Jetsons: The Movie (film)

Jetsons: The Movie is an American animated sci-fi comedy/forced environmental film based on the 1962 TV series The Jetsons. The film was produced by Hanna-Barbera, and distributed by Universal Pictures on July 6, 1990. It was written by Dennis Marks, and produced and directed by Joseph Barbera and William Hanna.

Mysterious production delays at Spacely's Ore Orbiting Asteroid forces Spacely no choice but to put George in charge, who has to figure out who or what is disrupting his plant. The rest of the family also adapts to their new home and makes new friends.

The film served as the de facto series finale to the aforementioned TV series, as no new episodes aired after its release. In fact, no new official Jetsons productions had been done for 27 years until the release of the 2017 direct-to-video film, The Jetsons & WWE: Robo-WrestleMania.

Characters

 * style="background-color:#clear"| Rosie
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Jean Vander Pyl
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Tweeter
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#clear"| George Jetson
 * style="background-color:#clear"| George O'Hanlon
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Elroy Jetson
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Patric Zimmerman
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Judy Jetson
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Tiffany
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Jane Jetson
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Penny Singleton
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Astro
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Don Messick
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Rocket Rick
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Rick Dees
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Cop
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Cosmo Spacely
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Mel Blanc
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Board member #1
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Michael Bell
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Gertrude
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Susan Silo
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Alexander Throttlebottom
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Rudy 2
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Ronnie Schell
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Basketball coach #1
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Michael Bell
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Cosmic Cosmo
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Steve McClintock
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Mrs. Skypad
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Alien hitchhiker
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Lucy 2
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Patti Deutsch
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Doris
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Susie
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Mary
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Helen
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Fergie Furbelow
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Russi Taylor
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Bertie Furbelow
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Brad Garrett
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Gertie Furbelow
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| B.J. Ward
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Apollo Blue
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Paul Kreppel
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Teddy 2
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Dana Hill
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Basketball coach #2
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Frank Welker
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Squeak
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Frank Welker
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Patti Deutsch
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Doris
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Susie
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Mary
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Helen
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Fergie Furbelow
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Russi Taylor
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Bertie Furbelow
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Brad Garrett
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Gertie Furbelow
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| B.J. Ward
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Apollo Blue
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Paul Kreppel
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Teddy 2
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Dana Hill
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Basketball coach #2
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Frank Welker
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Squeak
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Frank Welker
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Apollo Blue
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Paul Kreppel
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Teddy 2
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Dana Hill
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Basketball coach #2
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Frank Welker
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Squeak
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Frank Welker
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Squeak
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Frank Welker
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Frank Welker

Organizations

 * Spacely Space Sprockets

Locations

 * Spacely's Orbiting Ore Asteroid
 * Earth
 * United States
 * Orbit City
 * Sky Pad Apartments
 * Jetsons residence
 * Spacely Space Sprockets building
 * Teen Club 2100
 * Lunar Lunch Shoppe
 * Intergalactic Garden Estates

Objects

 * Inflata-Cop
 * Visaphone

Vehicles

 * Flying cars

Development
Additional dialogue is credited to Carl Sautter.

Although credited as directors, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera were not happy with the direction the studio wanted them to take, and the final product is not of their own making, having left during production.

Jon McClenahan was hired by Hanna to animate, but when animation stalled, he was put on storyboarding duties. When McClenahan was finished he had to have them approved by Iwao Takamoto, who was more interested in lecturing him on what he was doing wrong, even after McClenahan made the changes that Takamoto himself suggested. Growing tired of this after two weeks, McClenahan told Hanna that he was done, but he would still animate when they were ready for him which eventually they were. Ultimately, the final product was an embarrassment for McClenahan to watch.

Casting
Daws Butler, the voice of Elroy, also died before production began, so he was replaced with Patric Zimmerman.

Janet Waldo had all her lines redubbed by then teen pop star Tiffany due to a studio decision by Universal Pictures to draw in more of a bigger audience, but instead just alienated its existing one more. Casting director, Andrea Romano, demanded her name to be removed from the credits, although she apparently doesn't realize it was still left in.

Filming
George O'Hanlon and Mel Blanc, the voices of George and Mr. Spacely, respectively, both died during production, with the former actually dying in the recording booth. The film is dedicated to both O'Hanlon and Blanc. Jeff Bergman was hired to fill in their lines, beginning his career as the characters.

Music
The score was composed by John Debney.

Songs

 * 1) "Gotcha"
 * 2) "Maybe Love, Maybe Not"
 * 3) "Staying Together"
 * 4) "I Always Thought I'd See You Again"
 * 5) "First Time in Love"
 * 6) "You and Me"
 * 7) "Home"
 * 8) "We're the Jetsons (Jetsons' Rap)"
 * 9) "With You All the Way"

Release
Dates are in order of release:


 * United States: July 6, 1990

Behind the scenes

 * This is the third film in a row (films being the only continuation of the franchise at this point), where Judy falls in love with a rockstar.
 * The film is depicted as being in the late 21st century.
 * The family watch a soap opera called All My Androids, a parody of All My Children.
 * Squeak sounds no different to Orbitty, due to both being voiced by Frank Welker.
 * Shortly before the release of the film, Universal Studios Florida opened up a ride called The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera, with the same principal cast, aside from Waldo or Tiffany as Judy, as she did not appear at all, for reasons unknown.

Errors

 * Earth somehow has a pollution problem, apparently just for the sake of spreading an environmental message, which drastically conflicts with the previous series and films, where there was no such problem.
 * Elroy being a child prodigy has been played down, so that he appears as just an average boy. Despite showing in "Two Many Georges," that he could be both.
 * Judy refers to Cosmic Cosmo as her former boyfriend when they hadn't even gone on one date.

Home availability

 * In the United States:
 * October 25, 1990: MCA/Universal Home Video releases Jetsons: The Movie on VHS.
 * April 28, 2009: Universal Home Video releases Jetsons: The Movie on DVD.
 * September 8, 2014: Universal Home Video releases Jetsons: The Movie on DVD.
 * February 16, 2021: Kino Lorber releases Jetsons: The Movie on Blu-ray Disc.
 * In the United Kingdom and Ireland:
 * June 1, 2009: Universal Pictures UK releases Jetsons: The Movie on DVD.
 * February 2, 2015: Universal Pictures UK releases Jetsons: The Movie on DVD.
 * April 4, 2016: Fabulous Films releases Jetsons: The Movie on DVD.
 * June 6, 2016: Fabulous Films releases Jetsons: The Movie on Blu-ray Disc.

Trailers
First trailer:

Second trailer: