20 of the Best '90s Cartoons, Ranked
It's hard to think that the 1999 was 20 years ago! Time is flying, and while the '90s seem just a few years behind us -- not two decades -- that number does do a good job of reflecting the intense feeling of nostalgia that comes up every time we think of the decade that brought us baby tees and scrunchies. As we look back fondly on that decade, we can not only remember the fun fashion, the mall culture, and the boy bands. But we also get to celebrate some of our favorite television shows and movies, too!
In fact, the last of our favorite '90s movies -- like She's All That, Notting Hill, and Never Been Kissed -- will be celebrating their 20th birthdays this year, which means we're officially old. It also means that Julia Roberts likely sold her soul to the devil, because she looks exactly the same, but that's for a different time.
While we lament the loss of our youth, we can celebrate by taking a trip down memory lane with some of our favorite cartoons. There's nothing that jogs our memory of a childhood well-spent more than a cartoon we loved to watch when we were kids. Whether we got up early on Saturday morning with a bowl of cereal to watch episodes of Duck Tales or Rescue Rangers, or snuck an episode of South Park when our parents weren't home, the cartoons of the '90s are timeless!
Here are 20 of the best '90s cartoons, ranked!
20. 'Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers'
Chipmunks really had a moment in the '90s. In this series' the adorable Chip and Dale were leaders of a crime-fighting team that includes two mice, Gadget Hackwrench and Monterey Jack, and a fly named Zipper. Disney really got it right with this spin-off that made minor characters into the main ones!
19. 'The Magic School Bus'
While we were big fans of the series, we only recently realized that Lily Tomlin was the voice of Ms. Frizzle, which just makes us love it so much more. This show truly blended education and entertainment. Each episode was jam packed with so much useful information -- about biology or Earth science -- and kids (us) hardly even knew they were learning!
The Magic School Bus is definitely one of our favorite PBS Kids shows!
18. 'Disney's Recess'
Recess explored our favorite school subject!
(Ha! We kid!)
But really, everything happens during recess, and this cartoon (though fictional and animated) did a great job of capturing the precious hour after lunch where kids got a breather from authority and had time to do their own thing. The episodes are well written and are still enjoyable today!
17. 'Pinky and the Brain'
Pinky and the Brain is one of the most quotable cartoons of the '90s! If "trying to take over the world" every day was a childhood fantasy, then this show must've been a favorite! However farfetched the plot, a genius mouse and his not-so-bright sidekick plan for world domination, we just couldn't get enough!
16. 'Doug'
The character names in this show alone deserve some kind of award. From Patti Mayonnaise to Skeeter Valentine (even Porkchop the dog) were truly memorable -- not to mention Doug himself, whose last name was Funnie! This series also beautifully captured the magic (and heartache) of first crushes. Doug, for all its Nickelodeon weirdness, was also quite grounded in realty.
15. 'X-Men: The Animated Series'
Before there were a trillion X-Men movies and their subsequent spin-offs, there was this cartoon. It stayed quite true to the original comic books and showed the group of mutant superheroes as they struggled to be accepted by society all the while battling villains like Magneto and Mystique!
14. 'Arthur'
Arthur first premiered in 1996 on PBS and has been on the air ever since. In fact, it recently made headlines for featuring a same-sex marriage between two of its characters. The season 22 premiere featured Arthur's teacher, Nigel Ratburn, getting married to an aardvark named Patrick! The show might be over 20 years old, but Arthur reflects today's culture more than ever!
13. 'Family Guy'
OK, we all know that this cartoon isn't for kids, but that doesn't mean it's not one of the best animated series ever made! Created by Seth McFarlane, Family Guy depicts a New England family as they hilariously navigate all the wacky stuff life throws at them. Complete with a talking baby and dog (the dog can only understand the baby), this show's reruns are just as good the second time around.
11. 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'
There have been many, many depictions of these four turtle brothers who love pizza and have superior karate skills, but none of them beat the original. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles premiered in 1987 and ran through 1996, with its popularity peaking in the '90s, when we got live-action movies! There have been several remakes since, including more recently, one starring Megan Fox as April O'Neil.
12. 'The Powerpuff Girls'
Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup have superhero powers, thanks to their dad, Professor Utonium, who attempted to create three perfect children and ended up with three bad** ones instead! They live in the city of Townsville and use their super strength and crazy fighting skills to save it from all kinds of evil.
10. 'Hey Arnold!'
While the creators never officially named Arnold's town, diehard fans know it was likely Brooklyn, New York. This fourth grade boy with a head shaped like a football lives with his grandparents in a boarding house, and we get introduced to a few eccentric characters that he meets through out his journey with his best friend, Gerald, by his side.
9. 'South Park'
Another not-suitable-for-kids cartoon that makes us LOL every time! It doesn't get more dysfunctional than the people of South Park, Colorado, where this fictional show takes place. It was created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and has become synonymous with '90s television. They even made a movie, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, in 1999.
7. 'Tiny Toon Adventures'
In this series, we got a chance to fall in love with our favorite Looney Toons characters all over again. Tiny Toon Adventures features a group of much younger cartoons who are studying at Acme Acres Looniversity whose names include Buster Bunny; Babs Bunny; Plucky Duck; Hamton J. Pig; Fifi La Fume; Dizzy Devil; Calamity Coyote; and Sweetie Bird. They're learning comedy from the pros like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck!
6. 'DuckTales'
Scrooge McDuck is left to raise his nephews, Hewey, Dewey, and Louie, after Donald Duck decides to join the Navy (yes, that was the premise!). The quartet of ducks takes off on crazy adventures and hunt for more money for the billionaire Scrooge!
Remember them literally swimming in gold coins? So crazy!
5. 'Animaniacs'
What happens when characters are too zany, even for cartoon studios? Well, they wreak havoc on everything and everyone around them -- all for our pure enjoyment. Yakko, Wakko, and their sister, Dot, are the characters in this cartoon that gave us Pinky and the Brain and one epic theme song!
4. 'Batman: The Animated Series'
Fans loved Batman: The Animated Series for its darker tone that stayed true to the original comic books. Robin, Batgirl, Commissioner Gordon, and of course, the comic's most famous villains all made appearances throughout the series.
3. 'Dexter's Laboratory'
When feeling like a bad parent, just remember Dexter's parents were completely oblivious to his genius capabilities and the fact that he had a state-of-the-art science lab in his room! His older sister, Dee Dee, wasn't though and does a fantastic job of annoying her little brother as he makes scientific discoveries and goes off on amazing adventures.
2. 'The Simpsons'
The Simpsons has been on the air for 20 years, making it the longest-running cartoon ever! The family, that includes Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie, live in the town of Springfield and does an amazing job of portraying a working-class family and the crazy antics that invade their everyday life.
All the original cast still voices the characters to this day!
1. 'Rugrats'
Rugrats ran for 16 years and featured four babies -- Tommy Pickles, his best friend Chuckie Finster, twins Phil and Lil, and Tommy's older cousin, Angelica. The show not only showed life through the eyes of babies, but also captured the essence of parenting during that time. It spawned three movies and will go down in history as one of the best cartoons ever made!