the classic H-B character boxes (at least 1965 to 1986)

[BoscoGoldBear]

Were "Atom Ant" and "Secret Squirrel" the first Hanna-Barbera series to feature the usually rectangular character boxes, or were there other series before then (i.e. Magilla Gorilla, Peter Potamus) which featured the boxes before the start of the show? BTW, the "Atom Ant" box was a circle, while the "Scooby-Doo" box was a square, plus the oval-shaped "Wacky Races" character box featured nothing but the show's title there (no room for all those characters).

 

[azumanga]

Are you talking about the miniature pictures of the characters in the closing credits, at the final Hanna-Barbera copyright credit? If so, I wonder what its purpose was (no other studio has done that)?

 

[BoscoGoldBear]

Generally, yes - the "at the end of an H-B cartoon/final copyright" part. There were a few H-B toons with the boxes and copyrights at the start of the show: Atom Ant, Secret Squirrel (those two with the IATSE and RCA logos which were placed at the end of most H-B series from 1966 on), The Herculoids, Shazzan!, Birdman, Moby Dick and the Mighty Mightor, and Samson and Goliath (the last 5 all in 1967). And no, I'm not sure of the purpose (outside of showing their copyright) - not even Ruby and Spears did that with Thundarr or any of their other toons when they were co-owned with H-B from 1981 on - although I am puzzled as to why no union or sound logos at the end of the now classic prime time series (I mean the Flintstones, Jetsons, TC and JQ; Huck Finn had union, copyright date, THE box - the three live-action kids presumably drawn by Alex Toth - and sound).