Don Messick Movies

A more appropriate title for this animated 60-minute special might have been Alice in Hanna-Barbera Land, since the cartoon producers have eschewed the original Lewis Carroll text and John Tenniel illustrations for something that more closely resembles The Jetsons or Scooby Doo. Updated to the 1960s, the story begins as Alice, a precocious suburban youngster, escapes the wrath of her stern father when she and her dog Fluff follow the White Rabbit down the rabbit hole and into Wonderland. In standard Hanna-Barbera operating procedure, several of the familiar Wonderland denizens are redrawn to resemble the actors providing their voices: thus, The White Knight looks and talks like "Jose Jimenez," the Hispanic character created by comedian Bill Dana (who also wrote the script), while the Queen of Hearts is a visual and verbal clone of Zsa Zsa Gabor. In a similar vein, some of the characters have been completely overhauled to be more "relevant" to Sixties viewers: Humpty Dumpty is now Humphrey Dumpty, with his Bogart-like voice provided by Allan Melvin; the Mad Hatter has a female counterpart, Hedda Hatter, voiced by gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (famous for her bizarre headwear); and the Caterpillar has suddenly grown two heads, who look and sound exactly like Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble. The songs, by Lee Adams and Charles Strouse of Bye Bye Birdie fame, are pleasant but forgettable, with the exception of "What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing In a Place Like This?", sung by the Cheshire Cat (his "hipster" voice supplied by Sammy Davis Jr.). In fact, it is obvious that Hanna-Barbera thought that they had a hit on their hands with this song, the title of which is used as the "subtitle" of this irreverent but entertaining cartoon romp. Alice in Wonderland first aired March 30, 1966, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This animated musical, based on E.B. White's children's book classic, is about a courageous spider who helps save the life of an ill-fated pig. Wilbur is a young pig (voice of Henry Gibson) who's owned by New England farmer Homer Zuckerman (voice of Robert Holt). One day he is sold to a neighbor, where he meets a sheep who warns him that his fate lies in the confines of the slaughterhouse. Wilbur is terrified of this news until he meets Charlotte, a charming spider (voice of Debbie Reynolds), who is determined to save Wilbur from this dire destiny. By weaving words into her web, she convinces the farmer that Wilbur is some sort of prodigious animal too important to kill. The music for Charlotte's Web was written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, who wrote the scores for countless Disney movies, including Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

First telecast in the fall of 1958, the first season of Hanna-Barbera's The Huckleberry Hound Show offers 22 half-hour episodes, each comprised of three short cartoons respectively starring Huck Hound, Yogi Bear, and the mouse-and-cat combo of Pixie, Dixie and Mr. Jinks. Unlike later seasons, these aforementioned characters did not appear in the closing-credit sequence: Instead, the credits were played over images of several corporate icons from the Kellogg's Cereal firm, including Cornelius the Rooster (representing Kellogg's Corn Flakes), Tony the Tiger (Frosted Flakes) and Sugar Pops Pete (Sugar Pops). It is easy to identify the earliest cartoons in the Huckleberry Hound canon. The characters move more slowly, speak less frequently, and are more inclined towards sight gags rather than verbal jokes; also, the background music is almost exclusively culled from stock themes, instead of the original compositions by Hanna-Barbera stalwart Hoyt Curtin. Also, whereas the formula of the "Huckleberry Hound" cartoons is pretty well set from the beginning (Huck appears in a different job or personality each week), the producers were still tinkering with the format of the "Yogi Bear" cartoons (Yogi is a con artist in some, a victim of circumstance in others, and a good Samaritan in still others) and the "Pixie and Dixie" entries (the personalities of two mice are already established, but Mr. Jinks is generally a straight villain or fall guy, with none of the heart and three-dimensionality he'd later display). Finally, the character design tends to be inconsitent, as witness the many shapes and sizes of Yogi Bear's traditional enemy Ranger Smith. Of the 66 cartoons shown during Season One, several are standouts, including "Huckleberry Hound Meets Wee Willie", in which our highway patrolman hero tries to talk a runaway gorilla off a high girder; "Skeeter Trouble", highlighted by the "Fred Allen" voice adopted by narrator Daws Butler; "Sheep Shape Sheepherders", a delightful throwback to Tex Avery's classic "Droopy" cartoons; "Show Biz Bear", wherein Yogi Bear is hired to star in a horror flick "The Bear From Outer Space" (the director hands him a script and murmurs "Look over the bear's part"); "Duck in Luck", in which Yogi comes to the rescue of a baby duck who sounds very much like future Hanna-Barbera headliner Yakky Doodle; and "Little Bird Mouse", a charming "Pixie and Dixie" offering in which Dixie discovers that he can fly whenever he revs up his ears helicopter-style. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

By the time The Huckleberry Hound Show entered its third season in the fall of 1960, Hanna-Barbera's position as TV's top animation studio was secure. In addition to this series, Hanna-Barbera was also churning out episodes of Quick Draw McGraw and The Flintstones, with such future cartoon favorites as Top Cat, Touche Turtle and Wally Gator still waiting in the wings. Indeed, only Jay Ward's Rocky and His Friends and UPA's Mister Magoo in any way challenged H-B's market supremacy. The 13 new episodes of Huckleberry Hound served up this season include 13 new "Huckleberry Hound" cartoon shorts and an equal number of "Pixie and Dixie" efforts. Conspicuous by his absence is longtime Huckleberry Yogi Bear, who had been spun off into his own starring series, logically titled The Yogi Bear Show. Yogi's replacement is Hokey Wolf, a "Sergeant Bilko"-type carnivore who in the company of his pint-sized pal Dingaling spends most of his screen time trying to steal sheep or cadge from meals from gullible farmers. While none of the "Hokey Wolf" cartoons this season are truly memorable (with the possible exception of "Hokey in the Pokey"), the "Huckleberry Hound" and "Pixie and Dixie" shorts maintain their high standard. The best of the "Huckleberrys" include "Spud Dud", a satire of mutant-monster horror films in which an overgrown potato tries to conquer the world; and "Cluck and Dagger", a wild spy spoof wherein Huck plays "The Man of 1000 Faces" (actually, he's only got one face, but nobody's ever asked him to display the other 999). And the highlight of the "Pixie and Dixie" manifest is the sublimely titled "Plutocrat Cat." All of these cartoons benefited from the sprightly orginal music scores by Hoyt Curtin, replacing the familiar, overused stock-music themes that had run through the first two seasons. At the same time Season Three of Huckleberry Hound was making the syndication rounds, selected cartoons from the series' first two seasons were network-run by CBS as a part of the live-action Saturday morning series The Magic Land of Allakazam. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The 1979 Rankin/Bass production Jack Frost is a made-for-TV stop motion animation feature. Buddy Hacket narrates the story as the voice of groundhog Pardon-Me-Pete. The spirit of winter, Jack Frost (voice of Robert Morse) falls for a young woman named Elisa (voice of Debra Clinger). He asks Father Winter to make him into a human so he can win her love. However, she is already engaged to the brave knight, Sir Danny. When the villianous King Kubla Kraus (voice of Paul Frees) kidnaps her, Jack has to turn back into his spirit form in order to use his powers to save her. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, 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

Deep in the jungles of Africa, the Quest team is kindapped by a tribe of pygmies. Though small, these hostile natives are extremely dangerous. Fortunately for our heroes, the pygmies are also extremely superstitious, especially in matters concerning such modern technology as helicopters Danny Bravo. The voice of Jonny Quest's Indian chum, Hadji, pulls double duty in the role of Eka. Capped by an ironic closing gag, "A Small Matter of Pygmies" first aired on December 11, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A shipboard fire forces Jonny, Dr. Quest, Race, Hadji, and Bandit to accidently maroon themselves on an unchartered island. The heroes are sought out by a duo of gunrunners named Silky and Chopper, who intend to hold Jonny and Hadji for ransom. In true Tarzan fashion, Jonny and company are shielded from harm by a band of friendly, tree-dwelling apes. "Attack of the Tree People" made its first network appearance on January 21, 1965. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "creeping unknown" in this Jonny Quest episode is a malevolent, mutated plant monster, headquartered in a dismal swamp. Suspected of causing the disappearances of several innocent humans, the monster is targetted for neutralization by the Quest Team. They'd better hurry; the plant's victims have turned into plants themselves, every bit as dangerous and terrifying as the "original." "The Creeping Unknown" first aired on December 14, 1986 as part of the syndicated "Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera" weekend package. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dr. Benton Quest's perennial nemesis, Dr. Zin, wants to get his slimy hands on a powerful tranquilizing pill that can paralyze entire cities. Both Quest and Zin are given a run for their money by the estimable Jezebel Jade, a fortune-hunting temptress who is sweet on Jonny Quest's bodyguard, Race Bannon. The episode's title refers to the fact that Race Bannon is briefly replaced by a sinister lookalike named Korchek. Reportedly the first Jonny Quest episode produced, though not the first one to be shown, "Double Danger" originally aired on November 13, 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Quest team heads to North Atlantic, in search of German submarine which vanished during WWII. Upon reaching the sub, the team accidentally triggers a time-travel device, transporting them all back to 1945. Even worse, the heroes must contend with some very live Nazis -- not to mention the unexpected arrival of a pack of pygmies, very much like those seen in the 1965 Jonny Quest episode "A Small Matter of Pygmies." "40 Fathoms Into Yesterday" originally aired as part of the syndicated "Funtastic World of Hanna Barbera" package on October 12, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, 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