Walt Disney Television Animation

I’ve decided to kick off my reviewing of cartoons with the long and vast collection of shows Disney has been pumping out for the past 20 years. You should note that for these reviews and future ones for other shows, I’m going to assume you know a little bit about them to begin with. If you want specific information about characters, setting, and plot, you can find most of that stuff on Wikipedia and fansites. I’d like to hope my readers are well prepared and know their stuff before coming here. It would just take a longer time for me to name off all important characters, where the series takes place, and what the stories usually involve. That being said, for more lesser known cartoons and more so ones that are from Canada that don’t get much exposure anyplace else, I’ll shed more light on those. Who knows, I may just go back on all what I’ve said here if there is enough demand from people wanting to know more about characters/setting/plot for the more popular shows.

Television animation was in a dark state in the first half of the 1980’s. It was mostly used for pushing a popular brand of toys. Stories were drab, animation was horrible, and most of these shows haven’t aged well. The tide started to change by the middle of the decade with Disney – a company that brought us shows based on good stories, solid characters, imagination, and better animation. It wasn’t about pushing a product; it was about characters and their adventures, and entertaining kids first. Walt Disney Television Animation was launched in 1984 and a year later would premiere its first venture into television animation with The Wuzzles.

Since then Disney has come to produce and air a wealthy line of cartoons; to which they could and should be separated into categories. There was an explosion of syndicated television animation from 1985-1992 that revived all the old classic Disney characters with a modern twist. Shows like Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin, and DuckTales – these shows brought to life old favorites while ushering new characters into the mix, while other shows from this time like Darkwing Duck and Adventures Of The Gummi Bears were totally original, new ideas. All these shows in this time period followed a strict likeness to each other. Each had a catchy opening sequence that clicked in at a minute long, each used the exact same font in the ending credits text, and the ending credits themselves always had a background picture of scenery to that show’s setting and/or character’s residence. It can be argued, however, that not all of these programs were syndicated and that some were produced by seasons – a trend of back and fourth-ness that has continued to his day with Disney. While I never thought of it to be a separate section, what Disney put out between 1993-1996 differs slightly from what was produced prior, but in some ways you could still consider it a good couple years where they still made decent programs. These years saw more productions based on recent movies like Aladdin and Timon & Pumbaa, while still churning out innovative shows like Gargoyles and The Schnookums & Meat Funny Cartoon Show.

By 1997 Disney had used up all their old characters, and changed direction with making more original, tween-oriented shows no longer featuring anthropomorphic critters but with “real” people – shows like Pepper Ann, Recess, and The Weekenders. I’d incase 1997-2002 as another chapter in Disney’s animated television history, as some of these shows in this timeframe have grown to become modern classics of their own. They were also part of the popular Disney’s One Saturday Morning block as well. The newest chapter of Disney’s television animation stems from 2003 to current time, which features a mix of anthropomorphic animal characters (Brandy & Mr. Whiskers), humans (The Replacements), and series based on recent movies (The Emperor’s New School).

I’d have to put the golden age of Walt Disney Television Animation between 1987 and 1992, as they put out hit after hit of (now classic) cartoons, and it was a very popular time for their animation block known as The Disney Afternoon. Sure they had shows before 1987, but they didn’t hit their stride until DuckTales became a huge success; which still stands as their longest running series with 100 half-hour episodes. Many of the cartoons during this time were heavily merchandised as well. Animation improved slowly, but it faltered here and there with Disney outsourcing their animation to other companies (a topic to cover for a later date). Between 1993 and 2001 while not in their prime, Disney still managed to make some good cartoons, although not heavily merchandised as the previous ones were (or in some cases not at all). It seems after 2001 the quality of many Disney programs fell fast and hard. No merchandise or hardly anything of value to really buy, boring ideas and repetitive scenarios, ugly character design and average animation, and no popular block to air them in anymore (lets face it, the current ABC Kids sucks and is mostly live-action programming now). This all leads to series closing up shop pretty quickly after beginning, and none of their recent efforts have made it past two years of production.

It’s hard to signify exactly where Disney jumped the shark, as even through a sea of tiresome cartoons they can still come out with a good show once in a while. What Disney currently has in production now is utter crap to what they used to put out; even their shows five years ago were of somewhat better quality. The Emperor’s New School, The Replacements, Phineas And Ferb – these shows just don’t compare. From being a cartoon making powerhouse to not knowing what the hell they are doing, Disney sure has fallen from its once high perch as a great network that made enjoyable animated programs.

Networks In The United States – Part 2

The Disney Channel – Launched April 18, 1983
Based in Burbank, California; early on they used to air some live action kids programming along with various half hour compilations of old Disney shorts. Again, like most networks from this period do early on – they aired several foreign animated shows and movies including Asterix (this was English dubbed at some point?), the original stop motion Paddington Bear series, and The Raccoons.

By the mid 80’s however, the network started to produce their own brand of television animation starting with the short-lived series The Wuzzles in 1985. Disney became a king of Saturday morning cartoons in its own right, as not only did their productions air on their network, but also aired on major networks like NBC, CBS, ABC, and even Fox. DuckTales, Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin, Darkwing Duck, Goof Troop, etc, are now considered contemporary classics. They had many programming blocks over the years, the most notable being The Disney Afternoon which began in 1990 to house all their television animation. Its name was shortened to TDA in 1994, and by 1997 started getting phased out and replaced by Disney’s One Saturday Morning block solely on the ABC network. This block had a short-lived spin-off starting in 1999 called Disney’s One Too that aired on weekends and weekdays. Both blocks were eventually phased out in the fall of 2002, as Disney’s One Saturday Morning simply became ABC Kids. In April 1998 the network spun-off a sister channel called Toon Disney; meant to air older Disney cartoons and other shows from The Disney Afternoon, which saw many older cartoons jump ship off The Disney Channel and onto this network. However starting in 2004 with the addition of the Jetix block on Toon Disney, most of the older programs vanished (Canadian counterpart Family Channel followed suit as well), although currently some older shows have made their way back on the network.

The Disney Channel/Toon Disney networks have expanded all over the world, but Canada remains one of the few places where it hasn’t – most likely because Family Channel has aired most of their programming. Has Disney Channel jumped the shark with its viewing audience and current programming? Absolutely – their pre-teen lineup of shows has taken over the network, the focus doesn’t even seem to be on animation anymore. They may have ruled Saturday mornings in the 80’s and 90’s, but these days their cartoons are garbage compared to the quality offerings they used to put out. Youtube has lots of Disney related stuff so check that out as well.

Where I’m Coming From – Part 4

To wrap up this segment – I’ll cover the rest of the networks that air, or used to air, cartoons and live action kids shows here in Canada.

TVO – Mostly for preschoolers, although they do air some shows for older kids. Most famous for their long running children’s series Polka Dot Door, and its spin-off Polka Dot Shorts. Other notable kids shows included Téléfrançais, Join In!, Today’s Special, and airing the popular British series Art Attack. Cartoon wise it’s most notable for airing the oldest anime I’ve ever viewed thus far, Fables Of The Green Forest. They still air a lot of animated programs today.

Global – Used to air such great cartoons on weekdays and Saturday mornings, but sadly no longer do. I remember as a kid waiting to go to school, and I’d flip on the television and usually watch something on Global or Fox (mostly Global would copy what Fox aired sometimes). There isn’t much online resource when compiling its history of aired animated shows (as with CTV), but they did air some great ones like Care Bears, Beetlejuice, My Pet Monster, Dennis The Menace, and The Smoggies. They aired Inspector Gadget for years until it was finally taken off their network sometime in 2006 (I believe, it could have been earlier). They also aired Babar, Dog City, Ovide And The Gang, Ewoks, and the classic Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show. Does anyone but me remember the live-action show Kideo (a.k.a. Kids Can Kock And Roll)? These days Global mostly airs news and fishing programs where they used to air their cartoons.

CBC – Most famous for airing the cult 80’s toon The Raccoons, and airing kids favorites such as Under The Umbrella Tree, Fred Penner’s Place, Mr. Dressup, and Sharon, Lois & Bram’s Elephant Show. They still air a lot of animated programs today.

CBC French – I’ve only discovered in recent years what great cartoons they air on Saturday and Sunday mornings. They may be in French (either dubbed or originally produced), but you get a good taste of what shows are popular in Europe, and get to view many programs that have never been dubbed in English, like Titeuf for example. For most cartoons I view on this network, I can still somewhat make out what’s going on in an episode without actually understanding the language.

ABC – Used to air a great set of cartoons on Saturday mornings, like Sonic The Hedgehog, Reboot, Bump In The Night, and was the home of Disney’s One Saturday Morning – something I watched all the time. Its crown jewel of kid’s shows was the long running Schoolhouse Rock series. These days its ABC Kids Saturday morning lineup is mostly comprised of (horribly lame) live-action Disney Channel shows.

CTV (CKCO) – Again, used to air a great lineup of shows, but no longer do (mostly CTV would copy what ABC aired sometimes). It had great kids shows like Camp Cariboo (someone must remember that show), Wonder Why? (I know there was some spin-off from this show, or perhaps this was the spin-off from another show, I can’t remember now), Owl TV (which still airs on the network Saturday mornings at 6am), and also aired the cult classic Canadian series You Can’t Do That On Television. For the longest time it always aired The Flintstones everyday at noon. In recent years, like Global, its Saturday morning lineup is full of boring news programs. There really is no point in getting up early to watch cartoons on Saturday mornings anymore – because there aren’t any left.

CTV (CFTO/BBS) – Reading from Wikipedia I’m even confused of what section of CTV this is and or was, although I’m sure CFTO-TV was Toronto’s first private television station, and eventually became an affiliate with CTV. It used to air the Canadian edition of Romper Room (I was on that show), but I never really paid any attention to it until 1994 when it became part of the Baton Broadcast System, which at the time was a subsystem within the CTV network. Are you still lost? Because I am, moreover the fact I saw a BBS bumper on Youtube and it said CKCO-TV. So whatever, I guess someone else can make sense of this mess of stations and substations (weren’t the 80’s and 90’s a mess like that?). Anyway, the station was called BBS, and on Saturday mornings it aired some shows CKCO did, as well as its own special block of Disney’s newest animated shows at the time called BBS Master Control; something I swear no one remembers but me, and I’d give anything to see clips from this block which was hosted by former YTV PJ, Jenn Beech. The network eventually dissolved into CTV in late 1997, and the block aired until 1999 with new host Melyssa Ade until CTV began airing Disney’s One Saturday Morning as a simulcast (seen at the same time) from ABC.

CBS – Used to air great programs on Saturday mornings like Garfield & Friends, Beakman’s World and CBS Storybreak, along with Muppet Babies, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, The Weird Al Show, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and The Twisted Tales Of Felix The Cat. From 2002-2004 they aired various Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. programs, and then turned it over to all Nick Jr. from 2004-2006. They still have a Saturday morning block today – but it pails in comparison to what they used to offer.

NBC – Used to air great programs (see a trend here?) on Saturday mornings as well such as The Smurfs, Alvin & The Chipmunks, Super Mario Bros Super Show, and many others. They still have a Saturday morning block today, although the programming is a hit and miss. The hits are both imported from Canada – Jacob Two-Two and Jane And The Dragon.

Fox – Used to air cartoons on weekday mornings (anyone remember U’s Place…was that the name? The host was a guy along with a talking television), as well as a great Saturday morning lineup with Animaniacs, The Tick, Bobby’s World, Eek! The Cat, and the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, along with various other imports like the French series Space Goofs. It was a good outlet for Warner Brothers’ animated properties during the early to mid 90’s. From 1999-2001 Fox incorporated more anime into its Saturday morning lineup, eventually making the whole block nothing but anime by 2002 and airing nothing but terrible English dubbed and heavily edited properties from 4Kids Entertainment. This sadly still continues today.

PBS – Has a wealth of great and long running kid’s shows and cartoons. Who didn’t watch Sesame Street or Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, Shining Time Station or Lamb Chop’s Play-Along? You also watched Barney & Friends too, just shut up and admit it. I also remember watching Ghostwriter and Bill Nye The Science Guy as well. For animation, their claims to fame are the Magic School Bus series and long running series Arthur, which is still in production since its debut in 1996. The network still airs many of its children’s shows today.

TLC – Yes, I’ll even give this network a mention, as they have been running a Saturday morning kids block of programming since the 80’s (but not very well known). Its shows are mostly borrowed from other networks, but it’s the only place where you could see the 80’s stop motion British series Postman Pat. It was only recently I discovered they aired Hey Arnold!, which stands out as one of the few US produced shows that used to air in the block as most of the other shows were Canadian or from other parts of the world. It also aired the Spanish series The World Of David The Gnome, as well as the live-action kids show Pappyland. It appears however, that this network has followed suit as well, and no longer has animation on Saturday mornings.

More information about these networks can be found on Wikipedia. Take a look at some older Saturday morning schedules from networks here and here. I also discovered the same Youtube user I mentioned in the previous post has another account full of old shows and various other content from Canadian television. If there is one trend that is painfully obvious after compiling this post – it’s that major networks these days don’t air cartoons as much as they used too (moreover on Saturday mornings), and only stations that specialize in that field (like Teletoon, YTV, etc) still air animation actively today. Who knew that come the turn of the new millennium, we would lose so many trusted sources for viewing animation in Canada.