50th Birthdays Coming for Ruff & Reddy, Huck, Yogi, Etc.

[TheBlueHombre]

Starting next year in 1957, Hanna-Barbera Productions will be 50 years old. Ruff and Reddy's 50th is in 2007. Huck, Yogi & Pixie/Dixie are in 2008. Quick Draw, Augie Doggie, Super Snooper will have their Golden Anniversaries in 2009. The Flintstones will turn 50 in 2010; four years from now.

Are there any plans at all to celebrate this milestone for Hanna-Barbera or for any of these characters? If there ever was a time to push for box sets for Ruff and Reddy and a second volume for Huck, this is the perfect time. Will we see any specials or merchandise coming out? This could be a big thing IF WARNER BROTHERS DOES SOMETHING ABOUT IT! I expect them to do something for the Flintstones but there are a whole bunch of other characters that should be noted as well.

Has anyone heard anything?

[Dell Comics Fan]

I was wondering the same thing and posed this same question recently on
another forum.

By the way, "Blue Hombre," I finally had a chance (last Sunday) to see the TV-movie "The Good, the Bad and Huckleberry Hound" on Boomerang. Great movie!

[cpdavison]

Starting next year in 1957, Hanna-Barbera Productions will be 50 years old. Ruff and Reddy's 50th is in 2007.

Maybe they'll get cover stories in "Mature Living" Magazine. (Michael J. Fox was a recent cover boy! B-r-r-r-r!) Ruff and Reddy for AARP Benefits!

You raise a good point, B.H. If nothing else, "Golden Anniversary" editions are an exceptionally good excuse to blow the dust off of long-dormant properties. Let's hope the current owners see fit to sieze this opportunity.

Craig D.

[TheBlueHombre]

I was wondering the same thing and posed this same question recently on
another forum.

By the way, "Blue Hombre," I finally had a chance (last Sunday) to see the TV-movie "The Good, the Bad and Huckleberry Hound" on Boomerang. Great movie!
It is my favorite Huckleberry Hound cartoon. I absolutely love it.

I have had the 50th anniversary thing on my mind for awhile, but when I saw your post on the other forum, it spurred me on to discuss it here as well. The more the word gets out, perhaps WHV will listen.

Speaking of which, The Home Theater Forum is having a chat with Warner Home Video Animation and Television Divisions on June 6th. I hope to pose this question to them at the chat to start getting the word out.

[mojokingbee1]

I'm hope Time-Warner celebrates HB's 50th by doing some long-awaited justice to Hanna-Barbera's characters, and not by releasing another lame Scooby-Doo or Tom & Jerry movie.

[Leviathan]

I really doubt were going to see anything major for the H-B anniversaries, because Warner Bros doesn't seem to care about any H-B property that isn't Scooby Doo.

And if what we've been told by Earl Kress and Daws Butler Jr. is anything to go by, Ruff and Reddy and Huck Vol 2. DVD's are also not happening anytime soon, anniversies or no.

[Daws Butler Jr.]

More than sales figures on any H-B sets, my prediction is that you'll see nothing for 50th Anniversaries, including The Flintstones, unless the lawyers at WB change. There is a strict "no dates" policy. In a documentary, you can't tell when anything was created or how many years people have loved it. This goes for the Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry and the H-B characters and shows.

We wanted to release a new short for the 50th anniversary of the Road Runner and Coyote and they wouldn't let us say that it was the 50th birthday.

[gdX]

lawyers at WB... There is a strict "no dates" policy.
After all this time, I shouldn't be surprised at anything generated by a **** attorney, and yet...

That is plain crazy.

Daws, do you have any insight into the rationale for this insanity?

[Daws Butler Jr.]

They believe that dating the shows or characters makes them seem "old" and kids today don't want to watch old stuff.

It's a good thing they understand who their audience is. :magoo:

[Studio Toledo]

They believe that dating the shows or characters makes them seem "old" and kids today don't want to watch old stuff.

It's a good thing they understand who their audience is. :magoo:
Shame really. I would've loved knowing how long these guys had been out there for.

[TheBlueHombre]

They believe that dating the shows or characters makes them seem "old" and kids today don't want to watch old stuff.

It's a good thing they understand who their audience is. :magoo:
I will disagree with you on this one. Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck were both given 50th birthday bashes by Warner Brothers. Perhaps the lawyers' mentality at that time allowed such things. Bugs had a 50th birthday TV special and a 51st anniversary cartoon is included on the first Looney Tunes box set. There was special merchandise available as well as special videos put out. Daffy had a bit of a bash but not like Bugs.

Also, I went to the International Superman Exposition in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1988 to celebrate Superman's 50th birthday. DC Comics, owned by Warner Brothers, had a year long celebration to commemorate the Man of Steel's Golden Anniversary. Similar things came out for Batman's 50th anniversary in 1989; including a brand new movie starring Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as the Joker. DC Comics and Warner Brothers even developed special logos to celebrate their two superhero's anniversaries.

When Warner Brothers purchased M-G-M, WHV had a big deal about "Gone With The Wind" for its 60th anniversary DVD release and a similar thing for "Casablanca." Warner Brothers even re-released in theaters "The Wizard Of Oz" in 1998 to note the film's 60th anniversary.

Warner Brothers has in the past allowed anniversaries to be celebrated. Perhaps they are choosy about who gets the anniversary nod and who doesn't, but fair is fair. Hanna-Barbera is still one of the biggest names in animation and their partnership in bringing animation to the TV audience is well established. These creators and their creation deserve a special nod for making it in the business for 50 years.

[Greg Method]

I always thought the "no dates" policy had to do with WB fearing people would be able to figure out when the major characters would begin to go into the public domain (like they wouldn't be able to already).

[Daws Butler Jr.]

I always thought the "no dates" policy had to do with WB fearing people would be able to figure out when the major characters would begin to go into the public domain (like they wouldn't be able to already).

That may be a minor concern, but anybody that can read roman numerals can figure out how old the films and characters are.

As far as Bugs and Daffy being celebrated, that was the old regime. The new "no dates" regime came into power and changed the policy somewhere between 1998-2000.

[Jon Cooke]

As far as Bugs and Daffy being celebrated, that was the old regime. The new "no dates" regime came into power and changed the policy somewhere between 1998-2000.

I think the last Warner character to have an acknowledged anniversary was Marvin the Martian's 50th in 1998.

If you take a look at Jerry Beck's LT Ultimate Visual Guide you'll notice not a single date was mentioned in the entire book! I recall Jerry also mentioning that the "no dates" policy is the reason we have not seen an updated LT & MM guide.

[Dell Comics Fan]

They believe that dating the shows or characters makes them seem "old" and kids today don't want to watch old stuff.

It's a good thing they understand who their audience is. :magoo:

I guess the Disney people have the same mentality. There were TV specials
commemorating the 50th birthdays of both Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck--
but Mickey's 60th birthday (not to mention his 70th) was pretty much ignored.

:mickey::donald:

[Jon Cooke]

I guess the Disney people have the same mentality. There were TV specials commemorating the 50th birthdays of both Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck-- but Mickey's 60th birthday (not to mention his 70th) was pretty much ignored.

Actually, Disney still promotes the anniversaries and birthdays of their characters. If you take a look at any Disney Store catalog there is always a new line of collectibles promoting the anniversary of something. For example, right now they are promoting Dumbo's 65th (http://disneyshopping.go.com/DSSectionPage.process?Merchant_Id=2&Section_Id=14869).

Disney did do promotion for Mickey's 75th in 2003 and I actually recall alot of promotion over Mickey's 60th in 1988 including an NBC TV special co-starring Roger Rabbit and the opening of "Mickey's Birthdayland" at Walt Disney World (now redubbed "Mickey's Toontown Fair").

[gdX]

It's a good thing they understand who their audience is. :magoo:
Heh... nice touch, with the Magoo smilie...

I guess it's not the attorneys so much, who merely implement these policies, but rather the people at the very top -- accountants at heart -- who are demonstrating, once again, that they think Golden Age animation is just another piece of the Kid Product puzzle... something to be ID'd, blandly packaged and placed on the appropriate shelf at Walmart...

So that the greatest number of brain-dead parental units will thoughtlessly put it in their shopping carts...

So that the greatest number of shareholders will be content...

So that the aforementioned accountants can hang on to their 7-figure salaries.

Sure, it's desirable to mark milestones with a Gone With The Wind – you can't hide the look of a major feature film from decades ago... but you can stealth-market Kiddie Product so that it looks new and shiny to ensure greater sales... look at the packaging on the cartoon DVDs – it doesn't speak to historical importance at all.

So, for the umpteenth time, what we think doesn't matter at all.

Guess we're lucky to have the LTGC's in the form they are... it's also gratifiying to know that WB is in the process of restoring cartoons (including the Fleischer Popeyes').

What is less certain is if and when – and in what form – we may acquire them... and that's up to a bunch of accountants.

The only life-form lower than attorneys.

:lepew:

[Daws Butler Jr.]

Sure, it's desirable to mark milestones with a Gone With The Wind – you can't hide the look of a major feature film from decades ago... but you can stealth-market Kiddie Product so that it looks new and shiny to ensure greater sales... look at the packaging on the cartoon DVDs – it doesn't speak to historical importance at all.

This is one of my biggest pet peeves with Warner Home Video. The packaging doesn't reflect the product. If you're going to sell Seinfeld, you don't put a picture of how Jerry Seinfeld looks today on the box, you put a picture from the series on the box. Those painted and shaded covers on the H-B sets look like art that was created in the 80's, not the 50's and 60's when the shows originally aired. I'm sure there are fans who don't read forums like this that pass right by those discs on the store shelves because they don't realize what's inside. If I didn't know better, I'd think they were DVD's of more recent revivals. The only nod to the original artwork is that they gave Barney the open ring eyes instead of filling them in. Of course, they also did that on the Season 6 box, the first season where Barney's eyes actually WERE filled in. They know nothing.

[Dell Comics Fan]

Actually, Disney still promotes the anniversaries and birthdays of their characters. If you take a look at any Disney Store catalog there is always a new line of collectibles promoting the anniversary of something. For example, right now they are promoting Dumbo's 65th (http://disneyshopping.go.com/DSSectionPage.process?Merchant_Id=2&Section_Id=14869).

Disney did do promotion for Mickey's 75th in 2003 and I actually recall alot of promotion over Mickey's 60th in 1988 including an NBC TV special co-starring Roger Rabbit and the opening of "Mickey's Birthdayland" at Walt Disney World (now redubbed "Mickey's Toontown Fair").

Oh, yeah. I forgot about the TV show about Mickey's 60th (even though I
taped it!). Thanks for reminding me. There were several guest stars on that
program (incl. Michael J. Fox, the "Cheers" cast, Carl Reiner, John Ritter, etc.).

[Bobby Bickert]

I will disagree with you on this one. Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck were both given 50th birthday bashes by Warner Brothers. Perhaps the lawyers' mentality at that time allowed such things. Bugs had a 50th birthday TV special and a 51st anniversary cartoon is included on the first Looney Tunes box set. There was special merchandise available as well as special videos put out. Daffy had a bit of a bash but not like Bugs.


Bugs also got a hardcover book (50 Years and Only One Grey Hare), a one-shot magazine (He's 50, Folks!), and a new theatrical short (Box Office Bunny). Daffy also got a new theatrical short (The Duxorcist); I remember reading in the newspaper that it was made to commemorate Daffy's 50th birthday.

[TheBlueHombre]

Bugs also got a hardcover book (50 Years and Only One Grey Hare), a one-shot magazine (He's 50, Folks!), and a new theatrical short (Box Office Bunny). Daffy also got a new theatrical short (The Duxorcist); I remember reading in the newspaper that it was made to commemorate Daffy's 50th birthday.
Last year, Warner Home Video helped to promote 50 years of Warner Brothers Television. This was in the year 2005. There was a year long special pricing on box sets. There was a special 50 years logo that appeared on their present day television series and DVD box sets. They also included a bonus TV DVD with the regular box sets. For example, with Lois and Clark Season 1, there was a one episode disc of Smallville.

Warner is still doing anniversary tributes. Doesn't it make sense to do something special for H-B's 50th anniversary? Specials on box sets and special merchandise? If they can do it for themselves, why not for H-B?

[Dell Comics Fan]

Someone should start a petition. Maybe if they got enough signatures, then
Warner would listen.