Misfit Robot Daydream: Hanna Barbera Horror

Hanna Barbera's adventure, fantasy, sci-fi, and superhero cartoons often explored horror movie subjects, although in a generally safe, kid-friendly way. Let's enjoy a few highlights for Halloween!

Frankenstein Jr. - The Shocking Electrical Monster

"Frankenstein Jr. in: The Shocking Electrical Monster"

Frankenstein Jr. - The Shocking Electrical Monster
Orignal airdate: September 10, 1966

A vampiric mad scientist named Dr. Shock turns his lab assistant Igor into a giant electrical monster. The monster then goes on a Godzilla-like rampage through the ocean and city before kid scientist Buzz Conroy and his giant robot Frankenstein Jr. save the day. This has some great looking horror movie visuals with the mad scientist, his lab, and the monster. The scariest part however is the fact that Buzz's Dad lets him ride around on the back of a flying robot. Think about it... would you let a child ride on top of a moving car? Or a bus? Or a train? Well this is actually more like riding on top of a flying plane, and with no seat-belts, or straps, or anything. Face it, that kid would be DEAD.

Dr. Shock and The Shocking Electrical Monster Plot Their Wave of Violence

UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED (Part 1)

More exciting screencaps from this episode await you below!

Space Ghost - Creature King

"Space Ghost in: Creature King"

Space Ghost - Creature King
Orignal airdate: September 24, 1966

This one has another crazy looking mad scientist, named "Creature King." Space Ghost's sidekicks Jan, Jace, and Blip crash land on a planet, and are soon attacked by a giant red SPACE APE. They escape the mad monkey, but then find themselves captured by SPACE BATS! They then find themselves CHAINED UP IN THE DUNGEON of Creature King, an alien mad scientist with a menagerie of weird alien monsters.

A Menagerie of Weird Alien Monsters.

Teenage Sidekicks in Bondage

More exciting screencaps from this episode await you below!

Dino Boy in the Lost Valley - The Vampire Men

"Dino Boy in the Lost Valley in: The Vampire Men"

Dino Boy in the Lost Valley - The Vampire Men
Orignal airdate: December 3, 1966

Dino Boy (a kid trapped in a "Land of the Lost" style valley where cavemen, dinosaurs, and weird monsters exist) decides to build a homemade kite and then strap himself to it an fly around for fun. Naturally he crashes in to a mountain, because of course he does. Safety tip: DO NOT STRAP YOURSELF TO A KITE AND FLY AROUND LIKE AN IDIOT. However, the story does not end with him dying on the mountain with broken bones and a cracked skull. Because the mountain is full of caves populated with VAMPIRE MEN. Half-men, half-bats! So they take them to their Vampire King to kill him and eat him, I guess. But then Dino Boy's caveman buddy Ugh shows up and "bats" the bat-people with his big wood club.

Vampire Men Out for Blood!

UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED (Part 2)

More exciting screencaps from this episode await you below!

Space Ghost - The Haunted Space Station

"Space Ghost in: The Haunted Space Station"

Space Ghost - The Haunted Space Station
Orignal airdate: September 26, 1981

Now we jump forward from the 1960s to the 1980s for the relaunched version of Space Ghost. Space Ghost and his crew get a distress call from a space station and go to investigate. The space station is shaped like a GIANT SPIDER WEB! Seriously, if you design your space station to look like a spider-web, you're pretty much begging for trouble, like being attacked by a GIANT SPACE SPIDER, or something. But in this case, the station has been attacked by a SPACE VAMPIRE, who has turned the crew of the station into ASTRO ZOMBIES! And if that sounds familiar, it's because I reviewed and episode of "Buck Rogers" earlier this month called "Space Vampire," that basically had the same plot.

Grizzled Face of an Astro Zombie

These people have only been Astro Zombies for ONE day, yet they are already dressed in rags! Man, Zombies are TOUGH on clothes.

More exciting screencaps from this episode await you below!

The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians - The Fear

The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians - The Fear
Orignal airdate: October 2, 1985

The Scarecrow stumbles upon Batman's greatest fear when he tries to flee down Crime Alley, the MURDER site of Bruce Wayne's parents. Batman usually uses his iron will to resist Scarecrow's Fear Rays, but in Crime Alley he breaks down in TERROR. This was the first time the murder of the Waynes was shown outside of the comic books, and it is remarkably intense and mature for an episode of The Super Friends. The episode is filled with rain, lightning, SKULLS, and shadows. It's probably the best episode of the Super Friends ever, and it was written by Alan Burnett who would later go on to produce Batman: The Animated Series, and you can definitely see the roots of that series start to develop here.

The walls close in on Wonder Woman, as seen through the mouth of a skull!


UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED (Part 3) Oh, man, now even Batman and Robin are getting in on the act, "Ghost Riding" on top of Wonder Woman's Invisible Jet! At least Robin is holding on for dear life! Batman is standing upright, not holding on to anything! Dudes, in real life, you would both be DEAD. Seriously, you two are supposed to be role models to little kids for Pete's sake! FOR SHAME.