MeTV is reviving a lost tradition — Saturday morning cartoons! Kicking off the New Year, the retro cable channel– which airs the likes of The Andy Griffith Show, The Brady Bunch, Gilligan’s Island, and M*A*S*H, among others — will begin broadcasting a three-hour block of classic animation on Saturday mornings. Things will kick off at 7 am EST on January 2, 2021. The programming block will be known as, well, “Saturday Morning Cartoons.” That should be easy to remember.
The first hour will be dedicated to the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies library, featuring fan favorites like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. The second hour will consist of Popeye and Friends ‘toons, and the third will be made up of Tom & Jerry shorts. These will be the original cartoons shown in theaters, which have aired on Saturday mornings, in syndication, and cable longer than most of us have been alive.
Per MeTV’s website:
“These theatrical cartoon shorts came from the brilliant minds and pens of animation legends like Chuck Jones, Tex Avery, Max Fleischer, and William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. They remain as beautiful and hilarious as you remember.”
Some fans may be disappointed that this lineup doesn’t include any cartoons that were actually made specifically for Saturday mornings, but it seems MeTV has plans to possibly expand this block. The site added:
“Stay tuned for more exciting news involving your favorite cartoon characters — as well as some new friends.”
To kick things off, MeTV will air the Cartoon Kick-Off Show on Friday evening, January 1 at 9 pm EST. It will be hosted by Bill the Cartoon Curator and Toony the Tuna.
MeTV is also launching a series called Toon In With Me, which will air on weekday mornings at 7 am, starting on Monday, January 4. That will also be hosted by Bill the Cartoon Curator and Toony the Tuna, and consist of Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies, Popeye, and Tom & Jerry cartoons, as well as Droopy Dog.
Here are the shorts viewers can look forward to:
January 1, 9PM | 8C
“What’s Opera, Doc?” — “Kill the wabbit! Kill the wabbit!” Elmer Fudd turns Viking on Bugs Bunny in this spoof Wagner operas!
“The Screwy Truant” — Visionary director Tex Avery delights with his Screwy Squirrel.
“Duck Amuck” — Daffy Duck breaks the fourth wall and argues with his animator in this pioneering gem.
“Northwest Hounded Police” — Droopy heads to Canada.
“Customers Wanted” — Popeye fights Bluto… and Wimpy looks to profit.
“One Froggy Evening” — The rare but beloved Michigan J. Frog sings, “Hello, ma baby!”
January 2, 7PM | 6C
“Rabbit Seasoning” — Duck season! Rabbit season! It’s all the same to Elmer.
“Bad Luck Blackie” — This Tex Avery short was voted the 15th-best cartoon of all-time.
“Duck Dodgers In The 24 1/2th Century” — Daffy Duck heads to space in this Buck Rogers spoof!
“Daredevil Droopy” — Droopy joins the circus!
“Cat Concerto” — Tom plays the piano — and Jerry plays Tom — in this Oscar-winning short!
“What’s up, Doc?” — Bugs looks back on his career and fame.
If you can’t get enough of Saturday morning nostalgia, we have you covered. We are launching a new weekly column which also kicks off on Saturday, January 2. Saturday Superstars will examine the history of Saturday morning cartoons from the dawn of television to 2014. (That’s when the last block of animated programming aired on a Saturday morning on network TV.) So be sure to come back to Geek Anything and check it out!
What are some of your favorite Saturday morning cartoons?
