Cartoons Archives : The Retro Network

Before Cartoon Network There Was the USA Cartoon Express

USA’s Cartoon Express brought classic animation to cable kids everywhere, creating a cozy daily ritual filled with familiar characters, simple charm, and the earliest taste of all‑day cartoon programming.

Hulk Hogan’s Rock ’n’ Wrestling: The Cartoon That Body‑Slammed Saturday Mornings

Mickey Yarber

Hulk Hogan’s Rock n Wrestling turned Saturday mornings into a wild mix of cartoons, wrestlers, and pure eighties energy, creating a world where heroes flexed, villains plotted, and kids couldn’t look away.

DuckTales Made Every Afternoon an Adventure

Mickey Yarber

DuckTales turned every afternoon into a globe‑spinning adventure. With Scrooge, the nephews, and Launchpad crashing through danger, the show made childhood feel like a treasure map waiting to be explored, complete with mystery, heart, and pure animated wonder.

The Great Cartoon Games: Remembering Laff-A-Lympics

Mickey Yarber

Laff A Lympics brought together the entire Hanna Barbera universe in a globe spanning cartoon competition that turned Saturday mornings into a playful mix of sports, chaos, and crossover magic.

When Dungeons and Dragons Became a Saturday Morning Adventure

Mickey Yarber

The Dungeons and Dragons cartoon dropped kids into a weekly fantasy quest, turning Saturday mornings into heroic adventures filled with monsters, magic, and the unforgettable hope that the next portal might finally lead home.

When the GoBots Brought Their Battles to Saturday Mornings

Mickey Yarber

Challenge of the GoBots arrived in the middle of an eighties toy boom, a scrappy little robot show trying to hold its own beside Transformers, He‑Man, G.I. Joe, and Voltron, giving kids a world where even the underdog machines got to be heroes.

The Saturday Morning Magic of The Smurfs

Mickey Yarber

The Smurfs turned quiet forest adventures into Saturday‑morning magic, a gentle blue world that shaped childhood long after louder shows like He‑Man and Thundercats faded, proving kindness could be just as thrilling as any battle.

How Saturday Supercade Brought the Arcade to Saturday Mornings

Mickey Yarber

Saturday Supercade turned early‑80s arcade fever into Saturday‑morning magic, bringing Donkey Kong, Q*bert, Frogger and more to life in a wild, colorful cartoon block that felt like an entire arcade bursting out of the TV.

Gargoyles: The Cult Classic That Still Casts a Long Shadow

Mickey Yarber

Gargoyles shattered the bright, sugary mold of 90s cartoons, pulling kids into a world of shadows, myth and midnight heroics that made Saturday mornings feel darker, deeper and far more thrilling than ever before.

Tubi is Adding Hundreds of Retro Cartoons in March

The Retro Network

With HBO Max removing cartoon shows from its massive streaming library, Tubi is stepping up to the plate, and will soon be the ultimate destination for retro cartoons.

Dynomutt Dog Wonder and the Blue Falcon’s Chaotic Crusade

Mickey Yarber

Dynomutt, Dog Wonder brought cheerful chaos to Saturday mornings, pairing a straight‑laced hero with a lovable mechanical sidekick whose gadget misfires turned every mission into a bright, unforgettable blend of action and comedy.

The Fast and Fearless World of Speed Racer

Mickey Yarber

The original Speed Racer brought high‑speed adventure, bold style, and unforgettable characters to a generation discovering Japanese animation for the first time.

The Bold Bombastic Brilliance of Darkwing Duck

Mickey Yarber

Darkwing Duck swooped into the nineties with purple smoke, big laughs, and a hero who cared as much as he stumbled, turning every weekday afternoon into a bright, comic book adventure.

How Star Trek: The Animated Series Saved the Final Frontier

Mickey Yarber

There’s something charming about the way certain shows from the seventies feel like they were held together with equal parts imagination and duct tape. Star Trek: The Animated Series is one of those shows. It

The Pirates of Dark Water Turned Saturday Morning Cartoons Into High Adventure

Mickey Yarber

Saturday morning cartoons got a little more grown-up with the debut of Hanna-Barbera’s Pirates of Dark Water in 1991. Blending sci-fi with swords and sorcery, the show had more in common with Japanese anime than it did with other

Revisiting the Warm Woodland World of The Paw Paws

Mickey Yarber

Every now and then, you stumble across a cartoon from your childhood that feels like it lived in the quiet corners of Saturday morning. Not a blockbuster. Not a toy‑aisle titan. Just a sweet little

The Dukes: When Hazzard County Hit Saturday Morning

Mickey Yarber

If you grew up in the early eighties, you probably remember the strange and wonderful moment when The Dukes of Hazzard jumped from Friday night live‑action into full‑blown Saturday morning animation. It was called The