View source for Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!

{{Short description|American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox television
| image = The Hair Bear Bunch.jpg
| alt = Three bears wearing shirts wave to the viewer amidst a purple background with the name of the television series in the upper left corner.
| caption = The series' title card
| runtime = 30 minutes
| creator = [[Joe Ruby]]<br />[[Ken Spears]]
| director = [[William Hanna]]<br />[[Joseph Barbera]]
| company = [[Hanna-Barbera|Hanna-Barbera Productions]]
| producer = [[Charles August Nichols|Charles A. Nichols]]
| executive_producer = William Hanna<br />Joseph Barbera
| voices = [[Daws Butler]]<br />[[Paul Winchell]]<br />[[William Callaway]]<br />[[John Stephenson (actor)|John Stephenson]]<br />[[Joe E. Ross]]
| theme_music_composer = [[Hoyt Curtin]]
| composer = Hoyt Curtin
| country = United States
| language = English
| network = [[CBS]]
| first_aired = {{Start date|1971|09|11}}
| last_aired = {{end date|1972|01|08}}
| num_seasons = 1
| num_episodes = 16
}}
'''''Help! ... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!''''' was an American Saturday morning [[List of animated television series|animated]] television series, created by [[Joe Ruby]] and [[Ken Spears]] and produced by [[Hanna-Barbera]], which aired for one season on [[CBS]] from September 11, 1971, to January 8, 1972. [[Daws Butler]], [[Paul Winchell]] and [[William Callaway]] voice the three bears that comprise the Hair Bear Bunch, while [[John Stephenson (actor)|John Stephenson]] and [[Joe E. Ross]] voice Mr. Eustace P. Peevly and Lionel J. Botch, respectively, the two individuals who patrol the zoo in which the bears live. The series' producer was [[Charles August Nichols|Charles A. Nichols]], with [[William Hanna]] and [[Joseph Barbera]] directing, and [[Hoyt Curtin]] serving as the composer.

A 13-issue comic book series was created by [[Gold Key Comics]] and began distribution in November 1971. Many television critics compared the premise of the show to other Hanna-Barbera productions, such as ''[[Wally Gator]]'', ''[[Top Cat]]'' and ''[[The Yogi Bear Show|Yogi Bear]]''. While in syndication, the series aired on multiple television networks in the United States, including [[Boomerang (TV network)|Boomerang]], [[Cartoon Network]], and the [[USA Network]]. In total, ''Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!'' contained sixteen 30 minute-long episodes. It has also been released digitally to the [[Google Play Store]] and [[iTunes Store]] and physically on DVD as part of [[Warner Bros.]]' [[Warner Archive Collection|Archive Collection]] on a four-disc set.

==Storyline==
The series follows the Hair Bear Bunch, a group of three bear cousins who live at the Wonderland Zoo run by zoo director Mr. Peevly and zookeeper Lionel Botch.<ref name="From Abba to Zoom" /><ref name="America Toons In" /> They also serve as the "wacky heroes" of the show.<ref name="From Abba to Zoom" />  The three bears would occasionally escape their luxurious cage to ride on their "invisible motorcycle[s]"; however, they would always return to the cage before Mr. Peevly or Lionel Botch were able to catch them. Even Peevly and Botch are visited by their boss the Zoo Superintendent.<ref name="1970s Childhood">{{harvnb|Tait|2011|p=146}}</ref> The bears had several motives for pranking and fooling Mr. Peevly and Mr. Botch, including trying to "improve their living conditions" and wanting to "embark on get-rich-quick schemes".<ref name="Encyclopedia of Television Shows">{{harvnb|Terrace|2011|p=450}}</ref><ref name="1970s Childhood" /> The bears also wore clothes; according to author Christopher P. Lehman, Hanna-Barbera "dress[ed] the bears in counterculture apparel" in order to stay on track with the "mainstream" fashion in the United States.<ref name="American Animated Cartoons of the Vietnam Era" /> Sometimes, the bears (usually Hair) would activate a hidden switch to reveal a cave with more luxurious surroundings (complete with modern furniture) instead of the more meager accommodations they were normally seen living in.

==Characters==
The series features the following five main characters throughout its run:

* [[Daws Butler]] as '''Hair Bear''', the afro-wearing leader of the Hair Bear Bunch.<ref name="America Toons In" /> While developing a voice for Hair Bear, Butler "approximated his voice" to that of [[Phil Silvers]] as Sergeant Bilko in CBS's ''[[The Phil Silvers Show]]'' (1955–1959).<ref name="American Animated Cartoons of the Vietnam Era" />
* [[Paul Winchell]] as '''Bubi Bear''', the "more level-headed confederate" to Hair Bear, though he sometimes speaks in unintelligible gibberish.<ref name="America Toons In" />
* [[Bill Callaway]] as '''Square Bear''', the most idiotic and "dimwitted" of the three bears, though he is the one who usually conjures up the "invisible motorcycle[s]" they use to make their escapes.<ref name="America Toons In" /> His personality has also been described as "dopey" and "laid-back".<ref name="From Abba to Zoom" /><ref name="1970s Childhood" />
* [[John Stephenson (actor)|John Stephenson]] as '''Mr. Eustace P. Peevly''', the irritable, frustrated and authoritarian zoo director at Wonderland Zoo whom the three bears constantly try to outsmart – often successfully.<ref name="From Abba to Zoom" />
* [[Joe E. Ross]] as '''Lionel J. Botch''', a zookeeper who is the "harebrained assistant" to Mr. Peevly.<ref name="The Art of Hanna-Barbera">{{harvnb|Sennett|Barbera|1989|p=178}}</ref>  He is constantly completing work for Mr. Peevly, despite him putting Lionel "in dangerous situations for selfish reasons". He is also constantly rebuked by Peevly whenever he asks about his promotion to some unspecified title.<ref name="Common Sense Media review" />

==Production and promotion==
Executively produced and directed by [[William Hanna]] and [[Joseph Barbera]]'s [[Hanna-Barbera|Hanna-Barbera Productions]], [[Charles August Nichols|Charles A. Nichols]] served as the series' main producer.<ref name="Television 1970 and 1980">{{harvnb|Terrace|1981|p=88}}</ref> Additionally, [[Bob Givens|Robert "Bob" Givens]] contributed as the layout artist for the storyboards.<ref name="Who's Who in Animated Cartoons">{{harvnb|Lenburg|2006|p=104}}</ref> The show's official theme song was written by [[Hoyt Curtin]], who also served as the series' music composer.<ref name="Billboard music article">{{cite magazine|last1=Tiegel|first1=Eliot|title=From the Music Capitals of the World: Los Angeles|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=July 31, 1971|volume=83|issue=31|page=24|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uggEAAAAMBAJ&q=help+it%27s+the+hair+bear+bunch+hoyt+curtin&pg=PA24|access-date=May 26, 2017|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|issn=0006-2510}}</ref> Other than the main cast, frequent Hanna-Barbera voice actors [[Janet Waldo]], [[Joan Gerber]], [[Lennie Weinrib]], [[Vic Perrin]] and [[Hal Smith (actor)|Hal Smith]] played several minor characters for the show.<ref name="Hollywood Surf and Beach Movies">{{harvnb|Lisanti|2012|p=303}}</ref><ref name="Obituaries in the Performing Arts">{{harvnb|Lentz III|2007|p=397}}</ref> A group of five writers wrote for ''Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!'', including Joel Kane, [[Heywood Kling]], Howard Morgenstern, [[Joe Ruby]], and [[Ken Spears]].<ref name="episode 1 ref">{{cite episode|title=Keep Your Keeper|series=Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!|credits=Writer: Kane, Joel; Kling, Heywood; Morgenstern, Howard; Ruby, Jon; Spears, Ken Director: Hanna, William; Barbera, Joseph|network=[[CBS]]|airdate=September 11, 1971|season=1}}</ref> Despite Stephenson ultimately playing the role of Mr. Eustace P. Peevly, Barbera had intended for [[Joe Flynn (American actor)|Joe Flynn]] to play the part since the character was based on Flynn's Captain Binghamton from ''[[McHale's Navy]]''; however, when Flynn came into audition for the part, Barbera was unimpressed and cast Stephenson for the part instead. Barbera claimed "that Joe Flynn didn't sound enough like Joe Flynn."<ref name="News from Me article and review">{{cite web|last1=Evanier|first1=Mark|title=Hairy History|url=http://www.newsfromme.com/2013/04/08/hairy-history/|publisher=[[Mark Evanier|News from Me]]|access-date=May 29, 2017|date=April 8, 2013}}</ref>

[[Gold Key Comics]] adapted several Hanna-Barbera and "Saturday morning-based" productions (such as ''[[The Funky Phantom]]'', ''[[Harlem Globetrotters (TV series)|The Harlem Globetrotters]]'', and ''[[Lidsville]]'') into comic books. The adaptation of ''Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!'' was titled just ''The Hair Bear Bunch'' and began distribution in 1972.<ref name="American Comic Book Chronicles">{{harvnb|Sacks|Dallas|Dykema|2014|p=87}}</ref> 13 different issues were made for the series overall.<ref name="The Official Overstreet Comic Book Companion">{{harvnb|Overstreet|2008|p=179}}</ref>

''Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!'' contained a [[Laugh track#Making their own|laugh track created by Hanna-Barbera]].{{clarify|date=September 2018}}<ref>Iverson, Paul R. (1994), The Advent of the Laugh Track (2nd ed.), [[Hempstead, New York]]: Hofstra University Archives</ref>

==Episodes==
{{Episode table |background=#5C5188 |overall=6 |title=30 |airdate=20 |episodes=

{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 1
| Title = Keep Your Keeper
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1971|9|11}}<ref name="TV Guide episode 1">{{cite web|title=Season 1, Episode 1: Keep Your Keeper|url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/help-its-the-hair-bear-bunch/episode-4186873/201944/|work=[[TV Guide]]|access-date=May 22, 2017}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = The Hair Bear Bunch trick Mr. Peevly into thinking he has a disease called Zoolarium. When Mr. Peevly goes on vacation, a strict zoo keeper named Mr. Grunch is called in to cover for him, so the Hair Bear Bunch plan to find Mr. Peevly and persuade him to come back.
| LineColor = 5C5188
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 2
| Title = Rare Bear Bungle
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1971|9|18}}<ref name="TV Guide episode 2">{{cite web|title=Season 1, Episode 2: Rare Bear Bungle|url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/help-its-the-hair-bear-bunch/episode-4121246/201944/|work=TV Guide|access-date=May 22, 2017}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = The Hair Bear Bunch get a new roommate named Rare Bear, but Hair Bear suspects that he has been planted in their cave by Mr. Peevly to act as his spy.
| LineColor = 5C5188
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 3
| Title = Raffle Ruckus
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1971|9|25}}<ref name="TV Guide episode 3">{{cite web|title=Season 1, Episode 3: Raffle Ruckus|url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/help-its-the-hair-bear-bunch/episode-4121291/201944/|work=TV Guide|access-date=May 22, 2017}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = Hair Bear suggests to Mr. Peevly to hold a raffle in order to obtain money for new facilities for the zoo. When Hair Bear wins, he ends up having ownership of the zoo and sees how hard it is to run the zoo and fill out the needs of the other animals. When Hair Bear learns that Mr. Peevly has been playing him, he ends up sneaking the other animals out of the zoo.
| LineColor = 5C5188
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 4
| Title = Bridal Boo Boo
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1971|10|2}}<ref name="October 2, 1971">{{cite journal|title=Local Programs Oct. 2–8|journal=TV Guide|date=October 2, 1971|volume=19|issue=39}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = In order to keep Mr. Peevly busy, Hair Bear decides to set him up with a female to be his girlfriend. Yet Mr. Peevly ends up getting a tough lady named Bertha, who brings order to the Wonderland Zoo.
| LineColor = 5C5188
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 5
| Title = No Space Like Home
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1971|10|9}}<ref name="October 9, 1971">{{cite journal|title=Local Programs Oct. 9–15|journal=TV Guide|date=October 9, 1971|volume=19|issue=40}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = The Hair Bear Bunch apply for an advert for adventure and fame, which turns out to be a space expedition to Mars sponsored by Professor Nielsen Rockabuilt. Mr. Peevly and Botch end up stowing away and end up landing on an alien planet of Turulia where the Turulians elect Mr. Peevly as their new leader. While in the alien's dungeons, the Hair Bear Bunch learn that the aliens elect a new leader every day, while the old one gets imprisoned in a glass cage.
| LineColor = 5C5188
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 6
| Title = Love Bug Bungle
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1971|10|16}}<ref name="October 16, 1971">{{cite journal|title=Local Programs Oct. 16–22|journal=TV Guide|date=October 16, 1971|volume=19|issue=41}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = Mr. Peevly ends up bunking a gorilla named Arnie into the Hair Bear Bunch's cave. Hair Bear discovers that Arnie is in love with Gloria the Gorilla and plans to hook both of them up, which involves making a cologne that causes him to lose control of his love advances.
| LineColor = 5C5188
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 7
| Title = I'll Zoo You Later
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1971|10|23}}<ref name="October 23, 1971">{{cite journal|title=Local Programs Oct. 23–29|journal=TV Guide|date=October 23, 1971|volume=19|issue=42}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = The Hair Bear Bunch plan to make their way to the National Forest. Once they do, the Hair Bear Bunch take refuge in a cabin, which turns out to be a hideout for two bank robbers, even when Mr. Peevly and Botch catch up to them.
| LineColor = 5C5188
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 8
| Title = Ark Lark
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1971|10|30}}<ref name="October 30, 1971">{{cite journal|title=Local Programs Oct. 30–Nov. 5|journal=TV Guide|date=October 30, 1971|volume=19|issue=43}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = Following a drawing from the Suggestion Box, Mr. Peevly puts on a play of Noah's Ark with the zoo animals. Later that night, Hair Bear secretly places wheels on the Ark and pilots it all the way to Pleasure Island where they planned to go to a deserted island. To gain money, they disguise Zeed the Zebra as a horse and enter him in a race.
| LineColor = 5C5188
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 9
| Title = Gobs of Gabaloons
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1971|11|6}}<ref name="November 6, 1971">{{cite journal|title=Local Programs Nov. 6–12|journal=TV Guide|date=November 6, 1971|volume=19|issue=44}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = When Mr. Peevly wants the animals to build him a swimming pool, the Hair Bear Bunch finds a treasure map in one of the trees, which leads to the treasure of Redbeard which had been stolen from Ptomania. They follow the map to the end point to Mr. Peevly's office and try different ways to get to the treasure below.
| LineColor = 5C5188
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 10
| Title = Panda Pandamonium
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1971|11|13}}<ref name="November 13, 1971">{{cite journal|title=Local Programs Nov. 13–19|journal=TV Guide|date=November 13, 1971|volume=19|issue=45}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = While hiding from Mr. Peevly and Botch in the woods when trying to get to the carnival, the Hair Bear Bunch find a baby [[Giant panda|panda]] named Percy whose cage fell off a passing train bound for the St. Louis Zoo. Mr. Peevly has the Hair Bear Bunch watch over Percy Panda until the Zoo Superintendent comes to pick Percy up and bring him to the St. Louis Zoo.
| LineColor = 5C5188
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 11
| Title = Closed Circuit TV
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1971|11|20}}<ref name="November 20, 1971">{{cite journal|title=Local Programs Nov. 20–26|journal=TV Guide|date=November 20, 1971|volume=19|issue=46}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = Mr. Peevly sets up closed circuit TV cameras around the zoo to keep an eye on things, so that he can catch the Hair Bear Bunch in another one of their escapes. Hair Bear discovers the cameras and uses this to his advantage to make a television show.
| LineColor = 5C5188
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 12
| Title = The Bear Who Came to Dinner
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1971|11|27}}<ref name="November 27, 1971">{{cite journal|title=Local Programs Nov. 27–Dec. 3|journal=TV Guide|date=November 27, 1971|volume=19|issue=47}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = Hair Bear has Square Bear fake an injury to have the Hair Bear Bunch evade being sent to the National Forest. Mr. Peevly ends up allowing Square Bear to recuperate at his house to evade getting into trouble with the Zoo Superintendent. Mr. Peevly vows to find a way to expose the fact that Square Bear is faking his injuries.
| LineColor = 5C5188
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 13
| Title = Unbearably Peevly
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1971|12|4}}<ref name="TV Guide episode 13">{{cite web|title=Season 1, Episode 13: Unbearable Peevly|url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/help-its-the-hair-bear-bunch/episode-3875816/201944/|work=TV Guide|access-date=May 22, 2017}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = In order to catch the Hair Bear Bunch in one of their escape plans, Mr. Peevly and Botch disguise themselves as bears. Of course the Hair Bear Bunch play along with this, upon seeing through their disguises. Things get worse for Mr. Peevly and Botch when they are mistaken for escaped circus bears.
| LineColor = 5C5188
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 14
| Title = Goldilocks and the Three Bears
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1971|12|11}}<ref name="TV Guide episode 14">{{cite web|title=Season 1, Episode 14: Whatever Happened to Goldilocks and the Three Bears|url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/help-its-the-hair-bear-bunch/episode-3972447/201944/|work=TV Guide|access-date=May 22, 2017}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = The Hair Bear Bunch end up getting involved in the production of "Whatever Happened to Goldilocks and The Three Bears" where Twinkles Sunshine (the actress playing Goldilocks) rewrites the script where the Three Bears have to save Goldilocks from an evil prince.
| LineColor = 5C5188
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 15
| Title = The Diet Caper
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1971|12|18}}<ref name="TV Guide episode 15">{{cite web|title=Season 1, Episode 15: The Diet Caper|url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/help-its-the-hair-bear-bunch/episode-4051524/201944/|work=TV Guide|access-date=May 22, 2017}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = The Hair Bear Bunch and the other animals attempt to tunnel into town to get food, which leads the Hair Bear Bunch into a haunted house in an amusement park. The Hair Bear Bunch then end up tricking Mr. Peevly and Botch into going down the same path.
| LineColor = 5C5188
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 16
| Title = Kling Klong versus the Masked Marvel
| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1972|1|8}}<ref name="TV Guide episode 16">{{cite web|title=Season 1, Episode 16: Kling Klong versus the Masked Marvel|url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/help-its-the-hair-bear-bunch/episode-4051580/201944/|work=TV Guide|access-date=May 22, 2017}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = In order to win $500 from the Sports Arena, Hair Bear has Bananas the Gorilla go through wrestling training in order to stay in the ring with the Masked Marvel. Yet when the Masked Marvel gets the measles, Botch ends up having to cover for him in the wrestling ring.
| LineColor = 5C5188
}}
}}

==Reception==
===Broadcast history===
''Help! ... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!'' was broadcast on [[CBS]] between September 11, 1971 and January 8, 1972.<ref name="TV Guide episode 1" /><ref name="TV Guide episode 16" /> The series was cancelled after the first season, consisting of sixteen episodes, was completed airing; according to Lehman, the series was unsuccessful because it did not appeal to a younger audience, citing its similarities to ''The Phil Silvers Show'' as an additional reason.<ref name="American Animated Cartoons of the Vietnam Era" /> It returned Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM on September 9, 1973 then was moved to Saturdays at 8 AM on February 2, 1974 after CBS revamped their Saturday line-up.

In syndication, the series was replayed on several television networks after its cancellation. [[USA Network]] ran the series beginning February 19, 1989, and until November 7, 1991.<ref name=Erickson>{{cite book |last1=Erickson |first1=Hal |title=Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 |date=2005 |edition=2nd |publisher=McFarland & Co |isbn=978-1476665993 |pages=403}}</ref> The United States' [[Cartoon Network]] began broadcasting it in 1994 and its sister channel [[Boomerang (TV network)|Boomerang]] did so on several occasions in the early-to-late 2000s.<ref name=Erickson/><ref name="August 11, 2003 Boomerang schedule">{{cite web|title=Boomerang Schedule: Monday, August 11, 2003 |url=http://schedule.cartoonnetwork.com/servlet/BoomerangServlet?action=selectBMDay |publisher=[[Cartoon Network]] |access-date=May 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030812033534/http://alt.cartoonnetwork.com/Schedule/0%2C3671%2CBOO%2C00.html |archive-date=August 12, 2003 |date=August 11, 2003 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A physical release on [[VHS]] first occurred in September 1988 and features three episodes from the series.<ref name="Bowker's Directory of Videocassettes for Children">{{harvnb|Bowker|1999|p=97}}</ref> Years later, as part of the [[Warner Bros. Television|Warner Bros. Television Distribution]]'s [[Warner Archive Collection|Archive Collection]], the complete ''Help! ... It's the Hair Bear Bunch'' series was made available on DVD as a four-disc set.<ref name="Warner Archive Collection">{{cite web|title=Help! It's the Hair Bear Bunch: The Complete Series (MOD)|url=http://www.wbshop.com/product/help%21+it%27s+the+hair+bear+bunch-+the+complete+series+%28mod%29+1000383806.do|publisher=[[Warner Archive Collection]]|access-date=May 22, 2017|archive-date=October 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171030003454/http://www.wbshop.com/product/help%21+it%27s+the+hair+bear+bunch-+the+complete+series+%28mod%29+1000383806.do|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was also released digitally to the [[Google Play Store]] and [[iTunes Store]] libraries in its entirety.<ref name="iTunes Store download">{{cite web|title=Help! It's the Hair Bear Bunch!, The Complete Series|url=https://itunes.apple.com/us/tv-season/help-its-the-hair-bear-bunch-the-complete-series/id855455830|publisher=[[iTunes Store]] (US)|access-date=May 27, 2017}}</ref>

===Critical response===
''Help! ... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!'' was compared to several other Hanna-Barbera productions. David Mansour, author of ''From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century'', compared the show's premise to the storyline of Hanna-Barbera's ''[[Top Cat]]'' and wrote, "but instead of a gang of hip cats residing in an alley, it starred a bunch of cool bears living at the zoo."<ref name="From Abba to Zoom">{{harvnb|Mansour|2011|p=210}}</ref> Christopher P. Lehman, who wrote ''American Animated Cartoons of the Vietnam Era'', also compared it to a previous television series, but instead to the live-action ''The Phil Silvers Show''.<ref name="American Animated Cartoons of the Vietnam Era">{{harvnb|Lehman|2006|p=142}}</ref> Author David Perlmutter considered the show to be a reworked version of ''[[The Yogi Bear Show|Yogi Bear]]'', which he deemed appropriate because "the youth of the late 1960s and early 1970s" had a "'hippie' mindset." He also noted that because the series "incorporated some of the 'flip, sophisticated' style of the early animal con-artist formula, the series maintained a distinct connection with the time and place in which it was produced."<ref name="America Toons In">{{harvnb|Perlmutter|2014|p=157}}</ref>

Besides ''[[Wait Till Your Father Gets Home]]'' (1972–1974) and ''[[Hong Kong Phooey]]'' (1974), Nichola Dobson wrote in ''The A to Z of Animation and Cartoons'' that ''Help! ... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!'' was one of Hanna-Barbera's more successful shows.<ref name="The A to Z of Animation and Cartoons">{{harvnb|Dobson|2010|p=98}}</ref> However, in ''The Encyclopedia of Guilty Pleasures: 1001 Things You Hate to Love'', three different authors labeled the series as one of Hanna-Barbera's "lesser-known efforts" but ultimately called it a "guilty pleasure" and enjoyed that it had its own score.<ref name="The Encyclopedia of Guilty Pleasures">{{harvnb|Stall|Harry|Spalding|2004|p=118}}</ref> In a retrospective view of older cartoons, the staff at [[MeTV]] included the show on their list of "15 Forgotten Cartoons from the Early 1970s You Used to Love."<ref name="MeTV review">{{cite web|author1=MeTV staff|title=15 Forgotten Cartoons from the Early 1970s You Used to Love|url=http://www.metv.com/stories/15-cartoons-from-the-1970s-you-probably-forgot-about|publisher=[[MeTV]]|access-date=May 22, 2017|date=June 17, 2016}}</ref> Deirdre Sheppard from [[Common Sense Media]] rated it three out of five stars and noted that it has "no educational content"; however, she also said that "other than the mildest of mild violence, and the characters' tendency to poke fun at each other, the series is fun and inoffensive."<ref name="Common Sense Media review">{{cite web|last1=Sheppard|first1=Deirdre|title=Help! It's the Hair Bear Bunch!|date=21 August 2006|url=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/help-its-the-hair-bear-bunch|publisher=[[Common Sense Media]]|access-date=May 29, 2017}}</ref>

==Other appearances==
* The Hair Bear Bunch made guest appearances at a celebrity roast honoring [[Fred Flintstone]] in the TV special ''[[Hanna-Barbera's All-Star Comedy Ice Revue]]'' (1977).{{fact|date=August 2024}}
* The Hair Bear Bunch appear in ''[[Jellystone!]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/streaming/the-hanna-barbera-gangs-all-here-in-new-jellystone-key-art/|title = The Hanna-Barbera Gang's All Here in New 'Jellystone!' Key Art|date = 15 July 2021}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of works produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions]]

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
* {{cite book|last1=Bowker|first1=R. R.|title=Bowker's Directory of Videocassettes for Children 1999|date=1999|publisher=R R Bowker Publishing |isbn= 0835242013 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Dobson|first1=Nichola|title=The A to Z of Animation and Cartoons|date=April 1, 2010|publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn= 978-1461664024 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Lehman|first1=Christopher P.|title=American Animated Cartoons of the Vietnam Era: A Study of Social Commentary in Films and Television Programs, 1961-1973|date=October 26, 2006|publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn= 0786451424 |edition=illustrated }}
* {{cite book|last1=Lenburg|first1=Jeff|title=Who's Who in Animated Cartoons: An International Guide to Film & Television's Award-Winning and Legendary Animators|date=2006|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=155783671X|edition=illustrated|url=https://archive.org/details/whoswhoinanimate0000lenb}}
* {{cite book|last1=Lentz III|first1=Harris M.|title=Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2006: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture|date=April 26, 2007|publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn= 978-0786429332 |edition=illustrated }}
* {{cite book|last1=Lisanti|first1=Thomas|title=Hollywood Surf and Beach Movies: The First Wave, 1959-1969|date=August 24, 2012|publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn= 978-1476601427 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Mansour|first1=David|title=From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century|date=June 1, 2011|publisher=Andrew McMeel Publishing |isbn= 978-0740793073 }}
{{col-2}}
* {{cite book|last1=Overstreet|first1=Robert M.|title=The Official Overstreet Comic Book Companion|date=May 13, 2008|publisher=[[Random House|Random House Information Group]] |isbn= 978-0375722813|edition = illustrated }}
* {{cite book|last1=Perlmutter|first1=David|title=America Toons In: A History of Television Animation|date=March 18, 2014|publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn= 978-0786476503 | edition= illustrated, reprinted }}
* {{cite book|last1=Sacks|first1=Jason|last2=Dallas|first2=Keith|last3=Dykema|first3=Dave|title=American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1970s|date=2014|publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |isbn= 978-1605490564 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Sennett|first1=Ted|last2=Barbera|first2=Joseph|author-link2=Joseph Barbera|title=The Art of Hanna-Barbera: Fifty Years of Creativity|date=1989|publisher=Viking Studio Books|isbn=0670829781|edition=illustrated|url=https://archive.org/details/artofhannabarber00teds}}
* {{cite book|last1=Stall|first1=Sam|last2=Harry|first2=Lou|last3=Spalding|first3=Julia|title=The Encyclopedia of Guilty Pleasures: 1001 Things You Hate to Love|date=2004|publisher=Quirk Books|isbn=1931686548|edition=illustrated|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofgu0000stal}}
* {{cite book|last1=Tait|first1=Derek|title=1970s Childhood: From Bell-Bottoms to Disco Dancing|date=November 1, 2011|publisher=The History Press |isbn= 978-0752466422 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Terrace|first1=Vincent|title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010|date=September 29, 2011|publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn= 978-0786486410 |edition=second, revised}}
* {{cite book|last1=Terrace|first1=Vincent|title=Television: 1970-1980|date=1981|publisher=A.S. Barnes|isbn=049802539X|edition=illustrated|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/television1970190000terr}}
{{col-end}}
{{portal bar|1970s|Cartoon|Television|United States|Animation}}

{{Children's programming on CBS in the 1970s}}
{{USA Cartoon Express}}

[[Category:1970s American animated television series]]
[[Category:1971 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:1972 American television series endings]]
[[Category:American children's animated comedy television series]]
[[Category:American English-language television shows]]
[[Category:Television series by Hanna-Barbera]]
[[Category:Animated television series about bears]]
[[Category:Television series about cousins]]
[[Category:Television series created by Joe Ruby]]
[[Category:Television series created by Ken Spears]]
[[Category:CBS animated television series]]
[[Category:Children's television series about talking animals]]