In 1985, Hanna Barbera had an animated TV series called Paw Paws. This was part of The Funtastic World of Hanna Barbera, a rotating syndicated block of shows. I don't really remember much about the show, but a couple of years ago I found these PVC figures (made by Applause) in a bin at a gift shop that seemed to be frozen in time. I had to look up the names of these characters. On the left is Slippery Paw (a villain) and the dog is Pupooch.
This series featured a civilization of tiny Indian bears. Hanna Barbera had a similar show called Biskitts in 1983 featuring a group of tiny dogs in a medieval setting. This was a time when characters like the Smurfs and the Snorks were popular TV shows.
This past spring I found myself back at that same shop frozen in time, so I decided to check the PVC bins. There were no Paw Paws there, but it had been a few years, so I wasn't shocked. I started talking to the friendly owner of the shop (he was the only person in the store) and I explained to him what I had been looking for. He walked from behind the front counter and took me across the store. He opened a drawer underneath a greeting card display.
The drawer was full of Smurfs, Snorks, California Raisins and Paw Paws, and many were in their original containers. The Paw Paws were in a big clear bag, and there were multiples of these characters. From left to right, there's Dark Paw, Brave Paw and Bumble Paw.
There were other Paw Paw figures made, but I'm guessing the store owner just randomly put the figurines in the bins, so they may have been sold twenty years ago!
Sounds kind of like a time machine trip back to the eighties. Those Hanna Barbera shows were "after my time." but I can understand what that would be like stumbling across old stock like that in a store. And I do remember the Smurfs and the California Raisins.
ReplyDeleteHave you heard anything about the new Yogi the Bear movie? I didn't even know they were making one, but I just saw the poster yesterday on the side of a bus.
TokyoMagic!: Yes, it was wild seeing all those characters brand new in a store! I also got a Smurf still in its box (I had to!) and three ultra-rare California Raisins characters.
ReplyDeleteYes, I knew about the Yogi Bear movie. I understand quite a few people are not crazy about CGI versions of vintage cartoon characters. But people (especially kids) really seem to like them, so I'm sure there's more on the horizon.
Hey I have several of these, I was looking them up to see if anyone else had them. I too got them in a clear bag but from a similar type of store but it was like 1990.
ReplyDeleteHello, The Snappy Sneezer! Since this show wasn't on a big network, I bet most people who find these don't have a clue who the Paw Paws are.
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