Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera and aired as part of the 1962 series The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series starring the titular anthropomorphic lion and hyena duo in a series of goofy misadventures.[1] Lippy, a lion, wears a tattered top hat and vest while Hardy, a hyena, wears a porkpie hat and bow tie. Lippy's voice, patterned after comic Joe E. Brown, is provided by Daws Butler.[2]
| Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har | |
|---|---|
 Walking on a ship's deck, Lippy (right) leads Hardy Har Har (left) | |
| Genre | |
| Directed by | |
| Voices of | |
| Theme music composer | Hoyt Curtin |
| Opening theme | Theme from Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har |
| Ending theme | Theme from Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har |
| Composer | Hoyt Curtin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 52 |
| Production | |
| Producers |
|
| Production company | Hanna-Barbera Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | Syndication |
| Release | September 3, 1962 – August 26, 1963 |
History
Lippy the Lion (voiced by Daws Butler impersonating Joe E. Brown) and Hardy Har Har the hyena (voiced by Mel Blanc) first appeared in The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series in 1962, along with Wally Gator and Touché Turtle and Dum Dum.[3] Mel Blanc used the same voice, personality and expressions for Hardy Har Har that he used playing the postman on the Burns and Allen radio show.
Their cartoons revolved around ever-hopeful Lippy's attempts to get rich quick, with reluctant Hardy serving as a foil. Whatever the consequences were to Lippy's schemes, Hardy would end up getting the worst of it — a fact he always seemed to realize ahead of time, with his moans of, "Oh me, oh my, oh dear". Although the intro shows them in a jungle setting proper for such beasts, most of the cartoons' stories took place in an urban setting.
Since then, the duo have been infrequently included in the cast of Hanna-Barbera's ensemble shows (e.g., Yogi's Gang). They were no longer constantly pursuing Lippy's get-rich-quick schemes, but their personalities were unchanged: Lippy was still the smiling optimist, Hardy the moaning pessimist.
Episode list
Cast
- Daws Butler - Lippy the Lion
- Mel Blanc - Hardy Har Har
- Additional Voices - Don Messick, Doug Young, Jean Vander Pyl, Janet Waldo
NOTE: Before the series regained its popularity among Hanna-Barbera fans, websites describing the series claimed that Mel Blanc left the series after 18 episodes, with Daws Butler taking over the role of Hardy as well as Lippy for the remaining 34 episodes. This is untrue, however - Mel Blanc voiced Hardy in all 52 episodes. This confusion likely came about because a prototype Hardy Har Har first appeared in a Snooper and Blabber cartoon several years before, in which he was voiced by Butler.
Home media
The show's first episode, "Sea-saw", is available on Saturday Morning Cartoons 1960's Vol. 2.[4]
On July 9, 2019, Warner Archive released Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har: The Complete Series on DVD in region 1 as part of their Hanna-Barbera Classics Collection.[5]
Other appearances
- Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har were seen in Yogi's Ark Lark. In one scene, Lippy was fed up with Hardy's behavior when those that were on the Noah's Ark were getting bored looking for the perfect place. Though he did save Hardy when the Ark ended up in a storm. Both of them were also in the TV movie's spin-off series Yogi's Gang. In both appearances, Hardy Har Har was voiced by John Stephenson while Daws Butler reprised Lippy.
- Lippy and Hardy appeared in one issue of a 1963 comic book by Gold Key Comics, and also featured in three issues of Gold Key's 1962-1963 Hanna-Barbera Bandwagon.[6]
- Lippy and Hardy appeared in the 1977 Hanna-Barbera comic book issue called "The Flintstones' Christmas Party".
- Lippy and Hardy had appeared in an episode of Yogi's Treasure Hunt.
- Lippy and Hardy were seen in Yo Yogi!, voiced by Greg Burson and Rob Paulsen respectively. While Lippy owns a jewelry store, Hardy Har Har is a teenager that appears the episode "Tricky Dickie's Dirty Trickies" where Yogi ended up hanging out with Hardy after Dick Dastardly does something to get Yogi fired from the L.A.F. Squad so that Dick Dastardly can lead the L.A.F. Squad.
- Lippy and Hardy appeared in DC Comics Deathstroke/Yogi Bear Special #1 as captured animals alongside other Hanna-Barbera characters.
- Lippy and Hardy appeared in the series Jellystone! with Lippy the Lion voiced by Jeff Bergman in a Yiddish accent and Hardy Har Har voiced by Jenny Lorenzo.[7] Both characters are elderly, Hardy is also depicted as a female and wear glasses, and they are married.[8]
References
- ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 362. ISBN 978-1538103739.
- ^ Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. p. 130. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
- ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 501. ISBN 978-1476665993.
- ^ "Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1960s - Volume 2 DVD Review - IGN". IGN. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
- ^ "Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har: The Complete Series (MOD)". WB Shop. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
- ^ Rovin, Jeff (1991). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals. Prentice Hall Press. p. 156. ISBN 0-13-275561-0. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- ^ Hemmert, Kylie (June 24, 2021). "Jellystone!: Hanna-Barbera Characters Return in HBO Max Original Animated Series". Comingsoon.net.
- ^ "Jellystone! I Official Trailer I HBO Max Family". YouTube. June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
External links
- Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har at IMDb
- The New Hanna-Barbera Cartoon Series at IMDb
- Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on March 8, 2015.
- Episode guide at the Big Cartoon DataBase