The remarkable resurgence of quality TV animation for children reaches a culmination of sorts this fall with the premiere of "The Disney Afternoon," a daily two-hour block of shows.
Disney rolls out the block of funny-animal cartoons Sept. 10 in 146 television markets covering 93 percent of the country. It will be seen locally from 3 p.m.-5 p.m. on KSTU-Ch. 13. And Disney is not alone in its efforts to attract young viewers.On Sept. 8, Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox Children's Network rolls out six new Saturday morning shows - three hours of cartoons. Its animated "Fox's Peter Pan & the Pirates," a daily half-hour, premieres Sept. 17.
Warner Bros.' syndicated "Tiny Toon Adventures," produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, debuts with an unprecedented CBS special Sept. 14 showcasing the all-new cast of teen-age cartoon characters.
Buster Bunny, Babs Bunny, Plucky Duck and Hamton J. Pig begin their 65-episode syndication run the following Monday, Sept. 17. In some markets, they will be teamed with a half-hour of repackaged "Merrie Melodies."
Credit for this cartoon renaissance goes to Disney, which simultaneously revived a dying industry and upped the stakes for TV cartoons in 1987 with "DuckTales," the adventures of Uncle Scrooge and nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie.
Until "DuckTales," programmers wondered whether children's cartoons could survive on TV at all. The medium was artistically bankrupt, a violent, sexist marketplace for 22-minute commercials wrapped around ads for candy, toys and breakfast cereals.
The producers were willing to take heat from critics as long as they were moving the goods, but once every girl owned My Little Pony and every boy a set of Transformers, the fads faded. Kids stopped watching and panic set in.
"DuckTales," syndicated by Disney's Buena Vista Television, immediately became the highest-rated children's TV show. It was luxuriously animated, with rich backgrounds, depth and detail. And it was story-driven, not toy-driven.
The difference in quality was obvious, even in terms of cels - the single sheets of celluloid in which animators draw the foreground action.
"These were literally made for television," said Gary Krisel, head of Disney Television Animation, in an interview earlier this year.
"Our shows are averaging 22,000 drawings, full cels," he said. "That compares with an average 10 years ago of 8,000 to 10,000 or 12,000. The best other shows today are around 15,000 cels."
That's still not as many cels as a feature film. Projected onto a big screen, "DuckTales" action would look jerky and uneven. On the little screen - and compared with a 10,000-cel cartoon - it looks like "Fantasia." "We're running between $400,000 and $650,000 an episode," Krisel said.
"DuckTales" stayed No. 1 until 1989, when it was supplanted by Disney's own "Chip 'n' Dale's Rescue Rangers," starring the aforesaid chipmunks, which is the second component of "The Disney Afternoon."
The third show is "Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears" which moves from Saturday morning, where it has been the No. 1 show in its time period for five years.
The final half-hour, and perhaps the most accessible to older children (and certain TV writers) is "Tale Spin," a delightful, new, funny-animal adventure that brings back Baloo the Bear, Louie the Ape and Shere Khan the Tiger from Disney's theatrical hit "The Jungle Book."
It is first-rate animation, well-written, equally appealing to boys and girls, and fun to watch.
As good as it is - and that's VERY good - Disney's two-hour block of funny animal cartoons isn't balanced fare for younger viewers who deserve TV that aspires to address all their interests and needs just like grownups' TV.
"Diversity is not the name of their game," said Peggy Charren of Action for Children's Television, a relentless lobbyist for expanding the scope of kids' TV. "One thing you can say about animal shows is at least the characters aren't all white. Unfortunately, there's also not a lot of role models," she said.
"Somebody has to tell the broadcasters that a steady diet of Day-Glo animals and squeaking ducks, no matter how charming, isn't enough."