Television series

Birdman

Name: Birdman
Genre: Action, Adventure, Children
Released: 1967
Cast: Vic Perrin, John Stephenson, Keith Andes, Don Messick, Dick Beals

Superhero
Fantasy
Light-hearted

Birdman is a 1967 Saturday-morning cartoon about a solar-powered superhero fighting crime with his falcon sidekick. At seven minutes per episode, it's rapid-fire action and bright colour—pure distilled adventure for kids, with the kind of earnest camp that makes vintage superhero animation endlessly rewatchable for adults too.

TVMaze rating

2.9

If you liked this

Space Ghost Coast to Coast1994

Adult swim comedy using the same Hanna-Barbera action-adventure animation style, but weaponized for absurdist humour. A brilliant deconstruction that proves how weird and wonderful those old cartoons were.

But The humour is deliberately obtuse and sometimes uncomfortably deadpan. Not everyone finds it funny rather than annoying.

Young Samson1967

A contemporary from the same era and studio—another seven-minute superhero adventure with transformations, gadgets, and a sidekick. If you loved Birdman's pace and style, this hits the exact same nerve.

But Seven-minute episodes mean paper-thin plots and zero character depth. The repetition can wear thin in bulk.

The Herculoids1967

A space-faring family with alien creatures as allies fighting cosmic threats. Gorgeously designed, imaginative in its monsters, and bursting with the same adventure-serial DNA as Birdman.

But Very slow by modern standards. Long stretches of travel and exposition between action beats will test patient viewers.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Birdman

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Kimba the White Lion1965

Both are seven-minute episodic adventures built on simple premises (winged hero vs. lion king) that justify endless variation. Birdman represents Western Saturday morning, Kimba the Eastern counterpart—same DNA, different tradition.

Japanese anime predating the Western boom, with the same Saturday-morning energy but a visual style entirely its own. Gorgeous, alien design and storytelling that feels both familiar and genuinely strange.

But Subtitled and from another animation tradition entirely. The pacing is less frantic; this breathes in ways Birdman never does.

Batman: The Animated Series1992

Proves what Saturday-morning superhero animation could achieve with craft and a real budget. Art deco design, genuine stakes, and stories that work for children and adults simultaneously.

But Darker and more serious in tone. If you want the bright, breezy optimism of Birdman, this might feel heavy-handed.

Superman: The Animated Series1996

Captures the earnest heroism of classic superhero animation but with genuine narrative sophistication. Proof that the genre had untapped potential all along.

But Much more serialized and plot-heavy. The seven-minute burst of simple joy that is Birdman gets replaced with actual drama.

Jonny Quest1964

Adventure rather than superhero, but same brisk pacing, same exotic locations, same sense that anything could happen. A boy and his bodyguard solving mysteries across the globe.

But Action is more grounded and less visually spectacular. Some violence is surprisingly dark for a kids' show.

Beat Shazam2017

Live-action superhero series that preserves the cheerfulness and camp of the source era. Quick, unpretentious fun with genuine affection for its own silliness.

But The acting is broad and the effects are bargain-basement. It's camp as a side effect, not the point.

Danger: Diabolik1968

Both are unironic celebrations of impossible technology and colourful danger. Birdman distilled it into seven minutes; this stretches that same giddy logic across ninety.

A comic-book film in psychedelic colour, bursting with gadgets, absurd danger, and impossible escapes. Pure kinetic joy—Birdman's energy translated into live-action spy-fi excess.

But Deliberately artificial and campy. If you want realism or emotional stakes, this is aggressively not interested in providing them.

Mr. Osomatsu2015

Both are episodic cartoons built on speed and style over substance. Osomatsu-san is what happens when someone from the present falls in love with the form Birdman helped perfect.

A modern anime that deliberately mines 1960s comedy sensibility and aesthetic. Absurdist, fast-paced, formally inventive—it understands why that era's cartoons worked and rebuilds them for now.

But Anarchic humour and visual gags come thick and fast. If you want plot over style, if you need plot to exist at all, this will frustrate you.