The 1960s and 70s in America

The Phantom Tollbooth

A much loved film by many. It is the only feature length film to be directed by Chuck Jones: animator of Tom and Jerry in the 60s and the Loony Tunes shorts. The Phantom Tollbooth aims to teach both adults and children that life is not. Though the main character: Milo is a child, The Phantom Tollbooth aims to teach both adults and children the valuable lesson that life is not boring. Taking Milo from the regular world and showing him the surreal animated landscape of Dictionopolis and Digitopolis. There are many obvious links to Jones in this movie - notably in his drawing style; but also in the actors he used to voice the characters, such as June Foray: famous for lending her voice to many Loony Tunes cartoons from the beginning, right to the present day. The methods used to animate the movie were very similar to the techniques Jones had used previously working on Warner Bros. shorts; so with a longer, vaster film commissioned; backgrounds became more detailed and various shots were thought out creatively - meaning that although they had a slightly higher budget, they specifically chose to design it this way not to make it look rushed, but to make it look artistic. It was announced recently that the Phantom Tollbooth is being remade by Warner Bros. who commissioned the original in 1970.

Scooby Doo

the first episode of Scooby Doo was broadcast in 1968, it was produced by Hanna-Barbera and later became a Warner Bros. production. The series would follow the titular character: a Great Dane and the members of Mystery Inc. who solve mysteries involving monsters and ghosts which would be reveled as people in costume, using it as a disguise to scare people away while they partook in criminal activity.

The animation of the show used a method in which only specific parts of characters moved, to reduce production costs and save time.

All Scooby Doo title sequences up to 2013- note the changes made to characters in the way that they look and in which characters are featured in each series. Towards the 80s, the original Mystery Inc. are not featured, Scrappy Doo is introduced, Scooby and Shaggy's character roles are beefed up and costumes and hair change on all characters throughout the years.  A child character is also introduced while Fred and Velma are completely removed

Dastardly and Muttley

Wacky Races ran between 1968-1970, the show was based on stereotypical cartoon characters (sometimes characters from other Hanna Barbera productions) competing in races. The show would have regulars like Penelope Pitstop (who sprung a spinoff show in 1969) and Dastardly and Muttley: the villain and dog duo who would try to stop other racers from winning. The two gained their own spinoff: Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines. The original run lasted from 1969-70. It centred around the two characters in their biplane, trying to catch a carrier pigeon, the show would feature other characters in biplanes trying to stop them. Dastardly was based on actor: Terry Thomas (from Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying machines, which the show was based on). As the show was based mostly in the sky, limited background painting was needed, saving time.

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