I originally wrote this post for the League of Extraordinary Bloggers about my dream selection of Saturday morning cartoons. It was tough to narrow many of these down to a concise list. We will be talking about this topic on this week's Geek Fallout Podcast and as you know I like to do my research.
I have finally convinced myself to do a post from The League Of Extraordinary Bloggers for two reasons. First, I AM Extraordinary and secondly I needed to forgive the snub I got when some of my comments got deleted awhile back.
As we all know, every single pronouncement from my mouth is GOLD and my opinions and tastes are beyond question, at least beyond questioning by an idiot mass audience who wouldn't know COOL if they were locked in a meat freezer.
This week's assignment was to come up with the ultimate Saturday Morning cartoon line-up. I feel sorry for those people who never grew up with a devotion to the weekend cartoons. The 60s and 70s were a golden age for the genre but most of the best animated series were made in the 90s and beyond.
I was never a kid who slept late so it was a perfect time to control the TV. I got to watch what I wanted to watch while eating Pop Tarts and all manner of sugary cereal. My tastes leaned towards the classics.
I loved all the Hanna-Barbara stuff because they had such great voice work, music and animation. Their superhero stuff like Thundarr, Mighty Mightor and Space Ghost, was just as great as their more cartoony shorts. Huckleberry Hound, Pixie and Dixie, Snagglepuss, Quick Draw McGraw were all favorites.
In the 90s they made Dexter's Laboratory, Animaniacs, and all the great superhero series like The Adventures of Superman and Justice League Unlimited.
If I liked one series done in the superhero animated style there is a good chance I liked and watched all of them. Static Shock, Superman and the Legion of Super Heroes and Batman - Brave and the Bold were also exceptional.
Saturday cartoons started my weekend. After several hours of quality entertainment I was off to YBC Bowling, a matinee and pizza for super while watching The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Hour.
I added Isis to my list because sometimes there was nothing better than the live action shows that usually came after the cartoons. Land of the Lost, Ark II, Jason of Star Command, Shazam and Saved by the Bell were memorable for me as were the silent comedy of the Keystone Cops or Buster Keaton.
So here is my list. There were tons of cartoons that got left off because I had to get myself down to a reasonable number. I like each of these examples for the simple fact that they entertained me at whatever stage of life I was in. Some hold up better than others when looked back upon but all are remembered fondly.
Honorable Mention
Dungeons and Dragons
Powerpuff Girls
Darkwing Duck
Tailspin
X-Men Cartoons
Any Spider-Man Cartoon Series Ever Made
Mighty Heroes (5:00 am)
Tales of The Wizard Of Oz (5:30 am)
New Adventures of Pinnochio (6:00 am)
Wacky Racers (6:30 am)
Birdman and the Galaxy Trio (7:00 am)
Hurculoids (7:30 am)
Yogi Bear (8:00 am)
Lilo and Stich (8:30 am)
Weekenders (9:00 AM)
Kim Possible (9:30 AM)
Catscratch (10:00 AM)
Jackie Chan Adventures (10:30 am)
Batman: The Animated Series (11:00 am)
The Batman (11:30 am)
Justice League (12:00 pm)
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (12:30 pm)
Gargoyles (1:00 pm)
Isis (1:30 pm)
%20(002).jpg)
9 comments:
Some fantastic shows on that list. I had completely forgotten Catscratch. Im sorry to here about the snub, I dont know the circumstance around the events but I do know I enjoy your posts and comments.
Wow - Now that is a post! I loved many of these shows. Fun memories from the 70s and 80s, for sure. Many mornings of me and my brother with a couple of bowls of cereal! Some of the older ones also aired early weekday mornings and afternoons, before and after school. Fun times.
Yeh I had fun doing this one and revisiting all the old favorites. Some posts are a labor of love.
Catscratch is one of the most consistantly laugh out loud funny cartoons ever. The voices are terrific as are the situations those stupid cats get themselves into. And who cannot love long suffering Hovis, the Butler.
Wow, this is quite a post Kal! So much cool stuff on here.
I forgot all about that Jackie Chan cartoon. And Wacky Races! That was a favorite of mine before school on weekday mornings.
Nicely done!
I remember eating cereal in front of Saturday Morning Cartoons during my youth, but I grew out of it after a while, probably because the shows we got at that hour weren't all that good. We didn't have cable, so my options were rather limited, a lot of Disney spinoffs and live action educational shows. I think the most notorious may have been "Free Willy: The Animated Series". Yes, that was a real thing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFMXKb9OAVE
I think Buzz Lightyear: The Animated Series was the one I looked the most forward to, (Again, Yes, this was real) but in retrospect it was only okay, though the opening theme music would have you think otherwise.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dic_Hhnh9zg
Now that we're in an era of YouTubes and Online Videos that you can watch anytime of day, I thought I'd never be glued to the TV on Saturday morning ever again. Then Cartoon Network moved Young Justice for Friday Evenings to Saturday mornings so that it came right before Nickeloden's Legend of Korra. Let me tell you, I could be made to do ANYTHING so long as it didn't interfere with my viewing of that golden hour.
I like how you've got the different genre spread out. Start with the classics then move into light comedy before venturing into more serious action.
Personally I could do without "The Batman", but I would love to see more "Cadilacs and Dinosaurs". I've seen the opening theme, but did not know they made a full episode.
Great post
Where's Jonny Quest?, the Jetsons?. Gumby?...Top Cat?
Yes and the Flintstones and Gumby. So many I thought of after doing my research.
Post a Comment