Let's Adapt the Rest of NBC's 1985 Saturday Morning Cartoon Lineup for the Big Screen

One of the big selling points for this week's Smurfs: The Lost Village movie has been that it's the first fully animated feature for the little blue elves. They've been on the big screen a couple of times in recent years, but always with human companions in a live-action/animation hybrid. While the Smurfs have a long history that dates back to their beginnings as a Belgian comic in 1958, they really entered the U.S. pop culture in the early '80s via the self-titled Saturday morning cartoon that aired on NBC. [kickout id="1"] For you millennials in the audience, "Saturday morning cartoons" were, in the days before Disney Channel and Netflix brought them to us 24/7, really the only place and time to watch cartoons. You'd head down to the living room in your pajamas and have total control of the TV for a few hours, a real treat in those days. Let's move on. Other networks did so as well, but NBC would regularly advertise their Saturday morning lineup in comic books of the time, again an indicator of an era when comics were actually meant for kids and not 40-year-old white guys. So, using this scan of just such an ad as a jumping-off point, let's see what kind of marketing potential there might be for the rest of NBC's 1985 Saturday morning lineup. Snorks The pitch to audiences with a big-screen Snorks would be roughly equivalent to how the show must have been sold back in 1984: It's Smurfs, but underwater. In fact, the characters are the result of a mid-'70s rights dispute around Smurfs licensing that resulted in the creation of these new characters. The underwater setting allows for some measure of SpongeBob SquarePants-like humor as well. Give them a faceless corporation looking to exploit their home area for oil to fight against, and you have a socially conscious story with plenty of opportunities for more kid-centric humor as well. [kickout id="2"] Adventures of the Gummi Bears Disney is really the only company with the brass ones to create a cartoon (that ran for six years) based on the snacks you bugged your parents to get for you at the bulk candy store in the mall. A theatrical adventure is a bigger canvas, though, so there's the opportunity to bring in other gummy variations, though, including worms, Coke bottles and more. The conceit that the Gummi Bears are always trying to hide from humans means you can keep this fully animated but allude to a bigger human world out there. The trailer should emphasize Cubbi Gummi, the youngest of the crew, and show him trying to be taken seriously as a member of society and become a man. [kickout id="3"] It's Punky Brewster This animated spin-off of the live-action series didn't last very long, just one season, so it probably doesn't warrant a film adaptation all its own. But looking at it here does provide an opportunity to be shocked that there hasn't yet been a mixed-race, socially woke reboot of the original. [kickout id="4"] Alvin & the Chipmunks This is a bit of a cheat since there have been four hybrid live-action/animated features starring these characters (with Jason Lee, looking like he can barely believe this is where his career has landed him, as Dave Seville) over the past 10 years. A fully animated feature, though, would strip out the embarrassing human performances, which would be welcome. Imagine it as a prequel to the 2007 movie that explores Alvin, Simon and Theodore's adventures as young chipmunks who use their wits and singing skills to survive in the hardcore wilderness society they live in. Lots of potential for cute secondary characters of other species, as well as an eagle that acts as the villain. [kickout id="5"] Kidd Video This series is actually super timely, and it's hard to believe we haven't seen a gritty adaptation of it recently. Kidd Video and his bandmates are transported to the virtual world of the Flipside by Master Blaster but then spend their time helping others who have been oppressed by the bad guy. The trailer would sell this as a more all-ages-friendly version of TRON, though it's easy to see Kidd Video's message of selflessly helping people being criticized by the political right as brainwashing kids into being social justice warriors. Play down that aspect of the story in the campaign, and focus on the core conceit/wish fulfillment of being able to live fully in the virtual world. [kickout id="6"] Mr. T This cartoon appeared at the height of Mr. T.'s popularity, at the same time The A-Team was on TV as well. The story featured the title character traveling with the gymnasts he coached and helping people all over the world. Again, the socially conscious message might be a bit much, so the marketing should downplay that in favor of the shadowy organization that is causing all these problems the team eventually solves. The trailer should hint at the climactic showdown with the corporate bad guy but not show the whole thing. While this can be fully animated, it should retain the format of the cartoon, which featured a live-action introduction to each episode's story by Mr. T. himself. [kickout id="7"] Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends This only lasted two years? That's far less than the 10 that it seemed to air in my memory. Regardless, there's a ton of potential in an animated adaptation of this series, though obviously the cinematic rights being split between Sony (Spider-Man) and Fox (Iceman and Firestar, who are part of the X-Men universe) make the odds of it happening low. While the series featured the team taking on Kraven the Hunter, Chameleon, Doctor Doom and other well-known Marvel villains, the feature should take a more street-level approach, showing all these young heroes dealing with job hunting, ordering GrubHub and talking about how the neighborhood is gentrifying and losing its character. Maybe even show how they get involved in protests against the development of a new retail space nearby, though it's understandable if it's revealed that the lead behind that is Electro, as he wants to suck up all the city's electricity. Just no menacing sky beams, please. [kickout id="8"]

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Let's Adapt the Rest of NBC's 1985 Saturday Morning Cartoon Lineup for the Big Screen

Surely the Smurfs are just the beginning

Chris Thilk

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Chris Thilk