What if William Hanna and Joseph Barbera worked for Warner Bros. after leaving MGM and retained the rights for Tom and Jerry?

What if William Hanna and Joseph Barbera worked for Warner Bros. after leaving MGM and retained the rights for *Tom and Jerry*? Well, here's what might happen.

## History

Following the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio closedown in May 1957, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, contemplating their future while completing their final *Tom and Jerry* cartoons, began producing animated TV commercials. During their final year at MGM, they developed a concept for an animated TV program about a dog and cat in various misadventures. After they failed to convince the studio to back their venture, Hanna and Barbera were convinced by fellow animators Friz Freleng and Robert McKimson to join the Warner Bros. Cartoons unit. As a result, both producers signed a deal with Warner Bros. to finance their projects and as part of the deal, the ownership and production rights for *Tom and Jerry* (created by the duo) and *Droopy* (created by former Warner Bros. animator Tex Avery), as well as *Screwball Squirrel*, *George and Junior* and *Barney Bear*, were acquired by the studio, forming the newly-founded Hanna-Barbera Productions as a separate unit of Warner Bros. Pictures. The *Tom and Jerry* and *Droopy* and the rest of the MGM cartoon studio library, such as *Homer Flea*, *Red Hot Riding Hood & The Wolf*, *Screwball Squirrel*, *George and Junior*, *Butch* (formerly *Spike*), *Ol' Doc Donkey*, *Barney Bear*, and *Three Bears* (A.K.A. *The Bear Family*) alongside the one-shot MGM shorts (excluding *Flip the Frog*, *Willie Whopper*, *Happy Harmonies*, *The Captain and the Kids* and *Count Screwloose*) were all integrated in the *Looney Tunes*/*Merrie Melodies* franchise (with their MGM shorts being reissued as *Looney Tunes*/*Merrie Melodies* shorts), while Spike and Tyke star in their own shorts (with their cartoons (except the ones where Spike appears whitout Tyke) with Tom and Jerry beign reissued as Spike and Tyke cartoons), while Tom and Jerry also star in cartoons without each other (with Tom being an antagonist for some other characters at most of his solo cartoons), resulting on Hanna and Barbera starting to work on the series, with new characters such as Huckleberry Hound, Pixie and Dixie, Yogi Bear, etc. being part of the *Looney Tunes*/*Merrie Melodies* cast (as well as television-exclusive *Looney Tunes*/*Merrie Melodies* characters created for *The Bugs Bunny Show* such as Magilla Gorilla, Peter Potamus and So-So, Atom Ant, the Hillbilly Bears, Secret Squirrel, Squiddly Diddly, Dick Dastardly and the Vulture Squadron (Muttley, Klunk and Zilly), CB Bears, Undercover Elephant, Crazy Legs and Blast-Off Buzzard, etc.), as well as producing non-*Looney Tunes*/*Merrie Melodies* TV shows such as *The Flintstones*, *The Jetsons*, *Top Cat* and *Scooby-Doo*.

## Classic shorts crew

* William Hanna - Director
* Joseph Barbera - Director
* Chuck Jones - Director
* Friz Freleng - Director, producer in the DePatie-Freleng shorts
* Robert McKimson - Director
* Mel Blanc - voice of Tom Cat, Jerry Mouse and Tyke Bulldog during the Warner Bros. era
* Bill Thompson - voice of Droopy, Screwball Squirrel, George Bear and Touché Turtle
* Daws Butler - voice of Spike Bulldog, Barney Bear, Meathead, Junior Bear, Butch Cat, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss, Reddy, Augie Doggie, Hokey Wolf, Snooper, Blabber, Quick Draw McGraw, Baba Looey, Wally Gator, Dixie, Mr. Jinks and Loopy De Loop
* Don Messick - voice of Boo-Boo Bear, Ranger Smith, Ruff, and Pixie and voice of Droopy, Screwball Squirrel and George Bear in the 1990s theatrical shorts revival
* Doug Young - voice of Doggie Daddy and Ding-A-Ling Wolf
* Jimmy Weldon - voice of Yakky Doodle
* Alan Reed - voice of Dum Dum
* Frank Welker - voice of Tom Cat, Jerry Mouse and Tyke Bulldog in the 1990s theatrical shorts revival
* Greg Burson - voice of Spike Bulldog, Barney Bear, Meathead, Junior Bear, Butch Cat, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss, Reddy, Hokey Wolf, Quick Draw McGraw, Wally Gator, Mr. Jinks and Loopy De Loop in the 1990s theatrical shorts revival
* Patric Zimmerman - voice of Augie Doggie, Ding-A-Ling Wolf, Pixie and Dixie in the 1990s theatrical shorts revival
* John Stephenson - voice of Doggie Daddy in the 1990s theatrical shorts revival
* Neil Ross - voice of Baba Looey in the 1990s theatrical shorts revival
* Rob Paulsen - voice of Snooper and Blabber in the 1990s theatrical shorts revival

## Classic shorts

### *Looney Tunes*/*Merrie Melodies* shorts directed by Hanna and Barbera

#### *Looney Tunes*

* *TBA* (19??, starring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd)
* *TBA* (19??, starring Daffy Duck and Porky Pig)
* *TBA* (19??, starring Sylvester and Hippety Hopper)
* *TBA* (19??, starring Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner)

##### *Yogi Bear*

* *Yogi Bear's Big Break* (1958)

##### *Huckleberry Hound*

* *Huckleberry Hound Meets Wee Willie* (1958)

##### *Snagglepuss*

* *Major Operation* (1961)

##### *Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy*

* *Million Dollar Robbery* (1959)

##### *Ruff and Reddy*

* *Planet Pirates* (1957)

##### *Hokey Wolf*

* *Tricks and Treats* (1960)

##### *Snooper and Blabber*

* *Baby Rattled* (1959)

##### *Yakky Doodle*

* *Out of Luck Duck* (1961)

##### *Quick Draw McGraw*

* *Lamb Chopped* (1959)

##### *Wally Gator*

* *Droopy Dragon* (1962)

##### *Touché Turtle*

* *Whale of a Tale* (1962)

##### *Pixie and Dixie*

* *Cousin Tex* (1958)

##### *Loopy De Loop*

* *Wolf Hounded* (1959)

#### *Merrie Melodies*

* *TBA* (19??, starring Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam)
* *TBA* (19??, starring Sylvester and Tweety)
* *TBA* (19??, starring Foghorn Leghorn, Barnyard Dawg and Henery Hawk)
* *TBA* (19??, starring Pepé Le Pew, Penelope Pussycat and Spike the Bulldog)

## Films

### Compilation Films

* *Hey There, It's Yogi Bear!*
* *The Bugs Bunny Road-Runner Movie*
* *The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie*
* *Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales*
* *Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island*
* *The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound*
* *Daffy Duck's Quackbusters*

### Original

* *Tom and Jerry's Big Adventure*
* *Space Jam*
* *Tweety's High-Flying Adventure*
* *Looney Tunes: Back in Action*
* *The Magic Ring*
* *Blast Off to Mars*
* *The Fast and the Furry*
* *From Hare to Eternity*
* *A Nutcracker Tale*
* *Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas*
* *Bugs and Daffy Meet Sherlock Holmes*
* *The Wizard of Oz*
* *Yogi and Boo-Boo's Big Adventure*
* *Robin Hood and his Merry Mouse*
* *A Giant Adventure*
* *The Lost Dragon*
* *Rabbits Run*
* *Spy Quest*
* *Back to Oz*
* *Pixie and Dixie and the Chocolate Factory*
* *Tom and Jerry*
* *Space Jam: A New Legacy*

## Trivia

* Due to Warner Bros. acquiring the character rights for *Tom and Jerry*, the Gene Deitch-directed shorts for Rembrandt Films ended up to be made in this alternate universe at Warner Bros. Cartoons by Hanna, Barbera, Jones, Freleng and McKimson, retaining the duo's original style.
	+ Also, in this alternative universe, Jones was never fired from Warner Bros. and his *Tom and Jerry* shorts were made at DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, Format Films, and Warner Bros.-Seven Arts.
* All the crossover series with the HB animals in this alternative universe were put with the LT/MM animals added and are named after Bugs Bunny instead of Yogi Bear, such as:
	+ *Bugs' Gang*
	+ *Bugs Bunny's Treasure Hunt* (with Top Cat being replaced by Granny)
	+ *Yo Bugs!*
	+ *Looney Tunes Kids*
* Between 1986 and 2000, *The Bugs Bunny Show* was named *The Bugs Bunny and Yogi Bear Show*.
* In *Tiny Toon Adventures*, some Acme Looniversity students with these characters as their mentors are:
	+ Widdly Bear (voiced by Rob Paulsen) - Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo Bear's apprentice.
	+ Sawyer Puppy (voiced by Frank Welker) - Huckleberry Hound's apprentice.
	+ Toothy Tiger (voiced by Jess Harnell) - Snagglepuss' apprentice.
	+ Tyler Kitten (voiced by Frank Welker) and Jessie Mouse (voiced by Tress MacNeille) - Tom and Jerry's apprentices.
	+ Shooter McDavis (voiced by Charlie Adler and later by John Kassir) - Quick Draw McGraw's apprentice.
	+ Daphne Puppy (voiced by Kath Soucie) - Droopy's apprentice.
	+ Trickie (voiced by Frank Welker) and Trixie (voiced by Candi Milo) - Pixie and Dixie's apprentices.
	+ Sonny Squirrel (voiced by Charlie Adler and later by John Kassir) - Screwball Squirrel's apprentice.
	+ Barry Bear (voiced by Don Messick) - Barney Bear's apprentice.
	+ Timmy Bear (voiced by Don Messick) and Jimmy Bear (voiced by Jess Harnell) - George and Junior's apprentices.
* Some of the characters appeared in *Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law*.
* In the Hanna and Barbera-directed Foghorn Leghorn cartoons, Foghorn is the winner instead of the Barnyard Dawg.
* McWolf is usually an antagonist for various characters.
* Unlike most MGM cartoons, Tom is able to speak, while Jerry remains silent.
* In this reality, the *Tom and Jerry*, *Droopy*, *Barney Bear*, *George and Junior*, *Screwball Squirrel* and Hanna-Barbera characters in *The Looney Tunes Show* have these changes:
	+ Yogi, Boo-Boo, Cindy, Ranger Smith, Huck, Pixie & Dixie, Mr. Jinks, Screwball, Barney, Tom, Jerry, Butch, Spike and Tyke, as well as Wile E. Coyote (who would be able to speak), live with Bugs, Daffy and Speedy.
	+ Droopy is Porky's roommate.
	+ George and Junior live in an apartment.
	+ Quick Draw McGraw and Baba Looey are famous entertainers.
	+ McWolf is a recurring character, commonly adopting various aliases to fool Bugs, Daffy, Yogi, Boo-Boo and Cindy (ala The Red Guy from *Cow and Chicken*), but he is always arrested.
	+ Dick Dastardly and his three henchmen Muttley, Klunk and Zilly are recurring villains.