Laugh tracks in old cartoons

[The Watcher]

One problem I sometimes have with old cartoons is knowing wheather or not they have laugh tracks. Here are some that have them.â—¾The Flintstones â—¾Top Cat â—¾The Jetsons â—¾The Banana Splits Adventure Hour (Does that mean the whole show or just the bumps?) â—¾Scooby Doo, Where Are You!â—¾Where's Huddles? â—¾The Harlem Globetrotters â—¾Josie and the Pussycats (DVDs don't have it)â—¾Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!â—¾The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show â—¾The Flintstone Comedy Hour â—¾Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space â—¾The New Scooby-Doo Movies â—¾Wait till Your Father Gets Home â—¾Jeannie â—¾Partridge Family 2200 A.D. â—¾Hong Kong Phooey â—¾The Scooby-Doo Show â—¾Dynomutt Dog Wonder â—¾Jabberjaw â—¾Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels â—¾The Super Globetrotters â—¾Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo The ArchiesFat Albert The Jackson 5Yogi's GangThe First few episodes of Pink Panther and Rocky and BullwinkleAre there any more that I am missing and how can I watch them without one?

 

[Doyng]

Re:

To answer your question, Watcher, some of the older cartoons that were remastered have the laugh tracks removed. Some may also have the laugh tracks still intact, depending on what version (print) you're watching.

Here are some more cartoons I recall with laugh tracks:
Groovie Goolies, The Houndcats, The Barkleys, My Favorite Martians, Uncle Croc's Block animated segments (M*U*S*H*, Fraidy Cat, Wacky and Packy), Fabulous Funnies, Plastic Man, Fangface, Mightyman and Yukk, The Brady Kids, The New Adventures of Gilligan/Gilligan's Planet, Goober and The Ghost Chasers, The New Fred and Barney Show, and Casper & The Angels

Here are some that MAY HAVE the laugh tracks (I'm not sure since I've not seen older prints of these from it's original airings/VHS copies. If I'm wrong, please feel free to tell me):
Bailey's Comets, The Oddball Couple, Misterjaws, Rickety Rocket, Wacky Races, Tom and Jerry/Grape Ape Show, Dastardly & Muttley, The Osmonds, The Cattanooga Cats(?), Baggy Pants and The Nitwits, The Amazing Chan and The Chan Clan, George of The Jungle(?), Hero High, and Crazylegs Crane

I Hope this helps.

 

[Rick Jones]

I was watching a bit of Waldo Kitty with someone last week when I got into discussing laugh tracks in old cartoons.

 

[The Watcher]

I don't think Wacky Races has a laugh track at least not on the dvd set I have of it, but thanks for the info about the other shows.

 

[Eric Brown]

I can tell you, absolutely for sure, that the Wacky Races, Tom-Jerry/Grape Ape, Dastardly and Muttley, Cattanooga Cats, The Chan Clan, and George of the Jungle were never originally produced with laugh tracks. I did find it interesting that back in 1961 when the Bullwinkle Show premiered in primetime, the first R&B adventure episodes had background music and a laugh track. It was short lived.

 

[BartWinkle]

When The "Pink Panther" cartoons aired on NBC Saturday Morning laugh tracks were added, but when they were syndicated the tracks were removed with one or two exceptions.

 

[Doyng]

I can tell you, absolutely for sure, that the Wacky Races, Tom-Jerry/Grape Ape, Dastardly and Muttley, Cattanooga Cats, The Chan Clan, and George of the Jungle were never originally produced with laugh tracks. I did find it interesting that back in 1961 when the Bullwinkle Show premiered in primetime, the first R&B adventure episodes had background music and a laugh track. It was short lived.

I stand corrected. Thank you. Those said shows aired on the original networks before I was born. I assumed they had the laugh tracks, being they were comedy related.

 

[likewow]

I have an affinity for the 1970s laugh track, ala "The Brady Bunch." And I liked hearing it on Scooby Doo, Fat Albert, and Pink Panther. I wish the DVD releases had the laughs left in, but I'm grateful it's still there on Scooby Doo. The laughs are a part of the experience of watching that cartoon. Shame it's deleted on Josie and the Pussycats, though. I didn't buy that DVD. I also didn't buy The Flintstones because the laughs are missing on some episodes.

 

[Steve Carras]

"The Flintstones" used to have all laugh tracks in the 166 original episodes but in reruns for years it was kind of a coming and going thing:
For instance, the following don't have the laugh track in later repeats:
"No Help Wanted"
"The Snorkasaurus Hunters"(the one with the talking Dino)
"The Drive in" the "Here we come on the run/with a burger on the bun" one)
"Most Beautiful Baby in Bedrock"
"Monster Fred"
"Sheriff for a Day"
"Bachelor Daze"

 

[likewow]

That's right, and I remember the laughs on "Sheriff For a Day" were very well done. Very cute when Barney keeps saying 'Mr. Flintstone' with an accent. On DVD, there are laughs from the 1960s put back in, but they are the same ones over and over. That's also true on "The Drive-in." Weird! I also miss hearing the laughs on "Fred Goes Ape" when Fred sneezes and sends Dino flying across the room, and on "Rocky's Raiders." That episode was released on VHS in a cheap cardboard case in the 1980s, along with "Dripper.' I bet the laugh track is intact.

 

[Zachary Noah]

"The Flintstones" used to have all laugh tracks in the 166 original episodes but in reruns for years it was kind of a coming and going thing:
For instance, the following don't have the laugh track in later repeats:
"No Help Wanted"
"The Snorkasaurus Hunters"(the one with the talking Dino)
"The Drive in" the "Here we come on the run/with a burger on the bun" one)
"Most Beautiful Baby in Bedrock"
"Monster Fred"
"Sheriff for a Day"
"Bachelor Daze"

I bought the Flintstones episode, "Son of Rockzilla," from iTunes, and it didn't have a laugh track either.

 

[Zachary Noah]

I have an affinity for the 1970s laugh track, ala "The Brady Bunch." And I liked hearing it on Scooby Doo, Fat Albert, and Pink Panther. I wish the DVD releases had the laughs left in, but I'm grateful it's still there on Scooby Doo. The laughs are a part of the experience of watching that cartoon. Shame it's deleted on Josie and the Pussycats, though. I didn't buy that DVD. I also didn't buy The Flintstones because the laughs are missing on some episodes.

Speaking of Scooby-Doo, there was a commercial for State Farm Insurance, where the Mystery gang ends up in a crash, and as an homage to the classic episodes, the laugh track appeared right after the villain shouted "You meddling kids!"

 

[Zachary Noah]

"The Flintstones" used to have all laugh tracks in the 166 original episodes but in reruns for years it was kind of a coming and going thing:
For instance, the following don't have the laugh track in later repeats:
"No Help Wanted"
"The Snorkasaurus Hunters"(the one with the talking Dino)
"The Drive in" the "Here we come on the run/with a burger on the bun" one)
"Most Beautiful Baby in Bedrock"
"Monster Fred"
"Sheriff for a Day"
"Bachelor Daze"

The first two seasons of "The Flintstones," and the first few episodes from season 3 also originally had a laugh track and applause during the end credits. The former occurs when Fred carries Baby Puss, the saber-toothed cat, out the door, and the latter occurs right after Fred finishes shouting "Wilma! Wilma! Come on, Wilma! Open this door! WIIIIIILLLLLMAAAAA!!!" The end credits in the remastered Turner prints of those episodes no longer have the laugh track or applause.

 

[Zachary Noah]

I have an affinity for the 1970s laugh track, ala "The Brady Bunch." And I liked hearing it on Scooby Doo, Fat Albert, and Pink Panther. I wish the DVD releases had the laughs left in, but I'm grateful it's still there on Scooby Doo. The laughs are a part of the experience of watching that cartoon. Shame it's deleted on Josie and the Pussycats, though. I didn't buy that DVD. I also didn't buy The Flintstones because the laughs are missing on some episodes.

By the way, I remember when Cartoon Network reran “Hong Kong Phooey” during the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, and if I remember it correctly, the laugh tracks were removed. I wonder if that also applies to the DVD and digital releases, since I don’t have them yet.

 

[Zachary Noah]

When The "Pink Panther" cartoons aired on NBC Saturday Morning laugh tracks were added, but when they were syndicated the tracks were removed with one or two exceptions.

There were select Pink Panther cartoons which strangely contained the laugh tracks, but retained the original theatrical title sequences, and I saw a few of that kind on Boomerang long ago. One of them that I saw was "The Pink Tail Fly," and the other one was "Psychedelic Pink." The presence of the tracks in those two cartoons that I saw left me baffled. Thankfully, the new Blu-ray editions of the Pink Panther cartoons present all the included cartoons in their original theatrical "laugh track-free" splendor, from what I heard.

 

[likewow]

It would be wonderful to see and hear those Flintstones end credits! I just about fell on the floor when Cartoon Network aired an original Scooby Doo Where are You instrumental opening and it had laughs!

 

[Zorak Masaki]

I could have sworn I heard a laugh track used in one of the 1981 Space Ghost shorts (from Space Stars).

 

[Zachary Noah]

I previously mentioned that the first two seasons of "The Flintstones" had a laugh track in the end credits during the show's original run on ABC, and that the track was removed from said title sequences in current remastered prints of said seasons. Well, the first two episodes of "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?," "What a Night for a Knight" and "A Clue for Scooby-Doo," also had a laugh track during the title sequences, and a different instrumental theme. Starting with the third episode, "Hassle in the Castle," the track was dropped from the title sequences, and the instrumental theme was replaced by the more well-known theme song with lyrics. ♪Scooby-Dooby-Doo, where are you? We've got some work to do now. Scooby-Dooby-Doo, where are you? We need some help from you now.♪

 

[Zachary Noah]

The first two seasons of "The Flintstones," and the first few episodes from season 3 also originally had a laugh track and applause during the end credits. The former occurs when Fred carries Baby Puss, the saber-toothed cat, out the door, and the latter occurs right after Fred finishes shouting "Wilma! Wilma! Come on, Wilma! Open this door! WIIIIIILLLLLMAAAAA!!!" The end credits in the remastered Turner prints of those episodes no longer have the laugh track or applause.

I forgot to mention that even the opening titles had a laugh track during the first two seasons' original run on ABC. The use of the laugh track in the opening and closing titles was later carried over to the first two episodes of "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!"