1990s nostalgia is everywhere. The decade known for brilliant colors, grunge music, and Saturday morning cartoons is the subject of nostalgia on tv, movie theatre, and even in way.

It's often said that these years were among the greatest and most innovative periods in animation, with fondly remembered shows similar Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Ren & Stimpy, DuckTales, Batman: The Animated Serial, and many more. Often watched afterwards school, on weekends, or during the summer holidays, idiot box was an important medium to millions of kids who grew up in this gilt historic period of animation. The 90s has been called the "American animation renaissance" for breathing new life into the world of blitheness post-obit a sharp decline in the popularity of cartoons in the late 1970s and 80s.

Of course, not all animation from the era is and so well-remembered. Some were lost to time considering they just weren't very expert in the eyes of most. Others were only relevant to a particular time and place, and some deserve more than recognition and credit just somehow never seem to go mentioned.

Here are 30 cartoons from the 90s that fifty-fifty with the nostalgia craze, few seem to remember anymore.

Updated June 20th, 2021 by Stephen LaGioia: At least in the amusement and cultural arena, 90s nostalgia remains more prominent than ever. This holds peculiarly true for cartoons, with examples like the CGI reboot of Rugrats reigniting the spark and reminding adult fans of their charm while bringing in a new audience. In that location is clearly a wealth of 90s animation to reexamine — fifty-fifty when it comes to the more obscure shows that have seemingly been lost to the pages of history. As such, it seemed appropriate to open up this volume once again and bear on it upward with some updates and a few new chapters.

xxx Courage The Cowardly Canis familiaris

Courage the Cowardly Dog cartoon jaw dropped with owners

Though it was released at the tail finish of the decade — pun intended — John R. Dilworth's Courage The Cowardly Dog has a prominent 90s experience with that typical Hanna-Barbera zaniness and amuse.

The show revolves around an ironically-named canis familiaris who easily manages to get frightened, taken in by a Scottish couple of a certain historic period. Cue a slew of wacky antics involving everything from mad scientists and creeping zombies to aliens and monsters.

It had a decent run afterwards expanding from its origins equally a humble blithe short from the Cartoon Network Anthology, What a Cartoon!, known equally "The Chicken from Outer Infinite." Notwithstanding, this run was fairly curt-lived, lasting just a few years.

29 The Wild Thornberrys

The Wild Thornberrys cartoon cast in jungle at river

This charming family-oriented cartoon tended to exist overshadowed by Nickelodeon's classic Nicktoon lineup that preceded it. These days, well-nigh tend to remember the show about for its crossover with the Rugrats in a 2003 theatrical motion picture. Notwithstanding, in that location was a time when The Wild Thornberrys had a decent following, largely thanks to its fun premise and fun jungle setting.

The show stars a girl named Eliza Thornberry who gains the ability to speak with animals after rescuing a shaman taking the form of a warthog. Throughout this 5-season odyssey in the wilderness, Eliza and her family unit embark on various adventures in the wild and occasionally become into hijinks whilst filming a documentary.

The prove was praised for its endearing, imaginative themes as well as its beast-friendly undertones.

28 I Am Weasel

I Am Weasel cartoon reading book with baboon

This slapstick animation created by David Feiss is amidst the first of a string of "Cartoon Cartoons" — seemingly Cartoon Network's reply to Nicktoons. Despite its zany amuse, I am Weasel isn't particularly remembered these days. This is largely on account of it being a spinoff from a Cow and Chicken segment; which wasitselfnon terribly popular.

The show highlights the antics of the two animate being frenemies fittingly named I.M. Weasel and I.R. Baboon. Like its origin series, I Am Weasel brought a comedic manner and dynamic akin to a tamer version of Ren & Stimpy. It features ample back-and-forth banter as Baboon obsessively strives to outdo his more successful, wittier counterpart. At the aforementioned fourth dimension, the show had its own wacky appeal which helped it obtain decent ratings in the late 90s.

27 Dexter's Laboratory

Dexter's Laboratory riding kart with Dexter's mother

One can liken Dexter'south Laboratory to Tom Green — both being highly popular in the late 90s and early 2000s earlier largely falling off the radar for most. But similar Green, Dexter's Laboratory holds an appeal and comedic edge which remains innovative and culturally significant over two decades later.

This Hanna-Barbera testify features the uptight boy-genius by the name of Dexter, who speaks with a curiously unidentifiable accent. Family Guy fans may discover at least hints of Stewie in his character, sans the abandon. Much of the series has him playing off his wacky, hyperactive sister Dee Dee, who has a knack for wreaking havoc in his lab and setting him back with his inventions.

26 The Pirates Of Dark H2o

The Pirates Of Dark Water cartoon cast on pirate ship

This obscure drawing starting time aired in 1991 every bit a five-part miniseries titled Dark Water, which was turned into a full series. The curt-lived fantasy had one of the most original premises of the era, portraying an conflicting oceanic world being destroyed past an evil substance chosen Dark H2o. Ren and his crew try to stop it by gathering the lost Xiii Treasures of Rule and battle pirate lords forth the fashion.

The Pirates of Dark Water was well-written, had fleshed-out characters, a compelling story and creative setting. Unfortunately, it concluded after two seasons and 21 episodes earlier the pirates could collect all thirteen treasures (merely eight were constitute by the final episode). Sadly, few seem to remember the bear witness, though it spawned a video game and a toy line, and a small defended fanbase still calls for a remake.

25 Swat Kats: The Radical Squadron

SWAT KATs The Radical Squadron cartoon switching gears in car up close

Swat Kats: The Radical Squadron was another Hanna-Barbera product featuring two anthropomorphic feline vigilante pilots who use their advanced fighter jet, the Turbokat, to defend Megakat Metropolis from villains and monsters, while also clashing with the city's police enforcement. On paper it may sound odd, merely in practice information technology was refreshing, heady, futuristic, and boasted a bright but gritty artful and good balance of activity and humor.

SWAT Kats could accept been the next large thing in the mid-'90s. It was the number one syndicated show of 1994, and its high ratings spawned a toy line and a video game. Unfortunately, it was canceled near the end of its 2nd season with three unfinished episodes. This is reportedly because TBS owner Ted Turner decided he didn't like the level of violence on the show, and caused a delay in the release of trade, resulting in disappointing sales and the show's eventual expiry. In 2015, the show'southward creators launched a successful Kickstarter to revive SWAT Kats.

24 Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice cartoon cast promo

Though this cartoon accommodation of the 1988 cult film was developed and produced by Tim Burton himself, Beetlejuicethe blithe series went in a different artistic management. These would including casting Beetlejuice equally an anti-hero instead of a villain, and he and Lydia Deetz equally best friends who explore the morbid and wacky realm of the Neitherworld together, encountering colorful characters and misadventures.

The show gave the character of Beetlejuice more screen fourth dimension than the moving picture, and the world of blitheness allow him employ his powers without worrying about movie-level budgeting. Beetlejuice aired on ABC Saturday mornings and Fox on weekday afternoons, proving so successful that information technology lasted 4 seasons and haunted Nickelodeon and Drawing Network syndication for years. Unfortunately, the Ghost with the Most now seems largely forgotten.

23 ReBoot

ReBoot cartoon close up of cast looking at camera in woods

ReBoot was the first completely computer-animated half-60 minutes Boob tube series. Many people watched information technology, but few seem to think the adventures of Bob, Enzo, Dot Matrix, Phong, and the other characters of Mainframe. While Toy Story gets all the credit for revolutionizing CGI, ReBootpredated its release by a year and was conceived by the aforementioned think-tank responsible for the blocky characters in the music video for Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing," which introduced the world to reckoner blitheness.

The Canadian CGI activity-chance featured the citizens of Mainframe (in reality the personal computer of an unnamed user) defending themselves from attacks by the viruses Megabyte and Hexadecimal. Starting off as a light-hearted thing, it turned darker, gritty, and mature in its third season when the comic relief graphic symbol Enzo became "Matrix," the anti-hero protagonist of the story, and it started targeting older audiences. ReBoot aired from 1994 to 2001, leaving behind a profound legacy, fifty-fifty if information technology's seldom talked about.

22 David The Gnome

David The Gnome cartoon gnome waving

Though it started airing in its habitation country of Espana in 1985, for many audiences David the Gnome is primarily remembered on TV in the 1990s. David the Gnomewas based on a serial of books about the lives of Gnomes designed for children. It was a surprise worldwide hit, including in the Usa, UK, and Australia.

David the Gnome is well-known for having 1 of the nigh emotional endings of whatever Sun children's drawing. In the final episode, David and his wife Lisa go off into the mountains considering their "time on the Earth" is about over (most Gnomes live no more than exactly 400 years). They spend most of the episode maxim good day to their friends, so they turn into trees. Though the series connected to air on American networks until 2010, many people remember images from David the Gnome, only couldn't proper name it off the tiptop of their heads.

21 Road Rovers

Road Rovers cartoon cast in uniforms

Likely due to the cultural phenomenon that was Turtlemania, looking back cartoons in the '90s were fixated on animal activity teams. An example of this is Road Rovers, a short-lived series produced by Warner Bros. Animation that aired on the Kids WB channel. The testify centered around the adventures of a team of 5 mutated anthropomorphic animal superheroes.

This time the animal of choice is canines, namely an American Goldador, a British Rough Collie, a Doberman from Frg, a Siberian Husky from Siberia, and a sheepdog from Switzerland. All of them pretty much human action like the stereotypes of the countries they come from (yes, the Doberman does sound like Arnold Schwarzenegger).

Road Rovers attempted to put a new twist on an sometime formula by making the main characters use G.I. Joe-type gadgets and human action every bit the pets of world leaders when not saving the world. However, Rovers failed to make any traction with audiences, and was canceled after one flavour and 13 episodes.

20 Bucky O'Hare And The Toad Wars

Bucky O'Hare And The Toad Wars cartoon cast

By sheer coincidence, Bucky O'Hareand the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles beginning appeared equally comic books in the same month in 1984. But when the fourth dimension came to adapt Bucky O'Hare for television, a few key elements were borrowed from the TMNT universe. It'south clear that Marvel Productions wanted a piece of that sweet, sweet action figure coin, and Bucky O'Hare'southward concept of a mutated rabbit fighting toads in infinite seemed a guaranteed success.

Nonetheless, it would exist wrong to dismiss the bear witness as a shallow TMNT rip-off. The French-American animated series Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars featured a unique premise that followed the titular character equally a member of the Sentient Protoplasm Against Colonial Encroachment, or Due south.P.A.C.E., as he tries to defend his domicile planet Warren from invasion by the tyrannical Toad Empire. It ran only thirteen episodes, just maintains a cult following. At that place was even a game for the original NES, and like most NES games it was incredibly difficult.

xix Mutant League

Mutant League cartoon skating on arena track

I of the more obscure titles on this list, few people know the Sega Genesis games Mutant League Football and Mutant League Hockey had a cartoon series based on them, much less that it ran for forty episodes across two seasons. Mutant Leaguethe bear witness ran from 1994 to 1996 and involved protagonist Bones Justice'south quest to larn the truth about his father by joining a professional mutant football game team called the Midway Monsters.

While the first flavour was a mess incorporating a wide variety of plotlines without much regard for continuity (there was an infamous incident where the team has a win streak that ends twice), the second flavour took a more serious tone. The wild, gory, and cheesy exploits of the pumped-upwards mutant athletes are nowadays only recalled by developed fans of the games or those who managed to catch a few episodes on Tv set here and there.

18 The Real Adventures Of Jonny Quest

The Real Adventures Of Jonny Quest cartoon cast promo

At the fourth dimension Cartoon Network'south 1990s reimagining of the archetype 1960s cartoon Jonny Quest was unique; the show featured teenage versions of Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji and revamped versions of the classic bandage tackling real-world mysteries, legends, and paranormal events, like to an X-Files for teenagers. The result of years spent in development hell and an unprecedented marketing campaign, at its peak The Existent Adventures of Jonny Questaired twenty-ane times per week on Drawing Network, TBS, and TNT.

Real Adventures had all the making of success: it even had a virtual reality cyberspace realm called QuestWorld, years earlier the Matrix existed. Only information technology ran into trouble when its original creator was dismissed after the first season and the character designs were reworked to be closer to the original versions.

The show was also criticized as existence too intense for kids, failed to gain traction with its target demographic, and its merchandise failed to sell. Real Adventures was a bold experiment, canceled after 2 seasons and 52 episodes.

17 KaBlam!

KaBlam! Nickelodeon cartoon cast

One of the cartoons almost associated with the 90s, KaBlam! embraced its weird and off-beat out qualities to become a surprise success. A more experimental spin-off of the sketch comedy show All That, KaBlam! was hosted by two cartoon characters named Henry and June and showcased alternative and indie animations similar Activeness League Now!, Prometheus and Bob, Life with Loopy, Sniz & Fondue, and occasionally cartoons like The Off-Beats and Angela Anaconda, all under the slogan, "Where cartoons and comics collide!"

KaBlam! became hugely influential in the decade, just faded with the end of the 90s after its await and mental attitude became dated. The show was taken off Nickelodeon in 2001 with office of its quaternary season and 2 seasons left unaired, for some signaling the final expiry of the 90s. Since then, all talks of revival or reboot have failed due to lack of enthusiasm.

16 Ronin Warriors

Ronin Warriors dramatic shot holding crossed swords

Ronin Warriorswas an English dub of the anime Yoroiden Samurai Troopers that offset began airing on American television in 1995. Though information technology didn't get much attending at first, it exploded when it was moved to the Toonami cartoon block in 1999. Ronin Warriors featured 5 Ronin possessing mystical armor and weapons with elemental powers, all the while being set in the present day. It was similar to a samurai version of the Ability Rangers, and showed up at a time when American interest in anime was on the rise.

Of course, looking dorsum on it at present, Ronin Warriors hasn't anile any meliorate than its contemporaries in the late 80s/early on 90s anime genre, with its dated animation, simplistic plot, and rather flat characters. But it had entreatment at the time due to the sheer action and enthusiasm it showed. Ronin Warriors ended its run in 2001, soon before Gundam Wing and Dragon Ball Z appeared on Toonami and exploded the popularity of anime in the West, making history largely forget the Ronins.

15 Roughshod Dragon

Savage Dragon cartoon lizard police uniform

Not many fans of the original Savage Dragon comic books know that there was an animated series in the mid-90s or that information technology managed to last two seasons, much less that it featured the voice talent of none other than Mark Hamill himself, too as Jim Cummings, Michael Dorn, Rene Auberjonois, Frank Welker, and Tony Jay.

A surprisingly faithful adaptation, the cartoon Fell Dragontold the story of a mysterious dragon constitute in the city of Chicago with no memory of who he is or where he comes from. He then joins the constabulary force, using his super strength to save the metropolis.

Unlike virtually other cartoons and comic volume adaptations of the fourth dimension, Savage Dragon wasn't plagued by the campier aspects of the 90s like bad blitheness or a cheesy theme song. It but lasted ii seasons, just the few who got to encounter the show remember it fondly.

14 Street Sharks

Street Sharks cartoon open-mouthed shark close up in water

One of the many TMNT knock-offs on this list, Street Sharkswas a bizarre activeness/comedy series nearly four brothers (Ripster, Jab, Streex, and Slammu) who mutate into massive, muscular, half-man half-shark forms subsequently beingness exposed to a motorcar called "the gene-slammer." They spend their fourth dimension fighting a mad scientist named Dr. Paradigm and his monstrous creations.

Each episode was named after a terrible shark pun, and the Sharks' catchphrase of "jawsome!" seemed almost invented to marketplace their activeness figures and prophylactic hand puppets. On acme of all that, the foursome was very vocal almost not liking pizza. Street Sharks lasted for 40 episodes from 1994 to 1995.

These days it'south remembered more as an case of cheesy 90s pop civilization than annihilation else, which makes sense considering it was created to promote the existing Mattel toy line of the same proper noun. Merely hey, at least a immature Vin Diesel fuel was a hype man for information technology, then that'due south got to count for something.

xiii Life With Louie

Life With Louie cartoon eating doughnut

While stand-up comedians Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano, Drew Carey, and Tim Allen all had their own live-action sitcoms in the 90s, it was Louie Anderson who did his own drawing.

Unlike other animated Tv set shows of the time that embraced fantasy and wacky fictional adventures, Life with Louie was about events from Anderson'due south own childhood combined with material from his own stand-upwards. Topics of choice for episodes ranged from Anderson's 10 siblings, family antics with his homemaker mother and loud but loving World State of war II veteran male parent, and stories about growing up.

Anderson was and then invested in the project he began each episode with a live-action monologue nearly the theme of the week. Though the show lasted less than forty episodes, Life with Louie was a surprise hit at the fourth dimension on Fox, airing Saturday mornings and winning 2 Daytime Emmy Awards.

12 Gargoyles

Gargoyles cartoon cast in dungeon

This may be one of the most recognized on this listing; Gargoylesis one of those cartoons that many saw growing up in the 90s, but information technology rarely gets mentioned these days despite being influential in pop culture.

Running from 1994 to 1997, in many ways Gargoyleswas ahead of its time: it was dark, it was clever, it had complex and well-adult characters, and the plots were surprisingly adult for a kids' drawing, including Shakespearian references, Arthurian and Scottish legend, mythology, and more mod bug like firearm safety and racial prejudice.

It besides helps that the villain, David Xanatos, gained such a reputation every bit a symbol for Machiavellian planning that he actually has a type of planning named afterwards information technology, the Xanatos Gambit, or a plan in which all possible outcomes do good the planner. Gargoyles ran from 1994 to 1997 and is fondly remembered past many, but it simply doesn't become plenty credit for changing how cartoons were made.

11 Dog City

Dog City dog in trench coat in hallway

This bizarre but effective creation was non only a mash-up between Muppet and cartoon segments, but also combined 2 pop ideas: hard-boiled detective noir and dogs. The result was Dog Metropolis, a bear witness focused around the adventures of canine private investigator Ace Hart, a German Shepard raised past Chinese Pekingese parents, as he tries to protect Dog City from bulldog and mob leader Bugsy Vile.

The cartoon elements past Nelvana Limited showed Ace Hart every bit the cosmos of animator Eliot Shag, the protagonist of the Muppet sections by Jim Henson Productions, seamlessly blending the world of the two halves of the show.

Receiving generally positive reviews from critics and audiences, Dog City was praised for the idea of a cartoon and its animator conversing and having parallel plots in the cartoon and "real" world. Canis familiaris City ran from 1992 to 1994, airing three seasons and 31 episodes in total,  and it remains one of Jim Henson's more than obscure creations.

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