THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 26, 1996 TAG: 9605230216
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 30 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Mary Ellen Riddle
LENGTH: 77 lines
A little bit of Hollywood is coming to town this week, to the delight of cartoon lovers.
While you may no longer sit glued in front of the tube on Saturday mornings, few can forget the antics of Hanna-Barbera favorites such as Scooby Doo, Tom & Jerry, The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, The Jetsons and Johnny Quest - cartoons that highlighted 1960s and '70s television.
You'll have a chance to relive some of those memories by visiting the Seaside Art Gallery in Nags Head through June 15, where a nationwide original drawing show from the Hanna-Barbera animation art archives makes a three-week stop.
The art work - on public display for the first time - highlights the studio's 39-year history. Visitors and collectors will have a chance to see and purchase vintage drawings and cels - all hand-signed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.
Cartoon lover and Seaside Art Gallery owner Melanie Smith welcomes the arrival of a show featuring icons she and thousands of others followed in their youth.
Smith already has a healthy sampling of Disney cel art at the gallery that she began collecting years ago.
``I loved cartoons,'' she said. ``Seventeen years ago we saw a cel of Snow White being offered for sale.''
Suddenly, Smith realized that this type of art was a viable product for the gallery. The Snow White cel, originally priced at $900, is probably worth seven times that today, Smith estimates.
With the deaths of two key Warner Brothers animators, prices have definitely risen for the work of animators, which represents just one link in the cartoon production process.
Hundreds of artists can work on one show, Smith said. Layout artists, background artists, background painters and, of course, the photographers are some of the folks who help bring these cartoons to life.
``They used between seven and 10 drawings per second,'' Smith said of the Hanna-Barbera animation process. ``Disney used about 16.''
In a few strokes, animators were expected to achieve emotion and action. Today, computers are used, making the older art all the more valuable. Despite the high price a select number of drawings and cels fetch, animation art is still within reach of the more frugal collectors. You can purchase lesser-known cartoons for as little as $75.
The show is a great opportunity for parents to share their childhood fascinations with their kids. Sure, some of the cartoons still air as reruns, but many former cartoon lovers are racing around cooking, cleaning or working while the kids watch TV alone.
At the Hanna-Barbera exhibit, you can arrest time by viewing an image that represents a fraction of a second in a cartoon.
Besides, maybe there will be a sampling from the cartoon Top Cat, the hippest cat in TV history, another Hanna-Barbera creation that you can't see on TV these days.
Speaking of hip, the prolific William Hanna and Joseph Barbera are still rocking in their 80s. Barbera is working on his third play and directing Dino the dinosaur in ``Stay Out,'' and Hanna is directing ``Hard Luck Duck,'' his first solo outing since 1937.
The traveling show salutes the creators of Huckleberry Hound, Dastardly & Muttley, Magilla Gorilla, Space Ghost, Quick Draw McGraw and Snagglepus.
Hanna-Barbera Cartoons Inc., now owned by Turner Broadcasting Systems Inc., is the world's largest television animation collection with more than 5,000 cartoons.
A stroll through cartoon history, anyone? MEMO: Seaside Art Gallery is located on the beach road in Nags Head. ILLUSTRATION: Barney Rubble, left, and Fred Flintstone will be among
the many Hanna-Barbera catroon characters on display at Seaside Art
Gallery in Nags Head through June 15, where a nationwide original
drawing show from the Hanna-Barbera animation art archives makes a
three-week stop. The art work - on public display for the first time
- highlights the studio's 39-year history. The cells, available for
purchase are all hand-signed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.
Staff photo by
DREW C. WILSON by CNB