Gen Xers miss their 'sacred' Saturday morning cartoons and debate which one was the best
"I've tried to explain to my kids how awesome Saturday mornings were in the 80s."
Gen X gets nostalgic about Saturday morning cartoons they grew up watching.
Growing up, Gen X treasured one very specific thing: Saturday morning cartoons. Waking up to spend a few hours in front of the tube held a significant spot on their weekends growing up in the '70s and '80s.
To this day, the memories of Saturday morning cartoons have stayed with Gen Xers. Over on Reddit, they expressed how much the weekend tradition meant to them—and shared their favorites while debating which cartoon series was truly the best.
"Saturday morning cartoon time was sacred," one Gen Xer wrote. "I loved waking up on Saturday morning and get my dose of toons."
@genx_shawn 📺🤡 1️⃣0️⃣ TOP 10 Saturday Morning Cartoons ONLY Gen-X Watched.... #genx #generationx #cartoons #top10
While opinions varied, many Gen Xers were fond of a few Saturday morning cartoons in particular. These are the Saturday morning cartoons that had the deepest impact on them—and still makes them smile.
Gen X's Favorite Cartoons
"Too many lol Scooby Doo, Looney Tunes, Dungeons &Dragons, Superfriends, Richie Rich, Garfield and friends to name a few." - Little_Devil71
"Dungeons and Dragons was a favorite of mine. But I was always flummoxed by the constantly changing schedules and I could never nail down exactly when D&D came on. Every episode I saw was like rolling a 20. Over 3 years they only made 24 episodes. Despite that, it had such a strong impact on our generation." - TheLurkerSpeaks
"Two words: Schoolhouse Rock." - nixtarx
"Fat Albert." - DogsAreOurFriends
"Captain Caveman!" - yurinator71
- YouTube www.youtube.com
"Elektra Woman and Dyna Girl, Land of the Lost - not really cartoons, they were live action programs. But my faves." - krybaebee
"I still get up early on Saturday to eat cereal and watch tv. I used to love Gem and the Holograms, The Smurfs and The Adventures of He-Man...ooooh, also Superfriends!! Now it's Dateline, haha." - doocurly
"Bugs Bunny and Super Friends." - Wolvercote
"HANNAH BARBARA!" - BIGscott250
"We watched them all Smurfs, Snorks, Turbo Teen, Galaxy High, Voltron, Dungeons & Dragons, Shirt Tales, Gummi Bears, etc. but in my opinion, Kidd Video was the pinnacle." - JETEXAS
"I'm glad I was able to get up at 7, and watch cartoons until noon. From Wacky Races to Speed Buggy to Hong Kong Phooey." - Wolfman1961
"Three stooges and Our gang was always on before the sun was up. Then the cartoons began." - Dr_Feelgoof
"Waking up before 7am you could get the old Bullwinkle and Stooges episodes and then it would go into the Snorks, Shirt Tales, Gummy Bears. Then in the primetiem 9am-11am hours you The Smurfs and Garfield and Friends. If you hungout into the 11am-12pm hours you'd get Land of the Lost and Looney Toons." - itsmellslikefish
@thedadbodveteran @andrewbriedis it was a different time….#genx #cartoons #thedadbodveteran #fypage
"Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker, Tom and Jerry. I sat watching them in front of the TV in my bean bag." - GogusWho
"Transformers then GI Joe." - chaoshaze2
"Gummy Bears, Looney Tunes, Garfield, Smurfs, Rainbow Bright…lots!! It seems kids today are missing out, they will never understand it. As a kid I totally loved Saturday mornings being lazy and watching cartoons. Ahh, those were good times." - Sak-pase7796
"Looney Tunes, Pink Panther, Scooby Doo, **Shazam / Isis**, Ark II, Land of the Lost, Superfriends, sometimes the Krofft Supershow (especially Wonder Bug, and Electra Woman and Dynagirl; at some point the Bay City Rollers joined in), later on there were the Godzilla Power Hour and Fantastic Four (without the Human Torch though). Fat Albert was usually the end of the morning before Soul Train came on. Schoolhouse Rock was awesome in between the shows on ABC, and also Time for Timer (and his recipes for a Wagon Wheel cracker with cheese and orange juice ice cubes). I remember Johnny Quest too, but can't remember if that was Saturday morning or after school. Cliffwood Avenue Kids on Sunday mornings if we weren't at church." - SpeedSaunders
"Lots of ones I liked, but the ones I really looked forward to are...Dungeons & Dragons, Thundarr the Barbarian." - Good_Nyborg
"Super Friends and Laff-a-Lympics were may faves, although neither had a whole lot of episodes. Bugs Bunny was my constant." - HectorsMascara
"Anyone remember Wildfire? About a girl who was really a secret princess in another world? Wildfire was her horse. My siblings and I loved that one!" - MountainTomato9292