Starting Monday (December 4th)
Yogi's Treasure Hunt replaces
Yogi's Gang on Boomerang's weekday morning schedule. They may not even have aired every episode of
Yogi's Gang. (It is pretty preachy.)
EDIT: I've been watching
Yogi's Treasure Hunt all week. The late Earl Kress (aka Daws Butler Jr.) co-wrote "Bungle in the Jungle" (with Lantz veterans Alex Lovy and Chuck Couch) and wrote "The Return of El Kabong". The latter brought back Snuffles, though his ears were painted the same color as his body and the rest of his head instead of black for the entire episode. (And Muttley's ears were painted the same color as the rest of him instead of black in one scene.)
Once again Daws Butler and Don Messick did the lion's share of the voicework, with Arnold Stang voicing Top Cat, Paul Winchell voicing Dick Dastardley, and John Stephenson taking over as Doggie Daddy. And I heard Lennie Weinrib voicing a coyote nemesis of Quick Draw McGraw in "The Return of El Kabong".
EDIT #2: Another episode written by Earl Kress, "Yogi and the Unicorn", brought back Hokey Wolf. (But no Ding A Ling.)
EDIT #3: "Beverly Hills Flop", written by Earl Kress, brought back Mr. Jinks but not Pixie and Dixie. Mr. Jinks mostly interacted with Snagglepuss. (But his paws were painted the same color as the rest of his body instead of beige.) And Yogi mentioned Fred Flintstone.
EDIT #4: Cindy Bear was in the episode that aired yesterday morning, "Follow the Yellow Brick Gold", but Julie Bennett isn't in the end credits. I'm guessing that Cindy was voiced by Janet Waldo, who had experience voicing little ol' Southern gals.
EDIT #5: The episode that aired today, "Yogi's Heroes", had brief appearances by several Hanna-Barbera characters that aren't usually in this series. I saw Mr. Jinks (again), Hokey Wolf (again), Wally Gator, Lippy the Lion, Squiddly Diddly, and even Undercover Elephant from
The CB Bears. (But not his sidekick Loud Mouse.) But this episode wasn't written by Earl Kress.
It was a crazy episode that heavily referenced the 1980's. It was about a war between "Bearzil" and "Dicuagra". President Yogi Bear was eating jelly beans. And Boo Boo became the musclebound RamBooBoo. (Also, Dick Dastardley and Muttley tortured Yogi, Snagglepuss, Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy, and Super Snooper and Blabber Mouse by making them watch
Dastardley and Muttley in Their Flying Machines over and over, though they used a movie projector instead of a VCR.)
EDIT #6: The episode that aired today, "The Attack of Dr. Mars", had brief appearances by Mr. Jinks (again), Hokey Wolf (again), Lippy the Lion (again), Hardy Har Har, Magilla Gorilla, Peter Potamus, Squiddly Diddly (again) and a character I didn't recognize, a blue cat (not Benny the Ball). An incidental character said "Yabba Dabba Doo!" when the 5:00 whistle blew, and characters danced to "The Bedrock Twitch". One of the three writers of this episode was Tom Ruegger, who's the story editor of this series. I think
Yogi's Treasure Hunt is starting to reflect the humor he brought to the TV series he did for WB in the 1990's.
Jimmy Weldon is now in the end credits. Another new addition is Charlie Adler. And Rob Paulsen was already in the end credits in the first season. Tom Ruegger seemed to be gathering the voice actors for his future projects for WB. And it sounded like Edie McClurg voiced "Dr. Mars".
I didn't know that this series lasted for three seasons. Boomerang has started airing the third season, which is from 1987 and 1988. So
Yogi's Treasure Hunt may have been one of the last things Daws Butler did before he died in 1988.
And there was a cel-painting error. In one scene Doggie Daddy's ears were the same color as most of the rest of him instead of black.
EDIT #7: Another episode written by Earl Kress, "20,00 Leaks Under the Sea". The framing device was "16 Minutes", hosted by "Mike Walnuts". Yakky Doodle was the "cuckoo" that popped out of the stopwatch. Hokey Wolf was "Judge Hokey Wolf-ner". A character I'd never heard of, Andy Kangraoo, was "Andy Kangaroo-ney". Plus repeat appearances by Mr. Jinks and Lippy the Lion.
The end credits were redone again and now go by much faster. I did see that Earl Kress replaced Tom Ruegger as story editor. (Maybe Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera didn't like how Tom Ruegger was handling the franchise.)
EDIT #8: The episode that aired today, "Goodbye, Mr. Chump" had brief appearances by Ruff (as a newsboy) and Jabberjaw. Repeat appearances by Mr. Jinks, Hokey Wolf and Squiddly Diddly.
More 1980's references:
Wheel of Fortune (with an unrecognizable Penelope Pitstop as "Vanna Pitstop") and the football player known as "The Refrigerator".
In one scene Augie Doggie was ashamed of something he had done, so he pulled a paper bag over himself. (Wrong studio!)
EDIT #9: I just watched an episode I missed the first time around, "There's No Place Like Nome", co-written by Earl Kress and Tom Ruegger. El Kabong returned. Dick Dastardley took a medal away from Muttley. And Top Cat said "Of course you know this means war!". (Wrong studio!)
EDIT #10: I watched another episode I missed the first time around, "The Great American Treasure", which flashed back to how Top Cat formed the treasure hunting team. The opening theme songs for
The Huckleberry Hound Show,
The Quick Draw McGraw Show and
The Yogi Bear Show were played in their entirety, plus the circus-themed opening of
The Huckleberry Hound Show was (loosely) referenced, complete with a rooster crowing at the beginning. (But Snagglepuss, Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy were with Huckleberry Hound in his introductory segment. Only Snooper and Blabber were with Quick Draw McGraw in his introductory segment, which included El Kabong. And only Yogi, Boo Boo and Ranger Smith were in Yogi Bear's introductory segment.) I spotted Hokey Wolf and Barney Rubble in an audience. (And there may have been other Hanna-Barbera characters. It went by pretty quickly.)
And probably the ultimate 1980's reference: President Reagan calls Top Cat. (But he sounded more like someone trying to impersonate James Cagney. And there were no references to his acting career or his love of jelly beans,)
EDIT #11: I watched yet another episode I missed the first time around "Snow White and the 7 Treasure Hunters", co-written by Earl Kress, Tom Ruegger and a name I didn't recognize, John Ludin. And it was really good. The framing device was Chopper reading a bedtime story to Yakky Doodle. (Vance Colvig and Jimmy Weldon were in the end credits.) Penelope Pitstop (the "classic" version) was Snow White. (And her dress was an exact copy of the Disney version.) Hokey Wolf was the magic mirror. Richochet Rabbit was a government agent. And Mr. Jinks and Touche' Turtle had parts. The names on the beds of the 7 Dwarfs were Curly, Larry, Shemp, Joe, Manny, Moe and Jack. ("Are they the 7 Dwarfs or the 7 Stooges?") And the wicked witch melted when it rained. (Wrong story!)
EDIT #12: Boomerang is now showing the episodes of
Yogi's Treasure Hunt that they didn't show before because it was replaced on the schedule by
Yogi's Space Race in the middle of Season 3. The episode that aired tonight, "Yogi Bear on the Air", was co-written by Earl Kress and another name I didn't recognize, Reed Robbins. In addition to appearances by Mr. Jinks, Hokey Wolf, and Wally Gator, I saw the Ant Hill Mob in a few scenes. And an image of Benny the Ball was on batteries, a reference to Eveready "Black Cat" batteries, which were still being made in the 1980's. Another 1980's reference: the head of the TV network was "Brando Tinykoff". TV show parodies, some of them from the 1980's: "The Gulping Gourmet" (starring Yogi Bear and Boo Boo), "Rumpus Room", "Hill Street Blab" (starring Super Snooper and Blabber Mouse, with Wally Gator as the suspect being interrogated), "Mister Ranger's Neighborhood" (starring Ranger Smith), "Gentle Hospital" (starring Mr. Jinks and Hokey Wolf), "The Love Barge" (which went over "Frostbite Falls"!), "Wheel of Misfortune" and "The Smirks" (starring Dick Dastardley and Muttley, with the villainess "Connie Kindly" (former host of "Rumpus Room") as "Smirkette". "On the Boob Tube" had Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear playing Siskel and Ebert. A
Star Trek parody was set on the "Starship Boobyprize" and Augie Doggie's ears were sticking straight up and pointy. A
Star Wars parody had "Connie Kindly" as Princess Leia (with the classic earmuffs/cinnamon buns hairstyle), Muttley as Darth Vader and Dick Dastardley as C3PO. Top Cat wanted to watch
The Flintstones. And I spotted the same cel-painting error, Muttley's ears painted the same color as most of the rest of him instead of black, in no less than three scenes.
EDIT #13: The episode of
Yogi's Treasure Hunt that aired on Boomerang tonight, "Yogi and the Beanstalk", was written by another name I didn't recognize, Dan Gilvezan. Peter Potamus was the giant, Mr. Jinks was the giant's (giant) caretaker (who thinks that Yogi and his gang are "meeces") and Yakky Doodle was the goose that lays golden eggs. There were also appearances by Hokey Wolf, Cindy Bear, Baba Looey, Ricochet Rabbit, Ma Rugg and Squiddly Diddly, plus an appearance by Officer Dibble, who arrested Hokey Wolf. ("Wait until I tell Top Cat!") And the episode began and ended at the "Hold the Mayo Clinic".
EDIT #14: The episode of
Yogi's Treasure Hunt that aired tonight, "The Greed Monster", was written by Tom Ruegger. Hokey Wolf was in it, but Ranger Smith wasn't. I almost thought that Dick Dastardley wasn't going to be in this episode, except on a "Wanted" poster, but he and Muttley finally showed up toward the end. The title character sounded like it was voiced by Charlie Adler. The doghouse in Doggie Daddy's "dream world" looked a lot like Snoopy's doghouse. And this episode was a little on the preachy side. (But nowhere near as preachy as
Yogi's Gang.)
EDIT #15: The episode of
Yogi's Treasure Hunt that aired tonight, "Secret Agent Bear", was co-written by Earl Kress and yet another name I didn't recognize, Kent Zbornak. In this James Bond spoof, Yogi was "Agent 008" and Boo Boo was "Agent B00". Cindy Bear was "Miss Honey Penny". (And this time Julie Bennett was in the end credits.) Quick Draw McGraw was "QD", who supplied "008" with his gadgets. Muttley was "Odd Dog". And instead of firing a gun at the audience at the beginning, Yogi squeezed a banana, covering the screen with banana mush. In yet another 1980's reference, Super Snooper and Blabber Mouse were "Miami Mice (and Cat)". When the treasure hunters were turned into children (or, in the case of Boo Boo and Augie Doggie, babies), by the Fountain of Youth, Daws Butler used his "little kid" voice for Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound and Snagglepuss. (I wonder if this was inspired by the popularity of Muppet Babies?) Ranger Smith wasn't in this episode either. And I had never seen Dick Dastardley not wearing a hat. He's half bald! (Just like the Dean of Students of Tusculum College who kicked me out, who also had a mustache.)
EDIT #16: The episode of
Yogi's Treasure Hunt that aired tonight, "The Moaning Liza", which was written by yet another name I didn't recognize, George Atkins, tried to cram in as many guest appearances by Hanna-Barbera characters as possible. In the Louvre, Peter Potamus was "Whistler's Mother", Magilla Gorilla (voiced by Allan Melvin) was "The Thinker", and Ma and Pa Rugg were "American Gothic" (with Jean Vander Pyl voicing Ma Rugg). Undercover Elephant (voiced by Daws Butler, basically using his Mr. Jinks voice) was the detective in charge of the investigation. Lippy the Lion, Hardy Har Har and Wally Gator were reporters, and they appeared again at the trial of (framed) Snagglepuss, now joined by Secret Squirrel and Squiddly Diddly. Hokey Wolf was the judge, and Touche Turtle (voiced by Don Messick) was the bailiff. The real thief was "The Pink Pussycat", a Snagglepuss doppelganger with a goatee and a handlebar mustache (and a different voice), obviously a reference to the star of an Oscar-winning cartoon from the mid-1960's. (And "The Moaning Liza" was a female version of Snagglepuss.)
Now having watched every episode of
Yogi's Treasure Hunt, I must say that Daws Butler was in top form voicing all of his classic characters, especially considering that the final episodes were made the year before he died. (Just like Marilyn Schreffler died during the original Saturday morning run of
Popeye and Son.) So were all of the other veteran voice actors (and actresses), except for Ranger Smith's voice being more high-pitched than usual. Hopefully this series gets released on DVD, especially if the plug is going to be pulled on Boomerang.
Edited by user
5 months ago
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