Planet Pirates
- Studio
- H-B Enterprises
Synopsis
In this, the very first episode of Hanna-Barbera's first TV show, our heroes read reports of spacecrafts from other worlds. One such ship bears a bead on Ruff and Reddy as they nap and take them aboard the craft.
Characters
Ruff, Reddy, Professor Gizmo, Ubble Ubble
Credits
Directing
- Director
- William Hanna, Joseph Barbera
Producing
- Producer
- William Hanna, Joseph Barbera
Voices
- Voice
- Don Messick (Ruff, Professor Gizmo, Ubble Ubble, Narrator), Daws Butler (Reddy)
Music
- Music
- John Seely
Production notes
Ruff: Smart cat. Reddy: Dumb dog. Professor Gizmo: Kindly scientist. Mission: To foil the plans of do-badders Killer & Diller, the Terrible Texas Twins, Captain Greedy, Salt Water Daffy, Chickasaurus, and the Goon of Glocca Morra.
Ruff (the Cat) and Reddy (the Dog) was the first TV cartoon series marketed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and the newly formed H-B Enterprises (the future Hanna-Barbera) after MGM shut down its animation division. While MGM continued producing through Chuck Jones and Gene Dietch, Hanna and Barbera opened a new facility pioneering the new technique that allowed cel movement to assist action and created a somewhat more economically feasible way to produce cartoon series compared to the full animation of their former employer. MGM's Tom & Jerry had been budgeted at upwards of $40,000 per episode, but H and B were allotted a paltry $2,800 for Ruff and Reddy. Luckily, the show made up for its skimpy animation with voiceovers by Daws Butler and Don Messick, two voice kings who went on to become Hanna-Barbera essentials.
This series was first broadcast in black and white, although all episodes were produced in color.
Ruff (the Cat) and Reddy (the Dog) was the first TV cartoon series marketed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and the newly formed H-B Enterprises (the future Hanna-Barbera) after MGM shut down its animation division. While MGM continued producing through Chuck Jones and Gene Dietch, Hanna and Barbera opened a new facility pioneering the new technique that allowed cel movement to assist action and created a somewhat more economically feasible way to produce cartoon series compared to the full animation of their former employer. MGM's Tom & Jerry had been budgeted at upwards of $40,000 per episode, but H and B were allotted a paltry $2,800 for Ruff and Reddy. Luckily, the show made up for its skimpy animation with voiceovers by Daws Butler and Don Messick, two voice kings who went on to become Hanna-Barbera essentials.
This series was first broadcast in black and white, although all episodes were produced in color.
Reviews
Planet Pirates
I was five years old when THE RUFF N' REDDY SHOW premiered at 10:30 on the Saturday morning of December, 1957. I saw that this was something new, and the writing and excellent voice acting had me spellbound. The first series of cliffhager episodes were about Ruff,the cat and Reddy, the dog being kidnapped by a robot army operating a flying saucer, and taken to the planet Munimula, which is aluminum spelled backward. This was just group of these clever serialized stories that launched the Hanna-Barbera studio. The stories involved fantastic adventures with colorful characters like Killer Diller, Capt. Greedy and Saltwater Daffy. Contrary to the description provided here, they did not encounter neighborhood bullies, as anyone having seen the series would know. Yes the animation was very limited, but with so little money to work with then, they had to compensate with clever scripts and expert direction and timing that was the work of the late Bill Hanna.