The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound

The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound is a 1988 animated Western television film produced by Hanna-Barbera for syndication as part of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 series.[4]

The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound
The title card
Genre
Written by
Directed by
Voices of
ComposerSven Libaek[1]
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
ProducerCharles Grosvenor
EditorGil Iverson
Running time95 minutes (95:27)
Production companyHanna-Barbera Productions
Release
Original networkSyndication
Original release
  • May 6, 1988 (1988-05-06)[2]
(KTVU)
  • May 15, 1988 (1988-05-15)[3]
(syndication)

The film parodies various Western films (in a manner akin to Blazing Saddles) and its 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. The setting of the film is 1849 California, during the California Gold Rush.

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

This is the only movie in the Superstars 10 series where Huckleberry is the main character, with Dinky Dalton from Laff-A-Lympics being featured.

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 the outlaw brothers, the Dalton Gang consisting of Dinky, Finky, Pinky, and Stinky. Stinky was apprehended by a hand and sentenced to prison by Judge Tumbleweed Flopner.

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. Stinky breaks out of prison with the Bit-2 News and reporter Magilla Gorilla covering the news. Huck receives a letter from Stinky Dalton. Stinky challenges Huck to a gunfight. None of the townsfolk want to help and flee to Tahiti.

Stinky fails to kill Huck, so he breaks his brothers out of jail disguised as their grandmother. Despite his horse trying to rescue him, 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, or so they think.

After a recap of what has happened, it is shown the rocket crashed at a Native American tribal community. Huck miraculously 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 while also mentioning that his real name is Bob. 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.

The narrator revealed what happened to Huck and the townsfolk after riding off into the full moon:

  • Snagglepuss back working as a theater actor.
  • Quick Draw becomes Two-Bit's new sheriff with Baba Looey as his deputy.
  • Hokey Wolf runs a Used Wagon Lot in Two Bit.
  • Yogi and Boo-Boo return to Jellystone Park.
  • Huck returns to the tribe to marry Desert Flower, starting his farm and raising a family with her.

Voice cast

Cameo appearances

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

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

Home media

On August 1, 1991 (1991-08-01), The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound was released on VHS videocassette by Hanna-Barbera Home Video in the United States.[5] 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.[6]

See also

References
  1. "The Internet Movie Database". IMDb. The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound Cast & Crew
  2. "TV Commercials aired May 6th, 1988". YouTube. January 13, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  3. "The Kokomo Tribune from Kokomo, Indiana on May 15, 1988 · Page 19". 15 May 1988.
  4. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 268. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  5. Amazon. ASIN 6301251997. The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound VHS Release
  6. "The Huckleberry Hound Show DVD news: Announcement for the Huckleberry Hound Show - the Good, the Bad and Huckleberry Hound | TVShowsOnDVD.com". Archived from the original on 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
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