Saturday morning cartoon

Saturday morning cartoon is the colloquial term for the typical television animation programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday mornings on the major American television networks since the mid 1960s. This genre is often referred to by its critics as "illustrated radio", because of its focus on voice performances, music, and sound effects over animation and visual quality.

Watchgroup backlash

Another damaging factor to the artistic quality critics cite was the growing influence of concerned parents lobby groups like Action for Children's Television. These groups appeared in the late 1960s to voice their concerns about the presentation of violence, anti-social attitudes and stereotypes in Saturday morning cartoons. By the 1970s, these groups exercised enough influence that the TV networks felt compelled to lay down even more stringent content rules for the animation houses. Critics have complained that this proceeded to the point where the very depiction of conflict and jeopardy, the basic elements of drama and suspense, was severely restricted and the artists were left with few avenues of expression. Even more disconcerting to detractors was that the prohibition against the depiction of anti-social elements often prompted conformist stories, such as in the Smurfs series, where almost any individual initiative often resulted in trouble for the group and therefore had to be avoided.

Related Topics:
Action for Children's Television - 1970s - Drama - Suspense - Smurfs

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As a result of these factors, Saturday morning animation programming was restricted to certain clearly defined types of shows:

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• non-violent superheroes (Super Friends)
• touring musical groups (Josie and the Pussycats, The Jackson 5ive, Alvin and the Chipmunks)
• secret fantasy folk (Smurfs, The Snorks)
• teen life (Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids); teen detective (Scooby Doo, Jabberjaw)
• animated children's versions of prime time shows (Emergency + 4, Punky Brewster, AlfTales)
• animated adaptations of comics and video games (The Archie Show, Pac-Man, Saturday Supercade)
• classic theatrical animated shorts, usually severely censored (Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry)

In a more constructive direction, the networks were encouraged to create educational spots that endeavoured to use animation for enriching content. Far and away the most successful effort was the Schoolhouse Rock series on ABC which became a television classic.

Related Topics:
Schoolhouse Rock - ABC

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