The Magilla Gorilla Show: The Complete Series Blu-ray Review: This Monkey’s Gone to Heaven

This classic Hanna-Barbera series finally gets a Blu-ray release, and the results should finally satisfy fans disappointed by previous DVD drops. The series was initially released on DVD in 2006 with no restoration or opening/closing theme, then re-released on DVD in 2017 in remastered form but still without opening/closing theme music. This time around, the opening and closing theme songs are included, and the episodes have been newly remastered from 4K scans of the original negatives, making for truly eye-popping color presentation that totally revitalizes the show. If your only prior Magilla experience is broadcast TV back in the day, you’re in for a major treat.

All 23 half-hour episodes of the series are included, but if you’re not familiar with the show’s format, it’s not all Magilla content. The series was really just a collection of shorts, with Magilla sharing screen time with two completely independent sub-series, Punkin’ Puss and Mushmouse and Ricochet Rabbit and Droop-a-long. However, there are more Magilla shorts than the other two, so in addition to the 23 episodes featuring one short from each team, there are also eight “bonus” Magilla cartoons.

Magilla’s concept is that he’s a talking gorilla who lives in a pet shop where he’s cared for by Mr. Peebles, a doppleganger of Mr. Spacely from The Jetsons. Unfortunately, whenever he gets sold, the transaction never works out, leading to an always unhappy Mr. Peebles. If you’re “young” enough like me that you’re only familiar with the character from his nondescript ‘70s guest appearances in other Hanna-Barbera shows, you’re in for a treat of classic ‘60s H-B toons in their prime.

Punkin’ and Mushmouse are basically a redneck Tom and Jerry, with requisite hick accents included. They’re definitely lesser stars on the Hanna-Barbera bench, in fact I’d never heard of them before this release. Ricochet and Droop-a-long are a rabbit sheriff and coyote deputy and are even less essential, furthering the country bumpkin theme for no discernible reason. Still, they’re all good fun, and more technically polished than much of the H-B cookie-cutter product to come in later years.

Bonus features are repeated from the prior DVD releases, including an archival half-hour black-and-white introductory TV special that follows a host inside the Hanna-Barbera studio where he meets with Hanna and Barbera for their pitch of the then newly announced series, followed by a walk through the technical process of how they produced their animation. It’s a must-watch for any fans raised on Hanna-Barbera toons. Also included is rare archival footage of the writers of the theme song at the piano, as well as an interview gallery starring Magilla’s voice actor, Allan Melvin.

I can’t stress enough how great the color looks on this release. It’s like watching an entirely new show made in the classic H-B style, with a simply heavenly color spectrum. The third time was finally the charm on Warner Archive’s disc reissues of this classic series, marking this as the definitive release.