The Harveytoons Show

Last updated

The Harveytoons Show is a television series presenting theatrical animated cartoons produced by Famous Studios from 1950 until 1962, which were acquired by Harvey Entertainment. [1]

Contents

History

This show features Harvey Comics characters and series including: Casper the Friendly Ghost, Tommy Tortoise and Moe Hare, Baby Huey, Herman and Katnip, Buzzy the Crow, Possum Pearl, Professor Schmatlz, Jeeper and Creeper and others. The New Casper Cartoon Show and the Film Roman version of Richie Rich have also been featured on the final season of The Harveytoons Show. The show itself contained three full cartoons and one "ToonTake", an abbreviated cartoon. Jerry Beck was the show consultant.

The Harveytoons Show broadcast history

Sources

Episodes

The show consisted of Famous Studios-produced cartoons from 1950 to 1962. There were 223 theatrical cartoons released during that period, and only 165 cartoons were included in their full format, although the original theatrical titles were changed when Harvey assumed ownership from Famous. The remainder of the 58 cartoons were either only included as fragments or not included. Jerry Beck later explained that the trimming of some cartoons was only done to help each episode fit the half-hour format, and some were excluded from the show either from oversight or because the content of those cartoons could be considered un-PC.

All original television-produced shorts on the show were either from later TV cartoons featuring Casper and the Film Roman version of Richie Rich, and those were mostly featured in the final season of The Harveytoons Show.

Each episode included three full cartoons and one "ToonTake" segment.

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Toontakes

The following is list of Famous Studios shorts that are part of the Harveytoon library and which were included as fragments at the end of the show, some of which are Screen Songs or Kartunes with the sing-along portions taken out:

Not included on the show

This is list of 14 theatrical Harvey-owned Famous Studios shorts and one Film Roman Richie Rich episode that were not included on the show, neither as full cartoons nor as "Toon Takes".

Produced by Famous Studios:

Produced by Paramount Cartoon Studios:

Produced by Film Roman:

Home releases

In January 2005, a single DVD release titled "Hooky Spooky" containing three episodes of this series (the Casper and Friends version) was released by Right Entertainment/Universal Pictures Video in the United Kingdom. [3]

In 2006, Classic Media released 52 of the show's 78 episodes on a four-disc DVD set titled Harvey Toons – The Complete Collection. The set received mixed reviews from animation fans, and the show's consultant, Jerry Beck, said Classic Media did not consult with him on making this DVD release. He stated that he would not have included the show's formatting of those cartoons, but did applaud Classic Media for the very good picture quality of the included shorts and for the set's low price tag, considering the high number of cartoons in the set. [4] [5] In 2011, Vivendi Entertainment and Classic Media released all Herman and Katnip cartoons on a single disc DVD set titled Herman and Katnip: The Complete Collection. In the same year, Shout! Factory released 61 of 78 Casper cartoons from The Harveytoons Show on a three-disc DVD set titled Casper the Friendly Ghost: The Complete Collection. In 2021, Universal Home Entertainment released 30 episodes on the DVD set titled The Best of the Harveytoons Show.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Famous Studios</span> Defunct American animation studio

Famous Studios was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized control of the aforementioned studio amid the departure of its founders, Max and Dave Fleischer, in 1942. The studio's productions included three series started by the Fleischers—Popeye the Sailor, Superman, and Screen Songs—as well as Little Audrey, Little Lulu, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Honey Halfwitch, Herman and Katnip, Baby Huey, and the anthology Noveltoons series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baby Huey</span> Fictional character

Baby Huey is a gigantic and naïve duckling cartoon character. He was created by Martin Taras for Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios, and became a Paramount cartoon star during the 1950s. Huey first appeared in Quack-a-Doodle-Doo, a Noveltoon theatrical short produced and released in 1950.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvey Comics</span> American comic book publisher

Harvey Comics was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alfred Harvey in 1941, after buying out the small publisher Brookwood Publications. His brothers, Robert B. and Leon Harvey, joined shortly after. The company soon got into licensed characters, which, by the 1950s, became the bulk of their output. The artist Warren Kremer was closely associated with the publisher.

<i>Herman and Katnip</i> Famous Studios theatrical cartoon characters

Herman and Katnip is a series of theatrical cartoons featuring Herman the Mouse and Katnip the Cat, produced by Famous Studios in the 1940s and 1950s. Arnold Stang and Allen Swift were the regular voices of Herman, while Sid Raymond was the regular actor for Katnip, although one or both of the characters would occasionally be voiced by Jackson Beck and Jack Mercer, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wendy the Good Little Witch</span> American comics character and comic book

Wendy the Good Little Witch is a fictional comic book character from Harvey Comics. Like Casper the Friendly Ghost and Hot Stuff the Little Devil, Wendy is an opposite-type character, a girl witch who does good deeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Audrey</span> Fictional character

Little Audrey is a fictional character, appearing in early 20th century comics prior to starring in a series of Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios cartoons from 1947 to 1958. She is considered a variation of the better-known Little Lulu, devised after Paramount decided not to renew the license on the comic strip character created by Marjorie Henderson Buell. Despite some superficial similarities between the two characters, the Famous animators were at pains to design Audrey in contrast to Lulu, adopting an entirely different color scheme and employing the stylistic conventions common to Famous Studios' later 1940s repertoire, as opposed to Buell's individualistic rendering of Little Lulu. Veteran animator Bill Tytla was the designer of Little Audrey, reportedly inspired by his daughter Tammy. The original voice of Little Lulu was performed by actress Cecil Roy. Little Audrey was, instead, voiced by Mae Questel, who also voiced most of Paramount's other major female cartoon characters, including Betty Boop and Olive Oyl from the Popeye cartoons.

<i>Noveltoons</i> 1943-67 American animated film series

Noveltoons is a series of cartoons produced by Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios from 1943 to the end of the studio during 1967. The series was known for bringing the characters from Harvey Comics to life, such as Casper the Friendly Ghost, Wendy the Good Little Witch, Herman and Katnip, Little Audrey, and Baby Huey. All shorts from Baby Huey and Little Audrey are included. It was the successor to the series Color Classics produced by Fleischer Studios. Several Noveltoons feature characters which originated in Color Classics. This series was also similar to the two series from Warner Bros., Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, in that it features several recurring characters with one general title.

Alfred Harvey, was the founder of comic book publisher Harvey Comics and the creator of the comic book characters Little Dot, Richie Rich, and Adam Awards. He was born to Russian Jewish immigrants in Brooklyn, New York. Alfred Harvey's company, Harvey World Famous Comics, produced comic books and cartoons featuring Wendy the Good Little Witch, Spooky the Tuff Little Ghost, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Baby Huey, Little Audrey, and Little Dot. It also published Sad Sack, the military comic strip, which was created by George Baker.

Martin Bernard Taras, also known as Morrie Tarasinsky, was an American cartoonist who mostly worked at Famous Studios, the New York–based animation division of Paramount Pictures.

<i>Screen Songs</i> Series of animated cartoons

Screen Songs are a series of animated cartoons produced at the Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures between 1929 and 1938. Paramount brought back the sing-along cartoons in 1945, now in color, and released them regularly through 1951. Two of Paramount's one-shot cartoons quietly revived the format later: Candy Cabaret (1954) and Hobo's Holiday (1963).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvey Films</span> Animation production arm of comic book publisher Harvey Comics

Harvey Films was the production arm of comic book publisher Harvey Comics. It was founded in 1957.

<i>The Baby Huey Show</i> American TV series or program

The Baby Huey Show is an animated television series which ran in syndication during the 1994–95 and 1995–96 TV seasons. The show featured the Famous Studios/Harvey Comics character Baby Huey. 26 episodes were produced by combining old theatrical Famous Studios cartoons and new made-for-TV shorts. These were the first Baby Huey cartoons since the 1959 theatrical cartoon Huey's Father's Day. Huey was voiced by Sid Raymond, reprising his role from the original Famous shorts.

<i>Mattys Funday Funnies</i> American animated television series

Matty's Funday Funnies is a 1959–1961 American animated anthology television series.

The New Casper Cartoon Show is a 1963–1964 animated television series that appeared on ABC's Saturday morning schedule, based on the Harvey Comics cartoon character Casper the Friendly Ghost. Casper's co-stars included his friends from the Harvey Comics stories: Wendy the Good Little Witch, the Ghostly Trio, Spooky the Tuff Little Ghost, and the ghost horse Nightmare. The show premiered on October 5, 1963 and is one of the earliest Saturday morning cartoons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casper the Friendly Ghost</span> Fictional cartoon ghost

Casper the Friendly Ghost is the fictional character who serves as the protagonist of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. He is a translucent ghost who is pleasant and personable, but often criticized by his three wicked uncles, the Ghostly Trio.

TV Casper and Company is an American comic book series, published by Harvey Comics. The series ran from August 1963 to April 1974; in all, 46 issues were published.

<i>Richie Rich</i> (1996 TV series) American TV series or program

Richie Rich is a 1996 animated television series produced by Harvey Films and Film Roman and distributed by Claster Television. It is based on the Harvey Comics character of the same name. It aired for one season, and also includes select Harveytoons shorts. Unlike the Hanna-Barbera version which depicted a somewhat older Richie closer to adolescence, this revival series was more faithful to the comics, as Richie Rich appeared in his original form as a younger child in his tuxedo and shorts.

Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios produced three theatrical shorts featuring Casper the Friendly Ghost from the Noveltoon series: The Friendly Ghost in 1945, There's Good Boos To-Night in 1948, and A Haunting We Will Go in 1949. From 1950 to 1959, Paramount produced a series of Casper the Friendly Ghost theatrical shorts.

References

  1. Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. pp. 65–67. ISBN   0-8108-1557-5 . Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  2. Casper and Friends on Teletoon Retro
  3. "Casper and Friends: Hooky Spooky". Amazon UK. 10 January 2005.
  4. Cooke, Jon (2007). "GAC Review: Harveytoons – The Complete Collection". Golden Age Cartoons. Retrieved 2014-09-20.
  5. Beck, Jerry (26 October 2006). "The "Complete" Harveytoons". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved 2014-09-20.