Hanna-Barbera Productions was a cartoon company that began with a pair of MGM Studio Staff, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. The two created Tom and Jerry, and then went into business for themselves with their own company in 1957. Between then and shutting its doors in 2001, the company created 175 various cartoon shows and serials.

The properties of Hanna-Barbera include some of the best-known cartoon characters of all time, and their properties are still used by Warner Bros today. Choosing the best among them is a difficult task, but these shows are among the company's highlights.

Updated October 7, 2023, by C.M Edwards: The legacy of animation today was built off of the artists and cartoons of yesterday. The classics paved the way for Pixar, Dreamworks, and other studios for the characters that fans all around the world love. In the beginning, there were very few brands that created memorable characters that have stood the test of time and curated a legacy. One of those brands was Hanna-Barbera, who is responsible for some of the most beloved cartoon characters in history who are benchmarks for the cartoons of today. Hanna-Barbera created classic cartoons that filled the homes of thousands with laughter for over fifty years. Here are more of the best cartoons created by Hanna-Barbera.

14 Magilla Gorilla

magilla gorilla show

Magilla is the lovable hunk who spends his days in a pet shop, enjoying the easy life snacking on bananas. Created in the early sixties, Magilla Gorilla ran for three years and 31 episodes.

Related
14 Awesome '70s Cartoons That Have Been Forgotten To Time
Not all cartoons withstand the test of time, even if they're great. Check out these lost gems from the 1970s.

As an intelligent ape, capable of speech, Magilla always found himself getting into trouble or being taken advantage of by thieves who wanted to use him for his strength. However, each episode ended with him being returned to the reluctant pet shop owner due to his abrasive attitude.

13 Jabberjaw

jabberjaw cartoon

Jabberjaw saw Saturday morning cartoon success thanks to the likes of Josie and the Pussycats, as another group of musically inclined rag-tag teenagers who go on wacky adventurers. However, this group's mascot was a sixteen-foot shark who could speak and play the drums.

Jabberjaw aired for three years and went on to crossover with a few other Hanna-Barbera cartoons. Jabberjaw became a hit for its musical endings that would lead the crew on a chase scene to one of their original songs.

12 The Huckleberry Hound Show

hucklebery hound show

Huckleberry Hound is one of the most renowned characters created by Hanna-Barbera. The show even won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement In The Field Of Children's Programming.

Related
10 Best Saturday Morning Cartoons That Aired On ABC
ABC aired plenty of now-iconic cartoons. Fans loved to wake up early on Saturdays to watch these animated shows.

The show followed Huckleberry, a blue hound-dog who would go on misadventures around the country similar to a hobo or drifter. Huckleberry would take every mishap with an easygoing smile and a Tennessee accent, and continue on down the road without a care in the world.

11 Space Ghost

space ghost show

Space Ghost was one of the few superhero animated shows that came from Hanna-Babera. The show as created in the sixties and went for only one season, but developed a cult following over the years.

The show's titular character was an intergalactic super being who explored the universe thwarting evil using his powers that were fueled by sunlight, similar to Superman from DC Comics. Not too long ago, Space Ghost even crossed over with one of DC Comic's strongest characters, the Green Lantern.

10 Josie And The Pussycats

Josie And The Pussycats

While they are currently appearing on Riverdale in a different form, the original screen adaption of this Archie Comics trio was a Hanna-Barbera show in the 1970s. Josie, Melody, and Valerie solved mysteries, had to deal with the antics of their manager’s cruel twin sister, and played great songs at their rock shows.

Not only did they have their own show, but there was a follow-up series set in space to boot. The trio have remained a great property for Hanna-Barbera and others over the years and even had a film that came out in 2001.

9 Hong Kong Phooey

Hong Kong Phooey

There is a certain majesty to a dog janitor that learns kung-fu through a mail order catalog. Hong Kong Phooey would constantly try to take down criminals and usually manage it, through one accident or another, as well as through the help of his friends.

This show is well-remembered today, even if it has had fewer revivals than many of the top Hanna-Barbera productions since the initial run. But this take on the 1970s martial arts movies of the time was a joyous watch and remains excellent viewing to this day.

8 Top Cat

Top Cat In His Original 1961 Form

The adventures of Top Cat and the many other cats of Hoagy’s Alley was an early Hanna-Barbera production. The show took off and remains well-known today, through comic book runs and even multiple films released in the last ten years.

Related
9 Awesome '90s Cartoons That Have Been Forgotten To Time
Despite the popularity of many 90s cartoons, some brilliant ones fly under the radar nowadays. Here are some shows that deserve more recognition.

While Top Cat had both the smugness of Bugs Bunny in his trickster attitude and a merry band of friends around, it was his foil in Officer Charlie Dibble that created the formula for the show to run so successfully. Together, Top Cat and Dibble created magic weekly as Top Cat continued attempting to become a member of the upper class through his antics.

7 The Jetsons

The Jetson Family

This futuristic family is still revered and remembered in pop culture, and likely will be forever. It would be a much better-regarded property if it had been an original idea, but The Flintstones formula was taken and reused for a future family instead of one set in the far past.

Mocking 1960s life through their future antics and producing many memorable moments in their run, the Jetsons have again had less revival experience than many of their counterpart Hanna-Barbera productions. Nevertheless, the name is well-remembered in the history of pop culture.

6 Yogi Bear

Yogi Bear And Boo Boo

Yogi Bear is another early breakout for Hanna-Barbera, appearing first in 1958 in The Yogi Bear Show alongside his sidekick Boo Boo. A more original form of Top Cat in some ways, Yogi Bear was a charismatic animal lead that constantly frustrated his human foil, in the form of Ranger Smith.

Related
Classic Scooby-Doo Villains That Would Be Great for MultiVersus
MultiVersus has a pretty packed roster already, but there's always room for more, and some classic Scooby-Doo villains would be perfect additions.

Yogi was so immediately popular that he became the face of Hanna-Barbera for years, and many aspects of his show are still ingrained in pop culture to this day. Alongside other fan-favorite characters like Snagglepuss and Yakky Doodle, Yogi Bear has endured in popularity as one of the very best Hanna-Barbera properties. He's had many cartoon follow-ups, as well as a film revival in 2010.

5 Tom & Jerry

A Tom And Jerry Poster

While Tom & Jerry isn’t technically a Hanna-Barbera cartoon, it was created by the two men behind the company and is the show that initially brought them together. It will go down in history as a Hanna-Barbera production, and had enduring popularity that even resulted in a live-action film in 2021.

The antics of a cartoon cat trying to finally capture a cartoon mouse are classic, elegant, and wonderful fun even to watch today. Alongside notable names like the Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry is a piece of cartoon history that deserves a revered place.

4 The Flintstones

The Flintstone And Rubble Families

Whether The Flintstones is the greatest family in cartoon history is up for debate. But they are the greatest created by Hanna-Barbera in one of their favorite formulaic styles. The stone-age family is still remembered for many reasons as an iconic piece of pop culture.

The original show itself usually involved Fred Flintstone getting into some scheme or misadventure, and pulling his best friend Barney Rubble along for the ride. The episodic mishaps and hijinks were given a classic spin with the prehistoric setting, and the formula worked well for many more cartoons and live-action shows in the future.

3 Super Friends

The Super Friends Gathered Together

The Justice League is always a recognizable face in the landscape of pop culture. But long before Zack Snyder, Joss Whedon, or any of the other current DCEU heads had their say, there were the Super Friends. The campy, 1970s style of this cartoon defined the Justice League and their adversaries the Legion of Doom for years to come.

Related
18 Most Iconic Villains From Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! featured some memorable villains throughout its run. These stand as the series' most iconic.

It took Jason Momoa to finally help fix the face of Aquaman after what this cartoon did to him. The show effortlessly brough characters of the 1960s comic books to life at a time when Superman and Batman couldn’t be more popular. It was a roaring success and an excellently fun cartoon.

2 Wacky Races

Dick Dastardly And Muttley In Wacky Races

It may not be one of the best-known properties ever created by Hanna-Barbera, but it is one of the best as it holds up today. Wacky Races featured Dick-Dastardly and his pal Muttley trying to sabotage various racers competing each week for the title of World’s Wackiest Racer. From the intensely smart writing style and asides that Dick would have to the ludicrous ways he would try to cheat his way to a victory, Wacky Races is sheer genius.

The show managed to spin off other shows like “Dastardly and Muttley In Their Flying Machines” and “The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop.” But never was there better writing and comedy in a Hanna-Barbera cartoon than in Wacky Races.

1 Scooby-Doo

The Mystery Gang In Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!

But the best creation of Hanna-Barbera productions, one which so eternally endures to this day that there are still multiple films and shows running every year, is Scooby-Doo. The Mystery Gang including their faithful, somewhat talking dog, are at the pinnacle of pop culture reverence.

Solving mysteries, unmasking ghoulish figures to reveal one of the two or three people it could possibly be that week, from the fun characters to the montages of Scooby and Shaggy running from creatures to classic 70s tunes, the Scooby-Doo shows were always ingenious.

More:Best Scooby-Doo Crossovers