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15 forgotten cartoons from the early 1970s you used to love

Saturday mornings used to consist of sugary cereal and hours of cartoons. Do you remember any of these?

June 17, 2016, 12:45PM By MeTV Staff
Warner Bros. Television

Read to Me

We all yearn to go back to the days when Saturday mornings consisted of a big bowl of sugary cereal and hours of our favorite cartoons. Before cable TV, on-demand shows and Netflix, there were only four hours of television each week devoted just to children.

Popular staples like Scooby Doo, The Flintstones and The Jetsons have received a lot of attention throughout the year, with movies and revivals coming out every few years. But what about the shows we used to love that haven't stood the test of time? Here are 15 cartoons from the early 1970s that we still love, even if we may have forgotten about them. 

See Also: This is what Saturday mornings looked like 45 years ago

Cattanooga Cats (1969)

Warner Bros. Television

These cool cats made one ferocious rock band. 

Motor Mouse and Autocat (1969)

Warner Bros. Television

It was like Tom and Jerry, except with racecars. 

Dastardly and Muttley in the Flying Machines (1969)

Warner Bros. Television

Dick Dastardly and his pooch flew old-timey airplanes to stop a pigeon carrying secret messages. 

Sabrina and the Groovie Goolies (1970)

Warner Bros. Television

Before the Groovie Goolies had their own show, they joined Sabrina the Teenage Witch to fight off enemies. 

The Funky Phantom (1971)

Warner Bros. Television

In this case, the "funky" phantom the title refers to was a Revolutionary War–era ghost named Mudsy.

See Also: This is what the Saturday morning TV lineup looked like 50 years ago

Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch! (1971)

Warner Bros. Television

These fun-loving bears sure knew how to have a good time. 

The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show (1972)

Warner Bros. Television

Remember when Pebble and Bamm-Bamm from The Flintstones were teenager and high school sweethearts?

The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan (1972)

Warner Bros. Television

Try saying that three times in a row. Mr. Chan and his kids spent every episode solving mysteries, along with their dog Chu Chu.

See Also: This is what the Saturday morning TV lineup looked like 40 years ago

Speed Buggy (1973)

Warner Bros. Television

If there wasn't a fast-racing car or airplane in the 1970s, did it even qualify to be a cartoon?

Inch High, Private Eye (1973)

Warner Bros. Television

It must have been tough solving mysteries while standing just one inch tall.

See Also: Ranking all 11 cars from 'Wacky Races'

Bailey's Comets (1973)

CBS

Who could roller skate the fastest to win the million-dollar prize?

Hong Kong Phooey (1974)

Warner Bros. Television

A parody of kung fu shows made its way onto Saturday morning television in the form of Penry Pooch. 

Valley of the Dinosaurs (1974)

Warner Bros. Television

A family entered a parallel universe and met its prehistoric doppelganger. 

Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch (1974)

Warner Bros. Television

Wheelie was the superhero we all adored, and it was even better that he was a red Volkswagen Beetle!

The Great Grape Ape Show (1975)

Warner Bros. Television

What's with all the tongue twisters?

 

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JoeKarma 4 months ago
I remember an older cartoon that was about a girl that swam with a blue whale. the art was like that of Tarzan a batman cartoons. would any one know the name and time of this cartoon.
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idkwut2use 10 months ago
I'm at least semi-familiar with most of them...and I have a Hong Kong Phooey t-shirt. xD
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JoeSHill 12 months ago
In Fall 1970 on CBS Saturday Mornings, you had quite an impressive selection of animated shows that included the debut of "IN THE KNOW" that characters from Hanna-Barbera and Radio Comics (Archie Publications) from "JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS" hosted throughout the 1970-71 TV season until CBS changed it to "IN THE NEWS" in Fall 1971. but "SABRINA AND THE GROOVY GOOLIEES" and "ARCHIE'S FUNHOUSE" were both runaway hits since "THE ARCHIE COMEDY HOUR" from Fall 1969 put the Filmation-produced cartoons on the map, where they prospered successfully on Network Saturday mornings until January 1978 (NBC had aired "THE NEW ARCHIE/SABRINA HOUR" in Fall 1977 from Filmation Associates after CBS aired "THE US OF ARCHIE" in Fall 1974- and the format changed titles during its short NBC run) but between Filmation and Hanna-Barbera cartoons, other studios like DePatie-Freleng Enterprises aand Rankin-Bass also prospered with animated shows like ABC's animated "JACKSON FIVE" in Fall 1971, and their "KID POWER" series in Fall 1972, while DePatie-Freleng produced "BAILEY'S COMETS" in Fall 1973 for CBS, and ironically, that cartoon show was also created by Joe Ruby & Ken Spears, who later formed their Ruby-Spears studio with Filmways in 1977, and the show, about a teenaage roller derby team, was almost similar to Hanna-Barbera's "WACKY RACES" in Fall 1968, but not as successful. overall, Saturday Morning cartoons in the 1970s were pure fun!
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SamanthaAmy 14 months ago
you for about Voltron and Trazor Z
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John 19 months ago
Best times to have been a kid growing up. The war in Vietnam was over. We had relatively good prosperity then. A less narcissistic society, where people didn't say hateful things, just because they could. Cartoons, comedies, dramas, sports, news, holiday specials, action & adventure shows, mysteries, westerns, musicals, sci-fi thrillers, horror movies, game shows, variety shows, miniseries, memorable commercials, and movies...could all be seen on three networks, PBS, and perhaps two or three local channels. Families actually watched shows together. Everyone seemed to know that Saturday mornings were for kids. America had created great cartoons for kids to watch, unlike the stuff that kids watch now on cartoon network or boomerang. People just didn't seem to be so uptight about things. School was where you got educated, not indoctrinated. Kids learned to be self-reliant then, no helicopter or soccer moms to take you everywhere, and watch you like a hawk. Parents then, expected you to go out and play, or do things on your own, or with friends. You knew your neighbors.
As for the cartoons you mentioned here, they were all wonderful to watch. My main favorites then were Hong Kong Phooey, Valley of the Dinosaurs, and Charlie Chan and the Chan Clan.
Give me back my 70s!
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WILD 22 months ago
I remember all of them except Bailey's Comets. Tinker was Shaggy's cousin. Dastardly and Muttley's theme song ended with Stop the pigeon now. Amazing Chan was voiced by Keye Luke who became (believe it or not) the first Asian actor to play Charlie Chan. Hong Kong Phooey was voiced by Scatman Crothers. Grape Ape was best friend's with a beagle. Valley of the Dinosaurs aired on CBS and was very reminiscent of Land of the Lost and also was on around the same time as Korg, 70,000 B.C. Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch the car (Wheelie) only made sounds with his horn. Funky Phantom's cat was Boo. Pebbles and Bamm Bamm had a charater named Schleprock. Inch High was fired in every episode but rehired at the end after solving the case in spite of having been fired. Hair Bear Bunch was set in a zoo. Motormouse had a southern accent. One of the voice actors on Sabrina was Larry Storch who later played Spencer and Forrest Tucker played Kong The Ghost Busters while the gorilla who was named Tracy was played by Bob Burns (credited as Tracy's trainer). The Catanooga Cats was 60 minutes long and was supposed to be a completely animated show that eere kind of hosts wrapping around cartoon segments with a great similarity to The Banana Splits Hour.
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