"Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!" (1971) TV series

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Writers:

Joel Kane (writer)
Heywood Kling (writer)
(more)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

11 September 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family

Plot Keywords:

Bear | Kids And Family

Cast

Daws Butler	...	Hair Bear (3 episodes, 1971)
William Callaway	...	Square Bear (3 episodes, 1971)
Paul Winchell	...	Bubi Bear (3 episodes, 1971)
John Stephenson	...	Mr. Peevley (3 episodes, 1971)
Joe E. Ross	...	Botch (3 episodes, 1971)

(more)

Series Directed by
Joseph Barbera		(1 episode, 1971)
William Hanna		(1 episode, 1971)

Series Writing credits
Joel Kane		(unknown episodes)
Heywood Kling		(unknown episodes)
Howard Morgenstern		(unknown episodes)
Joe Ruby		(unknown episodes)
Ken Spears		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Joseph Barbera	....	producer (1 episode, 1971)
William Hanna	....	producer (1 episode, 1971)
Alex Lovy	....	associate producer (1 episode, 1971)

Series Original Music by
Ted Nichols		(unknown episodes)

Series Production Design by
Iwao Takamoto		(1 episode, 1971)

Series Production Management
Victor O. Schipek	....	production supervisor (1 episode, 1971)

Series Sound Department
Peter Aries	....	sound reader (1 episode, 1971)
Earl Bennett	....	sound effects editor (1 episode, 1971)
Bill Getty	....	sound director (1 episode, 1971)
Wayne Hughes	....	sound effects editor (1 episode, 1971)
Richard Olson	....	sound director (1 episode, 1971)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Charles Flekal	....	camera operator (1 episode, 1971)
Norman Stainback	....	camera operator (1 episode, 1971)
Marshall Valdez	....	camera operator (1 episode, 1971)
Roy Wade	....	camera operator (1 episode, 1971)

Series Animation Department
Frank Andrina	....	animator (1 episode, 1971)
Roman Arambula	....	layout artist (1 episode, 1971)
Fernando Arce	....	background artist (1 episode, 1971)
Ed Barge	....	animator (1 episode, 1971)
Daniela Bielecka	....	background artist (1 episode, 1971)
William Butler	....	background artist (1 episode, 1971)
Philip DeGuard	....	background artist (1 episode, 1971)
Lee Dyer	....	animator (1 episode, 1971)
Jerry Eisenberg	....	layout artist (1 episode, 1971)
Izzy Ellis	....	animator (1 episode, 1971)
Jim Fletcher	....	layout artist (1 episode, 1971)
Hugh Fraser	....	animator (1 episode, 1971)
Robert Gentle	....	background artist (1 episode, 1971)
Robert Givens	....	layout artist (1 episode, 1971)
Bob Goe	....	animator (1 episode, 1971)
Jan Green	....	layout artist (1 episode, 1971)
Roberta Greutert	....	ink and paint supervisor (1 episode, 1971)
Jerry Hathcock	....	animator (1 episode, 1971)
Gary Hoffman	....	layout artist (1 episode, 1971)
Homer Jonas	....	layout artist (1 episode, 1971)
Takashi Masunaga	....	layout artist (1 episode, 1971)
Kenneth Muse	....	animator (1 episode, 1971)
Charles A. Nichols	....	animation director (1 episode, 1971)
Cathy Patrick	....	background artist (1 episode, 1971)
Don Patterson	....	animator (1 episode, 1971)
Walt Peregoy	....	background artist (1 episode, 1971)
Curt Perkins	....	background artist (1 episode, 1971)
Tom Ray	....	animator (1 episode, 1971)
Morey Reden	....	animator (1 episode, 1971)
Vive Risto	....	animator (1 episode, 1971)
Joel Seibel	....	layout artist (1 episode, 1971)
Terry Slade	....	layout artist (1 episode, 1971)
Grace Stanzell	....	layout artist (1 episode, 1971)
Lloyd Vaughan	....	animator (1 episode, 1971)
Carlo Vinci	....	animator (1 episode, 1971)
Don Watson	....	background artist (1 episode, 1971)
Robert 'Tiger' West	....	xerographer (1 episode, 1971)

Series Editorial Department
Larry C. Cowan	....	editorial supervisor (1 episode, 1971)
William E. DeBoer	....	negative consultant (1 episode, 1971)
Joed Eaton	....	post-production (1 episode, 1971)

Series Music Department
Pat Foley	....	music editor (1 episode, 1971)
Ted Nichols	....	musical director (1 episode, 1971)

Series Other crew
Cullen Blaine	....	story director (1 episode, 1971)
Brad Case	....	story director (1 episode, 1971)
Earl Klein	....	story director (1 episode, 1971)
Lewis Marshall	....	story director (1 episode, 1971)
Frank Paiker	....	technical supervisor (1 episode, 1971)
Iraj Paran	....	titles (1 episode, 1971)
George Singer	....	story director (1 episode, 1971)
Paul Sommer	....	story director (1 episode, 1971)
Warren Tufts	....	story director (1 episode, 1971)

Production Companies

• Hanna-Barbera Productions

Distributors

• Boomerang (Brazil) (TV)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1971-1972) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Turner Program Services (TPS) (1992-1998) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Bros. Television (1998-) (USA) (all media)

Runtime:

30 min (16 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:TV-G | Brazil:Livre

Company:

Hanna-Barbera Productions

Trivia:

The full names of the zookeepers are Eustace P. Peevly and Lionel J. Botch.

Let's split...

Nothing about this weird addition to the Hanna-Barbera canon made sense. The bears had an invisible motorbike, which they hopped on seemingly at will. As a child, I found this confusing and weird, and not very funny at all. The inside of the bears' cave was spartan and 'realistic', until buttons were pressed and it turned into an ultra-modern pad with a fridge, a TV and lavish beds. This wasn't funny either, just a bit of contrived 'hi-tech' business that now seems so embarrassingly dated, as passe as jet-pack travel and monorails. One set piece I remember was one of the bears holding a switched-on vacuum cleaner in the air, explaining "this is my solution to the pollution", before one of the keepers jammed the nozzle on his nose. But his nose didn't stretch, it turned into a spear-shaped appendage which he then used to pick up rubbish. WHAT?! The bottom line is, this series was a ragbag of surreal ideas and low-brow comedy that didn't gel, let alone make one single scrap of sense. Nobody's finest hour.