Hanna-Barbera animators: careers, cartoons, and production techniques

Hanna Barbera history of the animators, what they did before becoming animators, what cartoons they created, process of animation, lighting, & sound that was used

Brief history of both Hanna & Barbera and how each evolved as animators:

William Denby Hanna and Joseph Ronald Barbera popularly as Hanna Barbera are no doubt the masters of animation. Born on 1910, in Melrose, New Mexico, William Hanna's interest in drawing made him to start his career with Harman-Ising animation studio. He was placed in the layout and story unit there. This served as the first step to the evolution of William Hanna as animator. After seven years of service in Harman-Ising studio he moved to the animation division of MGM in 1937. At MGM he and William Allen directed cartoons for 'Captain and the Kids'. Here Hanna and Barbera were paired together for directing 'Gallopin Gals'. Joseph Barbera born on 1911, in Little Italy section of New York, was fond of drawing but joined the American Institute of Banking with a view to become a banker. He worked for law organization as an accountant for a short period of time having less of job satisfaction. He started submitting cartoons to magazines, and then in 1932 he joined the Van Beuren Studio where he developed his art of cartooning & scriptwriter. In 1937, when he came to know about the establishment of animation unit by MGM, he joined as writer initially and evolved as an animator. (William Denby Hanna (1910-2001)); (Joseph Roland Barbera (1911-2006))

How they met or joined forces:

The duo William Denby Hanna and Joseph Ronald Barbera met at MGM in 1938 when they were assigned a project together. In 1940 both came together to direct 'Puss Gets the Boot' the cartoon of cat and mouse. The cat which was called Jasper and the mouse as Jinx paved way for the evolution of Tom and Jerry. With this Hanna and Barbera became famous for their television animation. Tom and Jerry added fourteen academy awards and seven Oscar nominations to the duo's credit. They further moved on with the creation of Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, and the first prime-time animated series 'The Flintstones'. (William HANNA and Joseph Barbera)

What profession were they in before becoming animators?

When William Hanna was young he often joined hands with his father who worked for water and sewer systems as a construction engineer. Hanna helped with the supervision of the work at the camps there. Hanna realized that he had an interest for poetry and music that helped him in the future when he was into drawing. In 1929, working on building Hollywood's Pantages Theatre was Hanna's early profession, where he came to know about the Harman-Ising Company. Warner Brothers employed the Company of the two men Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. Although Hanna had no training he aimed to have the job and after a formal interview was appointed. Eventually he became the person in charge for the department of Ink and Paint. (the Founders: The Story of Hanna)

Initially Hanna's job was to raise gags and compose songs for the shorts, some of which were used for Bosko cartoons. Even though there were capitalizing problems in Harman-Ising Company, Harman decided to stay with the company. Joseph Barbera in fact was a very skilled boxer and was also offered a career in the same field. Joseph Barbera with his interest in writing rejected the offer. He aimed at writing plays and becoming a stage actor. He discovered that he had a talent for drawing, so the dreams of his life to be an actor were left behind. After completion of studies, he joined the Irving Trust Company and also attended classes for art at night. He started to draw and send cartoons to famous magazines. The cartoons he sent were rejected initially. But a day had come when Collier's started buying his cartoons. Hence Joseph Barbera thought of taking up cartooning as a career and livelihood. (the Founders: The Story of Hanna)

Then Max Fleischer hired Barbera in the New York cartoon studios. He soon realized that there was no growth in the company and therefore resigned the job in four days. Then he moved to Van Beuren Studios with a better position compared to the earlier position. His superiors were impressed with the kind of gags he created and within six months of time he was appointed as a full-time storywriter and animator. But to his surprise this job lasted only for a few months as the company was at a terrible loss. Then he joined the Terrytoons studio by Paul Terry. In the mean time the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer -- MGM signed Harman-Ising studio's staff and also the directors for producing cartoons in the name of Leo the Lion's Banner. This was the time when William Hanna directed the short 'To Spring' for the "Happy Harmonies." However, Hanna moved to MGM later when he heard news of the closure of Harman-Ising studio. Thus the duo later came together at MGM for directing a cartoon film. (the Founders: The Story of Hanna)

How they got started the company of Hanna Barbera:

When MGM closed its animation unit, the duo founded Hanna-Barbera Cartoons Inc. their own production company. The company was known for its magical formula of producing low cost cartoons that focused more on humor, story and characters than on action. The company gained success with the production of 'The Flintstones'. The company in 1980 spread over Asia and started operating globally by distributing the work through international network. The Hanna Barbera Company was staffed with the members of MGM animation unit. To keep Hanna Barbera productions a secret to the MGM officials, the show 'I Love Lucy' was anonymously promoted. Hanna Barbera made $40,000-$60,000 for Tom and Jerry shots as compared to $2,700 given by Screen Gems for cartoon duration of 5 minutes. This forced them to think about earning more profit by reviving the whole cartoon concept. They shifted the focus from visual action, which was followed at MGM, to dialogue and story. They made cartoons which were cheaper to limit the amount of drawings, though it was not the solution to stand in the industry. Then the introduction of voices to the cartoons was thought to gain the interest of audience. In 1957, Daws Butler and Don Messick gave voice to the character of Ruff and Ready. This enabled the company shows production in lesser time, thereby increasing the sales and enriching the development of the shows. When they saw a gradual decline in the company's stand over competition, the company was sold to Great American Broadcasting in 1987 and then Turner Broadcasting purchased it in 1991. Turner Broadcasting later merged with Time-Warner Inc. In 1992, Turner started 24-hour cartoon network with Hanna Barbera cartoon series. (History of Hanna Barbera Cartoons Inc.)

The Formation of Hanna Barbera proved to be a catalyst that paved the way for the prime time Saturday morning cartoons. The work of Hanna Barbera known as Classics had animation that entertained children as well as adults. Critics labeled characters like Quick Draw McGraw, Huckleberry Hound, and Yogi Bear hilarious for the satires and witty content used. The malapropisms, gags and punches that might have no value in the present market were actually referred as groundbreaking at that time. Hanna Barbera stuff was viewed as the most original material in the television animation that led to an animation boom in 1960. (Mittell, 66)

What made Hanna Barbera a success?

Hanna Barbera productions debuted with 'Ruff and Ready' in 1957 and then after one year 'The Huckleberry Hound Show' proved to be a great hit. The 'Huckleberry Hound Show' bagged an Emmy Award in 1959. Then the first cartoon show having duration of half an hour was aired at primetime in 1960. The idea behind this was to present a half-hour animated comedy series in place of live shows. Then there was 'The Flintstones' that added to the company's success with a continuous six-year run. Eventually, the company gained popularity and success through various marketing plans. The famous characters were then used in promoting the product, toy manufacturing, and Hanna Barbera established Jelleystone Park a version of Disneyland. They won one more Emmy for Jack and the Beanstalk animation and live action casting Gelly Kelly, in which they used the technique of fusion. In Jack and the Beanstalk, live action was fused with animation. This success was one of reason that Taft Broadcasting in 1967 acquired Hanna Barbera. Though Hanna Barbera was very successful on the small screen the company was much smaller when compared to Disney. So Taft Broadcasting suggested that with the aid of extra capital Hanna Barbera could compete with Disney. Taft Broadcasting thought of turning the television animation producers to film producers. (History of Hanna Barbera Cartoons Inc.)

After 1960 Hanna Barbera had already experienced producing films like 'Hey There, its Yogi Bear' and 'A Man Called Flintstone'. The Charlotte's Web, was produced in the year 1972. It was a film based on a novel authored by E.B. White and it received widespread critical acclamation. The limited animation technique posed threat to the success of the company later in the 1970's. With the earning of $60million a year Hanna Barbera now failed to produce new characters and shows. Hence in 1987 the Great American Communications Group acquired the company. Further in the year 1991, Turner Broadcasting System was purchased by Hanna Barbera. In 1992, the Cartoon Network was aired by Turner Broadcasting and this set the need for library of cartoons. So the Hanna Barbera buy provided them with 3000 half-hours cartoons. The marketing strategy of Hanna Barbera was now changed with the help of Fred Siebert, the company's president. More importance was given to the international market as a result of shift in its production to Asia. The extension gave birth to new characters and a CD ROM Voiced by Fred Flintstone was produced about the dinosaurs. Later Turner's got merged with Time-Warner Inc. And posed a threat to the future existence of company. (History of Hanna Barbera Cartoons Inc.)

What cartoons they created:

The Hanna and Barbera union earned fame much before they started their own productions. The journey began when they both came together to direct cartoons for MGM. Puss gets the Boots in 1940; their first collaborative work starred the famous cat and mouse pair called Jasper and Jinx. This pair was later renamed as Tom and Jerry, which was a huge success and became the first work to be nominated for Oscar as the best cartoon for short subject. They worked together at MGM till 1957. Meanwhile they created lot of minor characters and more than 100 shorts of Tom and Jerry were directed, out of which seven shorts won the Academy Awards. With the closure of MGM studio Hanna and Barbera came up with their own production company 'The Hanna Barbera Studio'. They began their work with Ruff & Reddy, which was an animated short series for television much like the cartoons for old theatres. This show was only a half-hour show with live action. (Hanna-Barbera Studio)

Actors like Don Messick and Daws Butler voiced Ruff & Reddy shows. The series continued until 1964 with 100 episodes to its history. Their second home production and character was HuckleBerry Hound. This was the first show in which Hanna Barbera controlled the whole content of the show. The other cartoon segments in HuckleBerry Hound were Yogi Bear and Pixie & Dixie that featured Huck as host. Later in 1961 a new character called Hokey Wolf was introduced in the place Yogi Bear. Hanna Barbera came up with the world's favorite cartoon in 1960 'The Flintstones' that was based on ancient show 'The Honeymooners' and the 'Stone Age Cartoons'. 'The Flintstones' was first primetime television cartoon show that set way for the most popular show 'The Simpsons'. For another two years 'The Flintstones' was able to stick to its place on the television. Later the characters were featured in the films called the Man Called Flintstones, Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm, and of course in Rubbles' babies. 'The Flintstones' lasted long even after the Jetsons and Top Cat. (Hanna-Barbera Studio)

The cartoons show 'The Jetsons' was similar to the 'The Flintstones' to some extent. One it was because it both the prime time television shows and both shows were based on 'Stone age cartoons' with change only in the settings. Later in 1964, Hanna Barbera started film production with films such as 'Hey There, its Yogi Bear' and 'A Man Called Flintstone' following by the Jetsons Meet the Flintstones, Yogi's First Christmas and other films. This was the year when animation was leading to a new direction that showed up in their adventure cartoon like Jonny Quest. After the success of the Flintstones, Jonny Quest was the first adventure animated story show that set a trend for adventure cartoons in the animation industry. Hanna Barbera after earning additional income with famous prime time cartoons showed the company to head to license the properties to comic books. The publishing of cartoon characters in comics was started with Dell Comics, and followed by Charlton Comics, Marvel, Harvey and the DC Comics. (Hanna-Barbera Studio)

Process of animation they used:

Hanna Barbera was famous for the process of animation they used called as Limited or planned animation. This process was found in 1960 to manage the costs of cartoons. In this process or technique, each character parts like head, arm or legs were designed by using multiple cells. Here the body of the character remained unmoved or static and only the other parts moved. Hence for applying these techniques, Hanna Barbera designed characters like Yogi Bear and Scooby-Doo with collars. Characters with collars allowed separation of the character's body from the other parts; the collar would thereby act as a curtain between the body and head cells and also covered the neck seam. This technique enabled the character's speech with the movement of the head and actual body remained stationery, thereby providing limited as well as recurring use of animation. (Limited Animation) for example 'Scooby-Doo, Where are you!' is an animation that was designed using the Limited animation process. The advantage of this process is that it allowed only partial drawing, in other words the each frame in the film didn't need the whole new drawing. In this process the figures were painted and photographed by dividing the cells of characters on the acetate sheet or the celluloid. The character's body was placed in the bottom cell and rest of the parts that required motion like head, arm and legs were placed on different cells. This was the reason that most of the Hanna Barbera characters specially wore the neckties and the collars. Therefore, drawing part for the body would save time and money. (How 'Scooby-Doo' Works)