I know Alice in Wonderland became way more popular in the late 60s, thanks largely to Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" and the film's focus on trippy visuals and dialogue just fitting in better in general with late 60s sensibilities than early 50s ones. Also, one of the felines in the alley cat band from The Aristocats is a hippie.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/cb/a3/c8/cba3c817031f995c0356b4f5aeeb337a.jpg

I didn't know about the Alice in Wonderland thing but thats so cool (and hippie ;D). I knew about The Aristocats hippie alley cat 8).

Now, imagine if Walt was still alive then :D.

I like all three of those cartoons, but no, don't bow out. I like your assessments on things in pop culture.

Thanks man :).

Yeah, all those cartoons are a major part of why the 1980s were so much better than the 1970s for animation, especially 1983 onwards, in particular. Everything was really toyetic, but that usually led to distinguishable characters and a variety of neat show ideas. As a kid, shows and merchandise greatly enhanced each other's appeal for me, which is why I think Pokémon was so huge, as well.
I absolutely agree.


Not only did you have Don Bluth finally filling the aforementioned void in film, you also  had the first several Studio Ghibli movies released in Japan, although most Americans wouldn't know about them until the late 90s and early 2000s.

Yes, Don Bluth and Studio Ghibli (Hayao Miyazaki) put out some great films in the 1980s.

Watership Down really deserves a mention, as does Fritz the Cat for really pushing the boundaries of what animation had been up until that time.

Watership Down really deserves a mention, as does Fritz the Cat for really pushing the boundaries of what animation had been up until that time.

Watership Down is a British film (this thread is about American animation).

Fritz the Cat is definitely not kid friendly. It's X-Rated and features explicit content. This thread is really for kid friendly American animated TV shows and films.

Watership Down is a British film (this thread is about American animation).

This is true, though Americans certainly knew about it.

Fritz the Cat is definitely not kid friendly. It's X-Rated and features explicit content. This thread is really for kid friendly American animated TV shows and films.


Who ever said it was? I thought we were just discussing American animation in general, regardless of demographic appeal. ???

Who ever said it was? I thought we were just discussing American animation in general, regardless of demographic appeal. ???

Well, I just did. I kind of thought that it's implied that I was mainly talking about kid friendly animation. However, since it (Fritz the Cat) has been brought up then......whatever.

Watership Down is a British film (this thread is about American animation).

Fritz the Cat is definitely not kid friendly. It's X-Rated and features explicit content. This thread is really for kid friendly American animated TV shows and films.


Yes it was an English production, but was distributed in America and was certainly known in the states. Either way, it would qualify as a prolific English language animated film, possibly the best of the whole decade, so it warrants a mention.

I didn't see the caveat that you were discussing kid friendly animation. Ralph Bakshi's work generally wasn't all that "kid-friendly" but it was probably the most pioneering animation of the decade so there's no point in leaving him out if you're discussing the art in the '70s.

Well, I just did. I kind of thought that it's implied that I was mainly talking about kid friendly animation. However, since it (Fritz the Cat) has been brought up then......whatever.


Why does everybody here fixate so much on "kid" culture? Sure, it's sometimes fun to look back on your formative years, but can't you just appreciate something for what it is, rather than forcing labels into the discussion?

The '70s was the decade when networks first began to notice that kids would watch cartoons on Saturday mornings no matter how terribly written or animated they were, and basically asked themselves, why should we waste the money creating a compelling product when kids are going to watch regardless?

The '80s had their own problems, which you laid out earlier. Most cartoons in the early and mid '80s were either trying to sell toys like Transformers, or trying to send some cheesy message like The Get Along Gang. Even though I was only born in the late '80s, I did experience this era somewhat growing up watching shows like Alvin and the Chipmunks and G.I. Joe which have decidedly not aged well.

Yes it was an English production, but was distributed in America and was certainly known in the states. Either way, it would qualify as a prolific English language animated film, possibly the best of the whole decade, so it warrants a mention.
Yeah but's still not from the USA. This thread isn't about English language animated films but AMERICAN animated films and TV shows.


I didn't see the caveat that you were discussing kid friendly animation. Ralph Bakshi's work generally wasn't all that "kid-friendly" but it was probably the most pioneering animation of the decade so there's no point in leaving him out if you're discussing the art in the '70s.

I'm not debating if Ralph Bakshi's work was "pioneering" or not. However, I opened this thread to talk about the 1970s in American animation in the sense of how the US went from the Golden Age of American animation with shows such as Tom & Jerry & The Looney Tunes and movies such as Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp to the wackiness of the 1970s cartoons and animated films from the US.

Why does everybody here fixate so much on "kid" culture? Sure, it's sometimes fun to look back on your formative years, but can't you just appreciate something for what it is, rather than forcing labels into the discussion?

Nowhere did I say we had to talk about kid culture. Many of the classic cartoons like The Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry, The Flintstones, etc weren't meant for kids but it's just that kids had (and still do) more time to watch cartoons than adults, in general...so cartoons were (and still are) seen as more of a kid thing.

This thread, in my inclination, was to discuss how the Golden Age of Animation fell in the US and how the 1970s become a wasteland for American animation and what came out it's wackiness (especially pertaining to Hanna-Barbera and parody cartoons).

However, if you and NewMedalz want to talk about Fritz and the Cat and other similar films...go ahead (as long as they are from the United States of America).

The '70s was the decade when networks first began to notice that kids would watch cartoons on Saturday mornings no matter how terribly written or animated they were, and basically asked themselves, why should we waste the money creating a compelling product when kids are going to watch regardless?

The '80s had their own problems, which you laid out earlier. Most cartoons in the early and mid '80s were either trying to sell toys like Transformers, or trying to send some cheesy message like The Get Along Gang. Even though I was only born in the late '80s, I did experience this era somewhat growing up watching shows like Alvin and the Chipmunks and G.I. Joe which have decidedly not aged well.

Yeah, nice assessment and solid points.

Why does everybody here fixate so much on "kid" culture? Sure, it's sometimes fun to look back on your formative years, but can't you just appreciate something for what it is, rather than forcing labels into the discussion?


Not everyone does, but it might have to deal with Zelek's preaching about late 2006 being the pinnacle of everything awful about the 2000s.

Not everyone does, but it might have to deal with Zelek's preaching about late 2006 being the pinnacle of everything awful about the 2000s.

No, this doesn't have anything to do with Zelek3 ???.

Yeah but's still not from the USA. This thread isn't about English language animated films but AMERICAN animated films and TV shows.
I'm not debating if Ralph Bakshi's work was "pioneering" or not. However, I opened this thread to talk about the 1970s in American animation in the sense of how the US went from the Golden Age of American animation with shows such as Tom & Jerry & The Looney Tunes and movies such as Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp to the wackiness of the 1970s cartoons and animated films from the US.


The 1960s weren't exactly some "golden age" for animation, either. The Flintstones and The Jetsons may have been influential shows, but you had a very comparable lack of animated films to the following decade (I count three animated Disney films from 1960-69 and no other feature length American animation). I do think animated films were taken a little less seriously and had more difficulties with achieving production in the New Hollywood era, but I don't think in terms of numbers it's as big of a decline as you're making it out to be.

And again, there's no point in discussing the art of animation in that decade and then say we can't discuss pioneers in the genre like Bakshi just due to content. You can't have a discussion about animation in the 1970s and not mention his work.

The 1960s weren't exactly some "golden age" for animation, either. The Flintstones and The Jetsons may have been influential shows, but you had a very comparable lack of animated films to the following decade (I count three animated Disney films from 1960-69 and no other feature length American animation). I do think animated films were taken a little less seriously and had more difficulties with achiieving production in the New Hollywood era, but I don't think in terms of numbers it's as big of a decline as you're making it out to be.

The Golden Age of American animation is actually a defined time in US history which spans from 1928/early 1930s until 1969.

The decline was huge and I'm not exaggerating. Disney wouldn't rise back up to it's pre-1967 hieght and fame until very, very late 1989 with The Little Mermaid.

Animated shorts and films wouldn't become as revered as back then and cartoons ditched their classic and more adult feel to become mostly kids profiting machines (alas, Saturday morning cartoons).

And again, there's no point in discussing the art of animation in that decade and then say we can't discuss pioneers in the genre like Bakshi just due to content. You can't have a discussion about animation in the 1970s and not mention his work.

I didn't say that his name and work can't be mentioned but you know what.....never mind. Do whatever.

Wrong.

Pink Panther, Wacky Races and Scooby Doo are great. Those are my favourites.

The Golden Age of American animation is actually a defined time in US history which spans from 1928/early 1930s until 1969.

The decline was huge and I'm not exaggerating. Disney wouldn't rise back up to it's pre-1967 hieght and fame until very, very late 1989 with The Little Mermaid.

Animated shorts and films wouldn't become as revered as back then and cartoons ditched their classic and more adult feel to become mostly kids profiting machines (alas, Saturday morning cartoons).


I count only seven feature length, animated American studio films from the 1960s (three from Disney, two from Hanna-Barbera, Gay Purr-ee from 1962, and A Boy Named Charlie Brown from 1969).

In terms of film output the two decades were basically identical.

I count only seven feature length, animated American studio films from the 1960s (three from Disney, two from Hanna-Barbera, Gay Purr-ee from 1962, and A Boy Named Charlie Brown from 1969).

In terms of film output the two decades were basically identical.

It's not about film output....it's about film quality and ratings (by both critics and fans). The Golden Age of American animation was and will always be 1928-1969.

Wrong.

Pink Panther, Wacky Races and Scooby Doo are great. Those are my favourites.

Wacky Races wasn't a 1970s cartoon..it aired from 1968-1969.

Also, I never said that the 1970s didn't have any gems but compared to the decades before it, the 1970s were lackluster in many areas. Heck, I even pointed out some other good '70s toons in my original post.

No, this doesn't have anything to do with Zelek3 ???.


Well, I didn't say it was true. Sure, he takes it as a joke, but that doesn't mean he spams it for no reason.

It's not about film output....it's about film quality and ratings (by both critics and fans). The Golden Age of American animation was and will always be 1928-1969.


Why? Other than perhaps The Jungle Book, what animated films from the 1960s really stood out quality wise compared to the following decade?

Why? Other than perhaps The Jungle Book, what animated films from the 1960s really stood out quality wise compared to the following decade?

One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966), Frosty the Snowman (1969).

One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966), Frosty the Snowman (1969).


Other than The Grinch, I don't think any of those really stand out comparatively, and that one was a 25 minute TV film, not a feature length studio production. Seems like weak rationale for categorizing the 1960s as a golden age for animated films compared to other decades.

Other than The Grinch, I don't think any of those really stand out comparatively, and that one was a 25 minute TV film, not a feature length studio production. Seems like weak rationale for categorizing the 1960s as a golden age for animated films compared to other decades.

It wasn't just those animated films but 1960s cartoons, that made the '60s stand out. Also, I'm didn't just make this whole thing up, so I don't see what your problem is. The Golden Age of American animation (1928-1969) is an actual historical classification. No one is saying that the 1970s was completely terrible for American animation but it was certainly it's low point...TV ratings, film ratings and pop cultural reverence proves that. I don't see a lot of people taking about '70s cartoons outside of Scooby Doo, Where Are You, Pink Panther and maybe Josie and the Pussycats. Also, I don't see many people talking about or bringing up The Aristocats (1970), Robin Hood (1973), The Rescuers (1977), etc much and especially when talking about classic or the greatest American animated films of all time.

Also, saying that One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) & Frosty the Snowman (1969) don't stand out is pretty contrary to the general consensus.

It wasn't just those animated films but 1960s cartoons, that made the '60s stand out. Also, I'm didn't just make this whole thing up, so I don't see what your problem is. The Golden Age of American animation (1928-1969) is an actual historical classification. No one is saying that the 1970s was completely terrible for American animation but it was certainly it's low point...TV ratings, film ratings and pop cultural reverence proves that. I don't see a lot of people taking about '70s cartoons outside of Scooby Doo, Where Are You, Pink Panther and maybe Josie and the Pussycats. Also, I don't see many people talking about or bringing up The Aristocats (1970), Robin Hood (1973), The Rescuers (1977), etc much and especially when talking about classic or the greatest American animated films of all time.

Also, saying that One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) & Frosty the Snowman (1969) don't stand out is pretty contrary to the general consensus.


It's a subjective classification though, and I really wouldn't extend it to 1969 or much past 1960. I wouldn't necessarily even disagree that the 1970s were a bit of a lull for classic animation, but I just don't seem them as all that distinct from the 1960s or 1980s in that regard, both of which were also a bit lacking in classic animated films and saw a transition from animated shorts into television.

It's a subjective classification though, and I really wouldn't extend it to 1969 or much past 1960. I wouldn't necessarily even disagree that the 1970s were a bit of a lull for classic animation, but I just don't seem them as all that distinct from the 1960s or 1980s in that regard, both of which were also a bit lacking in classic animated films and saw a transition from animated shorts into television.

The 1960s & 1980s in American animation was much more distinct than the 1970s. Also, the Golden Age of American animation is historical classification that you may disagree with but is actually rooted in many factual things. Anyways, I certainly think that the '70s weren't that good when it comes to American animation.

It's not about film output....it's about film quality and ratings (by both critics and fans). The Golden Age of American animation was and will always be 1928-1969.


I love 1930's animation!  :-X  :-X  :-X

One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966), Frosty the Snowman (1969).


Those are Christmas classics!  8)  8)  8)

Those are Christmas classics!  8)  8)  8)

Absolutely! 8)

My era was 60s cartoons, I though they were the best. My brother and sister were 70s kids, they thought the 70s cartoons were the best. They hated 80s cartoons. My kids were born in the late 80s and watched 90s cartoons, they thought 90s cartoons were the best. I thought they were horrible.  ;D

Whatever decade you were a kid in, those cartoons were the best. That's how it goes, doesn't it?

My era was 60s cartoons, I though they were the best. My brother and sister were 70s kids, they thought the 70s cartoons were the best. They hated 80s cartoons. My kids were born in the late 80s and watched 90s cartoons, they thought 90s cartoons were the best. I thought they were horrible.  ;D

Whatever decade you were a kid in, those cartoons were the best. That's how it goes, doesn't it?

Well you have a point.

However, this thread isn't about which decade had the best kids cartoons but more of historical analysis on why many people (or should I say historians...sort of) think that the 1970s was the low point of American animation in the 20th century especially when compared to the Golden Age of American animation (1928-1969).

1969, golden age of animation? I thought the golden age ended around the late 50s. The 60s are when Tom & Jerry and Looney Tunes were farmed out to weaker directors like Rudy Larriva and Gene Deitch, for a cheaper price. These 60s shorts had recycled animation, poorer-written plots, repetitive music, and unfunnier jokes compared to the 40s-50s shorts.

1969, golden age of animation? I thought the golden age ended around the late 50s. The 60s are when Tom & Jerry and Looney Tunes were farmed out to weaker directors like Rudy Larriva and Gene Deitch, for a cheaper price. These 60s shorts had recycled animation, poorer-written plots, repetitive music, and unfunnier jokes compared to the 40s-50s shorts.

Well, that's why the time period is considered to have ended in the 1960s (1969). Also, animation is more than animated TV cartoons (which the 1960s had many classics anyways).

This is actually one of the reasons that I'm not a big fan of the 70's. I'm a big fan of animation and in the 70's there was just such a lack of quantity and quality. The Disney movies were not as promising either in the 70's.

As to when the golden age ended I think that's debatable. I remember reading the animators survival kit by Richard Williams who was instructed and trained by some of the old masters of animation such as Milt Kahl and he seemed to think that the golden age ended after the 40's when they introduced a flatter more stylized look for cartoons such as Looney Tunes as opposed to the rounder more bouncy look to the 40's cartoons. I don't agree with him as I think the 50's and 60's are great as well but that's what I remember reading.

Well, it was a pretty weak decade for animation overall, especially movies, though I, too, liked Robin Hood.  On the Japanese front, Star Blazers is perhaps my all time favorite animated series, but there were some real gems on the Saturday morning cartoon front IMHO:  Star Trek: The Animated Series; Schoolhouse Rock; Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle; and Superfriends. Plus some Scooby Doo, and I think there were some new Pink Panther and Woody Woodpecker shorts in the 70's, though I could be mistaken about those two.

Well, it was a pretty weak decade for animation overall, especially movies, though I, too, liked Robin Hood.  On the Japanese front, Star Blazers is perhaps my all time favorite animated series, but there were some real gems on the Saturday morning cartoon front IMHO:  Star Trek: The Animated Series; Schoolhouse Rock; Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle; and Superfriends. Plus some Scooby Doo, and I think there were some new Pink Panther and Woody Woodpecker shorts in the 70's, though I could be mistaken about those two.

No, you're correct.

my life feels deader than animation this decade

my life feels deader than animation this decade


Animation is alive and well this decade, what are you saying?

Animation is alive and well this decade, what are you saying?


She was emotionally depressed when she made that post. She meant that animation in the 70s was more vibrant than her love life.

A lot of the problem with 1970's cartoons relates directly to 2 different actions.

The first was the 1969 decision from the FCC to ban using advertising mascots in broadcast programs.  This had 2 effects.  First off, it prohibited most characters from cross-over promotions for the most part.  This killed such programs as Linus the Lionhearted (based upon General Mills cereal characters), with all of the cereals dying out with the exception of Sugar Bear in Sugar Crisp (now Golden Crisp).  The only other real survivor was Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles, since The Flintstones had been off the air for 6 years prior to the introduction of this cereal.

The other was the "Surgeon General's Scientific Advisory Committee on Television and Social Behavior" in 1971.  This attempted to link violence in cartoons with childhood violence, and forever changed how cartoons were made.

Prior to that, we had shows like Johnny Quest (singled out in the report as exceptionally violent), Shazzan, and even Tom & Jerry and Looney Tunes were either "soft banned" from TV, or butchered to remove "excessive violence".

To get around that, programs pretty much eliminated all violence, and turned to "message shows".  Super Friends is a good example of this, as is Tarzan, The Lone Ranger, Emergency +4, Lassie's Rescue Rangers, and a slew of others.  And at the same time companies started to produce more "Live Action" shows, which were just the same.  Run Joe Run, Wonderbug, Shazaam-ISIS, Ark II, Ghost Busters, and many others similar shows largely forgotten.  This even continued up into the 80's with GI Joe.  Most of the show being about a do-good point, then a small sermon at the end to do good.

No longer were such shows simple entertainment, now they were morality plays.  And the quality suffered.  And to get around the advertising bans, the creators started to make the products-toys first, then created the show around them (He-Man, GI Joe, etc).  This way the show is based on the toys, not the toys based on the show.

This to me is what culminated in the death of the US animation industry.  Filmation, Hanna-Barbera, Kroft, DePatie–Freleng, and others (Ruby-Spears never had a chance, being founded in this era).  By the 1980's the US companies were out, being replaced by cheaper companies operated overseas.

A lot of the problem with 1970's cartoons relates directly to 2 different actions.

The first was the 1969 decision from the FCC to ban using advertising mascots in broadcast programs.  This had 2 effects.  First off, it prohibited most characters from cross-over promotions for the most part.  This killed such programs as Linus the Lionhearted (based upon General Mills cereal characters), with all of the cereals dying out with the exception of Sugar Bear in Sugar Crisp (now Golden Crisp).  The only other real survivor was Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles, since The Flintstones had been off the air for 6 years prior to the introduction of this cereal.

The other was the "Surgeon General's Scientific Advisory Committee on Television and Social Behavior" in 1971.  This attempted to link violence in cartoons with childhood violence, and forever changed how cartoons were made.

Prior to that, we had shows like Johnny Quest (singled out in the report as exceptionally violent), Shazzan, and even Tom & Jerry and Looney Tunes were either "soft banned" from TV, or butchered to remove "excessive violence".

To get around that, programs pretty much eliminated all violence, and turned to "message shows".  Super Friends is a good example of this, as is Tarzan, The Lone Ranger, Emergency +4, Lassie's Rescue Rangers, and a slew of others.  And at the same time companies started to produce more "Live Action" shows, which were just the same.  Run Joe Run, Wonderbug, Shazaam-ISIS, Ark II, Ghost Busters, and many others similar shows largely forgotten.  This even continued up into the 80's with GI Joe.  Most of the show being about a do-good point, then a small sermon at the end to do good.

No longer were such shows simple entertainment, now they were morality plays.  And the quality suffered.  And to get around the advertising bans, the creators started to make the products-toys first, then created the show around them (He-Man, GI Joe, etc).  This way the show is based on the toys, not the toys based on the show.

This to me is what culminated in the death of the US animation industry.  Filmation, Hanna-Barbera, Kroft, DePatie–Freleng, and others (Ruby-Spears never had a chance, being founded in this era).  By the 1980's the US companies were out, being replaced by cheaper companies operated overseas.

Nice detailed post. I learned some new things.

Nice detailed post. I learned some new things.


I still remember that era very clearly, and the way shows changed in that era.

The more modern changes are even related to that.  The FCC guidelines only applied to broadcast commercial TV.  NET (later PBS) was excluded, because they were non-profit.  And cable at that time really did not exist outside of a few select locations.

So when cable became big in the 1980's, the new networks realized that those FCC and other regulations did not apply to them.  Not unlike how the Comic Code is pretty much dead, since Marvel and most other publishers no longer follow their guidelines, with no adverse effect.

I still remember that era very clearly, and the way shows changed in that era.

The more modern changes are even related to that.  The FCC guidelines only applied to broadcast commercial TV.  NET (later PBS) was excluded, because they were non-profit.  And cable at that time really did not exist outside of a few select locations.

So when cable became big in the 1980's, the new networks realized that those FCC and other regulations did not apply to them.  Not unlike how the Comic Code is pretty much dead, since Marvel and most other publishers no longer follow their guidelines, with no adverse effect.

Interesting. Thanks again :).

By way of rebuttal: Peanuts cartoons. The 1970s ones like Snoopy Come Home were the bomb.

In addition to being poorer in quality, the access to them wasn't as good. Outside of Saturday mornings, some TV stations (mostly the smaller, independent stations) would play compilations of theatrical shorts, usually during the early morning but sometimes in the late afternoon, but there weren't any first-run cartoons like you would see in the '80s and beyond with daily stripping and cable. Plus, given the seasonality of cartoons, you would only have new episodes, outside of the occasional primetime special, air from the Sunday after Labor Day to around Thanksgiving (a practice that continued well into the '90s on Saturday Morning). The shorts that had long opened nights at the movies died early in the decade outside of some catalog material at some theaters, and imports from overseas weren't widely available. There's a reason why most of these shows aren't on Boomerang and have a scarce print run on DVD: they targeted a demo of a certain age, but where mostly just a variation on a familiar theme, not to mention that 8 FPS animation with frequent repeats of background models and recycled sounds/background music just has that "kids won't care about the quality of the show" mantra to it.

But thankfully, the '80s brought the boom in home video, cable, improved regulations, and eventually better animated features, and this opened up a lot more people into the industry, and of course a lot of the baby boomers who grew up with the classics were drawing their inspirations during that decade during production. Although primarily used outside of cartoons, CGI also had its first heyday and Claymation became popular.

Even though the later '60s weren't as truly golden as previously, remember that this was when the concept of TV cartoons was still fresh and new (and also when Hanna-Barbera truly knew what they were doing, including the first Scooby-Doo series). Still, I'd peg 1966 as the end of the Golden Age, thanks to Disney's Death, the nosedive quality of Looney Tunes past the point of no return by then, and the cancellation of The Flinstones

In addition to being poorer in quality, the access to them wasn't as good. Outside of Saturday mornings, some TV stations (mostly the smaller, independent stations) would play compilations of theatrical shorts, usually during the early morning but sometimes in the late afternoon, but there weren't any first-run cartoons like you would see in the '80s and beyond with daily stripping and cable. Plus, given the seasonality of cartoons, you would only have new episodes, outside of the occasional primetime special, air from the Sunday after Labor Day to around Thanksgiving (a practice that continued well into the '90s on Saturday Morning). The shorts that dominated nights at the movies died early in the decade outside of some catalog material at some theaters, and imports from overseas weren't widely available. There's a reason why most of these shows aren't on Boomerang and have a scarce print run on DVD: they targeted a demo of a certain age, but where mostly just a variation on a familiar theme, not to mention that 8 FPS animation with frequent repeats of background models and recycled sounds/background music just has that "kids won't care about the quality of the show" mantra to it.

But thankfully, the '80s brought the boom in home video, cable, improved regulations, and eventually better animated features, and this opened up a lot more people into the industry, and of course a lot of the baby boomers who grew up with the classics were drawing their inspirations during that decade during production. Although primarily used outside of cartoons, CGI also had its first heyday and Claymation became popular.

Even though the later '60s weren't as truly golden as previously, remember that this was when the concept of TV cartoons was still fresh and new (and also when Hanna-Barbera truly knew what they were doing, including the first Scooby-Doo series). Still, I'd peg 1966 as the end of the Golden Age, thanks to Disney's Death, the nosedive quality of Looney Tunes past the point of no return by then, and the cancellation of The Flinstones

Great assessment. I agree 100%.

Yeah probably so, after theatrical animation died in the 60s