Being that I'm such a huge fan of animation, it stands to reason I would try to get my hands on DVD sets for just about anything that comes out in the genre. Bad or good, it makes no difference to me… I just love animation. My absolute favorites came from the geniuses at Termite Terrace, who brought us all of the unmatched Warner Brothers cartoons. A little lower on the quality notch, though not on quantity was the production team of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. During their tenure in the animation arena, they were responsible for such classics as "The Flintstones" and "The Jetsons." They're even responsible for titles like "Space Ghost" and "Harvey Birdman", both which have enjoyed a new cadre of fans thanks to Cartoon Network's somewhat updated and extremely skewed versions of them.

If one was to look at the list of cartoons and characters that came out of the house of Hanna-Barbera, you would undoubtedly catch a few that you recognize… though some of us recognize more than a few. Warner Brothers has been steadily releasing some of these titles in complete series sets and I have to thank them for increasing my collection of these old favorites. The most recent additions to the shelf have included "Magilla Gorilla" and "Hong Kong Phooey." The former revolved around the type of gorilla we all see everyday, dressed in pink shorts, green suspenders and purple derby. Each episode would pretty much turn out the same, with poor Magilla trying to get himself bought from the pet store where he lived. Occasionally, when he would get bought, his antics inevitably ended up with his being returned.

As a matter of fact, describing an episode would kind of like trying to describe an episode of "Gilligan's Island" by saying, "You remember the one where the castaways almost got off the island, but Gilligan messed it up?" But knowing that this particular plotline would only go so far, Hanna-Barbera made the cartoons very short and paired them with other shorts to make up the half hour running time. These others would usually include the likes of Puss & Mushmouth (feuding hillbillys) or Ricochet Rabbit and Droop-a-long.

"Hong Kong Phooey" on the other hand, was more of an action series with the title hero being a dog who was a janitor by day and karate chopping hero by night. As voiced by the late, great Scatman Crothers, Penrod Pooch would jump into a filing cabinet at the police station where worked and come out as Hong Kong Phooey. And as Phooey was as incompetent as they come it was usually his cat Spot that would save the day. Of the two, this was more of a favorite.

In watching these new DVD releases, I quickly learned that memory doesn’t always serve the reality of things remembered. The animation on both of these series is extremely rudimentary and the scripts are rather silly. They really don’t live up to what I remembered. But this isn’t to say they are without merit. It is their simplicity that also makes them a bit refreshing in the era of horrid animated shows like "Ed, Edd and Eddy." Personally I'd rather have my little girl watching and rooting for Magilla or Hong Kong Phooey than most any other show on the air these days.

Warner Brothers went to great care to deliver some wonderful sets for both of these shows and fans will be extremely pleased. "Magilla Gorilla" includes all 23 episodes of the series, while "Hong Kong Phooey" has 31. Yet the DVD set for "Magilla Gorilla" has four discs as the overall episodes are longer, while the other has only two discs (one is double-sided). But where they really shine is with all of the great extra features that were created for these sets.

"Magilla Gorilla" includes a few bonus episodes, which is a great plus. There is also an acoustic performance of the show's theme song by William Hanna (on piano) and the studios musical director Hoyt Curtin. This featurette follows an introduction by one of the series' animators, Jerry Eisenberg. You'll also find an older featurette where Hanna and Barbera take viwers on a tour of the studios and talk more about the character. Additionally there is a set of interviews by Eisenberg, Allan Melvin (Magilla's voice) and animation historian Jerry Beck as they discuss each of the characters.

The extras on the "Hong Kong Phooey" set aren't quite as impressive, but entertaining nonetheless. There is a lengthy making of documentary full of interviews and stills from several of the people who were originally involved with the show. There's also a storyboard version of the episode "The Batty Bank Gang" and audio commentaries on three of the episodes by creative producer Iwao Takamota, layout unit manager Willie Ito and historian Scott Jeralds.

"Magilla Gorilla" and "Hong Kong Phooey" certainly don't represent the cream of the Hanna-Barbera crop, but at least they're not as bad as "Wally Gator."

MAGILLA GORILLA: THE COMPLETE SERIES

EPISODES:
Disc 1 -
Big Game (Magilla)
Atchison, Topeka & San Jose (Ricochet Rabbit)
Calling All Kin (Punkin' Puss)
Gridiron Gorilla (Magilla)
Good Little Bad Guy (Ricochet Rabbit)
Small Change (Punkin' Puss)
Private Magilla (Magilla)
Cradle Robber (Ricochet Rabbit)
Hornswoggled (Punkin' Puss)
Bank Pranks (Magilla)
West Pest (Ricochet Rabbit)
Muscle Tussle (aka "Gall Of The Wild") (Punkin' Puss)
Groovey Movie (Magilla)
TV Show (Ricochet Rabbit)
Cat Nipped (Punkin' Puss)
Airlift (Magilla)
Annie Hoaxley (Ricochet Rabbit)
Army-Nervy Game (Punkin' Puss)

Disc 2 -
Come Blow Your Dough (Magilla)
School Daze (Ricochet Rabbit)
Seein' Is Believin' (Punkin' Puss)
Mad Scientist (Magilla)
Sheepy Wolf (Ricochet Rabbit)
Courtin' Disaster (Punkin' Puss)
Masquerade Party (Magilla)
Big Thinker (Ricochet Rabbit)
A Tale Of Two Kitties (Punkin' Puss)
Come Back Little Magilla (Magilla)
Two Too Many (Ricochet Rabbit)
Chomp Romp (Punkin' Puss
Fairy Godmother (Magilla)
Bad Guys Are Good Guys (Ricochet Rabbit)
Catch As Cat Can Day (Punkin' Puss)
Planet Zero (Magilla)
Itchy-Finger Gunslinger (Ricochet Rabbit)
Jump Bumps (Punkin' Puss)
Prince Charming (Magilla)
Clunko Bunko (Ricochet Rabbit)
Nowhere Bear (Punkin' Puss)

Disc 3 -
Motorcycle Magilla (Magilla)
Slick Quick Gun (Ricochet Rabbit)
Legend Of Bat Mouseterson (Punkin' Puss)
Is That Zoo? (Magilla)
Mostly Ghostly (Ricochet Rabbit)
Super Drooper (Punkin' Puss)
Bird Brained (Magilla)
Will O' The Whip (Ricochet Rabbit)
Pep Hep (Punkin' Puss)
Circus Ruckus (Magilla)
Cactus Ruckus (Ricochet Rabbit)
Shot At And Missed (Punkin' Puss)
Magilla Gorilla Only Cartoons
Camp Scamps, The Purple Mask
Love at First Fight, Makin' With The Magilla
Pet Bet, High Fly Guy
Deep Sea Doodle

Disc 4 -
That Was The Geek That Was (Magilla)
Rapid Romance (Ricochet Rabbit)
The Mouse From S.O.M.P. (Punkin' Puss)
Montana Magilla (Magilla)
El Loco, Loco, Loco, Loco Diablo (Ricochet Rabbit)
Host Of A Ghost (Punkin' Puss)
Magilla Mix-Up
Wheelin' And Dealin' (Magilla)
Big Town Show Down (Ricochet Rabbit)
Feudal Feud (Punkin' Puss)
Mad Avenue Madness (Magilla)
Space Sheriff (Ricochet Rabbit)
Heir Conditioning (Punkin' Puss)
Beau Jest (Magilla)
Red Riding Ricochet (Ricochet Rabbit)
Hyde And Shriek (Punkin' Puss)
Super Blooper Heroes (Magilla)
Jail Break-In (Ricochet Rabbit)
Misfortune Cookie (Punkin' Puss)

Starring (the voices of): Alan Melvin, Howard Morris, Jean VanDer Pyl, Don Messick, Mel Blanc
Extras: Magilla Theme Song - Live and Unplugged, Mr. Peebles Pet Shop, Here Comes a Star
Specifications: Full Screen, Dolby Digital 1.0

HONG KONG PHOOEY: THE COMPLETE SERIES

EPISODES:
Disc 1
Car Thieves
Zoo Story
Iron, Head, The Robot
Cotton Pickin' Pocket Picker
Grandma Goody
Candle Power
The Penthouse Burglaries
Batty Bank Mob
The Voltage Villain
The Giggler
The Gumdrop Kid
Professor Presto
TV or Not TV
Stop Horsing Around
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
Great Movie Mystery

Disc 2
The Claw
Hong Kong Phooey vs. Hong Kong Phooey
The Abominable Snowman
Professor Crosshatch
Goldfisher
Green Thumb
From Bad to Verse
Kong and the Counterfeiters
The Great Choo Choo Robbery
Patty Cake, Patty Cake, Bakery Man
Mr. Tornado
The Little Crook Who Wasn't There
Dr. Disguiso
The Incredible Mr. Shrink
Comedy Cowboy

Starring (the voices of): Scatman Crothers, Richard Dawson, Ron Feinberg, Kathy Gori, Bob Holt
Extras: Making of Documentary, Commentary on Selected Episodes, Storyboard Comparisons
Specifications: Full Screen, Dolby Digital 1.0
Studio: Warner Brothers
Release Date: 8/15/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
Website

We'll give Magilla Gorilla / Hong Kong Phooey: Complete Season Sets a B-.