TV Animation - 1966

- May 2022

These are animated cartoon characters that debuted on American television in 1966.

Frankenstein Jr. - Frankenstein Jr and the Impossibles

King Kong - The King Kong Show

Batfink - Batfink

Tornado Man - The Mighty Heroes

Super Bwoing - The Super 6

Oliver Hardy & Stan Laurel - Laurel and Hardy

Scooter - The Space Kidettes

The Lone Ranger - The Lone Ranger

Superman - The New Adventures of Superman

Klondike Kat - The Beagles

It seems this was the year that saw the rise of superheroes.

The Marvel Superheroes (which had separate segments for Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, and Namor) was the first of many many Marvel cartoons to come. The New Adventures of Superman was the first time Superman had been animated since the Fleischer theatrical short films from the 1940s. Space Ghost was Hanna-Barbera's attempt at a superhero. The Mighty Heroes was a Terrytoons series created by the legendary Ralph Bakshi. The Super 6 was the first TV animation project by DePatie-Freleng (the same studio that worked on the Pink Panther feature and short films). Then there's Batfink, an obvious spoof of Batman. Oddly enough, this was also the year that saw the debut of the campy Adam West Batman live-action series.

Superheroes aside, we've also got the other Hanna-Barbera series', Laurel and Hardy (an animated version of the classic comedy duo), The Space Kidettes, and Frankenstein Jr and the Impossibles.

The Lone Ranger had some sci-fi and steampunk elements to it.

I believe the King Kong series had some involvement with a Japanese studio even though it was an American series.

Cool McCool was a spoof on both James Bond and Get Smart. It was also created by Bob Kane (the guy that created Batman).

Last, but certainly not least, The Beagles was a series created by the same studio that did Underdog. The Beagles didn't seem too popular. What was more popular was the secondary cartoon segments that starred Klondike Kat chasing Savoir-Faire. Anyone remember those classic lines "I'll make mince meat out of that mouse!" and "Savoir-Faire is everywhere!"

Thanks for taking the time to read this. If you want to see more, check out the "History of TV Animation" section of my gallery.