Whatever Happened to Saturday Morning? A Look at Cartoons.

Back in the day, before home computers and cable tv, Saturday mornings used to be sacred times. The weekend was here, which meant no school for the next two days. Generations of kids would eagerly get out of bed and fueled by bowls of sugary cereal, settle in front of the television for hours to watch cartoons on one of the major broadcast networks. So whatever happened to Saturday morning cartoons?

The first Saturday morning cartoons shown on network channels in the 1950s and ‘60s were largely culled from a stockpile of animated shorts originally screened in movie theaters before the main feature film. Warner Brothers and MGM studios produced thousands of these classic cartoons of the '30s and '40s, like Looney Tunes, which featured such popular characters as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and the self-destructive comedy duo Tom and Jerry. Other cartoons were commissioned from independent animation companies, which resulted in such favorite characters as Casper the Friendly Ghost, Magilla Gorilla, and Huckleberry Hound.

By the late 1960s, TV networks found the golden recipe for Saturday morning cartoon success: advertising aimed squarely at children. Instead of airing just one or two cartoons, or reusing old, animated films, they could produce four hour blocks of various cartoons. The modern era of Saturday morning cartoons had dawned, and advertisers couldn’t have been happier.

Networks could also offer something to advertisers that had never been available before: an opportunity to inundate masses of children for long periods of time with products made exclusively for them. For nearly 30 years, Saturday morning cartoons represented a gold mine for the networks.

Advertisers stepped up their merchandising efforts by working with networks to produce shows based on products themselves. Shows like He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles became, in effect, 20-minute commercials for toys.

At one point, Saturday morning cartoons were promoted with just as much fanfare as prime-time shows. Special preview shows, hosted by popular actors or musicians, would regularly appear on a Friday night just before the premiere of the new cartoon season.

Several contributing factors led to the demise of the Saturday morning cartoon experience, including some self-inflicted wounds. One major reason broadcast networks stopped showing certain studio-produced cartoons was content. These cartoons were originally geared towards a different audience with a different sense of humor. Parents became concerned that the violent antics of Tom and Jerry or the anti-social behavior of Bugs Bunny would have a negative impact on young and impressionable minds.

Network executives took these concerns seriously in the 70s, and many of the most controversial old studio-produced cartoons were heavily edited for content or pulled from public broadcast altogether. Themes needed to demonstrate positive moral or ethical values, such as good always triumphing over evil or teamwork succeeding where individual or selfish efforts failed. By the 1980s, many animation companies found it difficult to produce new material under such limiting conditions.

A ruling from the US Congress in 1990, the Children’s Television Act (CTA), marked the beginning of the end of the Saturday morning cartoons. The CTA mandated that networks make children’s programming to include more educational shows. The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) strengthened those rules in 1996 by stating that networks were now required to broadcast three hours of programming designated as "educational or informative" (E/I). This effectively put an end to the original concept of Looney Tunes cartoons, which could not be construed as either educational or informative, unless of course the information was that a small umbrella is no match for a falling boulder.

In the meantime, cable TV had entered the scene, with channels like the Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon becoming the new masters of children’s programming. And cable networks weren’t beholden to the FCC rules. NBC was first to do away with its Saturday morning cartoon block in 1992 and CBS shortly followed suit. ABC hung in there until 2004 and October 4, 2014, marked the first weekend in America without Saturday morning cartoons in over 50 years.

Since Anyhigh.life, like cable tv, also isn’t beholden to any FCC rules, we thought we’d take a look at some interesting facts about some of our favorite old cartoons, regardless of their educational or informative merits.

There was a written list of rules for Wile E. Coyote:

Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. In each episode, the Coyote repeatedly attempts to catch and subsequently eat the Road Runner but is never successful. Instead of his animal instincts, the Coyote uses absurdly complex contraptions to try to catch his prey, which comically "backfire," with the Coyote often getting injured in slapstick fashion. Chuck Jones, who directed many of the episodes, had a written list of nine rules for the two characters that could never be deviated from.

Collars & Neckties Save Time & Money:

From Yogi Bear to Fred Flintstone to Huckleberry Hound, the animated stars of many Hanna-Barbera cartoons were drawn wearing collars because it cut down significantly on the number of drawings needed for each episode. According to Joseph Barbera, putting a collar or necktie around a character helped cut costs because, with a collar, animators only had to worry about drawing a character's head; the body could remain relatively static. This technique, called "limited animation," developed "because there was no money, absolutely no money," according to Barbera.

Jack Nicholson, Animator?

When Jack Nicholson arrived in Hollywood he was hired in May 1955 as an "office pinky" - essentially a mailroom clerk. His duties included serving as a go-between for MGM animation. Nicholson made friends with many animators at MGM and even proved himself to have drawing skills. William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, both working for MGM at the time, saw promise in him and offered him a job as an animator. Nicholson turned them down, determined to break into acting instead.

Cat & Mouse Awards:

William Hanna and Joseph Barbera created the cartoon cat-and-mouse team of Tom & Jerry in 1940. Over the subsequent two decades the stand-alone Tom and Jerry cartoons would earn a dozen Academy Award nominations and take home seven Oscar statues. For those who’d like to check the winning toons out, they are 1943, The Yankee Doodle Mouse (1943), Mouse Trouble (1944), Quiet Please!(1944), The Cat Concerto (1945), The Little Orphan (1946), The Two Mousketeers (1951) and Johann Mouse (1952).

Johnny Bravo started as a Senior Thesis:

As a college student at Loyola Marymount University, Van Partible, who moved to the US from the Philippines as a young boy, created a video for his senior thesis called "Mess O' Blues." The short film was about Johnny Bravo, an Elvis Presley-like figure with a big ego and a total lack of self-awareness. Partible's animation professor showed it to a friend at Hanna-Barbera Productions and they reached out to Partible to develop a longer version. He did that and sold what become Johnny Bravo to the studio soon after. Johnny Bravo debuted as a series in 1997 and ran until 2004.

Guest Voices on Scooby-Doo:

When “The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo” episode aired in 1985, it featured a character, Vincent Van Ghoul. Van Ghoul was voiced by horror film star, Vincent Price and the character even looked much like the real guy. But Scooby-Doo was no stranger to celebs who made guest appearances. The Harlem Globetrotters, Sonny Bono and Cher, and Don Knotts all provided voices for episodes over the years.

Frank Sinatra & Scooby Doo:

Frank Sinatra's 1966 song "Strangers in the Night" closes with a somewhat bungled, but famous riff, "scooby dooby doo," which inspired the name of a famous, mystery-solving canine. According to television executive Fred Silverman, who had an idea for a show about teenage mystery solvers, he heard the song while on a plane and it made him think of making their dog a key character. According to Silverman, “As we’re landing...Frank Sinatra comes on, and I hear him say, "scooby-dooby-doo." That’s it, we’ll name the dog and the series Scooby-Doo.” Silverman made it happen and Scooby-Doo was born.

Kurt Cobain Sings Ren & Stimpy:

According to voice actor Billy West, grunge icon Kurt Cobain could have written the theme song for Ren & Stimpy but was turned down. West said Cobain came to the show’s studio and offered to write the song. “One day, this scraggly kid comes in and said he wanted to write a theme song for Ren & Stimpy, and they said, "Yeah, that's great," and they threw it in the wastebasket. It was Kurt Cobain.” According to Flavorwire, this might have been around 1992, just as Nirvana was breaking into the mainstream. Ever since West told this story, Cobain fans have wondered what happened to this song - and if it might be one of the home recordings released on Montage of Heck in 2015. West said he doesn’t think the song exists, that it was just a proposal.

Drunk Fans Worried About Barney Rubble:

Hanna-Barbera representatives used to get calls from drunk fans who needed to know what Barney, famous best friend of Fred Flintstone, would put as his occupation on his tax forms. One security guard said the calls were so common, he simply responded: “I know why you’re calling; you want to know what Barney Rubble did for a living. He worked at the quarry. But why don’t you call back after opening hours?” That remains the company stance on Barney's job to this day. However, while he worked at Mr. Slate's quarry, there's still no real clarity as to what he did there.

Jackie Gleason Wanted to Sue Fred Flinstone:

Ok, well not exactly. But there was a lot that Jackie Gleason disliked a lot about The Flintstones, including how the voices resembled his and his The Honeymooners costar, Art Carney. Gleason played Ralph Kramden - from whom Fred Flintstone was derived - while Carney played his friend, Ed Norton - the foundation for Barney Rubble. The thematic similarities between the two shows were glaring and infuriating to Gleason. When he broached the idea of suing the show, his lawyer advised against it telling Gleason it wasn't a good idea to try to - and maybe even succeed at - getting one of the most successful television shows off the air.

Mel Blanc, Man of a Thousand Voices:

At one point or another, Mel Blanc voiced nearly all the major cartoon characters for Looney Toons and beyond, including Bugs Bunny, Pepe Le Pew, Sylvester, Tweety, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd. He even voiced Barney Rubble from a hospital bed after a serious car accident. According to Blanc’s son, Noel, the prolific voice actor's connection to one of his best-known characters, Bugs Bunny, was undeniable. When Blanc was in a coma, doctors searched for signs of life, speaking to him with no response. Eventually, after seeing Looney Tunes playing on the TV, they switched to another tactic. "The doctor finally says, 'Bugs, can you hear me?'" Noel recalled. To which Mel in character responded, "Yeah, what’s up, doc?”

And did you ever wonder ‘what are the best cartoons to watch high’? We’re pretty sure you’re not alone. We’re offering a couple thoughts on the subject here should you find yourself on the couch, in front of the tv, with the Devils Lettuce some lazy afternoon:

Rick & Morty – With its time and dimension-bending storylines, wacky animation, and absurd humor, this one will have you philosophizing and laughing off your couch.

Family Guy– Its frenetic pace and cutaway gags will ensure that your short attention span always has something to laugh at. And special shoutout to “Episode 420” where Brian and Stewie launch a campaign to legalize weed and sing the musical number “Everything’s Better with a Bag of Weed”.

The Simpsons – So many guests stars have appeared on this one it’s hard to count. But for this list, special mention to Cheech & Chong and to Snoop Dog for their memorable visits to Springfield.

Scooby-Doo – There’s always been the thought that Shaggy was an enormous stoner. After all, he was always slow, always hungry, and he talks to his dog.

Tom & Jerry – Featuring over-the-top cartoony violence and a blasting orchestral score, T&J is great for when you’re too baked to comprehend dialogue.

Bob’s Burgers – The crazy corny puns throughout the show go from groan worthy to profound if you’re under the influence.

South Park – Nuff said.

So, after all this, the question remains: will cartoons ever return to Saturday mornings to the same degree that they existed during the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s? The answer is, of course, no. The reason for this is the same reason why people no longer watch silent movies or black and white TVs or primetime sitcoms where married couples sleep in separate beds: once things evolve, they seldom return to their simpler forms. Saturday morning cartoons were a phenomenon that now resides in the history books and cherished memories for those who reveled in their animated wonders.

There are many lists of the top cartoons and we’re offering a link to one of them here - https://www.ign.com/lists/top-100-animated-series/100 We were happy to see that our top three favorites made the list:

Duckman (#48)

Speed Racer (#29)

and Rocky & Bullwinkle (#11)

What were – or are - your favorite cartoons? Tell us in the comments below.

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