MeTV Toons Kicks Off 'Tis the Season for Toons' with Cartoon Network Holiday Throwbacks and Rare Gems Starting November 1
MeTV Toons ramps up the holiday vibes ahead of schedule in 2025, launching its ‘Tis the Season for Toons block on November 1 with four hours of classic animated specials every weekend through December 21. Drawing straight from Warner Bros. Discovery’s archives, the lineup revives Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears favorites like The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo that once packed Cartoon Network’s December marathons. Broadcast over-the-air on local affiliates or streamed via Philo and Frndly TV, this early start lets fans ease into the season without waiting for turkey time.
Here’s the TL;DR on MeTV Toons’ expanded holiday slate:
Weekend Warrior Format: Saturdays at 6 p.m. ET/PT and Sundays at 5 p.m. ET/PT deliver themed blocks, expanding last year’s Saturday-only run to full doubleheaders.
Nostalgic Core: Specials pulled from Cartoon Network’s ‘90s and early 2000s holiday rotations, where they’d air in marathon loops—think 12+ hours of Hanna-Barbera on December 25.
Thanksgiving Spotlight: Rare airing of The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn’t on November 1, a 1972 Hanna-Barbera oddity with Disney ties via its theme tune echoing in Big Thunder Mountain Railroad queues.
Full Festive Arc: Builds from early November intros to Christmas closers like A Very Merry Looney Tunes Christmas, blending full specials with episode clusters for easy binging.
Accessibility Edge: Free OTA viewing nationwide; streaming options keep it cord-cutter friendly at low monthly rates.
What Makes MeTV Toons’ 2025 Holiday Block a Step Up from Last Year?
MeTV Toons, Weigel Broadcasting’s 2024 spin-off with Warner Bros. Discovery, carved a niche with pre-2000 animation marathons. This season doubles down, adding Sunday slots to the original Saturday blueprint from 2024. The result? Eight extra hours of programming that nods to Cartoon Network’s event-style holidays, when families tuned in for back-to-back Yogi Bear episodes.
Gone are the filler hours; every slot packs verified classics that drew Nielsen spikes in the ‘90s. It’s a deliberate lean into what worked—viewers craving that unhurried pace before streaming fragmented everything.
How Did Cartoon Network Turn These Specials into Holiday Must-Sees?
Back in the day, Cartoon Network treated December like a vault unlock, airing specials in themed blocks that ran dawn to dusk. A Flintstone Christmas from 1977, for example, anchored 1995’s “Hanna-Barbera Holiday Hoopla,” logging over 20 airings in a month per archived ratings. Yogi’s First Christmas kicked off 1990 marathons, often bookending with Looney Tunes carols for a 14-hour stretch.
These weren’t random; programmers built rituals around them, pairing Scooby-Doo mysteries with turkey leftovers. MeTV Toons recreates that flow in condensed weekends, making it feasible for today’s split-attention crowds.
Why Is The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn’t the Hidden Gem of This Lineup?
The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn’t, a 1972 Hanna-Barbera production, stands out as one of the rarest Thanksgiving specials in rotation. Voiced by actors like Arte Johnson and Joe Besser, it follows Jeremy the Squirrel on a frantic quest to reunite two lost boys—one Pilgrim, one Native American—for the first feast, blending folksy tunes with a dash of frontier urgency. Airings dried up after the ‘80s, save for sporadic Boomerang revivals, making this MeTV debut a collector’s pull.
Its scarcity stems from syndication woes; unlike evergreen A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, it skipped major network reboots. Yet that obscurity adds charm—Jeremy’s “On This Thanksgiving Day” ballad carries a simple pluck that’s aged better than most.
Does The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn’t Sneak into Disney’s Theme Park Magic?
Disney fans might perk up at the special’s tune, which whispers through the queue music of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at parks like Magic Kingdom and Disneyland. That jaunty theme from the squirrel’s adventure loops subtly amid banjos and harmonicas, a quiet Hanna-Barbera nod in Disney’s Westernland soundscape. Produced independently for Avco Broadcasting, the special’s score crossed over via shared folk roots, not direct licensing—think shared cultural well rather than a handshake deal.
Spot it next ride: As lines snake past the ghost town, ears might catch the melody’s lilt, tying a forgotten TV relic to roller-coaster lore. It’s the kind of Easter egg that rewards repeat visits, bridging animation history with park immersion.
What’s the Full ‘Tis the Season for Toons Schedule Look Like Week by Week?
MeTV Toons structures the block for easy entry, with each weekend zeroing in on a franchise or theme. All times Eastern/Pacific; check local listings for affiliates.
Saturday, November 1 (6 p.m. start): Kicks off with The Little Troll Prince at 6 p.m., the 1987 Don Bluth tale of troll-to-prince holiday hijinks—a Cartoon Network oddball from ‘90s fillers. Follows at 6:30 p.m. with The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy, Ruby-Spears’ 1978 stray-dog yarn that warmed winter slots. Caps at 7 p.m. with Christmas Comes to PacLand, blending arcade action with festive fixes.
Sunday, November 2 (5 p.m. start): Opens at 5 p.m. with Horton Hears a Who!, Chuck Jones’ 1970 Dr. Seuss riff that headlined network Christmas Eves. At 5:30 p.m., Yakky Doodle’s Turkey Day Tragedy slots in quick laughs. Closes at 6 p.m. with The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn’t—yes, the rare squirrel saga, timed early to bridge fall and winter.
November 8-9: Smurfs takeover, starting Saturday’s It’s a Smurfy Life episodes at 6 p.m., flowing into The Smurfs Christmas Special. Sunday mirrors with village winter woes, echoing 1998 Cartoon Network marathons that ran the blue crew nonstop.
November 15-16: Scooby squad mysteries dominate, pulling A Scooby-Doo Christmas at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries holiday chases—staples from 2000’s “Spooktacular” extensions.
November 22-23: Flintstones family focus, with A Flintstone Family Christmas at 7 p.m. Sunday, the 1997 sequel that wrapped network family blocks. Saturday tees up with Bedrock carol clusters.
November 29-30 (Thanksgiving Week): Bullwinkle’s “Topsy Turvy World” flips the globe at 6 p.m. Saturday, turning islands North Pole-bound—a ‘90s revival favorite slotted pre-dinner. Sunday adds Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings turkey tales at 5 p.m.
December ramps with Looney Tunes on the 6th-7th, Bugs leading Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas at 7 p.m. Saturday. The 13th-14th hands Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring holiday hijinks. Finale on December 20-21 blasts A Very Merry Looney Tunes Christmas to close.
How Does Thanksgiving Day Fit into MeTV Toons’ Bigger Holiday Push?
Beyond weekends, MeTV Toons dedicates full days to feasts. Thanksgiving proper—November 27—unfurls “Rabbits, Ducks and No Turkeys!,” a 15-hour Looney Tunes marathon from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. ET/PT. Bugs and Daffy dodge dynamite in theatrical shorts, skipping Pilgrim plots for pure slapstick—a counterpoint to the block’s sentimentals.
Black Friday follows with extended Bullwinkle and Rocky arcs, easing post-shop recovery. It’s a nod to Cartoon Network’s all-day fillers, but dialed for modern downtime.
Where and How Can Viewers Actually Tune into This Nostalgia Fest?
Over-the-air remains the hook: MeTV Toons beams free on subchannels in 80% of U.S. markets—zip code search at MeTVToons.com pulls your station. Philo bundles it for $25 monthly with unlimited DVR; Frndly TV’s basic tier hits $6.99, no contracts.
DVR tip: Holiday slots don’t repeat daily, so set reminders. Bonus for vets: Custom bumpers swap Toony the Tuna for pilgrim hats, a light MeTV flourish amid the animation flood.
MeTV Toons’ ‘Tis the Season for Toons stitches forgotten threads into a holiday quilt, from squirrel-led saves to Smurfy snowballs that once glued families to Cartoon Network screens. By spotlighting rarities like The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn’t and its Disney echo, the block proves classics endure through quiet connections, not just spectacle. As December looms, this early launch offers a breather—grab popcorn, hit play on November 1, and let the throwbacks remind why simple stories still land.
Hat Tips
Anime Superhero News, “MeTV Toons Announces ‘Tis The Season For Toons Line-Up For 2025,” October 31, 2025
MeTV Toons Official Site, “Join MeTV Toons for ‘Tis the Season for Toons!”
Animation Magazine, “MeTV Toons Presents ‘Tis the Season for Toons’ Holiday Program,” November 20, 2024
Cord Cutters News, “MeTV Toons ‘Tis The Season For Toons Lineup Has Arrived,” November 3, 2024
Pirates & Princesses, “Disney’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Has a Connection to an Obscure Animated Thanksgiving Special,” November 23, 2020
Article Compiled and Edited by Ivy Adams on October 31, 2025 for Pirates & Princesses.