In the late fifties / early sixties our main fears seemed to be Commies and Flying Saucers.In both cases, TV animation of the day stepped up. The former was wonderfully realized in the classic creation of the Jay Ward Studio, Boris Badenov.
And, at Hanna-Barbera, we had these two Flying Saucer shorts from the (still unreleased on DVD) Second Season of THE HUCKLEBERRY HOUND SHOW.
“Cop and Saucer” has Officer Huckleberry Hound investigating the landing of a Flying Saucer – in a plot that I don’t believe was ever done in animation before this.
“Space Bear” deals with an extra-terrestrial invasion of Yogi Bear’s Jellystone National Park, and an invader posing ( and wreaking havoc ) as a Typical Earth Creature – Yogi Bear! This story would later be expanded and rewritten for THE FLINTSTONES – with Don Messick doing the same sort of “wavy alien voice” for both.Both were written by the great Warren Foster and performed by the equally great Daws Butler and Don Messick.
So, enjoy this ET-Treat, and don’t forget to phone home!
Huckleberry Hound in “Cop and Saucer”
Yogi Bear in “Space Bear”
3 comments:
Joe,
I guess the phrase "never throw anything away" could be applied to that alien voice, eh?
Chris
Chris:
Not only did Don Messick re-use the “Wavy Alien Voice” in “Ten Little Flintstones”, he also did it for Magilla Gorilla’s “Planet Zero”… and I can’t imagine that it wasn’t employed somewhere in The Jetsons – and maybe even at some point in Scooby-Doo!
…And, of course, he did the “Wavy Electronic Gibberish” of the alien/robot in this post’s “Cop and Saucer” too!
I’ve long wondered if the “wavy-ness” was an electronic effect of the day, or if Messick just “bobbed his adam’s apple” or performed some other vocal manipulation when speaking to produce that sound.
Joe.
Joe,
I'd have to think the "wavy alien" voice was at least partially created by mechanical means. Apple-bobbing alone wouldn't seem to be enough.
BTW, the aliens in "Space Bear" looked like grown-up versions of the cartoon Munchkins in the Rankin-Bass WIZARD OF OZ cartoon series from the early 60's.
Chris
Post a Comment