Wally Gator: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Wally Gator: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

See you later!

Reviewed by Randy Miller III December 28, 2025

Hanna-Barbera was running full steam ahead in the early 1960s, riding a wave of popularity from standout cartoons such as Ruff and Reddy, The Huckleberry Hound Show, Quick Draw McGraw, and of course The Flintstones. Appearing only a few weeks before future classic The Jetsons in September 1962 was a trio of new properties collectively known as The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series; these include Wally Gator, Touché Turtle and Dum Dum, and Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har. All three similar properties starred lovable talking animals in bite-sized adventures and, rather than sold as a full variety show, were instead offered as a package to local stations for syndicated flexibility. Each was also produced in 16mm as a cost-cutting measure, unlike most H-B productions which were finished on 35mm.

Similar to the other two new-for-1962 properties, Wally Gator's brisk five-minute running time means that none of these 52 episodes have any room for complex plots, character development, or suspenseful cliffhangers. But this one stands out for the simple fact that Wally -- a lovable, wisecracking alligator voiced by H-B regular Daws Butler -- flies solo rather than being flanked by a sidekick... although it features at least one regular supporting character in little Mr. Twiddle (Don Messick), a straight-laced zookeeper similar to Yogi Bear's Ranger Smith who's always on the lookout for Wally's next crafty escape plan. So yeah, ignore the opening theme song's claim of him being "a swinging alligator in the swamp"; poor Wally's stuck behind bars most of the time, but he's able to take more than a few a short field trips that lead him to exotic locations, unexpected events, or even meet-ups with interesting characters.

That's the enduring appeal of short-form cartoon entertainment like Wally Gator: it's not challenging in the least but perfectly fun in small doses which is why, as usual, Warner Archive's comprehensive collection of 52 episodes can be enjoyed at any speed. (I can't imagine many fans, even the most nostalgic ones, will be running the series in a single 4.5 hour session -- I watched them all in a little over a week, or about half-dozen shorts each evening, which felt just about right for yours truly.) But unlike several of the boutique label's recent fully reconstructed Blu-ray collections of "proper" vintage Hanna-Barbera shows such as Huckleberry Hound and Magilla Gorilla (which proved to be a Herculean challenge, given the ramshackle state of H-B's library of cartoons dissected into individual segments), these shorts are presented individually with the intro animation and title cards at both ends because that's all that exists.

Much like Touché Turtle and Lippy the Lion, all 52 episodes of Wally Gator look and sound as strong as possible on Warner Archive's new Blu-ray... but keep in mind that a handful of these shorts' original 16mm elements could not be located. Instead of my usual hand-assembled list of included shorts (which are all printed on the back cover for easy reference), screenshots #24 and 25 show each disc's episode roster. They're divided evenly with each dual-layered disc running just over two hours, which proves to be more than enough real estate to ensure optimal image quality.

Wally Gator: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Unlike most Hanna-Barbera cartoons from the 1950s and 60s, the original source materials for Wally Gator, Touché Turtle, and Lippy the Lion were 16mm original camera positives rather than 35mm negatives (a studio cost-cutting measure, as mentioned above), which obviously doesn't yield the same levels of fine detail and color depth as, say, Magilla Gorilla, The Jetsons, or The Huckleberry Hound Show. Compared to its two brothers, Wally Gator sits right in the middle: a lot more original 16mm elements were in usable condition than Touché Turtle but not quite as many as Lippy the Lion. About a dozen or so were taken from secondary elements and thus aren't as vivid or crisp but still look mostly very good under the circumstances, with only two ("Outside Looking In" [screenshot #14] and "Sea Sick Pals" ) dipping further down while still remaining watchable. Those taken from original 16mm sources -- read: most of these episodes, as well as the opening and closing sequences -- look absolutely flawless with outstanding color reproduction, excellent color saturation, and film grain that looks extremely tight and very well encoded on disc. Regardless of source material, all of these elements were recently scanned in full 4K and treated to a round of the boutique label's careful manual cleanup, which reinforces Wally Gator's vintage H-B visual charms while preserving every ounce of available film grain. Much like the other two similar sets, die-hard fans will be mighty pleased with this one.

Wally Gator: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track likewise isn't as clear and well-defined as Hanna-Barbera's 35mm cartoons, with occasional amount of thinness and hiss that were likely left alone to avoid compromising the shorts' dynamic range... but since the majority of these shorts' original elements were usable, Wally Gator sounds very good overall and very true to its source. Even during those dozen or so "secondary" episodes, basically all of the dialogue and music cues are perfectly intelligible and rarely fight for attention, achieving a modest overall presence that feels right in line with most TV shows from this era. In all cases, this series and its Blu-ray presentation serves as yet another sterling showcase of H-B's commitment to first-rate voice acting and remains appealing for that reason and more.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during all 52 included shorts.

Wally Gator: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This two-disc release ships in a keepcase with colorful cover art. No inserts are included, but an episode list is provided on the back cover. (Additionally, screenshots #24 and 25 show all the cartoons on each disc as well.)

Not surprisingly, there are no extras, which is of course offset by the rock-bottom price.

Wally Gator: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Warner Archive continues to churn out lovingly produced, low-priced collections showcasing some of Hanna-Barbera's lesser-known vintage properties, and Wally Gator: The Complete Series is yet another fan-pleasing effort. Part of The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series, a collective of new-for-1962 characters that also included Touché Turtle and Dum Dum and Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har, Wally Gator stars in bite-sized adventures with memorable voice acting, this time from Daws Butler and Don Messick. The formula is limited, but it's enjoyable in smaller doses so you can take your time digging through all 52 five-minute shorts on this two-disc set. Above all else, the gorgeous restorations will make Wally Gator yet another absolute treasure for long-time H-B fans. Recommended to the right crowd.