90s Cartoons: 35 Classic (and Forgotten) Shows

“Capitol Critters” follows Max, a farm mouse who moves to the White House after tragedy and navigates life among a motley crew of vermin tackling grown-up issues like politics and vice. It was decidedly not kid-friendly, diving into deep themes from segregation to substance abuse, and it boasted voice talent like Bobcat Goldthwait and Frank Welker. Critics weren’t charmed, and only 7 episodes aired on ABC in 1992 before it was overshadowed by “The Simpsons.” Cartoon Network gave it a second chance in reruns in 1995.

“I Am Weasel” hilariously chronicles the rivalry between the brilliant I.M. Weasel and the determined, envious I.R. Baboon. It began as a segment within “Cow and Chicken” before spinning off into its own show, and its lifeblood was the constant, witty banter and Baboon’s doomed attempts to outdo Weasel. David Feiss’s creation enjoyed robust late-90s ratings and stood as a frontrunner of the “Cartoon Cartoons” that took on Nicktoons, a quirky gem of Cartoon Network’s lineup.

“The Pirates of Dark Water” set sail as a miniseries before charting a course as a full series, taking us through an alien, aquatic realm menaced by the sinister Dark Water. Hero Ren and his eclectic crew quest for the Thirteen Treasures of Rule to save their world, carried by rich character arcs and a genuinely creative universe. Sadly the adventure was cut short, only eight treasures were found before cancellation, but it spawned a video game and action figures and still has a loyal fanbase begging for a revival.

Among the anime from the 1990s, “Samurai Pizza Cats” stood out for its cheeky humor. Originally “Kyatto Ninden Teyandee,” it hit translation snags for Western viewers, so Saban Entertainment gave the English dub a complete dialogue overhaul, reimagining it as a superhero spoof about armored feline samurai. They live a double life: pizza chefs by day, Little Tokyo’s saviors from Big Cheese by night. That bold approach to adaptation and parody turned it into a cult classic.

“Aaahh!!! Real Monsters” introduced a hidden monster world beneath our cities, following three young monsters, Ickis, Oblina, and Krumm, as they honed their scare skills at Monster Academy. Each had a unique terror talent, and the show mixed physical gags, snappy dialogue, and clever wordplay with bold, distorted character designs. Its sheer strangeness was the charm, a standout for anyone who savored the odd and imaginative.

“Cow and Chicken” whimsically chronicles a pair of sibling animals: Cow, a wide-eyed 7-year-old, and Chicken, her world-weary 11-year-old brother. (It’s also the show that spun off “I Am Weasel,” which started as a segment here.) Known for its raw, absurd comedy and a heavy reliance on rear-end gags, it masterfully balanced humor for adults and kids and held a prime Cartoon Network slot throughout the late ’90s.

The ’90s were a time when Jim Carrey’s hits didn’t just break box office records, they spawned Saturday morning cartoons, and “The Mask: The Animated Series” is exhibit A. Spun from the 1994 blockbuster, it followed Stanley Ipkiss’s zany superhero life across 54 episodes. Despite the Dark Horse comic’s grim roots, the show went full Looney Tunes, trading the serious for the slapstick and bottling Carrey’s kinetic chaos in kid-friendly form. As they say: with great power comes great irresponsibility.

Launched in 1994, “WildC.A.T.s” was a sci-fi saga based on the comic of the same name, with top-notch art, solid voice acting, and an exciting opening theme. Oozing 1990s charm, bandoliers, long ponytails, and constant guitar riffs, it was abruptly cancelled after 13 episodes, likely tied to the end of its animation block, Action Zone. It inspired a Super Nintendo game and a toy line, and its simplified take on the comic clearly aimed at younger superhero fans, always living in the shadow of the decade’s juggernaut, X-Men: The Animated Series.

An audacious cartoon beloved by Gen X and younger millennials, “Beavis and Butt-Head” featured two indifferent teens watching music videos on their couch, long before that became everyone’s pastime. Shortly after its debut, the crass-but-now-classic show became a cultural phenomenon. Creator Mike Judge went on to make King of the Hill and Silicon Valley, plus several ’90s movies including Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, and he later spearheaded the 2022 revival on Paramount+.

Cartoon Network has always spotlighted its male stars, from the Eds to Finn and Jake, and Johnny Bravo, a character blending Elvis Presley and James Dean, burst onto screens with pure confidence and cockiness. The show ran on a simple engine: Johnny’s overconfidence consistently torpedoed his attempts to woo women and landed him in bizarre situations. It also helped launch the careers of notable animators like Seth MacFarlane and Butch Hartman.

Commanding the spacecraft Righteous Indignation, Captain Bucky O’Hare battles the evil Toad Empire across his namesake cartoon, a vibrant cast of anthropomorphic animals with superpowers, plus one human boy who stumbles into Bucky’s universe. It aired for just 13 episodes in 1991, but its memorable video game, catchy theme song, and action-packed intro left a real mark. Despite the short run and an in-demand toy line that was later re-released, the series wasn’t renewed, though diehard fans still cherish it.

Long before Bluey, the quintessential Australian cartoon character on TV was a wallaby named Rocko, who took the spotlight in “Rocko’s Modern Life” starting in 1993. This Nickelodeon show drew a cult following in the early ’90s despite controversy over its adult humor in a kids’ show. Having migrated from Australia to the US, Rocko adopts a cynical outlook while mastering the art of “adulting,” joined by his quirky companions, a yellow steer named Heffer and a neurotic turtle named Filburt.

“Dog City” follows Ace Hart, a German Shepherd private investigator raised by Chinese Pekingese parents, who defends Dog City from bulldog mob boss Bugsy Vile. Cleverly, the show frames Ace as the creation of animator Eliot Shag, the lead of its Muppet segments, smoothly weaving the two halves together. It earned generally favorable reviews and real praise for that innovative concept of a cartoon and its animator interacting across parallel plots in the cartoon and the “real” world.

While Nickelodeon shows like Rugrats and Hey Arnold! focused on groups of friends, “The Wild Thornberrys” offered a fresh take on the modern family across five seasons, eventually leading to a movie and a Rugrats crossover. It followed a family traveling the globe to make wildlife documentaries: quirky parents Nigel and Marianne, a wild-child son voiced by Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Eliza, voiced by a young Lacey Chabert, who could secretly talk to animals.

“The Angry Beavers” hit Nickelodeon in 1997 and ran for five seasons, the last series produced by Gunther-Wahl Productions. It became a talking point thanks to a famously unaired finale that reportedly had the beavers learning about their own show’s cancellation. The series followed beaver brothers, the brown Daggett and the yellow Norbert, who leave home for the bachelor life, only to keep stirring up trouble with an array of eccentric characters from witches to a Mexican luchador.

In the late ’90s, Cartoon Network was firing on all cylinders with original cartoons, and “Courage the Cowardly Dog” became an icon. The series follows Courage, a lovable but timid dog (voiced by Marty Grabstein) who lives with the kind-hearted Muriel and her mean husband Eustace in the middle of nowhere. Strange, often genuinely scary occurrences force Courage to protect his family, and the show’s blend of horror, sci-fi, and humor keeps it feeling fresh even today.

Inspired by the hit video game series, “Earthworm Jim” follows an earthworm who stumbles onto a powerful suit and commits to saving the universe from evil. His companion, Peter Puppy, transforms into a monster when injured or frightened, basically a dog-like Hulk. Celebrated for its wonderfully wacky, anachronistic animation and writing, the show chronicles Jim’s galactic feats and his pursuit of his love interest, Princess Whats-Her-Name. It ended, but Jim keeps thriving across other media.

“The Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series” draws very loosely from the 1992 sports film, and it has one of the oddest premises of any mainstream cartoon. Instead of a hockey team, the Ducks are a band of half-human, half-duck superheroes wielding powers and futuristic tech from a planet called Puckworld, fighting a reptilian alien threat with a legendary goalie mask, all while moonlighting as an actual NHL team that’s apparently fine employing humanoid ducks.

“Biker Mice from Mars” rode the same radical wave as “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” It starred a trio of rebel rodents, Throttle, Modo, and Vinnie, who fled interplanetary war on Mars to protect Earth from the greedy Plutarkians. True to ’90s censorship, the showdowns were non-gory, with villains kept to robots, creatures, or aliens. The merch was huge, spawning action figures and a video game with Snickers tie-ins.

Before Lizzie McGuire and iCarly, young girls found a role model in Pepper Ann, the animated teen headlining the One Saturday Morning series, and notably the first animated Disney show created by a woman. The series followed the awkward Pepper Ann through the complexities of friendships, growing up, and crushes during middle school. With her unique style, nerdy personality, and vibrant red hair, she and her best friends Milo and Nicky made a lasting impression.

Even if you’ve forgotten Nickelodeon’s “CatDog,” odds are its catchy theme song is still lodged in your memory. Across four seasons from 1998 to 2005, it put an innovative twist on the classic cat-dog rivalry through its conjoined main characters. The yellow siblings live in a half-dog-bone, half-fish-shaped house, each pursuing a different lifestyle: Cat, the scheming intellectual, and Dog, the simple-minded, fun-loving optimist, a contrast that fueled endless entertaining conflicts.

Millennials with a taste for peculiar trivia will remember Freakazoid, the quirky superhero who filled a Saturday-morning slot. Debuting in 1995, the show followed Dexter, an awkward teenager who morphs into a zany, fourth-wall-breaking crime fighter. It only aired for two seasons, but its manic, anything-goes humor still triggers a strong wave of nostalgia.

“Road Rovers” was a fleeting series about a five-member team of heroic, mutated anthropomorphic dogs: an American Goldador, a British Rough Collie, a German Doberman, a Siberian Husky, and a Swiss Sheepdog. It tried to freshen the classic formula by kitting the heroes out with G.I. Joe-style gadgets and casting them as pets to world leaders when they weren’t saving the day. Despite the fun premise, it couldn’t find an audience and was cancelled quickly.

“Hey Arnold!” is another ’90s great, centered on a young boy in the fictional city of Hillwood, Washington (often mistaken for New York). The show dug into friendship, family, bullying, and crushes, and Arnold’s unusually close, warm bond with his eccentric grandparents really stood out for a cartoon of the era. Like many Nicktoons of the decade, it spawned two film adaptations, one in 2002 and another in 2017.

“Bobby’s World” was a delightful, amusing show about a little boy named Bobby, set apart by a live-action segment at the start of each episode. The intro usually featured a chat between Bobby and his father, voiced by Howie Mandel, who was also the creative force behind the show. Mandel, known for America’s Got Talent and ’80s movies like Walk Like a Man and Little Monsters, kept this favorite running for seven seasons.

Debuting in 1989 and running into the early ’90s, the “Beetlejuice” animated series was developed with Tim Burton’s involvement, recasting Beetlejuice from villain to anti-hero and making Lydia Deetz his inseparable friend. Together they explore the peculiar Neitherworld, meeting eccentric characters and getting into adventurous trouble. Animation gave Beetlejuice ample screen time and unlimited use of his powers, though the series never quite achieved the enduring cult status of the movie.

“The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest” continues the 1964 series, showcasing teenage versions of Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji as they grapple with real-world mysteries, legends, and paranormal events alongside revamped versions of the classic cast. It showed real promise, but hit a snag when the original creator left after the first season and the character designs were revised back toward the originals. Critics also called it too intense for kids, which hurt its audience and left merchandise unsold.

Who could resist learning about science while riding along with Miss Frizzle? “The Magic School Bus” started as a book series before becoming a beloved ’90s PBS show, teaching young viewers about everything from molecules and stars to computers and the human body. Netflix later breathed new life into it with the 2017 reboot, The Magic School Bus Rides Again.

“Doug” became a defining icon of Nickelodeon’s early-’90s golden age. Voiced by Billy West and later Tom McHugh, Doug played like a ’90s Charlie Brown with shades of Charles Schulz, except Doug actually wins the heart of his dream girl, Patti Mayonnaise (voiced by Constance Shulman). The slice-of-life approach resonated with kids, exploring the experience of being the new kid in town and tackling themes like bullying and self-esteem.

“Street Sharks” is a peculiar action-comedy about four brothers, Ripster, Jab, Streex, and Slammu, who transform into towering, muscular man-shark hybrids after exposure to a device called “the gene-slammer.” They spend their time battling the evil scientist Dr. Paradigm and his monstrous creations. Mattel built the series to sell its matching toy line, and a young Vin Diesel helped promote it, adding a little unexpected celebrity shine.

“Gargoyles” soared above the typical ’90s cartoon skyline with noir elegance and brainy storytelling. It was chiseled with depth: shadowy aesthetics, complex characters, and surprisingly adult themes. It drew on Shakespeare, Arthurian legend, Scottish lore, and mythology, and tackled real-world issues like gun safety and discrimination without sugar-coating. It also gave us David Xanatos and the blueprint for the “Xanatos Gambit,” where every outcome is a win, and genuinely helped transform the landscape of animated TV.

Steven Spielberg’s “Animaniacs” graced The WB for five seasons, long before its 2020 Hulu reboot, an animated standout in an era dominated by live-action kids’ variety shows like All That. Each episode featured a few mini skits and a rotating cast, but the characters who left the biggest mark were Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, three siblings of a famously unidentified species who memorably opened each episode by singing the theme from the WB water tower.

“ReBoot” was a trailblazer as the first fully computer-animated TV show, plugging viewers into the digital world of Bob and the Mainframe crew. Set inside a PC, it followed its digital citizens’ battle against the villainous viruses Megabyte and Hexadecimal. It started cheerful but downloaded a darker, edgier update in season three, even maturing the kid sidekick Enzo into the brooding anti-hero “Matrix.” Often overlooked in ’90s nostalgia, its impact on CGI animation is hard to overstate.

Surprisingly, the Sega Genesis games Mutant League Football and Mutant League Hockey inspired a cartoon series, centered on Bones Justice, who joins a pro mutant football team, the Midway Monsters, to uncover the truth about his father. The chaotic first season was packed with disjointed plotlines, while the second took a more serious tone. Today, only adult fans of the games (or anyone lucky enough to catch a few episodes) remember its crazy, gory, cheesy mutant-athlete adventures.

“Rugrats” let tots Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Susie, and bossy Angelica show us the world through baby-sized eyes. Nickelodeon’s gem debuted in ’91 and ran until 2004 on the toddler tenet that a baby’s gotta do what a baby’s gotta do, and it sparked a string of hit films along the way. A 2021 Paramount+ reboot brought the babies back for a new generation. If you’re after laughs, the cartoon cupboard is still full.

That’s 35 of the best (and most forgotten) 90s cartoons, from Nicktoons royalty to obscure toy-line tie-ins. Which one sent you straight back to a Saturday morning on the carpet? Let me know in the comments.