Inspired by a list of “The 50 Greatest Saturday Morning Cartoons” by Complex.com, I decided to come up with my own top 15 (I tried to make a top 10, but all of these are essentials…). Take a look at the original list, as it’s really extensive and well researched.
1. Looney Tunes
When I think of my childhood TV watching, the first thing that comes to mind is Looney Tunes. These shorts are surprisingly intelligent, as I find every time I go back and watch it. My favorites, by far, are Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote.
2. Batman: The Animated Series
This defined my conception of Batman. It’s smart, lightly laced with levity, but still retaining the dark, brooding nature necessary to Batman. Its Joker is certainly no Heath Ledger–more like Luke Skywalker–but its treatment of Mr. Freeze was brilliant and touching (and Emmy award winning).
3. DuckTales
This is classic Disney Channel, starring Scrooge McDuck and his great-nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie. They solve mysteries, and sometimes they rewrite history. I didn’t realize until I started researching this that it began is 1987 and, while I’d like to claim that I watched this from the beginning (at age 1…), I must have watched it in syndication. I also loved the spin-off theatrical release: DuckTales, Treasure of the Lost Lamp.
4. Tom & Jerry
These shorts are similar to the Sylvester and Tweety or the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoons (which is probably why I’ve rated this so high), but I think they actually flesh out the relationship between the titular cat and mouse in many of the cartoons.
5. Animaniacs
I think that, because Animaniacs brought us Pinky and the Brain, two of the finest cartoon characters ever, in addition to gangster pigeons, as well as “Hellooo Nurse!,” Animaniacs will remain in my memory, evoking nostalgia all the way.
X-Men did for Marvel what Batman: The Animated Series did for DC. They ran simultaneously and, while I believe that Batman achieved more success, it certainly defined the X-Men for me. To this day, these two franchises remain my favorites of both comic universes. Finally, they’ve released this epic series onto DVD in 2 volumes. Read the reviews here.
Garfield is one of my favorite comics, and I grew up on this TV series. It’s mindless at times, while spotted with wit, but I couldn’t stop watching it. Maybe it’s watching Jon spiral into depression while Garfield makes sarcastic comments over lasagna with a side of kicking Odie.
8. Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears
Is it just me, or was I the only one who ever watched this show? I can’t eat gummi bears without thinking about this odd, goofy show with no more inspiration than the candies themselves. I thought that this was smart, and it certainly was one of a kind with its medieval setting and mythical gummiberry juice.
Premise: The Muppets are trippy when adults, so how crazy must their formative years have been. One of the moments I remember best is their Star Wars parody. I’ve had this theme song stuck in my head on and off for years…
10. The Flintstones
The Flintstone family is the classic Hanna-Barbera which, through juxtaposition, comments on modern society by placing social situations in the Stone Age. Love it.
11. The Jetsons
Similarly, the Jetson family demonstrates that the human condition remains unchanged despite, and is arguably accentuated by, their technological advancement.
Also, I’d just like to say that, as the show takes place in 2062, and as television is clearly the epitome of accuracy when it comes to reality, I want to know when we get to live in floating cities and have flying cars. Just sayin’.
12. Care Bears
You know what, I’m putting this out there: were they Care Bears not delightful bundles of fun? Except, of course, for Grumpy Bear. Seriously, I couldn’t get enough of them. Similarly, I watched Cinderella just about every day…when I was 3, of course. Only then.
13. Darkwing Duck
Darkwing Duck is the Batman of the DuckTales universe, albeit a slightly inept Batman, accompanied by Launchpad McQuack his more-inepter sidekick.
14. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
“Cowabunga Dude!” After the some mutant turtles fell into the sewer, Splinter taught them to be ninja teens–he is a radical rat–Leonardo leads, Donatello does machines, and that’s a fact, Jack! Moreover, Raphael is cool but crude, and Michaelangelo is a party dude. All in all, this sounds like an excellent recipe for crime fighters!
15. Chip ‘n Dale, Rescue Rangers
While this show doesn’t completely hold up after my childhood love, I still hold fond memories of this show which reminded me (and was likely inspired by) the excellent Disney film The Rescuers. I can’t eat Monterey Jack cheese without thinking of this show…
Runners Up:
Spider-Man: The Animated Series (This probably should have been higher up…)
Tail Spin
The Smurfs
SpongeBob Squarepants
Doug
Winnie the Pooh
Star Trek: The Animated Series
What are your top shows?
Elementary, My Dear Reader 
Ah, clearly I didn’t watch much cartoons as a child, since I have seen only the first one you listed. My parents outlawed TV (except movies) in any sense. They wanted us to play outside for some reason.
Congrats on FP!
I loved Historia. I think it was made by the same people as Animaniacs. I believe it only lasted one or two season though. So funny.
Brilliant post this has got me thinking back to my childhood! Carebears were my absolute favourite, I had the toys, even my bedroom wall paper was care bears in clouds!!
Going to search the net to download some of the cartoons of my youth this evening 🙂
I loved all of those cartoons, ahhh to be a kid again, life was great. I liked Snorks,Smufs, Thundercats, He-Man, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Denver the last Dinosaur, Jem,Scooby Doo, and Beetle Juice.
what about the smurfs?
Thanks for writing this entry. I loved almost all those cartoons. Just miss being a kid & coming home after school to watch them or waking up Sat. morning as well.
Animaniacs, without question. My daughter grew up watching them and when they were on you couldn’t peel me away! She’s since gone on to graduate college with a triple major and honors, yet still watches them on DVD. I loved Slappy Squirrel and Minerva Mink!
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wow, amazing list. I would probably move up certain things like Spider-man and Chip n Dale… but otherwise a very solid list. Can’t beat Looney Tunes!!
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Ditto to most of them, and no, you’re not the only one who’s seen Gummi Bears. They’re the ones that popped to mind when I first ate the candy all while the theme song’s playing in my head.
Pretty much some of the cartoons that I can add are: Bravestar, Visionaries, Captain Power, Captain Planet, Denver the Last Dinosaur, He-Man & She-Ra, G.I. Joe, Rainbow Brite, Jem & the Holograms and Thundercats… ok, I should just go and write about them haha. 🙂
I enjoyed this list much more than their 50… 50 is too many! Can you even keep up with 50 TV shows in one childhood?!? Great post though!
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I love the original winnie the pooh series and movies, I find now a days they are to overly done and just look stupid
Excellent picks, though a lot of those weren’t exclusive to Saturday mornings where I lived. They don’t make’em like they used to. In fact, they don’t make them at all anymore it seems. I was in that time when they switched from cartoons to live-action stuff with California Dreams and Saved by the Bell. I liked those shows when I was a kid too, but you can’t beat great cartoons.
Yeah, i was thinking the exact same thing. I do not recall Batman on Saturday mornings. Most of this stuff was eventually repurposed by Fox, WB or ABC into their afternoon Cartoon blocks though so its hard to truly remember which was on Satudays and which were on both.
I would say you did completely miss the boat by skipping over GIJoe, the Smurfs and the original Transformers. Of course you also missed the other two classics of classics… Rocky & Bullwinkle and where is Scooby Doo? No Saturday morning cartoon top 10 (or 15 list) will ever be valid without Scooby Doo on it.
I love this list! What about Fraggle Rock though? I can’t remember if that was on Saturday morning or not….but it was pretty stellar too! Great post!
I love this list! What about Fraggle Rock though? I can’t remember if that was on Saturday morning or not….but it was pretty stellar too! Great post!
Dude, “Rocky & Bullwinkle” is up there with Looney Tunes. Brilliant satire.
“Flintstones” and “Jetsons” should be ranked higher, for the same reason.
Good list, but I think the Smurfs should have been at least in the top 10. Another on of my favorites was Inspector Gadget. My daughter loves watching him now. 🙂 Julie
I love it, I remember watching every one of these!
These were all of my favourite Saturday morning cartoons! I was always excited when they were on. I’m working on getting them on dvd, so my daughter can enjoy them too!
I loved the Jetsons! I always wanted to zip around in flying cars like they did. 🙂
Oh my gosh!!! I was born same year as you, and I watched every single one of those!! Looney Tunes, Darkwing and DuckTales were my faves 🙂 Tiny Toons was cool, too!
Thanks, you made my day with this post.
A highly subjective list that belies your age, but a good list nonetheless.
Some oddball ones for you:
Ghostbusters (not The Real Ghostbusters.)
Dungeons and Dragons
Super Mario Bros.
I’m of the generation who watched black and white cartoons of a cat chasing thousands of mice over a hill, again and again. Same cat. Same mice. Same hill. And Popeye, and cartoons set to music from the 40s, with swaying furniture. It was all fabulous and mesmerizing. I actually caught one on TV recently and I felt like I was five years old again.
Mine, in no particular order (which are similar to yours, but that’s probably not a surprise).
1. The Smurfs (BEFORE Smurfs Adventures, when I lost interest)
2. Duck Tales
3. The Littles
4. Donald Duck Presents (and other Disney stuff, it all blurs together)
5. Tale Spin
6. Rescue Rangers
7. Care Bears (Care Bear Stare!)
8. Gummi Bears
9. Woody Woodpecker
10. Flintstones
11. Jetsons
12. Darkwing Duck
13. Fat Albert (does this count?)
14. Duck Tales
15. Heathcliff
I miss cartoons!
Some of the cartoons mentioned here, are ones which I would most defenetly agree with. I grew up watching those shows, which to me are the best. Today’s “cartoons” are filled with idiotic comments and stupidity. How I miss those old days…
By the way, you misspelled Garfield several times. It’s with a “G”, not an “N”.
Growing up in India a decade ago I didn’t get to watch few of the cartoons you have listed. But I agree with your list for most part. My list would be
1. The Jungle Book (Most Indians my age group will agree with it, Surprised not to find it in your list)
2. DuckTales
3. Spider-Man: The Animated Series
4. Tom & Jerry
5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
6. TaleSpin(Surprised not to find it in your list)
7. Flintstones
8. Jetsons
9. Chip ‘n’ Dale, Rescue Rangers
10.X-Men: The Animated Series
Growing up in India a decade ago I didn’t get to watch few of the cartoons you have listed. But I agree with your list for most part. My list would be
1. The Jungle Book (Most Indians my age group will agree with it, Surprised not to find it in your list)
2. DuckTales
3. Spider-Man: The Animated Series
4. Tom & Jerry
5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
6. TaleSpin(Surprised not to find it in your list)
7. Flintstones
8. Jetsons
9. Chip ‘n’ Dale, Rescue Rangers
10.X-Men: The Animated Series
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Hi Friend , I Really agree with you.. Jungle Book , Duck tales , Tom & Jerry , The Poo , Alladdin ;the Magic Lamp are my all time favourites . I still remember the time wen we sisters used to rush back from school as fast as we could , just to watch our favourite cartoons jump , hop or giggle.
I really do miss my Childhood .. Thanks a ton to you guys to refresh my sweet memories 🙂
we all miss it.
What about Super Friends, Plastic Man and Scooby Doo?
I LOVE this … this is the best collection- boy Gummi Bears brought back memories!
Haha, great list!
Really brings back memories.
LOVE THIS! I always loved these shows…great post! Glad to see TMNT and Animaniacs! Although I would have rated Smurfs higher…
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Ohhh, this brought back so many memories!! Care bears, Gummi bears, muppet babies, ohhhh :))) Thank you for making me remember my good childhood memories 🙂
Yes yes yes! Duck Tales — woo oo! And Gummi Bears! I watched Duck Tales after school every day for years. 3:30 p.m.!
Crystal
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This list is awesome! I loved all of these! I forgot all about Gummi Bears. Born in the 80s?
Don’t most of these shows count as afterschool cartoon’s? Because that’s when I remember seeing them was after school. Most Saturday Monring cartoons weren’t as good. I remember Looney Tunes being on, but most of the others where on on weekdays in the afternoon. I guess new turtles is saturday morning. But I remember shows like Eek The Cat and that Army of Darkness spin off airing on Saturday mornings.
what about the COWBOYS OF MOO MESA?
Holy cow! I forgot about them!
Oh man, great choices.
Most of these would definitely go on my list, the others would be a close second.
Animaniacs is especially my favourite.
These are all amazing. Hooray for this post!
Hrmmmm I guess it was both, I found this about Animaniacs:
Although Animaniacs was popular among younger viewers (the target demographic for Warner Bros.’ TV cartoons), adults also responded positively to the show; in 1995, more than one-fifth of the weekday (4 p.m., Monday through Friday) and Saturday morning (8 a.m.) audience viewers were 25 years or older
And if you look here it looks like it aired almost every day:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105941/episodes
Wonderful list. I so miss these shows… I’m not sure where I can find these shows anymore, but YES these are the greatest Saturday Morning Cartoons.
Where as Darkwing Duck aired almost every day BUT Saturday:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101076/episodes
While I don’t agree with the entire list (The Flintstones is way too low) Batman :TAS looks really good at number two! Kevin Conroy IS Batman.
Minor quibble- didn’t it air syndicated Monday through Friday, not Saturday?
Crusader Rabbit (first animated series produced specifically for television) and its offspring, The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.
This is so true. It should be #2 or #3. Rocky & Bullwinkle is awesome!
You certainly covered all my favorites! Excellent post. 🙂
You missed off The Raccoons!!
inspector gadget, muppet babies, count duckula, danger mouse….
I remember the Duck Tales! Oh how I loved that show!
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Yeah Chip and Dale never aired on Saturday. Also TMNT season 2 only aired on Saturday, it went to weekday air dates after that.
I always remembered Saturday Cartoons being odd ones, but I think Gummi Bears and Garfield and friends were Saturday staples. Also that sweet Back To the Future Cartoon, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes cartoon, Toxi Cartoon.
Ok X-men was pretty much a Saturday monring cartoon show I remember that now, and the Pizza hut VHS give aways of the first two episodes and that bad ass theme song.
For me you are missing the two greatest Saturday Morning Cartoon shows: Earthworm Jim and The Tick.
Also I wonder about those great early Cartoon network cartoon shows like 2 Stupid Dogs, Secret Agent Squirrel, Dumb and Dumber, Dextor’s Lab, Powerpuff Girls though again I think they were weekday shows.
Also the great early Nickelodeon shows, Rugrats, Ren and Stimpy, Ahhh Real Monsters, Doug, Rocko’s Modern Life. But also I think weekday afternoon shows.
I have never heard of Animaniacs, Gummi Bears, Muppet Babies, Care Bears and Darkwing Duck. These perhaps have never come on Indian Television yet.
One of my favorites that has not yet come to India was ‘Shmoo’. I have always enjoyed it. I remember a few others like Atom ant, Scooby doo, – I never enjoyed.
My list would be,
Tom & Jerry
Mickey Mouse
Popeye, the sailor man
Shmoo
Looney Tunes
Chota bhim is one of the most popular in India now a days.
I love this list. I always argue that cartoons were a lot better when we were kids. Spider-Man should definitely be higher though.
Here’s a good list of everything:
http://www.inthe90s.com/saturdays.shtml
Yes, Muppet Babies, a classic. I liked The Raccoons too.
oh my gosh i love this! what a blast from the past. The Jetsons were amazing! oohh how i now miss Saturday mornings.
Great! Now we’ve got the ‘Rescue Rangers’ and ‘Ninja Turtles’ themes stuck in our heads! CHA CHA CHA CHA CHA CHIP N’ DALE’S…..
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I know I’m from a different generation, but Saturday morning was never complete for my brother and me without Mighty Mouse, Chip and Dale, and Heckle and Jeckle.
As much as I love and identify Looney Tunes with Saturday morning cartoons, I think they should be placed in the Pantheon, allowing Batman:TAS (Seasons 1-3) take the top spot. Because it is just that AWESOME.
I am not certain about the saturday-morning criterion, but: Dr. Snuggles was a K.O. winner during my childhood.
Other strong competitors (not mentioned in the post) included Woody Woodpecker and older Disney cartoons.
Those were all great cartoons; Looney Tunes was the best in my book. As a little girl, I couldn’t live without watching my Looney Tunes. Today, we’ve got mostly newer and watery stuff like the Disney Channel sitcoms on ABC Saturday Morning.
We have such a hard time choosing cartoons for our kids. I really miss some of those classics!
thanks for bringing back all of these to memory- I seriously feel a little bit cheerier now! I loved the Smurfs, Pound Puppies, and Fraggle Rock too!
This definitely brings me back. Cartoons of our days were MUCH better than the stuff that is played now. I love nostalgia.
lolz….teenage mutant ninja turtles….heroes on a half-shell xD
I’ll never forget that xD. check out the blog =D http://www.epicclubblog.wordpress.com
Anamaniacs and Batman are unquestionably two of the greatest annimated series of all time. And I always get sad when I see the XMen cartoon mentioned, because my mom had a rule that the TV had to be off by 10 a.m. on Saturdays, and that’s when the show started. I had a buddy videotape it for me, but he was very inconsistent with it. I feel like I missed something great, there. I’m also shocked you didn’t mention Tiny Tunes anywhere (but did include that bore-fest Garfield and Friends); different childhoods I guess.
Two more things. First, I HIGHLY recommend heading over to http://www.thatguywiththeglasses.com and watching the Nostalgia Critic’s Anamaniacs Tribute. “Epic” would be the appropriate slang term for that. Second, if you were born 1986-ish, that means you were four, five, and six when some of these cartoons were airing. For me, the cartoon that stands out the most from when I was that age would be Voltron. A couple years back, my awesome younger brother got me the first DVD collection for that show, and my goodness I cannot get through more than three episodes, and I’ve tried a LOT. Sad, really, but some shows should stay in our memories.
Fun post. Thanks!
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Let me bring in the old people perspective:
Tom and Jerry–but only when Warner Bros. filmed episodes
Bugs Bunny and Friends
The Jetsons
The Pink Panther
The Smurfs
Droopy/Woody Woodpecker/Chilly Willy episodes
Love em all!
Woot! I concur! Loved the Pink Panther
What about Recess from Disney’s 1 Saturday Morning? I loved that show because it was a kids cartoon, yet with a surprising amount of depth and characterisation, showing the politics of the playground.
Oh Man .. Recess still comes on cable .. and I still watch it! 😀
You forgot Rugrats!
Great list. I did something like this a while ago. I agree that Bugs Bunny is #1 and I would have included Tiny Toon Adventures. I hated Tom & Jerry for some reason.
love that! especially the muppet babies one – as soon as I saw the picture I started singing the theme tune, so was glad to read its also been stuck in your head for years!
Ah the memories. I actually saw the darkwing duck dvd set at FYE a couple of weeks ago but I didn’t have the money to buy it. Love that show.
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What a glaring omission – The Hair Bear Bunch.
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Such nostalgia. Can’t believe I actually have seen every show at least once in my life.
Loved your list. I’m a big fan of Looney Tunes. I also liked Superfriends, Fat Albert and the Smurfs. Oh, to be a kid again.
Wow, I’d forgotten about some of these! Yet reading your list brought to mind the theme songs of almost every single one of these cartoons. My brother and I used to (and still can!) sing along every time we watched them. I do have to mention two series that missed your list: I loved Pound Puppies, and I haven’t seen anyone mention My Little Ponies (I’m talking about the true original MLP series/movie, like the one in ’86 with the “smooze”) … Anyway, thanks for this list and reviving the memories of *real* Saturday morning cartoons!
OH MY GOSH! Duck Tales! I used to watch that movie everyday when I was little!
I must say though, you forgot about:
Hey Arnold
Rugratz
Rocko’s Modern Life
Pinky and The Brain
Recess
Ah! Real Monsters
Oh this post was great though 🙂 Brought back memories of pancake breakfasts in the living room watching all these rad cartoons….oh the good ‘ol days…why exactly did I want to grow up again? hahhaa
LOL .. Real Monsters was hilarious … Hey Arnold was always so cool to watch too .. and this is after I grew up and had kids .. Not nostalgic for me but for those in their 20s I guess.
Duck Tales and TMNT. Those were awesome!
I’m so glad “Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers” is on this list. That was a great show. As a kid I seriously thought Monterey Jack cheese was named after the cartoon character. Ah, childhood. 🙂
Apparently I am of a slightly older generation as I didn’t watch most of these. TO me it was great when Cartoon Network first started and showed real classics like Tennessee Tuxedo, Speed Buggy, Funky Phantom, Super Chicken and the like. Also some other older ones would be the great cartoons from the Banana Splits hour like Squiddly Diddly, Precious pup, hill billy bears, Secret Squirrel … now THOSE were cartoons. Made for entertainment and not specifically to sell products other than maybe a lunch box or some such item.
Not saying your list is bad, but along with another comment I think I read, no one can REALLY say a list is the definitive “Greatest” of anything as tastes, morals and humor changes over the years.
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Where’s Fractured “Fractured Fairy Tales” and “Rocky & Bullwinkle”? Your post also brought to mind a period of time in the 1970s when they pushed live action kids programing over cartoons. Live action was cheaper and it lead to such horrible shows like “Electra Woman & Dyna Girl”, “Shazam”, “Isis”, and others. Thought the “Power Rangers” might have been bad, then you never saw any of these gems. Nice post.
Great post! I must have watched alot of cartoons as a kid as I know every one on that list. My favorites were The Jetsons, The Flinestones, and Looney Tunes! *Sigh* The Good Ol’ Days 😉 LB
Oh my goodness! What a great list! And of course, now I have the DuckTales theme in my head.
what about THUNDERCATS????? 😦 or He-Man????
That’s what I was thinking!
And do you remember Mysterious Cities of Gold? It wasn’t on a saturday but it was awesome. And probably the reason all children of the 80s want to travel in South America.
Ah, life was better when we were kids.
Oh yeah…..and what about Dungeons & Dragons?
great list, by the way! Bugs Bunny defined my sense of humor.
Tweety Bird rocks!!
Replace Animaniacs with Tiny Toons, then switch The Flinstones with TNMT and I would say that your top 10 is PITCH PERFECT.
Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, by far my favorites.
yeah, spiderman should definately been higher up.
and, personally, superted! (without the exclamation mark)
captn planet
and
swat kats
…
and flintstone kids…
and i watched smurfs too…sometimes.
and scooby doo, and the jaws alternative: jabberjaws, i think…
but xmen evolution was the best
All of these cartoons are great!
Did anyone else watch Gargoyles?
Some of my favorite:
Scooby doo
Captain Planet
Tiny Toons
Spiderman
and there was one that came on Fox Family with this fat time traveling detective but I can’t remember the name…I’m pretty sure the theme song went…”Ahhh Watermelon Ahhh Watermelon…” So i thought it was called Watermelon..but I cant find it! Help me out if you can!
Oh! and check out my blog about “what is your favorite child hood book” I picked Holes..So let me know yours! or even more than one!
An excellent list. We at the very least have similar preferences.
Though not much love for more modern Saturday morning cartoons. Pretty much everything is from the 80s, 90s and earlier. Likewise not much pre-80s and 90s even.
Granted post 90s Saturday mornings were pretty much dead in the US but there were a few good years left that yielded Batman Beyond, Xiaolin Showdown, X-Men: Evolution, The Spectacular Spider-Man, 2003 Ninja Turtles and Tom and Jerry Tales at the very least. I would put Spectacular Spider-Man and 2003 Ninja Turtles in my top cartoons of all time and both were on Saturday mornings.
None the less as solid list.
Does anyone remember that Soupy Sales started on Saturday mornings? Then of course Crusader Rabbit, Beany & Cecil…and for the NY kids out there…what about Just For Fun with Sonny Fox (Wonderama on Sundays)..and there was another game show whose name i can never remember. I think it was hosted by Stubby Kaye…
Bugs Bunny is and always will be the biggest badass in cartoon history.
Gargoyles, Captain Planet, TMNT
Duck Tales! Ah-WOO-Woo!
You pretty much nailed it. I was born in ’87, so I totally get what you mean. These shows define us as umm… “adults…” Without these wonderfully brilliant shows, where would we be? Watching Dora the Explorer and Bratz… that’s where.
As lame as it sounds, I have to add Sailor Moon to this list.
And Sir Happiness, lately I have been thinking I’m the only one that remembers Captain Planet… so thank you.
Great post! The Looney Tunes is something special!
chris
http://dailyjobfinder.wordpress.com
Glad Batman was at number 2! Greatest visioning of a character for a cartoon indeed!
I’d include Mask (not the Carey film), Centurions and ThunderCats!
Great post! bringing back childhood memories! loved x-men and ninja turtles. Gargoyles was another great one!
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What, no Underdog? I still occasionally get the theme song stuck in my head. “…speed of lightning, roar of thunder, fighting all who rob or plunder,
Underdog. Underdog!”
Not to be a nitpicking jerk or anything, but a lot of these cartoons I remember being played on weekday afternoons, not on Saturday mornings. Maybe regional areas had seriously different programming schedules and they played on Saturday in your area. It’s possible.
BTW, all good choices.
Most of these are not “Saturday morning” cartoons but rather “weekend afternoon” cartoons. Originally, _The Flintstones_ and _The Jetsons_ were primetime cartoons–the predecessors of _The Simpsons_ 20 years earlier. When _The Jetsons_ was revived in the 80s, it was one of the many first-run syndication weekday afternoon cartoons in the trend that started with _He-Man and the Masters of the Universe_. _Duck Tales_, _Rescue Rangers_, _Batman the Animated Series_, and several of the others originally aired in weekday afternoon syndication. _Gummi Bears_, _Muppet Babies_ and _Garfield and Friends_ are the only ones that were, strictly speaking, “Saturday morning cartoons,” though Looney Tunes and Tom & Jerry–originally theatrical shorts–have been standard fare of Saturday mornings.
Some great choice, takes me back. Not sure how Ducktails holds up nowadays and Muppet Babies wasn’t as good as The Muppets. But other than that I agree with you wholly!!
Great post! Thank you.
Batman The Animated Series is my all-time favorite, nothing tops it.
I grew up with Loony Tunes, it kind of shaped my humor, music and outlook on life.
The Jetsons, Top Cat (so jazzy and cool), Speed Racer, Johnny Quest and Gigantor were also great.
Thank goodness I have sons–for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Pee-Wee (not a cartoon but hilarious), X-Men and Captain Planet.
Ten years later second son: Sponge Bob, Ed, Edd and Eddie (oh my gosh, I miss them) and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends.
I will leave this mortal coil never, NEVER having watched Care Bears, The Smurfs, Strawberry Short Cake or any type of nauseatingly sweet “babies” series.
Again, terric post and congrats on Freshly Pressed.
Cheers
Smurfs!! Superfriends and Dungeons & Dragons were great, too.
we had same saturday morning cartoons in Italy!
I would have agreed with all of these, but I had the chance recently to watch a little Darkwing Duck, and for some reason it just didn’t hold up as well as I had expected. I think your runners up list is great as well, particularly Dough–probably my number one.
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wow! as soon as i saw the gummi bears on the list, i literally said out loud, “i thought i was the only one who watched this!” and then i saw what you wrote. love it. 🙂
This was a wonderfully fun post…but where are the Superfriends? They were awesome! I’m sure it’s a generational thing. I’ll bet I could guess your age from your list. Let’s see…um….31?
Schoolhouse Rock would get a mention on my list, too…cause knowledge is power! 🙂
Oh the memories!!! 🙂
Thanks for sharing.
blessings,
toni
I’ve gotta agree with your list. I loved most of those shows. Great to see that Gummi bears was actually a real show, and not a figment of my acid induced childhood memories.
I wholeheartedly agree with most of these, although Scooby Doo should have made the list. Some others im begining to vaguely remember are Johnny Bravo, The Wild Thornberrys and the origional Pokemon… When did I get so old? lol
My favourite is Duck tales, though I am a grown up, but still I always enjoy it with my son!
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This list was so accurate, I would have to go agree with Looney Tunes as #1,WOW what a classic, to this day I still watch it if I see it on.
I hate raodrunner!!!! Its so frustrating to watch!!!!
I remember them all! I wonder if they even show them anywhere anymore. ANd there was the ‘glofriends’ I believe which i loved too. Batman was never a fav but then i am a girl so allowances have to be made.
Hey we have the same theme! (iNove i believe its called.) Good post, nice trip down memory lane.
Clearly, we are the same age and both have awesome taste in cartoons. I wrote a post a few months back lamenting the lack of awesome cartoons for kids today (http://miscellaneoussheepery.wordpress.com/2010/04/10/im-too-old-to-be-this-upset-about-cartoons/). I think taking away Saturday morning cartoons was a big mistake =( Great job and congrats on being freshly pressed!
Gotta drop a few more names for you; Woody Woodpecky, Quick Draw McGraw, Huckleberry Hound Dog, and Speedy Gonzales. And I still have a burning question: If Wiley Coyote had all that money to buy all those things from ACME…..why didn’t he just go out and buy a good dinner?
I wonder how many caught the Batman / Luke Skywalker reference to the Joker. I did. 😉 I was delighted to hear Mark Hamill doing the voice over for the video game Batman: Arkham Asylum more recently. Batman: the Animated series and Gargoyles have always been two of my favorite cartoon series of all time. I caught the Justice League in reruns which was a remake of Superfriends (only more serious and modern.) It also had all the Animated Series voice crew. I don’t think it was a Saturday morning cartoon, but it was fun none-the-less.
I remember most of those, but also Godzilla. There’s an obscure one! I got out of bed early just to watch it on Saturday mornings. In the afternoons it was all about Transformers and He-Man. Thanks for the memories!
I like Rocko’s Modern Life, Ren and Stimpy, and definitely a few others. Looney Toons is top on my list, just like with yours. And a lot of the other cartoons you listed are my favorites too.
I miss the good ones!(I don’t have cable in the country and satellite service is pathetic too)
It makes me to recall my childhood. Due to these cartoons, my childhood is happy and wonderful.
Ummm…SPACE GHOST? HELL, YEA!
cartoon is my favorite. I watch cartoon even I have grown up.
Ahh good past days only “cartoons” but now ?????
darkwing duck and the jetsons!! i almost forgot about them. thank you for sharing and making me able to remember. (:
A fantastic post! and an equally fantastic blog!! keep up the good work man because you just got a new fan.
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OK… I did not have time to run through all the comments but… TRANSFORMERS!! Hello!! One of the most influential cartoons of all time!!
Saturday morning cartoons seem to be non existent now, I remember when you could watch cartoon all morning then get the wrestling on in the afternoon :o) Ahh the good old days
YES! I loved Darkwing Duck so, so much.
I loved ‘The Snorks’.
This post makes me feel REALLY old. ;-p
I loved Fraggle Rock and Thundercats. But I never tire of Tom & Jerry.
YES!! looney tunes is definately in the right spot! i used to have a few episodes on VCR. i wonder if i still have them hidden away somewhere… roadrunner and wild cyote are legends. i only know a few of the others, but looney tunes is classic. MEEP!
You missed out Thundercats!!!!
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Well you appear to have captured the preferences of one particular generation of Saturday morning viewers. You should warn people that watching Care Bears while eating Lucky Charms or Cap’n Crunch causes diabetes. It’s remarkable that Flintstones and Jetsons (which are really the same show) show up on everyone’s lists. (But the rest of the generic Hanna Barbera shows: Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss, Quickdraw McGraw, etc never do. These were essentially the same idea: take a species, make it talk, create a younger side-kick, animate it poorly, lather, rinse, repeat. Yogi Bear may have been the only one that worked.)
I’m glad that the senior citizens (!) mentioned Beany and Cecil and Bullwinkle (but what about Roger Ramjet and Dudley Do-Right ?)
My generation will probably chime in with Underdog and the truly bizarre H. R. Pufnstuff.
Graduate students in this space should google Lancelot Link Secret Chimp. The British will no doubt want to mention Hammy Hamster….
You missed an important one – Tale Spin.
And I don’t know if it includes your Saturday Morning list especially, but my childhood Fridays waited for Aladdin (aka Arabian Nights).
That one will never lose a spot in my TOP 15 🙂
All in all, a great list…!
-ashKool
Your blog has a special feature to itself, that makes it unique – the Black and White pictures included in every post. The colorful background that says you are a lively person and yet the incredible collection of these colorless ( Is that the right word here?? I don’t think so !!) pictures you use for your blog posts, makes one wonder how amazing it must be to know you in person.
You write great and also have a very different and wonderful perspective of life, the whole world… Be the same and keep writing!
Cheers…
– ashKool
http://tehsecretcloset.wordpress.com
Not so much ‘sunday morning’ but I have to mention Pepper Ann, The Weekenders (okay, that one is more recent), Dangermouse, Wacky Races, Hey Arnold and Rugrats. And yes I still do watch these cartoons occassionally. Okay, not occassionally quite frequently due to Youtube and the like. I essentially grew up with Nickleodeon, Cartoon Network and the Disney Channel. And it’s not just the nostalgia goggles but a lot (I know there was some cruddy ones around too) but I do honestly feel that a lot of the ‘older’ cartoons were better. Or seem to still be quite enjoyable and seemed to actually be made to be enjoyed by all ages
OH my goodness! Shame on me for getting to a point in my life where I had completely forgotten about Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers! I LOVED that show! Great list – thanks for sharing!!!
I believe that some of the best Saturday morning/weekday afternoon animation both appealed to children and their parents. For a time, WB had the market cornered on this type of entertainment with Tiny Toons/Animaniacs/Pinky and the Brain. This was also followed by the irreverent and often overlooked Freakazoid! and Earthworm Jim. I would also say the same for Batman TAS, X-Men, and Spider-Man as they did a fine job of drawing on the printed source material. If anyone remembers, Batman debuted as an early primetime (7:30pm) show on FOX. When Pinky and the Brain was expanded to 30 minutes, it was moved to primetime for a time. This is how good writing can transcend the age gap. On a personal note, I was acquainted with the Carl Barks comics (which introduced many Ducktales characters) before Ducktales was released. Seeing these characters on the TV screen was a delight and and further endeared me to them.
you’ve put a smile on my face and sent me back in time 20 years or so. i have so many fond memories of so many of those cartoons, and some i had forgotten. something tells me i may be spending an afternoon on youtube reliving my childhood. i wonder what my toddler will think!?
You’re right. These are all DEFINITELY essentials. I miss Gummi Bears!
I love Tom n Jerry!!
Some of the newer cartoons I have enjoyed include the Wild Thornberries, Rugrats, Total Drama Island, and Phineas & Ferb. When I was a kid, my brother and I used to watch Thundar the Barbarian. Might have explained the D&D fascination later on.
OK you are missing the while Sid-Mary and Kroftt Gambit for Saturday morning.
The Lost Saucer (1975)
Far Out Space Nuts (1975)
Land of the Lost (1974)
Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (1973)
Lidsville (1971)
The Bugaloos (1970)
H.R. Pufnstuf (1969)
Yup. You got a lot of them. Good ol’ classic 80s/90s shows. You could totally add Transformers, GI Joe, He-man, Shera, Life with Louie, The Tick…so many oldies, but goodies.
But I do think your lists rocks and I agree with your assessment.
What about Thundercats?
AHHHH… the classics! I love these cartoons! I used to watch them with cookies (mostly the oreos) and milk … I love those afternoons when life was much simpler. Back then, watching the flintstones, the jetsons, tom and jerry, and all the rest of the cartoons made my day.
Nowadays, the newer ones seemed more… unusually strange and odd to the point that it looks really stupid. I think the newer ones that I see when I pass by when my little cousins watch cartoons are: “yo gaba gaba” >> which I hear sounds of “yabagabagagaba” it’s really quite strange… and there are a few others and I often wonder if it makes kids nowadays… dumb.
I also really enjoyed both ‘Batman’ and ‘X-Men’, it saved me having to read all the comic books. ‘Animaniacs’ was good for some really great laughs, especially the “Woodstock Slappy” episode. ‘Darkwing Duck’ had Megavolt as a villian, I thought he was hilarious.
Thank you for the trip down memory lane with ‘Garfield’, ‘Gummi Bears’, and ‘Muppet Babies’.
What to say about ‘Looney Tunes’? MANY, MANY Saturday mornings watching with my sister will always be burned in my memories of what Saturday mornings should be all about.
Happy watching! (now that we can get them on DVD and watch whenever we want!!)
152 comments and no love for George of the Jungle? I can’t believe it! The show also featured Superchicken and Tom Slick.
omg you pretty much named em all! All the good ones. The only show out of those that I didn’t really watch was the Gummi Bears show. But I enjoyed this 🙂
Wow, you seriously just named like %95 of my favorite childhood tv shows. Darkwing Duck, TMNT, Duck Tales and of course Gummie Bears, love it.
Gummi Bears! Bouncing here and there and everywhere! High adventure that’s beyond compare! They are the Gummi Bears! They are the Gummi Bears!!
Clearly you’re not the only one who ever watched that show. I think about it when I eat Gummi Bears too 😉 Excellent list.
I loved the Animaniacs …. they were truly funny. And really if you think about not really for kids. Nonetheless, best cartoon ever!
Ahhh! Me and my brother loved Darkwing Duck and the Animaniacs! I had forgotten about them until I read this post..
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I really liked Scooby Doo when I was growing up & Fat Albert was pretty good too!….Jason
Seeing those cartoon titles makes me nostalgic. I loved spending hours in front the tube just doing marathons watching them.
omg I completely agree with Ducktales, Garfield, Muppet Babies, Gummi Bears, Flintstones, Jetsons, Chip & Dale, & Ninja Turtles. ALL of them were awesome. It makes me want to search around these streaming video sites and possibly youtube to find some of the old episodes to watch. I bet a lot of them can be found on DVD somewhere for super cheap. Great post idea. Nostalgia has the best effect sometimes 🙂
Take care and congrats on being freshly pressed!!
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Oh my gosh – really? REALLY? No votes for Bobby’s World? Best cartoon ever, dontcha know?
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES IS THE ABSOLUTE *****ING BEST. i wanted to be april and marry michaelangelo.
GUMMI BEAAARSS high adventure that’s beyond compaaaree, bouncing here and there and everywhereeee.. these are the Gummi BEARS!
omg.. what have you started@
Haha, I applaud Spongebob as a runner-up! 🙂 It’s certainly a classic. And, yes, I think you are the only one to have watched the gummy bear one…and now I want gummy bears…
I remember watching gummy bears (now that you mention it). Not very memorable and probably shouldn’t have made it so high on the list. I think Doug or definitely the Smurfs could have taken its place. I owned a Colecovision (now that’s old school) game for Smurfs, but I don’t remember there ever being a game for the Gummy Bears…I’m just saying! 😉
The best cartoon ever is Tom and Jerry. The episodes of the 1975 version, where they’re friends, are by far the best cartoons ever made. They have the best theme song of any cartoon or TV show ever made. They’re amazing! They make Tom & Jerry a very unusual cartoon. What other cartoon has a version so different from the original version? They’re very cute; much cuter than Bugs Bunny, which most people think is the best cartoon ever made, though I don’t like it very much.
I think the dumbest cartoon ever made is Road Runner. I don’t understand why people like Road Runner cartoons when they’re so weird. I think that, in itself, is one of the weird things about RR cartoons. I”m not too fond of Tweety & Sylvester either, especially since Sylvester is pretty annoying.
I’m a big fan of Woody Woodpecker, but only the newer episodes where he’s so cute, & the Pink Panther.
It says above that Tom & Jerry cartoons are similar to Road Runner & Tweety & Sylvester cartoons. I’d say, however, they’re more like Foghorn Leghorn cartoons w/ that dog w/ whom he feuds.
Amazing list. I would have to include He Man, She Ra, Timeless Tales, Karate Kat and Ghostbusters to the list. And also Fairly Oddparents, which is my favorite til now
Give me Gummy Bears
Enjoyed the list & everyones comments. For me, some omissions are: Inspector Gadget, Schoolhouse Rock (shorts in-btwn main pgmg, Casper/Lil Audrey/Huey, & esp. Thunderbirds are Go! which even though not cartoons – is what would start my Sat. morning off with a bang! (I think it aired early – like 7 am.).