Don Messick Movies

This Hanna-Barbera version of "The Arabian Nights" goes to great pains not to offend any pressure or minority group--so much so that one suspects its political correctness was actually a gag. At any rate, such familiar Hanna-Barbera stars as Yogi Bear, Boo Boo, Magilla Gorilla, Scooby Doo and Shaggy are featured in a trilogy of familiar-looking stories. Episode one, "Alliyah-Din and His Magic Lamp", features Yogi and Boo Boo as genies and a female version of Alladin; episode two, "Sinbad", is a freewheeling spoof of both the original story and of Hanna-Barbera's rival Disney studios, built around the antics of Magilla Gorilla in the title role; and the closing segment, "Scheherezade", finds Scooby and (especially) Shaggy forsaking the solving of mysteries so that they'll have time to spin tales for a cranky caliph. The 90-minute Arabian Nights originally aired September 3, 1994, on the TBS superstation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tiny Toons Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation is a direct-to-video feature film based on the Steven Spielberg-produced animated television series. How I Spent My Vacation chronicles the adventures of the series' regular characters--Plucky Duck, Uncle Stinky, Dizzy Devil, and Buster and Babs Bunny, among many others--during their summer vacation. The film is arranged as a series of comic episodes instead of a coherent story, but that's a benefit, since each sequence gives a few cartoon characters a chance to shine. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

This made-for-TV animated feature stars only two regular members of the Mystery Machine gang: Scooby Doo and Shaggy (although Scrappy, a late addition to the series, is also present). In place of Freddy, Velma, and Daphne, we have Googie, Shaggy's girl friend. It seems that Shaggy and company are now involved in race car driving. By coincidence, in far-off Transylvania, Count Dracula is getting ready for the annual Monster Car Race -- a race that features such familiar faces as Frankenstein's Monster and his bride, the Mummy, Genghis Kong, and a pair of witches. Normally, the Werewolf is a part of the race, but he has fled this year and nothing Dracula can do will bring him back. As he desperately needs a werewolf for the race, Dracula sends the Hunch Bunch -- a pair of deformed brothers -- to America, where they transform Shaggy into a werewolf. Dracula tells Shaggy that he will take the spell off of him and return him to normal -- but only if he wins the Monster Car Race. That turns out to be easier said than done, especially since Dracula does everything in his power to see that Shaggy will lose and remain a werewolf forever. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

Dr. Quest is invited to the London museum, there to determine the origins of a mysterious crystal skull. Unfortunately, an ancient Druidic cult is also interested in the skull -- so much so that they're willing to kill in order to steal the artifact. It is up to the Quest team to prevent the cult from unleashing the skull's awesome and horrifying powers upon the modern world. "Skullduggery" made its syndicated TV bow on March 1, 1987, as part of the weekend "Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera" package. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this theatrically released chapter of the 1984-1987 syndicated animated series, the struggle between the heroic Autobots and evil Decepticons is taken twenty years into the future as both sides must deal with a world-devouring being called Unicron (voiced by Orson Welles). Set in 2005, The Transformers: The Movie serves as a bridge between the series' second and third seasons, with the deaths of several major characters and the introduction of new ones. Darker and more action-packed than the TV series, the movie was originally dismissed as little more than a feature-length toy commercial, but it has since grown in stature to become a cult favorite. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide

A middle eastern shiek is being terrorized by a band of outlaws riding robotic horses. Dr. Quest is summoned to put an end to the villains' activities. Only trouble is, the steel nags are completely impervious to weapons -- and they also have the capacity to kill. First broadcast on September 21, 1986, as part of the "Funtastic World of Hanna Barbera" syndicated series, "Nightmare of Steel" was later incorporated in the standard Jonny Quest package, along with the "classic" episodes from 1964-1965. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Twenty-one years after ending its original ABC prime-time run in 1965, the Hanna Barbera animated adventure series Jonny Quest was revived with 13 brand-new episodes as a component of the weekend syndicated package "Funtastic World of Hanna Barbera." All of the original characters were revived: globetrotting research scientist, Dr. Benton Quest; his tousled-haired son, Jonny; Jonny's bodyguard-tutor, Race Bannon; his mystical young Indian friend, Hadji; and the pet bulldog, Bandit. Of the original voice actors, only Don Messick (as Dr. Quest and Bandit) and Victor Perrin (as perennial villain Dr. Zin) were heard on the later series. In the sixth of the "new" episodes, another member of the Quest team was introduced, a "Monolith Man" named Hardrok. Slightly better animated than the original -- and with markedly wittier dialogue as well as a refreshing increase in its sci-fi-fantasy content -- the Jonny Quest (1986 series) was later incorporated in the same package as the 26 "original" Jonny Quest episodes. Under the blanket title "Classic Jonny Quest," this manifest was seen on cable's Cartoon Network from 1992 to 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dr. Quest leads his team to Scandanavia, there to embark upon an archeological expedition. In the course of events, the team comes across the frozen body of a huge Viking ape, who, when thawed, turns out to be very much alive. The furry orange beast turns out to be a likeable fellow, and as a result, the Quest Team pulls a "reverse King Kong", rescuing Vikong from hostile villagers and mercenary carnival hucksters. "Vikong Lives" originally aired on October 19, 1986, as part of the weekend syndicated series "Funtastic World of Hanna Barbera," before it was incorporated into the standard Jonny Quest rerun package. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dr. Zin, the Quest team's perennial nemesis from the 1964-1965 run of Jonny Quest, returns in the October 5, 1986, episode "Deadly Junket." Kidnapping Jessie Bradshaw, the daughter of a prominent rocket scientist, Zin hopes to use the girl as a bargaining chip in his efforts to seize control of her father's rocket-brain technology. The plucky Jessie manages to escape, ending up in the protection of Dr. Quest and his son Jonny -- who soon begins to wonder why the resourceful girl would ever need anyone's protection. This "new" episode of Jonny Quest (1986 series) originally aired as a component of the weekend "Funtastic World of Hanna Barbera" package. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dr. Quest's latest invention is a computer brain which can pilot aircraft faster and safer than any mere mortal. Unhappy that the invention will put a lot of good pilots out of work, Quest's associate, Race Bannon, tries to prove that the brain is not infallible by racing a computerized plane. Alas, he is captured by a mad aviator named Skyborg, who holds Race responsible for the accident which left him horribly disfigured. Seeking revenge, Skyborg intends to steal the brain and auction it to the highest bidder. The climax of this episode, an old-fashioned aerial dogfight, is reminiscent of the 1965 Jonny Quest adventure "Shadow of the Condor" (albeit with better animation). "The Scourge of Skyborg" first aired on November 23, 1986, as part of the weekend "Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera" syndicated package. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While excavating an archaeological site in Tibet, a scientist friend of Dr. Quest completely vanishes. Investigating, the Quest team discover that the scientist was attacked by an army of clay statues, zealously guarding the tomb of an ancient Chinese emperor. Unfortunately, Dr. Quest and his colleagues have now also disturbed the emperor's resting place, and they too are slated for elimination. "Secret of the Clay Warriors" was first telecast on November 9, 1986, as a component of the syndicated "Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera" cartoon omnibus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The robotic cartoon adventure series The Transformers begins its second season with the episode "Autobot Spike," in which one of the human allies of the Autobots in their ongoing battle against the Decepticons literally loses his mind to a super-Transformer. "Autobot Spike" is one of the few single-episode storylines to be found this season. Many of the other scenarios take up two episodes or more, notably "Dinobot Island," wherein the discovery of a remote island populated by prehistoric beasts leads to a serious schism in the time-space continuum; "Megatron's Master Plan," in which the leader of the evil Decepticons does his best to turn public opinion against the Autobots; and "Desertion of the Dinobots," which finds the title characters rebelling against their enslavement by the robots and trying to claim the Autobots' home planet as their own. The best of The Transformers' two-parters during the series' second season is "The Key to Vector Sigma," a story built around a computer from the planet Alpatrian with which the Decepticons intend to bestow artificial intelligence upon their newly created flunkies, the Stunticons. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide