"With careers spanning eight decades, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera were two of the most prolific animation producers in American history. In 1940, the two met at MGM and the result was the infamous Tom and Jerry duo, whose antics made up for whatever words weren't actually spoken. The incredibly popular cat and mouse creation earned 14 Academy Award nominations and seven wins. The emergence of television led to the founding of Hanna-Barbera's legendary studio that oversaw the production of hundreds of hours of cartoons, drawing to life dozens of popular and beloved characters from Fred Flintstone and Scooby Doo to the Super Friends and the Smurfs. Prime-time animated sitcoms, Saturday morning cartoons, and Cartoon Network's cable animation are some of the many areas of television revolutionized by the team, and their resulting productions are critical to our cultural history, reflecting ideologies and trends in both media and society. Examining Hanna-Barbera's presence from the Golden Age of Theatrical Animation through today, this book offers a complete company history and examines its productions' influences, changing technologies, and enduring cultural legacy"--