Logo captures by Eric S., Mr. Logo Lord and V of Doom
Editions by Mr. Logo Lord, V of Doom, Shadeed A. Kelly, WileE2005, Hoa, Bob Fish, sega3dmm, and universalxdisney172
Video captures courtesy of roygerdodger, sonicsatamjamer77, English1stud, bigrene2, ClassicTVFan82, JohnnyL80, Tlogos, gladteck, AllisonTheSNLGuru, mollyzkoubou, SSJAssasin, WileE2005 and phasicblu


Background: This company was originally formed in 1944 by MGM animation directors William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and live-action director George Sidney as H-B Enterprises in order to produce sponsored films and later television commercials. After MGM shut down its animation studio in 1957, H-B Enterprises became Hanna and Barbera's full-time job, and the company was re-named Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1959, merging after to Taft Broadcasting (later renamed Great American Communications) in 1967. In 1991, the company was purchased by Turner Broadcasting, initially with help from Apollo Investment Group. Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera both went into semi-retirement, yet continued to serve as ceremonial figureheads for the studio. The same year, the company was renamed to H-B Production Co. and renamed again as Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. in 1994. During the late 1990s, Turner turned Hanna-Barbera towards primarily producing new material for its Cartoon Network, which had been built around reruns from the Hanna-Barbera library. In October 1996, Turner was bought out by Time Warner. With William Hanna's death in 2001, Hanna-Barbera was absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation, and Cartoon Network Studios assumed production of Cartoon Network output. Joe Barbera remained with Warner Bros. Animation until his death in 2006. Today, Hanna-Barbera remains currently as an in-name-only unit of Warner Bros. Animation for distribution and marketing of properties and productions associated with Hanna-Barbera's "classic" works such as The Flintstones, The Jestons, and Scooby-Doo.


1st Logo
(1957-1990)

Logo: Not really a logo, but more of an in-credit text. The words “A HANNA-BARBERA PRODUCTION” appear on-screen, either at the beginning of a short or at the end of a show. This practice continued well into the 1980s, years after H-B introduced an in-credit logo for its shows.

Trivia: The right half of the 1959 logo of "A Hanna-Barbera Production" eventually became the logo for the Boomerang network.

Variants: While the style of the wording varied from show to show, there were four variants commonly seen:

• “HANNA-BARBERA” is in a “scrawly” font used for crediting the two producers on latter-day MGM shorts and many of the original H-B Productions series. Used mainly on early shorts, in a blue “splotch” on a yellow background.
• “Hanna-Barbera” is in a 60s-esque “cursive” font commonly known as “Tabitha”. Used within a similar “splotch” device, but is also seen at the end of several 1960s series such as The Jetsons and Top Cat.
• The entire wording is in a bold, all-caps font, usually Franklin Gothic Condensed. Seen at the end of many 1960s series, most notably Jonny Quest and The Flintstones. The font would vary for some shows.
• “HANNA-BARBERA” is in a bold, “tubular” font most similar to the latter-day Filmways logo. Used around the late 70s into the 1980s-usually seen on Challenge of the Superfriends among others.

FX/SFXCheesy Factor: None, but the 4th variation is a bit harsh on the eyes.

Music/Sounds: Nothing except whatever theme song was being played over it.

Availability: Common; still preserved on all H-B shows, as it’s in the credits.

Scare Factor: None.



2nd Logo
(1966/1968-1969)

Nickname: "The H-B Box", "Zooming-Out/Fading-In H-B Box"

Logo: On a black background, three small orange rectangles appear, the outer two stretching down, the one in the center extending up, then they stretch, break up and multiply to become an orange box containing a large, black stylized “H-B” cutout. Then the box grows to become an orange background, the black H-B zooms out, disappears, and then it cuts to light blue words reading “a Hanna-Barbera Production” with the “a” in a black box. Finally, a yellow stylized “H-B” (using the same style as the black one) slowly fades in.

Later Variant: There’s another version from 1968 featuring nearly the same starting animation, with the rectangles moving the directions they’re supposed to extend instead of stretching before they actually do, but when the black zooming “H-B” disappears, it cuts to a red “H-B” with the text already on it, with the small “a” box being dark blue and the letter in yellow. It features a byline reading “a division of Taft Broadcasting Company” next to a small Taft logo in dark blue text on the bottom.

FX/SFX: All the animation in the logos.

Cheesy Factor: Well, the logo seems pretty advanced for 1966. However, Hanna-Barbera has been known for producing cartoons with cheap limited animation, and this includes their logos. Another cheesy thing I can find is that during the rectangle animation on the 1968 version, when it’s nearly finished, it merely cuts to the finished “H-B”.

Music/Sounds: It features four chime-like notes and then three brass-band notes mixed with three chimes. There were two variations of the jingle for each version.

Availability: Rare; the mid-'60s version is still kept on it’s only use, the 1966 NBC live-action/animated special Jack and the Beanstalk, whenever someone decides to show it. The 1968 version is only seen on the live-action/animated TV series The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Scare Factor: Medium to high; the sudden fast-paced animation, blocky abstract design, and fanfare could get to some.



3rd Logo
(1968-1974/2002- )

Nicknames: "The H-B Box II", "The Zooming H-B," "(Zooming-In) H-B Box"

Logo: On a black background, a large, stylized orange “H-B” begins to zoom right up at the viewer. When it nearly engulfs the screen, the background suddenly becomes a shade of orange. On top of the “H-B”, the words “a”, “Hanna-Barbera”, and “Production” all appear.

Trivia: H-B used two logos using the box design during this period.

Variants:

• For a short period, Taft’s corporate logo, alongside a byline reading “A division of Taft Broadcasting Company”, appear. This appears to coincide with the logo being used “standalone”, with its own music. Box logos that are appended to the ends of shows and have the show’s music playing usually do not have the byline. However, there are some exceptions, such as The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn't, which featured the logo attached to the end of the credits with the end of the show's theme playing under it, but features a Taft logo and byline; and Yogi's Ark Lark, which features the "standalone" variant of the logo (with its own music), but no Taft logo or byline.
• Zooming H-B Reborn: In 2002, starting with the release of Scooby Doo and the Legend of the Vampire, the Scooby All-Stars logo was phased out and replaced with a recreation of "The Zooming H-B". The H-B now zooms in much more smoothly before cutting to the finished logo. This can now be seen on any post-2002 direct-to-video Scooby release, although they are produced at Warner Bros. Cartoons (having absorbed H-B by this period).
  

FX/SFX: The “zooming” H-B.

Cheesy Factor: ....has very choppy animation, and a sudden “jolt” from the black background to the orange background.

Music/Sounds: A whimsical flute/xylophone jingle written by Ted Nichols, used only when the logo wasn’t attached to the end of the show and had the show’s end credits music playing over it. A little jarring, and a bit scary. You can hear this at the end of the Dastardly & Muttley, Penelope Pitstop, and Josie and the Pussycats closing title tracks on the European HB music CD “Tunes from the Toons: The Best of Hanna-Barbera".

Availability: Fairly common. You can still see the stand-alone variant on most episodes of Wacky Races on Boomerang (it is plastered on the DVD release) and the no-byline version on The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan, Super Friends, and most episodes of The New Scooby Movies on Boomerang (quite a few 1973 episodes edit out this logo for some reason). The stand-alone variant was also originally seen on The Harlem Globetrotters 1970 animated series and the second season of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? (the latter is available on DVD). Also seen at the end of the original 1973 version of Charlotte's Web.

Scare Factor: Medium to high for those who aren't used to seeing it; the choppy animation and sometimes scary music that shows used contributes to this. The regular jingle wasn’t that tame either.



4th Logo
(1969-1971)

Nicknames: "The H-B Box III", "Multiplying Rectangles"

Logo: A rare variant of 3rd logo. Small red rectangles on the sides of the screen come up, with the outer two going down, and the one in the center going up, multiply until they create a box with a black stylized “H-B” cutout. The box zooms in and becomes a red background, and the “H-B” then fades in as a blue color, then “A Hanna-Barbera Production” and the Taft byline/logo fade in. The “A” in the H-B text is on top of a red rectangle in the middle of the “H-B” outline.

FX/SFX: The “multiplying rectangles”.

Cheesy Factor: Still rough but a bit smoother and less in-your-face than the 3rd logo. The blue BG makes the text hard to read, though. Also, the rectangle animation simply cuts crudely to the finished “H-B” as the background zooms in.

Music/Sounds: Same as 3rd logo.

Availability: Fairly common; this logo was available on scattered H-B shows as well as the original first season of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?. Prior to 2004 this logo was nearly impossible to find, mainly due to chronic plastering. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? suffered this as well, first with a blacked out 1979-era swirling star logo, then with the 1994 “action” variant of the “All-Stars” logo. (Why action? We don't know). This logo can be found on a few Hanna-Barbera DVD box sets, most notably Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?: The Complete First and Second Seasons, which means the logo is now more common than it was six years ago. This is also spotted on Boomerang arings of The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, with the current WB Television logo following it. It was also sighted on a recent Cartoon Network and Boomerang rerun of the Scooby-Doo episode "Go Away Ghost Ship," though time-compressed.

Scare Factor: Low to medium; better animation, but still a little rough.



5th Logo
(1974-1979)

Nickname: "Rainbow H-B"

Logo: We start on a pattern of five columns, each filled with the words “HANNA-BARBERA”. The words are colored so that they form a rainbow pattern. Suddenly, the words start disappearing, from the top starting on column 1, and from the bottom starting with the last column. The words disappear until one last “HANNA-BARBERA” is left. That enlarges and “morphs” into a skewed, stylized H-B, filled with a rolling rainbow pattern with numerous “HANNA-BARBERA”s in it. Below, the words “HANNA-BARBERA PRODUCTIONS, INC.” appear.

Note/Byline: In 1978, the logo does not enlarge. In this version, a Taft Broadcasting byline, sans logo this time, appears. Some post-1988 prints of H-B shows from this particular period have the Taft byline blacked out.

Trivia: This logo is used on backgrounds on end title cartoons such as: The Scooby Doo Show and Dynomutt.

Variants:

• A rare variant has been seen on only a couple of TV movies of the era. It was a still shot with more solid colors (yellow, orange, red, green, blue) and segmented lines running inside the design. Also, the byline is still intact. It is mainly nicknamed as "Solid Rainbow H-B".
• An extremely variant that was presumably seen at the beginning of programs features the "H-B" more towards the top of the screen and a large "77" in the same style underneath. There are no "HANNA-BARBERA"s in either figure. This was presumably only seen in 1977. This variant was animated by Dolphin Productions, a New York-based company that incorporated the first computer-generated effects in TV logos and advertisements. The music playing underneath is the theme to the 1975 New Tom & Jerry and Grape Ape Show. It is nicknamed "H-B '77".

FX/SFX: The Scanimate “rainbow” effects used in both the columns and actual logo; the words being “wiped” away.

Cheesy Factor: Better, but the “morphing” effect is cheesy and awkward. The “H-B” looks somewhat ugly, and the morphing effect… well, freeze-frame the logo and you’ll see how ungainly it looks. None for the Solid Rainbow H-B, but the H-B '77 has terrible color schemes and is incredibly ugly to look at.

Music/Sounds: Usually just the end theme of the show. None for the TV movie variant.

Music/Sound Variants: Some repeats would have the 1968-1974 theme, which seems to be synchronized perfectly with the logo. On the DVD print of Scooby Goes Hollywood, it played the 1979 "Swirling Star" logo theme. This was most likely because since the special was from December 1979, it most likely was used to plaster the Swirling Star logo.

Availability: Common; currently seen on Hong Kong Phooey, The Super Friends Hour, Clue Club, Jabberjaw, and Challenge of the Super Friends on Boomerang. It is also available on DVD, such as The Scooby Doo Show.

Scare Factor:
Depending on the logo variant:
Normal variant: Low; the design does seem a bit ominous.
Zooming H-B music variant: Medium; the music seems to fit the logo (well... sort of)
Solid Rainbow H-B: None to minimal; this is the best variant of this logo
H-B '77: Medium to high, the ugly color scheme combined with the loud music can scare more than a few.
1978 variant: Medium
Swirling Star music variant: Low to medium


6th Logo
(September 1979-1986/1990)

Nicknames: "Swirling Star", "Twisting Star", "Taft Swirling Star", "Rainbow Twist", "The Rainbow TWIIIST!!!"

Logo: On a black background, a white star swirls down from the top, leaving behind a rainbow trail. It then settles into the center of the screen as it twirls, occasionally shrinking and twisting, forming a circular trail. It then twists into the middle of the circle and comes to a stop. The words “Hanna-Barbera Productions” appear below.

Trivia: Basically, this is the Taft swirling star as seen on the Taft International Pictures logo, only in gold color.

Bylines:

• 1979-1981: “A TAFT BROADCASTING COMPANY” (in a white font)
• 1981-1986: “A DIVISION OF THE TAFT ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY”
• In 1982, the 1981 byline was altered/amended with "A Division of" over "THE TAFT ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY".
• In 1983, the 1981 byline appears in a large yellow font, and the logo appears smaller in this version.
• Post-1988 prints of H-B shows from this era often have the Taft byline blacked out.

Variants:

• In the logo's resurrection in 1990, a special version of this was used at the end of Jetsons: The Movie. This features the same animation, but “Hanna-Barbera” is written in the familiar cursive “script” font, first introduced in 1987. This variant also features a Great American byline, and is the only H-B logo to do so. This variant features a majestic version of the "Meet George Jetson" theme, instead of the logo's regular music.
• In 1981, the colors on the trail were given a more vivid appearance.
  
• Beginning with The Smurfs in 1981, Hanna-Barbera created an opening logo to use at the beginning of some of their shows. It’s the same as the closing logo but it fades in during the middle of the animation. The text is changed, “Hanna-Barbera” is larger, and a small yellow “PRESENTS” is shown below. Music for this was a sweeping chime sound, though 1980s Jetsons episodes feature a rendition of the Jetsons' doorbell (the “Meet George Jetson” piece of the theme rendered in chimes). This opening variant (the version with the regular music) can still be found at the beginning of every episode of The Smurfs.
• There is a rare variant of this logo seen on some cartoons in which the trail is dark red and the byline is nearly invisible. This is likely due to film deterioration, which is quite unusual at this time (compared to the Rankin-Bass logo from 1977). This was used only in the early 1980's and is nicknamed "The Red Swirling Star".
  
• There is also an extremely rare opening variant from 1979 in which there is a large "A Hanna-Barbera Production" byline and the logo is tiny in size.

FX/SFX: The star and residue trail.

Music/Sounds: Best described as “futuristic synthesized music". We start out with ascending and descending chimes mixed with a "whoosh" sound with each revolution of the star. When the star stops, the entire thing culminates in a gentle synth chord as the chimes finished in the background. This was written by Hoyt Curtin.

Music/Sound Variant: Some shows have appeared with the first variant with a blacked-out byline, but with the music from Logo 3. This was chiefly used to update the logo on Scooby-Doo, Where Are You but has spread to other shows as well, including post-1988 reruns of Casper's First Christmas and was also spotted on an episode of Josie and the Pussycats. This variant was sort of common but became rare when Turner updated the prints on Scooby-Doo, Where Are You in 1998, and tacked on the 1994 "All-Stars Action" logo.

Availability: Common in its “unaltered” form, though many prints still have the logo's Taft bylines blacked out. Currently seen on The Smurfs, Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show, season one of The Snorks, The Yogi Bear Show, Josie and the Pussy Cats, Josie and the Pussy Cats in Outer Space, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, most 1982 episodes of Richie Rich, season two of Top Cat, and the 1984-1985 season of The Jetsons all on Boomerang. The H-B Presents logo with the "Meet George Jetson" chimes is extremely rare and so far it has been spotted on The Jetsons episode A Jetson Christmas Carol. There are also some prints with this logo (with b/o byline) actually plastering the next logo. The film deteriorated and "A Hanna-Barbera Production" variants are extremely rare as well.

Scare Factor: Low to medium; the in-your-face animation, combined with the music can scare some, but this logo is still a favorite of many and is very popular. Minimal to medium for the film deteriorated variant because of the darkness and the trail looks almost like it was done by a ghost. Medium for the Jestons: The Movie variant, since the music is slightly more scarier than the original. None to minimal for the opening variant, as the music sounds less scary than the normal variant. But none for those who are used to seeing it.



7th Logo
(1986-1992/1998-2002)

Nicknames: “CGI Swirling Star”, "Shining Star"

Logo: An updated version of logo 6, but now done in CGI. The trail is now metallic, and the star now realistically twists and turns and has a nice shine effect. The text and byline are in a different font and are slightly smaller.

Trivia: Several years ago (around 1998-early 2001), this logo was strangely seen at the end of an episode of Johnny Bravo, although this show was supposed to use the Character Portrait Logo. This logo was its infamous 1988-1992 bylineless version. It might have been an editing mistake.

Bylines:

• 1986-1988: "A DIVISION OF THE TAFT ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY"
• 1988-1992: (Bylineless); nickamed as "Scary Swirling Star" and "Evil Swirling Star" (see Trvia to see why).
• 1998-2001: "A Time Warner Company"
• 2001-2002: "An AOL Time Warner Company"
  

Variants:

• The 1988-1992 version often has the logo slightly enlarged.
• A still variant was seen on early episodes of Fish Police with all names and bylines completely blacked out and replaced with "HANNA-BARBERA, INC." in a generic font.
• When The Powerpuff Girls premiered in late 1998, the trend for most H-B/Cartoon Network shows was to get a simple “character portrait” logo. Bucking the trend, PPG used an updated version of this logo. All names and bylines are completely blacked out, and instead the words “HANNA-BARBERA CARTOONS” and the byline "A Time Warner Company" (changed to "An AOL Time Warner Company" in 2001) are used. This lasted until 2002; post-movie episodes of PPG featured a custom version of the current Cartoon Network Studios logo. This variant also appeared at the end of the Dexter's Laboratory 1999 special, Ego Trip.

FX/SFX: Nice CGI, a good achievement for its time, and brighter colors, but…

Cheesy Factor: ...doesn’t work as well as its predecessor for some reason. The path has been changed to look “looser” and it simply doesn’t look as visually appealing as its predecessor.

Music/Sounds: Same as the previous logo, or the show's closing theme. The still variant has the ends of the show's theme playing over it.

Availability: Common; currently seen on Pound Puppies, the first four seasons of The Powerpuff Girls (1998 and 2001 version), season two of The Snorks, and several 1981, 1982, and post-1986 episodes of The Smurfs on Boomerang. It was also seen on A Pup Named Scooby Doo on Cartoon Network (the logo is also preserved on DVD releases of the show). Can be spotted at the end of the three Scooby-Doo TV-movies: Boo Brothers (1987), Ghoul School (1988), and the well-acclaimed favorite Reluctant Werewolf (1988). Also added to the ends of some 1960s shows with no logo (very common in the past, but not as drastic nowadays), and is sometimes seen at the end of shows that originally had an older H-B logo or one of the early 1990s in-credit logo variations. The 1998 version can also be seen on The Powerpuff Girls: The Complete First Season on DVD.

Scare Factor: Same as the previous logo, but it is not as popular as the previous. Medium to high for the bylineless variant for those who saw it on Johnny Bravo. None to minimal for the still variant.



8th Logo
(1988-1992)

Logo: Basically, a black and white version of Logo 6 next to the cursive “Hanna-Barbera” logo. This is superimposed over the credits, like the earliest H-B logos.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the show.

Availability: Near extinction. On late '80s-era Smurfs episodes as well season two of Tom and Jerry Kids (as a dual credit with Turner Broadcasting, who would ironically end up owning them in 1991). The Tom and Jerry Kids version is more widely available.

Scare Factor: None.



9th Logo
(1990-1991)

Nickname: "Happy Birthday Fred!"

Logo: Against a stone-like background, Fred Flintstone, in a "caveman tuxedo", is tap-dancing behind a red baseball diamond-like shape and next to a box with the words “THE FIRST 30 YEARS” inside it. Above that in an arc is a sign reading “THE FLINTSTONES” with "THE" in a small black triangle above the arc. Below is the Hanna-Barbera script logo in yellow.

Trivia: This logo was created in celebration of the 30th anniversary of The Flintstones' premiere back in 1960.

Variant: Some versions use a blue BG, or a BG of animated TV static.

FX/SFX: Fred tap-dancing, which is typical H-B animation of the time.

Music/Sounds: The ending of the show’s theme.

Availability: Near extinction; it was last seen on the first season of Tom & Jerry Kids on Boomerang. Another show that carried this logo was Yo Yogi!

Scare Factor: None.



10th Logo
(1991-1993)

Logo: In-credit like the 8th logo. We see the words “H-B Production Co.” This could be in any font; in many examples it appears in the H-B script font or in a different script font (such as Tom and Jerry Kids), but some shows have it in a more generic font. The Addams Family’s first season has a curious hybrid; the script “Hanna-Barbera” logo amid cobwebs, and “H-B PRODUCTION CO.” below it. On later episodes of Fish Police, we only see the Hanna-Barbera script logo with "Hanna-Barbera, Inc." underneath in a generic font, with no mention of "H-B Production Co."

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the show, or none.

Availability: Near extinction; the variants for Addams Family and season three of Tom and Jerry Kids still have this logo, but Dark Water has its plastered over by the 1988 CGI Swirling Star. Rare for the made-for-TV Flintstones movie, I Yabba-Dabba-Do! on Boomerang.

Scare Factor: None.



11th Logo
(1993-1994)

Nickname: “All-Star Prototype”

Logo: On a colored background, we see a partial picture of a Hanna-Barbera star inside a geometric shape. Somewhere inside that logo is the “Hanna-Barbera” script logo.

Custom Variants: This was customized for each show produced by H-B during this era, and is available on only that specified show:

• Two Stupid Dogs: Big Dog and Little Dog are laughing inside a rotated pink rectangle. A yellow “Hanna-Barbera” is along the top. The background is white. Another varaintvariant on this show was in a veritaclvertacal red rectangle, and the text "PRESENTS" is seen on the bottom.
• Jonny Quest/The New Adventures of Captain Planet: A headshot of Jonny Quest in a vertical magenta rectangle; a green “Hanna-Barbera”, on an angle, is somewhere near the top. The background is turquoise. It was formerly used on Jonny Quest reruns, but it's currently seen on the fourth season of The New Adventures of Captain Planet (which was previously produced by DiC Enterprises). The background is green.
• Swat Kats: A grinning picture of one of the Kats inside an light blue oval (T-Bone) or verical rectangle (Razor). A yellow “Hanna-Barbera” is seen, slanted and near the top. The background is a gradient blue.
• The Addams Family: A headshot of Uncle Fester in a vertical light green rectangle with a blue "Hanna-Barbera" turned 90-degrees clockwise on the right. This is on a pinkpink-purple background.
• The Halloween Tree: A headshot of Mr. Moundshroud in an orange oval with a yellow "Hanna-Barbera" near the bottom in the oval. The background is a gradient blue.
• Santa Fred: A headshot of Fred, in Santa hat and outfit, inside a blue rectangle. The background inside the shape is snow; the only shape background that is not a solid color. A yellow “Hanna-Barbera”, slanted down, is near the top. The background is green.
• Droopy, Master Detective: A headshot of Droopy inside a solid blue rectangle all on a black with a gradiant shade of purple background.
• Yogi Bear: A headshot of a grinning Yogi inside a pink rectangle. A gold "Hanna-Barbera" is on the side. This is on a solid blue background. It was formerly seen on classic Yogi Bear reruns, but currently on the two TV movies, Yogi and The Easter Bear, and Scooby Doo in Arabian Nights.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: A sound effect from the company’s extensive library of sound effects (which ironically, Hanna-Barbera was beginning to stop using around this time). It’s different for each logo. Sometimes the opening and closing themes of the show plays over the logo instead.

Music/Sound Variant: The "Comedy" sound effect montage from the 13th logo is heard over this logo at the end of the notorious Scooby Doo in Arabian Nights.

Availability: Uncommon; usually seen intact on these shows. Interestingly, at the end of current prints of The Town that Santa Forgot, the Santa Fred logo shows up, and after it fades out, the “Comedy All-Stars” logo appears. Also seen on The New Adventures of Captain Planet, Two Stupid Dogs, and S1 of Swat Kats on Boomerang.

Scare Factor: None to low; the sound may get to some.



12th Logo
(1993-1995)

Nickname: “Muttley Opener”

Logo: On a black background, we see an orange oval with "H-B PRODUCTION CO." below it in small white letter. Suddenly, Muttley from Wacky Races comes up in the oval and does his trademark snicker as the "Hanna-Barbera" script logo "writes" itself onscreen in gold letters. This was an opening logo seen before certain H-B programs.

FX/SFX: The animation of Muttley, the "writing" of the H-B text.

Cheesy Factor: Muttley's animation isn't very detailed.

Music/Sounds: We hear Muttley's famous laugh, and as the Hanna-Barbera script logo is appearing, we hear a small clarinet piece.

Availability: This was only discovered by us a few years ago; it was seen on the abysmal 1994 TV special Scooby Doo in Arabian Nights.

Scare Factor: Low; the music, laughter, and black background may get to some.



13th Logo
(1994-1999)

Nicknames: “All-Stars”, "H-B Stars"

Logo: On a blurry white background with several colorful abstract shapes flying about, we see a clear square/oval that provides a “clear” view of the flying shapes; the square/oval has the Hanna-Barbera Script logo embossed in it at the top. Suddenly, we see some of Hanna-Barbera’s most famous stars running through the logo, as the square/oval begins to rotate. At the end, one of the stars ends up coming towards the logo, ending in a very extreme close-up of the star. A very small Turner byline (with Turner's own logo) appears in the lower right.

Variants: There were two similar but very distinct versions of this logo produced; one for Hanna-Barbera comedy shows, one for Hanna-Barbera action shows. The stars, “music”, and logo shape differed depending on the logo. Here are the stars for each version of the logo, in the order that they appear:

• Comedy: Hanna-Barbera’s logo is yellow and in a rectangle:

1. Fred Flintstone (as if running or slipping or something)
2. Yogi Bear (grinning)
3. Huckleberry Hound
4. Dino
5. George Jetson (with a very classic “what?” expression)
6. Elroy Jetson (flying in a pod; the same animation seen in the famous “Jetsons” open)
7. Barney Rubble (very hidden, you have to look close to find him)
8. El Kabong (Quick Draw McGraw’s Zorro-esque alter-ego)
9. Scooby-Doo (with a weird “craning neck” animation)
10. Fred (zooms towards the logo; extreme close-up)

• Action: H-B logo is bluish and in an oval:

1. Bandit (Jonny Quest’s dog)
2. Atom Ant
3. Jonny Quest (in his trademark black shirt)
4. Dr. Benton Quest (Johnny’s dad)
5. The Thing (yes, of the Fantastic Four, and H-B did a series of the Fantastic Four in 1967, even though H-B doesn’t even own the characters!)
6. Zandor (firing an arrow)
7. Space Ghost
8. Birdman
9. Zok, the Laser Dragon creature from The Herculoids
10. Johnny Quest with kung-fu like outfit (another zoom; like he’s kicking into the camera)

• A still variant of the "Comedy" logo was also shown on Dumb and Dumber cartoon, with a small "In association with" text; the New Line Television logo would follow.
• Later episodes of The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest had this logo bylineless.

FX/SFX: Nifty combination of 2D animation (the characters) with cool 3D elements (the H-B shape).

Music/Sounds: Like the last logo, classic H-B sound effects, but there is more than one used during the logo, and they are arranged to create a neat “tune”. The music differs depending on the logo:

• Comedy starts off with the weird horn sound effect from The Flintstones and The Jetsons, as we hear the sound usually heard as an H-B character starts to run away playing underneath. Then we hear a "boing" sound, several comical "fighting" sound effects, and finally the "kabong" sound of Quick Draw McGraw's guitar being broken over someone's head.
• Action features a '60s bass riff playing throughout. First we hear an animal screech, a jet flying, an elephant trumpeting, and finally a gong.

Music/Sound Variants:

• The logo has occasionally turned up with the sound FX from its opposite variation. Proof of the "Comedy" variation using the audio from the Action logo has not been confirmed yet, but most TV prints of the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? Episode 7: Never Ape an Ape Man have the Action variant appearing with the audio from the Comedy version, most likely due to an editing mistake.
• There is a low toned variant that appeared on the Top Cat episode The $1,000,000 Derby and The Flintstones episode The Hatrocks and the Gruesomes.
• On a few shows, the closing theme was used.

Availability: Common due to the chief means of plastering, though not as bad as you might think; typically on “new” prints of the most popular shows, mostly '60s shows that had an in-credit logo and SG logo/text. In MOST cases, they match the right logo with the right show; the exception are the mid-90's prints of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? which replace the H-B box and swirling star with the Action All-Stars logo. The action all-stars variant also appeared on The Scooby Doo Show on the 1978 episode A Menace in Venace by plastering the 1974 H-B logo on Boomerang. The comedy variant was also seen at the end of most episodes of The What-a-Cartoon Show (later rebranded as The Cartoon Cartoon Show).

Scare Factor: Depending on the variant:

• Comedy: None to low; the weird horn effect during the comedy logo might get to you, but it’s neat to see all the characters.
• Action: Low to medium; the music combined with the creepy sound effects can scare more than a few.
• None with the closing theme.

14th Logo
(1996-2001)

Nickname: “H-B/CN All-Stars”

Logo: Like Logo 12, a still of an H-B star in a shape, usually an oval. The star is always the one that has been featured in the show that has just ended, so there are quite a number of variations. The background is almost always white. Below the logo, there is a Time Warner byline.

Variants:

• As noted above, each Hanna-Barbera produced original series for Cartoon Network from 1996 onward starting with Cave Kids had this logo, always with the cartoon’s star, the only exception being Powerpuff Girls, which used an especially created version of the swirling star. This not only included the regular half-hour series but one-shorts, previously called What a Cartoons, that now fell under the Cartoon Cartoons banner (which are now no longer rerun on TV). Thus, there is a large number of variations.
• Some of the very early logos had a different style byline. Appearing in an arc-like fashion below the logo are the words “Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. A Time Warner Company”. This was soon dropped. It was mostly used on Cow and Chicken, but also appeared on a few Dexter's Laboratory episodes. Boomerang repeats of Cow and Chicken have it.
• Some H-B cartoons from this period had some animation to include Cartoon Network’s logo; the H-B logo would iris-out, and then a "shiny" version of Cartoon Network’s logo would zoom in. Additional sound effects were used for this. Again, quickly dropped, as CN was putting a specially-created network logo after Cartoon Cartoons. In some cases, there would be a quick fade-out before the CN logo would appear! This was only used during late 1997-early 1999; again, it is still intact on the Boomerang repeats of Cow and Chicken, usually with the byline variant (also appeared on at least one Dexter's Laboratory and Johnny Bravo episode).
• And finally, the background logo was white except in one case; a special Scooby-Doo logo, used for at least some of the made-for-video movies produced by Warner Bros. Animation; in this case, the background was black. The same black background variation was used for Uncle Gus. There were no sound effects used. It was always followed by the Warner Bros. Animation shield logo. This was used from 1998 to 2001. Also, noteably, this was the only particular version to feature the byline "An AOL Time Warner Company" from 2001, as seen at the end of Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase.

List of Characters:

• Dexter's Laboratory: A side profile of Dexter in a blue oval. The H-B script is purple.
• Cow and Chicken: Two variants: one with Chicken at the left and Cow at the right with yellow H-B script (common on Boomerang); another has Cow holding Chicken by his neck with apricot-colored script.
• Johnny Bravo: Again, two variants: one with Johnny in a purple oval with yellow H-B script; another features a close-up of Johnny in a light blue oval w/ lime green H-B script. The later one only appeared on two episodes of the second season.
• I Am Weasel: TBA
• Kenny & the Chimp: Kenny on the left and Chimp on the right inside a light blue oval. The H-B script is orange.
• Foe Paws: Mamma Mia smiling in between Rolo with a surprised look, and Vivian glaring, inside a green rectangle. The H-B script is blue.
• King Crab: TBA
• Robot Jones: Robot Jones is tilted a bit inside a light green rectangle. The H-B script is red. This was seen only on the pilot episode in 2000.
• Thrill Seekers: TBA
• Uncle Gus: Uncle Gus stands in a ready-to-run pose inside a yellow vertical rectangle. The H-B script is white.
• Cave Kids: A headshot of Baby Pebbles Flintstone inside a sky blue oval. The H-B script is yellow.
  

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: There was one standard sound effect montage created for this logo, ending in the H-B weird “laughing” sound effect (performed by veteran H-B voice actor Daws Butler). The extended version has a synthesized whoosh sound as the H-B oval irises out, and the sound effect of the paper carrier on The Flintstones throwing the stone newspaper onto Fred's head. In 1999, the sound effect montage was switched to a different one that also incorporated classic Looney Tunes sound effects, possibly because of the Time Warner merger. For the Scooby-Doo variant, none.

Availability: Common. This can be seen on reruns of Dexter's Laboratory (1996-2000 episodes), Cow and Chicken, and Johnny Bravo on Boomerang. I Am Weasel's variant only appeared on Cartoon Network due to the Cow & Chicken/I Am Weasel split back in 1999, but it's extinct since I Am Weasel now shows as part of Cow and Chicken once again. The Robot Jones variant is extinct since the pilot episode wasn't common to see enough when the pilot became the well-acclaimed, yet short-lived Whatever Happened to Robot Jones? in 2002. For the other varaints, you say? It's unknown as this time.

Scare Factor: Minmal to low; the laugh could get to some people. None for the silent variant.
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Hanna-Barbera Today: In 2001, coinciding with the death of William Hanna, AOL Time Warner finally retired the “Hanna-Barbera” brand name and absorbed the company into Warner Bros. Animation (a.k.a. "Termite Terrace"). All former H-B original TV series for Cartoon Network now come from “Cartoon Network Studios", which became a separate facility from Hanna-Barbera in 1998. The Hanna-Barbera name was being marginalized for quite a while by this time; most classic H-B stars faded into obscurity, modern-day H-B characters now were identified as “Cartoon Network” stars, and video releases of H-B cartoons now came from Warner Home Video and, until 2004, were also accompanied by the Cartoon Network logo, until CN changed their logo, stopped airing classic H-B material, and WB began the "Hanna Barbera Golden/Classic Collection" DVD line. What CN originally did not take, Warner did, claiming Scooby-Doo as its own; its video releases now come from Warner Bros. Family Entertainment (with no CN logo in sight), and, like the direct-to-video Scooby-Doo films, produced since 1998, the newer What’s New, Scooby Doo and Shaggy and Scooby Doo Get a Clue animated shows are both produced at Warner Bros. Animation (having bought out H-B the previous year), despite the latest direct-to-video Scooby films using a recreation of the 1971 H-B logo at the end. Warner also later followed this practice for other classic H-B shows recently, claiming The Flintstones as their own, among others. Even Fruity/Cocoa Pebbles cereal wasn't immune; there is still a copyright to Hanna-Barbera Productions, but now a WB shield accompanies this. Despite all this, the H-B logo is still being preserved, on shows and on logos, even if they are newer logos that are plastered over old ones. The original company may have died, but its name will still live on.