The 'What A Cartoon Show' was a short- lived series of lively animation shorts made by Hanna Barbera and shown on Cartoon Network that debuted during the mid- 1990s. It was a showcase of up and coming and already established cartoonists own work and thus, the likes of the then unknown Seth MacFarlane and the already experienced Willam Hanna were presented for all to see.
Most of them were very, very original, inventive, funny and interesting and yet for some, they were not so funny, interesting and good. So in terms of what was on offer, it was a mixed bag altogether. Some of them- likewise, The Powerpuff Girls, Johnny Bravo, Dexter's Laboratory all eventually became fully fledged cartoon series, after their initial debuts/pilots on TV. And so 'The What A Cartoon Show' was the launchpad for those shows, as well as it introduced us to the work of Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy.
My favourites were Gramps, Johnny Bravo, Snoot's New Squat, The Zoonatiks- of whom consist of a turtle, monkey and a bear- in Home Sweet Home, Jungle Boy in Mr Monkeyman and the classic oldie-turned modern aged Super Secret Secret Squirrel to name. The dog in the Larry and Steve cartoon was the inspiration for Brian- the talking dog in Family Guy, and it's no wonder as the creator behind it was none other than MacFarlane. And the guy, Larry sounds just like Peter Griffin.
As I watched the shorts on the internet, they remind me that even though they have churned out the likes of the Flintstones, Scooby Doo, The Jetsons and Josie and the Pussycats back in the 60s, Hanna Barberra still had the knack of creating, devising and developing new, fresh and exciting cartoons and characters that fans of all ages loved. Of course, you had to dig out the good ones from the not so good ones, but altogether 'The What a Cartoon' segment was a great way for audiences to see a range of really interesting and wonderful animation.
All in all, this was very, very good.
