Saturday Morning Cartoons!

There is at least one thing uniting a large swath of Baby Boomers, Gen X’ers, and Millennials: Saturday morning cartoons! Our go-to cartoons might be different, but we all fondly remember that glorious morning of animated goodness that only came once a week.

When I saw the Rio Theatre’s ad for “The Saturday Morning All-You-Can Cereal Cartoon Party” it was catnip — I had to go!

Me and 300 kindred souls revelled in 3 hours of Halloween themed cartoons spanning the 1930s to the 1990s (I could have done without the pre-1960s stuff, but there you go). The programmers also threw in vintage commercials and station IDs for comic relief. The cartoons included Scooby-Doo, there had to be a Scooby-Doo; Pink Panther; Tales from the Crypt; Bunnicula; and Jem and the Holograms, which got a round of applause at the opening credits. So much Jem love in the crowd.

In my pre-teen world no morning was complete without cereal. The Rio did not disappoint. They had every sugary cereal I remember growing up with except Alpha Bits (which is no longer produced). I wasn’t allowed to eat my cereal in front of the TV, so my guilty pleasure wasn’t the cereal’s sugar power-up, it was watching cartoons AND munching on Sugar Crisp, Cap’n Crunch, Frosted Flakes, and Froot Loops, along with a couple more that didn’t exist back then.

It was also fun seeing lots of kids with their parents having a good time. I didn’t go there for the family friendly vibe, but I found it delightful.

This showing was the 10^th of a series! (How did I not hear about it before?) The Rio says more shows are coming in the future. I can’t wait. Maybe I’ll see you at the next one?