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Hanna - Barbera, (1910 - 2001, 1911- )
Hanna and Barbera teamed up at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1937 and one of their first projects was to create a cartoon about a cat and mouse. The movie-going audiences loved Tom the Cat and Jerry the Mouse. Over the next twenty years, the series was awarded seven Academy Awards, far more than any other cartoon character.
When MGM eliminated the studio's animation department in 1957, Hanna and Barbera formed their own production company to create animated cartoons for television. At that time, original animation for television was almost unheard of; television usually recycled dated or second-rate theatrical cartoons. Hanna and Barbera faced the challenge of creating original animation programming on a very limited budget. With his delightful draftsmanship and comic inventiveness, Joseph Barbera assumed the position of President, and William Hanna, with his precise understanding of comic tempo and ability to marshal top talents into an efficient unit, became Senior Vice President. They were soon joined by top writer Mike Maltese and Warren Foster, as well as voice actors Don Messick and Daws Butler.
Hanna-Barbera's first television stars were Ruff and Reddy, followed by Huckleberry Hound in 1958. Huckleberry Hound was the first cartoon to receive an Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Children's Programming. Among Hanna-Barbera's other renowned characters are Yogi Bear, Boo Boo, Quick Draw McGraw, Baba Looey, Auggie Doggie and Doggie Daddy, and Snooper and Blabber.
In 1960, the Flintstones became the world's finest half-hour animated situation comedy. The celebrated series garnered numerous awards, including the Golden Globe Award, and ran for six years in prime time, longer than any other animated show. Fred and Wilma Flintstone and their friends Barney and Betty Rubble subsequently starred in the full length animation films, "A Man Called Flintstone" and "The Flintstones Meet the Jetsons." as well as numerous television animation specials.
The duo eventually went on to develop the Jetsons, Scooby Doo, Johnny Quest and the Smurfs and many other great animated films throughout the 60's, 70's, 80's and into the 90's. Today both Hanna and Barbera work on a limited basis on various projects, and are still seen as leaders in the television cartoon industry.