Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har: The Complete Series (1962-1963) [Warner Archive Blu-ray Review]
Opening the first episode, I found myself confronted by one of animation’s strangest and most compelling odd couples. Lippy the Lion bounds across the screen in his tattered top hat and vest, his enormous smile radiating infectious optimism as he announces their latest get-rich-quick scheme. Beside him shuffles Hardy Har Har, a hyena whose very name mocks his complete inability to experience joy. Where Lippy sees opportunity, Hardy sees disaster. Where Lippy envisions fortune, Hardy anticipates failure. “Oh me, oh my, oh dear,” Hardy moans, his hangdog expression never wavering even as Lippy drags him into another misadventure that will, inevitably, leave Hardy bearing the brunt of whatever catastrophe unfolds.
Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har arrives on Blu-ray from Warner Archive on December 16, 2025, presenting all 52 episodes of this 1962-1963 animated series with brand new 1080p HD masters created from 4K scans of the best available preservation elements. For fans of classic Hanna-Barbera animation, this release represents an opportunity to experience a lesser-known gem from the studio’s golden age in the best quality it has ever looked on home video.
And for those who have never encountered this particular pairing of optimist and pessimist, lion and hyena, schemer and worrier, the Blu-ray offers an introduction to a series that distills something essential about the human condition into five-minute bursts of animated comedy.
Table of Contents
The Sunny Side and the Shadow: Understanding the Central Dynamic
The genius of Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har lies in its central inversion of expectations. Lions are apex predators, symbols of royalty and power. Hyenas, in popular imagination, are laughing scavengers, cackling at the misfortunes of others. Lippy and Hardy flip these associations entirely. The lion is a cheerful, optimistic dreamer perpetually convinced that the next scheme will finally pay off. The hyena, despite his name suggesting laughter, never so much as cracks a smile. He is a study in existential dread, anticipating catastrophe with every breath and usually proved correct in his pessimism.
Daws Butler voices Lippy using an impression of Joe E. Brown, the 1930s film comedian famous for his enormous elastic mouth and sunny disposition. Brown, who starred in Warner Bros. comedies like Elmer, the Great (1933) and delivered the immortal final line of Some Like It Hot (1959), was known for his physically expressive comedy and infectious good nature. Butler captures Brown’s vocal cadence and optimistic energy, making Lippy a recognizable type: the American hustler convinced that fortune awaits just around the corner.
Mel Blanc, the legendary voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and virtually every major Looney Tunes character, voices Hardy with a character he had developed years earlier for radio. On The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Blanc played the Happy Postman, a character whose name proved deeply ironic given his perpetually gloomy demeanor. Blanc recycled this voice, personality, and even specific expressions for Hardy Har Har, creating a character whose pessimism runs so deep that, as one episode suggests, any expression of joy or happiness causes him physical pain.
Together, they form a comedy team that operates on tension rather than harmony. Where Laurel and Hardy or Abbott and Costello found humor in complementary personalities working toward common goals, Lippy and Hardy derive their comedy from fundamental incompatibility. Lippy drags Hardy into schemes Hardy knows will fail, and Hardy’s pessimism proves justified while Lippy remains somehow convinced that next time will be different.
The Hanna-Barbera Factory: Context for Creation
Understanding Lippy and Hardy requires understanding the context of their creation. By 1962, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera had established their studio as the dominant force in television animation. Their success story reads like the fulfillment of the American dream: former MGM animation veterans who watched their theatrical animation unit close in 1957, only to reinvent themselves as television pioneers.
The duo had spent over two decades at MGM, creating and refining the Tom and Jerry series that would win seven Academy Awards and define theatrical animation comedy for a generation. When MGM shuttered their animation department as television began drawing audiences away from movie theaters, Hanna and Barbera found themselves at a crossroads. Rather than seeking employment at other studios, they founded their own company, initially with film producer George Sidney as a partner.
The Ruff and Reddy Show (1957) had proven that animation could work on television if production costs were controlled through limited animation techniques. The show’s success validated their gamble, demonstrating that audiences would accept simplified animation if the characters and stories proved engaging. The Huckleberry Hound Show (1958) built on this success, becoming a genuine phenomenon. That series spawned characters like Yogi Bear who proved popular enough to headline their own series, and earned Hanna-Barbera an Emmy Award, the first ever won by an animated series.
The Flintstones (1960) represented their most ambitious venture, crashing prime time and becoming the first animated series to air in evening hours since the early days of television. Joseph Barbera spent eight weeks pitching the concept to networks, acting out scenes from storyboards in hotel rooms across the country. ABC finally took the gamble, and the show proved animation could attract adult audiences. Jackie Gleason reportedly considered suing over the show’s obvious debt to The Honeymooners but decided against becoming known as “the man who yanked Fred Flintstone off the air.”
Top Cat and The Jetsons followed, establishing Hanna-Barbera as prime time players. But the studio also continued serving the children’s market that had launched their television success. By 1962, they were producing an astonishing volume of content across multiple series and time slots.
By 1962, Hanna-Barbera was producing an astonishing volume of content. The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series, the syndicated package containing Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har along with Wally Gator and Touché Turtle and Dum Dum, represented the studio’s first foray into syndication without a sponsor’s backing. Previous shows had been sponsored directly by companies like Kellogg’s, which provided financial stability but limited distribution options. The New Cartoon Series aimed at local stations that could purchase episodes outright and schedule them as needed.
Planning for the syndication package began as early as October 1960, when it was originally conceived as just two series with 104 episodes total: Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har, and a show called Hairbrain Hare and Dum Dum. Hairbrain later evolved into Touché Turtle (and possibly influenced the later Ricochet Rabbit), while Wally Gator was added to the lineup, expanding the package to 156 episodes across three series. Contrary to popular belief, the package was never referred to as “The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series” on air; that name comes from industry catalogs listing programs available in syndication, published by the Broadcasting Information Bureau.
This syndication model created both opportunities and constraints. Without a network time slot, episodes could air whenever local stations chose, reaching audiences at various times across the country. The earliest documented airing occurred on September 3, 1962, on KCOP-TV in Los Angeles. But the model also meant tighter budgets, which helps explain why these cartoons were shot on 16mm film rather than the 35mm used for the studio’s higher-profile productions.
The package format also influenced episode structure. Each half-hour contained one segment from each of the three series, with no bridging animation or host segments. This modular approach allowed stations maximum flexibility in scheduling, but it also meant each series had to stand entirely on its own merits without the support of a framing device.
The Voice Behind the Smile: Daws Butler’s Artistry
Daws Butler occupies a position in voice acting history comparable to Mel Blanc, though his name remains less recognized by general audiences. Born in Toledo, Ohio in 1916, Butler developed his talent for voices through radio work, including a pivotal collaboration with comedian Stan Freberg that produced the first comedy record to sell over a million copies.
When Hanna-Barbera formed in 1957, Butler and his frequent collaborator Don Messick became the studio’s primary voice actors. Butler’s range proved extraordinary. For Hanna-Barbera alone, he originated Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss, Quick Draw McGraw, Baba Looey, Augie Doggie, Wally Gator, Elroy Jetson, Peter Potamus, the Funky Phantom, Hair Bear, and dozens of others. He also voiced Cap’n Crunch for Quaker Oats commercials for over two decades.
What distinguished Butler was his method. He believed that voice acting required the same physical commitment as stage acting, insisting that facial expression and body movement were essential to producing believable character voices. Students who studied at his famous voice acting workshop, including Nancy Cartwright (the voice of Bart Simpson), observed Butler transforming physically as he voiced different characters, his entire body becoming the animated figure he was portraying.
For Lippy, Butler drew on Joe E. Brown’s wide-mouthed enthusiasm and verbal cadence. Brown’s films from the 1930s showcased a comedian whose physical expressiveness translated primarily through his face, particularly his enormous mouth capable of displaying extremes of emotion. Born in 1891 in Holgate, Ohio, Brown had started as a circus tumbler at age ten, became a professional baseball player, and eventually transformed himself into one of Hollywood’s biggest comedy stars through sheer physical expressiveness.
Brown’s comedy depended on his willingness to make himself look foolish, to commit completely to physical and vocal extremes. His 1930s films for Warner Bros., including Elmer, the Great and Alibi Ike (both baseball comedies that capitalized on his genuine athletic ability), made him one of the top ten box office draws of 1933 and 1936. Even Disney recognized Brown’s iconic status, caricaturing him in cartoons like Mickey’s Gala Premiere (1933) with his mouth opening impossibly wide during laughter.
Butler captured Brown’s vocal quality while also channeling the optimistic American hustler archetype, creating a character who genuinely believes each new scheme will succeed despite all evidence to the contrary. The voice has an almost desperate cheerfulness, pushing forward through any obstacle with an optimism that borders on delusion.
Butler would use essentially the same voice later for Peter Potamus in the 1964-1966 series, proving how effectively he had captured a recognizable type that could be applied to multiple characters. This recycling of voices across characters was standard practice in the era, allowing voice actors to develop and refine characterizations that could serve multiple productions.
The Man of a Thousand Voices: Mel Blanc’s Contribution
Mel Blanc requires less introduction, though his work on Hardy Har Har deserves recognition beyond the character’s relative obscurity. Born in San Francisco in 1908, Blanc became arguably the most famous voice actor in history through his decades of work for Warner Bros. cartoons, where he originated voices for Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety, Sylvester, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, and dozens of others.
Blanc’s voice work extended far beyond Looney Tunes. His radio career included appearances on The Jack Benny Program, Abbott and Costello, and The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, where he developed the gloomy postman character that would later become Hardy Har Har. A doctor who examined Blanc’s throat reportedly found unusually thick, powerful vocal cords comparable to those of opera singer Enrico Caruso, explaining his extraordinary range.
For Hardy, Blanc recycled his Burns and Allen postman completely, including the voice, pessimistic personality, and characteristic expressions like “Oh me, oh my, oh dear.” This recycling was not unusual in animation of the era. Voice actors developed characters that could be applied across multiple productions, and producers valued consistency over originality when a proven voice fit a new character.
The brilliance of Hardy lies in the fundamental absurdity of a hyena who cannot laugh. Hyenas are famous for their vocalizations, which humans have interpreted as laughter for centuries. By making Hardy a depressive who never laughs despite his species’ association with laughter and his name’s onomatopoeic suggestion of hilarity, the creators built irony into the character’s very existence.
Blanc brings genuine pathos to Hardy’s pessimism. This is not a character who complains for comic effect; Hardy genuinely suffers from what modern audiences might recognize as major depressive disorder. His gloom is existential, his anticipation of disaster philosophical. He knows things will go wrong because things always go wrong, and the universe’s consistent confirmation of his pessimism provides no comfort whatsoever.
Schemes and Dreams: The Narrative Formula
Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har follows a remarkably consistent formula across its 52 episodes. Lippy conceives a scheme to make money or achieve some advantage. Hardy expresses skepticism and dread. Lippy convinces Hardy to participate. The scheme unfolds, encountering various complications. Disaster ensues, with Hardy typically suffering the worst consequences. Lippy remains optimistic about the next opportunity.
This formula might seem limiting, and in some sense it is. The series offers little character development, no ongoing storylines, and predictable outcomes. But within this formula, the creative team found substantial variation. Episodes take the duo to the Wild West, deserted islands, country clubs, racetracks, circuses, and urban settings throughout the country. The schemes range from treasure hunting to con artistry to legitimate employment that somehow goes wrong.
Several episodes demonstrate the formula’s flexibility while maintaining its essential structure. “Map Sap” inverts expectations by having Lippy and Hardy attempt to get themselves arrested because a treasure map shows fortune buried on jail property. For once, bad luck eludes them as they fail to get pinched no matter what they try. “Together Mess” chains the duo together with handcuffs, forcing their incompatible personalities into even closer proximity as they attempt to free themselves. “Witch Crafty” introduces a witch who mistakes Hardy for a prince she has transformed into a hyena, leading to complications involving multiple characters being transformed into Hardy-lookalikes.
The series maintains an interesting tension with its opening sequence, which shows Lippy and Hardy in a jungle setting appropriate to their species. Yet virtually all episodes take place in human-dominated environments, treating the characters as integrated into human society despite their animal forms. This casual anthropomorphism characterized much Hanna-Barbera output of the era, from Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park to Top Cat’s New York alleys.
Limited Animation and Its Discontents
Understanding Lippy and Hardy requires confronting the economic realities that shaped their creation. Hanna-Barbera pioneered limited animation techniques that made television production economically viable, but these techniques involved substantial compromises compared to theatrical animation.
Theatrical shorts from studios like Disney, Warner Bros., and MGM could afford thousands of individual drawings per seven-minute cartoon. Television budgets demanded radical reduction. Hanna-Barbera developed techniques that minimized movement while maintaining the illusion of animation. Characters wore collars and accessories that allowed animators to keep bodies static while only redrawing heads during dialogue. Cycles of movement could be reused across multiple episodes. Backgrounds remained static while characters moved across them.
These limitations are visible throughout Lippy and Hardy. Movement is often minimal. Characters frequently stand still while talking. Action sequences rely heavily on reused animation cycles. The richness of classic theatrical animation gives way to efficiency and economy.
Yet these limitations also forced creative solutions. Unable to rely on elaborate physical comedy, the series emphasizes voice performance and verbal humor. Butler and Blanc carry episodes through the expressiveness of their voices rather than elaborate animated sequences. The writing compensates for visual limitations with clever dialogue and situational comedy.
Watching the series today requires adjusting expectations. Viewers accustomed to modern animation’s fluidity may find the limited movement jarring initially. But those who embrace the era’s conventions discover genuine wit and charm beneath the economic constraints.
The Warner Archive Presentation
Warner Archive has built a strong reputation for preserving classic animation, and their Blu-ray release of Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har demonstrates their continued commitment to the Hanna-Barbera library. The 2025 release presents all 52 episodes across two BD-50 discs, with brand new 1080p HD masters created from 4K scans of the best available preservation elements.
The video presentation arrives in the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, presented with side mattes for 16×9 displays. Colors appear vibrant without excessive digital manipulation, and the transfer captures the hand-painted cel animation with appropriate clarity. Film grain is present and appropriately rendered, giving the image an organic quality that respects the production’s origins.
The audio arrives in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono, presenting the original sound mix in lossless quality. Dialogue comes through clearly, with Butler and Blanc’s performances benefiting from the enhanced clarity of modern encoding. The series’ simple musical accompaniment and sound effects are adequately reproduced, though the mono presentation naturally limits the soundstage.
English SDH subtitles are included, ensuring accessibility for hearing-impaired viewers. The total running time of 267 minutes (approximately four and a half hours) represents the complete series, with no episodes missing or truncated.
The Warner Archive has been transparent about the source material limitations for certain Hanna-Barbera productions. Unlike their 35mm theatrical releases, which often survive in excellent condition, 16mm television productions sometimes exist only in degraded elements. The announcement describes these as transfers from “best preservation elements,” acknowledging that the source material may not match the pristine condition of higher-budget productions from the same era.
Viewers should expect presentation quality consistent with the production’s origins rather than the revelation offered by some Warner Archive animation releases. The transfer represents the best the material can currently look, which for productions shot on 16mm over sixty years ago remains impressive while not achieving the pristine clarity of better-preserved productions.
Home Video Availability and Purchasing Information
Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray
Warner Archive releases Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har: The Complete Series on Blu-ray on December 16, 2025. The two-disc set presents all 52 episodes in their entirety.
Technical Specifications
Video: 1080p HD from 4K scans of best preservation elements Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (16×9 with side mattes) Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono Subtitles: English SDH Running Time: 267 minutes (52 episodes) Discs: 2 BD-50
Purchasing Options
The Warner Archive Blu-ray of Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har: The Complete Series is available through multiple retailers:
Online Retailers:
- Amazon stocks Warner Archive releases
- Deep Discount DVD offers competitive pricing
- MovieZyng specializes in Warner Archive titles
- DiabolikDVD carries the Warner Archive catalog
Previous Releases
Warner Archive previously released Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har: The Complete Series on DVD on July 9, 2019. That release marked the first time the complete series was available on home video. The new Blu-ray represents a significant upgrade in video quality while maintaining the same episode content.
The Syndication Legacy
Lippy and Hardy’s path through television history illustrates the complex afterlife of syndicated animation. After the initial 1962-1963 run, the characters dispersed across various programming blocks as rights changed hands and broadcast strategies evolved.
Screen Gems initially distributed The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series as part of Columbia Pictures’ television division. When Taft Broadcasting purchased Hanna-Barbera in 1966, distribution shifted to Taft-HB Program Sales and later to Worldvision Enterprises. The components of the original package were eventually split, with Wally Gator airing as a segment on Magilla Gorilla and Friends on USA Network’s Cartoon Express from 1987 through 1991, while Lippy and Hardy joined other cartoons on The Family Channel.
Turner Entertainment’s acquisition of the Hanna-Barbera library, later absorbed into Warner Bros., consolidated control over these properties. Cartoon Network, launched in 1992 partially to monetize the extensive Hanna-Barbera back catalog, provided new venues for classic animation. As of February 2025, all three segments from The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series air as part of “House of Hanna-Barbera,” a programming block on MeTV Toons, presented in new HD transfers.
Lippy and Hardy also appeared in various Hanna-Barbera crossover productions over the years, including Yogi’s Ark Lark (1972) and Yogi’s Gang (1973). More recently, reimagined versions appeared in Jellystone!, the HBO Max series that reimagines Hanna-Barbera characters as residents of a small town. In that series, Lippy is voiced by Jeff Bergman with a Yiddish accent, while Hardy is reimagined as female, elderly, and married to Lippy, voiced by Jenny Lorenzo with a Latina accent.
Who This Release Serves
Classic Hanna-Barbera enthusiasts represent the core audience. If you grew up watching Hanna-Barbera syndication packages, caught these shorts on Cartoon Network, or simply appreciate the studio’s distinctive approach to television animation, Lippy and Hardy offers genuine historical and entertainment value. The Warner Archive presentation allows proper evaluation of a series often seen only in degraded syndication prints.
Animation historians will find the series valuable for understanding Hanna-Barbera’s production practices during their peak output period. The limited animation techniques, voice acting approaches, and narrative formulas that defined 1960s television animation are all present and visible.
Voice acting enthusiasts get to hear Daws Butler and Mel Blanc in lesser-known roles that demonstrate their range and professionalism. Butler’s Joe E. Brown impression and Blanc’s recycled postman character showcase how voice actors of the era developed and reused character voices across productions.
Completists pursuing comprehensive Hanna-Barbera collections will want this alongside the simultaneously released Wally Gator Blu-ray and the previously released Touché Turtle Blu-ray, which together comprise The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series in its entirety on high-definition home video.
Those seeking sophisticated animation should approach with calibrated expectations. This is limited television animation from 1962, produced on a budget that mandated economy over artistry. The pleasures here are primarily verbal and conceptual rather than visual.
Content note: The series reflects its era’s animation standards and contains no content that would concern most family audiences. The comedy is gentle and nonviolent by contemporary standards, though Hardy’s perpetual depression might prompt questions from very young viewers about why the hyena is always sad.
Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har: The Complete Series | 1962-1963 | USA | Created by William Hanna, Joseph Barbera Runtime: 267 minutes (52 episodes) | Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Distributor: Warner Archive Collection | Release Date: December 16, 2025 Format: Blu-ray (2 BD-50 discs) Video: 1080p HD from 4K scans of best preservation elements Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono Subtitles: English SDH
Final Verdict: Oh Dear, Oh My, What a Delight
Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har occupies a curious position in animation history. It lacks the iconic status of Yogi Bear or the cultural penetration of The Flintstones. Its limited animation techniques mark it unmistakably as budget-conscious television production rather than theatrical craftsmanship. Its formula repeats across 52 episodes without significant evolution or development.
And yet the series works, largely through the brilliance of its central concept and the skill of its voice performers. The pairing of optimist and pessimist, dreamer and realist, creates comedy through fundamental incompatibility rather than complementary teamwork. Lippy genuinely believes each scheme will succeed, and his enthusiasm is infectious. Hardy genuinely anticipates disaster, and his gloom proves consistently justified. Neither character learns or grows, but their static relationship allows the comedy to reset perfectly for each new adventure.
Daws Butler and Mel Blanc bring genuine craft to roles that lesser performers might have treated as disposable. Butler’s Lippy vibrates with the same sunny energy that made Joe E. Brown a star, translated into animated form without losing its essential warmth. Blanc’s Hardy channels real melancholy beneath the comedy, creating a character whose pessimism feels existential rather than merely comic.
Warner Archive has done right by the material with their Blu-ray presentation. The 4K-sourced transfers represent the best the series has ever looked, acknowledging source limitations while delivering meaningful improvements over previous home video releases and broadcast presentations. For collectors pursuing comprehensive Hanna-Barbera libraries, this release fills an important gap alongside the simultaneously released Wally Gator and previously available Touché Turtle sets.
The series itself offers pleasures that require adjustment to appreciate. Modern viewers accustomed to fluid animation and serialized storytelling must calibrate expectations for limited movement and standalone episodes. But those who embrace the era’s conventions discover genuine wit, memorable characters, and a comedy dynamic that still resonates across six decades.
Lippy would tell you this release represents the opportunity of a lifetime, a sure thing that cannot miss. Hardy would moan that something is bound to go wrong, that disappointment awaits, that we should prepare for the worst. For once, Lippy is probably right. Though Hardy would never admit it.
Oh me, oh my, oh dear.
