The Corner Penthouse

Warner Brothers recently released the Hanna-Barbera's Superstars 10: The Complete Film Collection Blu-ray box set. Read on to find out more about it...

[ SYNOPSIS ]

In 1987, the legendary animation team of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera brought forth a series of ten feature-length animated films to television, all of which would highlight their most popular cartoon characters. These films were sold into syndication as the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10, each providing irresistible entertainment. Yogi Bear and Scooby-Doo each star in three productions, along with a one-time only meeting of the Flintstones and the Jetsons. Judy Jetson takes the spotlight in her own adventure, while Huckleberry Hound heads up an exciting all-star Western, and the loveable Top Cat and his gang star in a story set in Beverly Hills. Hanna-Barbera was able to use many of the original voice actors to re-create their roles for these films. Animation voice talents include Daws Butler, Don Messick, and Mel Blanc, and the original voice cast of The Jetsons. Arnold Stang, Marvin Kaplan, and Leo DeLyon once again provide their Top Cat characters' voices, and of course, all of the Scooby-Doo gang is on hand to top off the fun.

It needs to be noted that at the end of each movie is a 22-second-long final chapter containing legal text. The runtimes listed below are the length of the movie itself, before the legal text. To determine the length of the video on each disc, add 22-seconds to each runtime listed below. Also, the list of chapters noted below does not include this legal text chapter.

DISC 1. Yogi's Great Escape (1987, 1:32:45, 14 chapters) - Since Jellystone set to close due to budget cuts, and to avoid being shipped off to the zoo, Yogi, Boo-Boo and their new orphaned pals Bopper, Buzzy, and Bitsy set out for adventure in his homemade "Supercar". Along the way, they meet Quick Draw McGraw, Wally Gator, Snagglepuss, and others.

DISC 2. Scooby-Doo! Meets the Boo Brothers (1987, 1:32:47, 15 chapters) - Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy investigate a case regarding Shaggy's recently deceased uncle, Colonel Beauregard, who has left him a haunted estate. The Boo Brothers (Meako, Freako, and Shreako) help with the "ghostbusting", but they also have to contend with the creepy servant Farquard, the Headless Horseman, an escaped gorilla, feud-maker Billy Bob Scroggins and his sister Sadie Mae, and others.

DISC 3. The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones (1987, 1:32:17, 15 chapters) - Thanks to Astro, Elroy's time machine sends the Jetsons back to The Flintstones' time period instead of the 25th century. The two families become friends and help each other out, but soon the Flintstones end up in the Jetsons' future.

DISC 4. Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose (1987, 1:32:22, 15 chapters) - After Yogi and his pals, locked inside the Spruce Goose, decide to take a joyride around the globe. They help other animals in peril before facing off against Dread Baron and an army of hostile natives on the island of Moolah Moolah.

DISC 5. Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats (1988, 1:32:29, 14 chapters) - T.C.'s right-hand cat, Benny the Ball, saves the life of a homeless woman during one of their get-rich-quick schemes. The woman is actually Gertrude Vandergelt, a wealthy socialite, who unexpectedly passes away a few days later. Benny was added to her will at the last minute, entitling him to all of her assets, including the family mansion, since the only other benefactor -- Gertrude's teenage niece -- is nowhere to be found. This greatly upsets several people, including Gertrude's butler Snerdly, who decides to exact his revenge after T.C. and the gang move in to the mansion.

DISC 6. The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound (1988, 1:33:02, 17 chapters) - Riding into the town of Two-Bit, Huckleberry Hound immediately meets trouble in the form of the Dalton gang (Dinky, Finky, Pinky, and Stinky). The cheating brothers seek revenge after Huckleberry bests them in a series of matches to win a valuable gold nugget. At one point, Huckleberry has a bout of amnesia, gains a potential sweetheart in the lovely Desert Flower, and has to help take back Two-Bit from the Daltons. Tons of guest appearances by Snagglepuss, Quick Draw, Baba Looey, Hokey Wolf, Magilla Gorilla, and even Yogi and Boo-Boo.

DISC 7. Rockin' with Judy Jetson (1988, 1:32:04, 14 chapters) - Daughter Judy is smitten with the handsome Sky Rocker after seeing him perform at the Cosmic Coliseum. Also in attendance are hapless Quark and Quasar, servants to the villainous Felonia Funk, who plan to ruin rock music with a mind-controlling device.

DISC 8. Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (1988, 1:32:14, 15 chapters) - Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy travel to Ms. Grimwood's Finishing School for Girls, where they've been hired as gym teachers. What they don't know is that this Finishing School is actually home to the daughters of Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Wolfman. Trouble arrives when the villainous witch Revolta, and her minion the Grim Creeper, hatch a plot to kidnap the girls.

DISC 9. Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988, 1:31:48, 16 chapters) - The annual Monster Road Rally is a contest in which Frankenstein, The Mummy, Swamp Thing, and others compete at Dracula's castle for "Monster of the Year" honors. Surprise entrant Shaggy has been turned into a werewolf and must win the race in order to be changed back.

DISC 10. Yogi and the Invasion of the Space Bears (1988, 1:30:36, 15 chapters) - Yogi and Boo-Boo are kidnapped by aliens after hiding out in Siberia under the direct orders of Ranger Smith. The two bears are cloned, leading to a swarm of look-alikes invading Jellystone Park, much to the chagrin of Smith. His sidekick, Ranger Roubideux, and Yogi's main squeeze, Cindy, help deal with the influx of bears. Meanwhile, Boo-Boo finds a sweetheart in the lovely Snulu, who may be able to help him and Yogi find their way back home.

[ SPECIFICATIONS ]

Each movie is presented in the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. All movies have not been rated. For all movies, audio languages include English, and subtitle languages include English SDH.

The first eight films are true HD film presentations. The final two films are up-scales from an analog source, and are preceded by this message: "...was one of two of the Superstars 10 telefilms Hanna-Barbera produced using an early form of digital ink and paint, and was output to a final 1" videotape master, with no film protection of any kind. This presentation has been up-converted from its original analog standard definition master to digital High-Definition, with every effort made to improve the visual quality of the program." These two moves have a soft analog look to them, feeling more like a VHS or a DVD than a HD Blu-ray, but at least they're here for completion sake.

[ SPECIAL FEATURES ]

All of the content listed below, which can be found the noted Blu-ray discs, is presented in full HD.

• DISC 9 (WEREWOLF): Scooby Goes Hollywood (49:37, 7 chapters) - This 1979 special originally aired on ABC to celebrate the franchise's 10th anniversary. Scooby struggles to find success in Tinseltown until his friends persuade him to stick to a Saturday morning timeslot.
• DISC 10 (SPACE BEARS):Yogi's Ark Lark (42:49, 8 chapters) - This 1982 made-for-TV special seems to have been made to raise ecological awareness. Yogi and Boo-Boo -- along with Quick Draw McGraw, Baba Looey, Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy, Magilla Gorilla, Huckleberry Hound, Wally Gator, Snagglepuss, and many more -- search for "the perfect place".

[ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ]

This ten-disc set is divided into two five-disc blue Blu-ray cases with each disc on its own page (no overlapping). Both cases are tucked inside an side-loading slipbox. There is no booklet or other material inside, but all ten discs feature colorful artwork from each film. No digital copy code voucher is included.

[ NOTES ]

The Hanna-Barbera's Superstars 10: The Complete Film Collection is available on Blu-ray. All ten individual Blu-rays are also available separately, but for the price of four, you can get all ten in this box set. That said, if you really only want one or two, and not all of them, here are the purchase links: Yogi's Great Escape, Scooby-Doo! Meets the Boo Brothers, The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones, Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose, Top Cat and the Beverly Hills Cats, The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound, Rockin' with Judy Jetson, Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School, Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf, Yogi and the Invasion of the Space Bears,

All ten were also released individually on DVD over the past two decades, but I really see no reason to add DVD links here. I personally own the individual DVDs of Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf and Scooby Goes Hollywood. The extras from those DVDs are not included here, but are the same generic Scooby-Doo extras that can be found on many other Scooby DVDs from the late 1990s/early 2000s. The Werewolf DVD has a "Get the Picture: Scooby-Doo" how-to-draw featurette (1:47), the "Scooby and Shaggy Love to Eat" music video performed by Scott Innes (2:22), and "And the Race is On" set-top game. The Hollywood DVD has "The Scooby-Doo Network" set-top game; "Mystery Inc Yearbook" featurette (6:37); "Get the Picture: Scooby-Doo" how-to-draw featurette (1:47); "Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase" music video performed by Cindy, Kate and Fred of The B-52s (1:11); and "America Loves Scooby-Doo" music video performed by Scott Innes, Claude Parish, and Nelson Blanchard (2:32). Surprisingly, all of the common late 1990s/early 2000s Scooby DVD extras are not found on the Scooby-Doo Where are You?: Complete Series Blu-ray set (also in a haunted house box) (I don't know about the DVD set). It would have been nice if Warners had gathered them all up and put them in that set so they'd finally all be in one place. I bet if I took a really big deep dive on this, I'd find a few extras on the old Scooby DVDs that are "exclusive" to those DVDs.

I don't own any of the other content from this box set on individual DVDs, though I think I have two other copies of The Jetsons Meet Flintstones in The Flintstones: Complete Series Blu-ray set and The Jetsons: Complete Series DVD set - though it may not be in high-definition in either set. I have no compared the quality of those copies to the one found here.

This item has been provided by Warner Brothers for review on this site.