Hanna Barbera Productions Inc

Turner Broadcasting System Inc. has entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire Hanna-Barbera Productions Inc., the animation company that has been on the auction block for more than a year. Great American Communications Co. of Cincinnati, Hanna-Barbera's parent, announced on Friday that it had signed a formal letter of intent with Turner.

As a youngster in the 1970s, Mike Henry, the executive producer and co-creator of "The Cleveland Show," Fox's upcoming animated spinoff of its hit "Family Guy," would have a "Yabba-dabba-doo" time sitting on shag carpet in the living room of his childhood home watching Hanna-Barbera cartoons such as "The Flintstones," "Scooby-Doo" and "The Jetsons." "It's all I watched as far as animated stuff goes," says Henry, who also supplies the voice of Cleveland, among other characters on the show.

As a youngster in the 1970s, Mike Henry, the executive producer and co-creator of "The Cleveland Show," Fox's upcoming animated spinoff of its hit "Family Guy," would have a "Yabba-dabba-doo" time sitting on shag carpet in the living room of his childhood home watching Hanna-Barbera cartoons such as "The Flintstones," "Scooby-Doo" and "The Jetsons." "It's all I watched as far as animated stuff goes," says Henry, who also supplies the voice of Cleveland, among other characters on the show.

Turner Broadcasting is scouring more than 1,500 classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons, including "Tom and Jerry," "The Flintstones" and "Scooby-Doo," to edit out scenes that glamorize smoking. The review was triggered by a complaint to British media regulator Ofcom by one viewer who took offense to two episodes of "Tom and Jerry" shown on the Boomerang channel, part of Turner Broadcasting, which itself belongs to Time Warner Inc.

Hey, there! It's Yogi Bear--in an art film, no less. Cartoon Network revives Jellystone Park's animated denizens Friday in a prime-time two-part special, "Boo Boo Runs Wild" and "A Day in the Life of Ranger Smith," that's as audacious as it is genuinely riveting. The show corrals the cartoon icons created by the late William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and now owned by Time Warner into the oeuvre of eccentric animator John Kricfalusi and his Spumco Studio.

After perusing the Judy Jetson cosmetic kits and Fred Flintstone bolo ties, Pat Hockings found just what she wanted: a $2 refrigerator magnet with the likeness of her Space Age cartoon hero, George Jetson. "I've always been a Jetsons and a Flintstones fan," said Hockings after shopping at a Torrance gift shop owned and named after Hanna-Barbera, the Hollywood animation studio whose cartoon characters populate the store. "There is nothing in there you really need.

The defenders of Los Angeles modernism seem to have won one. After a long struggle, the former Hanna-Barbera Studios buildings in the Cahuenga Pass appear to be safe from the wrecker's ball at last. On May 25, the Los Angeles City Council approved a plan that would preserve the heart of the studio that created television animation while allowing retail and residential development on the four-acre site.

City Council members approved a plan Tuesday that would save the historic Hanna-Barbera buildings in the Cahuenga Pass but would allow development on part of the property to proceed. Joe Barbera, who sold the property years ago, had pleaded with officials to save the building where cartoons such as "Tom and Jerry" and "Yogi Bear" were developed. Councilman Tom LaBonge's office crafted a compromise that would save the three buildings but allow mixed-use apartment and retail development.

Wilma! It's time to hit the malls. Hanna-Barbera Productions, the storied animation house that gave the world the Flintstones and the Jetsons, said Wednesday that it will open a store at the Westside Pavilion in West Los Angeles Aug. 1. Another shop is scheduled to open at the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance on Sept. 1. The stores will carry clothing, stuffed dolls, toys, games, jewelry and collectibles.

Mattel Cuts Licensing Deal With Hanna-Barbera: Mattel cut a deal with Hanna-Barbera that will land Yogi Bear, Fred Flintstone, Scooby Doo and the Jetsons in its character cache. El Segundo-based Mattel, whose success with Disney-themed products has augmented its booming Barbie and Hot Wheels business recently, said it will introduce dolls and plush toys next year based on popular characters such as Yogi and his sidekicks Boo Boo and Cindy.

The defenders of Los Angeles modernism seem to have won one. After a long struggle, the former Hanna-Barbera Studios buildings in the Cahuenga Pass appear to be safe from the wrecker's ball at last. On May 25, the Los Angeles City Council approved a plan that would preserve the heart of the studio that created television animation while allowing retail and residential development on the four-acre site.

City Council members approved a plan Tuesday that would save the historic Hanna-Barbera buildings in the Cahuenga Pass but would allow development on part of the property to proceed. Joe Barbera, who sold the property years ago, had pleaded with officials to save the building where cartoons such as "Tom and Jerry" and "Yogi Bear" were developed. Councilman Tom LaBonge's office crafted a compromise that would save the three buildings but allow mixed-use apartment and retail development.

Animation legend Joe Barbera is hoping to save the studios and offices where cartoons such as "Tom and Jerry," "Huckleberry Hound" and "The Jetsons" were created. Barbera, 92, wrote a letter to the Los Angeles City Council opposing a development proposal to raze two of three buildings that once housed Hanna-Barbera Studios in Cahuenga Pass to make room for a mixed-use project of stores and about 160 apartments.

Hey, there! It's Yogi Bear--in an art film, no less. Cartoon Network revives Jellystone Park's animated denizens Friday in a prime-time two-part special, "Boo Boo Runs Wild" and "A Day in the Life of Ranger Smith," that's as audacious as it is genuinely riveting. The show corrals the cartoon icons created by the late William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and now owned by Time Warner into the oeuvre of eccentric animator John Kricfalusi and his Spumco Studio.

The home of George Jetson and Scooby-Doo will not be named a Los Angeles city landmark despite pleas from cartoon fans who wanted the Hanna-Barbera Productions studio protected as an irreplaceable part of entertainment and California history. The city Cultural Heritage Commission on Wednesday voted unanimously and, members said, "reluctantly" to deny cultural-historic monument status to the Cahuenga Boulevard studio of three green and yellow buildings next to the Hollywood Freeway.

It was the home of the Flintstones, the Jetsons, Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo and many other beloved television cartoon series. But now the studio and headquarters of animation pioneer Hanna-Barbera Productions is the focus of a dispute that raises questions about Hollywood history, corporate mega-mergers and whether early '60s-style architecture is worth saving.

"The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest" has all the earmarks of an ambitious feature film project: Two years of marketing fanfare, what some characterize as serious budget overruns, a promotional push valued at more than $40 million, and a thick skein of tie-ins with fast-food, cereal, snack and toy makers aimed at piquing the curiosities of kids throughout the world.

"The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest" has all the earmarks of an ambitious feature film project: Two years of marketing fanfare, what some characterize as serious budget overruns, a promotional push valued at more than $40 million, and a thick skein of tie-ins with fast-food, cereal, snack and toy makers aimed at piquing the curiosities of kids throughout the world.

If your goal is to create the next great cartoon character, another Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck or Mickey Mouse--a character that just might live forever and generate millions in peripheral merchandising--what do you do? "The first thing you do is search for talent to make the characters. Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny were both created by Tex Avery," said Fred Seibert, president of the Hanna-Barbera animation studio.