society Dog Show (1939)
* The Ugly Duckling (1939)
* Sea Scouts (1939)
* The Hockey Champ (1939)
* Beach Picnic (1939)
* Mr. Duck Steps Out (1940)
* Donald's Dog Laundry (1940) NOTE: 2004 restoration for Walt Disney Treasures, was never restored in Disney HD standards
* Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip (1940)
* Tugboat Mickey (1940)
* The Art of Skiing (1941)
* Canine Caddy (1941)
* Chef Donald (1941)
* The Little Whirlwind (1941)
* Early to Bed (1941)
* Lend a Paw (1941)
* Mickey’s Birthday Party (1942)
* How to Swim (1942)
* How to Play Baseball (1942)
* Olympic Champ (1942)
* How to Fish (1942)
* Donald’s Tire Trouble (1943)
* How to Play Football (1944)
* Knight for a Day (1946)
* Double Dribble (1946)
* Chip an’ Dale (1947)
* Mickey’s Delayed Date (1947)
* Mail Dog (1947)
* Rescue Dog (1947)
* Bone Bandit (1948)
* Mickey and the Seal (1948)
* Mickey Down Under (1948)
* Pluto's Purchase (1948)
* Winter Storage (1949)
* Pluto’s Sweater (1949)
* Pluto’s Surprise Package (1949)
* All in a Nutshell (1949)
* Trailer Horn (1950)
* Food for Feudin’ (1950)
* Pluto and the Gopher (1950)
* Out of Scale (1951)
* Corn Chips (1951)
* Lambert the Sheepish Lion (1952)
* Let's Stick Together (1952) NOTE: 2008 restoration for Walt Disney Treasures, was never restored in Disney HD standards
* Pluto's Party (1952)

* Trick or Treat (1952)
* Pluto’s Christmas Tree (1952)
* The Simple Things (1953)
* The New Neighbor (1953)
* Don's Fountain of Youth (1953)
* Dragon Around (1954)
* Grand Canyonscope (1954)
* Beezy Bear (1955)
* Bearly Asleep (1955)

Mickey Video Mobile/Disney Video.com

While these two sites are separate, they contain the same exact content and same exact versions of these shorts.  Some of them are exclusive.

List of shorts on Mickey Video Moblie/Disney Video.com
* Steamboat Willie (1928)
* On Ice (1935) 
* Mickey's Polo Team (1936)
* Thru the Mirror (1936)

* Magician Mickey (1937)
* Hawaiian Holiday (1937)
* Clock Cleaners (1937)
* Lonesome Ghosts (1937)
* Mickey’s Trailer (1937)
* Mickey's Parrot (1938)

* Boat Builders (1938)

* The Whalers (1938)
* Society Dog Show (1939)
* The Hockey Champ (1939)
* Beach Picnic (1939)
* Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip (1940)
* Early to Bed (1941)  NOTE: Squished
* The Art of Skiing (1941)
* Chef Donald (1941)
* The Little Whirlwind (1941)
* How to Swim (1942)
* How to Fish (1942)
* Donald’s Tire Trouble (1943)
* Mickey’s Delayed Date (1947) NOTE: compressed
* Rescue Dog (1947)
* Bone Bandit (1948)
* Pluto's Purchase (1948)
* Mickey and the Seal (1948)
* Mickey Down Under (1948)
* Winter Storage (1949) 
* Pluto’s Sweater (1949) NOTE: Squished 
* Pluto’s Surprise Package (1949)
* Trailer Horn (1950) NOTE: compressed
* Food for Feudin’ (1950)
* Pluto and the Gopher (1950)
* Pluto's Party (1952)
* Pluto’s Christmas Tree (1952)
* The Simple Things (1953)

50 Years of Colorized Looney Tunes

It was 1969....Scooby-Doo and Sesame Street made their big debut, Woodstock was hot, and man put his first step on the moon.  It looked like major changes were coming for the better.  That is........unless you were a Looney Tunes fan.  78 black and white cartoons were taken to Korea, retraced, and recolored to make them look "better than ever".....or so they thought.  Today, we commemorate (but not necessarily celebrate) these colorized versions of these cartoons debuting 50 years ago on TV.  We'll break down why did these happen, who commissioned them to do it, and the aftermath of it all.

First let's go back to 1955 when Looney Tunes made their first TV appearance.  Many movie studios sold their films and short subjects catalogs to TV distributors for money in the bank DESPITE AT THAT TIME movies and TV were fierce enemies.  In this case, a small distributor called Sunset Productions bought the black and white Looney Tunes (save for the Harmon and Ising Merrie Melodies for some reason) as WB had no use for them anymore since they are black and white.  This Looney Tunes package mainly starred Porky and Daffy (there were no Bugs Bunny cartoons in black and white) and featured the rarely seen Bosko and Buddy among other rare characters like Beans the Cat and Ham and Ex.  These films, seen in black and white in 16mm with their original WB titles replaced with new titles erasing WB altogether, were immediately sold to Guild Films as part of their buyout of Sunset (hence why you see both names on the cartoons).  In the 1960's, Seven Arts bought out Guild Films and restructured TV distribution of their library.  Those cartoons PLUS what would become DC comics mixed with cheaper product Seven Arts distributed including Marine Boy and Johnny Zypher (lost cartoons to this day though are out on DVD through Warner Archive).  In 1967, Seven Arts bought out Jack Warner's stock in his company and became WB-7Arts, bringing those cartoons back home.

But by 1967 however, everything was in color.  In order to keep these cartoons running, a new package was commissioned to Fred Ladd who adapted Astro Boy into English, to produce new colorized versions of these cartoons.  Here's how it worked: 16mm prints were sent to a studio in Korea, where they retraced each cartoon frame by frame (ish).  The problem was that these studios had only the budget of an anime studio at that time so........the animation looks broken.  There are moments throughout that makes them look like bad cartoons.  The color choices are also bad.  They had to be big bright colors to say "Hey..it's in color now!!"  Finally these were shot in 16mm, meaning over time, they look worse with beaten up prints of these.  A newly syndicated package titled Porky Pig and Friends included the newly colorized 78 WB cartoons, the intro, outro, and bumpers to The Porky Pig Show, and the other theatrical cartoons that aired on The Porky Pig Show.  Interestingly enough, those show bumpers and such too were badly animated in the mid 1960's.  I mentioned both of these on my Worst Looney Tunes Ever post.

One of the many early Bob Clampett cartoons that got this horrible treatment.  Makes me wonder if one could sue for ruining their creations and/or (in a way) defamation.

Ferris Wheelhouse did 2 videos on the subject, and on one of them was a quote from Tom Minton, who produced Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries, and more.  Here's what he had to say:  "All I know is what I gleamed talking to old timers.  Virtually everyone who was a writer, producer, or even a cel painter was offended by the crappy workmanship on full display in those late 60's overseas repainted cartoons, and Bob Clampett's rep seemed to suffer the most since the majority of the repainted shorts were originally directed by him, and the terrible re-do's still bore his name.  I was told that the deal was made by the suits at WB who were impressed by the first one or two repainted cartoons the overseas shops showed them.  It later became painfully apparent that more time and care had been spent on the first one or two in order to land the job of doing a million more, and that no executive making that deal was an artist and no artists especially none who worked on the original black and white shorts were ever consulted prior to the contract being signed.  American business at it nakedist, con'd by one of their own bait and switch cons, and bitten in the ass in the end.  The overseas studios were still using the same trick as late as the previous decade [2000's] doing a great job on the audition footage often using a superior crew than what the actual content [looked liked] once the contract was signed.  The studios seldom learn......."  Which begs the question, what was that audition cartoon WB saw?  Was it one of their own cartoons (as if so which one) or was it something else?

So WHO in the heck propose such an idea to do this?  Here is my THEORY: As with most big companies, one hand does not know what the other is doing.  Most of the control of the black and white cartoons seem to still be with Seven Arts.  It would not surprise me if the idea of colorization began BEFORE the WB merger.  This may also explain why these cartoons, despite now in color, were NEVER shown on The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Hour or other related shows in the 70's and 80's.  They were their own thing from Seven Arts.  Still the Porky and Friends package lasted a long time.  TV stations were given enough cartoons for them to air once a year (provided they only aired once a week), and they were given the option to air however they want.  Some of these appeared in Chicago WGN's Bozo Show.  Then in the 1970's, when the Bugs Bunny and Friends package began, it was the same situation...100 cartoons ready to play whenever they want.  Should a station have BOTH packages, they were able to run together.  Then to get even weirder, some shows, like Chicago's Ray Rayner, also had the AAP library, so they could, in theory, run ALL 3 packages before Cartoon Network ever could (but that's a different story).

Depending on the print delivered to Korea, how each cartoon was presented varied.  Some had WB titles, others had Sunset Guild titles.  The iconic WB Shield zooming is gone.  It was either focused in or dissolved in, but never zoomed.  And yes, the end titles with Porky saying That's All Folks were indeed redrawn.  It's hard for these prints to come by, but they did exist.  Another version of these cartoons have the titles replaced with new ones with the WB-7arts titles as seen on the WB-7arts cartoons from the late 1960's.  Then in the early 1970's, WB again made new prints of these while trying to erase Sunset/Guild completely.  A WB Looney Tunes title card from the late 1950's plastered over the older titles and end with the end titles also from the 50's followed then by the new WB TV distribution logo at that time.  By the mid to late 1980's, the WB TV logo was removed since that logo was finally defunct.

When Nickelodeon picked up the Looney Tunes in 1988, they also got these redraws, but it didn't take long for them to realize "you know what.....we can't show these anymore."  Interestingly enough, for Nick at Nite they would air the black and white versions of these cartoons, but color was still necessary since it is a kids network after all, and even WB agreed it was time for a change.  Starting in the 1990's, newly colorized versions of these cartoons were released and began airing in place of the older versions.  As for the Porky and Friends package, sources claim it was still made available right up until 1994, but with newer packages like Merrie Melodies starring Bugs Bunny coming about and because many of the cartoons from the Porky and Friends package were no longer exclusive being shown on other networks, it's highly unlikely that the Porky Pig and Friends package lasted past 1989.  Somehow, these redraws still showed up time to time on Nickelodeon followed by Cartoon Network.  Specifically, Porky's Midnight Matinee, Daffy's Southern Exposure, Porky's Bear Facts, Wholly Smoke, and Puss n Booty.  The redraws aired AS LATE AS 2003.  Grey Market releases on home video, however, made them available even to this day, as well as fan video uploads.  It seems likely that WB will NEVER use these versions again in future releases be it TV, Streaming, or Home Video.

Meanwhile over at Turner, who just bought tons of property including the AAP library, they commissioned a major colorization project on the black and white feature films and the cartoons.  Previous owner United Artists pretty much put an end to reruns of the black and white Merrie Melodies cartoons that they owned since there were no major starring characters like Bugs Bunny in there (unlike Sunset's package with Porky).  But in 1988, new colorized versions of these old cartoons were made to air on the Turner networks.  Unlike the feature films, they did not use digital to colorize their cartoon library.  Instead, like WB-7arts, they commissioned Fred Ladd to retrace them again.  Thus, like the Porkys, the animation is choppy and weird.  Sadly, because of different ownership, these were the only colorized versions made for the cartoons.  What's weirder yet, in 1995, when Turner made new remasters for the networks (called dubbed versions for the WB cartoons), they made new masters ready to go for BOTH VERSIONS of the cartoons.  While not seen as much because of their age and relevancy, these versions continued to air until the early 2000's.  Don't rule them out as dead and buried.  It's possible that these turned up on Boomerang over the years, and it's not impossible to think that they can show up again at any point.

Back at Warners, a new restoration/colorization was taking place.  Reruns on Nickelodeon were very popular (so much so that Nick needed to have their own cartoon series for themselves and thus, the Nicktoons were born), but they needed improvement.  Starting in 1990, some of the black and white cartoons were digitally colorized.  This preserves the original animation, unlike the original colorizations.  A company called CST Entertainment Inc. was hired for the job.  The first batch was completed in 1990, the next batch was done in 1992.  By 1995, approx. 100 Black and White Looney Tunes were colorized.  This meant more cartoons were colorized that never were before including the classic You Ought To Be in Pictures as it combined live action and animation.  However, not all the black and white cartoons made the cut.  The Bosko and Buddy cartoons were and are no longer rerunable.  Some of the wartime era cartoons were not worth colorizing as they too were not rerunable anymore (until some of them showed up on Toonheads in the early 2000's).  Some other cartoons such as Scrap Happy Daffy, Africa Squeaks, and Robinson Crusoe Jr. got the colorized treatment in the 90's, but never aired due to them now being too politically incorrect.

Porky's Pet was never redrawn in the 60's, but finally got colorized in 1995

Although they were co-funded by Nickelodeon, they didn't just air there.  A new series called Merrie Melodies Starring Bugs Bunny and Friends showcased some of these new versions as did That's Warner Bros!, The Daffy Duck Show, and The Bugs 'n' Daffy Show.  They also appeared on a handful of official WB VHS tapes.  Wherever Looney Tunes were found on television, these versions were nearby.  The colorized versions continued to air on Nick until 1999 when Looney Tunes started becoming exclusive to Cartoon Network.  Cartoon Network quickly picked these up when Turner merged with WB in 1996.  The colorized versions continue to be used to this day on Boomerang over the air and on their streaming service.

While the fans continue to shout that the original versions are the right way to watch them, the colorized versions, whether they were badly redrawn or digitally enhanced, were and are a necessary evil.  Black and white cartoons and some shows are no longer marketable since the rise of color television, and had they been locked away, chances are they would be locked away forever simply because they are in black and white.  Yes, many mistakes were made; many unforgivable, but many historical and amazing cartoons ended up seeing the light of day again.  And in the end, because of this, many fans demanded seeing these original versions which they did...they were shown on Nick, on Late Night in Black and White, on Toonheads, and The Bob Clampett Show, plus many home video releases restored them in full black and white glory.  This includes the Golden Collection and Porky Pig 101 DVDs, showcasing the best of black and white.  We needed these colorizations more than we want to admit, and their purpose was served: bringing to you and me some of the greatest cartoons of all time!!!!

1960's Popeye: Your Guide to watching on Youtube

Over the course of a year, the official Popeye Youtube channel has been uploading all the 1960's Popeye cartoons.  You know the ones.....cheap in quality and Bluto is now Brutus.  Well, finally, at last the job is done.  However, they organized them 4 at a time per episode (in chronological order).  So now comes the daunting task of listing each and every cartoon per episode.  But that's not all, there will also be notes with each one if needed, AND each one will be labeled as which studio did them.  Let's get started

Episode 1

Hit and Missles (Paramount Cartoons)  NOTE:  First episode and only one to give Paramount credit
Plumbers Pipe Dream (Jack Kinney)
Jeep Tale (Jack Kinney)
From Way Out (Gene Deitch)

Episode 2

Hoppy Jalopy (Larry Harmon)
Popeye's Pep Up Emporium (Jack Kinney)
Baby Phase (TV Spots)
Weather Watchers (Jack Kinney)

Episode 3

Golden-Type Fleece (Jack Kinney)
Dead Eye Popeye (Larry Harmon)
Coffee House (Jack Kinney)
The Billionaire (Gene Deitch)

Episode 4

Popeye and the Phantom (Jack Kinney)
Mueller's Mad Monster (Larry Harmon)
Popeye's Pet Store (Jack Kinney)
Blinkin Beacon (Jack Kinney)

Episode 5

Caveman Capers (Larry Harmon)
Popeye and the Spinach Stalk (Jack Kinney)
Azteck Wreck (Jack Kinney)
After the Ball Went Over (Jack Kinney)

Episode 6

Ski-Jump Chump (Larry Harmon)
Popeye's Car Wars (Jack Kinney)
Popeye and the Dragon (Jack Kinney)
Mississippi Sissy (Jack Kinney)

Episode 7

Irate Pirate (Larry Harmon)
Musckels Smuskels (Larry Harmon)
Interrupted Lullaby (Gene Deitch)
Goon with the Wind (Gene Deitch)  NOTE: Faded print; some colors lost

Episode 8

Foola-Foola Bird (Larry Harmon)
Sweapea Through the Looking Glass (Jack Kinney)
Skyscraper Caper (Jack Kinney)
Hamburger Fishing (Jack Kinney)

Episode 9

Childhood Daze (Larry Harmon)
Jingle Jangle Jungle (Jack Kinney)
Popeye the Popular Mechanic (Jack Kinney)
Popeye in Haweye (Jack Kinney)

Episode 10

Incident at Missile City (Paramount Cartoons)
Fashion Fotography (Jack Kinney)
Sea No Evil (Gene Deitch)  NOTE:  Brutus is NOT voiced by Jackson Beck
Popeye's Junior Headache (TV Spots)

Episode 11

Dog Catcher Popeye (Paramount Cartoons)
Popeye the Piano Mover (Jack Kinney)
Take It Easel (TV Spots)
Popeye the Fireman (Jack Kinney)

Episode 12

What's News (Paramount Cartoons)
Voo-Doo to You (Paramount Cartoons)
Matinee Idol Popeye (Gene Deitch)
Popeye and the Giant (Jack Kinney)

Episode 13

The Sheepish Sheep Herder (Larry Harmon)
Sea Serpent (Paramount Cartoons)
Little Olive Riding Hood (Jack Kinney)
Invisible Popeye (Jack Kinney)

Episode 14

Track Meet Cheat (Larry Harmon)
Scairdy Cat (Paramount Cartoons)
Popeye's Trojan Horse (Jack Kinney)
Aladdin's Lamp (Paramount Cartoons)

Episode 15

Crystal Ball Brawl (Larry Harmon)
Uranium on the Cranium (Larry Harmon)
Shoot the Chutes (Jack Kinney)
Out of this World (Jack Kinney)

Episode 16

Swee'Pea Soup (Gene Deitch)
Two-Faced Paleface (Larry Harmon)
Spare Dat Tree (Jack Kinney)
Frozen Feuds (Jack Kinney)

Episode 17

Weight for More (Gene Deitch)
Potent Lotion (Gene Deitch)
Paper Pasting Pandemonium (Jack Kinney)
Tiger Burger (Jack Kinney)

Episode 18

Old Salt Tale (Jack Kinney)
Seer-Ring is Believer-Ring (Paramount Cartoons)
Popeye Revere (Jack Kinney)
The Glad Gladiator (Jack Kinney)

Episode 19

Jeep is Jeep (Paramount Cartoons)
Strange Things are Happening (Paramount Cartoons)
Popeye's Testimonial Dinner (Jack Kinney)
Popeye the Ugly Duckling (Jack Kinney)

Episode 20

Pop Goes the Whistle (Paramount Cartoons)
Giddy Gold (Paramount Cartoons)
Around the World in 80 Ways (Jack Kinney)
The Troll Wot Got Gruff (Jack Kinney)

Episode 21

My Fair Olive (Paramount Cartoons)
Which is Witch (Gene Deitch)
Kiddie Kapers (Paramount Cartoons)
Popeyed Columbus (Jack Kinney)

Episode 22

Popeye Thumb (Paramount Cartoons)
Baerbecue for Two (Jack Kinney NOTE: Pilot episode; uses different designs of the characters and                                                                      Brutus unnamed.  Faded print; some colors lost
Astronut (Gene Deitch)
Popeye's Used Car (Jack Kinney)

Episode 23

Popeye's Tea Party (Jack Kinney)
Time Marches Backwards (Jack Kinney)
The Wiffle Bird's Revenge (Paramount Cartoons)
Bullfighter Bully (Larry Harmon)

Episode 24

Fleas a Crowd (TV Spots)
County Fair (Paramount Cartoons)
Popeye and Buddy Brutus (Jack Kinney)
Lighthouse Keeping (Jack Kinney)

Episode 25

Popeye the White Collar Man (Jack Kinney)
A Mite of Trouble (Paramount Cartoons)
Butler Up (Paramount Cartoons)
Popeye's Picnic (Jack Kinney)

Episode 26

Love Birds (Paramount Cartoons)
Skinned Divers (Jack Kinney)
Bellhop Popeye (Jack Kinney)
Popeye's Cool Pool (Jack Kinney)

Episode 27

The Cure (Paramount Cartoons)
Forever Ambergris (Jack Kinney)
Going....Boing....Gone (Paramount Cartoons)
Oil's Well That Ends Well (Paramount Cartoons)

Episode 28

The Baby Contest (Paramount Cartoons)
Spinach Shortage (Jack Kinney)
Bird Watcher Popeye (Jack Kinney)
Who's Kiddin Zoo (Paramount Cartoons)

Episode 29

Motor Knocks (Paramount Cartoons)
Timber Toppers (Jack Kinney)
Robot Popeye (Paramount Cartoons)
Popeye the Lifeguard (Jack Kinney)

Episode 30

College of Hard Knocks (Larry Harmon)
Duel to the Finish (Paramount Cartoons)
The Medicine Man (Paramount Cartoons)
Hag-Way Robbery (Gene Deitch)

Episode 31

Messin Up the Mississippi (Paramount Cartoons)
Egypt Us (TV Spots)
Myskery Melody (Paramount Cartoons)
Popeyed Fisherman (Jack Kinney)

Episode 32

Beaver or Not (Gene Deitch)
The Big Sneeze (TV Spot)
Westward Ho Ho (Jack Kinney)
The Green Dancing Shoes (Jack Kinney)

Episode 33

Deserted Dessert (Jack Kinney)
The Ghost Hosts (Paramount Cartoons)
Wimpy's Lunch Wagon (Jack Kinney)
Popeye's Folly (Jack Kinney)

Episode 34

The Spinach Scholar (Paramount Cartoons)
Psychiatricks (Paramount Cartoons)
Coach Popeye (Jack Kinney)
Partial Post (Gene Deitch)

Episode 35

Tooth Be or Not Tooth Be (Gene Deitch)
Model Muddle (Gene Deitch)
Poppa Popeye (Paramount Cartoons)
Pest of the Pecos (Jack Kinney)

Episode 36

Madam Salami (Jack Kinney)
I Been Sculped (TV Spots)
Abdominal Snowman (Larry Harmon)
Golf Brawl (Jack Kinney)

Episode 37

Spinachonara (Jack Kinney)
Operation Ice-Tickle (Paramount Cartoons)
Quick Change Olie (Paramount Cartoons)
Popeye's Museum Piece (Jack Kinney)

Episode 38

Popeye's Pizza Place (Jack Kinney)
Popeye's Service Station (Jack Kinney)
A Poil for Olive Oyl (Paramount Cartoons)
Jeep Jeep (Jack Kinney)

Episode 39

Battery Up (Jack Kinney)
Popeye in the Woods (Jack Kinney)
There's No Space like Home (Gene Deitch)
Hamburgers Aweigh (Paramount Cartoons)

Episode 40

Hill-Billy Dilly (Jack Kinney)
Ace of Space (Larry Harmon)  NOTE: Not to confuse with the 3D Popeye Ace of Space theatrical cartoon from 1953
Strikes, Spares, an' Spinach (Paramount Cartoons)
Sneaking Peeking (Paramount Cartoons)

Episode 41 NOTE: Starting here, the first cartoon per episode loses their opening credits

The Blubbering Whale (Jack Kinney)
Popeye's Travels (Paramount Cartoons)
Bottom Gun (Jack Kinney)
The Lost City of Bubble-lon (Gene Deitch)

Episode 42

Autographically Yours (Paramount Cartoons)
Popeye and the Herring Snatcher (Jack Kinney)
Where There's a Will (TV Spots)
The Last Resort (TV Spots)

Episode 43

The Mark of Zero (Paramount Cartoons)
The Square Egg (Jack Kinney)
The Super Duper Market (Jack Kinney)
The Rain Breaker (Paramount Cartoons)

Episode 44

Double Cross Country Feet Race (Jack Kinney)
Rip Van Popeye (Jack Kinney)
Sea Hagracy (Jack Kinney)
Popeye and the Magic Hat (Jack Kinney)

Episode 45

Insultin' the Sultan (Gene Deitch)
Down the Hatch (Jack Kinney)
It Only Hurts When They Laughs (Paramount Cartoons)
Wimpy the Moocher (Paramount Cartoons)

Episode 46 NOTE: the first cartoon loses the ENTIRE opening titles

Magic Mirror (Paramount Cartoons)
Jeopardy Sheriff (TV Spots)
Canine Caprice (Gene Deitch)
Camel Aires (Jack Kinney)

Episode 47

Popeye's Double Trouble (Paramount Cartoons)
Rags to Riches to Rags (Paramount Cartoons)
Hair Cut-Ups (Paramount Cartoons)
Popeye Goes Sale-ing (Paramount Cartoons)

Episode 48

Spinach Greetings (Paramount Cartoons)
Popeye in the Grand Steeple Chase (Jack Kinney)
Valley of the Goons (Paramount Cartoons)
William Won't Tell (Paramount Cartoons)

Episode 49

The Day Silky Went Blozo (Jack Kinney)
Amusement Park (Paramount Cartoons)  NOTE: Not to confuse with the 1940's cartoon, Abusement Park
Me Quest for Poopdeck Pappy (Paramount Cartoons)  NOTE: Not to confuse with the 1940's special of the same name
Roger (Gene Deitch)

Episode 50

The Golden Touch (Jack Kinney)
The Bathing Beast (Paramount Cartoons)
Moby Hick (Paramount Cartoons)
Ballet de Spinach (Jack Kinney)

Episode 51 NOTE: From here on out the first cartoon per episode has NO opening titles

Gem Jam (Paramount Cartoons)
Popeye's Hypnotic Glance (Jack Kinney) NOTE: The best remembered Alice the Goon "I Love Popeye" episode
Boardering on Trouble (Paramount Cartoons)
Olive Drab and the Sweapeas (Jack Kinney)

Episode 52

The Leprechaun (Paramount Cartoons)
The Black Knight (Jack Kinney)
I Yam Wot I Yamnesia (Jack Kinney)
Popeye's Fix It Shop (Jack Kinney)

Episode 53

Popeye and the Polite Dragon (Jack Kinney)
Have Time Will Travel (Gene Deitch) NOTE: This cartoon has no opening credits
Intellectual Interlude (Gene Deitch) NOTE:  This cartoon has no opening credits
Voice From the Deep or See Here Sea Hag (Gene Deitch)

Episode 54

Private Eye Popeye (Jack Kinney) NOTE: Not to confuse with the 1950's cartoon of the same name
Disguise the Limit (Gene Deitch)
Spoil Sport (Gene Deitch)
Popeye de Leon (Jack Kinney) NOTE: This cartoon has no opening credits

Episode 55

Uncivil War (Jack Kinney) NOTE: According to Cartoon Research this may have been used as a public service films used in schools and classrooms.  There were two alternate endings, one where Popeye sings, and one where he doesn't.  King Features uses the latter (the former is found on Cartoon Research).  And although Jack Kinney produced the film, the end scene was resused animation from Paramount
Dog-Gone Dog-Catcher (Gene Deitch) NOTE: This cartoon has no opening credits
Popeye's Corn-certo (Jack Kinney)
Seeing Double (Gene Deitch)

Ranking Every Flintstones series

In celebration of Me-TV's reruns of the original Flintstones, it's time for a new series of posts called Ranking Every, where we dive into each and every series of a certain franchise.  And for our first one, it will be The Flintstones, as many different series were created by Hanna-Barbera long after the original series ended in the 60's.

NOTES:  1. This includes TV series only; no specials or movies are including in this series
                2. Each series is graded using the same grading system used in schools from A-F
                3. Contrary to what Boomerang says, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels is NOT...I repeat...is NOT a part of the Flintstones despite him appearing in a Flintstone series later on.

(1960-1966)

The original prime time animated sitcom about a blue collar caveman named Fred Flintstone who lives in the modern stone age

GRADE: A+

This is the absolute classic that remains one of Hanna-Barbera's most popular cartoons.  It's true that as the series progressed, the show did lose some quality (making Gazoo the final straw), but overall, this is what all the Baby Boomers remember watching every Friday Night (and in some cases Thursday Night).  After that, it became a series that just goes on and on in reruns.  So much so that Hanna Barbera commissioned new series featuring the Flintstones.  Did they work?  Well let's find out.

(1971-1972)

Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm are now teenagers and are with new friends in all new adventures and forming a new band called the Bedrock Rockers. 

GRADE: C-

It's obvious that this was made to compete with The Archies and go along with Hanna-Barbera's own hit show, Josie and the Pussycats.  Despite not being great....for some reason it was somewhat of a hit.  So much so that the next season would be a part of new Flintstones episodes (but I'm getting ahead of myself).  While this is the start of "factory made" Flintstones as opposed to creative driven, there are still some pluses.  Sally Struthers voiced Pebbles while Jay North voiced Bamm Bamm.  North played Dennis the Menace years earlier while Struthers would pursue the role as Gloria in All in the Family.  Overall....it's ok.....

(1972-1973)

Continuing success of Pebbles and Bamm Bamm, this show features an hour of cartoons which include episodes of Fred and Barney, episodes starring the cast of Pebbles and Bamm Bamm, music videos of the Bedrock Rockers, and new episodes/reruns of Pebbles and Bamm Bamm

GRADE: C-

And I'm probably being too nice.  It is obvious it's due to the success of the Archies even more now.  The Archies also followed this format.  It's not a bad format, but meh......not so well with The Flintstones.  The quality also is lacking compared to the original series.  The characters don't move as much.  Sally Struthers is gone to pursue as Gloria in All in the Family, and this would be the very last series Alan Reed would voice Fred Flintstone before his passing.  The next season, followed by reruns, would be reduced to a half an hour calling it The Flintstone Comedy Show, but alas, no new episodes, just repackaged cartoons per episode.  These are the rarest of the Flintstones cartoons due to music clearing rights; only The Pebbles and Bamm Bamm show episodes made for this show is legally available.

(1979)

Continuing adventures of Fred and Barney in a whole new kind of show...at least that's what the show says.

GRADE: C+

A little bit better than previous reboots, but not by much.  It follows the same format as the original Flintstones, but it so wasn't the same.  During it's run, it was also called Fred and Barney meet The Shmoo and Fred and Barney meet The Thing, which makes it sound worse than it is (The Thing and The Shmoo were separate from The Flintstones).  The Shmoo would join Fred and Barney later on in a new series.

(1980-1981)

Not to confuse with the 1973 series, this version is comprised of many different shorts including Flintstone Family Adventures, Bedrock Cops (featuring The Shmoo), Pebbles Dino and Bamm Bamm (ala Scooby-Doo style adventures), Captain Caveman (as a superhero to journalists Wilma and Betty), Dino and Cavemouse (in a Tom and Jerry style), and The Frankenstones (The Flintstones new neighbors).

GRADE: B-

Because there's a variety of cartoons in this hour long show, it's not too terribly bad.  It has its failures.  For example, Bedrock Cops looks like the cheapest out of all of them as Fred's eyes are drawn all wrong (to save money perhaps....typical Hanna Barbera of that time).  But its ups are pretty high.  Cavemouse would be some of the last works of Tex Avery, who passed away before the show debuted on the air.  Charles Nelson Riley voices Frank Frankenstone, and it was the first series for upcoming voice actress, the now late Russi Taylor, as Cavemouse and Pebbles.  Reruns of this series was repackaged as Flinstone Frolics, and continues to air as such to this day.  Enjoy, just don't get your hopes up too much.

(1986-1988)

The Flintstones are now their younger selves in this series of episodes.

GRADE: D+

It doesn't work well.  The characters look weird, and consistency as to how the characters should sound is gone.  This was to help cash in on the success of the Muppet Babies, but alas it just doesn't work.  By God they tried, but it just doesn't feel like The Flintstones.

(1996)

Pebbles and Bamm Bamm in a series of educational lessons for children

GRADE: F

Made with the success of The Rugrats, Hanna-Barbera realized they had their own Tommy and Chuckie, so they used Pebbles and Bamm Bamm instead of creating new characters.  What they failed to realize is that The Rugrats was not a toddler show (even though it stars toddlers), so naturally the series is a failure.  Thankfully though, by that time, Hanna-Barbera began focusing on creative driven shows just like Nickelodeon did, so the true competition to The Rugrats would be Dexter's Laboratory and later The Powerpuff Girls (both airing on Cartoon Network).  Simply put, this isn't The Flintstones at all....it's a baby show.