10 Most Memorable Hanna-Barbera Characters

In 1940, aspiring artists William Hanna and Joseph Barbera met at MGM and produced their first short. From there, they created amazing characters.

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In the year 1940, aspiring artists William Hanna and Joseph Barbera met at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and produced their first short together, Puss Gets the Boot, that featured the prototypes of the iconic duo Tom and Jerry.

From there, the path of success for the duo take has never been very clear, making them legends in the animation industry with TV shows like The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? and many more to what becomes the Hanna-Barbera brand. And along with childhood-defining shows comes their iconic characters that have become household names. Here are their ten most memorable creations.

10 Space Ghost

Created by Hanna-Barbera but designed by Alex Toth, Space Ghost had his start as a standard superhero who fights supervillains in space with his sidekicks Jan, Jace and Blip the monkey. The titular show is a product of the ’60s.

But in the ’90s, he was reimagined as a host for the adult animated parody talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast, which was aired in Cartoon Network, then to Adult Swim. With castmates Zorak and Moltar, the show received a cult following that marked Space Ghost as a favorite.

9 Boo-Boo Bear

Created alongside Yogi Bear, Boo-Boo first appeared in The Huckleberry Hound Show in 1958 with his recognizable purple bowtie. As Yogi’s most loyal companion, Boo-Boo acts as Yogi’s moral compass in every antic that the better-than-the-average bear pulls off.

With his laidback personality and his lucid intellect, he is frequently seen as the straight man to Yogi’s playful personality. And just like his companion, Boo-Boo became a staple to the cartoon world and appeared alongside Yogi (except for two episodes). In the 2010 movie, he is voiced by Justin Timberlake.

8 George Jetson

The patriarch to the Jetson family, George Jetson is the typical everyman in a scientifically advanced future. Living in Orbit City with his family (his wife Jane, his son Elroy and his daughter Judy) and his dog Astro, Jetson is a caring father, constantly thrown with problems in his work and domestic life.

His personality is almost resembling Fred Flintstone, down to the catchphrase with “Hooba-dooba-dooba!” (Well, this is Hanna-Barbera’s counterpart for The Flintstones in space.) While Rosey the Robot is iconic as the rest, George Jetson best represents the Jetsons.)

7 Huckleberry Hound

With his Southern drawl, his blue-hued skin and his yellow hat, Huckleberry Hound is another popular Hanna-Barbera character with a chill personality and a memorable trademark. Even as he faced painful obstacles or antics, he would keep his cool and end up whistling the song “Year of Jubilo”. Though, he is mostly known for his misled rendition of “Oh My Darling, Clementine”.

All the while, he is seen as a jack-of-all-trades with no coherent timeframe, as he is sometimes seen as a Roman gladiator, an outlaw, and a rocket scientist.

6 Penelope Pitstop

A creation of not Hanna-Barbera themselves (since she is designed Iwao Takamoto and Jerry Eisenberg at the last minute), Penelope Pitsop is the archetypal girly girl with the blonde ponytailed hair, bright pink uniform, Southern belle finesse and white go-go boots. Her character is an homage to Natalie Wood’s Maggie DuBois from The Great Race.

Like any girly girl, she is seen as a damsel-in-distress in Wacky Races and the spinoff The Perils of Penelope Pitstop. However, she is given a more competent and level-headed personality in the 2017 reboot.

5 Barney Rubble

Born Bernard Matthew Rubble, Barney Rubble is the caveman husband to Betty, father to Bamm-Bamm and best friend to Fred Flintstone. Like other Hanna-Barbera characters, he has a chill personality and a dutiful attitude that makes him work alongside Fred’s schemes. He even lends a memorable New Jersey accent that blends along with his chuckle-like voice.

Barney’s character is based on Art Carney’s Ed Norton of The Honeymooners, down to the scheming attitude. He almost shares the same interests as Fred, though at the time he is more level-headed than him.

4 Yogi Bear

He is smarter than the average bear. He is the homegrown bear of the Jellystone Park. And he is the first breakout character in the Hanna-Barbera pantheon after his appearance in The Huckleberry Hound Show. He is Yogi Bear.

As one of Hanna-Barbera’s most popular and beloved characters, Yogi is a happy-go-lucky bear whose trademark antic is to steal pic-a-nic baskets within Jellystone with his companion Boo-Boo. Much like Barney, he possesses Ed Norton’s personality in his schemes, especially in (unsuccessfully) outwitting Park Ranger Smith. Thanks to this simple premise, Yogi Bear became extremely popular, down to his titular movie.

3 Fred Flintstone

Yabba-dabba-doo! It is Fred Flintstone, the main character of the first-ever animated sitcom featured in primetime. With his prominent presence in the show, he soared in popularity on the show’s run from 1960 to 1966 until the present day.

Husband to Wilma, father to Pebbles and best friend to Barney, Fred is the archetypal father figure who is often loud, hot-tempered, assertive, slightly clumsy and conniving when it comes to his get-rich-quick schemes. Yet, he remains a caring father and a loyal friend. He is also a skilled bowler and a member of the “Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes”.

2 Tom and Jerry

The quintessential love-hate cartoon duo, Tom and Jerry have touched the hearts of children and adults alike from their debut as prototypes in 1940. It is hard to see who is better, but both creatures complement each other with the degree of their tenacity toward each other.

Tom is the ill-tempered cat, who constantly chases Jerry around his owner’s house and sets up traps that backfire. Jerry is the quick-witted mouse, who quickly outwits Tom and ends up victorious in his schemes. Their films shorts of their hunter/prey chase have made them cornerstones of animation and icons of pop culture.

1 Scooby-Doo

While Tom and Jerry are the quintessential cartoon characters, Scooby-Doo is the quintessential Hanna-Barbera character. (Though, he is created by Joe Ruby, Ken Spears and Iwao Takamoto.) A Great Dane, a lifetime confidant of Shaggy Rogers and a mascot to Mystery Inc., Scooby-Doo had an enduring prominence throughout cartoon history.

With the numerous TV shows and films, Scooby-Doo always remains as the loyal dog to Shaggy and the gang with his penchant for food, Scooby Snacks, R-word dictation, solving mysteries, climbing on Shaggy’s arm and catchphrases like “Ruh-roh!” and “Scooby-Dooby-Doo!” Whereas Shaggy, Fred, Velma and Daphne are as iconic as he is, Scooby-Doo best represents the charm of the Scooby-Doo shows, just for being a loyal dog.

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