Animation in the United States in the television era

Animation in the United States in the television era was a period in the history of American animation that slowly set in with the decline of theatrical animated shorts and the popularization of television animation during the late 1950s to 1960s, peaked in the 1970s, and ended in the mid-late 1980s. This era is characterized by low budgets, limited animation, an emphasis on television over the theater, and the general perception of cartoons being primarily for children. Due to the perceived cheap production values, poor animation, and mixed critical and commercial reception, this era is sometimes referred to as the dark age (or bronze age) of American animation by critics. Television animation developed from the success of Disney’s theatrical animated movies, along with Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes and MGM’s Tom and Jerry cartoons in the first half of the 20th century. The state of animation changed dramatically in the three decades starting with the post-World War II proliferation of television. While studios gave up on the big-budget theatrical short cartoons that thrived in the golden age, new television animation studios would thrive based on the economy and volume of their output. Many popular characters emerged from this period, including Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo, Josie and the Pussycats, Captain Caveman, and Hong Kong Phooey, Filmation's He-Man, DiC Entertainment's Inspector Gadget, and Marvel Productions' and Sunbow Productions' The Transformers. The period came to an end in the late 1980s as many entertainment companies revived their animation franchises and returned to making high-budget, successful works. There were a number of early experiments in limited animation television cartoons. These cartoons usually were about five minutes in length and were episodic in nature, allowing stations to flexibly program them. One of the first images to be broadcast over television was that of Felix the Cat in 1928. Historian Harvey Deneroff of the Savannah College of Art and Design suggests that animator Don Figlozzi drew some of the first animations to be used on television, working for Popeye films in 1931.

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Related concepts (2)

Anime

is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, anime refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, anime (a term derived from a shortening of the English word animation) describes all animated works, regardless of style or origin. Animation produced outside Japan with similar style to Japanese animation is commonly referred to as anime-influenced animation. The earliest commercial Japanese animations date to 1917.