Simply Funtastic.

And now, my fellow Hanna-Barbera fans, my thoughts on "The Funtastic World Of Hanna-Barbera."

Since I covered "Yogi's Treasure Hunt," the new "Jonny Quest" episodes, and "Young Robin Hood," earlier, this thread is devoted to the other animated series seen on this long-running show.

The show was hosted by an actor in a Yogi Bear costume, who asked each of the animated "leads" if they were ready for showtime. "All set, Yogi," was their reply. Now on with the shows.

"Paw Paws." Here, I was looking at two tribes of Native American bears. Say, wasn't there a Frankie Goes To Hollywood song about two tribes going to war? That seemed to be what this show was all about. The Paw Paws vs. the Meanos. But they never used bows, arrows, and tomahawks, thank goodness. Instead, in times of trouble, Princess Paw Paw used her Mystic Moonstone to activate Totem Bear. He'd split into three separate components, and send Dark Paw, Slippery Paw, Bumble Paw, and occasionally, Aunt Pruney, packing. I cheered every time I saw that. So all in all, this series was awesome, I mean pawsome.


"Galtar And The Golden Lance." Hanna-Barbera had had handsome blond Alpha males before, like Freddy Jones and Alan Mayberry. But unlike them, Galtar was a fearless warrior out for blood. I guess I would be too, if my adversary killed my parents. Too bad the show ended abruptly without showing if Tormack got the fate he deserved.

HBTV. Very similar to Disney's DTV, this was just animated videos of various H-B cartoons set to classic songs of the '60's, '70's, and '80's. The songs included "Monster Mash," 'Catch A Wave(which was also featured on DTV), and "Ghostbusters." This was also the first time I saw clips from H-B's "Alice In Wonderland," set to "You Crack Me Up" by Huey Lewis And The News. That song was also the only one I'd never heard on the radio. I loved all these videos, and feel there should have been more of them.

"Sky Commanders." Never got into this one, possibly because I thought two military factions engaged in combat was a bit of a stretch for a kiddie show.

"Fantastic Max." Max was cute and adorable. I liked how he was able to talk at his age, and pretend his alien friends AB and FX were merely toys. Plus, "Rocket and roll!" was a brilliant catchphrase.

"The Further Adventures Of Superted." I preferred H-B's version of this superhero to the original Welsh version. As always, H-B did a superb animation job, and the episodes were remarkable.

"Paddington Bear." Never got past the opening credits with this one. Maybe I should have seen it, and also read the books.

"Midnight Patrol: Adventures In The Dream Zone." I did see a handful of episodes, but in the end, decided it was strictly for those under the age of ten. But Potsworth was one cool dog.

"The Adventures Of Don Coyote And Sancho Panda." This was another one I didn't see much of. It was obvious from the beginning that it was inspired by the classic novel, which I read. I also saw "Man Of La Mancha" on stage twice. All of those, plus Mr. Magoo's adaptation were way better than this. Cervantes himself was probably rolling over in his grave.

"Two Stupid Dogs." I'll never know why this was included in the mix. To spare myself the pain of seeing crude humor, I only saw promos of the series.

"Swat Kats: The Radical Squadron. Yes, I saved the best for last. As Sassy said in the first "Homeward Bound" movie, "Cats rule, and dogs drool." T-Bone and Razor certainly did rule here. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing them suit up to take on such feline villains as Dr. Viper, the Metallikats, Dark Kat, and The Pastmaster. Callie, Felina, and Ann Gora were also purrfect leading lady kats. But I wish it hadn't ended with three unproduced episodes. Those were ones I'd have liked to see.

BTW, shows that were added to the mix after their network runs have either already been covered, or will be covered at a later date.

Trivia Question 15: Name the three animals that comprised Totem Bear.

Answer: Bear, Eagle, and Turtle.

My only thought about "Skedaddle" is that I don't know if I'd have liked it had I seen it. That goes for "Down And Dirty Dinosaurs," too.

If I may, let me give some love to The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho Panda. As mentioned, this cartoon series was very loosely based on the work by Miguel de Cervantes, about a knight errant and his squire patrolling the kingdom, functioning much like the king's samurai. Of course, it's much easier to write this character as a delusional buffoon, especially for an audience that's mostly children. For me, it helps to think that Don Coyote started out as a normal, sane, responsible knight in service to His Majesty. Then came the news that the council of knights was being dissolved, in favor of regional governors. Don Coyote was told to his face that he's no longer needed, that everything he was, everything he'd aspired to, was passé and obsolete. This sea change broke his mind, and he continues on his knightly rounds because it's the only thing that, for him, ever made sense. And I'd like to point out that getting set out at the metaphorical curb as reward for all his hard work is a theme very familiar to Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera.