Cartoonist Joseph Barbera Obituary; Hanna-Barbera Shows on DVD

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Joseph Barbera
Written by Paul Rance
Tuesday, 19 December 2006

Joseph Barbera, who died on December 18th, was one of the all-time great animators. He was the co-founder, with William Hanna, of Hanna-Barbera, who produced 'Tom And Jerry', 'Scooby-Doo', 'The Flintstones', 'The Huckleberry Hound Show', 'The Jetsons', 'Top Cat', 'Wacky Races', 'Dastardly And Muttley In Their Flying Machines', 'The Secret Squirrel Show', 'The Atom Ant Show', 'Jonny Quest', and the 1972 musical film, 'Charlotte's Web'.

Born in New York City, on March 24th, 1911, Joseph Barbera's break came in 1932 when he joined the Van Beuren Studio, after earlier unsuccessfully trying to get a job as a cartoonist for 'The NY Hits Magazine'. When the Van Beuren Studio closed down in 1936, Barbera moved to MGM, and in 1938 teamed up with William Hanna for the first time. Their first Tom and Jerry film, 'Puss Gets The Boot', came out in 1940, and was nominated for an Academy Award (Best (Cartoon) Short Subject). Over the years Tom and Jerry were to gain the pair 7 Oscars and 14 nominations. When MGM's animation division closed down in the 1950s, Hanna and Barbera formed the now renowned Hanna-Barbera, which went on to win 8 Emmys.

Joseph died of natural causes, aged 95, in Studio City, Los Angeles, with wife Sheila at his side. William Hanna died in 2001. Hanna-Barbera certainly leave a legacy in animation on a par with anyone, apart from maybe Walt Disney. So many children grew up watching their cartoons, including my late Father and I, and in adulthood they still remained as funny to both of us.

Charlotte's Web on DVD

A lovely film, based on the E.B. White book, with Debbie Reynolds as the singing spider Charlotte, who is a bit of a literary genius, protecting Wilbur the Pig from being slaughtered! The film has a nice message, as it encourages kindness to all living things.

One criticism. The colouration of Wilbur the Pig seemed to change throughout the film on my DVD, but I bought my DVD in a shop and not through Amazon!

- Paul Rance/booksmusicfilmstv.com.

Charlotte's Web DVD Cover
Charlotte's Web (Amazon.co.uk) Charlotte's Web (Amazon.com)