35 years ago today, and then again five years later, Saturday mornings were changed everywhere for an entire generation of kids who got to sit down and watch a ton of cartoons over the weekend. Animation is now in a much more dire strait than it ever has been as not only is children’s media no longer being considered a priority for many streaming platforms, but the shift from linear television watching habits means that there’s no longer a dedicated time for children anymore. Watching cartoons used to be special because they were rarely offered, and two major blocks helped to usher in a whole new generation to the idea.
Cartoon blocks weren’t necessarily a brand new concept in 1990 as with brands like Looney Tunes and Scooby-Doo playing reruns, but the ’90s ushered in a whole new era of children focused entertainment. On September 8th, 1990, the Fox Kids block took this to a whole new level with a giant block of special brand new shows and licensed projects airing just for kids. Then on September 9th, 1995, fans were then treated to the introduction of the Kids WB block as Saturday mornings started to expand from that point on for a whole new era of cartoons.
Fox Kids Ushered In a New Generation of Saturday Morning Cartoons
Depending on which millennial you might ask, Fox Kids was undoubtedly a major shift in entertainment when it came to its Saturday morning programming. Starting off with just a few hours a week (where you’d have to wake up very early to catch every bit of), Fox Kids aired shows like Bobby’s World, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, and Peter Pan and the Pirates. This original incarnation of the block is likely not too fondly remembered as many of the key shows came out in the years to come. And that’s when it started to inject even more personality into the block overall.
It wasn’t until a year after its launch that fans started to see licensed shows like Little Dracula and Beetlejuice, and then in 1992, Eek the Cat! and X-Men: The Animated Series (which was such a hit that we’re now enjoying X-Men ’97 all these years later as a result) were brought to the block. The popularity absolutely exploded from there. From that point on, it was nothing but bangers with the likes of The Tick, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Life with Louie, Silver Surfer (which famously had an official crossover with King of the Hill).
That’s not even including the live-action shows that came later with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Masked Rider, Big Bad Beetleborgs, and more. Then it even started to experiment with anime releases that are still popular to this day with Digimon, Escaflowne, Dinosaur and more that are huge franchises because of the block. It wasn’t just the shows that aired that were special, however, it was everything around it. It was an entire block dedicated to kids, and it was reflected through the bumpers and promos that played in between each show. It was just a vibe, and that vibe was something that was later branched out into other blocks.
Kids WB Then Took Things to a Whole New Level
Five years after Fox Kids started to usher in this new era of Saturday morning cartoons, Kids WB was launched in the same kind of way. First premiering with shows like Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brainand Frekazoid!, Kids WB made a name for itself almost immediately due to the edgier material seen with its shows. While it was perfect for kids on Saturday mornings (and later then moved to Sundays for many regions, making for a perfect cartoon weekend), its selection of shows made it perfect for families as they would often have jokes that went right over kids’ heads to make the adults laugh.
But Kids WB took the experience to a much grander scale each weekend. It introduced an entire universe for its shows (especially during the “Backlot era”) that saw each of the characters regularly interacting with one another “backstage” while they waited for their own shows. It’s where fans saw Misty from Pokemon beating out Batman Beyond’s Terry McGinnis in a battle, and many other wild moments like that. And speaking of PokemonKids WB deserves the credit for pretty much getting anime to its current worldwide level of popularity.
Kids WB was the block that not only first introduced Pokemon to the United States, but also aired some of the biggest franchises ever like Yu-gi-oh!Cardcaptors, Astro Boy and much more. But because they were blended in with DC shows like Static Shock, Batman: The Animated Series and The Zeta Projectanime was aired without any kind of stigma. It was allowed to reach a wide audience, and blossomed as a result. All because it was once considered a Saturday morning cartoons.
It’s been a long time since Saturday morning cartoons have been a thing, and unfortunately children these days don’t really know how much they’re missing out. There are fewer experiences dedicated to children’s entertainment like this, and even fewer that experiment in the same kind of way Fox Kids and Kids WB did. Animation in our current era would be in a much worse state without these 1990s successes, and it’s really something that needs to be come back someday.
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