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On the back of the DVD box of this collection, there’s a little warning label that says “Saturday Morning Cartoons - The 1960s is Intended for the Adult Collector and is Not Suitable for Children.” I have no idea why, given that there’s nothing on this set that would be inappropriate to children (except maybe for the fact that Quick Draw McGraw gets shot in the face a dozen times, but even that is stretching it).

It’s true, though, that this compilation set is better aimed at the nostalgic adult, who wants to revisit but not commit to these cartoons. I realized this as I was watching it. The two-disc set, containing 33 episodes from 12 different shows made by Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros, appears to have been put together randomly. A sampler, you might say. It combines the popular shows everybody knows (Flintstones, Jetsons, Space Ghost) with the more obscure ones, many marking their first time released on DVD. Of course, for fans of those more popular shows, the “sample” episodes here are taken from the shows' own series sets. So if you already have them individually, the big upside of getting this one, I suppose, is that each disc plays different cartoons for 2.5 hours, so you'll have variety without having to constantly change discs. Kind of like buying a movie soundtrack, liking the featured artists and then buying their full albums later.

It’s a good set to show the kids who are now growing up with Dora the Explorer and Total Drama Island or whatever it is they watch these days, so they’ll know the American classics (although one show included here, Marine Boy, is a dubbed anime). Their satisfaction is not guaranteed, however, as these ‘toons are as hokey, over-the-top and cheaply animated as you remember them. Certainly not lacking in imagination, mind you, but that's all they ever had going for them. They're not even as funny as I'd like to remember them being.

The quality of the episodes is nothing to get excited about, either. They look and sound about the same as your average standard definition Boomerang TV broadcast. Presented in their original 4:3 aspect ratio, certain episodes actually look worn out because of how old they are.

DVD Bonus Features

I wish I could say, “At least there are good special features!”, but there’s really not much. It has three featurettes, each only about five minutes long, focused on three different shows and their cultural significance in the 60's. The one on Herculoids postulates that it was a groundbreaking concept (thanks to the great Alex Toth) that put out an adventure/superhero animated show before it became popular. The one on Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles talks about how Hanna-Barbera was always spoofing current trends, and how The Impossibles anticipated the coming youth movement by being a mash-up of superheroes and rock bands.

Sadly, these mini-docs offer no further insight other than what I just mentioned. They all end up being a bunch of people working in the animated industry talking about how cool these cartoons are. Paul Dini’s take on Quick Draw McGraw, for instance, is that he and his brother used to spend a lot of time looking for the same note El Kabong makes when he whacks bad guys with his guitar. It just makes me want to see a feature documentary on Hanna-Barbera during the time period instead.

Three extra episodes of Quick Draw McGraw are also included as a special feature. Presumably because six episodes of the same show would ruin the flow of this cartoon mix-tape. Or something.

While it’s a nice look back to the golden days of Hanna-Barbera, ultimately the only real reason to get this set is to have a taste of Herculoids, Peter Potamus, Atom Ant and so on, while waiting for Warners to eventually release them separately in a complete set. This collection is labeled as “Volume 1”, so presumably we’ll get another one of these samplers, full of more shows they’re going to release later. I’m beginning to understand why it’s intended only for the “Adult Collector,” as much as that sounds like putting a label on an Inuyasha DVD saying it’s intended only for Fat Sweaty Forty Year Olds Who Never Stop Wishing They Were Born Japanese.