Laff-A-Lympics is an American animated comedy television series produced by Hanna-Barbera. The series premiered as part of the Saturday-morning cartoon program block Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics which consists of 24 episodes, on ABC in 1977.[1] The show is a spoof of the Olympics and the ABC primetime series Battle of the Network Stars,[2] which debuted one year earlier. It featured 45 Hanna-Barbera characters organized into teams (the Scooby Doobies, the Yogi Yahooeys, and the Really Rottens) which competed each week for gold, silver, and bronze medals. In each episode, the Really Rottens would try in each event to cheat only to get caught by Snagglepuss each time. One season of 16 episodes was produced in 1977–78, and eight new episodes combined with reruns for the 1978–79 season as Scooby's All-Stars. Unlike most cartoon series produced by Hanna-Barbera in the 1970s, Laff-A-Lympics did not contain a laugh track. Scooby’s Laff-a-Lympics was originally owned by Taft Broadcasting, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution currently owns the series through its two in-name-only units, Warner Bros. Family Entertainment and Turner Entertainment.
| Laff-A-Lympics | |
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| Also known as | Scooby's All-Star Laff-A Lympics Scooby's All-Stars |
| Genre | Comedy, sports |
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| Theme music composer | Hoyt Curtin |
| Opening theme | "Laff-A-Lympics" (Main Title) by Hoyt Curtin |
| Composer | Hoyt Curtin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 24 |
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| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | Hanna-Barbera Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | September 10, 1977 (1977-09-10) – October 28, 1978 (1978-10-28) |
The "all-star" cast was mostly made up of characters from other Hanna-Barbera series. The "Scooby Doobies" included characters from Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, Speed Buggy and Dynomutt, Dog Wonder; the "Yogi Yahooeys" had characters from The Yogi Bear Show, The Huckleberry Hound Show and The Quick Draw McGraw Show. The only original characters were some members of the Really Rottens.[1]
In 1978, Hanna-Barbera produced another "all-star" show with a similar theme, titled Yogi's Space Race.[3]
The sporting competitions in which the characters are called upon to compete are often comical or offbeat versions of Olympic sports, races, or scavenger hunts. Each segment is set in a different location around the world.
Episodes are presented in a format similar to an Olympic television broadcast, with an unseen announcer. Hosting duties and commentary are provided by Snagglepuss and Mildew Wolf (from It's the Wolf! segments of Cattanooga Cats voiced by John Stephenson impersonating Paul Lynde). Snagglepuss and Mildew wear animated versions of the contemporary yellow jackets of ABC Sports announcers. Other Hanna-Barbera characters such as Fred Flintstone, Barney Rubble, Jabberjaw and Peter Potamus made appearances as guest announcers and judges. Other non-competing characters include parents of contestants (interviewed by Mildew before the events) and various monsters and creatures that serve as antagonists during the events.
The "good guy" teams, consisting of the Yogi Yahooeys and the Scooby Doobies, are cooperative and loyal. The Really Rottens, however, always cheat. Typically, the Really Rottens would be poised to win before making a fatal error at the last moment, allowing one of the other two teams to end up on top.[2] Occasionally, though, the Rottens' cheating was not actually against the rules, resulting in their winning (overall, the Scooby team dominated, winning 14 times, against seven victories for the Yahooies, two for the Rottens, and a three-way-tie in the final episode).
Only one complete season of Laff-A-Lympics episodes was produced, with eight new episodes combined with reruns for the second season of Scooby's All Star Laff-A-Lympics (billed as Scooby's All-Stars). When it premiered in the fall of 1977, the series consisted of several segments, including "Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels" (which led the two-hour program and later was spun off into its own half-hour show), "The Scooby-Doo Show" and "Dynomutt, Dog Wonder" (both of which featured a small number of newly produced segments alongside repeated segments from earlier seasons) and the "Laff-A-Lympics" segments themselves. The show resurfaced in 1980 as a half-hour series on its own (without the "Captain Caveman", "Scooby-Doo" and "Dynomutt" cartoons) simply titled Laff-A-Lympics and was later rerun on ABC in 1986. In later years, it has been frequently rerun on USA Cartoon Express, Cartoon Network and Boomerang, often during the time periods when the Summer and Winter Olympics were held (until 2014).[clarification needed] It most recently aired on Boomerang in September 2023.
This team drew mainly from the 1970s Hanna-Barbera cartoons, particularly the "mystery-solving" series derived from Scooby-Doo, whose titular character served as team captain. The early production art for the series showed Jeannie from the Jeannie series and Melody, Alexander, Alexandra, and Sebastian the Cat from Josie and the Pussycats as members of the "Scooby Doobies" team. However, legal problems with Columbia Pictures Television, Screen Gems' successor, prevented this. Although Hanna-Barbera owned Babu, Columbia controlled all rights to Jeannie's image, including her cartoon form at the time, until Warner Bros. purchased Hanna-Barbera in 1996. As a result of these issues, Babu appeared on his own as a member of the "Scooby Doobies". Similarly, Archie Comics held the rights to the Josie characters. In the actual series, Jeannie was replaced by Hong Kong Phooey and the Josie characters were replaced by characters from Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels.
Among the members of the Scooby Doobies are:
| Name | Note |
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| Scooby-Doo | Team captain; Character from Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, The New Scooby-Doo Movies and The Scooby-Doo Show |
| Shaggy Rogers | Character from Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, The New Scooby-Doo Movies and The Scooby-Doo Show |
| Scooby-Dum | Character from The Scooby-Doo Show |
| Dynomutt | Character from Dynomutt, Dog Wonder |
| The Blue Falcon | |
| Captain Caveman | Character from Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels |
| Brenda Chance | |
| Taffy Dare | |
| Dee Dee Skyes | |
| Speed Buggy | Character from Speed Buggy |
| Tinker | |
| Babu | Character from Jeannie |
| Hong Kong Phooey | Character from Hong Kong Phooey |
This team drew mainly from the 1950s and 1960s Hanna-Barbera cartoons and was the only team of characters made up completely of anthropomorphic animals. Grape Ape was the only post-1962 character in the line-up.
Among the members of the Yogi Yahooeys are:
| Name | Note |
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| Yogi Bear | Team captain; Character from The Huckleberry Hound Show and The Yogi Bear Show |
| Boo-Boo Bear | Character from The Huckleberry Hound Show and The Yogi Bear Show |
| Cindy Bear | Character from The Yogi Bear Show |
| Yakky Doodle | |
| Huckleberry Hound | Character from The Huckleberry Hound Show |
| Pixie | |
| Dixie | |
| Mr. Jinks | |
| Hokey Wolf | |
| Quick Draw McGraw | Character from The Quick Draw McGraw Show |
| Snooper | |
| Blabber | |
| Augie Doggie | |
| Doggie Daddy | |
| Wally Gator | Character from The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series |
| Grape Ape | Character from The Great Grape Ape Show |
This team was composed of villainous characters that frequently cheated by either giving themselves an unfair advantage in a contest or sabotaging the other teams, often getting themselves penalized for such conducts. With the exception of Mumbly and the Dalton Brothers, all of the team members were original characters. Originally, Muttley and Dick Dastardly were planned as the leaders of the Really Rottens; however, they could not appear as those characters were co-owned by Heatter-Quigley Productions.[4] In their place, Hanna-Barbera used the existing character Mumbly and created the new character Dread Baron. Prior to Laff-A-Lympics, on his original show, Mumbly was a heroic detective rather than a villain. Following the character's revision as the villainous team leader, he remained a villain in Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose, which was also Dread Baron's only other role. The Dalton Brothers appeared in 1950s and 1960s shorts (including the 1958 short Sheriff Huckleberry Hound, which featured appearances by Dinky, Dirty, and Dastardly Dalton, as well as their other brothers Dangerous, Detestable, Desperate, and Despicable). However, they were given new character designs for the Laff-A-Lympics series. After Laff-A-Lympics, Dinky reappeared in The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound with brothers Stinky (who bore a resemblance to the Laff-A-Lympics design of Dastardly Dalton), Finky, and Pinky.
Among the members of the Really Rottens are:
| Name | Note |
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| Mumbly | Team captain; Character from The Mumbly Cartoon Show; Bears a strong resemblance to the Wacky Races character Muttley; Mumbly's retcon from good detective (as depicted in his preceding cartoon show) to villain was never addressed in Laff-a-Lympics |
| Dread Baron | Original character; Bears a strong resemblance to Dick Dastardly[5] (who is revealed to be his twin brother in the comic book Laff-A-Lympics #13)[6] and the Red Max, both from Wacky Races |
| Dinky Dalton | Character from The Quick Draw McGraw Show and The Huckleberry Hound Show; Towering villainous cowboy brother whose Stetson obscures his eyes |
| Dirty Dalton | Character from The Quick Draw McGraw Show and The Huckleberry Hound Show; Short villainous cowboy brother with mustache |
| Dastardly Dalton | Character from The Quick Draw McGraw Show and The Huckleberry Hound Show; Short villainous cowboy brother with blond hair |
| Mr. Creepley | Original character; Patriarch of villainous monster family based on The Gruesomes and Mr. & Mrs. J. Evil Scientist[7] His voice resembles that of Peter Lorre. |
| Mrs. Creepley | Original character; Matriarch of villainous monster family based on The Gruesomes and Mr. & Mrs. J. Evil Scientist[7] |
| Junior Creepley | Original character; Child of villainous monster family based on The Gruesomes and Mr. & Mrs. J. Evil Scientist[7] |
| Orful Octopus | Original character; Pet of the Creepleys; Villainous hybrid version of Squiddly Diddly and Occy the Octopus (pet of The Gruesomes) |
| The Great Fondoo | Original character; Evil magician whose tricks and spells hardly ever work as intended, often backfiring on his part; Similar to Abner K. Dabra from the 1963 book Yogi Bear and the Cranky Magician. |
| Magic Rabbit | Original character; Pet of the Great Fondoo who only says "Brak"; Bears a resemblance to the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland or What's a Nice Kid like You Doing in a Place like This? |
| Daisy Mayhem | Original character; Mean-spirited hillbilly with split ends in her hair. Though her name is similar to Li'l Abner character "Daisy Mae", she bears a much stronger resemblance to a lesser-known supporting Li'l Abner character: Moonbeam McSwine |
| Sooey | Original character; Daisy Mayhem's eyepatch-wearing pet pig |
| No. overall | No.in season | Title/Location | Guest star(s) | Winner | Original air date | Prod. code |
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| 1 | 1 | "The Swiss Alps and Tokyo" | Fred Flintstone, Barney Rubble & Mrs. Mumbly (Mumbly's mom) | The Scooby Doobies (105 points) | September 10, 1977 (1977-09-10) | SDLA-1 |
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Events: downhill ski race, ice skating, toboggan race, sumo wrestling, one-point tennis match, baseball batting contest
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| 2 | 2 | "Acapulco and England" | Jabberjaw | The Scooby Doobies (70 points) | September 17, 1977 (1977-09-17) | SDLA-2 |
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Events: cliff diving, underwater relay, speed boat race, Big Ben tower climb, fox hunt, skateboard polo
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| 3 | 3 | "Florida and China" | None | The Scooby Doobies (115 points) | September 24, 1977 (1977-09-24) | SDLA-3 |
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Events: swamp buggy race, waterski contest, auto track race, rickshaw race, ping pong, gymnastics
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| 4 | 4 | "The Sahara Desert and Scotland" | None | The Yogi Yahooeys (70 points) | October 1, 1977 (1977-10-01) | SDLA-4 |
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Events: dune buggy race, fill-up-the-oasis contest, Loch Ness photograph contest, three-legged kilt race
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| 5 | 5 | "France and Australia" | None | The Scooby Doobies (120 points) | October 8, 1977 (1977-10-08) | SDLA-5 |
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Events: Tour de France bicycle race, Eiffel Tower climb, boomerang throw, kangaroo race
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| 6 | 6 | "Athens and the Ozarks" | None | The Scooby Doobies (105 points) | October 15, 1977 (1977-10-15) | SDLA-6 |
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Events: pole vault, disco throw (discus), rail cart race, keelboat race
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| 7 | 7 | "Italy and Kitty Hawk, North Carolina" | None | The Scooby Doobies (85 points) | October 22, 1977 (1977-10-22) | SDLA-7 |
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Events: motor scooter race, canal boat race, hang gliding contest, skydiving contest, hot air balloon race
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| 8 | 8 | "Egypt and Sherwood Forest" | None | The Scooby Doobies (90 points) | October 29, 1977 (1977-10-29) | SDLA-8 |
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Events: Great Pyramid climb, camel race, armor foot race, princess rescue
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| 9 | 9 | "Spain and the Himalayas" | None | The Scooby Doobies (90 points) | November 5, 1977 (1977-11-05) | SDLA-9 |
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Events: bullfight, gypsy wagon race, abominable snowman hunt, Mount Everest climb
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| 10 | 10 | "India and Israel" | Jabberjaw, Peter Potamus, Fred Flintstone & Barney Rubble | The Yogi Yahooeys (100 points) | November 12, 1977 (1977-11-12) | SDLA-10 |
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Events: tiger hunt, elephant back race, sun sail sledding race, reed boat race
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| 11 | 11 | "Africa and San Francisco" | Jabberjaw | The Yogi Yahooeys (80 points) | November 19, 1977 (1977-11-19) | SDLA-11 |
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Events: jungle boat race, vine-swinging contest, roller-skating race, fishing contest
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| 12 | 12 | "The Grand Canyon and Ireland" | None | The Yogi Yahooeys (135 points) | November 26, 1977 (1977-11-26) | SDLA-12 |
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Events: burro race, tightrope race, leprechaun hunt, hole-in-one golf tournament
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| 13 | 13 | "Hawaii and Norway" | None | The Scooby Doobies (90 points) | December 3, 1977 (1977-12-03) | SDLA-13 |
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Events: surfing contest, outrigger race, Viking longboat races, long-jump wearing snowshoes
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| 14 | 14 | "North Pole and Tahiti" | Fred Flintstone & Barney Rubble | The Scooby Doobies (120 points) | December 10, 1977 (1977-12-10) | SDLA-14 |
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Events: dog-sled races, igloo-building contest, around-the-reef paddleboat race, sandcastle-building contest
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| 15 | 15 | "Arizona and Holland" | Mr. and Mrs. Mayhem (Daisy Mayhem's parents) | The Scooby Doobies (75 points) | December 17, 1977 (1977-12-17) | SDLA-15 |
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Events: wild bronc riding contest, steer roping, windmill-riding contest, dyke-building contest
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| 16 | 16 | "Quebec and Bagdhad" | Fred Flintstone, Barney Rubble & Ranger Smith | The Scooby Doobies (65 points) | December 24, 1977 (1977-12-24) | SDLA-16 |
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Events: lacrosse batting contest, Canadian tree-cutting contest, flying carpet race, magic rope climb
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| No. overall | No.in season | Title/Location | Guest star(s) | Winner | Original air date | |
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| 17 | 1 | "Russian SFSR and the Caribbean" | None | The Scooby Doobies (100 points) | September 9, 1978 (1978-09-09) | |
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Events: Siberian moose marathon, dancing race through Moscow, dolphin race, Bluebeard's treasure hunt
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| 18 | 2 | "New York City and Turkey" | Jabberjaw | The Really Rottens (75 points) | September 16, 1978 (1978-09-16) | |
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Events: hansom carriage race, Statue of Liberty climb, unicycle race, swimming relay
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| 19 | 3 | "South America and Transylvania" | None | The Yogi Yahooeys (90 points) | September 23, 1978 (1978-09-23) | |
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Events: bull lasso contest, Amazon raft race, spooky scavenger hunt, Black Lagoon log-roll race
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| 20 | 4 | "French Riviera and New Zealand" | Fred Flintstone | The Scooby Doobies (90 points) | September 30, 1978 (1978-09-30) | |
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Events: soapbox derby, free-flight kite contest, emu race, 3-way tug-of-war
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| 21 | 5 | "New Orleans and Atlantis" | Jabberjaw | The Yogi Yahooeys (70 points) | October 7, 1978 (1978-10-07) | |
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Events: antique aircraft distance contest, Chinese dragon race, sea horse race, mermaid rescue
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| 22 | 6 | "Morocco and Washington, D.C." | Mr. and Mrs. Octopus (Orful Octopus' parents) | The Really Rottens (75 points) | October 14, 1978 (1978-10-14) | |
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Events: roller-scooter race, sand chariot race, rally race, marine corps obstacle course
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| 23 | 7 | "Canada and Warsaw" | None | The Yogi Yahooeys (85 points) | October 21, 1978 (1978-10-21) | |
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Events: get-your-man contest, dog-sled race, freestyle pole-vault contest, pogo-stick race
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| 24 | 8 | "Siam and the Moon" | None | All three teams tie (80 points) | October 28, 1978 (1978-10-28) | |
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Events: Siamese sampan race, 3-way soccer match, rocket race, lunar foot race
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In 1996, four VHS editions of the show were released in the US on the NTSC format, each containing two episodes for a running time of approximately 50 minutes:
At the same time a "bumper special" VHS tape was released in the UK on the PAL format containing the following episodes[8] (these UK episodes were the US episodes divided in two, with just one location per episode):
Warner Home Video (via Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros. Family Entertainment) released episodes 1–4 on Region1DVD on January 19, 2010, as Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics Volume 1. Episodes 5–8 were on a second DVD titled Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics Volume 2, released the same day by Target[9] and by other stores on October 19, 2010.[10] A two-disc DVD set entitled Scooby-Doo! Laff-A-Lympics: Spooky Games was released on July 17, 2012. The set contains an all-new Scooby Doo special, "Spooky Games", plus 12 episodes of Laff-a-Lympics – including episodes 9–16, which complete the first season, plus four earlier first-season episodes which appear on Volume 1 and 2. The set also includes an UltraViolet digital copy of the 12 contained episodes.[11] Later in the year, the Warner Brothers shop renamed this release Laff-a-Lympics: The Complete First Collection.[12]
On July 4, 2016, Volume 1 and Volume 2 were released separately in Region 2,[13][14] as was a 'Gold Edition' with the previously released Spooky Games DVD;[15] this Region 2 version of the Scooby-Doo! Laff-A-Lympics: Spooky Games DVD is only a separate version of the first disc from the R1 set, containing "Spooky Games" and four further episodes; therefore, only 12 episodes are currently available in R2, as of July 2016.
Region 4 received Volume 1 and 2 in July 2010.[16][17]
| DVD name | Release date | Episodes included | Notes | No. of discs |
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| Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics Volume 1 | January 19, 2010 (US) |
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| Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics Volume 2 | January 19, 2010 (USTarget stores) October 19, 2010 (wider retail) |
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| Scooby-Doo! Laff-A-Lympics: Spooky Games | July 17, 2012 |
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In March 1978, Marvel Comics produced a comic book series based on the cartoon. Creative staff for the comic book included Mark Evanier, Carl Gafford, Scott Shaw!, Jack Manning, Owen Fitzgerald and others. The series lasted 13 issues. A Laff-A-Lympics comic book was also published in Australia in 1978 by Sydney-based K.G. Murray Publishing Company. From 1980 to 1982, various Laff-A-Lympics stories were reprinted in Laff-A-Lympics Annual hardback books in the United Kingdom by Fleetway.
An updated Laff-A-Lympics called the "Superstar Olympics" appeared in Hanna-Barbera Presents #6 in 1996. The Superstar Olympics featured Atom Ant, Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy, Barney Rubble, Betty Rubble, Boo-Boo Bear, Chopper, Cindy Bear, Dick Dastardly, Fred Flintstone, Grape Ape, Hokey Wolf, Huckleberry Hound, Jabberjaw, Magilla Gorilla, Muttley, Peter Potamus, Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks, Quick Draw McGraw, Ranger Smith, Secret Squirrel, Snagglepuss, Snooper and Blabber, Squiddly Diddly, Top Cat, Touché Turtle, Wally Gator, Wilma Flintstone, and Yogi Bear.
ALaff-A-Lympics hand-held pinball game was released in 1978. The game featured Scooby-Doo, Captain Caveman, Dee Dee, Taffy, Blue Falcon, Yogi Bear, Boo-Boo Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Grape Ape, Mumbly, Dread Baron, Mr. Creepley, Dalton Brothers, Snagglepuss, and Mildew Wolf.
In 1979, Hanna-Barbera released a Laff-A-Lympics Old Maid card game that included Scooby-Doo, Shaggy Rogers, Dynomutt, Blue Falcon, Hong Kong Phooey, Yogi Bear, Boo-Boo Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Grape Ape, Quick Draw McGraw, Pixie and Dixie, Yakky Doodle, Mumbly, Dread Baron, Snagglepuss, and Mildew Wolf.
Dread Baron and Mumbly appear in Yogi Bear and the Magical Flight of the Spruce Goose. While Don Messick reprised Mumbly, Dread Baron was voiced by Paul Winchell.
Dinky Dalton appears in the Yogi's Treasure Hunt episode "The Return of El Kabong", voiced by Stacy Keach, Sr. He is shown to be with his brothers Desperate Dalton and Despicable Dalton.
Dinky Dalton appears in The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound, voiced by Allan Melvin. As mentioned above, he has brothers named Finky Dalton (voiced by Pat Fraley), Pinky Dalton (voiced by Charlie Adler), and Stinky Dalton (voiced by Michael Bell). This same Dalton line-up also appeared in an episode of the 2017 version of Wacky Races with Dinky voiced by Christopher Judge, Finky voiced by Tom Kenny, Pinky voiced by Diedrich Bader, and Stinky voiced by Billy West.
The Dread Baron appears in Jellystone!. He was seen in "Jailcation" where he was apprehended by the Jellystone Police Department and became an inmate at Santo Relaxo. The majority of the Really Rottens appeared in the season 3 episode "LAFF Games" with Daisy Mayhem voiced by Georgie Kidder, Dinky Dalton voiced by Dwight Schultz, Orful Octopus voiced by Bernardo de Paula, and Magic Rabbit voiced by Niccole Thurman. In it, the Really Rottens are from New Bedrock and are led by Mayor Dick Dastardly and Muttley instead of the Dread Baron and Mumbly (similar to the original concept).