HBO Max has expressed a vote of confidence in the subversive (and hilarious) Hanna-Barbera revival series Jellystone!. The cartoon features modernized and rebooted versions of classic HB characters dwelling in and destroying the town of Jellystone. The first season consisted of 11 episodes. The second season, which will be released on March 17, is comprised of 19 episodes. Now, HBO Max has announced that Jellystone! is renewed for a whopping 40 additional episodes!
After streaming on HBO Max, episodes of Jellystone! have aired on Cartoon Network. This will continue.
Hey Boo Boo!
The majority of episodes are composed of two shorts, except for the last one in Season 1. Jellystone! pays tribute to classic HB cartoons that most of us grew up with in one form or another, but is updated with sharp writing and social commentary. Many characters who were male in past iterations are gender-swapped as female, including Augie Doggy and Jabber Jaw. The voice cast is also diverse with actors of different races lending their pipes. For the first time, Shazzan the genie and Hadji from Jonny Quest are voiced by someone from the Middle East, Fajer Al-Kaisi, who was born in Iraq.
C.H. Greenblatt developed Jellystone!. He previously worked on SpongeBob SquarePants, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, and Evil Con Carne, before creating Chowder, and Harvey Beaks. Greenblatt also provides the voices for several characters including the eternal punching bag Boo Boo, Doggie Daddy, Peter Potamus, Grape Ape, and more.
The show shifts focus to different characters. In Jellystone!, Yogi (Jeff Bergman) and Cindy Bear (Grace Helbig) are doctors and Boo Boo is a nurse. Ranger Jones (Jeff Bergman) serves as the hospital administrator. The show also showcases Augie Doggy (Georgie Kidder) and Doggy Daddy, and Top Cat (Thomas Lennon) and his gang.
Diversity In Jellystone
In addition to employing a racially diverse voice cast, Jellystone! has presented several LGBTQIA characters. Obviously, there’s Snagglepuss (Dana Snyder), but the show has also depicted Jonny Quest and Hadji as a married couple and revealed that Magilla Gorilla (Paul F. Thompkins) was in a long-term relationship with Mr. Peebles, the pet store owner on the original Magilla Gorilla Show. Shazzan is also shown to be queer. In one episode, he may have hooked up, off-camera, with Mildew Wolf. (Okay, so that’s not only gay but Beastiality but… I’m willing to chalk this up to “It’s a cartoon.”)
Jellystone! is one of the sharpest cartoons to come along in a long while. I am eager to see more. Have you checked it out? If so, what do you think? Do you appreciate this modern deconstruction of classic cartoons?
