The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound

The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound
The title card
Written by John Ludin[1]
Tom Ruegger
Directed by Bob Goe
John Kimball
Charles A. Nichols
Jay Sarbry
Voices of Daws Butler
Frank Welker
Charlie Adler
Michael Bell
Pat Buttram
Pat Fraley
Allan Melvin
Don Messick
Howard Morris
B.J. Ward
Composer(s) Sven Libaek[1]
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
Production
Executive producer(s) William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Producer(s) Charles Grosvenor
Editor(s) Gil Iverson
Running time 95 minutes (95:27)
Production company(s) Hanna-Barbera Productions
Distributor Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original network Syndication
Original release May 15, 1988[2]
Chronology
Followed by Rockin' with Judy Jetson

The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound is a 1988 animated television film produced by Hanna-Barbera for syndication as part of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 series.

The film parodies various Western films; the film's title is a take-off of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Huckleberry is constantly referred to as a "mysterious, steely-eyed, and silent-type stranger" (though Huck is just being himself), spoofing the Western stock character of the Man with No Name. Several other plot points are lifted from well-known film Westerns, such as High Noon and High Plains Drifter.

This film marks the final time Daws Butler voiced Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw and Baba Looey, Snagglepuss, Hokey Wolf, Peter Potamus, and Yogi Bear, as he died three days after its telecast from a heart attack.

Plot

In 1849 California, Huckleberry Hound rides west on his horse in search of a place to start a country farm. He discovers the small town of Two-Bit, which is being menaced by three outlaw brothers, the Dalton Gang. The Daltons steal Huck's belongings and coerce him into a game of poker, the stakes being a gold nugget Huck carries for his things. Huck accuses the Daltons of cheating, so they challenge him to a boxing match, which Huck wins.

Huck goes to Quick Draw McGraw and Baba Looey's bank to deposit his gold, and wins a prize of his choice. He chooses a fountain pen, being partial to its blue ink. The Daltons rob the bank, stealing the nugget and the pen. Mayor Hokey Wolf calls an emergency town meeting, and hurriedly appoints Huck as Two-Bit's new sheriff.

Sheriff Huck hunts the Daltons, and apprehends and jails them after some struggle. Huck receives a letter from Stinky Dalton, the fourth brother of the family, who has just broken out of jail. Stinky challenges Huck to a gunfight while the townsfolk flee to Tahiti. Stinky fails to kill Huck, so he breaks his brothers out of jail disguised as their grandmother. Huck chases the Daltons until they strap him to a rocket and launch him into the sky, where he is presumably blown up.

The Daltons go on to become the richest outlaws in the West, taking over Two-Bit and renaming it "Daltonville". When the townsfolk return, the Daltons kick them out aboard a freight train, and the townsfolk blame themselves for Huck's death and the loss of Two-Bit.

The rocket crashes at a Native American tribal community. Huck survives with amnesia and is found by the chief's daughter, Desert Flower. The two fall in love and Huck proposes marriage, but first Huck must undergo a two-part test for the chief's blessing. The first test is a game show, which Huck wins despite the chief meddling with his buzzer. For the second test, Huck has to wrestle Chuckling Chipmunk, the tribe's strongest man and Desert Flower's rival suitor. Huck loses, but saves Desert Flower when she falls in a river, earning the chief's blessing. Huck is about to undergo the ceremony when his horse returns and restores his memory, reminding him that the Daltons are still at large. Huck promises to return for Desert Flower, and departs.

Huck finds the townsfolk of Two-Bit working at a circus, and urges them to help him take back their town. Recruiting a projectionist and showgirl Rusty Nails, Huck plans to use special effects to pose as a ghost and scare the Daltons away. Rusty shows a film to the Daltons warning that Huck's ghost will arrive in Daltonville on the "midnight ghost train". The Daltons are terrified except for Stinky, who refuses to be intimidated.

Huck arrives aboard the train and scares the Daltons, including Stinky, but they refuse to go to jail. The Two-Bit townsfolk chase them into the state prison, disguised as the Daltons' hideout. Huck reveals his ruse and is congratulated for bringing the Daltons to justice. Huck returns to marry Desert Flower, starting his farm and raising a family with her, while Quick Draw becomes Two-Bit's new sheriff with Baba Looey as his deputy.

Cameo appearances

In addition to the characters mentioned above, the following Hanna-Barbera characters appear in the movie:

  • Peter Potamus, captain of the ship that takes the Two-Bit residents to Tahiti.
  • Snooper, Muttley, and Doggie Daddy, who are in the "audience" when Huck is trying to decide which prize to accept from the bank.
  • Magilla Gorilla and Mr. Peebles, who appear as a reporter at the site of Stinky's breakout and the jailer bound and gagged by Stinky being interviewed, respectively.

Home media releases

On August 1, 1991, The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound was released on VHS videocassette in the United States.[3] However, as of 2009, the videocassette is now out of print. On August 9, 2011, Warner Archive released the movie on DVD in NTSC picture format with all region encoding, as part of their Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.[4]

Voice cast

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "The Internet Movie Database". The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound Cast & Crew
  2. ↑ https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/2504184/
  3. ↑ "Amazon". The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound VHS Release
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
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