The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera


The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera was an American animated syndicated programming block produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that ran on a weekly schedule and was performed in live action. The program ran from 1985 to 1994.

Overview

The block premiered on Sunday September 15th, 1985 and included an array of both old and new Hanna-Barbera original cartoon shows. The show aired on Sundays in most markets, but some stations broadcast it on both Weekdays as well on Saturdays too. The 1985 to 1987 edition was hosted by legendary Hanna-Barbera mainstays, Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, Huckleberry Hound and Snagglepuss in their live action costumed forms.
Each show included HBTV segments featuring music videos of classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon clips. It included hits like "Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival and "Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell. "It's Fun! Fun! Fun! Funtastic!", was the main theme song for the Funtastic World's first three seasons and also the theme for Yogi's newest series, Yogi's Treasure Hunt. Next, The Down and Dirty Dinosaurs from the game show Skedaddle hosted the 1988 edition, and then the 1990 edition was hosted by Kenny Ford and Jennifer Love Hewitt.
The shows featured in the animation block had a superstar lineup of both old and new H-B animated characters that included The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho Panda, Jonny Quest, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures, The Challenge Of The GoBots, Fantastic Max, The Flintstone Kids, The Further Adventures of SuperTed, Galtar and the Golden Lance, ', The Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 Movies, The Jetsons, ', The New Adventures of Jonny Quest, Paddington Bear, The Paw-Paws, The Pirates of Dark Water, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Richie Rich, Sky Commanders, Smurfs' Adventures, The Snorks, , 2 Stupid Dogs, The New Yogi Bear Show, Yogi's Treasure Hunt, Yo Yogi! and Young Robin Hood.
The block ran from 1985 to 1994 and was 3 and a 1/2 minutes long in 1985 because of GoBots, The Jetsons, Paw-Paws, Yogi's Treasure Hunt, and Galtar. However it became a mighty success and the block went to four and a 1/2 hours in 1986 and a five-hour block in 1987 with the addition of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 tevisved feature films. With time its popularity waned and the program's length decreased from two hours in 1991 to one hour in 1993.

Distribution

It was originally distributed by Worldvision Enterprises, then moved to Turner Program Services after the sale of the Hanna-Barbera studio to Turner Broadcasting. Most of the shows that aired on the block are now distributed by Warner Bros. Television Distribution. When it first aired, The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera could be seen on all independent stations owned by Taft, the parent company of Hanna-Barbera Productions and Worldvision Enterprises at the time.

Stations

When The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera first launched in Sunday September 15 of 1985, it was also pre-sold to Taft Broadcasting, Tribune, Metromedia, Chris-Craft owned stations.
CityStation
AtlantaWGNX 46
BangorWVII 7
Baton RougeWKG 49/KBTR 19
BostonWXNE 25
BuffaloWUTV 29
BurlingtonKJMH 26
ChicagoWPWR 50
ClevelandWRLM 67
DetroitWXON 20
FlintWSMH 66
Fort Pierce/West Palm BeachWTVX 34
FresnoKAIL 53
GreenvilleWHNS 21
Greeneville/BristolWEMT 39
HagerstownWHAG 25
HartfordWTIC 61
HoustonKTXH 20
Kansas CityKSHB 41
LansingWSYM 47
Las VegasKVVU 5
Los AngelesKCOP 13
MiamiWCIX 6
OmahaKPTM 42
Pensacola/MobileWJTC 44
PhiladelphiaWTXF 29
Portsmouth/NorfolkWYAH 27
PeoriaWYZZ 43
SacramentoKTXL 40
San FranciscoKBHK 44
KOFY 20
Secaucus/New York CityWWOR 9
South BendWNDU 16
SpokaneKSKN 22
St. LouisKPLR 11
Tacoma/SeattleKCPQ 13
TampaWFTS 28
Traverse CityWGTU 29
Washington, D.C.WDCA 20
WFTY 50
York/HarrisburgWPMT 43

Shows

The series had a superstar lineup of both old and new Hanna-Barbera characters throughout its run.