A Look at Hanna-Barbera's "Superstars 10"

This story is a milestone for me: it's my 1500th on Vocal. Fittingly, I decided to use this milestone to write about something I am a huge fan of: cartoons. More specifically, Hanna-Barbera. I've been wanting to tackle this for a while, and I was inspired by Boomerang and MeTV Toons to do this. The 1980s was one hell of a decade for Hanna-Barbera, as it was the latter half of that decade that saw a lot of their classics back in the proverbial saddle.

The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera began in 1985 and saw a lot of new original programming along with a revival of classic characters, including The Jetsons returning that same year, as well as Yogi's Treasure Hunt also premiering in 1985. The centerpiece of this revival was the "Superstars 10," which was a series of telefilms that aired and featured a number of H-B's classic characters. I've seen all ten of these movies at least once each, some way more than others, and I do love all of them. They truly brought out the best for sure, and also brought out some emotion from this cartoon fan (for an obvious reason that will be explained later).

The film's aired in 1987 and 1988, and they are as follows:

Yogi's Great Escape

The first film in the "Superstars 10" collection was Yogi's Great Escape, which aired on September 20, 1987. The plot: Yogi and Boo Boo wake up from their winter hibernation to find three orphaned bear cubs at the front door of their cave. The duo took in the cubs, but they would have more than parenthood to deal with, as they learn that Jellystone's financial problems will force Ranger Smith to close the park, meaning that Yogi and Boo Boo will end up at a zoo. So the pair, and the cubs, escape, and that leads to a chase to get the bears back.

The film would see some other classic characters, such as Snagglepuss, Wally Gator, and Quick Draw McGraw, giving Daws Butler another forum to flex those hilarious voices of his. Speaking of voices, the voice cast for this film just happened to include the late, great Dustin Diamond, with this film coming before Diamond would begin his long run as Samuel "Screech" Powers on the Saved by the Bell franchise.

Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers

On October 18, 1987, Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers, the second of the films and the first one featuring Scooby-Doo, aired as part of the film series. This was the first Scooby-Doo project in the franchise following the end of The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, and it brought the format back to the typical mystery solving plot, while also again reducing the group to just Scooby, Shaggy, and Scrappy. The plot has Shaggy inheriting a lavish estate from his uncle Beauregard, though they find that the place is haunted by his relative's ghost. Speaking of ghosts, a trio of ghosts known as the Boo Brothers are on the case to help the trio.

There are three Scooby-Doo films in this group, and I've seen them many times on Cartoon Network, Boomerang, and even on Disney Channel once upon a time. This was an amazing one, bringing Don Messick (Scooby and Scrappy) and Casey Kasem (Shaggy) back in the fold, while the Boo Brothers brought a lot of hilarity with their homage to The Three Stooges.

The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones

Undoubtedly, the most notable film from the collection had to be The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones, which aired on November 15, 1987. This film was a quarter-century in the making. As we know, The Flintstones, the modern stone-age family, debuted in 1960, and it was two years later that the first family of the space-age, The Jetsons, debuted. The latter of the two shows had already been revived, so the time was right for these two families to finally cross paths--with the help of Elroy Jetson's time machine.

Bart Simpson's comments (made--ironically--in the infamous crossover episode in 1994) aside, this was an epic moment in cartoon history. The voice cast aside was iconic: George O'Hanlon continuing his role as George Jetson, Henry Corden as Fred Flintstone (having voiced the character since Alan Reed's passing in 1977), Penny Singleton as Jane Jetson, Daws Butler as Elroy Jetson, Janet Waldo as Judy Jetson, and Mel Blanc as Barney Rubble, Dino, and Mr. Spacely. Regarding Betty Rubble, she was voiced by Julie McWhirter, one of many actresses to have voiced Betty alongside the classic cast.

Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose

Eleven days later, Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose aired. I've only seen this movie once, but I do remember quite a lot. For one, this film pretty much continued the format I've seen on Yogi's Ark and Yogi's Treasure Hunt: Yogi leading a vast array of characters on a wild adventure. In this case, it's Yogi flying the famous Spruce Goose plane. The group is similar to the group we've seen in Yogi's Treasure Hunt: Yogi, Boo Boo, Snagglepuss, Quick Draw, Huckelberry Hound, and Augie Doggie with his Doggie Daddy.

Also similar to the show, they have villains to deal with, but instead of Dick Dastardly and Muttley, it's Dread Baron and Mumbly. Funny story: first time I saw Dread Baron and Mumbly was a long time ago when I watched Laff-a-Lympics. When I first looked at Dread Baron, I thought, "Is that Dastardly's alter-ego or something?" Regarding Mumbly, I simply went, "That's Muttley." Similar to the original characters, Dread Baron was voiced by Paul Winchell, and Mumbly was voiced by Don Messick.

Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats

Top Cat's return to the spotlight came in Yogi's Treasure Hunt, but it was on March 20, 1988 that the entire gang was back in the fold with Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats. The plot: Benny the Ball is named in the will of a very wealthy woman, and of course, that results in the gang moving out of the alley and into the world of the 1%. I've only seen this twice, with the last time coming last December on Boomerang.

I love that Top Cat was part of Superstars 10, because the original show was short-lived and remains quite underrated. A lot of the original voice cast was back, including the late, great Arnold Stang as TC. The only differences: Avery Schreiber voiced Benny the Ball, and John Stephenson (who also returned as Fancy-Fancy) voiced Officer Dibble. The characters were originally voiced by Maurice Gosfield and Allen Jenkins, respectively.

The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound

The sixth film in the collection was The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound, which aired on May 6, 1988 and placed Huckleberry Hound in the spotlight for the first time in three decades. Huck was portrayed as a typical Wild West hero in this film, as he went up against the notorious Dalton gang, which had been mentioned a lot in Hanna-Barbera's Wild West settings. Of course, we would see Huck's buddies in this, including Peter Potamus and Hokey Wolf, and Magilla Gorilla and Mr. Peebles were also featured.

It's been a while since I've seen this, and I do remember that Disney Channel aired this film as well. I do love Huckleberry Hound, mainly because of that Southern drawl; Daws Butler could really do that drawl very well.

Rockin' With Judy Jetson

The Jetsons returned to the rotation on September 18, 1988 with Rockin' With Judy Jetson, which placed the elder Jetson offspring in the spotlight. The plot has Judy and her best friends attending a rock concert featuring her favorite rock star, Sky Rocker. She even writes a song to perform with Sky Rocker, but the group has one major problem in the form of maniacal space villainess Felonia Funk, who despises music and wants to eliminate it for good.

I remember stumbling upon this film a long time ago, and not on cable. I really liked what I did see, and of course, I did love that an actual villainess was in this; Felonia was absolutely nuts, and she was voiced wonderfully by the iconic Ruth Buzzi. Of course, the rest of the Jetsons were in this, but it was Judy Jetson who received the well-deserved spotlight.

Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School

On October 16, 1988, two days shy of a full year after Boo Brothers, Scooby, Shaggy, and Scrappy were back in Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School. The plot has the trio being hired as gym teachers for what they assume is an all-girls school, only to discover that it's a "ghoul school." The school is led by the charming headmistress, Miss Grimwood, who was voiced by the late, great Glynis Johns (who, sadly, passed away in January 2024 at age 100). The students are the daughters of the world's most feared monsters: Sibella (Dracula's daughter), Winnie (Wolfman's daughter), Elsa (daughter of Frankenstein's monster), Phantasma (The Phantom's daughter), and Tanis (The Mummy's daughter).

Of course, it's not the girls who gain the most fear, or even their fathers. That honor goes to the film's main villainess, the evil four-armed witch of the web, Revolta, who plans to take the girls and control them to become the most powerful monster in the entire world. Revolta was voiced by Ruta Lee, who has done her share of TV over the years, including three memorable episodes of Hogan's Heroes. Speaking of the ghoul girls, we need them to come back somehow. We finally got closure on 13 Ghosts, so anything is possible.

Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf

Scooby-Doo and friends were back again four weeks later on November 13, 1988 with Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf, and this was a crazy one. So they made Shaggy a funny-car racer in this, and also, they gave him a girlfriend: Googie. His profession was one part of the main plot. The other: Dracula (who was also in Ghoul School) has a problem. The monster race has arrived, and the Werewolf has hung up his racing gear and retired. So Dracula needs a werewolf, and Shaggy's the perfect choice. After two failed attempts, the Hunch Bunch (Dracula's henchmen) successfully turn Shaggy into a werewolf, and he and the group are taken to Dracula's castle to participate in the monster race.

The film has a bit of that Wacky Races feel, obviously. To me, the Hunch Bunch stole that film, with Frank Welker as the Tazmanian Devil-esque Crunch, and Rob Paulsen as the well-mannered (but just as malevolent) Brunch. Also, this film marks the last appearance of the overly and unfairly maligned Scrappy-Doo until the 2002 live action film.

Yogi and the Invasion of the Space Bears

The final film in the "Superstars 10" collection was Yogi and the Invasion of the Space Bears, which aired on November 20, 1988. This is going to be tough for me. So it starts out on a humorous note; Ranger Smith is on the warpath to catch Yogi and send him to Siberia (ay caramba!), but while Yogi and Boo Boo are hiding, they are abducted by an alien leader who make clones of the pair and send them on Earth. We also see Cindy Bear in this, of course, she's Yogi's love interest and has been for years, and in this film, Boo Boo actually has a love interest of his own--in the form of space bear Snu-Loo.

Again, this is tough for me. The immense emotion this film brings out of me is actually why I can't watch this film again; I last saw it earlier this year and I was overcome with emotion. Boo Boo's song to Snu-Loo really strikes an emotional chord, though the only thing that keeps my eyes dry is my amazement over Don Messick having it in him to perform so beautifully. However, my devout fandom of all things Hanna-Barbera is why I do watch this whenever I have the chance, because it's a great tribute to the best that H-B gave us for so long.

I mentioned tributes and emotion before. While Boo-Boo's wonderful rendition was emotional, even that pales in comparison to the main reason:

This man needs no introduction. If you know cartoons, you know him. If you know great voices, you know him. If you've spent years upon years drinking in all of the great classics that Hanna-Barbera gave us for decades, you know him. He was born Charles Dawson Butler, but of course, we all know him as Daws Butler. What can I say about Daws Butler that hasn't already been repeated on a continuous loop? Butler's work includes Looney Tunes, The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, and many of Walter Lantz's cartoons, but he is forever known and remembered for being the top voice for Hanna-Barbera. You name it, he's done it. Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss, Hokey Wolf, Augie Doggie, Elroy Jetson, Peter Potamus, Quick Draw McGraw, Wally Gator, and many others. Daws Butler was to H-B what Mel Blanc was to the Looney Tunes.

"Superstars 10"--as well as The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera overall--marked the heartbreaking end of an era. On May 18, 1988, Daws Butler passed away at the age of 71, with his passing coming just two months after Yogi's Treasure Hunt aired its final episode. Butler appeared in six of the Superstars 10 movies, with The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound airing just under two weeks before Butler's passing. Rockin' With Judy Jetson aired posthumously, marking Butler's final time voicing Elroy Jetson, and of course, Yogi and the Invasion of the Space Bears was Butler's final film overall. That film's end saw Yogi leading the gang in one last song, "The Unbeatable, Undefeatable Team," and part of the closing credits featured Yogi, Boo Boo, Ranger Smith, and Cindy on Mount Rushmore. I can't help but feel that the ending was a tribute and dedication of sorts to the iconic Daws Butler.

Hanna-Barbera's best period was definitely the late 80s and early 90s, but the centerpiece of all of that was, without question, the Superstars 10 films. The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, Top Cat, and Yogi Bear all being featured in these films was absolutely amazing. I loved all 10 of those films; they are a huge tribute to the great contributions that William Hanna and Joseph Barbera gave us for so many decades.

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Thank you for taking the time to read my 1500th story on Vocal!