Another one for the "I thought he was already dead" files. Good thing that wasn't the case because now I can give him a proper eulogy that is actually timely. Joe Barbera, half of the Hanna-Barbera animation team died yesterday from natural causes at the age of 95-years-old.
It's ironic because I was just thinking out loud the other day about the state of cartoons today. The shorties enjoy all these Japanese anime type things and have no appreciation for the classics. I turned on the Cartoon Network for G right as a Tom & Jerry short was coming on. It immediately made my face light up as I could
remember it from back in the day. He had no interest in it at all.
Hanna-Barbera brought us several classics that we have come to know and love. They were not only some of the best cartoons ever made but easily some of the timeless pieces of television history:
- The Flintstones
- The Jetsons
- The Huckleberry Hound Show
- The Yogi Bear Show
- Johny Quest
- Scooby-Doo
- Smurfs
The commercialization of children today has spoiled the idea of classics like that to ever be made again. Nowadays, people will only make shows for children if there's a possibility to back it up with a marketable toy. They've even gone as far as to spoil some of the aforementioned classics by attempting real-life movie versions. They haven't spoiled the memories though and we thank Barbera for those.
