Where To Watch
Bill Hanna said Joe Barbera was most like this character
Here's a hint, he's in the picture!
As the creator of classic cartoons like Huckleberry Hound, Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, and Tom and Jerry, Bill Hanna was often asked by fans to choose his favorite character out of all of the Hanna-Barbera creations.
He answered, rather coyly, in his book, "Quite predictably, I think our mutual and heartfelt response is acknowledging our first love, Tom and Jerry."
Aww, the first characters they created together - how nice! But Hanna then conveyed that Joe Barbera had a new favorite character, Yogi Bear.
In Hanna's memoir, A Cast of Friends, he wrote, "The character nearest to his heart has always been an Epicurean bear with a porkpie hat named Yogi," Hanna recalled, "In many respects, I think Joe and Yogi Bear are kindred spirits. They share an endearing kind of optimistic and urbane love for the good life - a love that, through my long association with Yogi and longer association with Joe, I've discovered appears to be for both a kind of perennial fountain of youth."
Perhaps this is why it was so easy for Yogi Bear to eclipse Huckleberry Hound's rising star? Being the favorite character of the co-creator must have its perks! But when it came to describing his own favorite character, Hanna remained mysterious, saying, "My special pal among our later television cast is a blustery guy who is waiting in the wings of this book."
This would be a fine answer, but Hanna does not specify the exact favorite character later in the book! Now we have a mystery: who is the blustery guy? Blustery is typically used to describe windy weather conditions, but when applied to a person, it means arrogant, pompous, and full of bravado and empty threats. Sound like any cartoon characters you know? We at MeTV Toons think this must be Fred Flintstone, but tell us in the comments on social media who you think the blustery guy is.
