Customer Reviews

The Hanna-Barbera Treasury: Rare Art and Mementos from your Favorite Cartoon Classics

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I should preface this review by stating that I have been a fan of the Hanna-Barbera studios since I was old enough to sit in front of the television. I've worked in the animation industry for 15 years, and consider myself an expert on the studio and it's characters.

Like most other fans of the Hanna-Barbera library, I was excited to hear that animation historian Jerry Beck was writing a book about Hanna-Barbera's early years. After being disappointed in other H-B coffee-table-type books, I thought, "Finally! Someone who knows his stuff is going to get it right!" Well, guess what? He didn't. There are TONS of factual errors in this book. I'm starting a list and will forward it to anyone that cares, but to start:

1. Page 61, photo 15 is called out in the caption text as a Limited Edition recreation of a Quick Draw McGraw cartoon episode title card. This is wrong. It's the actual title card used in production, which was signed by Bill & Joe. The H-B Animation Art division never re-created this piece.

2. Since Snagglepuss was given his own segment on "The Yogi Bear Show," his fur color has always been pink (except when he first appeared on "The Quick Draw McGraw Show," in which case it was more of an orange color). Jerry Beck states (Caption text, Page 67) that the color is actually purple. Huh? Purple? Other than the covers of a few Coloring and/or Sticker Books released by Western Publishing, it's always been pink. The Hanna-Barbera studio paint code, since 1961 has always been: XRR-1, which is pink. Perhaps the proof reader was sick that day.

3. Page 75 calls out a background layout as being art for a collectible plate. Wrong. It's the original background layout for the Flintstones episode titled, "The Gruesomes." (The book's designer put it in a circular shape.)

4. Pages 76 & 77 are called out as "Model Sheets For the later episodes" of "The Flintstones." Wrong. Drawings on Page 77 are the construction drawings created by Iwao Takamoto in 1993/94 for a Licensing and Merchandising Style Guide, released to coincide with Universl Pictures' live action feature film starring John Goodman.

I could go on, but I think you get the point. The list of factual errors is long. The number of series produced between 1957 and 1969 (which is the year Jerry Beck decided to stop his book) is incomplete. The character line art used on many pages isn't vintage art from the archives (which do exist, as I have copies.) They are, in fact, current licensing and merchandising drawings created by Warner Bros. Consumer Products, and drawn off-model. Why, I have to wonder, with all the original vintage character art that exists in the archives, created by legends such as Iwao Takamoto, Jerry Eisenbery, Willie Ito, Dick Bickenbach, etc. etc., did they use this new crop of inconsistant character art? The world may never know.

Am I being picky? Perhaps. But the author should have proofread his own copy and checked it for factual inaccuracies. I have found quite a few more than mentioned above, just perusing the book in the store. Someone with Jerry Beck's reputation and credentials should have tried harder. This is the only chance a book like this will be released and the studio, it's co-founders and it's fans deserved much more respect.

After years of dreaming, and having those dreams crushed by earlier, horrible attempts at a proper Hanna-Barbera coffee-table art book, THIS wonderful, colorful, artiful (?) book has made my dreams come true.

This book may not sound that big at 157 pages, but what you can't tell from that number is that every oversized page is PACKED with photos of REAL production artwork (not those awful fakey-fake publicity "cels.") -- most of which was apparently photographed from original archival artwork! There are pictures of storyboards, layouts, animation drawings, model sheets, development sketches, character designs, etc...stuff that has never seen the light of day until now. I've been waiting for someone to put together this kind of book for ages.

There are also tons of beautiful photos of vintage H-B collectable and toys, like plastic dolls and View-Master reels. If you remember the groundbreaking art direction in Chip Kidd's Batman Animated art book from the nineties, you can imagine what this looks like.

The other feature that really expands the page-count is that there are tons of little envelopes and pockets and pamphlets bound into this book that contain beautiful facsimiles of trading cards, full-color 12-page mini-comic book reprints, Model sheets, storyboard sequences and vintage activity-book pages.

There are separate chapters for all of the early Hanna Barbera stars (in chronological order), including a chapter EACH devoted to:

* Tom and Jerry
* Ruff and Reddy
* Huckleberry Hound
* Pixie and Dixie
* Yogi Bear
* Quick-Draw McGraw
* Augie Doggie
* Snagglepuss
* The Flintstones
* Top Cat
* The Jetsons
* Magilla Gorilla
* Peter Potamus
* Sqiddly Diddly
* Touche Turtle
* Lippy The Lion
* Jonny Quest
* Space Ghost
* Atom Ant
* Secret Squirerel and Morocco Mole
* Frankenstein, Jr and the Impossibles
* Birdman
* Wacky Races
* Space Ghost
* Scooby Doo

...and THEY STOP RIGHT THERE! Oh, happy day!

There's no need to pretend that the entire history of Hanna Barbera is totally golden...most of their output after the late sixties was totally forgettable. But they wisely chose to focus on the best of the best!

If you felt horribly cheated by the awful Hanna Barbera Cartoons coffee-table book from 1999, this new book should make you forget all about that publishing nightmare. This new book a winner through and through! Caveat: I haven't READ the text yet, so I'm looking at this purely from a visual standpoint. I'm guessing that based on the love and devotion that obviously went into the art direction of this book, they probably didn't skimp on the textual accuracy either.

The text is written by animation historian and Cartoon Brew-meister Jerry Beck, so I'm looking forward to reading it and posting another review later to complete the full review.

I was blown away when I first cracked this book open. It's overflowing with amazing visuals from everything Hanna Barbera. All of the added extras like mini comics, cards and cels are so cool. We can only hope that Jerry Beck has a similar Looney Tunes book in the works. BUY THIS!

On of the trends among higher end collector's books over the past couple of years have been to pack them with all sorts of extra treasures and trinkets. I guess since if DVD's have extra features, why not books as well. The latest such book is Insight Editions' The Hanna-Barbera Treasury which spotlights the legendary animation company with a look at their history, its many famous cartoons and characters, and including all types of interesting memorabilia.

The studio was formed by Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera in 1944 as they worked for the MGM studios producing the Tom & Jerry series of cartoons. The HB animation of that time period easily rivals the best animation being produced by Disney or Warner Brothers and the Tom & Jerry cartoons still hold up well sixty years later. But what really made HB great was their embrace of the new medium of television, and their realization that they had to sacrifice some quality to remain profitable. Many animation studios folded in the 1950's when it became so cost prohibitive to produce cartoons.

Hanna-Barbera decided to start stressing characters over animation. It gave them a bit of an undeserved bad rap from animation snobs who frowned upon their repetitive animation techniques. But, simply put, they did what they had to do to remain profitable and as a result, created some of the most memorable characters in animation history. Even Disney cannot boast as many notable characters as the HB studio. The book takes a look at two dozen of their most famous characters in chronological order, beginning with Tom & Jerry in the 1940's. The history and creation of each show is covered with all sorts of interesting stories and anecdotes. Rare photos of period merchandise are also pictured as well as those "extras" I spoke of earlier.

The studio's most prolific period was the 50's and 60's and leading things off was that irresistible, laid-back pooch, Huckleberry Hound. Huck was literally the first prime time cartoon star, often rating in the top 10 TV shows in many cities. Huck also produced the first animated spin-off series, Yogi Bear. The extras in this section are reproductions of puzzle cards, which reflect Huck's many different occupations.

Yogi Bear appeared on the Huckleberry Hound show in 1957 and got his own TV show in 1961, and his own big screen theatrical film "Hey There, it's Yogi Bear" in 1964. You'll see early production sketches of the character which vary fairly radically from the finished product. The Yogi section comes packed with a mini, facsimile coloring book.

The 1960's was simply incredible for the Hanna-Barbera studio. The 60's saw the birth of characters such as Snagglepuss, The Jetson's, The Flintstones, Top Cat, Jonny Quest, Atom Ant, Birdman, Space Ghost, and Wacky Races.

The Flintstones remain one of the great pop culture Icons of the 60's, with a plethora of mass-merchandising products, everything from books to toys and comic books to vitamins. The Flintstones section includes a repro animation cell, sketch guides, and more puzzle cards.

The 70's saw the rise of perhaps the studios most popular and enduring character, Scooby Doo! It's also here that the book unfortunately concludes. This is the one drawback to the book. The 70's featured a lot of memorable characters who are omitted: Hong Kong Phooey, Captain Caveman, Josie & the Pussycats, and Dynomutt are all left out of the book. The Hanna-Barbera Treasury is not meant to be a comprehensive guide to all their shows but rather a spotlight on their biggest stars. While I would have liked to have seen more coverage of the 1970's, hopefully this means there will eventually be a volume 2.

I have always had a unique and devout interest in animation but didn't find a true home for it until finding web sites online like the fantastic blog Cartoon Brew (.com), which the author, Jerry Beck, co-posts. I have anticipated this book ever since Beck first started throwing out ideas on what to put in it.

I bought the book online right around Christmas after it was not in stock at any of my local Borders or other book stores. I spent the entire day that it came in the mail gazing at the amazingly placed color pictures and sketches, as well as unique information. The book, much like the cartoons, perfectly captures your imagination and is sure to put some smiles on your face as you progress through all those classic characters. Some of my favorite parts included the two-page spread of the old Hanna-Barbera Studios with the Fred Flinstone images as well as the character stories of Huckleberry Hound and Quick Draw McGraw. I especially loved how "Snuffles" was mentioned in Quick Draw's part, one of my all-time favorite cartoon characters.

The book is on the steep side but is absolutely worth every penny. No one could have done a better job than Beck on any topic of animation, and this insightful book is no exception. A true treat for your mind and eyes. Highest recommendation possible.

I LOVE looking through this book. It's just so much fun. Almost every page has some kind of ephemera to take out or flip etc., and many of the items are reproductions from the 60's and 70's. It's a similar format to the Art of Open Season and Art of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs titles. Someone mentioned factual errors, and aside from that the book is pure bliss.

Got this for my kids my oldes love it and carries it around all the time. She loves animation and the all the Hanna-barbera cantoons.

This book has to be the greatest book I have ever purchased.


It not only covers all the different kinds of Hanna Barbera characters,
but it has all kinds of extra treasures.

I would highy recommend.

Roger

What's up with Hanna-Barbera? Given the tremendous output, numerous firsts, and the cavalcade of classic cartoons from the house that Bill and Joe built, the story must truly be fascinating. But it apparently cannot be told. Michael Mallory's dazzling coffee table book, Hanna-Barbera Cartoons Hanna Barbera could more accurately be described as a catalog of animation cels, with shreds of "yes man" introductions. As a cel guide it remains endlessly fascinating, however (and far cheaper than even one art cel), and even included a removable cel affixed to the book cover.

Joe and Bill both gave us bios with their own takes on H-B, but this is merely the tip of the iceberg for a duo so influential in the beginnings and history of TV cartoons (look at all the books by and on Disney). That said, I'm always ready for more H-B (and am waiting for all the specials that came out on VHS to make it to DVD). So when I saw this book at a toy show, I couldn't wait to read it. In a certain sense it makes sense to find it there, as it's filled with collectibles. So how does it rate?

It depends who you are, because this unique book finds a varied audience. Reading-wise, the first fifteen pages are the best part, especially the one page foreword by Fred Seibert about being president of H-B. Then the Hanna-Barbera Treasury officially starts on page 27, and the only writing is on each character/ show. Since it's by Jerry Beck, there are some insights into the process of animation and interesting stories about the shows. Thankfully the book ends with Scooby-Doo in the '60s, although it includes pics of collectibles from the '70s, and the Timeline at the back runs through 2007.

If you're here for the pictures, you'll also do well, as the book is drenched in over 150 pages of full-color art shots, pics of collectibles and comics, and black and white model sheets. "I'm here for the collectibles," the third sort of reader says. As one might guess, they tend to be flat, so the book can close. These are reproductions made especially for this volume, but even one of the originals at the afore-mentioned toy show might go for the price of this book.

Inserts include: a color cel for Ruff and Reddy; 4 small cards for Huck Hound that look like mini-placemats, and 4 collector trivia cards; for Pixie and Dixie, a 20 page black and white cartoon flip book dating from 1958; for Yogi, 6 H-B activity cards that look like pages from comic books, and an 8 page coloring book (with one page colored); for Augie Doggie, a color sheet of 18 gum cards (uncut); for The Flintstones, a color cel, 8 color cards, a black and white fold-out sketch by Iwao Takamoto; for The Jetsons, 4 sheets of rough storyboard sketches, with color notes; for Magilla Gorilla, color masks of Magilla, Snagglepuss, Top Cat, and Yogi, and a tiny, replica 12 page Gold Key Magilla comic book; for Lippy the Lion, a tiny, replica 8 page, color Gold Key comic; for Frankenstein Jr., a small, 20 page color storyboard booklet; for Birdman, 4 model sheets with notes; for Space Ghost, 6 color cards; for Scooby Doo, five model sheet cards. There's also a disguised pocket in the inside front cover with a 16 page color introduction.

Characters/ shows with color sections but no collectible inserts include: Tom and Jerry, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, Top Cat, Peter Potamus, Squiddly Diddly, Jonny Quest, Atom Ant, Secret Squirrel, and Wacky Races. While there are sidebars with brief notes, oddly enough the text doesn't mention the collectibles. There's also nothing on the history of H-B collectibles, and little on merchandising. I was glad to see Ruff and Reddy make the cut, which is to me the first H-B cartoon series, and that this book didn't overdo Tom and Jerry, as most H-B books tend to do. But where are the Herculoids, which date from 1967 and the Birdman era?

Yes, there are errors, the most glaring being that the two pages of text on pages 12 and 13 repeat on pages 16 and 17. And such a labor-intensive volume was sadly made in--where else?--China. But this volume can certainly grace the coffee table and enthrall visitors while we're waiting for the definitive H-B history. Thanks to Jerry and friends, interest in H-B's classic characters here pegs the fun meter. Now when do the cartoons come out on DVD?

I waited anxiously for this book to arrive because I am a lifelong fan of so many of these characters. I remember the very early days watching Huckleberry Hound and later The Flintstones.
There is no way to remember my childhood without the characters that live inside this book. The warm memories and the fantasatic format make this a work of love to be cherished forever!

I became an artist because of Hanna Barbera if you are a fan you want this book! All the little surprises tucked inside make it a joy with every viewing. Thankfully Boomerang continues to showcase these childhood heroes and I am hoping to see Warner Brothers to give these cartoons the respect they deserve by making new cartoons starring them. Until then I will be inside this book as often as I can.