The best line of critical defense on the subject of YOGI'S GANG is that it was a product of its time. And YOGI'S GANG was that in more ways than one. And not all of them were positive.
For one, the influence of the organization Action for Children's Television (which was at the height of its power during the 1970's) and the effect it had on network programming and animated television production was keenly felt by the people at Hanna-Barbera Productions. It was ACT's pressure on the networks that forced many shows of the period to have educational messages. And that pressure was clearly shown on YOGI'S GANG as Yogi Bear and company had to abandon the zippy one-liners and slapstick gags that made those early Hanna-Barbera cartoons featuring those characters funny in favor having them get involved with social and cultural issues (particularly dealing with such human issues as greed, bigotry, envy, and wastefulness). It's those attempts at being socially relevant - which at times bordered on preachiness - due to the influence of ACT that caused the show not to age as well as some of Hanna-Barbera's other series during the period.
Another way the times affected the show was the beginning of ecological awareness that was occurring during the 1970's. The pilot film for the series - 1972's YOGI'S ARK LARK - had such old school Hanna-Barbera characters as Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo, Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Wally Gator, Peter Potomus, Snagglepuss, and many others coming together to embark on a journey in a flying ark (actually an ark shaped helicopter powered by Magilla Gorilla on a treadmill) in search of "the perfect place" which was free of pollution and other forms of mankind's despoilment. The YOGI'S GANG series continued that idea in the form of encountering such characters as Mr. Smokestack Smog and Lotta Litter (voiced over to perfection by Rose Marie).
And that's where we get to the positive way that the show was a product of it's time. During the late 1960's and early 1970's, Hanna-Barbera was experimenting with formats trying to find a winning formula. The ABC Television Network gave the company a vehicle to allow for experimentation in the form of THE SATURDAY SUPERSTAR MOVIE which was a juvenile version of their popular ABC MOVIE OF THE WEEK series of made-for-TV movies. YOGI'S ARK LARK - which first aired on September. 16, 1972 - proved to be one of the most popular of those movies due to the fact that it teamed many of Hanna-Barbera's most famous characters in one story. That idea and the success of YOGI'S ARK LARK led to ABC commissioning Hanna-Barbera to create a series continuing where the original film left off. The result was that YOGI'S GANG debuted on September 8, 1973 as part of ABC's Saturday morning lineup.
Taking up where YOGI'S ARK LARK left off, Yogi and his gang traveled around the world in their flying ark and found themselves confronting such characters who represented the worst of human faults and vices along with ecological threats. And that included such characters as Dr. Bigot, the Greedy Genie, the Gossipy Witch, Mr. Waste, the Envy Brothers, and the Sheik of Selfishness. And this allowed for guest voices from such people as Tom Bosley, Rose Marie, and Paul Winchell. All in 15 half-hour episodes and a two part episode that repeated the original pilot bookended with new footage which brought the series to 17 episodes.
All though it left the airwaves in the Fall of 1975, the influence of YOGI'S GANG outlived the show. The idea of teaming many classic Hanna-Barbera characters in one show would be repeated in such later shows as LAFF-A-LYMPICS (later in the 1970's) and YOGI'S TREASURE HUNT (in the 1980's) as well as a series of specials produced by Hanna-Barbera during the 1980's. The series itself would air in syndication and on the Cartoon Network and is currently available on home video - as a MOD set of DVDs - on Warner Home Video as part of the Hanna-Barbera Classic Collection.
For one, the influence of the organization Action for Children's Television (which was at the height of its power during the 1970's) and the effect it had on network programming and animated television production was keenly felt by the people at Hanna-Barbera Productions. It was ACT's pressure on the networks that forced many shows of the period to have educational messages. And that pressure was clearly shown on YOGI'S GANG as Yogi Bear and company had to abandon the zippy one-liners and slapstick gags that made those early Hanna-Barbera cartoons featuring those characters funny in favor having them get involved with social and cultural issues (particularly dealing with such human issues as greed, bigotry, envy, and wastefulness). It's those attempts at being socially relevant - which at times bordered on preachiness - due to the influence of ACT that caused the show not to age as well as some of Hanna-Barbera's other series during the period.
Another way the times affected the show was the beginning of ecological awareness that was occurring during the 1970's. The pilot film for the series - 1972's YOGI'S ARK LARK - had such old school Hanna-Barbera characters as Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo, Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Wally Gator, Peter Potomus, Snagglepuss, and many others coming together to embark on a journey in a flying ark (actually an ark shaped helicopter powered by Magilla Gorilla on a treadmill) in search of "the perfect place" which was free of pollution and other forms of mankind's despoilment. The YOGI'S GANG series continued that idea in the form of encountering such characters as Mr. Smokestack Smog and Lotta Litter (voiced over to perfection by Rose Marie).
And that's where we get to the positive way that the show was a product of it's time. During the late 1960's and early 1970's, Hanna-Barbera was experimenting with formats trying to find a winning formula. The ABC Television Network gave the company a vehicle to allow for experimentation in the form of THE SATURDAY SUPERSTAR MOVIE which was a juvenile version of their popular ABC MOVIE OF THE WEEK series of made-for-TV movies. YOGI'S ARK LARK - which first aired on September. 16, 1972 - proved to be one of the most popular of those movies due to the fact that it teamed many of Hanna-Barbera's most famous characters in one story. That idea and the success of YOGI'S ARK LARK led to ABC commissioning Hanna-Barbera to create a series continuing where the original film left off. The result was that YOGI'S GANG debuted on September 8, 1973 as part of ABC's Saturday morning lineup.
Taking up where YOGI'S ARK LARK left off, Yogi and his gang traveled around the world in their flying ark and found themselves confronting such characters who represented the worst of human faults and vices along with ecological threats. And that included such characters as Dr. Bigot, the Greedy Genie, the Gossipy Witch, Mr. Waste, the Envy Brothers, and the Sheik of Selfishness. And this allowed for guest voices from such people as Tom Bosley, Rose Marie, and Paul Winchell. All in 15 half-hour episodes and a two part episode that repeated the original pilot bookended with new footage which brought the series to 17 episodes.
All though it left the airwaves in the Fall of 1975, the influence of YOGI'S GANG outlived the show. The idea of teaming many classic Hanna-Barbera characters in one show would be repeated in such later shows as LAFF-A-LYMPICS (later in the 1970's) and YOGI'S TREASURE HUNT (in the 1980's) as well as a series of specials produced by Hanna-Barbera during the 1980's. The series itself would air in syndication and on the Cartoon Network and is currently available on home video - as a MOD set of DVDs - on Warner Home Video as part of the Hanna-Barbera Classic Collection.