Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s Vol. 1 Reviews
Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s Vol. 1
Re-live your childhood with this collection of 12 cartoons featuring some of the following beloved characters: Speed Buggy, Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan, Funky Phantom and many more!Saturday mornings in the 1970′s found most kids eagerly traveling around the world and solving mysteries from the comfort of their very own couches. In stark contrast to the often violent and sometimes morally questionable cartoons of the 1960′s, the 1970′s brought significant network restrictions regarding violence and appropriate cartoon character behavior. Hanna-Barbera’s response to the restrictions was the development of a new formula for cartoons–one which often featured a group of kids who belonged to a rock band and traveled around the world playing gigs and solving mysteries. Scooby-Doo, Josie and the Pussycats, Goober and the Ghost Chasers, and Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan are all successful examples of this basic cartoon formula. Family dynamics also figured heavily in 1970′s cartoons (The Jetsons, Roman Holidays, and Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan) as did anthropomorphic vehicles and animal (The Funky Phantom Kids, Speed Buggy, Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch, Yogi’s Gang, Hong Kong Phooey, Tarzan, and Batman). This compilation of 12 shows takes viewers to England, various jungles and seas around the world, Rome, and even outer space; consistently showcases the triumph of good over evil; and features several famous animated guests including the Harlem Globetrotters (The New Scooby-Doo Movies “The Ghostly Creep from the Deep”) and The Partridge Kids (Goober and the Ghost’s “Assignment Ahab Apparition”). Bonus features include a discussion of how network restrictions shaped Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan and the unexpected success of combining a historical figure with cartoon humor in Funky Phantom. While an overwhelming sense of sameness makes one marathon viewing undesirable, viewing a handful of episodes is bound to bring back fond memories of a time when Saturdays were simpler. –Tami Horiuchi
Rating: 
(out of 16 reviews)
List Price: $ 26.98
Price: $ 13.99
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Review by Paul J. Mular for Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s Vol. 1
Rating:
I give this five stars, as I believe this is the best way to see some of these 1970′s shows. Most of these have not yet been released on DVD, and to be honest: one episode is enought in some cases.
Those that have been previously released on DVD are worth the entire sets.
1962′s THE JETSONS feels out of place here, but it was still in network re-runs on Saturday Mornings. However I wish another 1970′s show would have bene included. As this is “volume 1″ I am sure the missing shows will see their way to DVD.
These were all produced by Hanna-Barbera.
Disc #1
THE JETSONS – The Space Car (also on season 1 DVD set)
THE BATMAN TARZAN ADVENTURE HOUR
HONG KONG PHOONEY (also on complete series DVD set)
GOOBER AND THE GHOST CHASERS
SPEED BUGGY
WHEELIE AND THE CHOPPER BUNCH
Disc #2
YOGI’S GANG
AMAZING CHAN AND THE CHAN CLAN
ROMAN HOLIDAYS
JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS (also on season 1 DVD set)
THE NEW SCOOBY DOO MOVIES (also on a Best-Of DVD set)
FUNKY PHANTOM
Bonus Documentaries on THE FUNKY PHANTOM, JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS and THE CHAN CLAN.
Review by Veese for Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s Vol. 1
Rating:
As a kid, I devoured all the Saturday Morning TV in the ’70s I could take. Now as an adult, I’m amazed by the fact that a 70′s Cartoon collection like this even exists so let’s start off with the positive.
This is a great sample of pop culture history. Remember, no home video market in the ’70′s so the best chance to see the new comedy or adventure animated fare were only on Saturdays. It was an weekly event for kids and a boon for animation houses like Hanna-Barbera and Filmation to name a few. I was very pleased to see some long forgotten favorites such as Filmation’s Tarzan and HB’s Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch (an early precursor to Pixar’s ‘Cars’). Speed Buggy is another fun show represented I can’t believe isn’t on its own series DVD set yet. Of course other classics are represented here as well like The JETSONS and SCOOBY-DOO although the episodes here have already been released on other series DVD sets.
Which leads to where I think this set falls short. Too many episodes here that are already on other Hanna-Barbera series DVD sets. There is already a Scooby-Doo Movies set featuring every episode guest-staring the Harlem Globetrotters. Why not feature an episode from that series not currently on that set? There are plenty of them still missing to select from. And by the way, the opening for the Scooby-Doo Movies has been edited. The scene of the robot cowboy gunfire or other “violent” acts have been removed. I really hate the PC-ification of animation history. Questioning other episode selection choices, why run a Josie & the Pussycats episode already on their DVD set when a better choice would have been Josie & the Pussycats in Outer Space, which isn’t out there yet?
And boy the mix of series selected here really don’t do the Hanna-Barbera legacy any favors. When you can watch all the shows here in a row you really come to realize how sloppy and lazy the studio became as the years went by. Most of the series here became cookie-cutter clones of the Scooby-Doo model. Even admitted to by some of the creators featured in the Docs on this set. Teen-age kids and their talking pet (or car, or whatever) solving mysteries. When you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all and the animation gets worse and worse as time goes by. Shows like The Funky Phantom and Goober & the Ghost Chasers are dreadful in every way. These are the bottom of the HB barrel in character design, story and animation and it’s no wonder why these shows don’t have their own dvd sets. As an animation history buff, it’s almost disheartening to see right before your eyes how fast HB declines from its hey-day of Yogi Bear, The Flintstones, The Jetsons even the earliest Scooby-Doo shows into some of the most forgettable ’70s cartoon series ever.
And the worst show on this set? Hands, down, The Roman Holidays. A cheap (and I mean cheaply produced!) attempt to clone the Flintstones model. Awful in every conceivable way.
Buyers should also know some of the quality of various shows on this disk are not as great as one would come to expect. A fact that is properly called out on the disks before you even get to the main menu. Obviously some of the original footage from the animation vaults was in rough shape. Tarzan and The Funky Phantom are prime examples. Which is disappointing because of all of the shows here deserving of its own DVD collection, it’s Tarzan. For Filmation, one of its finest examples from its library. For those of you at the WB reading these reviews on these sets, I would still take a low quality DVD set of the Tarzan series any day over most of the other shows represented here.
At best, this disk a trippy reflection of a transitional time in animation history. Especially for the Hanna-Barbera studio. An interesting experiment for Warner Bros. I hope they try again. Only this time, here’s hoping they think longer and harder about what will go into a volume two for this series.
Review by Barbara Fitzgerald for Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s Vol. 1
Rating:
I wanted my grandchildren to experience an era where cartoons were fun to watch so I bought the Saturday Morning Cartoons:1970s Vol I. for them to watch the cartoons their parents watched when they were growing up. They were a hit!
Review by Kathy Anderson for Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s Vol. 1
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I’m never too old to watch cartoons especially when I can find the ones I enjoyed in my younger days (like 20s.) I was glad to add this volune to my gowing collection and am looking forward additional volumns. I still remember when Scooby-Doo first appeared on the Saturday morning cartoons. I especially enjoyed watching the ones that were now shown in Alaska.
Review by Jesse J. Withrow for Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s Vol. 1
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In a world where it’s hard to enjoy simple things , this should help you get back those fond memories of getting up and watch cartoons all morning , without flipping through the channels and debating on which cartoon to watch , I hope they come out with many more volumes a soon as they can , maybe the only way of improvement would be to find more of the obscure cartoons that didn’t make it very long , i hope captain caveman comes out on one of these .