Hanna-Barbera's House of Toons

Hanna-Barbera's House of Toons is an American animated television series, produced by Warner Bros. Animation, Hanna-Barbera Productions (in-name only) and Paramount Television Animation, that originally aired from 2001 to 2003. On September 2, 2002, an all night marathon of this show titled "Night of 1000 Toons" aired on TBS Superstation (currently as TBS). Hanna-Barbera's House of Toons is one of the first Hanna-Barbera shows produced at Warner Bros. (in collaboration with Paramount), and featured many new made-for-TV shorts created specifically for the series. The series' showrunners are Roberts Gannaway and Tony Craig.
==Premise==
The basic premise is that Huckleberry Hound and his friends run a dinner theater club called the "House of Toons" in downtown California, which shows Hanna-Barbera cartoons as part of its floor shows. Located at a corner of an intersection on California's Main Street, the club is considered a very popular destination by the local populace. Some episodes have specific themes, with cartoons to fit that episode's theme. The theme is usually not beneficial to at least one character, usually Brainy Smurf.
Many characters from Hanna-Barbera shows (such as The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, The Smurfs, and many more) have appeared on House of Toons, mostly as patrons and guest star performers. The show is notable for including many relatively obscure and otherwise rarely used other companies characters (like Disney), often with speaking parts for the very first time. Notably, a few characters who had appeared very often in Hanna-Barbera comic books but never before in an animated cartoon, finally made their animated debuts on House of Toons. The show also featured some cameos by characters created for other television cartoons and theme park attractions, but these appearances were few and far between.
Each episode explores the comical mishaps of Huckleberry Hound and his associates running the club, which are used as wraparounds for Hanna-Barbera cartoons (some of which are classic theatrical cartoons from MGM and episodes from Hanna-Barbera shows, but most of which are new made-for-TV shorts).
==Characters==
* Huckleberry Hound (voiced by James Arnold Taylor)
* Yogi Bear (voiced by Maurice LaMarche)
* Scooby-Doo (voiced by Frank Welker)
* Dick Dastardly (voiced by Jim Cummings)
* Yakky Doodle (voiced by Sam Kwasman)
* Gargamel (voiced by Jim Cummings)
* Azrael (voiced by Frank Welker)
* Scrappy-Doo (voiced by Scott Innes)
* Papa Smurf (voiced by Scott Innes)
* Dreamy Smurf (voiced by Scott Innes)
* Brainy Smurf (voiced by Danny Goldman)
* Hefty Smurf (voiced by Frank Welker)
* Smurfette (voiced by Lucille Bliss)
* Jokey Smurf (voiced by June Foray)
* Clumsy Smurf (voiced by Jeff Bennett)
* Painter Smurf (voiced by Jeff Bennett)
* Handy Smurf (voiced by Michael Bell)
* Grouchy Smurf (voiced by Michael Bell)
* Vanity Smurf (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer)
* Farmer Smurf (voiced by Alan Young)
* Scaredy Smurf (voiced by Alan Young)
* Greedy Smurf (voiced by Hamilton Camp)
* Harmony Smurf (voiced by Hamilton Camp)
* Mike (voiced by Rod Roddy): Mike is a talking microphone and announcer. He usually assists Huck in presenting and ending events on-stage nightly.
* Penguin waiters: The penguin waiters are the waiting staff of the club. According to an advertisement at the club, they are also available for hire on a temporary basis.
* Animated brooms: The brooms are the janitors of the club.
== Characters by TV show/movie ==
==House of Toons locations==
Below are descriptions of the areas within the club itself.
Location
: The club at the beginning of the opening credits is said to be located at "Main Street".
Foyer
: The front hall of the club is accessible via glass double doors from the street. There is also a small lounge for guests waiting to be seated. Scooby can usually be found here greeting visitors personally; often with a handshake. Cindy Bear works at a reception desk situated just outside the restaurant/theater area, helping guests to book reservations or assist with any requests they may have. Outside, Hokey Wolf assists visitors in parking their cars at a nearby lot owned by the club.
Restaurant / Theater
: One of the busiest areas of the club, this wide, spacious area has at least thirty tables that can seat over 120 people. Given the wide variety of clientele at the club, which includes giants and dragons, the amount of seating at the club could vary wildly at times. The Smurfs and the penguin waiters take orders and deliver various dishes, ranging from conventional to outlandish, to the guests. At the far end of the area is a stage where performances of all sorts are conducted, including that of the Banana Splits. There is also a huge TV screen in the stage background to show cartoons. Huck often hosts the night's events on-stage.
Backstage
: This area behind the stage is restricted only to club staff and performers hired by the club. Located here are staff offices, dressing rooms, storage rooms and an employee rest area. This area has direct access to the club's kitchen. The back entrance to the club and the door to the prop room are also located here. Pebbles (in her young adult age) is often seen here using a PDA to assist in keeping the night's schedule on track or directing guest star performers to the stage.
Kitchen
: All types of ingredients and cooking equipment can be found here to cater to the wide and, often, exotic palates of the club's clientele. There is also a cold storage room to store fresh meat and other perishable foods. Magilla Gorrila works here nightly to prepare various dishes for the guests, but he sometimes eats said dishes before they reach the tables.
Control Room
: From this room, located behind and above the restaurant/theater area, much of the technical equipment at the club is operated. The club's collection of cartoons is stored here as well. Through a window that overlooks the restaurant/theater area, Richochet Rabbit operates the lights, the loudspeakers and various record players (for example, DVD or VHS players) to show cartoons at Pebbles' direction.
Prop Room
: Perhaps the most interesting area of the club, the prop room consists of a cavernous basement much larger than the club itself. Props from all of American animation story can be found here, including items from Hanna-Barbera animated series such as picnic baskets from the Yogi Bear cartoons, Papa Smurf's chemistry items from The Smurfs or gadgets from the Secret Squirrel cartoons. The prop room is so large that one could get lost for days unless one took Yogi and Boo-Boo along as guides. However, Huck and his friends usually have little trouble navigating in the prop room.
==Production==
The show was produced by Warner Bros. Animation, Hanna-Barbera Productions (in-name only) and Paramount Television Animation, and originally aired from 2001 to 2003, running for 52 episodes. The show is one of the first Hanna-Barbera cartoon series made in the widescreen HD format.
House of Toons aired on TBS Superstation. It reran from September 3, 2002 to February 4, 2006 on Cartoon Network. The show ceased broadcast on U.S. television on February 6, 2009, after being aired for the last time on Boomerang.
The theme song is performed by Brian Setzer.
===Development===
In 1997, Hanna-Barbera returned to team up with Paramount Television Animation to work on a new variety show starring Huckleberry Hound and the entire Hanna-Barbera franchise (including Peyo's The Smurfs and Nic Broca's The Snorks). In late 1999, it was confirmed that the show was going to premiere on TBS Superstation.
===Writing===
(Reserved for GrishamAnimationStudios102)
===Voices===
Most voice actors would reprise their respective character from each show, while new ones voice characters whose actor never reprised.
===Animation===
Animation of the series is outsourced to Rough Draft Korea, Toon City Animation, Wang Film Productions, Tama Productions, Saerom Animation and Sunwoo Entertainment.
===Music===
The music for the show is composed by Michael Tavera and Stephen James Taylor.
==Episodes==
See List of Hanna-Barbera's House of Toons episodes
===Awards and nominations===
==Trivia==
Category:Hanna-Barbera
Category:Alternate Reality
Category:Paramount Television Animation
Category:TV-G
Category:Anthology
Category:Comedy
Category:TBS