Paw Paws | |
---|---|
Directed by | Ray Patterson (Supervising) Art Davis Oscar Dufau Don Lusk Carl Urbano Rudy Zamora Alan Zaslove |
Voices of | Susan Blu Ruth Buzzi John Ingle Don Messick Howard Morris Thom Pinto Robert Ridgely Stanley Ralph Ross Alexandra Stoddart Frank Welker |
Theme music composer | Hoyt Curtin |
Opening theme | "Paw Paw Bears" |
Ending theme | "Paw Paw Bears" (Instrumental) |
Composer | Hoyt Curtin |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 21 |
Production | |
Executive producers | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
Producer | Berny Wolf |
Production company | Hanna-Barbera Productions |
Original release | |
Network | Syndicated |
Release | September 15, 1985 – February 2, 1986 |
Paw Paws (also known as Paw Paw Bears) is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that first aired in 1985 and 1986. [1] It debuted as part of the weekday/weekend morning programming block The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera . [2]
The series name is a play on the paw paw, a fruit cultivated by Native Americans and indigenous to North America, and a play on words with a bear's paw. Reruns of the show formerly aired on Cartoon Network and later Boomerang.
Deep in a forest somewhere, a group of Native American bear cubs defending themselves from their enemies The Meanos led by the evil sorcerer Dark Paw. Dark Paw and his henchmen were after the Paw Paws' three large wooden totems, Totem Bear, Totem Tortoise, and Totem Eagle. The totems also served as the tribe's protectors, coming to life when needed through means of Princess Paw Paw's Mystic Moonstone, which she wore around her neck, to defend the village.
Much like other Hanna-Barbera programs, such as The Smurfs , The Biskitts , Shirt Tales , Snorks and the Pound Puppies , the bears had names that denoted their personalities—Laughing Paw, Medicine Paw, Bumble Paw, etc. Brave Paw and Princess Paw Paw tended to be the leads, riding into adventures on their magical flying ponies, while aging Wise Paw served as tribal advisor. The mascot of the group was a tiny dog by the name of PaPooch.
A line of Paw Paws toys were produced by Applause in 1985. Princess Paw Paw, Brave Paw, Mighty Paw, Pupooch, Medicine Paw, the Meanos and other characters were produced as PVC figurines ranging from 2" to 3" tall. The figurines had accessories, like a canoe or a cart. Pupooch was also produced as a plush toy. These were only produced for a short time and are rare today.
One of many children's animated series of the 1980s, Paw Paws didn't leave a lasting impression on many viewers. In 2014, listing it among twelve 1980s cartoons that did not deserve remembrance, io9 characterized it as "Obviously, Hanna-Barbera was wrong. And kind of racist." [3]
On April 9, 2019, Warner Archive released Paw Paws: The Complete Series on DVD in region 1 as part of their Hanna-Barbera Classic Collection. [4]
Moby Dick and Mighty Mightor is an American Saturday morning animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that ran on CBS from September 9, 1967 to January 6, 1968, airing in reruns until September 6, 1969. Despite Moby's name coming first, he had only one short per half-hour episode, sandwiched between two with Mightor. The same structure was used the previous season for Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles.
Snagglepuss is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon character who debuted in prototype form in 1959 and established as a studio regular by 1961. A light pink anthropomorphic puma sporting an upturned collar, shirt cuffs, and bow tie, Snagglepuss enjoys the fine things in life and shows particular affinity for the theatre. His stories routinely break the fourth wall as the character addresses the audience in self-narration, soliloquy, and asides. As originally voiced by Daws Butler, Snagglepuss seeks quasi-Shakespearean turns of phrase. Some of his campy verbal mannerisms became catchphrases: "Heavens to Murgatroyd!", "Exit, stage left/right/up/down!", and a fondness for closing sentences with the emphatic "even".
Hong Kong Phooey is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and originally broadcast on ABC. The original episodes aired from September 7 to December 21, 1974, and then in repeats until 1976. The show was brought back in reruns in 1978 and 1981, and was included in the USA Network's Cartoon Express block throughout the 1980s. The main character, Hong Kong Phooey, is the clownishly clumsy secret identity of Penrod "Penry" Pooch, working at a police station as a "mild-mannered" janitor under the glare of Sergeant Flint, nicknamed "Sarge".
Snooper and Blabber is one of the three segments from The Quick Draw McGraw Show. This show was produced by Hanna-Barbera between September 19, 1959 and October 20, 1961, and consists of 45 episodes.
Shazzan is an American animated television series created by Alex Toth and produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that aired on Saturday mornings on CBS from September 9, 1967, to January 20, 1968, and continued in reruns until September 6, 1969. The series follows the adventures of two teenage siblings, Chuck and Nancy, traveling around a mystical Arabian world, mounted on Kaboobie the flying camel. During their journey they face several dangers, but they are aided by Shazzan, a genie with magical powers. 18 half-hour episodes were produced, made up of two 11-minute segments.
Scooby-Doo! in Arabian Nights is a 1994 made-for-television film produced by Hanna-Barbera, and aired on syndication on September 3, 1994. It is an adaptation of The Book of One Thousand and One Nights and features appearances by Scooby-Doo and Shaggy Rogers, in wrap around segments.
The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera is an American animated syndicated programming block produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that ran on a weekly schedule and was performed in live action. The program ran from 1985 to 1994.
The Biskitts is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions from 1983 to 1984 and aired on CBS. The series lasted for only one season; only 13 episodes were produced. Shirt Tales replaced the show in its time slot the following year. The Biskitts returned to that same time slot in March 1985 but only aired reruns in the remainder of that season. Following the series' retirement from CBS, like many other cartoons, it was acquired by the Armed Forces Network and shown throughout much of the 1980s, mainly as entertainment for children of deployed American servicemen in Asia and Europe.
Samson & Goliath, also known as Young Samson, is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions for NBC, where it debuted on September 9, 1967. Primarily sponsored by General Mills, who controlled the distribution rights through its agency Dancer Fitzgerald Sample, Samson & Goliath was retitled Young Samson in April 1968 to avoid confusion with the stop-motion Christian television series Davey and Goliath.
Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd. is one of the oldest and most prolific Taiwanese-American animation studios since 1978. The company, based in Xindian, Taipei and Los Angeles, California, has done traditional hand-drawn 2D animation/ink and paint for various TV shows and films for studios across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show is an hour-long Saturday morning cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions from 1965 to 1967 for NBC.
The Hillbilly Bears is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. The series aired as a segment on The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show from October 2, 1965 to September 7, 1967.
Fred Flintstone and Friends is an American animated anthology wheel series and a spin-off of The Flintstones produced by Hanna-Barbera and Columbia Pictures Television that aired in daily first-run syndication from September 12, 1977, to September 1, 1978. The series was packaged by Columbia Pictures Television during the 1977–78 television season and was available for barter syndication through Claster Television through the mid-1980s.
Uncle Croc's Block is an hour-long live-action/animated television series. It was produced by Filmation, and broadcast on ABC in 1975–76.
Scooby-Doo! and the Goblin King is a 2008 direct-to-DVD animated comedy horror musical film, and the twelfth in the series of Scooby-Doo direct-to-video films produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It was dedicated to Paulette Oates, who helped resurrect Warner Bros. Animation in the late 1980s. The DVD was released on September 23, 2008. This is the first Scooby cartoon produced entirely without either one of the original producers, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.
Huckleberry "Huck" Hound is a fictional cartoon character, a blue anthropomorphic coonhound dog that speaks with a North Carolina Southern drawl. He first appeared in the series The Huckleberry Hound Show. The cartoon was one of six TV shows to win an Emmy Award in 1960 as an "Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Children's Programming"; the first animated series to receive such an award.
Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater is an animated series based on the Japanese character Hello Kitty, co-produced by DIC Enterprises and MGM/UA Television Productions and animated by Toei Animation. The series involves Hello Kitty and her friends doing their own version of popular fairy tales and stories. Each of the 13 episodes consisted of two 11-minute cartoons, for a total of 26 "shows"; each show was a spoof of a well-known fairy tale or movie.
Yogi Bear is an anthropomorphic animal character who has appeared in numerous comic books, animated television shows, and films. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in The Huckleberry Hound Show.
Robert Jarvis Bentley was an American animator who worked for Warner Bros. Cartoons, Fleischer Studios, the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, Tex Avery, Walter Lantz Productions, UPA, Hanna-Barbera and Filmation among others.