Saturday Morning Fever: Growing Up with Cartoon Culture

It's scary that this knowledge--not just information--is available because its subject became the blueprint for today's media exploitation and educational theory (yikes!). Quentin Tarantino said this book is "beyond essential," but don't let that deter you. Very well written and documented, it is perfect edutainment.

The times that were awakened when i read this book made me a little sad for the good days of my childhood. Somehow i was always able to get up at 5 AM on a saturday for cartoons and wait patiently for the image of an american flag accompanied by the star spangled banner and then in some ways even worse, having to sit through davey and goliath so that i could enjoy the superfriends. It seems like the brothers burke were sitting right behind me everyone of those mornings and their great book was more like having a good nostalgic conversation rather than a read. You cant go wrong with this book read it and activate your wonder twin powers!

When I saw this book on the shelf, I just had to read it. I thought that it looked fascinating, and I found the subject of Saturday Morning just as interesting. And I was not disappointed. This book is written by people who really love and know their Saturday Morning cartoons. Not only did I learn more about my favorite cartoons, but I learned alot about the evil parents group called "ACT." The way they went after Saturday Morning and tried to destroy it makes me sick. As for a previous reveiw of this book, where a person complained about another book written by co-arthor Tim Burke called "Lifebuoy Men, Lux Women: Commodification, Consumption and Cleanliness in Modern Zimbabwe", this in no way takes away from the greatness of this book. Let me remind you that the other co-arthor of this book Kevin Bruke was the editor at "Wild Cartoon Kingdom", perhaps, no!, THE greatess magazine there ever was on the subject of cartoons. This alone is all I need to know to about the author's of this book. Just because Kevin asked his brother to help out on this book does not take anything away from it. This book is not only fun to read, but it also makes you think. You learn about how alot of people, closed minded people, tried to shut down the great institution of Saturday Morning cartoons. I highly recommend this book to all people who want to learn more about the people behind their favorite cartoons, and the people who fought to save the cartoons from the axe of censorship. Viva los cartoons! Also, Kevin, if you are reading this, please drop me a line. I would love to talk to you about your days at Wild Cartoon Kingdom. It was a sad day when it disappeared from the magazine shelves.

My own Saturday mornings came rushing back to me as I read this book. It offers a fresh and irreverent perspective not only on the cartoons themselves, but on the whole subject of Saturday morning. Refreshing too is the authors' point of view that children are smart enough to assess the images they see on TV. I enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

In "Saturday Morning Fever," the brothers Burke expertly tap into the collective cartoon mind of the twenty-something generation. Was Smurfette as promiscious as she seemed? Was there really a show with a talking flute? Unfortunately, the answer to both is yes. And Kevin and Timothy Burke have many more answers to share.