5 Fun Facts About Hanna-Barbera’s Short Lived ‘Jonny Quest’ Cartoon You May Have Forgotten

Lauren Novak September 18, 2:26 pm

JONNY QUEST, Bandit the dog, Hadji, Jonny Quest, 1964-1997 — Everett Collection

Jonny Quest, created by Doug Wildey and produced by the iconic studio Hanna-Barbera, first aired in 1964. While it originally only aired for one season, its fans proved to be loyal and it sparked two other animated series in the 1980s and 1990s, respectively. There is even a new comic from this year that captures the spirit of the original show. Its combination of animation and storytelling has even inspired iconic cartoons including Batman: The Animated Series. It is hard to believe the original series only lasted one season, since its impact is so huge, establishing itself as a cult classic. Now, let’s learn some fun facts about our good friend Jonny Quest and his pals.

1Jonny Quest appeared in several other Hanna-Barbera cartoons

HANNA-BARBERA 1960s characters, clockwise from upper left, Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo, Huckleberry Hound, George Jetson, The Flintstones, Top Cat, Jonny Quest, Pixie and Dixie, Touche Turtle, Quick Draw McGraw, Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy, Wally Gator, Magilla Gorilla, Dick Dastardly and Muttley, Snagglepuss, Scooby-Doo, 1991

Hanna-Barbera Television/Everett Collection

Hanna-Barbera is known to do crossovers in its shows, helping to bring fans over to different franchises, and Jonny Quest is no exception. The character was seen in the episode “The Caped Crusader Caper” in The New Scooby-Doo Movies as well as The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo. He also appeared in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law and Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century.

2A voice actor was replaced due to having a similar voice to another character

JONNY QUEST, Race Bannon, Hadji, Bandit the dog, Jonny Quest, Dr. Benton Quest, 1964-1997

Everett Collection

John Stephenson was the original voice of Dr. Benton Quest, Jonny’s dad. After a few episodes, it was noted that Stephenson’s voice was a bit too close to Mike Road‘s, who voiced Race Bannon. He was replaced with Don Messick, who voiced Dr. Quest for the rest of the season. Of course, Tim Matheson from Animal House and The West Wing voiced the original Jonny.

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3Roger T. “Race” Bannon’s look was based on an actor

Hanna-Barbera/Everett Collection

The character Race Bannon was based on the looks of actor Jeff Chandler, best known for his role as Cochise in Broken Arrow (1950).

4Footage from the closing credits was from an unaired pilot

Most of the footage that you see in the opening and closing credits are from the show, but reportedly the first few shots in the closing credits were from an unaired pilot submitted to ABC in order to sell the series.

5The show was groundbreaking for its diversity and use of science

JONNY QUEST, Jonny Quest, Race Bannon, Hadji, 1964-1997

Everett Collection

At a time when there wasn’t a lot of diversity on television, Jonny Quest included Quest’s best friend Hadji from India. In addition, the show often drew inspiration from real scientific discoveries and concepts and many episodes featured actual historical facts and scientific theories.

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