1960s

The 1960s were the second decade since William Hanna and Joseph Barbera founded Hanna-Barbera.

Their company was starting to expand in popularity, breaking new ground and becoming a household name with The Flintstones, TV's first animated primetime sitcom in 1960, and redefining Saturday morning television with Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! in 1969. The success of The Flintstones led to other primetime sitcoms such as Top Cat, The Jetsons, and Jonny Quest. They dabbled in new genres such as superheroes, government spies, crime investigation, and the supernatural. They expanded into live-action territory in 1968 with the musical variety show The Banana Splits. They also transitioned into full-length feature films with Hey There, It's Yogi Bear and The Man Called Flintstone.

MGM Cartoons was also reopened and released more Tom and Jerry theatrical shorts, but without the participation of Hanna and Barbera. MGM had two eras of different directors, which included Gene Deitch and Chuck Jones, the latter of whom took the series through the majority of the decade, beginning in 1963 and ending in 1967. MGM no longer released new Tom and Jerry theatrical shorts after this.