Animated cartoons of the 1970’s looked way different from they do now. There were few special effects beyond what animators were capable of drawing and sound effects were largely re-used time and time again. Yet, there is still an enduring quality to the rustic cartoons of the 70s and overall, their entertainment value has not subsided.
Some cartoons from this era have stood the test of time better than others, mostly kept alive through reboots or live-action adaptations. Still, there are a number of cartoons that have seemingly been lost to the sands of time. Here are a few such shows that deserve a resurgence among today's viewers.
Updated April 24th, 2022 by John Charron: The cartoons of the 70s have often been overlooked, especially compared to the golden age of animation that was the 80s and 90s. Perhaps due to their more rudimentary animation styles and lack of adult double entendres, 70s cartoons have remained forgotten in the past.
However, there is something to be said about this period of animation, as it was immensely influential on subsequent cartoons. Nostalgia can be a large factor in appreciating these 70s cartoons, but there were a lot of genuinely interesting cartoons from the era - just maybe not the most advanced in terms of storytelling. Still, these cartoons have something special to offer curious audiences of the present day.
14 I Am The Greatest: The Adventures Of Muhammad Ali
Celebrities knew they had made it big in the 70s when they got their own cartoon. Nowadays, a celebrity will just voice a side character or guest star, but back in the 70s they got their whole show. Such was the case with boxer Muhammad Ali, who had a Saturday morning cartoon for one single season in 1977.
The show revolved around the famed boxer and his niece and nephew going on adventures around the globe. Notable for the fact Muhammad Ali actually voiced himself, the show was not much of a success, but still represents an iconic time for Saturday morning cartoons.
13 Groovie Goolies
Working off the unparalleled success of Scooby-Doo, Groovie Goolies was an oddball cartoon in which the classic horror movie monsters got together and lived in a giant haunted mansion, singing songs and getting into all kinds of kooky predicaments.
The monsters were of course good folks, more interested in playing that young and hip rock music than scaring off teenagers. This cartoon lived on puns, something fairly common for 70s children’s cartoon humor.
12 Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters were the perfect fit for a cartoon in the 70s, thanks to their animated behavior on and off the court. The basketball-playing clowns of the team would find themselves in a new funk every week, typically pitted against some villainous plot by an opposing team to make them lose the game.
The show does have important credibility, being the first Saturday morning cartoon to have a predominately African-American cast. The superstar players would make appearances in other Hanna-Barbera cartoons, notably Scooby-Doo where they helped the gang solve a few mysteries in their 70s cartoon run.
11 Inch High Private Eye
Another Hanna-Barbera cartoon classic from the 70s, Inch High Private Eye was a show that followed its title to a tee. The premise was simple enough, following the misadventures of an inch tall private investigator who could use his diminutive size to solve crimes and capers.
Like many cartoons of the day, it only lasted one season and quickly fell out of rotation. Still, this 70s cartoon had quite the imagination and was more original than all the Scooby-Doo knockoffs in which teenagers unmasked ghosts.
10 Hong Kong Phooey
This silly show was actually a decently popular one season show, notable for its ridiculous style of humor. A spin on the Superman story, the plot involved a dog working as a janitor for a police station, who had the uncanny ability to transform into a kung-fu wielding powerhouse by jumping into a filing cabinet.
Once transformed, the hero fights whatever big criminal enterprise is conspiring and proceeds to save the day in some humorous manner. Hanna-Barbera absolutely dominated the cartoon landscape of the 70s, even if some of their best work was only one season long.
9 Jabberjaw
This whole list could be composed of Hanna-Barbera cartoons — they made so many gems over the years. Jabberjaw is an absurd take on the Scooby-Doo formula, transposing the talking dog and his hippie crime solvers with a talking shark and his bandmates.
Jabberjan the shark plays drums in a band called The Neptunes in an underwater metropolis, but he still finds the time to stop supervillains and monsters who threaten the underwater society. It’s a show as wild as it sounds, but it’s still surprisingly fun.
8 The Jackson 5ive
Lots of pop stars got their own TV cartoons back in the day. It was a streamlined way to maintain success as an artist: previewing songs in the cartoon and getting kids excited about the music. The Jackson Five got one such show to themselves, although it only lasted two years.
The show followed the famed musical group around on their adventures, and gave each member a distinct personality. The highlights are certainly the songs, but now the show is something of a time capsule to a bygone era.
7 Return To The Planet Of The Apes
The Planet of the Apes franchise has undergone quite a few changes, especially in recent years with the inclusion of the newest films. This mid-seventies cartoon is notable for straying away from the primitive societies of the early movies and into a more technologically advanced society of apes, which was actually closer to what the original novel by Pierre Boulle expressed.
Though it might seem a little dated today, the cartoon is worth a look for fans of the franchise, if only to see how far it has come.
6 Scooby’s Laffa-A Lympics
Scooby Doo is famous for solving mysteries and unmasking ghosts and monsters, but this show changes the pace and has him and his friends competing in an Olympics style games.
Lots of Hanna-Barbera characters are featured as they race each other, pole vault, and do all kinds of wacky sports in an attempt to win as many medals as possible. It puts the mystery gang in a different light.
5 Godzilla
Everyone knows Godzilla, but not everyone knows the giant fire-breathing lizard also had a cartoon in the late seventies. Rather than play the destroyer of the city, Godzilla acts as the hero, who arrives at the call of his human friends to fight against the tyranny of other giant monsters.
Silly and innocent, this rendition of Godzilla fits the bill of a cheesy 70s cartoon. Fans of the modern movies or any Godzilla films should check out this incarnation of the monster.
4 The Robonic Stooges
This cartoon is kind of out there, even for an old-school cartoon. The Three Stooges mixed with superheroes is certainly something no one could have seen coming, and yet here we are.
In this rendition, The Three Stooges are cyborg superheroes tasked with saving the city from foes and criminals, as well as their own bumbling. Interestingly enough, it was just announced this year that a new comic series starring the Robonic Stooges would be released by American Mythology Productions. With that, it's the perfect time to check out the original material.
3 The Roman Holidays
This cartoon follows a relatively simple premise: take the Flintstones and put them in Ancient Rome. Add a cute pet lion named Brutus and everything works out nicely.
Unfortunately for Hanna-Barbera, the show didn’t take off, and the show was ditched after just one season. Still, having a landlord character named Mr. Evictus is pretty clever.
2 Help!...It’s The Hair Bear Bunch
Another weird and cartoon from Hanna-Barbera, this time involving three stylish bears who pull off pranks at the zoo. Zany and chaotic, this show encapsulates the zany humor of the 70s cartoon spectrum.
Needless to say, this show has been forgotten to time, buried underneath the massive amount of more recognizable Hanna-Barbera cartoons. Still, those costumes are pretty fantastic, and lovers of classic cartoons should get a kick out of it.
1 Battle Of The Planets
One of the earliest successful anime in the United States. Battle of the Planets was an adaptation of the popular sci-fi anime seriesScience Ninja Team Gatchaman. The premise has a team of space defenders helping to protect Earth from a mysterious planet named Spectra, led by the masked Zoltar.
Perhaps best recognized for its characters' crazy capes and helmets, Battle of the Planets is one of the pillars of 1970s anime and likely helped set up the building blocks for the eventual anime boom of the 80s and 90s. Like other cartoons from the 1970s, it might not retain its full glory these days, but the influence it has had on subsequent animation cannot be understated.