The Rise and Fall of Ruby Spears: The Studio That Dared to Compete

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Step back into the wild world of Saturday morning cartoons with the incredible rise and fall of Ruby-Spears Enterprises — the scrappy studio founded by the very creators who helped bring Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! to life.

In this documentary-style retrospective, we explore how Joe Ruby and Ken Spears walked away from Hanna-Barbera, built their own rival animation studio, and spent over a decade competing in the fiercely competitive Saturday morning TV landscape.

If you grew up in the 1980s and early 1990s, there’s a good chance you watched their work — even if you didn’t know the name behind it. Ruby-Spears produced some of the most unforgettable (and sometimes bizarre) cartoons of the era, including cult favorites like Thundarr the Barbarian, toy-driven action shows like The Centurions, and the hugely successful Alvin and the Chipmunks revival.

But the studio’s story isn’t just about cartoons — it’s about the entire Saturday morning television industry. From deregulation in the 1980s and the explosion of toy-based programming, to corporate mergers, the rise of cable networks like Cartoon Network, and the slow collapse of the broadcast cartoon ecosystem that Ruby-Spears depended on.

It’s the story of a studio that dared to compete with the biggest animation powerhouse in television — and for a while, actually held its own.

What was YOUR favorite Ruby-Spears show?

Were you a Thundarr kid? Did you grow up watching The Centurions? Or were you there for the chaos of Alvin and the Chipmunks? Let us know in the comments — we love hearing your nostalgia stories.

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Ruby-Spears Productions gave Saturday morning cartoons some unforgettable hits — from Thundarr the Barbarian to Alvin and the Chipmunks and even an early Superman reboot. But the studio founded by two of the minds behind Scooby-Doo also created some of the strangest animated swings of the 1980s and early 1990s.

In this video, we’re counting down the ten biggest flops from Ruby-Spears Productions — not just cartoons that disappeared after one season, but shows that chased the wrong trend, missed their moment, got buried by toy-line problems, or became cult curiosities years later.

From Rubik, the Amazing Cube and Turbo Teen to Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos, Lazer Tag Academy, Mega Man, Sectaurs, and more, these are the forgotten Saturday morning cartoons that prove just how wild the animation business could get in the ’80s and ’90s.

Some were toy commercials wearing a plot. Some were based on fads that had already peaked. Some had shockingly talented people involved — including Jack Kirby — and still somehow vanished from pop culture memory. And one of them was about a teenager who turned into a car.

Did you watch any of these Ruby-Spears cartoons growing up? Were you a secret Turbo Teen defender? Did you own Sectaurs toys? Let me know in the comments which forgotten Ruby-Spears show you remember most.

If you enjoy deep dives into forgotten cartoons, Saturday morning TV, ’80s nostalgia, ’90s nostalgia, and the weird corners of pop culture history, make sure to like, subscribe, and join us for more Dial-Up Days.