The New Alice in Wonderland (1966)

On March 30, 1966, ABC Television broadcast a one-hour special called The New Alice in Wonderland (or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This?). Produced by Hanna-Barbera and sponsored by Rexall Drugs and Coca-Cola, the animated TV movie featured a stellar voice cast as well as songs by the acclaimed composing team of Charles Strouse and Lee Adams (Bye Bye Birdie). The movie was written by Bill Dana, who also voiced the White Knight.

Along with such luminaries as Sammy Davis, Jr. (Cheshire Cat), Zsa Zsa Gabor (Queen of Hearts) and Hedda Hopper (Hedda Hatter), several well-known Hanna-Barbera voice actors had roles in the movie. Two characters from The Flintstones, Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble, appeared in the special as the two-headed caterpillar. Their voices were provided by Alan Reed and Mel Blanc, respectively, just as in the TV series (Henry Corden lent his talents as Fred's singing voice). Below is the full cast:

• Mel Blanc: Barney Rubble
• Daws Butler: King of Hearts, March Hare
• Henry Corden: Fred Flintstone (singing voice)
• Bill Dana: White Knight
• Sammy Davis, Jr.: Cheshire Cat
• Doris Drew: Alice (singing voice)
• Zsa Zsa Gabor: Queen of Hearts
• Hedda Hopper: Hedda Hatter
• Harvey Korman: Mad Hatter
• Allan Melvin: Alice’s Father, Humphrey Dumpty
• Don Messick: Dormouse, Fluff
• Howard Morris: White Rabbit
• Alan Reed: Fred Flintstone (speaking voice)
• Janet Waldo: Alice (speaking voice)

Although the movie is not currently available on home video, several clips have been posted on YouTube, as has the audio adaptation. Below is my YouTube player featuring all of these. (The audio adaptation LP was not a soundtrack, due to a handful of cast changes made necessary by contractual and other factors).

The Flintstones: The Hit Songwriter

The first episode of The Flintstones' second season, "The Hit Songwriter" originally aired on September 15, 1961. This episode is notable for two things—it is the first of several episodes in which Daws Butler, rather than Mel Blanc, provides the voice of Barney Rubble (due to Blanc having been seriously injured in an auto accident in January of 1961); and legendary composer Hoagy Carmichael appears as himself, without a stone-age name change! Carmichael wrote and performed the song "Yabba-Dabba-Dabba-Dabba-Doo" for this episode, which involves Fred and Barney; a get-rich-quick-by-writing-lyrics scheme; a scammer; and a hit songwriter who is kindly willing to forgive the guys' unwitting plagiarism of his composition ("Stardust").




Click to watch the full episode