by Piper Wilson

Created on: November 29, 2010   Last Updated: December 18, 2010

Parents used to have to choose what cartoons to let their children watch from what was available on Saturday mornings.  Now, there are entire television networks devoted to cartoons. It is no longer necessary to wait for television stations to schedule and broadcast cartoon shows.  Recordings of shows are also available on DVD, VHS and Blue Ray.  These options mean that parents can be more choosy in what they let their children watch.  That is fortunate because some of the best TV cartoons for kids aren’t always on TV anymore.

Good cartoons entertain and engage the mind.  The best cartoons for children are those that their parents can enjoy right along side them.  The most successful animation franchises combine elements that appeal to multiple generations in one package.

Scooby Doo premiered in 1969.  Between 1969 and 1991 the show underwent no fewer than seven incarnations.  Beginning in 1974, several animated movies were also produced. A live action movie based on the original series was released in 2002.  Several factors deserve credit for the longevity of the show.  The story lines always follow a specific format; Scooby Doo and the gang travel somewhere, something mysterious happens, the gang decides to solve the mystery, they get chased by the monster or bad guys and, ultimately, the bad guys are caught by “those meddling kids.”  Guest stars that appeared periodically in earlier versions of the series are a trip down memory lane for adults.  Appearances by characters such as Batman & Robin, The Addams Family, Sandy Duncan and Phyllis Diller serve as a springboard for discussions about pop culture between parent and child.

Schoolhouse Rock  was a series of short cartoon vignettes about three minutes long.  The creator, David McCall noticed, as many parents have about their own children, that his son couldn’t remember his multiplication tables, but had memorized dozens of rock-n-roll songs from the radio.  McCall hired Bob Dorough to write the first song, “Three is a Magic Number”.  The song was so successful, that Disney purchased the rights to idea.  Ultimately, over 50 episodes were created.  They taught children lessons about math, science, grammar, United States government and money.  The wonderful thing about this series is that the subject matter is as valid today as it was when it began in 1972.

Phineas & Ferb

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