Founded July 7th, 1957, Hanna-Barbera has created some of the most classic cartoon characters of all time. This Studio produced timeless classics like ‘The Flintstones’, ‘The Jetsons’, ‘Jonny Quest’, ‘Yogi Bear’, ‘Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!’, ‘Tom and Jerry’, ‘The Smurfs’, and many more. These shows gave us some of the most well-known cartoon characters of all time, but with all these shows which characters are the most iconic? Here are my top three.
3. Jerry (Tom and Jerry)
The ultimate cat and mouse game, ‘Tom and Jerry’ created one of the most iconic cartoons ever. Without speaking a word, the playful and mischievous nature of Jerry is shown as attempts to escape from Tom in each episode. The whole audience is rooting for Jerry to get away and laughing the entire way through it. The funny and outrageous situations Jerry puts Tom through are some of the most creative and entertaining in the history of cartoons.
2. Fred Flintstone (The Flintstones)
Yabba Dabba Doo! Fred Flintstone and his infamous catchphrase have gone above and beyond just your everyday cartoon character. Cereal boxes, vitamins, you name it, Fred Flintstone has been used to endorse it. On the cartoon side of things, “The Flintstones’ saw Fred and his best friend Barney Rubble go through some relatable situations with his humorous antics coming as a bonus. The show was the first prime-time animated series with Fred becoming the frontman and one of the most established characters in not only cartoon history but TV history.
1. Scooby-Doo (Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!)
Perhaps the most recognizable dog in history, Scooby-Doo reigns as the most iconic Hanna-Barbera character ever created. A talking dog that solves mysteries, I mean seriously how can you beat that? Similar to Fred Flintstone, Scooby has surpassed just being a cartoon character and is now a pop culture icon, even getting his own live-action movie. The series has created numerous spin-offs, movies, and countless amounts of merchandise. And it goes beyond Scooby Doo. Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy all have their own catchphrases and specific traits that fans have come to know and love. Even the gang’s van The Mystery Machine has become a pop culture staple. Since his first appearance in 1969, Scooby has been Hanna-Barbera’s face of the franchise, and I don’t see that changing any time soon.
