Nothing beats Saturday mornings as a kid. All that is needed to have a good time is a big bowl of sugary cereal, a comfy couch, and some ace Saturday morning cartoons. In the days before streaming, kids had to actually keep track of which shows were on, with the ability to watch anything at any time being a distant fantasy.
CBS was one of the few places that bored kids could turn to on a Saturday morning. They changed their programming around throughout the years, but CBS remained a beacon of light for cartoon watchers.
10 Harlem Globetrotters
The superstar basketball squad made for the perfect TV cartoon characters, thanks to their vibrant personalities and unbeatable athleticism. Every Saturday morning, these basketball gurus would be faced with a predicament of some kind or another, usually involving an opposing team trying to sabotage the Harlem Globetrotters through trickery.
But true to form, the Globetrotters would prevail and use their cartoonish skills to best their opponents. The series was so popular, that the characters would make several appearances on Scooby-Doo.
9 Back To The Future: The Animated Series
The always-popular movie franchise would make its way to CBS Saturday mornings for two seasons in the early 90s. The animated show mostly followed Doc Brown (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) and his family as they explore the eons of time using the DeLorean.
Marty McFly would make the occasional appearance, but Doc was the real star of this show. The cartoon would also feature live segments with Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown and Bill Nye as his assistant.
8 Fievel’s American Tails
A direct sequel to the hit animated movie, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, this Saturday morning cartoon followed the misadventures of the rambunctious mouse and his friends as they explore the Old West.
The show only lasted for one season in 1992 as it could not capture the successes of the previous movies. The show followed a traditional Saturday morning cartoon formula, highlighting the importance of good morals.
7 Josie And The Pussycats
An old-school Saturday morning of mythical proportions, Josie and the Pussycats is an iconic Hanna-Barbera cartoon that appeared on CBS in the early 70s. The cartoon was one of several rock band-themed cartoons the company was making during the era of long hair and peace and love.
The all-girl pop band wore matching leopard leotards and would travel around with their motley crew of jokers from town to town, getting tangled up in weird mysteries or surreal adventures. The show didn’t last long, but the band is still instantly recognizable to old-school cartoon fans.
6 Sabrina The Teenage Witch
The cartoon that started it all for Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Before the immensely popular live-action TV show, Sabrina was just another cartoon - once just a background character from the world of Archie - who found herself as the magical star of a hit Saturday morning cartoon on CBS.
Sabrina broke through the stereotypical imagery of witches in cartoons, making them cute and groovy as opposed to mean and evil. Though not quite as enjoyable as the live-action series that followed, the cartoon version was still well worth a watch.
5 Muppet Babies
One of the most successful Saturday morning cartoons of all time, Muppet Babies took the Muppets concept and made them small children instead. The show managed to last from 1984 to 1991 and was as big a hit as any Saturday morning cartoon could be.
The Muppets all lived together in a nursery and would use their imagination to solve problems and play together. The cartoon was even recently rebooted for younger audiences to enjoy.
4 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
One of the coolest Saturday morning cartoons to ever exist - TMNT is still a popular franchise in almost all forms of media. However, back in the 90s, it was a craze of much vaster proportions. The show was a must-watch, featuring the four coolest ninja turtle brothers that ever graced the planet.
Each week they would find themselves in a new battle against a cast of awesome foes. It lasted a strong ten seasons and has since gone on to be one of the most iconic franchises to come out of the 90s.
3 The Archie Show
America’s most famous teenager and his gang of friends were the stars of several Archie-themed Saturday morning cartoons throughout the 70s.
Riverdale was home to these roving gangs of teenagers and their penchant for goofing off. Classic characters like Jughead, Moose, Betty, and Veronica all made up the colorful cast - they even had a hit song with Sugar, Sugar.
2 Tom & Jerry
One of the most iconic cartoons ever to grace the television sets of kids worldwide, Tom & Jerry is the classic story of a cat and mouse’s continuous war against each other.
They never speak and hardly make noise beyond the occasional yelp, but the freeform nature of this cartoon is still what makes it hilarious to this day. Everything about this cartoon epitomizes the essence of the Saturday morning cartoon.
1 Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?
The perfect Saturday morning cartoon, and the singular cartoon that solidified the Hanna-Barbera domination of the Saturday morning cartoon territory. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? was also the very first Scooby-Doo iteration, jump-starting the crime-solving pup and the Mystery Machine team franchise.
Every episode was an adventure into a paranormal enigma, mixed together with some slapstick comedy and a catchy song. This Saturday morning cartoon solidified CBS as a channel that every kid had to watch.