View source for Saturday-morning cartoon

{{Short description|Genre of television programming}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2024}}
"'''Saturday-morning cartoon'''" is a colloquial term for the original [[animated series]] and live-action programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the [[United States]] on the [[Big Three (American television)|"Big Three" television network]]s. The genre was a tradition from broadly the mid-1960s to mid-2010s.<ref name=wp93014/> Over time, its popularity declined, due to changing cultural norms, increased competition from formats available at all times, and heavier media regulations.<ref>{{cite book |title=Kids' TV Grows Up: The Path from Howdy Doody to SpongeBob |last=Holz |first=Jo |publisher=McFarland |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-4766-6874-1 |location=Jefferson, NC |pages=73–171}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.awn.com/animationworld/disappearance-saturday-morning |title=The Disappearance of Saturday Morning |last=Raiti |first=Gerard |website=[[Animation World Network]] |date=April 30, 2003 |access-date=2024-03-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2021/05/the-rise-and-fall-of-saturday-morning-cartoons/ |title=The Rise and Fall of Saturday Morning Cartoons |last=Moss |first=Charles |website=[[The Saturday Evening Post]] |date=May 20, 2021 |access-date=2024-03-20}}</ref> In the last years of the genre's existence, Saturday-morning and Sunday-morning cartoons were primarily created and aired on major networks to meet [[regulations on children's television programming in the United States|"educational and informational" (E/I) requirements]]. Minor television networks, in addition to the non-commercial [[PBS]] in some markets, continued to air animated programming on Saturday and Sunday while partially meeting those mandates.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pied Piper Of Cable Beguiles Rivals' Children |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 29, 1996 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/29/arts/pied-piper-of-cable-beguiles-rivals-children.html?scp=49&sq=Felix%20the%20Cat&st=cse |access-date=August 21, 2010 |last=Mifflin |first=Lawrie}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Carlsson-Paige |first1=Nancy |last2=Levin |first2=Diane E. |date=30 April 1990 |title=Mutant Ninja Turtles, Profits, and Children |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1990/0430/elevin.html |journal=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]}}</ref>

In the United States, the generally accepted times for these and other children's programs to air on Saturday mornings were from 8:00&nbsp;a.m. to approximately 1:00&nbsp;p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone]]. Until the late 1970s, American networks also had a schedule of children's programming on Sunday mornings, though most programs at this time were repeats of Saturday-morning shows that were already out of production.<ref>{{cite web |last=McFarland |first=Melanie |date=September 14, 2002 |title=Saturday-morning TV gets ready to rumble |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20020914/kidshows14/saturday-morning-tv-gets-ready-to-rumble |access-date=June 9, 2014 |work=[[The Seattle Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=It's Saturday Morning, Dude, Time for TV |work=The New York Times |date=January 5, 1997 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/05/tv/it-s-saturday-morning-dude-time-for-tv.html?scp=6&sq=Beetlejuice%20cartoon&st=cse |access-date=August 12, 2010 |first=Neil |last=Strauss}}</ref> In some markets, some shows were pre-empted in favour of [[Broadcast syndication|syndicated]] or other types of [[local programming]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Television: trouble in toontown |magazine=Time |date=November 25, 1996 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,985595,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029213422/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,985595,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 29, 2010 |access-date=August 12, 2010}}</ref>

==History==
{{See also|Children's programming on NBC|Children's programming on the American Broadcasting Company|Children's programming on CBS}}
After the [[United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.|Paramount Decree]] broke up [[block booking]] practices, in the 1950s, animation production shifted from theatrical shorts to television animation. [[Jason Mittell|Jason Mittel]] analyzes the argues that by the end of the 1960s, this shift to television also unintentionally shifted popular understandings of animation. With the rise of the Saturday morning cartoon block, Mittel observes that animation transformed from "a mass-market genre with so-called 'kidult' appeal and became marginalized into the kid-only Saturday morning periphery."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Mittel |first=Jason |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781136481642 |title=Prime Time Animation |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=9781136481642 |editor-last=Carol A. Stabile |editor-first=Carol A. |location=London |pages=35 |language=en |chapter=The Great Saturday Morning Exile: Scheduling cartoons on television's periphery in the 1960s |doi=10.4324/9781315015545 |editor-last2=Harrison |editor-first2=Mark}}</ref>

Beginning in the mid-1960s, the Saturday-morning time slot would feature a great deal of series appropriate for children, although most of these were [[rerun]]s of animated series originally broadcast in [[prime time]] and adventure series made in the 1950s, as well as telecasts of older cartoons made for [[movie theater]]s.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/clarion-ledger/32306881/ |title=Saturday Morning Television Programs |newspaper=[[The Clarion-Ledger]] |date=December 5, 1964 |page=13 |access-date=2024-06-23}}</ref> Later in the decade, the slot would be dominated by [[superhero]] and action cartoon series, influenced by the success of ''[[Space Ghost (TV series)|Space Ghost]]''.<ref>{{cite news |date=1968-04-06 |title=Saturday morning television programs, including ''Space Ghost'' and similar cartoons. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wichita-eagle-sat-am-1968/147673261/ |access-date=2024-06-23 |newspaper=[[The Wichita Eagle]] |page=20}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Art of Hanna-Barbera: Fifty Years of Creativity |date=October 30, 1989 |last=Sennett |first=Ted |publisher=Studio |pages= |isbn=978-0670829781}}</ref> These were heavily criticized by parents for their violence.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/democrat-and-chronicle/125892430/ |title=Protests Rise over TV Cartoons |newspaper=[[Democrat and Chronicle]] |date=December 3, 1967 |page=184 |access-date=2024-06-23}}</ref>

By 1972, most action programming had been removed from the Saturday-morning slot, following pressure from parents' lobbying groups such as the [[Action for Children's Television]] (ACT).<ref name="NYT">{{Cite news |last=Gent |first=George |date=1972-01-13 |title=Networks Say They Eliminated Most Violent Children's Shows |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/01/13/archives/networks-say-they-eliminated-most-violent-childrens-shows.html |access-date=2022-08-24 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> These groups voiced concerns about the presentation of [[commercialism]], violence, anti-social attitudes and [[stereotype]]s in Saturday-morning cartoons.<ref name="NYT" /> By the 1970s, these groups exercised enough influence, especially with the [[U.S. Congress]] and the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC), that the television networks felt compelled to impose more stringent content rules for the animation houses.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g1epc/is_tov/ai_2419101063/pg_3/?tag=content;col1 |title=Saturday-Morning Cartoons |access-date=July 30, 2022 |encyclopedia=St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture |first=Paul |last=Pogue |year=2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120710144540/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g1epc/is_tov/ai_2419101063/pg_3/?tag=content;col1 |archive-date=July 10, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Toy-based TV: effects on children debated |work=The New York Times |date=February 3, 1986 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/03/arts/toy-based-tv-effects-on-children-debated.html |access-date=August 10, 2010 |first=Peter |last=Boyer}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Controversy About Toys, TV Violence |work=The New York Times |date=December 12, 1985 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/12/garden/controversy-about-toys-tv-violence.html |access-date=August 10, 2010 |first=Glenn |last=Collins}}</ref> In 1978, the [[Federal Trade Commission]] was openly considering a ban on all advertising during television programming targeting preschoolers, and severe restrictions on other children's program advertising, both of which would have effectively killed off the format; the commission ultimately dropped the proposal.<ref>{{cite news |last=Brown |first=Les |date=March 19, 1978 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/03/09/archives/tv-cartoons-face-dim-future-girding-for-change-contracts-can-be.html |title=TV cartoons face dim future |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=April 26, 2015}}</ref>

The networks were encouraged to create educational spots that endeavored to use animation or live-action for enriching content,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-act-impact-on-satu/134525541/ |title=Children's TV: Little by Little it's Getting Better |newspaper=[[The Los Angeles Times]] |date=September 29, 1974 |page=448 |access-date=2024-06-23}}</ref> including the ''[[Schoolhouse Rock!]]'' series on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] which became a fondly-remembered television classic, while CBS had the long-running children's oriented news series, ''[[In the News]]''. In Canada concurrently, the [[National Film Board of Canada]] produced a roughly equivalent domestic series called ''[[Canada Vignettes]]'', although they were intended to be aired throughout the usual broadcast day. With the 1970s came a wave of animated versions of popular live-action prime time series as well, mainly with the voices of the original casts, such as ''[[Star Trek: The Animated Series]]'', as well as imitations of the highly successful ''[[Scooby-Doo]]''<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tribune-upi-article-fall-1974-saturd/136599802/ |title=TV Kiddie Shows Abound |newspaper=The Tribune |date=April 14, 1974 |page=22 |access-date=2024-06-23}}</ref> combining teen characters and [[Talking animals in fiction|talking animals]] with supernatural mystery stories.

By 1982, under President [[Ronald Reagan]], the FCC had loosened programming and advertising regulations,<ref>{{cite news |last=Mauro |first=Tony |date=1982-01-12 |title=Rules Died after Reagan elected |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/statesman-journal/109373830/ |access-date=2024-06-23 |newspaper=[[Statesman Journal]] |page=15}}</ref> leading to the era of "half-hour toy commercials", starting with ''[[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]]'' and continuing with such series as ''[[The Transformers (TV series)|The Transformers]]'' and ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]''. These were heavily criticized by ACT, but were nevertheless successful.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/fort-worth-star-telegram/80956797/ |title=30-minute Commercials |newspaper=[[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]] |date=June 7, 1987 |page=98 |access-date=2024-06-23}}</ref> As well, several more lighthearted series appeared, popularized by [[Hanna-Barbera]]'s ''[[The Smurfs (1981 TV series)|The Smurfs]]'' and [[Jim Henson]]'s ''[[Muppet Babies (1984 TV series)|Muppet Babies]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-youcanfindgoodshow/26397067/ |title=You can find good shows for kids Saturday morning |newspaper=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |date=September 28, 1985 |page=45 |access-date=2024-06-23}}</ref> These included series based on popular [[video game]]s, such as ''[[Saturday Supercade]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hastings |first=Julianna |date=1983-09-06 |title=What's new for kids on TV Saturday morning |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/democrat-and-chronicle-saturday-morning/77952056/ |access-date=2024-06-23 |newspaper=[[Democrat and Chronicle]] |page=14}}</ref>

Beginning in the late 1980s, networks commissioned new series based on legacy properties that would appeal to [[nostalgia]] and to a [[family-friendly|whole family audience]], including ABC's reviving the ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise with ''[[A Pup Named Scooby-Doo]]''<ref>{{cite news | last = Roush | first = Matt | date = September 8, 1988 | title = On ABC: Portrait of Scooby as a young dog | url = https://www.proquest.com/docview/306108370 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304230602/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/doc/306108370.html | newspaper = [[USA Today]] | page = 3D | archive-date = March 4, 2016 | id = {{ProQuest|306108370}} | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="Daniel">{{cite news |date=June 21, 1988 |title=Here's what's coming for the kids this fall |url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zuhVAAAAIBAJ&pg=6954%2C4914499 |newspaper=[[The Register-Guard]] (Oregon) |page=7A |via=Google News Archive |series=Highlights }}</ref> and commissioning ''[[The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh]]'' from [[The Walt Disney Company]], both series being major successes.<ref name="Daniel" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Winfrey |first=Lee |date=September 16, 1988 |title=ABC hoping Pooh can pull more than honey out a jar |url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19880916&id=CqgeAAAAIBAJ&pg=6729,251354 |work=[[Spartanburg Herald-Journal]] |publisher=[[Knight Ridder]] |page=A9 |via=Google News Archive}}</ref> The move was largely driven by the adoption of the [[people meter]], which ABC believed that younger children could not operate and which ABC blamed for the network's poor viewership with its younger-skewing lineup featuring the likes of ''[[The Little Clowns of Happytown]]''.<ref name="KidsLoveTube">{{cite news |last=Harmetz |first=Aljean |date=June 7, 1988 |title=Kids Like Tube, But Tune Out Networks |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1988/06/07/kids-like-tube-but-tune-out-networks/ |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |quote=Do you think I'll keep putting those programs on the air? Little Clowns of Happytown, which is specifically for children under 6, has been canceled because it can't generate the people-meter numbers. |agency=New York Times News Service}}</ref> CBS likewise focused its content on established properties, bringing the comic strip ''[[Garfield]]'' (which had produced a number of successful specials already) to Saturday morning with what would become the long-running ''[[Garfield and Friends]]'' and pairing the show with live-action children's series hosted by fictional characters originally created for adult audiences, [[Pee-wee Herman]] (''[[Pee-Wee's Playhouse]]'') and [[Ernest P. Worrell]] (''[[Hey Vern, It's Ernest!]]'').<ref name="Daniel" />

===Decline===
Despite increased competition from [[cable television]] networks (such as [[Nickelodeon]], [[Cartoon Network]], and [[Disney Channel]]),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-75761403.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106075359/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-75761403.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 6, 2013 |title=Nick Retains Saturday Crown |work=Broadcasting & Cable |date=June 18, 2001 |access-date=October 30, 2013}}</ref><ref name=variety2002>{{cite news |url=https://variety.com/2002/tv/news/kid-skeds-tread-on-joint-strategy-1117873477/ |title=Kid skeds tread on joint strategy |last=Bernstein |first=Paula |date=September 29, 2002 |work=Variety |access-date=July 14, 2018 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=awn/> Saturday-morning and [[weekday cartoon]] blocks continued to remain popular in the 1990s. Examples included Disney's [[The Disney Afternoon|Disney Afternoon]] in syndication, [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]'s [[Fox Kids]], [[UPN]]'s [[UPN Kids]], [[CBS]]'s [[Children's programming on CBS|CBS Saturday]], [[The WB]]'s [[Kids' WB]], and [[Bohbot Kids Network|Amazin' Adventures]] (later Bohbot Kids Network) in syndication.

From 1992 however, the "Big Three" traditional major networks and their affiliates began replacing their Saturday-morning animated programming with weekend editions of their [[breakfast television|morning news programs]],<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-idaho-statesman-channel-7-to-offer-w/146427313/ |title=Channel 7 to offer weekend morning newscasts |newspaper=[[Idaho Statesman]] |date=March 17, 1992 |page=27 |access-date=2024-06-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/argus-leader-kelo-expands-morning-show/122112469/ |title=KELO expands morning show, KDLT adds "In Focus" |newspaper=[[Argus Leader]] |date=August 30, 1997 |page=9 |access-date=2024-06-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.newspapers.com/article/the-morning-call/141519961/ |title=Saturday Morning television guide |newspaper=[[The Morning Call]] |date=October 17, 2004 |page=160 |access-date=2024-06-24}}</ref> and live-action teen-oriented series.<ref>{{cite news |last=McFarlin |first=Jim |date=1992-09-19 |title=Merrie Melodies and More! NBC replaces cartoons with fare for teens |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-journal-news-merriemelodiesandmor/7285447/ |access-date=2024-06-24 |newspaper=[[The Journal News]] |page=15}}</ref> Multiple factors contributed to the change, among them an increasingly competitive market fueled by the [[multi-channel transition]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/25/business/media/25kidstv.html?_r=1 |title=Fox Ends Saturday-Morning Cartoons |work=The New York Times |date=November 25, 2008 |access-date=October 2, 2009}}</ref><ref name=variety2002>{{cite news |url=https://variety.com/2002/tv/news/kid-skeds-tread-on-joint-strategy-1117873477/ |title=Kid skeds tread on joint strategy |last=Bernstein |first=Paula |date=September 29, 2002 |work=Variety |access-date=July 14, 2018 |language=en-US}}</ref> a boom in [[Broadcast syndication|first-run syndicated]] content<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/19/business/the-media-business-nbc-considers-scrapping-saturday-cartoons.html |title=The Media Business; NBC Considers Scrapping Saturday Cartoons |last=Boyer |first=Peter |work=The New York Times |date=September 19, 1988 |access-date=September 10, 2013}}</ref> and the introduction of [[home video]] and video games; increasing restrictions on advertising and [[Regulations on children's television programming in the United States|educational content mandates]];<ref name="wp93014">{{cite news |last=Sullivan |first=Gail |date=September 30, 2014 |title=Saturday morning cartoons are no more |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/09/30/saturday-morning-cartoons-are-no-more/ |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150926160202/http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/09/30/saturday-morning-cartoons-are-no-more/ |archive-date=2015-09-26 |access-date=October 2, 2014 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> and broader cultural changes stemming from an increase in [[no-fault divorce]]s and the end of the [[Mid-20th century baby boom|post-World War II baby boom]].<ref name="awn">{{cite web |last=Reito |first=Gerald |title=The Disappearance of Saturday Morning |url=http://www.awn.com/articles/disappearance-saturday-morning |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140114200425/https://www.awn.com/animationworld/disappearance-saturday-morning |archive-date=2014-01-14 |access-date=October 2, 2009 |work=[[Animation World Network]]}}</ref><ref name=wp93014/><ref name="Chicago">{{cite news |last=Harmetz |first=Aljean |date=June 7, 1988 |title=Kids Like Tube, But Tune Out Networks |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1988/06/07/kids-like-tube-but-tune-out-networks/ |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |agency=New York Times News Service}}</ref>

Attempting to pair the newscasts with the remaining cartoons was largely unsuccessful because the two program formats drew widely different audiences that did not lend themselves to [[Hammocking|leading in and out of each other]], leading to viewership oddities (such as [[TNBC|NBC's children's block]] having an average viewership age of over 40 years old);<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://variety.com/2003/tv/news/adults-discover-kiddie-programs-1117880923/ |title=Adults 'Discover' kiddie programs |date=23 February 2003}}</ref><ref name="deadline-ctaads">{{cite web |last=Robb |first=David |date=June 20, 2016 |title=Preteen Saturday Morning Kids Shows Abandoned By Broadcast Networks |url=https://deadline.com/2016/06/kids-tv-shows-saturday-mornings-fcc-loophole-advertising-1201774658/ |access-date=June 26, 2016 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]}}</ref> by the mid 2010s, all of the major American networks had shifted to live-action documentary programming, ostensibly targeted at teenagers to meet the educational mandates but less likely to cause a clash with the newscasts as the programming was genericized as much as possible to resemble [[reality television]] programming for general audiences found on most cable networks (or in the case of ''[[Bondi Vet|Dr. Chris: Pet Vet]]'', general reality programming from overseas re-edited to comply with American mandates).<ref name="deadline-ctaads"/> This documentary programming also benefited from having less restrictive rules for advertising compared to programming targeted to children.<ref name="deadline-ctaads"/>

Saturday-morning and Sunday-morning cartoons were largely discontinued in [[Television in Canada|Canada]] by 2002. In the United States, [[The CW]] continued to air non-E/I cartoons until September 27, 2014;<ref name=wp93014/> among the "Big Three" traditional major networks, the final non-E/I cartoon to date (''[[Kim Possible]]'') was last aired in 2006.

==Legacy==
This era continues to be satirized and paid homage to in popular culture. In the 1990s, many [[Generation X]]ers were nostalgic for the Saturday-morning cartoons of the 1970s and 1980s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Burke |first1=Timothy |last2=Burke |first2=Kevin |year=1998 |title=Saturday Morning Fever: Growing up with Cartoon Culture |location=New York |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |isbn=0-312-16996-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/saturdaymorningf00burk}}</ref> One such example was the [[Album#Tribute or cover|tribute album]] ''[[Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits]]'' (1995), where Saturday-morning cartoon themes such as ''[[Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!|Scooby-Doo]]'' and ''[[Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids|Fat Albert]]'' were covered by [[alternative rock]] artists.<ref>{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r229385}}</ref><ref name="AltPressRev">{{Cite magazine |last=Stegall |first=Tim |date=May 1996 |title=Music Reviews |magazine=[[Alternative Press (magazine)|Alternative Press]] |volume=10 |issue=94 |pages=88–89}}</ref> The [[Netflix]] animated series ''[[Saturday Morning All Star Hits!]]'' parodies the mid-1980s to early 1990s era of Saturday-morning animation, such as ''[[Thundercats]]'', ''[[Care Bears]]'', ''[[ProStars]]'', and ''[[Denver, the Last Dinosaur]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Radulovic |first=Petrana |date=2021-12-10 |title=Kyle Mooney's Netflix show Saturday Morning All Star Hits! is a specific nostalgia rush |url=https://www.polygon.com/22826878/saturday-morning-all-star-hits-netflix-impression |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}}</ref> The science fiction animated series ''[[Futurama]]'' also spoofed 1970s and 1980s Saturday-morning cartoons in the episode "[[Saturday Morning Fun Pit]]".<ref>{{Cite web |first=Max |last=Nicholson |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/07/18/futurama-saturday-morning-fun-pit-review |title=Futurama: "Saturday Morning Fun Pit" Review |date=July 18, 2013 |website=[[IGN]] |publisher=[[j2 Global]] |location=San Francisco, California |language=en-US |access-date=December 22, 2016}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Animation|Television}}
* [[Animation in the United States in the television era]]
* [[Modern animation in the United States]]
* [[Lists of United States network television schedules]] – includes articles on Saturday morning children's programming schedules among the major networks
* [[List of weekday cartoons]]
* [[Saturday morning pictures]]
* [[Saturday morning preview specials]]
* [[History of animation]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{wiktionary|Saturday-morning cartoon}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.awn.com/articles/disappearance-saturday-morning |title=The Disappearance of Saturday Morning |last=Raiti |first=Gerard |publisher=[[Animation World Network]] |date=April 30, 2003 |access-date=January 10, 2016}}
* [http://tviv.org/Saturday_Morning_1967_Grid_(USA) Saturday-morning grid of 1967, year of debut of ''Fantastic Four'' and ''Spider-Man'']
* [http://www.tvparty.com/sat.html TV Party presents the schedules and program profiles for every series the networks broadcast on Saturday Mornings from the mid-Sixties all through the Seventies.]
* [http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-3409002175/saturday-morning-cartoons.html St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture: Saturday Morning Cartoons]
* {{cite web |url=http://www.current.org/1994/06/goal-ready-learn-engage-kids-parents |title=Goal for Ready to Learn: engage kids and parents |last=Everhart |first=Karen |publisher=Current.org |date=June 6, 1994 |access-date=January 10, 2016}}

{{Cartoons on Television}}
{{KidsTVBlocksUS}}
{{Children's programming on NBC}}
{{Children's programming on CBS}}
{{Children's programming on the American Broadcasting Company}}
{{Kids' WB}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saturday Morning Cartoon}}
[[Category:1960s neologisms]]
[[Category:Children's television in the United States]]
[[Category:History of animation]]
[[Category:History of children's television programming in the United States|History of children's television programming in the United States]]
[[Category:Saturday mass media]]
[[Category:Television terminology]]
[[Category:Youth culture in the United States]]
[[Category:Surrealism]]