Daws Butler Movies
Daws Butler was one of the powerhouses of cartoon voices and has worked on scores of short and feature-length animated shows for both television and movies. Butler came to Hollywood in the mid-40s and got his start as part of "The Three Short Waves," a nightclub act that made fun of famous radio actors. He then earned national recognition when he imitated Dragnet co-star Ben Alexander on Stan Freberg's classic comedy record "St. George and the Dragonette." Butler starred in one of West Coast television's first puppet shows, Time for Beany (1949). He began working as a voice artist for the Hanna-Barbera animation studios in 1957, and during his long association with them provided the voices of at least 42 regular characters, including Yogi Bear --whose voice is a loose imitation of Art Carney-- Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss --based on comedian Burt Lahr-- and Wally Gator. Butler also voiced characters on Jay Ward's "Fractured Fairy Tales" and "Aesop and Son." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1959
1001 Arabian Nights was the first animated feature film produced by the "progressive" UPA cartoon firm. The studio had originally planned to feature its star attraction, the nearsighted Mr. Magoo, in an adaptation of Don Quixote scripted by no less than Aldous Huxley. But Columbia, UPA's distributor, didn't think that a Quixote film would sell to the kiddie trade, so the studio settled on the oft-used "Aladdin's Lamp" story. It might have worked better had Magoo portrayed a bumbling genie; instead, the Myopic One is cast as Aladdin's uncle, a wholly extraneous character who has no bearing on the plot or its outcome. Beyond its script shortcomings, 1001 Arabian Nights boasts an attractive production design and color scheme, as well as some pleasant voicework by Dwayne Hickman, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Hans Conried and Herschel Bernardi. Many of the character designs seen in Arabian Nights were reused on UPA's weekly 1964 TV series The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Backus, Kathryn Grant, (more)
- 1966
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
- Starring:
- Janet Waldo, Doris Drew, (more)
- 1984
Animal Follies is a collection of favorite cartoon characters in episodes taken from their respective shows. Some characters included in this video are: Touche Turtle, Ruff 'n Ready, Snagglepuss, and Augie Doggie. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1984
UPA alumnus Abe Levitow was one of the executive producers for this captivating animated holiday special, based on Johnny Hart's comic strip B.C.. While making a tasty tureen of rock soup for her caveman companions, Fat Broad declares that there's only one way to flavor the soup--and that's to catch a turkey. Well and good, but no one's ever seen a turkey--except the turkey himself, a neurotic but clever critter. As cave dwellers Wiley, Peter, Thor and the rest drive themselves crazy hunting for the elusive bird, B.C. phlegmatically narrates the tale in a voice reminiscent of Jack Benny (courtesy of veteran voiceover specialist Daws Butler. B.C.: The First Thanksgiving originally aired November 19, 1973, on NBC, in tandem with another new cartoon special, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Messick
Daws Butler provides the voice once again for the wacky titular bear. Between bouts of wit with Ranger Smith, Yogi juggles a little romance with Cindy Bear. Because of her fondness for Yogi, Cindy finds herself the victim of an evil circus impresario. He has her performing dangerous feats on a high wire while his demented pooch looks on with mad laughter. It is up to Yogi and his sidekick Boo Boo to save her. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1958
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
- Starring:
- Daws Butler
- 1959
Entering its second season as one of the most popular TV series in off-network syndication (beaten only by the live-action Sea Hunt), Hanna-Barbera's The Huckleberry Hound Show boasts better animation and sharper writing than ever before in the 13 new episodes produced for the year. As before, each half-hour show consists of three separate cartoon components, respectively starring Southern-fried "everydog" Huckleberry Hound, the "smarter than av-er-age" Yogi Bear, and the cat-mouse combo of Mr. Jinks and Pixie & Dixie. This year, all of these characters would appear for a curtain call in the closing credit sequence, replacing the advertising icons of series sponsor Kellogg's Cereals. This season's "Huckleberry Hound" offerings includes such gems as "Piccadilly Dilly", a wild and wooly spoof of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Of the "Yogi Bear" shorts, the best of the batch is "Snow White Bear", a witty skewering of the cutesy-wootsy Walt Disney offerings of the era (one of the Seven Dwarfs identifies himself with a proud "I'm 'Stupid'!") And let's not forget the "Pixie and Dixie" cartoon "Heavens to Jinksy", in which Mr. Jinks must stop being nasty to mice lest he never be allowed entrance in the Kingdom of Heaven--a limitation he immediately forsakes when he realizes that he's got nine lives! When Hanna-Barbera mounted its ad campaign for Huckleberry Hound in the fall of 1960, the producers never let the opportunity pass to inform local stations that the series was the first cartoon show to win an Emmy--in the "Best Children's Program" category. This in itself was good for a laugh, since it was well established that at least a third of Huckleberry Hound's audience consisted of adults! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daws Butler
- 1960
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
- Starring:
- Daws Butler
- 1961
The fourth and final first-run season of The Huckleberry Hound Show is dominated by the newest of the half-hour animated series' three weekly cartoon components, "Hokey Wolf", which had been introduced the previous season when former "costar" Yogi Bear defected to his own starring series. 16 new "Hokey Wolf" installments, featuring a crafty wolf who sounds like Phil Silvers' Sgt. Bilko, debuted this season, among them the best of the batch, "ovies are Bitter Than Ever". As for series headliner Huckleberry Hound, enough of his short cartoons had been stockpiled from previous seasons to allow him to take it easy this season, showing up in a scant nine new adventures, including the above-average "Ben Huck" and "Scrubby Brush Man". Likewise, the series' third component "Pixie and Dixie", featuring the titular mice versus their eternal antagonist Mr. Jinks the cat, yielded only nine new episodes. Of these, the standout is "Fresh Heir", if for no other reason than its superb dialogue: Upon learning that a famous cat-lover has just passed away, a tearful Jinks looks upward and sighs "We always lose the good ones!" Although no new Huckleberry Hound episodes were filmed after its fourth season, the series enjoyed a spinoff of sorts in the fall of 1962 with The Best of Huck and Yogi, a thirteen-week rerun package which sponsor Kellogg's Cereals targettted for late-night Prime Time play. And of course, Huck himself would remain a Hanna-Barbera stalwart in dozens of future "ensemble" shows like Yogi's Space Race and Laff-a-Lympics. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daws Butler
- 1967
This animated compilation video is comprised of episodes from several popular Hannah-Barbera cartoons. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1967
This animated compilation video is comprised of episodes from several popular Hannah-Barbera cartoons. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1967
This video contains 12 delightful animated adventures featuring those lovable rodents Pixie and Dixie. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1984
This video contains a septet of animated episodes chronicling the Wild West adventures of sheriff Quick Draw and his buddy Baba Looey. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1977
This animated children's film tells the story of the two popular dolls who go off to find a pretty French doll who has been stolen by pirates. Many songs from popular children's composer Joe Raposo ensue, including: "I Look and What Do I See!," "No Girl's Toy," "Rag Dolly," "Poor Babette," "A Miracle," "Ho-Yo," "Candy Hearts," "Blue," "The Mirage," "I Never Get Enough," "I Love You," "Loony Anthem," "It's Not Easy Being King," "Hooray for Me," "You're My Friend," and "Home." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1956
Another of director Bob McKimson's TV satires, this one is a broad "Superman" spoof with Daffy Duck in the dual role of mild-mannered reporter Cluck Trent and that "strange being from another planet" Stupor Duck. Overhearing the sinister schemes of evil Russian saboteur I. Aardvark Ratnik, Cluck Trent ducks into a closet (located in the McKimson Building, naturally) and emerges as Stupor Duck, intent upon seeking out and neutralizing the bad guy--never once figuring out that "Ratnik" is nothing more than a character on a radio soap opera. To the moon, Daffy! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Previously the stars of their own Saturday-morning Hanna-Barbera children's show, the rock 'n' rolling Banana Splits appear in both "live" and animated form in this one-hour special. The Splits--namely Fleagle, Drooper, Bingo and Snorky--perform at a spooky theme park, where they run afoul with a wicked sorcerer. Falling for the "old enchanted balloon trick", our anthropomorphic-animal heroes find themselves smack-dab in the middle of a power play between the sorceror, a magician and a zany witch. The Banana Splits in Hocus Pocus Park originally aired as an episode of ABC Saturday Superstar Movie on November 25, 1972. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Allan Melvin, Daws Butler, (more)
- 1961
This cartoon series, consisting of 130 5-minute programs, looked a lot like Mr. Magoo, which was understandable as both the Tracy and Magoo series produced by United Productions of America. Dick Tracy, drawn in the realistic style of the newspaper strip (and voiced by Everett Sloane), was primarily seen in the opening segment, sitting at his desk at headquarters, contacting his various operatives by the two-way wrist-radio and assigning them their tasks. Tracy's operatives include Officer Heap O'Calorie, Hemlock Holmes, Go-Go Gomez, and Joe Jitsu -- these characters were drawn in exagerated cartoon style which, in the case of Japanese detective Joe Jitsu, was also highly ethnically offensive in decades to come (which is why the series disappeared from syndication in the 1970's). The villains were more interesting, an array of physical grotesques drawn right from the comic strip -- Pruneface, Itchy, BB Eyes, Flat Top et al, drawn in a more realistic style. The voices of the supporting detectives were based, in most instances, on some familiar movie figures: Cary Grant for Hemlock Holmes, Andy Devine for Heap O'Calorie etc. The cartoons were long on laughs and short on logic and excitement, and the production values, even by the standards of the limited animation typical for television, were somewhat threadbare. Indeed, the most memorable and exciting part of this series was the opening and closing sequences -- an overhead shot of a big city street, looking a lot like midtown Manhattan in the early 1960's, shows a police car at full siren cutting through traffic, and gunshots spell out "Dick Tracy," accompanied to swish-pan shots of panicked onlookers; the patrol car pulls up in front of a police station, and we cut to Tracy at his desk, telling the chief on his intercom that he "get right on it." The closing sequence was similar, a police car cutting through traffic at full speed, siren blaring, while onlookers stare. The credit sequence animators at least knew the look and feel of film noir, as well as a good action show. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- 1963
The multitalented Ann-Margret lends voice to her stone-age cartoon counterpart "Ann-Margrock" as The Flintstones launches its fourth season. Ann-Margrock is coming to Bedrock to stage a big musical show, and Fred and Barney hope to perform a vaudeville turn in the festivities. Just before the boys' audition, they come face to face with Ann-Margrock herself--and, failing to recognize the superstar, Fred hires her as babysitter for his infant daughter Pebbles. The episode is highlighted by Ann-Margret's soulful renditions of the original lullaby "The Littlest Lamb" and the all-stops-out rock tune "I Love You But I Ain't Gonna Be Your Fool." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
Though Wilma is dead set against it, Fred enters baby daughter Pebbles in a beautiful-baby contest. As it turns out, Wilma's instincts were dead on target. It seems that Fred misunderstood the purpose of the contest: The "babes" sought after by the judges are of the voluptuous female adult variety! The best scene finds Fred and Barney picking their brains to find an appropriate "talent" for the nonplussed Pebbles to exhibit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
Fred and Barney are appointed to do jury duty during the trial of a nasty character called The Mangler. Although jury foreman Fred is all for acquittal, he is outvoted by the other eleven jurors, and The Mangler is found guilty. In a rage, the defendant vows to get even with Fred if it's last thing he does--and subsequently he escapes from jail, whereupon Fred literally heads for the hills to avoid the Mangler's wrath. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
Tired of Wilma's complaints that he takes her for granted, Fred arranges to spend a second honeymoon at the couple's former romantic rendezvous, the Rock Mountain Inn, on the occasion of their 15th wedding anniversary. Upon their arrival, Fred and Wilma are told that the judge who presided over their marriage was a phony--meaning, of course, that they aren't legally married. You guessed it: Fred is forced to woo and win Wilma a second time...and she isn't about to make it easy for him! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Hoping to lose a few pounds, Fred tries out a reducing formula of his own invention. As a result, Fred not only loses weight but height, shrinking down to the size of a small boulder. Hoping to capitalize on this phenomenon, Fred talks Barney into posing as a ventriloquist in order to land a guest appearance on the TV variety series hosted by Ed Sullystone. Naturally, itty-bitty Freddy intends to sit on Barney's lap and pose as his dummy--but what nobody has counted on is the possibility that the reducing formula will wear off right in front of a coast-to-coast audience! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1963
Jewel thief Baffles Gravel plants a stolen gem in the carriage containing baby Pebbles. When they discover their darling daughter playing with the "hot" jewel, Fred and Wilma jump to the conclusion that their daughter is a thief in the making. There is nothing to be done than to attempt a nocturnal return of the stolen item to its rightful owner --a "caper" that stirs up far more trouble than it's worth! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1965
During a company picnic, Fred sneaks off to a quiet spot and falls asleep. When he awakens, he finds that he has a long grey beard--which is hardly surprising, since twenty years have passed! Returning home, "Rip Van Flintstone" discovers that his daughter Pebbles has married her childhood playmate Bamm-Bamm, his best pal Barney has somehow become a millionaire, and his wife Wilma is now alone and destitute! The whole situation seems like a bad dream...as well it should... ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
