Drawn for the annual Obscuri-Jm that features obscure cartoon characters.
For the first entry I drew the teenage daughter of the dog family from the early 70's called The Barkelys.
I decided if I were to continue drawing the family Agnes Barkley (the matron of the Barkley Clan) would be definitely next.
Then I decided to research the show a bit more beyond the four episodes I found on YouTube and visited KissCartoon.
What resulted is not only Agnes but also the rest of the Barkley family present. Once again, the father Arnie Barkley is present just as he was sulking in the background of the previous Terry Barkley pic.
As I mentioned in the previous pic; The Barkleys was 'All in the Family' meets 'The Honeymooners.' I had Arnie go full on Archie Bunker and yell at his semi-rebellious teenage son Roger (No doubt the "Meathead" of the family) for sitting in his favorite chair listening to that "Garbage music." Yeah unless Roger's listening to Poco there's no reason Arnie should be this angry.
Truth is Arnie never was this angry on the show. Nor was his son Roger this defiant. (Roger surprisingly went along with many of his father's schemes with very little resistance.)
The similarities between 'All in the Family' and 'The Barkley's ends with the premise. Arnie Barkley was never as big a loud-mouthed bigot as Archie Bunker was. There was more Ralph Kramden in him from 'The Honeymooners.'
And on that note; Arnie's voice actor was none other than Henry Corden...Mr. Fred Flintstone himself. It sticks out like a sore thumb if you decide to watch any of these episodes.
But if Fred Flintstone was greatly inspired by Ralph Kramden then Arnie Barkley was a straight up animated knock-off. Right down to his profession of being a bus driver. Most episodes Arnie was getting involved in get-rich-quick schemes as Ralph did and acted very similar in mannerisms. All he was missing was an Edward Norton/Barney Rubble type sidekick to tag-along with.
And like Fred Flintstone, Arnie had a pretty moderately hot wife. That's where our star female Barkley family member comes in on the left. So is she like the Wilma Flintstone/Alice Kramden of the show? Not really. Often Wilma/Alice would combat Fred/Ralph's temper with sarcastic quips. Agnes was very akin to Edith Bunker in that she tolerated most of her husband's close-mindedness and also acted as a mediator between him and his kids. If his kids couldn't touch his heart and make him change his ways, his wife could. Yeah Agnes is pretty attractive as far as middle-aged cartoon dog moms go. (She's no Sweet Polly Purebred though.)
Lastly we can't forget the youngest member of the Barkley family: Chester Barkley. He's that almost-mandatory cute kid character many sitcoms of the decade called for. He's pretty much the part of this show that was like The Brady Bunch. With those glasses you could imagine he was the Cousin Oliver of the show. He came out before Cousin Oliver and unlike him was always a part of the show. What he's doing here seems rather uncharacteristic; or it's just a little quip I decided to give him. Basically begging like he's a puppy for mom's fresh cookies. I'm sure his mom finds it adorable and will no doubt give him one.
So all-in-all the show was a furry version of influential American sitcoms: from All in the Family to The Honeymooners, from The Brady Bunch to I Love Lucy. Hanna-Barbera often took much inspiration from many classic sitcoms to create their characters: like Fred Flintstone being Ralph Kramden, Huckleberry Hound being Andy Griffith and Magilla Gorilla being that "Ooh Ooh" guy from Car 54. But the animation studio that produced 'The Barkley's (Petrie/Freleng Studios) was not afraid to show how their inspirations became straight up knock-offs. If The Barkleys wasn't obvious enough; their next show 'The Oddball Couple' made it too blatantly obvious. (They didn't even try to hide it at all with the title.) And yes...the premise to that show featured an Oscar and Felix duo. (Though it was a dog and a cat existing in a world full of humans where The Barkleys lived in a world full of dogs.)
And that brings me to one more female Petrie/Feleng character from 'The Oddball Couple' that could very well into this jam. That being Goldie Hound (an obvious pun on the name Goldie Hawn.) She was pretty cute and sweet but not very bright. Like a dimmer nympho version of Sweet Polly Purebred.
And you know...come to think of it Terry Barkley had a friend name Marsha who was pretty cute too. (A geeky looking dog girl with thick glasses.)
Why do these cartoons no one has ever even heard of inspire me to draw them even if just for a while.
But that's what this Jam does to you. Resurrects old forgotten characters from the past to shine once more.
God bless it for that. ;3