Entertainment
30 Nostalgic ’90s Cartoons You Definitely Forgot Existed
Some cartoons from the ’90s will never be forgotten, from SpongeBob SquarePants skyrocketing to fame in 1999 to Disney’s memorable One Saturday Morning block full of Recess and Doug, and no millennial can forget Cartoon Network hits like The Powerpuff Girls and Ed, Edd n Eddy.
But some cartoons only lasted a few mere seasons, or got overshadowed by their competitors, or slipped through the cracks entirely. From some questionable animal characters to not-so-typical teenage girls to a little boy in a big laboratory, some cartoons of the ’90s aren’t as memorable as others. Audiences who are in the mood for some nostalgia have no shortage of forgotten ’90s cartoons to choose from, which will transport viewers right back to their childhoods.
30
‘The Shnookums & Meat Funny Cartoon Show’ (1995)
One of the most defining cartoons of the 1990s was The Ren & Stimpy Show, which captivated audiences with its gross-out humor, unique art style, contrasting characters, and ability to balance comedy and madness in equal measure. Other networks were eager to try and duplicate its success, which eventually led to Disney greenlighting The Shnookums & Meat Funny Cartoon Show. Each episode was divided into three segments: the adventures of the titular cat and dog duo, a superhero possum who defends Possom City with his raccoon sidekick, and a cowboy trying to bring the Wrong Riders to justice.
The show only lasted 13 episodes, and it’s not hard to see why. The titular duo are nowhere near as iconic as Ren and Stimpy, and due to the show’s more limited budget, it can’t go all-out with the disturbing visuals like Nickelodeon’s show. It also doesn’t help that Shnookums (Jason Marsden) and Meat (Frank Welker) were outclassed by the other cartoon segments, especially the cowboy Tex Tinstar (Jeff Bennett), whose adventures have a lot of nods to The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show.
29
‘Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series’ (1996–1997)
The idea of creating animated shows based on popular movies has resulted in a wide array of products, some good, most bad. One of the weirdest examples has to be Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series, based on Disney’s hit movie franchise about an underdog hockey team. Only, in the show, the ducks are actually aliens from another dimension who have come to Earth to stop the evil Dragaunus (Tim Curry), and their culture just so happens to revolve around hockey.
The show can best be compared to the likes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, especially with the team composed of familiar archetypes like the serious leader, the wisecracking funny man, and the tech genius who can build and hack anything. And yet it’s hard not to fall in love with the show, namely because it plays things completely seriously despite its insane premise. Plus, you have powerhouse actors like Tim Curry, Tony Jay, and Clancy Brown as the villains, so that alone is worth checking out the show.
28
‘Quack Pack’ (1996)
Two of the most popular Disney cartoons of the decade were DuckTales and Goof Troop, both of which received theatrical films that are underrated gems. Naturally, Disney got the idea to combine both ideas, resulting in Quack Pack, which sees Donald Duck’s (Tony Anselmo) three nephews, Huey (Jeannie Elias), Dewey (Pamela Adlon), and Louie (E. G. Daily), as teenagers. It didn’t take off with fans, namely because of its disconnection from the lore established by Carl Barks, and a greater emphasis on 1990s lingo and slapstick comedy.
Quack Pack isn’t the worst animated project to come out of the ’90s, but it’s also far from the best. The stories are entertaining enough thanks to how wacky the comedy can get, and both Donald and Daisy (Kath Soucie) are well-characterized and as entertaining as ever. It’s really the boys’ new personalities and the lack of other anthropomorphic characters that weigh it down, both of which were, thankfully, fixed in the 2017 reboot of DuckTales, which even pokes fun at Quack Pack in one episode.
27
‘Bonkers’ (1993–1994)
Following the success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Disney decided to capitalize on the idea of cartoon characters coexisting with humans. It decided to use an original cast of characters, though Bonkers D. Bobcat (Jim Cummings) does share Roger’s origins as a cartoon star in hard times. After he saves the life of Donald Duck, Bonkers becomes a police officer and partners with the by-the-book Detective Lucky Piquel (Jim Cummings).
Bonkers was certainly one of the wackiest cartoons of the 1990s. The idea of a cartoon cop teaming up with a human is a little harder to execute when all the characters are animated, though the show still tries its best with slapstick and surrealist humor. Unfortunately, it was a rather difficult production, resulting in the show getting canceled after one season.
26
‘Histeria!’ (1998–2000)
In 1990, Tiny Toon Adventures aired on The Kids WB, and its breakout success led to many other hilarious animated sketch comedies. Near the end of the decade, however, the FCC began enforcing a quota of informative and educational children’s programming. This resulted in Histeria!, a sketch comedy that saw its characters travel across time and space to poke fun at famous moments and people from history.
Histeria!’s run sadly ended early on account of the show somehow going 10 million dollars over budget, but it still gave us over 50 episodes of entertainment. The best part of the show has to be the songs by Richard Stone, which manage to be catchy earworms that ensure you’ll remember their contents. Alongside the caricatures of famous people, the show had some entertaining original characters, such as the irritable Father Time (Frank Welker), the aptly named tour guide Miss Information (Laraine Newman), and a diverse children’s choir.
25
‘Mike, Lu, & Og’ (1999–2001)
The Cartoon Cartoons are among the most beloved and well-remembered cartoons from the 1990s and early 2000s, with strong entries like Courage the Cowardly Dog, and Dexter’s Laboratory. Most of them were characterized thanks to their inventive concepts and zany humor, but one of the earliest, Mike, Lu, & Og, broke the mold by being comparatively simpler. It follows a young girl named Mike who travels to a remote island as part of a foreign exchange program, where she befriends two siblings: Lu, a would-be princess, and Og, a quiet genius.
The show carved out an identity for itself by telling more grounded stories that focused on different cultures and what can be learned from them, though admittedly, not all the island stereotypes have aged well. It also has a very beautiful art style, with richly colored backgrounds that help sell the tropical island aesthetic. Sadly, it couldn’t compete with more successful shows and has since become one of Cartoon Network’s most forgotten programs.
24
‘SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron’ (1993–1995)
While the ’90s had a multitude of action cartoons featuring a wide variety of superhero teams and pop culture icons, one of the few action cartoons of the era based on original characters was SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron. The action-packed ’90s series followed partners Razor and T-Bone, two vicious and capable felines who used to work for the paramilitary law enforcement agency for Megakat City, a city filled with cats of all types and sizes. However, the duo still has a bone to pick with all the villains terrorizing their city, so they don the mantle of SWAT Kats to defend the city as well as keep their identities secret.
While the show’s run was short-lived because producers disapproved of excess and cartoon action and violence during a tumultuous time in American culture, its ahead-of-its-time approach to action and storytelling has helped SWAT Kats amass a cult following over the years. The flashy and colorful animation style has still aged graciously over the 30 years since its initial release, with few animated series, ’90s or otherwise, being able to recapture the same high-adrenaline energy of the show.
23
‘Freakazoid!’ (1995–1997)
One of many iconic comedy shows released during the Kids’ WB programming block, Freakazoid follows the chaotic adventures of the titular superhero with his multitude of superhuman abilities. Long before Deadpool would become the face of absurd and unpredictable fourth wall-breaking superhero stories, Freakazoid employed a similar style of pure chaos and meta humor, yet for a more family-friendly cartoon audience. Combined with the similar style of humor of other WB Kids shows like Pinky and the Brain and Animaniacs, Freakazoid was always going to be a comedy goldmine.
While the series was initially largely overlooked and forgotten in favor of the other WB Kids series, Freakazoid quickly amassed a cult following thanks to its frequent reruns on Cartoon Network. The show’s wild parody of the always-popular superhero archetypes helped it set a path forward as one of the most unique and hilarious superheroes of the era, with countless iconic moments and hilarious quotable lines.
22
‘Earthworm Jim’ (1995–1996)
Kids’ WB had a very creative lineup in the 1990s, consisting of sketch comedies made in conjunction with Steven Spielberg and beloved adaptations of DC Superheroes like Batman: The Animated Series. One of their most creative shows was Earthworm Jim, based on the video game of the same name. It follows an earthworm who becomes a superhero when he crawls inside an alien power suit, and teams up with an alien princess and a dog that can change into a monster.
The show is full of irreverent, off-the-wall humor that destroyed the fourth wall and parodied everything from superhero tropes to the show’s own premise. It gleefully embraced absurdity, often throwing logic into orbit in favor of convoluted plots jam-packed with humor and surreal gags. The comedy was further enhanced thanks to the fast-paced animation and a brilliant voice cast, including legends like Dan Castellaneta and the talented Jeff Bennett.
21
‘The Critic’ (1994–2001)
An animated sitcom satire of the then-popular TV critics of the ’90s like Siskel and Ebert, The Critic followed the misadventures of New York film critic Jay Sherman, known for his TV review show, Coming Attractions. While he has a notable reputation as a cold and mean-spirited individual due to his rather harsh and often scathing criticism, he’s simply a stand-up guy when he isn’t working and reviewing films. The series varies between instances of the ins and outs of Jay’s life while also providing several film parodies and satires of popular films.
It’s easy for a pop-culture-reliant premise like The Critic to be wildly dated to its specific era, yet the approach of parody being to both classics and the most popular films of the ’90s helps the series stand the test of time. Jay himself has all of the classic attributes that an adult animated protagonist should have, emblematic of characters like Homer Simpson, while still feeling like his own distinct character. The series is especially worth a watch for fans of ’90s cinema, but even for those who aren’t, they will find a lot to enjoy about The Critic.
