For the majority of people in their 40s, 30s, and 50s today the Saturday morning cartoon show was sacred as children. If you were a sibling, the details of what you could be watching were carefully discussed in the evening before.
In pajamas, and fueled with sugary cereals the Saturday mornings offered the most magical time in a largely adult-dominated TV world in which children were acknowledged. It was the beginning of the weekend and was followed by the always-love-family TV show on Sunday evening that featured Ma the Ingalls and their Pa who fought for survival in the wilds or the sassy antics of a cute pet named Benji.
A Brief History of the Saturday Morning Cartoons
It’s impossible to talk about the background of the Saturday morning show, without speaking about the past of Television. There were two key elements that occurred in TV history that made it possible for cartoons to prosper: First, during the 1950s, televisions were more affordable, so the majority of households owned one. Then, color TVs were introduced to the market, which made watching animated films more enjoyable.
It was 1955 when CBS released Mighty Mouse Playhouse One among the very first cartoons on Saturday mornings that were in full color.
It was in 1960 that The Flintstones aired for the first time. It was an enormously successful run lasting 6 years.
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The Flintstones was among the first cartoons on Saturday mornings
The year was 1966. Bugs Bunny made his way onto the Saturday morning TV screens and quickly became a household name thanks to his humorous jokes and his outrageous animated style that was exaggerated and exaggerated.
Other popular ’60s cartoons include The Jetsons, Popeye the Sailor, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Underdog, Atom Ant, Yogi Bear, and Huckleberry Hound to name just a few.
The 1970s were the height of Saturday morning cartoons. Scooby-Doo was among the top recognizable cartoons ever created on television. The stories of Batman quickly made their way onto TV and established the character not just as a comic-book classic, but also as a favorite of Saturday mornings. Speed Racer, The Pink Panther, The Tom & Jerry Show as well as Fat Albert joined the Saturday morning schedule.
The decline of the Saturday Morning Cartoons
Unfortunately, in the 1970s, Saturday morning cartoons began to decrease. From the perspective of today, most of us could say that Saturday mornings were primarily an infomercial for toys and other businesses, during the 1970s and 1980s considered children’s programs as a potential advertising goldmine. This marked a major shift from how broadcast networks previously viewed children’s programming as a last resort.
Networks had previously aired cartoons as well as other live-action shows during time slots that were not desirable, times with no potential large audiences of adults.
Networks aired cartoons as well as other live-action shows during time slots that were not suitable, times with no potential for large audiences of adults such as the mornings of Saturdays as well as after-school hours. The quality of the programming varied greatly from repackaged theatrical shorts like Bugs Bunny and Looney Tunes to local live-action shows which incorporated cartoons as well as live segments, which are loved because of their campy and amateurish features. It is important to note that cartoons stimulated the imagination of a lot of animators of today’s work.
Cartoonist Emmy nominated for the award Richard Pursel, whose credits include The Ren and Stimpy Show, Cow and Chicken, and SpongeBob SquarePants mentions that he was “obsessed by Cartoons on Saturdays.” He explains that watching and being able to recreate cartoons drawn by pencil was essential, as “a child can draw and copy it, making him/her interested in the process of it and becoming an avid fan. Anyone is able to copy a drawing from SpongeBob or the characters in The Simpsons, even if they deny they can draw.”
Spongebob Squarepants was one of the most popular cartoons of the 90s and one the most well-known shows of today.
Although other kinds of characters were present in various media, including comics, comic strips,s or theatrical releases (particularly Walt Disney films) Cartoons on Saturdays in the morning were the most easily accessible for many animators in the future.
New animators looking to explore 2D animation usually draw the inspiration they need from cartoon classics.
Young animators looking to learn more about 2D animation usually draw the inspiration they need from traditional cartoons. Even if they were basically Saturday morning cartoons exhibited the same fundamental principles of animation as every other style. In Animation Mentor, we use these same principles to guide students through the fundamentals of 2D animation at our workshops specifically devoted specifically to 2D Animation for Beginners if you’re an experienced 3D artist who wants to add a little excitement to your 3D characters, check out our the workshop about Cartoony Animation for 3D animators.
Although Saturday morning cartoons were relegated as the ultimate symbol of American childhood but by the end of the 80s, their iconic image was gradually diminishing as the nature of animation changed. This was due to the advent of cable television as well as channels like Nickelodeon along with Cartoon Network. Cartoon Network, which aired cartoons not only on Saturdays but all around the clock. They also eroded the distinctive time slot on Saturdays to become “cartoon timing.”
While Saturday morning cartoons were relegated as the ultimate symbol of American childhood but by the time in the 1980s, their cult status was gradually diminishing.
This, in conjunction with the growth of home video and accessibility of syndicated cartoons like Transformers, Robotech and He-Man could mean less incentive for the broadcast networks (aside from the public broadcasting) not only to produce cartoons but also to keep Saturday mornings as the time to air such programs. Instead, the networks moved this programming to their after-school time slot, stopped broadcasting cartoons completely, or relied on local affiliates for dealing with programming for children.
He-Man was a renowned cartoon on Saturday mornings that was initially a DC comic book series
The ending of Saturday morning cartoons was in the year 1990, when Congress in reaction to the growing demand from parents and groups for children’s interests concerned about advertising for children, passed the Children’s Television Act (CTA). The act was passed to expand educational and educational (E/I) programs for kids as well as to limit the number of advertisements shown during shows for children.
This, in conjunction with the new U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) guidelines that required broadcasters to broadcast at minimum 3 hours of programming from E/I each week, ensured the demise of the Saturday matinee cartoons as the majority of viewers thought they were not educational. These rules were not strictly enforced, and eventually, networks replaced live-action programs like Saved by the Bell to satisfy the demands of programming for children. This trend has continued due to the popularity of shows like Infinity Train, Adventure Time, Kipo, and the Age of Wonder beasts as well as Steven Universe.
Adventure Time is one of the most highly praised animated series of the 2010s.
However, the constant expansion of cable television for children and the availability of streaming platforms that feature cartoons have created an increased market for animation for children. Networks like Nickelodeon or The Cartoon Network, while airing older animated programs have also created a huge demand for new animated series. In 2019, the Global Animation industry was valued at $264 billion.
