Saturday Morning Cartoons 1970s Volume 1 – DVD Review

DVD Reviews, Reviews

satmorning1970s

Saturday mornings in the 1970s were a great time to be a kid. Youd wake up and enjoy cartoons on three channels until Soul Train and American Bandstand spoiled the fun. Nowadays a kid wakes up and gets to see morning news shows. The cartoons run on the cable channels are the same ones theyve run all week. Theres nothing special about Saturday mornings in the 21st Century. Saturday Morning Cartoons 1970s Volume 1 brings back the animated fun of those times with a dozen shows. Pour yourself a bowl of Capn Crunch and enjoy a goodness that mostly consists of Hanna-Barbera cartoons.

The Jetsons might seem out of this era since their only season was in 1962. But even after a decade, the 24 episodes remained a staple of Saturday mornings. Little kids didnt know they were watching an ancient view of the future. “The Space Car” has George and Jane Jetson mistaken for criminals as they shop for a new car.

The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour brought together the Dark Knight and the Ape Man as an excuse to repackage two existing series. Both shows were animated by Filmation. The New Adventures of Batman was noted for having Adam West and Burt Ward voice the Dynamic Duo. This gave this show a step up on Super Friends. “The Pest” has the Joker swiping a hydrogen powered car. The show features the always annoying Bat-mite. Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle actually had a few new episodes created for this hero meager. “Tarzan and the Colossus of Zome” has two tiny tribes battle with a giant robot.

Hong Kong Phooey was the last great Hanna-Barbera character To his co-workers in the police department, hes the mild mannered dog janitor. But when evil strikes, he transforms into the karate chopping Hong Kong Phooey. The ultimate charm of the show is Scatman Crothers (The Shining) voicing the superhero. “Car Thieves” has him bust up an stolen auto ring. “Zoo Story” links the heist of a diamond to missing kangaroos. Goober and the Ghost Chasers is a clone of Scooby-Doo. A bunch of kids and their semi-invisible dog try to find real ghosts for their magazine. All the spooks are old guys in sheets. “Assignment Ahab Apparition” is the best of the batch simply because it animates the younger members of the Partridge Family. Danny Bonaduce, Susan Dey, Suzanne Crough and Brian Foster help them uncover the ghost of Captain Ahab and Moby Dick. Ronnie Schell (Gomer Pyles Duke) voices one of the kids.

Speed Buggy dared to mix up the formula of kids, a cool car and a talking pet by making the car talk. “Speed Buggy Went That-a-way” has the car and kids protecting cattle from rustlers. Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch has a VW Bug being chased by evil motorcycles. “Double Cross Country,” The Infiltrator and “The Stunt Show” prove that four wheels are smarter than two wheels.

Yogis Gang revived numerous 60s H-B animal characters by sticking them on a flying ark to fight polluters. Magilla Gorilla powers the propellers by running on a treadmill. Wally Gator, Huckleberry Finn and Secret Squirrel are part of the crew. Who could have imagined Yogi would turn out to be a greenie? “Greedy Genie” has the weeks villain take the smile away from Yogis pal Smiley.

Chan and the Chan Clan makes Charlie Chan and his kids solve crimes. They have a van that can switch into numerous vehicles. They also have a dog that looks like a big cat. When the kids arent busting crooks with the old man, theyre rocking out with their band. No matter what the song, the drummer keeps the same beat. The “Scotland Yard” mystery involves finding what happened to the Stone of Scones.

Roman Holidays proves this was the lamest Hanna-Barbera show of the ’60s & ’70s. After The Flintstones and The Jetsons, they decided to create a series to give us a comedy about a Roman family except theyd have TVs and other modern conveniences. Their pet lion gets them evicted for his bad behavior in “Double Date”. The only way this show could have been worse is if Yakky Doodle moved into their pond.

Josie and the Pussycats In Outer Space is really the earthly Josie and the Pussycats. “The Nemos A No No Affair” has them on a rusty steamer heading toward Pago-Pago. Theres trouble lurking under the sea. Its an improved version of the Nautilus. At some point the girls perform a song while being chased around the sub. The New Scooby-Doo Movies brought the superstars of the early 70s into the world of those meddling kids, their talking dog and cool hippie van. “The Ghostly Creep from the Deep” features the Harlem Globetrotters back when Curly Neal and Meadowlark Lemon controlled the ball. You cant go wrong with animated basketball tricks. The Funky Phantom was another Scooby-Doo clone with a bunch of kids, a dog and a cool car. The twist is they travel around with a revolutionary war ghost and his ghost cat. “Ill Haunt You Later” has them investigate the weird things at Fort LaFitte. The kids don’t have a funk band that plays while they get chased around by fake spirits.

The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The episodes vary from excellent transfers to a few the seem to come from videotape sources. Nothing looks worse than when you watched the shows with rabbit ears bringing in the signal. The audio is Dolby Digital mono. The levels are good. Theres a Portuguese dub track. The subtitles are in English and Portuguese.

Saturday Morning Wake-Up Call! is a preview of the episodes on each DVD.

Solving Crimes The Chan Clan Way (5:26) reveals that Jamie Farr (M*A*S*H*) was a writer on the series. He had to come up with an excuse to have the kids play a musical number during the chase. They also couldnt have the kids use guns or violence to stop the crooks. Keye Luke the Number One Son in the Charlie Chan movies finally gets to play Charlie Chan. But theres no mention that they had Jodie Foster voiced Anne Chan.

Heavens to Betsy Ross: The Spirit of the Funky Phantom (4:53) has the talking heads complaining that the phantom wasnt that funky. This is not considered a classic of animation. They point out how the show ripped off Scooby-Doo.


Saturday Morning Cartoons 1970s Volume 1 is a sugar-coated bliss with a dozen animated treats. The mixture of cartoons from the coolness of Batman to the blandness of Roman Holidays reminds us of what it was like to turn on the TV on a weekend morning all those decades ago. If you have a kid who doesnt enjoy seeing news reports and the reruns of Spongebob, treat them to this cartoon time capsule.

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Warner Home Video presents Saturday Morning Cartoons 1970 Volume 1. Scooby-Doo, Batman, Tarzan, Hong Kong Phooey and Charlie Chan. Boxset Contents: 12 cartoons on 2 DVDs. Released on DVD: May 26, 2009. Available at Amazon.com

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.