what happened to saturday morning cartoons?

[kakihara]

saturday mornings dont mean anything anymore. its sad, this used to be the best part of the whole week for a kid. especially in the 80s with so much variety, there was a lot of anticipation. i think s/mornings died out towards the end of the 90s. kids nowadays dont even care about cartoons, most have never even seen a real cartoon, just that mass produced manga-looking computer crap. sometimes i think thats a big part of our screwed-up society, kids dont want to be kids anymore.  i guess its more profitable to put old cartoons on dvd sets and charge an arm and a leg instead of showing them on tv.

[Zapranoth]

Saturday morning cartoons have sucked since the late 80's, as far as I can tell.

You can still see The Herculoids and Thundarr and other good stuff via Youtube, but the stuff on air is crap.... edited Warner bros cartoons, lots of stuff I don't even recognize.

In the 80's, even the bad cartoons were enjoyable and watchable (ie, Mr T cartoons) on a certain level.  And you had stuff like Buck Rogers thrown in amidst the other shows.

I used to get up at 6:30 or 7, every saturday, and make hot chocolate, and watch straight on through until about noon... the good stuff started to flicker out into sports coverage (boooring!) about 11:30 or so.

That sound familiar to anyone else here?

[RCMerchant]

Saterday mornings were a holiday. The Bugs Bunny/Roadrunner Show,Spiderman,Johnny Quest-and I agree with Zap-the old Warner Bros. carttons have been edited for PC standerds.

Todays Saterday!
Cartoon time! YAY!!!! Break out the Quisp and Quake!  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1bHvs2zrN4

How many of the stars do you recognize?

Classic!-
Billy boyboyboy-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCMkyukmTLg
You'll never see this on TV again....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLYzzH0IF_Y

When Captain America throws his mighty sheild----!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64VZv8zueP0


Yes-the animation is p**s poor.And the quality of this video is as well.But not as bad as trying to pull it in on rabbit ears in the sixties!

[Rev. Powell]

I agree that Saturday morning cartoons used to be a cool ritual.  But now kids can watch cartoons any hour of the day, any day of the week on The Cartoon Network, Nickolodeon, Disney Channel, etc.  I bet if you'd offered me that deal when I was 7 or 8, I would have taken it in a millisecond.   

[Monster Jungle X-Ray]

I agree that Saturday morning cartoons used to be a cool ritual.  But now kids can watch cartoons any hour of the day, any day of the week on The Cartoon Network, Nickolodeon, Disney Channel, etc.  I bet if you'd offered me that deal when I was 7 or 8, I would have taken it in a millisecond.   

That's a good point Rev, I know I would have jumped at the chance to watch all that stuff any time of the day. I guess part of the nostalgia for Saturday Morning cartoons is the ritual itself, looking forward to it after a week of school planning out which shows to watch on which channels. Sometimes this was difficult if you had brothers and sisters. I seem to remember also in the early '80s USA had the Cartoon Express which was around six hours of cartoons.

[Jim H]

Saturday morning cartoons have sucked since the late 80's, as far as I can tell.

I'd say they lasted til the mid 90s, at least in my area...  I grew up from the late 80s to that period watching Saturday Morning cartoons.  I watched a lot of misc. crap, about an hour of Looney Tunes, Tiny Toons, reruns of Animaniacs and other WB shows, and a number of other bits.  I do seem to recall by the mid 90s there were very few NEW shows being shown on Saturday Mornings anymore though.

[Mr. DS]

Yes indeed...what happened to them and why the f--k are they all anime like now for the ones we actually have on?

Saturdays during the 80s was the sh*t for television.  I recall watching Gummy Bears, Wuzzles, Snorks and most importantly Looney Toons.  I always caught Looney Tunes with my father and laughing together with him at the zany antics brings back so many awesome memories of those days.  

I used to get up at 6:30 or 7, every saturday, and make hot chocolate, and watch straight on through until about noon... the good stuff started to flicker out into sports coverage (boooring!) about 11:30 or so.

That sound familiar to anyone else here?

I think I was up at 6 or 7 and before the annimated fun, I would watch a local guy named Captain Bob who used to draw pictures of ocean wildlife.  Then after the cartoon-fest, I'd catch some lame Kung Fu flicks.  All seeds planted for who I am now.  

I agree that Saturday morning cartoons used to be a cool ritual.  But now kids can watch cartoons any hour of the day, any day of the week on The Cartoon Network, Nickolodeon, Disney Channel, etc.  I bet if you'd offered me that deal when I was 7 or 8, I would have taken it in a millisecond.    

I agree for the most part but it was the waiting for Saturday that made it so cool.  Almost like your reward for making it through the week at school.  

Hell, I remember in the 80s they had a big preview show for all the new cartoons that were coming out the Friday before. 

[Doggett]

Saturday mornings...

Lets see, I remember Bucky O Hare, Batman TAS, The Real Ghostbusters, Animaniacs, Chip 'n' Dale, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Street Sharks (channel 4 used to have loads)...lots of others, mainly repeats of 80's cartoons..

What happened ?


I like Recess, Kim Possible, Fairly Odd Parents and Johnny Bravo so not all modern stuff is rubbish.

[Mofo Rising]

Saved by the Bell killed the Saturday morning cartoon. Once the networks discovered a poorly produced live-action show could out-profit a poorly produced animated show, the cartoon's days were numbered. Soon Saturday morning, and television in general, was awash in bad live action shows; a process that is still ongoing today every day of the week.

But I agree with the Rev., cable television has made the single day of cartoon's unnecessary.

I don't agree with the hatred towards present day cartoons or anime. Children's entertainment is across the board generally poor, we just generally get to pick and choose our memories to remember the good stuff and forget the crap. I mean, I love Camp Candy as much as the next person, but I never want to go back and see it again.

[InformationGeek]

Saturday mornings were a good time for me.  I saw Cardcaptors, Recess, Pokemon, Batman Begins, Animainaics, Static Shock, Jackie Chan: Adventures, Men in Black: The Series, and Extreme Ghostbusters.  Good times, good times...

[Doggett]

Saved by the Bell killed the Saturday morning cartoon. Once the networks discovered a poorly produced live-action show could out-profit a poorly produced animated show, the cartoon's days were numbered. Soon Saturday morning, and television in general, was awash in bad live action shows; a process that is still ongoing today every day of the week.

Oh, man.

I forgot about that, and you're right it is rubbish.

Yet I'm strangley nostalgic for the theme tune...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06YLubnWHGA&feature=related

The opening credits have all been disabled !

[Jamtoy]

Not all Saturday Cartoons, but I grew up with these:

Mighty Orbots:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLcJXR7twoQ

M.A.S.K.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0BzBFWt8V8

Pole Position:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj55mHD2Pes

Galaxy Rangers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMpsAmWbSJg

Thunderbirds 2086:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zowhg6l9RUc

Blackstar:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmlSNvOQnkE

[Monster Jungle X-Ray]

Mighty Orbots was a good one I remember, Pac-Man I liked too. One show I do not recall the name of had two super cars a blue and a red one with computer personalities ala KIT. They could change into hovercrafts. For me though the penultimate Saturday Morning cartoon experience was Dungeons & Dragons.

[HappyGilmore]

I agree that Saturday morning cartoons used to be a cool ritual.  But now kids can watch cartoons any hour of the day, any day of the week on The Cartoon Network, Nickolodeon, Disney Channel, etc.  I bet if you'd offered me that deal when I was 7 or 8, I would have taken it in a millisecond.   

I wouldn't have traded it, honestly.  QUALITY over QUANTITY.  The new cartoons suck.  Have you seen the new Scooby Doo?  The new Batman? The new Ninja Turtles?  Not as good as their '70s-late '80s counterparts.  At all.  It's a shame, really.

For me, personally, I'd wake up at like, 7:00, watch all the cartoons until about 11:00, then there'd be WWF Superstars on USA Network from 11-1.  Good time.

[Doggett]

The new Ninja Turtles? 

*shudders*

I saw that yesterday...

No wonder kids today are morons !
It doesn't even have a good theme tune. 

Man, it was poor...