DePatie and Freleng also did a very long string of prime-time television animated specials in 1969, starting with an offbeat Richard and Robert Sherman musical with Bing Crosby, Paul Winchell and Mary Frances Crosby, titled "Goldilocks", [though not first broadcast till March 1970, ironically when Freleng's fellow WB director Chuck Jones released his final Dr. Seuss special, Horton Hears a Who], and then Allan Sherman as The Cat in the Hat, among many others through the pre–Marvel Productions Ltd. era. DePatie and Freleng also produced several Saturday morning cartoons, including Here Comes the Grump; Bailey's Comets (created by DePatie and Freleng "in association with Joe Ruby and Ken Spears"); The Houndcats, The Super 6; Super President (an Old Shame for DePatie, who admitted he was relieved when it was cancelled after one season); What's New, Mr. Magoo?; Baggy Pants and the Nitwits; The Oddball Couple; Return to the Planet of the Apes; The Fantastic Four (1978), and the later episodes of Doctor Snuggles, taking over from Topcraft. They also took the reins for TV adaptations of Dr. Seuss books after Chuck Jones' studio closed down. They would also animate the opening theme to I Dream of Jeannie (though not its Animated Adaptation, Jeannie) and the "Time for Timer" and "The Bod Squad'' PSAs for ABC.
Their biggest success in TV, however, would come after DFE was sold to Marvel Comics, following Freleng's retirement. The company was renamed to Marvel Productions Ltd., and produced some of the most famous animated shows of The '80s, including The Transformers, the first few seasons of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, and Muppet Babies (1984), as well as a small amount of Marvel superhero programs (including Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends). However, the going was rough at first — the DFE veterans, including David DePatie and Dennis Marks, weren't exactly fond of their comics counterparts (with DePatie being quoted by Jim Shooter as calling the Marvel Comics people "amateurish morons"); DePatie further refused to use any Marvel elements in the corporate branding. These internal issues (which derailed certain projects and gave others issues) wouldn't be ironed out until DePatie left MP for Hanna-Barbera in 1984. Margaret Loesch took over and immediately began cooperating with the comics side much more, including working closely with Stan Lee on projects, and added a CGI version of Spider-Man to the company branding. Loesch also repeatedly attempted more Marvel-based shows, but found little success in that area. In 1986, Marvel was acquired by New World Entertainment, a media company formerly run by Roger Corman that had ambitions of becoming a media conglomerate.
In 1989, as New World entered into financial trouble, Marvel Productions was separated from their comics bretheren... sort of; Marvel Entertainment Group was sold by New World, but NW kept Marvel Productions; not long after, New World was bought by the Andrews Group, the same company that had purchased the comics side! In any case, New World retained MP, and renamed it to New World Animation in 1993. By that time, Loesch has moved on to become the head honcho of the fledgling Fox Kids Network, and got her and Lee's dream project on the air: X-Men: The Animated Series. Several years later, New World was sold in its entirety to News Corporation, which in turn placed the Marvel/DFE catalog into Saban Entertainment (a co-producer of X-Men). Saban merged with Fox's Children's Entertainment division that year to form Fox Family Worldwide, Inc; New World Animation closed up shop around this time. Finally, in 2001, Fox Family Worldwide, Inc. was sold to Disney. Currently, with some exceptions, most of the all-original DePatie-Freleng and Marvel Productions/New World Animation library are owned by Disney, through Marvel Animation. The rest of New World's library (not including their pre-1984 library, currently in the hands of Shout! Factory, their 1984-90 theatrical catalog, currently owned by Vine Alternative Investments, or parts of their TV library which are now owned by Sony Pictures Television) would later be sold to Disney as part of its merger with 21st Century Fox, the legal successor to News Corporation, in March 2019 (New World itself still lives on as the licensee name for television stations still managed by the spun-out Fox, which consists of the remnants of News Corp not sold to Disney).
One of the company's animators, Nelson Shin, was also the creator of the Star Wars Lightsaber effect for A New Hope (of which the studio received credit for) and the founder of South Korean animation studio AKOM.
Animated programs/movies made under the Marvel Productions name (entries marked with an * mean it was co-produced with Sunbow Entertainment):
- Spider-Man (1981) (1981 syndicated solo series, serving as a sort-of test run for the newly renamed Marvel Productions)
- Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981-83; reran until 1986 on NBC)
- The Incredible Hulk (1982) (1982-83; paired up with Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends on NBC as an hour-long block)
- Meatballs and Spaghetti (1982, CBS; co-production with InterMedia)
- Pandamonium (1982, CBS; co-production with InterMedia)
- Dungeons & Dragons (1983) (1983-85, CBS)
- G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero* (1983/84 miniseries, 1985-86 series)
- G.I. Joe: The Movie* (1986; direct-to-video)
- Muppet Babies (1984) (1984-91, CBS)
- Little Muppet Monsters (short-lived 1985 companion show; Marvel provided animated segments)
- The Transformers* (1984-87)
- The Transformers: The Movie* (1986; theatrical release through DEG)
- My Little Pony TV Specials* (1984/85)
- My Little Pony The Movie* (1986; theatrical release through DEG)
- My Little Pony 'n Friends* (1986-87; included Glo Friends, Moondreamers, and Potato Head Kids)
- Super Sunday* (1985-86; anthology series featuring multiple segments, two of which became solo series)
- Jem* (1986-88)
- Inhumanoids* (1986)
- Defenders of the Earth (1986-87; co-production with King Features Syndicate)
- Little Clowns of Happytown (1987, ABC; co-production with Murakami-Wolf-Swenson)
- Little Wizards (1987, ABC)
- Fraggle Rock (1987, NBC)
- Blondie and Dagwood (1987 special for CBS; co-produced with King Features)
- Blondie and Dagwood: Second Wedding Workout (1989 sequel special)
- The Marvel Action Universe syndicated block (1988-89), which consisted of the following shows plus reruns of some earlier DFE/Marvel series:
- Dino-Riders (based off a Tyco toyline)
- RoboCop: The Animated Series (based off the 1987 movie)
- Pryde of the X-Men (failed pilot for a proposed X-Men series on NBC)
- Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! (1990-91, one of the launch shows for Fox Kids)
- Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars!* (1991)
- Biker Mice from Mars (1993-96; as New World Animation)
- Marvel Action Hour syndicated block (1994-96; as New World Animation/Marvel Films), which consisted of the following shows plus Biker Mice From Mars (when BMFM joined, it was renamed as the Marvel Action Universe):
- Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994-98; as New World Animation/Marvel Films)
- The Incredible Hulk (1996) (1996-97; as New World Animation/Marvel Films, final series produced)
