Yogi's Gang

Yogi's Gang
GenreAdventure
Comedy
Directed byCharles A. Nichols
Voices ofDaws Butler
Henry Corden
Allan Melvin
Don Messick
John Stephenson
Jean Vander Pyl
ComposerHoyt Curtin
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes15 (and a TV movie)
Production
Executive producersWilliam Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Running time30 minutes
Production companyHanna-Barbera Productions
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseSeptember 8 (1973-09-08) –
December 29, 1973 (1973-12-29)
Related
Fred Flintstone and Friends

Yogi's Gang is an American Saturday-morning cartoon, and the second incarnation of the Yogi Bear franchise, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which aired for 16 half-hour episodes on ABC from September 8, 1973 (1973-09-08), to December 29, 1973 (1973-12-29).[1] The show began as Yogi's Ark Lark, a special TV movie on The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie in 1972.[2] Fifteen original episodes were produced for broadcast on ABC, with the hour-long Yogi's Ark Lark thrown in as a split-in-half two-parter.[3] The show confronted social and cultural issues like ecology and bigotry, with villains named Mr. Waste, Dr. Bigot, the Envy Brothers, Lotta Litter, the Greedy Genie and Mr. Cheater.[4]

After a successful run on Saturday mornings, episodes of Yogi's Gang were serialized on the syndicated weekday series, Fred Flintstone and Friends in 1977–78.[5] In the late 1980s, repeats were shown on USA Cartoon Express and later resurfaced on Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Boomerang. As of June 2024, the series is included as part of MeTV Toons' lineup.

Yogi's Gang is the only Yogi Bear show to have a laugh track.

Plot

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Yogi, Quick Draw, Huck and the rest of the gang encounter a variety of villains such as Captain Swashbuckle Swipe, Smokestack Smog, Lotta Litter, the Envy Brothers, Mr. Hothead, Dr. Bigot, the Gossipy Witch of the West, J. Wantum Vandal, the Sheik of Selfishness, Commodore Phineas P. Fibber, I.M. Sloppy, Peter D. Cheater, Mr. Waste, Hilarious P. Prankster, and the Greedy Genie, who act as their friends, hosts and/or guests, but embody some of the most common human faults and vices. Yogi and crew would often put up with them which ends with the villains either being repelled or outdone by their actions.

Characters

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Voice cast

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Additional voices

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Episodes

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No.TitleOriginal air dateProd.
code
1"Dr. Bigot"September 8, 1973 (1973-09-08)70-1
Yogi and the gang land on the property of Yogi's old friend Mr. Cheerful when Magilla runs out of bananas. A villain named Dr. Bigot and his henchmen Haggling and Bickering plan to experiment on them with his Bigot ray and turn Mr. Cheerful and Yogi into bigots, discriminating against everyone else.
2"The Greedy Genie"September 15, 1973 (1973-09-15)70-2
A friendly hobo named Smiley (who happens to be Yogi's old friend) finds a lamp with a Greedy Genie who grants all his wishes. However, the genie convinces the man to lust for more and is soon overcome with greed. The Genie later switches his target to Snagglepuss.
3"Mr. Prankster"September 22, 1973 (1973-09-22)70-3
Yogi and the gang visit Ranger Smith and put a show for a bus full of orphan children visiting Jellystone Park. Unfortunately, Wally Gator doesn't have any talents and has to be a curtain puller. A jester-themed entertainer named Hilarious P. Prankster tricks Wally by offering to make him a comedian as a revenge for being refused by Yogi to be in the show. As a result, Wally starts playing mean pranks on everybody and starts losing his friends....until they learn Hilarious is behind Wally's new hobby and made a fool out of him.
4"Mr. Fibber"September 29, 1973 (1973-09-29)70-4
The long-nosed Commadore Phineas P. Fibber is picked up by the Ark. He teaches various animals to lie and soon they start using their fibs on Captain Yogi to get into their way. Lies soon turn against them when a tornado is coming and Yogi won't believe them.
5"The Gossipy Witch"October 6, 1973 (1973-10-06)70-5
Yogi gets homesick and the animals go back to Jellystone Park where there is a big party planned for him. However, the Gossipy Witch of the West (who works for Ranger Smith with various professions) finds and spreads rumors all over the park including one that Yogi is engaged to Cindy and planning to leave the gang forever. At the same time, Chief Ranger Short (after seeing the ark and animals) is sure that a big flood is coming and investigates by dressing up as a giant chicken.
6"Mr. Sloppy"October 13, 1973 (1973-10-13)70-6
A messy man named I.M. Sloppy and his pet dog Messy can't stand to see Yogi's crew cleaning up their ship. I.M. Sloppy uses his book of sloppy spells to turn himself into a nice gentleman named Mr. Neat and tricks the animals into cutting corners in their jobs.
7"Mr. Cheater"October 20, 1973 (1973-10-20)70-7
Peter D. Cheater invites Snagglepuss, Quick Draw McGraw, and Wally Gator to join his school where he teaches them the "art of cheating." Things get worse when he tricks Yogi into giving him the Ark.
8"Mr. Waste"October 27, 1973 (1973-10-27)70-8
After a storm, Yogi and his gang stop on an island and need to get more supplies. They meet Mr. Waste (under his alias of "Mr. Plenty") who encourages the animals to stay on his island and use everything as much as possible. The animals are happy thinking they found a paradise, but Atom Ant (who as an ant doesn't believe in wasting things) soon finds out what Mr. Plenty is really up to.
9"Mr. Vandal"November 3, 1973 (1973-11-03)70-9
The gang is stopping at an old town called McGrawsville when Quick Draw McGraw inherits it from his grandpappy. When J. Wanton Vandal and his campers stop in the town and start demolishing antiques, it's up to Yogi and the gang to teach the kids the value of antique objects and thwart J. Wanton Vandal.
10"The Sheik of Selfishness"November 10, 1973 (1973-11-10)70-10
On the way to a birthday party for his friend the Sheik of Sharing who once visited Jellystone Park, Yogi meets his brother the Sheik of Selfishness and his henchmen the Mayans. He gives Yogi a magic box which can give Yogi anything he desires, but soon it makes Yogi act selfish.
11"Mr. Smog"November 17, 1973 (1973-11-17)70-11
The gang stops at "Smog City," a city covered in smog by Mr. Smokestack Smog's smog factory where he has convinced everybody that smog is good for them. He encounters Magilla Gorilla, Peter Potamus, and Snagglepuss (who are looking for bananas for the ark) and tries to convince them into his way of thinking.
12"Lotta Litter"November 24, 1973 (1973-11-24)70-12
Jellystone Park is going to be declared the "Neatest Park in the West" by Professor Woodstock and the animals help Ranger Smith and Chief Ranger Short clean it up. A villainess named Lotta Litter tricks them into littering where she uses her power to impersonate anybody.
13"The Envy Brothers"December 1, 1973 (1973-12-01)70-13
Two trapeze artists named the Envy Brothers use their "envy rings" on all the other circus acts to make them quit since they are jealous of the owner of the circus named P.T. Barnswallow and want to trick him into signing the circus to them. However, their plan may fail when Yogi and his friends join the circus.
14"Captain Swipe"December 8, 1973 (1973-12-08)70-14
Wally Gator is sad because he is the only one of the animals who doesn't own a surfboard or any other beach gear. However, a pirate named Captain Swashbuckle Swipe decides to teach him the "easy way" (stealing). Yogi enlists the help of Fumbo-Jumbo the Masked Avenger: a goofy Zorro-like elephant to help recover their stuff.
15"Mr. Hothead"December 15, 1973 (1973-12-15)70-15
Cindy Bear gets ownership of a dude ranch, and all the animals come to help her get it ready for the guests. But a bad guy named Mr. Hothead (who goes under the name Mr. Coolhead) uses his invention to make all the animals except for Yogi, Cindy, and Boo Boo lose their tempers. Since they can't work together, the boys won't finish their jobs in time and Mr. Hothead will trick Cindy into selling him her ranch. Will they learn to work things out in a calm way without losing their tempers and defeat Mr. Hothead and his henchmen Temper and Tantrum?
16"Yogi's Ark Lark, Part 1"December 22, 1973 (1973-12-22)70-16
Part 1 of the series finale. This episode is actually the first half of the TV-movie Yogi's Ark Lark.
17"Yogi's Ark Lark, Part 2"December 29, 1973 (1973-12-29)70-17
Part 2 of the series finale. This episode is actually the second half of the TV-movie Yogi's Ark Lark.

Home media

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The episode "The Greedy Genie" was included on the DVD compilation Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s Volume 1 released from Warner Home Video on May 26, 2009 (2009-05-26). The "Mr. Bigot" episode is available on the DVD Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s Vol. 2. On February 19, 2013, Warner Archive released Yogi's Gang: The Complete Series on DVD in NTSC picture format with all region encoding, as part of their Hanna-Barbera Classic Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store, Walmart.com and Amazon.com.[6] Yogi's Gang: The Complete Series is also available for download via iTunes Store and Google Play Store.

References

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  1. ^ Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part I: Animated Cartoon Series. Scarecrow Press. pp. 316–317. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  2. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 55. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  3. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 934. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  4. ^ Sennett, Ted (1989). The Art of Hanna-Barbera: Fifty Years of Creativity. Studio. p. 66. ISBN 978-0670829781. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  5. ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 717–720. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  6. ^ "Yogi's Gang - Hey, Boo-Boo! Join Over 5 Dozen Hanna-Barbera Characters on Yogi's Ark". Archived from the original on 2013-02-13.
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