"The Jetsons" 50th Anniversary -- "His Boy Elroy" Cel

Happy 50th Anniversary to "The Jetsons," Hanna-Barbera's futuristic answer to the prehistoric Flintstones.   The show premiered on ABC at 7:30 PM on Sunday September 23, 1962.  

Here's my one cell from "The Jetsons" -- and it's from the Main Title as George drops off Elroy at school.   I bought this one at a little art store on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City back in the 80's.   I had Bill and Joe sign it for me a few years back.  

                                                              Meet George Jetson.
                                                                 His Boy Elroy.

And below is an image for a proposed series of Warner Bros./Hanna-Barbera mash-ups called "Mixed Nutz," where the Jetsons meet Marvin the Martian.  

Of course, Elroy was voiced by the one and only Daws Butler.

The Cartoon Shows That Never Were #2 -- "Mixed Nutz" Part 19 -- Jabberjaws Meets Elmer

Below is another piece of concept art from "Mixed Nutz," the animated show I pitched to Warner Bros. back in 2008 that combines the stars of Looney Tunes with the stars of Hanna-Barbera cartoons.  

Some of the fun moments in "Mixed Nutz" come from the unlikely pairings...like this one.

Elmer Fudd goes hunting, and so does Jabberjaws, in this segment from "Mixed Nutz." 

The Cartoon Shows That Never Were #2 -- "Mixed Nutz" -- Part 18 --Daffy, Yogi, Scooby and Gossamer

Two more images from the "Mixed Nutz" pitch.

Daffy and Yogi argue over their own respective studliness and the kind of music they want to listen to during a cross-country trek in this segment from "Mixed Nutz."

Scooby encounters Looney Tunes monster star Gossamer, who's the pet of the local mad scientist veterinarian, in this "Mixed Nutz" sequence.

More to come...

The Cartoon Shows That Never Were: "Mixed Nutz" Part 17 -- Scoop Doggie Daddy and Petunia Pig

In "Mixed Nutz" (2008),  Doggie Daddy and son have become world-famous hip-hop artists:  namely, Augie Doggy and Scoop Doggie Daddy.  

Likewise, Petunia Pig has become a teen idol in the Britney Spears mold.  She's a top pop singer, a smoking dancer, and the hottest pig on the planet!  

More to come...

The Cartoon Shows That Never Were #2 -- "Mixed Nutz" -- Part 16 -- Dogs Playing Poker

A recurring segment on "Mixed Nutz," based on the famous kitschy paintings by C.M. Coolidge:  the dogs of Hanna-Barbera play poker with the Looney Tunes canines.

Marc Antony, Charlie the Dog, K-9 and other Looney Tunes mutts must deal with the underhanded and less-than-above-board card sharks from Hanna-Barbera, including (among others) Huckleberry Hound, Doggie Daddy, Scooby, Scrappy and the biggest cheater of all, Bandit.

"The Cartoon Shows That Never Were #2" -- "Mixed Nutz" -- Part 15 -- TV Parodies

More segment concepts from "Mixed Nutz" (2008) -- in this case, TV show parodies.  

In this parody of the "House" TV series, grouchy Dr. Huckleberry  Hound and his incompetent intern, Daffy Duck, must remove a rocket that could explode any second from the rectum of Wile E. Coyote.  

Don't ask.  

In this spoof, Yosemite Sam is a footloose and fancy-free cowboy on the town.  He writes a popular blog about dating as he searches for love and the perfect pair of stylish boots in the big city.  

More to come...

The Cartoon Shows That Never Were #2 -- "Mixed Nutz" -- Part 14 -- Daffy Vs. Everyone

A few more images from "Mixed Nutz," the animated TV series I pitched to Warner Bros back in 2008.  In "Mixed Nuts," the cartoon worlds of Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbera characters come together, resulting in some unique pairings and some new variations on the classic themes.

Of course, Daffy Duck would demand plenty of air time on "Mixed Nuts."   As he put it, "A star of my stature should expect nothing less."   But in this show, Daffy would find himself constantly outflanked by scene-stealers like Yogi Bear...

  ...and upstaged by spotlight-hogging hams like Snagglepuss.  

More to come...

The Cartoon Shows That Never Were #2 -- "Mixed Nutz" -- Part 13 -- Marvin the Martian vs. Hanna-Barbera's Universe

In "Mixed Nutz," Marvin the Martian declares intergalactic war against the Hanna-Barbera cartoon universe, and tangles with the casts of "The Jetsons" and "Jonny Quest" in the process.  

 

Marvin's plans to overthrow Orbit City disintegrate when the Martian becomes the focus of attention for lovesick teenager Judy Jetson.  

Marvin is the world's most obnoxious backseat driver as he hijacks the role of Hadji in the "Jonny Quest" segment of "Mixed Nutz."

More to come...

The Cartoon Shows That Never Were #2 -- "Mixed Nutz" -- Part 12 -- Yakky Doodle as Villain

I've always been a big fan of Yakky Doodle, the manipulative little duck (with the funny voice provided by Jimmy Wheldon) who starred in his own weekly segments on "The Yogi Bear Show."

In "Mixed Nutz," Yakky remains cute and adorable...but we also see Yakky's dark side.  And we come to realize that Yakky is not just manipulative -- he's actually a sinister supervillain!

Look closely and you'll find Yakky's angry visage as one of the heavies pictured in this poster (below) for a "Mixed Nutz" parody of James Bond, starring Bugs Bunny.  

In "Mixed Nutz," we see how different cartoon characters interact with each other.  

For instance, Yakky is a huge fan of Tweety Bird.  He idolizes the Oscar-winning canary, and is constantly peppering the Warner Bros. cartoon star with fanboy questions and requests.   

Tweety tries to be accommodating, but the non-stop-chattering duck is relentless and ultimately very annoying.  Bottom line:  Tweety doesn't like being upstaged and out-"cuted" by the pint-sized duck.  As far as Tweety is concerned, there's room on "Mixed Nutz" for only one adorable yellow bird...which means, as Tweety puts it, "the poor widdle ducky" has to "faw down and go BOOM!!"

Immediately.

More to come...

The Cartoon Shows That Never Were #2 -- "Mixed Nutz" -- Part 11 -- Sam and Wilma

By jumbling together the Looney Tunes characters and the stars of Hanna-Barbera cartoons, "Mixed Nutz" was bound to come up with some odd pairings -- and none more odd that this one. 

Yosemite Sam develops a crush on Wilma Flintstone and goes a'courtin' in "Wham, Bam, Thank You, Sam."   

For Sam, the outcome is pretty much the same as it was in "Sam I Bam," pictured earlier.  

More to come... 

The Cartoon Shows That Never Were #2 -- "Mixed Nutz" -- Part 10 -- Movie Parodies

I didn't always include characters from both the Looney Tunes and the Hanna-Barbera franchises in every piece of artwork for the "Mixed Nutz" presentation.  While the plan was to have characters from both cartoon worlds appear in each animated segment, when I was pulling together art for the pitch, I'd just use the images and characters that best represented the idea.  

Below, a couple of those pieces.

Bugs runs for higher office in this full-cast extravaganza.

Magilla Gorilla uses the Chrysler building to examine his prostate in this parody of "King Kong," with Lola Bunny hopelessly miscast (as usual) in the Fay Wray/Jessica Lange/Naomi Watts role.  

More to come... 

The Cartoon Shows That Never Were #2 -- "Mixed Nuts" -- Part 9 -- Yogi with Daffy and Taz

More images from "Mixed Nutz" (2008), the animated TV series I proposed to Warner Bros. that would have teamed up Looney Tunes characters with Hanna-Barbera stars.

In "Mixed Nutz," Yogi was cast in a starring role... and his laid back demeanor would prove to be a source of great frustration for Daffy.

In this segment (above) from "Mixed Nutz," the Bugs/Daffy/Elmer "Hunting Season Trilogy" gets a new chapter during "Bear Season."  

Even Yogi can learn a few lessons about the consumption of edible goodies when Taz makes an unscheduled stop at Jellystone Park.
 

More to come...

The Cartoon Shows That Never Were # 2 -- "Mixed Nutz" -- Part 8 -- Bugs Meets Scooby, Daffy Meets Dino

More  proposed segments for "Mixed Nutz" (2008) -- the animated show I pitched to Warners Bros. that matched up characters from Looney Tunes with stars from the Hanna-Barbera universe.

 

Bugs Bunny upstages and confuses the daylights out of Scooby and the gang during a spooky mystery that takes place inside the Motion Picture Hospital and Animators' Retirement Home in Calabasas.

After Daffy replaces an injured Shaggy in the Scooby Doo series, Scooby quits in protest, and is replaced by Dino, much to Daffy's consternation.

More to come... 

The Cartoon Shows That Never Were # 2 -- "Mixed Nutz" (2008) -- Part 7 -- "Sam I Bam"

Another image from "Mixed Nuts," the animated series I pitched to Warner Bros. that combined the worlds of Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbera characters. 



Bamm-Bamm Rubble takes a liking to the noggin of babysitter Yosemite Sam in a segment from the "Mixed Nutz" pitch



The Cartoon Shows That Never Were # 2 -- "Mixed Nutz" (2008) -- Part 6 -- When Boo Boo Met Bugs

Another image from "Mixed Nutz," the animated TV series concept that teamed up Looney Tunes characters with Hanna-Barbera characters in all new cartoons.  

Bugs meets Boo Boo in "Mixed Nutz," an animated TV series I pitched to Warner Bros. back in 2008.  

The Cartoon Shows That Never Were # 2 -- "Mixed Nutz" (2008) -- Part 5 -- Taz Vs. Yakky Doodle

Taz meets his match in the form of a loquacious little duck -- Yakky Doodle -- in this segment from "Mixed Nutz," the animated series I pitched to Warner Bros. that combined the Looney Tunes characters with Hanna-Barbera's cartoon stars.  

Taz seriously considers drastic options when trapped on a cargo plane with a fellow passenger who will not stop talking

The Cartoon Shows That Never Were #2 -- "Mixed Nutz" -- Part 3 -- Snooper, Blabber, Daffy, Top Cat & Wile E. Coyote

More images from "Mixed Nutz," a proposed animated TV show that teams the Looney Tunes characters with the classic Hanna-Barbera stars.  

I pitched "Mixed Nutz" to Warner Bros. back in 2008, and they green-lit it to pilot.  Then they withdrew the green-light when a new regime was hired to run Warner Bros. Television Animation.   

So the pilot was never made.  All that remains of "Mixed Nutz" are these pieces of cartoon art that I pulled together at the time...along with some written material, including the show bible, springboards, some scripted segments, and a first draft of the pilot script featuring Bugs, Daffy, Yogi and other cast members.  

Above:  Duck Twacy teams up with detec-a-tives Snooper, Blabber and Huckleberry Hound in this comedy spin on the "Law and Order" franchise.


 

After years of failure out in the desert, Wile E. Coyote tries his luck at finding food in the suburbs, only to encounter Top Cat and his gang, who have fled the city in search of greener pastures...and easier marks.  

More to come...