Saturday Salute: TV Cartoons Perfect for the Fourth of July

By Michael Lyons

Saturday morning cartoons are often times more associated with Fall, back-to-school and the one day respite from homework, teachers and tests that they provided for many years.

However, there are a select few shows that fit perfectly in the summer, more specifically, Independence Day.  Through the years, when cartoons ruled Saturday morning TV, several of the major Studios created patriotic-themed shows.

As we approach the Fourth of July and one finds themselves unable to watch another annual rerun of “Independence Day,” it may be worth visiting, or re-visiting, one of these seldom seen TV Toon oddities.

“Hector Heathcote” (NBC, 1963).  From Terrytoons, the Studio that had given us Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle, came this show about the title character, a mild mannered teenager during Colonial times, who finds himself unwittingly getting involved during various moments in American History.

With his British accented bulldog Winston at his side, Hector would face off against the bully, Benedict.  With sometimes smart, sharp humor, “Hector Heathcote” found creative ways to weave in history into its Saturday morning silliness.

“The Funky Phantom” (ABC, 1971).  The once reigning kings of Saturday morning TV, Hanna Barbera, used the “Scooby-Doo” model for this show.  Instead of a dog going on adventures with a group of teenagers, this show centered on a spirit who befriends a group of groovy kids.

This, however, is the ghost from the Revolutionary War-era, Jonathan Wellington Muddlemore, a/k/a “Mudsy” (“The Sprit of 1776!” He declares) and his cat, Boo.

Mudsy also sounds suspiciously like Snagglepuss (actor Daws Butler provided both voices).  While not the popularity, or the re-watchability,  of other HB shows from this era, “The Funky Phantom” is still an oh-so-70’s Hanna-Barbera guilty pleasure.

“US of Archie” (CBS, 1974).  Just in time to join the nationwide fervor for the 1976 Bicentennial celebration, Filmation Studio brought us this spin on their already popular series “The Archies” (which was already an adaptation of the popular “Archie” comics series).

In “US of Archie,” Archie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica and all the gang re-enact significant moments in American history (everything from Votes for Women to the Underground Railroad).  Heavy on the education and light on entertainment, many fans preferred the lighter, musical “Sugar, Sugar” days of “Archie” to “US of Archie.” Unfortunately, the show just barely made it to the Bicentennial and was cancelled in 1976.

Today, “USA of Archie” is not only perfectly patriotic, it’s also a capsule of a time gone by.

So, this year, on July Fourth, before the fireworks and pomp and circumstance that the evening brings, wake up early with a big bowl of surgery cereal and celebrate with these shows that represent a time in TV that’s now sadly gone forever.  In fact, you could say that these Saturday morning cartoons are now a part of American history.

Sources:

IMDb

Wikipedia