HANNA-BARBERA: THE ARCHITECTS OF SATURDAY MORNING

Before the rise of basic cable, Saturday mornings for many children in America were spent watching cartoons on one of three available television channels. From 1958 through the 1980s, a majority of those cartoons bore the Hanna-Barbera imprint. Creating hit shows such as The Flintstones, Jonny Quest, Scooby-Doo, Super Friends, and The Smurfs, Hanna-Barbera was an animation powerhouse.
Hanna-Barbera Productions was formed in 1957 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera--two very successful animators from MGM Studios. As a result of their work on the Tom and Jerry cartoon shorts, MGM received seven Academy Awards for animation - more than Walt Disney himself. Hanna and Barbera left MGM when the studio stopped production on animated films. Capitalizing on the changing viewing habits of audiences, the partners achieved immediate success on TV with The Huckleberry Hound Show and Yogi Bear in 1958, followed by the highly popular prime-time series, The Flintstones, in 1960. Through the next 30 years, Hanna-Barbera produced an astonishing 120 individual cartoon series for television.
The exhibition explores the golden years of Hanna-Barbera, from the premiere of Huckleberry Hound in 1958 to the debut of Scooby-Doo in 1969. Hanna and Barbera's early work on Tom and Jerry will be explored, in addition to the scores of TV and film animation and live-action projects created by the studio between 1970 and 2001. Included within the exhibition will be original animation art, sketches, model sheets, archival materials, commercial products, and an interactive installation that will draw from the vast library of sound effects created by Hanna-Barbera.

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