DVD Corner

Wally Gator- The Complete Series Blu-ray Review

“Wally Gator” isn’t one of the more memorable Hanna-Barbera cartoons. 

1962’s “Wally Gator” (which was part of “The New Hanna-Barbera Cartoon Series”) revolves around the jolly, walking, talking, accident prone, purple hat wearing titular alligator. Wally resides at the City Zoo which is overseen by the zookeeper Mr. Twiddle. When Wally isn’t being viewed as an attraction, he’s often leaving (or escaping) the zoo where he encounters other gators, criminals, a boxing kangaroo, etc. Wally also gets into mischief by trying his hand at show biz, traveling, facing off against the zoo guard dog Snoozer, or even growing to giant size. Wally will even interact with other zoo animals at times. 

The series is comprised of 52 animated shorts which are as follows: 1. Droopy Dragon 2. Gator-Napper 3. Swamp Fever 4. White Tie And Frails 5. Escape Artist 6. California Or Bust 7. Frame And Fortune 8. Tantalizin’ Turnips 9. Over The Fence Is Out 10. Bear With Me 11. Outside Looking In 12. Bachelor Buttons 13. Which Is Which WItch 14. Pen-Striped Suit 15. Ship Shape Escape 16. Semi Seminole 17. Little Red Riding Gator 18. Ice Cube Boob 19. The Forest’s Prime Evil 20. Snooper Snowzer 21. Unconscious Conscience 22. Gator-Baiter 23. False Alarm 24. Phantom Alligator 25. Puddle Hopper 26. Baby Chase 27. Gosh Zilla 28. Camera Shy Guy 29. Rebel Rabble 30. No More Mower 31. Knight Nut 32. Ape Scrape 33. Gator-Imitator 34. Safe At Home 35. Balloon Buffoon 36. Rassle Dazzle 37. Sea Sick Pals 38. Accidentally On Purpose 39. Whistle Stopper 40. Birthday Grievings 41. Medicine Avenue 42. Marshall Wally 43. One Round Trip 44. Gopher Broke 45. Gladiator Gator 46. Bubble Trouble 47. Ice Charades 48. Creature Feature 49. Squatter’s Rights 50. The Big Drip 51. Gourmet Gator 52. Carpet Bragger

When you watch all of these Hanna-Barbera series released one after the other on Blu-ray, you see just how much the animators and writers recycled. “Wally Gator” looks like Yogi Bear and Top Cat, but he sounds like Ed Wynn. The series is also yet another cartoon in which a character is confined but escapes and gets into all sorts of antics. “Yogi Bear,” it is not, but Wally Gator as a character is fun to watch. Sure, the plots are nothing remotely new and you basically forget about the cartoons as soon as they are over, but if you’re a Hanna-Barbera enthusiast or completist, this set is made for you. If you’re someone who grew up watching “Wally Gator” toons, this set is also up your alley. For everyone else, there’s better Hanna-Barbera material out there like the recent “The Huckleberry Hound Show” release.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.33:1 1080p. How do the shorts look? The cartoons have been newly remastered from the best available film elements by the Warner Archive team. As such, some of the available film elements do not look so hot. Shorts like “Outside Looking In” are in rougher shape and resemble a poor jumpy VHS copy. The better looking shorts (such as “Droopy Dragon” and “Ape Scrape”) are a bit on the fuzzy side, but have richer colors. 

Audio Track: 2.0 DTS-HD MA. How do the shorts sound? The audio is flat but decent enough.

No extras.

December 24, 2025 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Cartoons, Hanna-Barbera, Wally Gator, Wally Gator- The Complete Series Blu-ray Review, Warner Archive