Hanna-Barbera: A History

by Jared Bahir Browsh

With careers spanning eight decades, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera were two of the most prolific animation producers in American history. In 1940, the two met at MGM and created Tom and Jerry, who would earn 14 Academy Award nominations and seven wins. The growth of television led to the founding of Hanna-Barbera's legendary studio that produced countless hours of cartoons, with beloved characters from Fred Flintstone, George Jetson and Scooby-Doo to the Super Friends and the Smurfs. Prime-time animated sitcoms, Saturday morning cartoons, and Cartoon Network's cable animation are some of the many areas of television revolutionized by the team. Their productions are critical to our cultural history, reflecting ideologies and trends in both media and society. This book offers a complete company history and examines its productions' influences, changing technologies, and enduring cultural legacy, with careful attention to Hanna-Barbera's problematic record of racial and gender representation.

307 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Dash Hooper · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF and this should really receive negative stars. This is some professor from Colorado University who writes a hit piece about Hanna Barbera and is sad that their vision doesn’t validate his 2020s feelings. His lack of research alone in the “Introduction” is plain intolerable and I expected more from an “Educator.”
This is not a history of the successful Hanna Barbera cartoons but a book to complain about how his feelings are hurt in 2021.
Don’t waste your time on this book.