The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound

The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound is a 1988 animated made-for-television film produced by Hanna-Barbera for syndication as part of the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 series. The feature is a parody of various western movies, the title is a take-off of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and a major plot point is lifted from High Noon. The costant references to Huckleberry as a "mysterious, steely-eyed, and silent-type stranger" (though Huck is just being himself) spoof the western stock character of the Man with No Name. Several other plot points are lifted from well-known western films, such as High Plains Drifter. The film also marks the final time Daws Butler voiced Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw and Baba Looey, Snagglepuss, Hokey Wolf, Peter Potamus, and Yogi Bear, as he died 3 days after its telecast from a heart attack, because of this, this was the last film of the Hanna-Barbara Canon.

Plot
The year is 1849. Huckleberry Hound rides west on his "faithful horsie" in hopes of starting a country farm; his journey takes him to the small town of Two-Bit, California, where the Dalton Gang are terrorizing the townsfolk. As Huck enters town, the Daltons race past him taking his possessions. Entering the local saloon, Huck tries to buy a drink with a large gold nugget; seeing this, the Daltons coerce Huck into playing poker, with the stakes being Huck's gold in return for his stolen possessions. Huck accuses them of cheating, so they challenge him to a fight in a boxing ring, which Huck (surprisingly) wins.

Huck later deposits his nugget in Quick Draw McGraw and Baba's bank, where he wins a prize of his choice. Being partial to its blue ink, Huck chooses the fountain pen. Shortly, the Daltons rob the bank, stealing both Huck's nugget and pen. That night, an emergency Town Hall meeting is held to discuss what to do about the Daltons, now that Stinky has broken out of jail. Fearing for his life, Hokey (the mayor of Two-Bit) quickly appoints Huck as the new sheriff.

Sheriff Huck goes after the three Dalton Brothers and (after a number of confrontations and receiving injuries) successfully jails them. After a celebration in Town Hall, Huck is ushered to run from Stinky, but decides to face him anyway, while the townsfolk flee for Tahiti. Stinky arrives on schedule and tries (unsuccessfully) to kill Huck. Stinky decides to get help by breaking his brothers out of jail by disguising himself as their grandmother. The Dalton Gang start their revenge against Huck, which (on first attempt) Huck is able to evade, but after a long chase to the ends of the earth, they launch Huck on a rocket and he is presumably blown up in the sky.

With Huck out of the way, the Daltons go on a crime spree quickly becoming the richest outlaws in the West, renaming Two-Bit as Daltonville in the process. The Two-Bit townsfolk return to find this sight and learn of Huck's fate before being thrown out of town by the Daltons on a freight train, knowing that they've only themselves to blame for what happened to their town and Huckleberry.

Meanwhile, at a campsite of a tribe of Native American hounds, the chief's daughter Desert Flower discovers the crashed rocket and Huck (who miraculously survived the crash and awakens with amnesia); Desert Flower calls him "the mysterious blue hombre with amnesia", and the two quickly fall in love. Huck proposes to Desert Flower, but must first undergo a two-part initiation test to join the tribe for the chief's approval. The first test is a game show where a rival suitor tries to make Huck fail by constantly messing with Huck's answer buzzer.

By sheer luck, Huckleberry wins the game show and passes the first tribal test. The second test is where Huck must wrestle the tribe's strongest man, Chuckling Chipmunk, who is also the rival suitor. Huck loses to Chuckling Chipmunk and thus fails the initiation rites. Before Huck is forced to pay the "penalty", Desert Flower falls in the river and is swept toward a waterfall. Acting quickly, Huck jumps in and rescues her. Both grateful and impressed, the chief gives his blessing for the two of them to marry.

The wedding ceremony is interrupted by Huck's horse, who restores Huck's memory and urges him to finish "unfinished business" with the Daltons. Promising to return and marry Desert Flower, Huck rides off on his faithful horsie "Bob". He finds the Two-Bit townsfolk at their own unsuccessful circus and urges them to assist him in defeating the Daltons, where he presents two humans to aid him, a projectionist and a showgirl.

Back in Daltonville, as the Daltons are enjoying their success, they're shown a movie film made by Huck and the others stating the ghost of Huckleberry Hound is returning to Daltonville on a midnight ghost train. Though the other Daltons are scared at first, Stinky refuses to be intimidated. Wearing his disguise, Huck arrives in Daltonville on a green-painted train, which (unknown to the Daltons) is rigged with special effects.

Huck succeeds in terrifying the Daltons (even Stinky). The Daltons give in, but then refuse to be brought to jail. On horseback, the Two-Bit townsfolk chase after them, and the Daltons run into (what they think is) their secret hideout, which is actually the state prison in disguise. Huck is awarded on finally capturing the Daltons, and everyone celebrates their victory (especially Huck, who returns to marry Desert Flower and, together, start their own little farm).

Cameo appearances
In addition to the characters mentioned above, the following Hanna-Barbera characters appear in the telecasted movie:


 * Peter Potamus, captain of the ship that takes the Two-Bit residents to Tahiti.
 * Snooper, Muttley, and Doggie Daddy, who are in the "audience" when Huck is trying to decide which prize to accept from the bank.
 * Magilla Gorilla and Mr. Peebles, who appear as a reporter at the site of Stinky Dalton's breakout and the jailer bound and gagged by Stinky being interviewed, respectively.

Home media releases
On August 1, 1991, The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound was released on VHS videocassette in the United States. This film was released on VHS by MCA/Universal Home Entertainment in 1995. However, as of 2009, the videocassette is now out of print. On August 9, 2011, Warner Archive released the movie on DVD in NTSC picture format with all region encoding, as part of their Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.

Voice cast

 * Daws Butler as Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, Baba Looey, Hokey Wolf, and Peter Potamus
 * Charlie Adler as Pinky Dalton, Pig, TV Announcer from Bit-2 News, and Additional Voices
 * Michael Bell as Stinky Dalton, Bailiff, Laughing Donkey, Longhorn Steer, and Station Announcer
 * Pat Buttram as Red Eye the Bartender
 * Pat Fraley as Finky Dalton, Autograph Boy, Baby, Boy, and Rooster
 * Allan Melvin as Magilla Gorilla, Dinky Dalton, Devil, Game Show Announcer, and Spooky Movie Narrator
 * Don Messick as Boo Boo Bear and Narrator
 * Howard Morris as Mr. Peebles, Chuckling Chipmunk, Goldminer, Dentist, Governor, and Photographer
 * B.J. Ward as Chieftess, Desert Flower, Elderly Lady, Girl, and Rusty Nails
 * Frank Welker - Bob (Huckleberry's Horse), Chief, Judge Tumbleweed Flopner, Mission Control, and Race Track Announcer