Let’s talk about The Kwicky Koala Show, the 1981 Hanna-Barbera animated series that holds a unique distinction in animation history: it was the final project of legendary cartoon director Tex Avery before his death in 1980.
If you watched Saturday morning cartoons in the early 80s, you probably caught Kwicky Koala at some point. The show is a short-lived but historically significant entry in Hanna-Barbera’s catalog, with four anthology segments built around four distinct cartoon premises. It also features one of the most legendary voice casts of the era, including future Transformers leads Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime) and Frank Welker (Megatron) years before they’d become animation icons.
In this post, I’m breaking down everything about The Kwicky Koala Show: the Tex Avery connection, the four segments, the legendary voice cast, and the show’s strange place in Hanna-Barbera history.
What Is The Kwicky Koala Show?
The Kwicky Koala Show is a 1981-1982 American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which ran on CBS during the 1981-1982 Saturday morning lineup. The show is structured as an anthology with four rotating segments per half-hour episode:
- Kwicky Koala: the title segment about a small koala who outsmarts a hungry wolf
- Crazy Claws: a wildcat eluding a fur trapper in a national park
- Dirty Dawg: a street-smart dog and his rat sidekick evading a police officer
- The Bungle Brothers: two incompetent vaudeville performers in short interlude sketches
The show ran for only one season of 16 episodes before being cancelled, but it remains historically significant due to its connection to Tex Avery.
🐨 The Kwicky Koala Show Quick Facts
- Show: The Kwicky Koala Show (CBS, 1981-1982)
- Studio: Hanna-Barbera Productions
- Premiere: September 12, 1981
- Episodes: 16 (one season, four segments per episode)
- Creative consultant: Tex Avery (died 1980, before the show aired)
- Format: anthology with four rotating segments
- Main segments: Kwicky Koala, Crazy Claws, Dirty Dawg, The Bungle Brothers
The Tex Avery Connection
The Kwicky Koala Show holds a unique place in animation history because it was the final project that legendary cartoon director Tex Avery worked on before his death in August 1980, at age 72.
Tex Avery is one of the most influential animation directors of the 20th century. His resume includes:
- ✅ Bugs Bunny (the modern version of the character was developed under Avery at Warner Bros.)
- 💡 Daffy Duck (also developed under Avery’s direction)
- 🔥 Droopy (the unflappable cartoon dog created at MGM in 1943)
- ✅ Red Hot Riding Hood (Avery’s iconic 1943 MGM short)
- 💡 Screwy Squirrel (another MGM character)
- 🔥 The MGM “wolf and girl” series (Avery’s signature style of double-take comedy)
Avery joined Hanna-Barbera in 1979 after decades at Warner Bros. and MGM. He worked on character designs and creative direction for what would become The Kwicky Koala Show before his death. The Kwicky character himself is openly modeled on Avery’s iconic Droopy: small, sleepy-eyed, slow-talking, but always one step ahead of his much larger, more aggressive adversary.
Tragically, Avery never saw the show air. He died in August 1980, more than a year before The Kwicky Koala Show premiered in September 1981. The show was completed by Hanna-Barbera’s staff in his absence.
The Four Segments
Kwicky Koala (the headlining segment)
The titular segment stars Kwicky Koala, a small, slow-spoken, perpetually drowsy-looking koala who’s constantly being pursued by Wilford Wolf, a hungry predator who wants to eat him. The dynamic is essentially Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote crossed with Droopy.
Kwicky’s signature ability is his sudden bursts of super-speed, accompanied by a “beep” sound effect (a clear nod to Speedy Gonzales). He uses this to evade Wilford’s increasingly elaborate traps while seeming barely aware of the danger. The character is voiced by Bob Ogle, who was also a writer on the show. Wilford Wolf is voiced by John Stephenson (best known for voicing Mr. Slate on The Flintstones).
Crazy Claws (the wildcat segment)
The second segment features Crazy Claws, a fast-talking wildcat with razor-sharp claws and a Groucho Marx-style delivery. Crazy Claws lives in a U.S. national park where he constantly evades the fur trapper Rawhide Clyde (voiced by Don Messick) and his hound Bristletooth (voiced by Peter Cullen).
The segment is set within a national park system supervised by Ranger Rangerfield (voiced by Michael Bell), who frequently appears to enforce park regulations or unintentionally complicate Clyde’s hunting attempts. Crazy Claws himself is voiced by Jim MacGeorge, who consciously modeled the character’s speech patterns on Groucho Marx.
Dirty Dawg (the street-savvy con artist)
The third segment features Dirty Dawg, a street-savvy dog with the swagger of a 70s sportscaster. He’s voiced by Frank Welker in a voice consciously modeled on the famous sports commentator Howard Cosell. His sidekick is Ratso, a loyal but dim-witted rat voiced by Marshall Efron. They’re constantly pursued by Officer Bullhorn, voiced by Matthew Faison.
The character has interesting Hanna-Barbera production history. In his memoir My Life in Toons, Joseph Barbera mentions that he originally created a “Dirty Doug” character back in his Terrytoons studio days that was never produced. Decades later, that concept evolved into Dirty Dawg.
The Bungle Brothers (the vaudeville duo)
The fourth and shortest segment features George and Joey Bungle, two well-meaning but hilariously incompetent dog vaudeville performers trying to make it in show business. Each Bungle Brothers segment featured three short vignettes (typically 1-2 minutes each) showing the brothers attempting various circus or vaudeville acts (tightrope walking, juggling, magic tricks) and failing in classic slapstick fashion.
George is voiced by Michael Bell (best known as Duke from G.I. Joe). Joey is voiced by Allan Melvin (best known as Sam the Butcher from The Brady Bunch and the voice of Magilla Gorilla).
The Legendary Voice Cast
One of the most underappreciated aspects of The Kwicky Koala Show is its voice cast, which features several actors who would go on to define 80s animation:
- ✅ Peter Cullen (Bristletooth) — would become the iconic voice of Optimus Prime in The Transformers (1984) and every subsequent Transformers project for the next 40 years. Cullen reprised the role in Michael Bay’s live-action Transformers films.
- 💡 Frank Welker (Dirty Dawg) — one of the most prolific voice actors in animation history. His credits include Megatron in The Transformers (and many Transformers projects since), Fred Jones in Scooby-Doo (1969-present), Curious George, Nibbler from Futurama, and literally thousands of other roles.
- 🔥 Don Messick (Rawhide Clyde) — the legendary Hanna-Barbera voice talent. Scooby-Doo, Boo-Boo Bear, Astro from The Jetsons, Bamm-Bamm Rubble, Papa Smurf, hundreds more.
- ✅ Michael Bell (George, Ranger Rangerfield) — best known as Duke in G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1985-1986).
- 💡 Allan Melvin (Joey) — Sam the Butcher on The Brady Bunch and the voice of Magilla Gorilla.
- 🔥 John Stephenson (Wilford Wolf) — Mr. Slate from The Flintstones and many other Hanna-Barbera roles.
The fact that Peter Cullen and Frank Welker (who would become Optimus Prime and Megatron in The Transformers just three years later) both worked on this show is a fun piece of animation trivia.
Why the Show Was Short-Lived
The Kwicky Koala Show ran for only one season of 16 episodes (with four segments each, for 64 total individual cartoons). It was cancelled after the 1981-1982 season for several likely reasons:
- ✅ The anthology format was losing favor. By the early 80s, networks preferred dedicated single-character shows over the multi-segment anthology format that dominated the 60s and 70s.
- 💡 Tex Avery’s death. Avery’s involvement was clearly a major creative driver. His death before production may have affected the show’s overall execution.
- 🔥 Rising competition. 1981 was a competitive year for Saturday morning programming, with The Smurfs (also Hanna-Barbera) launching that same season and dominating ratings.
- ✅ Lack of merchandise potential. Unlike shows built around toy lines (which would dominate the 80s), Kwicky Koala didn’t have a strong commercial tie-in to drive long-term viewership.
The Smurfs alone outshone Kwicky Koala on CBS’s 1981 Saturday morning lineup, which absorbed much of the network’s promotional support and audience attention.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who created The Kwicky Koala Show?
The show was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, with significant creative contributions from legendary cartoon director Tex Avery, who joined the studio in 1979. Avery died in August 1980, before the show premiered in September 1981, making Kwicky Koala his final animation project.
Is Kwicky Koala based on Droopy?
Yes, essentially. Kwicky Koala is heavily modeled on Tex Avery’s iconic Droopy character (created at MGM in 1943). Both characters share the same archetype: small, slow-spoken, deceptively powerful underdogs who effortlessly outsmart their much larger pursuers. The Kwicky Koala / Wilford Wolf dynamic is also similar to Droopy’s interactions with various wolves and bears.
How long did The Kwicky Koala Show run?
The show ran for one season of 16 episodes on CBS during the 1981-1982 Saturday morning programming block. It was cancelled after its first season.
Who voices Kwicky Koala?
Kwicky Koala is voiced by Bob Ogle, who was also a writer on the show. Ogle had previously worked on various Hanna-Barbera productions.
Did Tex Avery actually work on this show?
Yes. Tex Avery joined Hanna-Barbera in 1979 and worked on character designs and creative direction for the show before his death in August 1980. He didn’t live to see the show air. The Kwicky Koala character’s design and personality are widely understood to be Avery’s final contribution to animation.
Why is Crazy Claws’s voice so distinctive?
Crazy Claws was voiced by Jim MacGeorge using a deliberate Groucho Marx-style delivery. The fast-talking, wisecracking voice was a creative choice to give the character distinctive comedic timing.
What’s the connection between this show and The Transformers?
Two of the show’s voice actors went on to play the iconic lead characters in The Transformers (1984). Peter Cullen (who voiced Bristletooth in Kwicky Koala) became Optimus Prime. Frank Welker (who voiced Dirty Dawg) became Megatron. Their voice work in The Transformers became foundational to 80s animation.
Where can I watch The Kwicky Koala Show today?
The show has been notoriously difficult to find on streaming. Some episodes have appeared on Boomerang (Warner Bros. Discovery’s classic-animation streaming service) and rarely on Max in classic cartoons rotations. The show has not received an official complete-series home video release, making it one of the more obscure Hanna-Barbera shows for modern viewers.
Why is this show historically significant?
The Kwicky Koala Show is historically significant primarily as Tex Avery’s final animation project. For animation historians and fans of golden-age cartoon comedy, the show represents the last creative contribution from one of the most influential cartoon directors of the 20th century. It’s also notable as an early voice acting credit for future Transformers leads Peter Cullen and Frank Welker.
