The picture is more detailed than the comic book cover, with a full background and shadows. The coloring book cover does a reversal of the comic book cover’s scenario, with Magilla getting a one-up on Yogi, pasting his name over a poster featuring a smiling Yogi. While I have yet to find an old copy at an affordable price, the front and back covers can be found online if you do a search. I distinctly remember seeing the coloring book in stores. There is one more thing you haven’t listed here–a Magilla vs. Whatever the reason, I didn’t get to track down these items until I was much older. I think their reasoning was that I was too young to understand politics, even in cartoon form, or they may have felt that a presidential campaign was nothing to joke about–especially after the death of JFK the previous year. I was very intrigued by this campaign as a four-year-old, but my parents never bought me any of the promotional items. So who is your choice? Cast your vote in the comments below… and in the meantime you can don a campaign button for your favorite, courtesy of our friends at Gold Key Comics: Hanna and Barbera seem to have had a hand in the lyrics, as they are both credited along with New York composer Paul Parnes (who we discussed here. There is more brass than on other Golden Records of the day. Jim Timmens’ usual mellow vibraphone Golden sound is slightly different here, since this is a campaign march of a sort. “Magilla for President” / “Yogi for President” The front cover art displayed the same buttons used on the other H-B presidential merchandise. But the 45 single–presumably due to budget and time–was done with a small orchestra and Golden’s New York house singers at the time (I’m guessing Frank Milano and Abbot Lutz). Golden Records was their Magilla licensee, having released the Magilla Gorilla and His Pals album - with the TV voice cast and Hoyt Curtin’s music - that year. Hanna-Barbera was still a year away from having their own record company. Through it all, the candidates remain amicable towards each other and show a mutual respect despite their rivalry. Yogi and Magilla pratfall their way through the rest of the comic book, culminating in a very ‘60s finale: they both race to the moon. Yogi, off to a slower start than Magilla, is assisted by Huck as campaign manager. Wacky hijinks follow as T.C and Magilla engage in campaign events to drum up votes. Yogi does not get an equivalent parade scene and gets a much smaller campaign following. Magilla, again as the new character needing more exposure, is given a half-page illustration leading a parade of Quick Draw McGraw, Baba Looey and T.C.’s gang out of his campaign headquarters. Top Cat becomes Magilla’s campaign manager. Smith comes to the same conclusion as Peebles. Yogi’s also watching the TV debate in Ranger Smith’s office. Peebles store window, Peebles suggests Magilla run for President simply to get rid of him. The Gold Key comic book could serve as the blueprint for the entire premise: Magilla is watching a political debate on TV in Mr. The future looked big and bright for Bill, Joe and their still fledgling entertainment company.Ĭlearly Magilla was being marketed most aggressively as a new character in need of a following, so he’s always featured first in the various Presidential merchandise items created for the promotion. Yogi had become a bonafide star, headlining his own-and H-B’s first-animated theatrical feature the same year, Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear!, The new Magilla Gorilla Show–as well as The Peter Potamus Show–was part of a lucrative partnership between the studio and Ideal Toys. in Hollywood (the building is now an LA Fitness, but at least it still exists for those of us starry-eyed boomers who used to think of it as second only to Sleeping Beauty Castle as a Southern California photo spot.īoth characters had public approval ratings well above 70%. Hanna-Barbera were gathering steam as a studio in ’64 with a new “ultra modern” studio on 3400 Cahuenga Blvd. In the 1960 Presidential campaign–the same year that Alvin the Chipmunk, JFK and Richard Nixon were in the running (though not necessarily in that order)–Hanna-Barbera arranged a rather extensive Presidential campaign for Emmy-winner Huckleberry Hound (Yowp covers that campaign here.ġ964 found the country in a less hopeful mood for many reasons, so perhaps for some, Magilla and Yogi’s race for the White House-as well as any whimsical Presidential race–was a lighthearted breath of fresh air. Songs: “Magilla for President,” “Yogi for President” by Paul Parnes, William Hanna, Joseph Barbera. The Campaign Songs of Bill Hanna & Joe Barbera’s The 1964 cartoon campaign between one of Hanna-Barbera’s biggest TV stars and one of their newest characters inspired merchandise-and a 45 RPM Golden Record.
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