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

Surely the Smurfs are just the beginning

#SMW is right around the corner. Join us April 9-11 in NYC to get up to speed on all the latest strategies, technologies and trends you need to be following. Register now.

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.

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.

AW+

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Spring Special

Save 30% Off an ADWEEK Subscription Today!

View Your Options

Already a member? Sign in