Weekday cartoon
In 1987, The Walt Disney Company tried its luck at syndication, through its animation production unit Walt Disney Television Animation; "DuckTales" debuted that September, experiencing major success and eventually lasting for 100 episodes. The success of "DuckTales" paved the way for a second series two years later, "Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers". In 1989, the two shows aired together as part of a syndicated daily block called "The Disney Afternoon". In 1991, Disney added another hour to the block; "The Disney Afternoon" ran until August 29, 1997, when it was replaced by an unnamed block on September 1, 1997, until 1999, which was then replaced by "Disney's One Too" (a spinoff of ABC Saturday morning block "Disney's One Saturday Morning") - and "Disney's One Too" had only lasted for four years on UPN and syndication, until it had died in 2003. Since then, there are only a handful of local networks in the United States for ABC that broadcast children's programming. Otherwise, it has been replaced by reality shows, court shows, tabloid television, talk shows, and among other programming which are meant for adults.
Modern animation in the United States
In 1987, the TV animation division adapted Carl Barks' Scrooge McDuck comic books for the small screen with the syndicated hit "DuckTales". Its success spawned a 1990 theatrical film entitled "" and an increased investment in syndicated cartoons. The result of this investment was "The Disney Afternoon" in 1990, a two-hour syndicated television programming block of such animated shows as "Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers" (1989–91), "TaleSpin" (1990–91), "Darkwing Duck" (1991–93, also airing on ABC), "Goof Troop" (1992–94, also airing on ABC), "Bonkers" (1993–94), and "Gargoyles" (1994-96). TV animation also brought some animated feature film characters to Saturday morning, including "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin" both on CBS.