Summary
The ’90s brought about numerous animated series with a few dominating pop culture conversations, leaving other shows to go unrecognized.’90s cartoonssuch asRugratsandPokémonstill receive acclaim and fanfare decades after their premieres for their innovative animation and storytelling.It’s because of these larger shows with massive success that smaller series have fallen under the radar, especially considering the heightened quality needed to stand out among competitors. Many of the kid’s shows from the decade had a similar setup that featured a heroic lead, typically endowed with superhuman abilities, fighting various bad guys.
Therefore, unless there was a considerable difference in quality for a TV show,it was difficult to break through the mound of shows with vaguely similar descriptions. Additionally, coming off the ’80s when shows were made to promote a collection of action figures, the ’90s attempted to do the same thing. However, it was difficult to follow successful predecessors such as The Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the ’90s saw unmatched results. Despite this, there are many examples of accomplished children’s entertainment from the ’90s that don’t get talked about enough, but hold up years later.
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102 Stupid Dogs (1993-1995)
The Daily Shenanigans Of Two Naive Dogs
Sometimes the most effective way for an animated series to stick with audiences is by being an entertaining escape from day-to-day obligations and that’s exactly what2 Stupid Dogsdid in the early ’90s.2 Stupid Dogsfollows the daily adventures of two obtuse dogs, as the series' name would suggest, Big Dog and Little Dog. Alongside various other four-legged friends,Big Dog and Little Dog provided audiences with plenty of laughs.
Produced by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons,2 Stupid Dogswas compared heavily to Nickelodeon’sRen & Stimpy, which premiered a few years earlier.Ren & Stimpywas a massive success for Nickelodeon andits acclaim is likely why2 Stupid Dogsdidn’t garner as much attention, though it deserved to. While2 Stupid Dogsdidn’t break through the abundance of animated series from the decade, the running gags remain timeless.
9The Tick (1994-1996)
A Fresh, Satirical View Of Superheroes
Considered to be one of the first satirical takes on the superhero genre,The Tickhad moderate ratings when it was on the air, butconversations surrounding the animated TV show have subsided. The three seasons ofThe Tickshow the titular superhero battling a villain with the help of his trusty sidekick, Arthur. Among the animated gems that come from ’90s television,The Tickis certainly worthy of a watch.
The Tickalso had a 2018 live-action adaptation available to stream on Prime Video:
The Tickis based on a comic book series by the show’s creator Ben Edlund, and though some inappropriate humor was excluded from the animated series,The Tickstill poked fun at superhero tropes. In addition to slapstick humor that highlighted the absurdities of superhero duties,The Tickalso featured parodies of popular comic book heroes such as Sewer Urchin and American Maid, meant to represent Aquaman and Wonder Woman.The Tick’s comedic formula with such pop culture references and jokes is long-lasting as it’s still appreciated insuperhero parody TV showstoday.
8Pepper Ann (1997-2000)
The Growing Pains Young Audiences Connected With
A younger and more eccentric version ofDaria,Pepper Anntends to fly under the radar when discussing animated series from the ’90s. Similar toDaria,Pepper Annfollows its titular character as she navigates the hardships of growing up,making for a series that continues to strike a chord with audiences who see themselves in the show’s characters. Where other children’s TV shows might include social commentary masked under the guise of analogies,Pepper Anndealt with the issues head-on.
Not only wasPepper Annrelatable as a main character, but she was also entertaining to watch
Pepper Annwas highly relatable for its young audience, especially adolescent girls, who found themselves in the same situations as the series' protagonist. Whether it’s crushes on fellow students or entering into the world of societal beauty standards that come as one gets older,Pepper Annunderstood which storylines connected best with its audience. Not only wasPepper Annrelatable as a main character, but she was also entertaining to watch, as many of her feelings were expressed through her striking imagination.
7Bobby’s World (1990-1998)
A Peak Into The Wild Imagination Of A Child
Inspired by the voice used by Howie Mandel in his stand-up routines at the time,Bobby’s Worldis a lighthearted exploration of a young boy’s imagination. Bobby Generic, voiced by Mandel, is the lead of the series who takes viewers on adventures in his lively imagination. The life scenarios in which Bobby would exaggerate were inspired by childhood stories of Mandel and his friends.
Bobby’s Worldlasted for an impressive seven seasons and was the longest-running series on Fox Kids' Saturday morning block. However, the lovable TV show has become widely underrated as the years have gone by. The biggest factor playing into this is likely the tone of the show. The playfulness and format ofBobby’s Worldare aimed at audiences aged closer to the four-year-old boy, butthe vibrancy and creativity in the series' writing and animation can be appreciated by all ages.
Sentient Animals Fight Battles In Space
Many of the best Saturday morning cartoons from the ’80s were spawned from emerging toy lines, and it’s a trend that seeped into the following decade. Unfortunately, the concept was becoming increasingly tired with each new animated TV show based on action figures, leaving shows likeBucky O’Hare and the Toad Wars!to underperform.Bucky O’Hare and the Toad Wars!was made to sell merchandise, butthe demand for such items wasn’t sizable and the series was canceled after 13 episodes.
For as short-lived asBucky O’Hare and the Toad Wars!was, it still managed to produce a riveting TV adaptation of the original comic book series. Just as he did in the comics, Bucky O’Hare and fellow crew members fight to protect their home planet from their nemeses, the Toad Empire.Bucky O’Hare and the Toad Wars!combined two timeless aspects of children’s media — interplanetary settings and sentient animals— and made a fairly executed TV show that had the potential to grow into something big.
Known for his unique aesthetic inpopular Nicktoonssuch asRugratsandThe Wild Thornberrys, Gábor Csupó created his third animated series for the network,Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. Similar to much of his previous and future work,Aaahh!!! Real Monstersincludes distinct character designs for its three main monster characters. There’s no exact reason why the TV show fails to get mentioned as much as other Nickelodeon cartoons, but the humor and premise of the show are ones that general audiences would continue to enjoy.
AsAaahh!!! Real Monsters' characters were learning how to scare in monster school, bold humor and gags were added copiously in the show’s writing.It’s the same type of humor that was a hit in Csupó’s other workand the concept of monsters learning ways of scaring was greatly adored in Pixar’sMonsters, Inc.a few years after the series finale.Aaahh!!! Real Monstershad all the proper elements for success and, despite its minimal impact, it has great replay value.
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4Toxic Crusaders (1991)
An Odd Group Of Superheroes Fights Villains And Pollution
Transforming an R-rated live-action film into a kid-friendly animated TV show isn’t a simple task, butToxic Crusadersdid it with ease in the early ’90s and has yet to receive proper credit for doing so. Based on theToxic Avengerfilms,Toxic Crusadersfollows a group of unlikely superheroes living among pollution. While some subtle adult jokes were included in the show’s dialogue,the animated series is tonally different from the original films.
Fun character changes inToxic Crusadersinclude a sentient mop that helps the lead hero, Toxie, in his fight against the town’s villains. Such creative changes to character’s abilities and personalities madeToxic Crusadersa great watch for kids and their parents who may have been familiar with the live-action films. However,in a competition against other popular animated teams of crime fighters,Toxic Crusaderswas unsuccessful. Still, the 13 episodes ofToxic Crusadersare a treasure from the ’90s and are just as entertaining by today’s standards of kid’s shows.
3Samurai Pizza Cats (1990-1991)
Three Heroic Cats Save Their City
TheTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesaren’t the only heroes associated with pizza.Samurai Pizza Cats,originally a Japanese anime series, follows its titular heroes who work at a pizzeria when they’re not fighting the city council’s leader, Big Cheese. Once Saban Entertainment earned the rights to the series in 1991,the English translations shifted the show’s tone and created something far more absurdthan the original series.
The silliness ofSamurai Pizza Catsmade the series stand out among other animated TV shows at the time, especially those centered on a group of heroes. With unique character names such as Speedy Cerviche, Polly Esther, and Guido Anchovy,Samurai Pizza Catsnever failed to ignite laughter from audiences. With constant pop culture references, including nods to other popular TV shows at the time,Samurai Pizza Catsis a true representation of youth culture from the decade.
Steven Spielberg is known for his acclaimed work in film, but he’s also worked as an executive producer for a few shows as well.Spielberg is the one who suggestedFreakazoid!should be a comedy, making it the stand-out show it’s known as today. Originally meant to be a standard superhero action series,Freakazoid!became a comedic outlook on the genre that had its characters highly self-aware of their occupation.
As other cartoon comedies found greater success,Freakazoid!lost its popularity
Freakazoid!relies heavily on pop culture references and slapstick humor, but it never feels overdone.This is helped by the series only lasting for 24 episodes, but the genre commentary and cameos from other Warner Bros. animated characters allowed for a connection between audiences and the fictional characters. As other cartoon comedies found greater success,Freakazoid!lost its popularity, but it remains an exceptional example of parody comedy.
1Street Sharks (1994-1997)
Anthropomorphic Sharks Fight Various Mutant Animals
Created to promote a toy line of the series' action figures,Street Sharksis an underrated animated series that holds up just as much as its competitors from the same era.Street Sharksstarts with an intriguing setup as two university professors have a falling out after working on technology that can turn aquatic animals into anthropomorphic creatures. One professor, Dr. Paradigm, turns the other’s sons into half-men, half-sharks and the rest of the series sees the sharks fighting other mutant animals created by Paradigm.
Nevertheless, the characters were dynamic and well-written, and their various enemies were never repetitious
Resembling other superhero TV shows at the time,Street Sharkswas enjoyable, but ultimately formulaic and, because of this, it didn’t have the success of similar shows. Nevertheless, the characters were dynamic and well-written, and their various enemies were never repetitious.ThoughStreet Sharksisn’t talked about as much anymore, there is still a passionate fan base for the ’90s cartoon, and a 30th-anniversary collection of the series' action figures was announced at the beginning of 2024.
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