A Tribute To Hanna-Barbera 1 Poem by DM W

Over decades, Hanna- Barbera created lots
Of quirky cartoons: from The Flintstones to Top Cat;
From Wacky Races and the Jetsons to Scooby Doo;
From Johnny Quest, Jabberjaw to The New Schmoo;
From Magilla Gorilla, To Atom Ant and
Secret Squirrel, Squiddly Diddly and winged Birdman:
Powered by the sun god Ra. His bright solar ray
Zapped baddies. The 40- foot purple Great, Grape Ape's
Sneezes were equivalent to a hurricane!
He relied on Beegle for he had little brains.
Peter Potamus and So-So explored the world
In their Magical Flying Balloon. How absurd?
But as children we had no reason to ask why.
There were talking mules and mice, and I tell no lie,
A tiny detective named Inch High Private Eye!
There were dastardly villains soaring so very high
In the skies; seeking, 'to stop that darned pigeon now! '
Dick Dastardly always seemed to get into a row
With his incompetent crew: Muttley, Clunk and Zilly.
Most of these shows were surreal and rather silly.
Yet they were so action packed and tremendous fun.
Did Quick Draw McGraw ever get to use his gun?
O he was very clumsy like Hong Kong Phooey!
That 'smarter than the average bear' named Yogi,
Who with his pal Boo - Boo snatched picnic baskets,
From folk In Jellystone Park, made Ranger Smith fret.
And the zany Banana Splits Adventure Hour
Was brimming with all kinds of psychedelic power.
There was also a plethora of teenage gangs,
Like Josie and The Pussycats, the Chan Clan,
Goober and the Ghost Chasers, Captain Caveman
And The Teen Angels; those in The Funky Phantom.
But the original team was those who travelled
Far and wide, usually to spooky castles,
In the Mystery Machine, the friends of Scooby:
Daphne and Wilma, Freddy and of course Shaggy;
Who like his canine pal liked to consume lots of food.
Mystery Inc, were generally speaking, no fools.
They were always quick, well Wilma was, finding clues
To reveal the real villain behind the mask who,
'Would have gotten away with it wasn'tfor you
Pesky kids! ' Alas, like all good things tend to do,
The show worsened with the risible Scrappy Doo!
Yet there were still many scary monsters and ghouls:
Enough to put the fear of God into children
Who were taken to visit old mansions or museums!
The Hair Bear Bunch were forever teasing Peevly
And his large, 'harebrained' assistant: Botch. How we
Used to laugh when they conjured up motorcycles
From thin air in order to escape the confines
Of wacky Wonderland Zoo. Shazzan, Speed Buggy,
Space Ghost and Dino Boy, Mr Jinks and Pixie
And Dixie are other shows that I can recall.
O those were the days, when we kids had such a ball!