There was a site called the Big Cartoon Data Base that had the history of every cartoon series ever made divided up by the studios that created them. You couldn't actually watch the cartoons but every detail about the number of episodes produced and number of years in production were there. Unfortunately, the site is no longer functioning.

mace wrote:

With a little digging I have found a site that is close to the now defunct Big Cartoon Database. Don Markstein's Toonopedia has a fairly extensive list of cartoon and comic book characters, all listed alphabetically. There are additional sections dealing with the voices behind the toons and the companies that made the toons. Sorry, but I have no idea how to post a link to the site.

https://www.toonopedia.com/



 

I think most people know this, but The Flintstones was a cartoon-version of The Honeymooners, while Top Cat was a direct rip-off of The Phil Silvers Show (aka Sgt. Bilko.) They even hired one of the cast members from that latter classic, Maurice Gosfield, who played the shlubby Pvt. Duane Doberman on the Bilko show, to be Benny The Ball, one of Top Cat's henchmen. Er, hench cats...

Hanna-Barbera 50 Opening Animations and Themes...



 

RadioActive wrote:

Here's a Facebook page I've never seen before that a friend sent me to. My head is exploding just looking at it. It's called The TV Cartoons That Time Forgot. 

From Tom Terrific and Manfred The Wonder Dog to Ruff And Reddy, Heckle & Jeckle and Deputy Dawg, it's like my entire Saturday morning childhood is located there. Lots of pics to jog your memory. What a great site!

The TV Cartoons That Time Forgot

[Update: Unfortunately, since this was first posted, the site has been made private. So unless you apply to be a member, you can no longer see it.]

I applied and was accepted. Lots of very cool [and some not so interesting] stuff to look at. I found the theme song of Secret Squirrel plus Ruff & Reddy "IN COLOR"

I grew up on a lot of these toons too.
Loved The Flintstones, of course and The Jetsons.
My favorite cartoon TV show was Johnny Quest.
Even today if you see episodes of the original series it is impressive the sort of information that show gave kids.
There were references to actual science, Egyptian mythology, military tactics, and race relations that although naive still encouraged kids to respect different religions and cultures.
Later the groundbreaking "Spiderman" cartoon show had a major effect on how toon superhero animated shows went.
And or course it has major Canadian connections with Paul Soles playing Spiderman (Peter Parker's) voice
Speaking of Canadian, there's the unforgettable "Rocket Robinhood."
Yeas, the animation was primitive but the level of the writing was quite good, with references to the actual Robin Hood character, and of course it too was Canadian and written by the legendary Canadian Ralph Bakshi.

 

newsguy1 wrote:

I grew up on a lot of these toons too.
Loved The Flintstones, of course and The Jetsons.
My favorite cartoon TV show was Johnny Quest.
Even today if you see episodes of the original series it is impressive the sort of information that show gave kids.
There were references to actual science, Egyptian mythology, military tactics, and race relations that although naive still encouraged kids to respect different religions and cultures.
Later the groundbreaking "Spiderman" cartoon show had a major effect on how toon superhero animated shows went.
And or course it has major Canadian connections with Paul Soles playing Spiderman (Peter Parker's) voice
Speaking of Canadian, there's the unforgettable "Rocket Robinhood."
Yeas, the animation was primitive but the level of the writing was quite good, with references to the actual Robin Hood character, and of course it too was Canadian and written by the legendary Canadian Ralph Bakshi.

 

I too enjoyed Johnny Quest when it premiered in September 1964. Unfortunately, ABC scheduled it Friday nights against Rawhide on CBS. The series finished outside the top 70 shows for the season and disappeared in March 1965 after 26 episodes. Those 26 episodes would resurface on Saturday Mornings from 1967-70 on CBS.

When our family moved from Toronto to north of Guelph in 1966, I remember missing many of the cartoons I was use to.  Buffalo TV came in poorly, even CFTO sometimes wasn't great.  I had to rely on CKCO for my daily fix.  Big Al's Cartoon Capers and Ranch Party had cartoons but some weren't very good.  The one that I thought was terrible, even as a 10 year old was Do Do The Kid From Outer Space. ... 
Here is the opening theme song....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F8cgBNJtN4

Last edited by paterson1 (January 18, 2025 6:43 pm)

mace wrote:

paterson1 wrote:

When our family moved from Toronto to north of Guelph in 1966, I remember missing many of the cartoons I was use to.  Buffalo TV came in poorly, even CFTO sometimes wasn't great.  I had to rely on CKCO for my daily fix.  Big Al's Cartoon Capers and Ranch Party had cartoons but some weren't very good.  The one that I thought was terrible, even as a 10 year old was Do Do The Kid From Outer Space. ... 
Here is the opening theme song....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F8cgBNJtN4

I have never heard of Dodo and didn't recognize the theme song. Since you didn't move to Kitchener until 1966, you must remember The Professor's Hideaway that ran on CFTO late on weekday afternoons. They often ran Wizard of Oz and the Mighty Hercules. Must have been tough in Kitchener not being able to Promo the Robot and Mr. Beeper on Rocketship Seven.

I did watch Professor's Hideaway and of course Uncle Bobby on CFTO.  Do Do never ran in Toronto and it really wasn't a very good cartoon, but CKCO seemed to like it.  In fairness Big Al also showed Huckleberry Hound and Yogi, so his show wasn't all bad.  Al always gave the kids on his show Hostess cupcakes. 

I enjoyed Tales of The Wizard of Oz that ran on CFTO. Other and than The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, it was about my favourite.  I liked Rocketship 7 and watched every day, but I don't really much remember other Buffalo cartoons or shows.  I didn't like Captain Kangaroo on WBEN, thought the show was boring.  Another fav was the Bugs Bunny Roadrunner Comedy Hour that ran on CBC.  I did watch Hercules with the crappy animation and Newt that always said everything twice.  Even though it wasn't a cartoon,  Razzle Dazzle was a favourite for a while.  Howard the turtle was my first exposure to radio announcing.  Howard was the dj on radio station C O W.   

paterson1 wrote:

mace wrote:

paterson1 wrote:

When our family moved from Toronto to north of Guelph in 1966, I remember missing many of the cartoons I was use to.  Buffalo TV came in poorly, even CFTO sometimes wasn't great.  I had to rely on CKCO for my daily fix.  Big Al's Cartoon Capers and Ranch Party had cartoons but some weren't very good.  The one that I thought was terrible, even as a 10 year old was Do Do The Kid From Outer Space. ... 
Here is the opening theme song....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F8cgBNJtN4

I have never heard of Dodo and didn't recognize the theme song. Since you didn't move to Kitchener until 1966, you must remember The Professor's Hideaway that ran on CFTO late on weekday afternoons. They often ran Wizard of Oz and the Mighty Hercules. Must have been tough in Kitchener not being able to Promo the Robot and Mr. Beeper on Rocketship Seven.

I did watch Professor's Hideaway and of course Uncle Bobby on CFTO.  Do Do never ran in Toronto and it really wasn't a very good cartoon, but CKCO seemed to like it.  In fairness Big Al also showed Huckleberry Hound and Yogi, so his show wasn't all bad.  Al always gave the kids on his show Hostess cupcakes. 

I enjoyed Tales of The Wizard of Oz that ran on CFTO. Other and than The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, it was about my favourite.  I liked Rocketship 7 and watched every day, but I don't really much remember other Buffalo cartoons or shows.  I didn't like Captain Kangaroo on WBEN, thought the show was boring.  Another fav was the Bugs Bunny Roadrunner Comedy Hour that ran on CBC.  I did watch Hercules with the crappy animation and Newt that always said everything twice.  Even though it wasn't a cartoon,  Razzle Dazzle was a favourite for a while.  Howard the turtle was my first exposure to radio announcing.  Howard was the dj on radio station C O W.   

I also was not a fan of Captain Kangaroo because there were no cartoons. However, did you watch Popeye's Playhouse with Captain Mike [Marion] and Buttons? It ran from 9am-10am weekdays on WBEN.

I was always an early riser, even as a kid, I was often up before 7:00 am to watch TV on Saturday morning (much to the chagrin of my hardworking parents). Growing up in the Niagara Peninsula, TV from Buffalo was a staple and the holy trinity of local broadcasters (2, 4, 7) were my channels of choice. My favourite time to watch was usually before the network cartoons signed on at 9:00 am. Local Buffalo TV's choices to entertain the kiddos like me included the hilarious violence of Warner Brothers cartoons (recreated here), low-budget efforts like Clutch Cargo, Crusader Rabbit and my personal favourite, Beany and Cecil. 

There was also a bizarre series of five-minute fillers that aired primarily on WGR called Pop Up, which were supposedly designed to teach kids the basics of phonics, But there were also occasional treats, such as the innovative short cartoons from United Productions of America, which were often designed for theatrical release but found their way to early morning TV (a classic example is this one called Outlaws, featuring the vocals of Stan Freberg).