Saturday Morning Cartoons

I purchased a 2 DVD box set from Warner Home Video entitled, “Saturday Morning Cartoons, The 1960’s”. It contains 33 cartoons from the 1960’s. Famous titles like The Flintstones, Yogi Bear and the Jetsons are included but it is also full of lesser known characters.

The majority of these animated treasures are the work of Hanna-Barbera productions. They were innovators in the very limited animation style that made cartoons affordable for weekly productions. What their creations lacked in movement they more than made up for with imagination.

What’s more entertaining that an ant with superhuman strength or I guess it would be super ant strength. Atom Ant was that ant. What could be funnier that a spy spoof starring a squirrel wearing a mask and a trench coach. Secret Squirrel filled the bill with his faithful sidekick Morocco Mole. Frankenstein Jr. was a crime fighting robot. Frankie Jr. not only wore a superhero costume, he also wore a mask. I guess the 8 foot robot wanted to keep his real identity concealed so he could go about town unnoticed. Ricochet rabbit was the western sheriff. Peter Potamus was the globe trotting hippopotamus explorer who traveled in a hot air balloon with his best friend So-So the monkey. The Impossibles were a Rock trio but also superheroes in their free time. That sounds pretty impossible. Although, I have heard that Springsteen can leap tall buildings in a single bound. I think that is an urban myth.


I am actually too young to remember watching most of these shows on Saturday mornings. I watched most of these show in their syndicated incarnations, after school on local LA TV stations in the early 1970‘s. Before the days of Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Kids WB, Fox Kids and Disney Afternoon, cartoons on TV were regulated to after school reruns on local stations and the Saturday morning show on network TV. Local Stations would have a host who would appear between the cartoons telling kids to drink their milk and look both ways before crossing the street. I would get confused and look both ways before drinking my milk. I did have my favorite hosts. Hobo Kelly had these magic glasses that she wore and pretended that she could see the kids watching. That would creep me out. Sheriff John would read the names of kids on their Birthdays. One year my Mom sent in my name for a Birthday announcement. For years I thought that meant I had a police record!

The nostalgic trip down memory lane was fun but I have to admit that these cartoons do not hold up well. A lot of them have aired in recent years on Boomerang but it’s been many years since I viewed most of these. The cartoons that my kids watched growing up, especially the ones from Steven Spielberg, Warner Brothers and Disney will have more longevity. They were created for adults to enjoy as well as kids. Atom Ant and Frankenstein Jr. and the rest were great for it’s time but that time is over. It was fun turning the clock back for a weekend. I think I’ll go have some milk and cookies and crank up Quick Draw McGraw.