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How on earth did cartoon network stoop to this level? Why are the people responsible, convinced that they’ve discovered what kids want to watch?
I feel blessed to have lived in those days of good, quality cartoon. I could go on days about how much, so many of these new shows disappoint me. But we’ll leave that rant for some other day.
Here is a list of some of the many cartoon shows which I cannot talk about my childhood without describing. These shows were a major reason I finished my homework in time or did any at all. If you’re a 90’s kid, I am sure you’ll agree on almost all of these and if you’re not, this is what you’ve missed 😉
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Popeye
That look your mother gave when this lean sailor got out of every hopeless situation by gulping an entire can of spinach which usually came out of his shirt somehow and always managed to save the day. Eat your spinach or no Popeye from tomorrow is how it was at my home. 😉
2. The Jetsons
“The Jetsons” was the distillation of any space age promises. With its jetpacks, flying cars, robot maids, moving sidewalks, this show was way ahead of its time. People point to “The Jetsons” as the golden age of future that had everything our hearts could desire, at least technologically. And though it was “just a cartoon” with all the sight gags and parody you’d expect, it was based on very real expectations for the future.
3. Richie Rich
Richie Rich is an altruistic adventurer who owns at least two of everything that money can buy. We have all envied his mansion and his luxurious life. But he is portrayed as a kind and charitable person who travels the world helping the less fortunate.
4. The Flintstones
The Flintstones was the most financially successful cartoon network animated franchise for three decades. The show is set in the Stone Age town of Bedrock. In this fantasy version of the past, dinosaurs and other long-extinct animals co-exist with cavemen, saber-toothed cats, and woolly mammoths. Like their mid-20th century counterparts, these cavemen listen to records, live in split-level homes, and eat at restaurants, yet their technology is made entirely from preindustrial materials and powered primarily through the use of animals. Modern everyday concerns are juxtaposed in a stone-age setting. The Flintstones are living a life that’s half The Matrix and half the ending of Wall-E, in a brave old world.
5. Scooby-doo
Didn’t we all want a pet as cool as Scooby who solved mysteries involving supposedly supernatural creatures through a series of antics and missteps. But the greatest thing it taught little children was that the monster always turned out to be a human instead.
6. Recess
Recess revolves around very relatable lives of 6 fourth graders each of which portray a character found in every group- a mischievous prankster, a hot-headed tomboy, an awkward genius, a gentle giant, a singing voice and an upbeat yet unlucky military brat- as they go about their daily lives in a highly clichéd school environment at Third Street Elementary School.
7. Dexter’s Laboratory
This bespectacled child genius who had an unbelievable underground laboratory behind a bookshelf, no one besides her bubbly sister in the family had a clue about, having crazy inventions which could be accessed with speaking passwords or hidden switches, made ‘NERD’ cool for us.
8. Powerpuff Girls
These girls were probably the Best thing that a chemical reaction gone wrong could have turned into. Girls with superpowers and their adventure filled days, fighting crimes in Townsville and defending it from villains and giant monsters. Admit it, some of you girls even picked and played your favorite power puff girl with other two friends. I did. <3
9. Ed, Edd n Eddy
Ed, Edd n Eddy follows the lives of “the Eds,” three preteen boys who all share variations of the name Ed, but differ greatly in their personalities. Goofing around, devising plans to scam the cul-de-sac kids out of their money, which they want to use to buy jawbreakers. However, problems always ensue, and the Eds’ schemes usually end in failure and humiliation.
10. Tom ‘n Jerry
This cartoon series features comic fights between an iconic set of adversaries, a house cat (Tom) and a mouse (Jerry). The cartoons are known for some of the most violent cartoon gags ever devised in theatrical animation such as Tom using everything from axes, hammers, firearms, firecrackers, explosives, traps and poison to kill Jerry. On the other hand, Jerry’s methods of retaliation are far more violent due to their frequent success, including slicing Tom in half, decapitating him, causing trees or electric poles to drive him into the ground, sticking matches into his feet and lighting them, tying him to a firework and setting it off, and so on. You couldn’t give this one up for a long time, right?
One day you’ll be telling your kids about these cartoon shows when they are watching, whatever trash their generation would be obsessing over at that time, blinking as less as a person can, and their face will turn into the one you make when your parents talk about how their generation had a better taste in music. But they’ll know the feeling one day. Didn’t you? 😉
Tell us about your favourite?
