1985 8:30 on NBC: Disney's Adventures Of The Gummi Bears

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

Saturday morning at 8:30 on NBC in 1985, Disney's Adventures of The Gummi Bears sparked a HUGE CHANGE in the way that Saturday Mornings and Television Cartoons would operate from this point on. But first, a summary:

Medieval bears cook Meth in the forest outside a kingdom, have to avoid being captured by the evil Duke Igthorn. It's basically a cartoon version of "Breaking Bad".

SO! The importance of this show! Last week I discussed the importance of The Wuzzles and how Disney was jumping in to television animation like never before. Whereas The Wuzzles was a standard Saturday Morning cartoon with standard 11-minute conflict-and-moral story lines, The Gummi Bears (pitched at the last minute by Michael Eisener because his kid asked for the candy and it made him think "Hey, THEY could be a cartoon character") was a semi-episodic, progressive story with character development.

This cartoon served as an example that was copied all through the rest of the 80's and in to the 90's. Ongoing story lines, plot threads that would weave through multiple episodes... other companies followed that mold from here on out.

After 3 years on NBC Saturday Morning, the show moved to ABC for one final season before becoming the established elder statesman of The Disney Afternoon, a collection of Disney animated half-hour shows that all followed the same template of character development and long, weaving plot threads.

Comments

[lecheile.livejournal.com]

"Medieval bears cook Meth in the forest outside a kingdom" LOL forever! I never really thought of it like that, but yeah! I *loved* this show. Along with Muppet Babies, these were the shows I have the best Saturday morning memories of :)

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

Both Gummi Bears and Muppet Babies were revolutionary cartoons that changed the Saturday Morning landscape by becoming THE cartoons to try and duplicate :)

[queeberquabbler.livejournal.com]

Loved this show. Loved, loved, loved, loved, LOVED this show, and I was really happy when they started Disney Afternoons with this as the flagship cartoon. I have many eps on transferred-from-VHS DVDs and still love to watch it :)

Also, the Breaking Bad comparison was hilarious >:-D

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

That's good - they've only released the first two or three seasons on DVD, none of the COOL stuff with the airship and discovering the ancient city which I can't remember the name of right now and I'm too stuborn to use Google :)

[rebecca pinquoch (from livejournal.com)]

I loved the Gummy Bears. They totally got you hooked with the developing characters. It didn't seem like they "reset" after every episode like all of the other cartoons.
This summer when I was picking my Aronia berries and making jelly out of the juice, the Gummy Bears theme song was on loop in my head. Amazing how you can remember those songs word for word after 26 years but I can't remember half the stuff they taught in school. If only teachers could be so entertaining and have catchy theme songs.

[kaitydid33087.livejournal.com]

I justtttttt watched the first volume DVD like, in late July or something.

[nutmeg-44.livejournal.com]

I still watch Gummy Bears every chance I get. I freaking love this show! Between it and the other Disney Cartoons of the early to mid 90's (Talespin, Darkwing Duck, Bonkers etc.) they made my childhood. I can't imagine having to watch the crap on tv now.