Yogi's Gang (1973–1975) User Reviews

Ah, Ya Can't See The Forest Because Of The Trees

[richard.fuller1 · 8 October 2005]

I recorded nearly a dozen episodes of this show off Cartoon Network over the years. I had thought it was a childhood favorite of mine as well, and I remembered the very effective (tho obviously just as PC) Saturday Superstar Movie that this came from, same scenario, Yogi and his friends in a flying ark, looking for the perfect place. The song was in that show as well.

And yes, now I watch it and it is eyebrow-furrowing to watch. The once brilliant zinging one-liners of Yogi, Snag, Magilla and Hokey Wolf reduced to this.

The flaws are obvious. Yogi and Quickdraw and Booboo are now pristine in their way of thinking. All they need is a soapbox to do their preaching from.

"Don't litter. Be Nice. Don't Be Greedy." I would like to say that there was at least some compensation in the usually better developed characters of the bad guys, but that don't apply here either.

Gossipy Witch says "Atom Ant is a musclehead. Yogi Bear has left the EArth, never to return" straining to make non-chalant gossip.

Interesting about her episode, most of her gossip involved characters sleeping. "Magilla sleeps with a bunch of bananas, Squiddly Diddly sleeps in water, Doggy Daddy sleeps with a clothespin on his nose to prevent snoring, Peter Potamus sleeps with a teddy bear" and so on.

One rather intriguing episode was Mr. Bigot. That the show even sought to touch on this subject was interesting. Alas, Yogi getting mad and discriminating against humans and dogs and hippos soon lost any promise.

Yet we do get Rose Marie of "The Dick Van Dyke" show as Lotta Litter, and she doesn't disappoint. She loved her trash.

Paul Winchell was the Sultan of Selfishness and the character seemed to display the life Winchell brought to his voices, with sudden jumps for joy.

Jesse White I do recall did Mr. Cheater.

Nevertheless it is the PC that causes the migraines.

Quickdraw to Gossipy Witch, "I don't mean to be rude, Gossipy, but I have work to do." Instead of blaming Lotta Litter, Booboo Bear points out that they are responsible for not picking up the trash.

Yogi and Huck have definitely undergone a lot of strange transformations since they first appeared; Yogi's Gang, Laff-A-Lympics, Yogi's Space Race, Yo Yogi.

Ranger Smith as a blonde like he was here in the '72 show was definitely one of the strangest.

A True Classic that i hope comes to DVD soon

[Oddark123 · 10/10 · 15 November 2011]

As a character creator myself there is nothing more exciting then seeing many characters come together and in this first instance from Hanna Barbera they show how to get it right.

Yogi's Gang is a typical Hanna Barbera affair, you know what you should be expecting. Limited Animation, Great Voices and expected jokes that never get old or unfunny In this show which laid groundwork for future HB shows of collecting characters together but here Yogi and a whole group of characters from the early years shorts come together in a flying ark to find a better place to live. (a shortened premise from the movie, which became parts to end the series) Along the way the gang come up against greatly created villains that represent the problems of man. Many of which who even though they maintain one appearance in history, have become easily memorable. Whether Peter the Cheater's epic line after being cheated himself, or the hilarious ramblings of The Sheik of Selfishness, or one of my favorites Mr. Hothead who blew his stack literally.

This show brought it's classic characters with the comedy and managed to educate youth like myself on some of the problems plaguing society. And maybe more importantly, it never gets old, i can still dig up my VHS tape and watch these cartoons over and over.

This cartoon is truly one of my favorite cartoons of all time and please let it see a DVD release soon

Yogi's Morality Plays

[bigverybadtom · 4/10 · 4 March 2024]

I was a tyke when this came out but had already seen plenty of old cartoons and was intrigued with the idea of so many characters from older Hanna-Barbera cartoons gathered into one show, namely taking place on an ark-like helicopter traveling to different places. But this is not a travel show, but a situation where they travel to different places and meet a new villain each time, supposedly a good person but secretly representing an evil (dishonesty, sloppiness, wastefulness, etc.); and Yogi and crew are initially taken in by these people then realize the consequences.

While there is fun in how the villains trick Yogi and crew into misbehaving and rationalizing such behavior, the problem with the show is that you would think Yogi and company would be wise enough not to be tricked so easily in many instances, and even little kids are aware that sometimes the villains win and the good guys fail. And the cartoons Yogi and company originally appeared in were not morality plays themselves.

So how did this cartoon even come about as it did? Another reviewer pointed out that the group Action For Children's Television was formed in 1968 to lobby the television industry to move commercial television from entertainment to educational, and it had some success in the 1970's, though that would change when television would become deregulated. Even those who hate Ronald Reagan should thank him for making cartoons entertaining again.

Yogi And Friends Go Eco-Conscious.

[Dawalk-1 · 2/10 · 7 April 2018]

I remember this being among the Hanna-Barbera 'toons I grew up on watching on Cartoon Network, when repeats used to air on there back in the '90s. I haven't seen this in years, but after reading the negative reviews of this here, as well as reading commentary on this among the "Top 10 Worst Hanna-Barbera Shows Ever Made" on another site, I'm willing to take others' word and believe that this is one of the shows not worth revisiting. I don't believe I even saw the Yogi's Ark Lark pilot, as it was before my time and I don't recall it ever being repeated. I'm not sure, but I don't think so. As I watched this when I was younger, I didn't think much of it either way. Because what would'd most other, naive kids and I known about 'toons of this quality anyway? But once I read about the history of the H-B company and the reasons why the majority of its output isn't all that.

Others here have already explained just what the problems are with this, but I'll try to add my own to this and do it differently. Looking back on this, for one, Yogi and the others may not had been best-suited for this kind of program and they may not had been fit to provide the messages of eco-consciousness and eco-friendliness. They should'd and would'd been better off just sticking to their usual routines instead. Captain Planet and then Planeteers is another environment-themed series that I wouldn't consider great now either, if I ever did . The difference between these two shows is that, although that may not had been the most perfect environmental cartoon ever made, one thing I can say about it is at least it had characters that weren't already established. So when it came to the characters from there, there was no concern with them being out of place. However, with this, it's the complete opposite and it's just odd. Some reviewers of this commented on the villains. They may not had been the best, but I didn't know much about that at the time. Basically, this was one of those series that promoted caring for the environment.

Aside from the aforementioned, this show has all the same, typical aspects of the studio and any, other, low-budget cartoon: Limited animation, reused backgrounds, goofs such as color errors, etc. The other reasons why this serves as an example of the majority of '70s cartoons being associated with what is known as the Dark Age of Animation. The voice acting may be the only thing that's truly good about this and not much else. Thinking back on the '60s and '70s H-B shows I did watch, I think I knew the difference in how well some cartoons were animated and how some others weren't. At the time, that somehow didn't concern me. It's amazing what I ever saw in this back then. I think one reason why I was so into this in the first place was simply due to the crossover of the H-B animals. I forgot that unusually for an H-B show the episodes ran about an hour. But now I know better and see it for what it really is: More about putting together whatever just for more cash grabs. As long as the money was rolling in and kids were drawn in, that's all that mattered. Sacrificing the soul of animation in the name of the bottom line: Profits. I'm sure now the stories or plots weren't all that great either. After adding my piece on what I had to type about it, I say it's a pass and only worthy for kids to watch, if anybody reading this has any. It's a weak and forgettable series that's no longer worthy of my time and recommended to nobody but any kids who may be more appreciative of it.

A Product of Its Time

[mrizaj · 17 July 2021]

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.

Ugh thankfully this show is gone (may conatin spoilers)

[Tricer1447 · 26 November 2002]

Ok this show is by far one of the dumbest ever made. I have felt more hatred to this cartoon than any other. Ok Yogi, Booboo and the other HB animals were complete morons. They were also unbelievalby wimpy. Once this jack tricked Yogi into signing this paper (this one was perhaps one of their most dangerous villains, he was a cheater GASP think he's bad you should the Greedy Gennie. The Greedy Genie? What the h-ll were they on?) that gave him ownership to his ark. Ok theres only one of him and they were all animals. I mean bears, (Yogi, Booboo and the hillbilly bears) dogs (Hucklberry, Auggie and Doggey Daddy) a cougar (Snagglepuss) a gorilla (Magilla) an alligator (Wally) a horse with guns (Quickdraw and why would such an uptight show have a character with guns?) a hippo (Potamus) and a super strong ant (Atom) so why the h-ll didn't they just like tear him to shreds or something? Think thats bad whats next is unforgivabel. Mister Sloppy. Ok get this. This slop turns on his tube 'Thats the neat alarm!'' He sees Yogi giving orders cuase they are going to some drugged up place called Neaters Ville (that is pathetic) SO he goes to a bookself. 'Time for my sloopy spells and he waves and becomes some bomb named Mister Neat (he's obviusly demonic or something, pagan worshipper? has to be) The show got dumber and dumber . Each episode was unbelievably stupid. Oh yeah and the thing was the laugh track that came on every 2 seconds over everything. Ok one guy was eating a steak and HAHA. ? thats just hilarius.

There are a lot of animated shows I really like (Samurai Jack, Mon COllie Knights, Justice League, Yu-GI-OH!, Digimon, Inuyasha, Jackie Chan adventures, Yu Yu Hakuso, Simpsons, Cowboy Bebop ect) and some I dont like or really care for (Kim Possible which is one I only saw a few times and wasn't impressed but was alright, Chalk Zone, Rocket Power, South Park which has been bad since the osama bin laden (phooey) episode, Jabberjaw, Superfriends and Fighting Foodons and I would say Butt Ugly martians but I only saw a few seconds of it and the whole thing was stupid though so might as well) but this is the worst 0/10 and that is deserves and is worth it.

Social Relevance Invades Jellystone

[Sargebri · 4 May 2004]

When this show first premiered I thought it was great that Hanna-Barbera was bringing all of their major characters from the 1960's together in one show. However, when I saw it, I couldn't help but feel that it was a major disappointment. First of all, the show itself was too long due to the fact that it was an hour in length. I think that it would have worked better if it were just a half an hour in length. But, the big thing that I felt was wrong with the show is the fact that it was part of the long line of shows that came out in the 1970's that felt that it had to be socially relevant as well as entertaining. I don't need Yogi Bear or Magilla Gorilla giving me a weekly lesson on why we should protect the environment or how we should avoid the seven deadly sins. No wonder this show, or a lot of the other show's from this period are not remembered fondly or shown in reruns. This is one show I am sure to avoid at all costs.