When thinking of Hanna-Barbera characters, many come to mind with Scooby-Doo being one of the biggest and longest-lasting. However, Scooby-Doo and his friends aren't the only ones produced by the dynamic duo of Joseph Barbera and William Hanna.
Honestly, it's hard to even imagine a world where the characters produced by Hanna-Barbera don't exist because they're just so iconic. While we've talked about Scooby-Doo, they're also responsible for some of our other favorite cartoon dogs.
Some other Hanna-Barbera creations include Huckleberry Hound, Top Cat, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and Josie and the Pussycats among many others. As you can see, every single cartoon you grew up with or heard people talk about was either created by the two or was a direct influence which is just incredible.
With a live-action Scooby-Doo on the way, it does beg the question when or if we'll be getting more Hanna-Barbera revivals in the future. Given that Scooby-Doo is going to be live-action, the focus should be on live-action but we're going to talk about the possibility of both live-action and animated revivals.
Could Scooby-Doo pave the way for more Hanna-Barbera revivals?
Since this is Dog o'Day, our focus is going to be on both dogs and cats. While there are plenty of great shows not featuring dogs and cats, that's a topic for another day. Also we've already discussed Huckleberry Hound so sorry Huckleberry, you're out for this round. However, you can check out our piece about why Huckleberry Hound needs a reboot.
With that being said, I'd like to see a revival of Cattanooga Cats which remains one of Hanna-Barbera's most underrated cartoons. This series only ran for a few seasons and frankly, never got the love it deserved. The animation could be sharpened up and it might draw the audience it lacked upon its first release. Plus everyone seems to love shows with dogs and cats at its helm so why not allow Cattanooga Cats a chance to shine again?
Another cartoon animal I'd love to see make a reappearance is Hong Kong Phooey. Not only is Hong Kong Phooey a dog, but he also has a pet cat. Sounds pretty awesome and would be another one where the animation could be sharpened up. Add in some fun action segments and plenty of that slapstick humor and you're golden.
Last but not least, I feel like Droopy never gets enough love. While he's mostly the butt of the joke, it would be nice to see him reprise his role as Droopy, Master Detective. This was a series that ran for only one season from 1993 to 1994. The series followed Droopy and his son, Dripple as they solve mysteries together. Sounds like a pretty fun thing to bring back.
Regardless of what you think about these Hanna-Barbera characters, it does feel like we're ready to get back to the golden age of Saturday Morning Cartoons. With how WB is running things now, it can be hard to see the forest through the trees. However if you're craving something that pays homage to these characters, it's worth trying out Jellystone! which is currently streaming on Max.