The Rise and Fall of Saturday Morning Cartoons
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Date: 2023-12-30
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Comments and reviews: 20
weird_history
The quality of some of those early, pre-tv, theatrically-released cartoon shorts, is just nuts. Especially compared to the garbage-quality of early made for tv cartoons (not that Rocky and Bullwinkle and Roger Ramjet don't have a charm of their own. But NOBODY is gonna mistake them for quality animation )
The MGM Tom and Jerry shorts, up to about 1947 or 48, the old Fleischer Superman shorts (which were the most expensive, per minute, animation ever made, from 1943 when they debuted, up til the digital era started in the 90s, pre-ww2 Disney shorts, and Golden age WB, up til the early 60s, are legitimate masterpieces of mid-century artwork.
It's kinda crazy how kids were fed this incredible, high-quality stuff, mixed in with the cheap, farted-out cartoons of the 60s and 70s, and the glorified 23minute toy ads of the 80s.
What is genuinely tragic, is that probably at least 20 or 30% of those incredible quality, golden age shorts got pulled from tv, often pulled from vhs/dvd release, and official digital releases, because they're deemed politically incorrect by modern standards, either because of portrayal of racial minorities, portrayal of sewer-side, smoking and/or booze, or sometimes, portrayal of women. But most often, racial stuff.
Being black myself, it genuinely plsses me off how much white liberals have shat all over legitimately historic black represention (almost always scored by black musicians, in order to virtue-signal, to fullfill their urge to speak on behalf of poor, oppressed, lesser races, and to protect THEIR OWN delicate sensibilities. I'm enough of a boomer to remember 'Inki and the Myna Bird', and 'Coal Black and de Sebbem Dwarves' getting played in Saturday morning cartoon slots, and kids (ESPECIALLY black kids; whether white libs like it or not, those shorts represent the history of THEIR on screen cultural representation) have been robbed, of some of the most beautifully animated, gloriously un-PC, innovative, wild, fun cartoons ever made
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The quality of some of those early, pre-tv, theatrically-released cartoon shorts, is just nuts. Especially compared to the garbage-quality of early made for tv cartoons (not that Rocky and Bullwinkle and Roger Ramjet don't have a charm of their own. But NOBODY is gonna mistake them for quality animation )
The MGM Tom and Jerry shorts, up to about 1947 or 48, the old Fleischer Superman shorts (which were the most expensive, per minute, animation ever made, from 1943 when they debuted, up til the digital era started in the 90s, pre-ww2 Disney shorts, and Golden age WB, up til the early 60s, are legitimate masterpieces of mid-century artwork.
It's kinda crazy how kids were fed this incredible, high-quality stuff, mixed in with the cheap, farted-out cartoons of the 60s and 70s, and the glorified 23minute toy ads of the 80s.
What is genuinely tragic, is that probably at least 20 or 30% of those incredible quality, golden age shorts got pulled from tv, often pulled from vhs/dvd release, and official digital releases, because they're deemed politically incorrect by modern standards, either because of portrayal of racial minorities, portrayal of sewer-side, smoking and/or booze, or sometimes, portrayal of women. But most often, racial stuff.
Being black myself, it genuinely plsses me off how much white liberals have shat all over legitimately historic black represention (almost always scored by black musicians, in order to virtue-signal, to fullfill their urge to speak on behalf of poor, oppressed, lesser races, and to protect THEIR OWN delicate sensibilities. I'm enough of a boomer to remember 'Inki and the Myna Bird', and 'Coal Black and de Sebbem Dwarves' getting played in Saturday morning cartoon slots, and kids (ESPECIALLY black kids; whether white libs like it or not, those shorts represent the history of THEIR on screen cultural representation) have been robbed, of some of the most beautifully animated, gloriously un-PC, innovative, wild, fun cartoons ever made
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seekertosecrets
2: 02 Funniest Yoda impression this year and it's cutting close to the end!
11: 04 So what do you think? Did you watch Saturday morning cartoons. YES!
It was fun times. 2014 was the year of shifts and finalizes. ABC Cartoons? Watched before and after it was bought by Disney! The best thing that ever came out on that network was Disney's 1 Saturday Morning and 1 Afternoon blocks! CBS had their own shows that made them unique like Project G. E. E. K. E. R and the classic Storytime Playbook. Fox Kids held cartoons for both Marvel and DC cartoons before KIds WB! came into play. UPN had their own cartoon shows coming into play like Mighty Max, Mutant Football League, and Bruno the Kid staring Bruce Willis as the titular character.
Once anime like Sailor Moon, Ronin Warriors, Samurai Pizza Cats, and Technoman (Tekkaman Blade 2) started to come to the states, it changed EVERYTHING. It added to the violent meter that some parents grew concerned about. Little by little, after the live action kid game shows like Tales From the Cryptkeeper, (Yes, that was a thing) the kids version of American Gladiators, and Pick Your Brain starring Marc Summers and this HUGE Robot called 2-XL, more educational shows started to show up. First, NBC slowly phased out their block after Inside the NBA came on. Second, CBS had, Sports Illustrated for Kids. After 1995, Jack Hannah has his safari show on ABC, but it was placed after the block instead of replacing it.
But one by one, network after network had to comply to the FCC guidelines until the CW was the last hold out. All other networks were hosting educational shows like Litton's Weekend Adventure and Discovery Kids until 2014. After that, all the cartoons were out from the regular broadcasts. Unless your parents could afford cable/satellite tv, dvds, or VHS cassette tapes, you were out of luck! 1985 to 2014 was a golden era of cartoons for my generation. An era like that will come again!
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2: 02 Funniest Yoda impression this year and it's cutting close to the end!
11: 04 So what do you think? Did you watch Saturday morning cartoons. YES!
It was fun times. 2014 was the year of shifts and finalizes. ABC Cartoons? Watched before and after it was bought by Disney! The best thing that ever came out on that network was Disney's 1 Saturday Morning and 1 Afternoon blocks! CBS had their own shows that made them unique like Project G. E. E. K. E. R and the classic Storytime Playbook. Fox Kids held cartoons for both Marvel and DC cartoons before KIds WB! came into play. UPN had their own cartoon shows coming into play like Mighty Max, Mutant Football League, and Bruno the Kid staring Bruce Willis as the titular character.
Once anime like Sailor Moon, Ronin Warriors, Samurai Pizza Cats, and Technoman (Tekkaman Blade 2) started to come to the states, it changed EVERYTHING. It added to the violent meter that some parents grew concerned about. Little by little, after the live action kid game shows like Tales From the Cryptkeeper, (Yes, that was a thing) the kids version of American Gladiators, and Pick Your Brain starring Marc Summers and this HUGE Robot called 2-XL, more educational shows started to show up. First, NBC slowly phased out their block after Inside the NBA came on. Second, CBS had, Sports Illustrated for Kids. After 1995, Jack Hannah has his safari show on ABC, but it was placed after the block instead of replacing it.
But one by one, network after network had to comply to the FCC guidelines until the CW was the last hold out. All other networks were hosting educational shows like Litton's Weekend Adventure and Discovery Kids until 2014. After that, all the cartoons were out from the regular broadcasts. Unless your parents could afford cable/satellite tv, dvds, or VHS cassette tapes, you were out of luck! 1985 to 2014 was a golden era of cartoons for my generation. An era like that will come again!
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impalaman9707
I was born in 1971 so I was in the heart of Gen X and smack dab in the middle of when Saturday morning TV was at its peak! So sad that Gen Y and Z kids will never know the fun that we experienced when Saturday morning was an American tradition--a ritual---an event as anticipated as the Super Bowl or Christmas. I guess you'll never miss what you never knew, but it fills my heart with sorrow to see this generation of kids with nothing but boring, educational programs on Saturday to fill their time with---I mean, who wants to watch an antelope give birth at the zoo? I know better, but perhaps this generation of kids considers that FUN?
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I was born in 1971 so I was in the heart of Gen X and smack dab in the middle of when Saturday morning TV was at its peak! So sad that Gen Y and Z kids will never know the fun that we experienced when Saturday morning was an American tradition--a ritual---an event as anticipated as the Super Bowl or Christmas. I guess you'll never miss what you never knew, but it fills my heart with sorrow to see this generation of kids with nothing but boring, educational programs on Saturday to fill their time with---I mean, who wants to watch an antelope give birth at the zoo? I know better, but perhaps this generation of kids considers that FUN?
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comedianmattrossey
I grew up with Saturday morning cartoons. As well as lunchtime cartoons when I would come home from school for lunch. I miss being able to turn on the tv and watch cartoons and if I go online and look up a particular show I can't stop watching one after the other for hours.
Strange thing is when I was a kid I could watch Saturday Morning Cartoons and then when they were over I would go outside and play or ride my bike. Life wasn't complicated then for kids like it is now. Now kids lives are scheduled between therapists appointments and play dates.
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I grew up with Saturday morning cartoons. As well as lunchtime cartoons when I would come home from school for lunch. I miss being able to turn on the tv and watch cartoons and if I go online and look up a particular show I can't stop watching one after the other for hours.
Strange thing is when I was a kid I could watch Saturday Morning Cartoons and then when they were over I would go outside and play or ride my bike. Life wasn't complicated then for kids like it is now. Now kids lives are scheduled between therapists appointments and play dates.
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jamievaughn1485
So this is really incorrect. Saturday morning cartoons died in the late 80s not late 90s. Saved by the Bell was the first show in 89 to start replacing cartoons on NBC. Saturday cartoons then took a huge dive after the 1990 bill. It only took a year or so and then no cartoons were airing on the big 3 networks. Streaming etc had nothing to do with it and neither did Cartoon Network as those came much later. As a kid who experienced this, this video is mostly wrong. Makes me wonder how many other videos are wrong now on subject I don t know about.
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So this is really incorrect. Saturday morning cartoons died in the late 80s not late 90s. Saved by the Bell was the first show in 89 to start replacing cartoons on NBC. Saturday cartoons then took a huge dive after the 1990 bill. It only took a year or so and then no cartoons were airing on the big 3 networks. Streaming etc had nothing to do with it and neither did Cartoon Network as those came much later. As a kid who experienced this, this video is mostly wrong. Makes me wonder how many other videos are wrong now on subject I don t know about.
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impalaman9707
The sad thing is--now its ALL educational and boring. But I guess if you grew up only eating broccoli, you'll never miss the joy of eating ice cream---or even Frosted Flakes? So this generation of kids is fed animal adventures or shows about how to save the planet on Saturday morning, and its almost like a SIXTH day of school for them! But they don't know any better because its all they've ever known. So we have a whole generation of kids growing up acting like robots, some of whom are cynical, humorless, and smarter than thou
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The sad thing is--now its ALL educational and boring. But I guess if you grew up only eating broccoli, you'll never miss the joy of eating ice cream---or even Frosted Flakes? So this generation of kids is fed animal adventures or shows about how to save the planet on Saturday morning, and its almost like a SIXTH day of school for them! But they don't know any better because its all they've ever known. So we have a whole generation of kids growing up acting like robots, some of whom are cynical, humorless, and smarter than thou
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omw78
Does anyone remember the bubble bath called Soaky it was put into plastic bottle cartoon characters like rocky and bowwenkle. Donald duck yogi bear and boo boo. I remember I had a big collection of them.
There was a jingle that went soaky soaks you clean and every boy and girl gets a toy when it's empty when it's empty it's a toy! I'm 70 yrs old now and its amazing that watching this video brought back this memory of days long gone but cherished just the same. Those sure were the days of innocence and simple pleasures.
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Does anyone remember the bubble bath called Soaky it was put into plastic bottle cartoon characters like rocky and bowwenkle. Donald duck yogi bear and boo boo. I remember I had a big collection of them.
There was a jingle that went soaky soaks you clean and every boy and girl gets a toy when it's empty when it's empty it's a toy! I'm 70 yrs old now and its amazing that watching this video brought back this memory of days long gone but cherished just the same. Those sure were the days of innocence and simple pleasures.
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NaspalmHymnautic
Monday through Friday 1985-1996 hardest time to wake up on time, even with the assistance of an alarm clock. Saturday on the other hand, would naturally wake up at 630am ready for the Saturday morning Cartoons till 11am and was promptly booted out of the house to get fresh air (aka - go to another friend's house to play SNES, or they come over to play Genesis) till about 8pm or just stay the night and stay up all night and wake up about 1pm Sunday morning and run amok till 5pm.
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Monday through Friday 1985-1996 hardest time to wake up on time, even with the assistance of an alarm clock. Saturday on the other hand, would naturally wake up at 630am ready for the Saturday morning Cartoons till 11am and was promptly booted out of the house to get fresh air (aka - go to another friend's house to play SNES, or they come over to play Genesis) till about 8pm or just stay the night and stay up all night and wake up about 1pm Sunday morning and run amok till 5pm.
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lp-xl9ld
From (probably) 1968 to (probably) 1977--I don't remember exactly--Saturday morning cartoons were a very big deal to me. (And depending where you lived, there might be Sunday morning cartoons on some stations) I then discovered a new source of animation in about 1997--Kids WB; never mind that I was well into my 30s by that point. My then girlfriend would usually stay at my place on Friday nights and then we'd watch cartoons on Saturday morning. Damn, I miss that.
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From (probably) 1968 to (probably) 1977--I don't remember exactly--Saturday morning cartoons were a very big deal to me. (And depending where you lived, there might be Sunday morning cartoons on some stations) I then discovered a new source of animation in about 1997--Kids WB; never mind that I was well into my 30s by that point. My then girlfriend would usually stay at my place on Friday nights and then we'd watch cartoons on Saturday morning. Damn, I miss that.
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dakotaknipp7357
It s amazing I caught the last of the Saturday morning cartoons. I watched the cw in its last couple years. I think the the last I watched was 2012? 2013? It was my source of anime. And I got up for it. But about after 9th? 10? Grade I hade access to the internet and easily found shows I wanted. No need to wait for Saturday anymore. I m glad I saw it before it went though because I still remember that excitement. Idk that cw stopped though that s crazy.
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It s amazing I caught the last of the Saturday morning cartoons. I watched the cw in its last couple years. I think the the last I watched was 2012? 2013? It was my source of anime. And I got up for it. But about after 9th? 10? Grade I hade access to the internet and easily found shows I wanted. No need to wait for Saturday anymore. I m glad I saw it before it went though because I still remember that excitement. Idk that cw stopped though that s crazy.
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weird_history
Never watched live action stuff, nor did my younger bro(oh, cept now then 'the little rascels' in b&w) -but do remember bugs, daffy, yosemite sam etc as faves, and popeye, and droopy etc.
Tho being a kiddo I seemed to prefer old shorts('40's -late 50's) vs scooby doo type toons! Not sure why. I recall the afternoons being a time with a host, to catch some cartoons eating an after-school snack too! Fun times late 70's-mid 80's!
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Never watched live action stuff, nor did my younger bro(oh, cept now then 'the little rascels' in b&w) -but do remember bugs, daffy, yosemite sam etc as faves, and popeye, and droopy etc.
Tho being a kiddo I seemed to prefer old shorts('40's -late 50's) vs scooby doo type toons! Not sure why. I recall the afternoons being a time with a host, to catch some cartoons eating an after-school snack too! Fun times late 70's-mid 80's!
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sarahcoleman5269
I loved cartoons, well into my 20s. The thing was, I more enjoyed the action/adventure cartoons with a story, like He-Man, GI Joe, and Thunder Cats and later, Gargoyles, Batman, and TMNT. I wasn't a fan of the silly, serialized slap-stick cartoons. After the action cartoon faded away and the new trend in animation was adult, serialized slap-stick, like Simpsons and Family Guy, I was done. That crap is just barrel-scraping.
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I loved cartoons, well into my 20s. The thing was, I more enjoyed the action/adventure cartoons with a story, like He-Man, GI Joe, and Thunder Cats and later, Gargoyles, Batman, and TMNT. I wasn't a fan of the silly, serialized slap-stick cartoons. After the action cartoon faded away and the new trend in animation was adult, serialized slap-stick, like Simpsons and Family Guy, I was done. That crap is just barrel-scraping.
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Makoto03
Saturday morning cartoons were so nostalgic as a kid. It was a reward for getting through the boredom of school during the weekdays and having a whole block dedicated to fun cartoons.
It was eventually replaced for me by another block of animations called 'Toonami', which aired every day of the week and was more targeted for teens. But i still have nostalgia for both eras.
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Saturday morning cartoons were so nostalgic as a kid. It was a reward for getting through the boredom of school during the weekdays and having a whole block dedicated to fun cartoons.
It was eventually replaced for me by another block of animations called 'Toonami', which aired every day of the week and was more targeted for teens. But i still have nostalgia for both eras.
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IceManLikeGervin
The beginning of the end: In October 1990, President George H. W. Bush signed the Children's Television Act (CTA, an Act of Congress ordering the FCC to implement regulations surrounding programming that serves the educational and informational (E/I) needs of children, as well as the amount of advertising broadcast during television programs aimed towards children.
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The beginning of the end: In October 1990, President George H. W. Bush signed the Children's Television Act (CTA, an Act of Congress ordering the FCC to implement regulations surrounding programming that serves the educational and informational (E/I) needs of children, as well as the amount of advertising broadcast during television programs aimed towards children.
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gc4644
The late 60s thru all the 70s were the absolute best in Saturday morning cartoons! Hanna Barbera was at the top of its game, and we loved it! ME-TV now shows some of the old Saturday morning cartoons on Saturday morning, brings back fond memories, would LOVE to see some of the old Fantastic Four episodes from the 60s, but haven't seen anyone offer those yet.
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The late 60s thru all the 70s were the absolute best in Saturday morning cartoons! Hanna Barbera was at the top of its game, and we loved it! ME-TV now shows some of the old Saturday morning cartoons on Saturday morning, brings back fond memories, would LOVE to see some of the old Fantastic Four episodes from the 60s, but haven't seen anyone offer those yet.
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btetschner
I am going to watch the videos:
x Facts About Mel Blanc, The Voice Behind Looney Tunes (Second Time watching it)
x The Rise and Fall of Joe Camel, The Cartoon Who Encouraged Kids to Smoke (Second Time watching it)
x Surprising Origins of Popular Traditions (Second Time Watching it)
x What Life Was Like for a Medieval Crusader
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I am going to watch the videos:
x Facts About Mel Blanc, The Voice Behind Looney Tunes (Second Time watching it)
x The Rise and Fall of Joe Camel, The Cartoon Who Encouraged Kids to Smoke (Second Time watching it)
x Surprising Origins of Popular Traditions (Second Time Watching it)
x What Life Was Like for a Medieval Crusader
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FloofyPurple
80s kid here. I remember running out into the living room at 630am in hopes that I got there before my dad, or I wouldn't get to watch anything. If I got there first, he'd let me watch two shows before confiscating the remote lol
When my friends woke up shortly after, I'd be bumming at their house to watch more cartoons.
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80s kid here. I remember running out into the living room at 630am in hopes that I got there before my dad, or I wouldn't get to watch anything. If I got there first, he'd let me watch two shows before confiscating the remote lol
When my friends woke up shortly after, I'd be bumming at their house to watch more cartoons.
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ladynikkie
As an 80's baby, this truly gives me nostalgia. My top Saturday/Sunday morning cartoons were Transformers, GI Joe, Ghostbusters, Jem and the Holograms, and Thundercats and my god there were so many good ones I can barely name them all in one comment but one thing I can say is 80's cartoons did have some kick ass theme songs
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As an 80's baby, this truly gives me nostalgia. My top Saturday/Sunday morning cartoons were Transformers, GI Joe, Ghostbusters, Jem and the Holograms, and Thundercats and my god there were so many good ones I can barely name them all in one comment but one thing I can say is 80's cartoons did have some kick ass theme songs
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pattycake8272
Our kids don't have in ruff and I have been saying this for a while now that cable TV is why. I'm wasn't a morning person when I was young and had to get up early not only on the weekdays but on Saturday too, I had to put together my own cereal and then go turn on the tv with the knob on the tv, hoping it wasn't to loud.
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Our kids don't have in ruff and I have been saying this for a while now that cable TV is why. I'm wasn't a morning person when I was young and had to get up early not only on the weekdays but on Saturday too, I had to put together my own cereal and then go turn on the tv with the knob on the tv, hoping it wasn't to loud.
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Son-of-Tyr
Not a cartoon, but anyone remember Beakman's World, Rocko's Modern Life, Salute your Shorts, and (of course) Ren and Stimpy! Not to mention Pete and Pete, Hey Arnold, Doug, Ed Edd N' Eddy. We'd flip back and forth between Nick and Cartoon Network. Ah, DirecTV in the early days. bringing back a flood of childhood memories.
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Not a cartoon, but anyone remember Beakman's World, Rocko's Modern Life, Salute your Shorts, and (of course) Ren and Stimpy! Not to mention Pete and Pete, Hey Arnold, Doug, Ed Edd N' Eddy. We'd flip back and forth between Nick and Cartoon Network. Ah, DirecTV in the early days. bringing back a flood of childhood memories.
reply
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