Top Ten 90's Toons

So my last post was prompted by me watching a random episode of Aurthur, one of the more recent ones. I saw how everyone at this elementary school had cell phones and would take tests on books on computers and they talked about digital clouds and such. It was something from my childhood with a modern spin, it was interesting to watch. So, in light of "throwback Thursday", I was inspired to do a list of the Top Ten Toons from the 90's! One of the best things about growing up in the 90's were the cartoons and the following are my top ten. Lets begin:



10. The Magic School Bus

Let's start this list off educationally! One of the greatest things about going to school was those days when you would come in the classroom and there, in front where the teacher usually stood, was one of these:

This meant you had a movie day in the class. One of my favorite things teachers usually showed on these days was The Magic School Bus (the others included Schoolhouse Rock and Bill Nye, but that's a whole other subject). Watching the wacky adventures Ms. Frizzle and her class would go on made my day. Arnold and his scarey-cat self but when it came down to it he could be brave. Carlos the class clown and Dorothy Ann aka D.A. the bookworm. Keesha the sassy realist. Phoebe, the new kid who always talked about how things were done at her old school. Wanda, always ready to go and jump into adventure and Tim was the artist of the class. Janet the know-it-all, annoyingly stubborn cousin of Arnold who would sometimes tag along on the trips even though she was in another class. The kid with the baseball cap who played all sorts of sports and was the "hero" of the class, Ralphie. Through their adventures you would learn about science, history, the animal kingdom and learned life lessons along the way. From what I've read, Netflix is supposed to be rebooting the series for the newer generations, let's hope it goes well.

9. The Powerpuff Girls

"Sugar, spice and everything nice. These were the ingredients chosen to create the perfect little girls. But Professor Utonium accidentally added an extra ingredient to the concoction. Chemical X. Thus, the Powerpuff Girls were born! Using their ultra super powers, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup have dedicated their lives to fighting crime and the forces of evil!" Queue awesome intro music. How could you not love this show? It had everything a kid could want, action, comedy and great villains. Everyone from the hillbilly Fuzzy Lumpkins to the shunned monkey Mojo Jojo and the devil HIMself. Each episode held some type of message for the kids to better themselves. It was so popular that in 2008 it had an official tenth anniversary series finale. The finale included almost every villain the girls ever faced as well as showing that even the worst of people can surprise you and vice versa. Not that long ago, in January, there was a special that guest starred an original Beatle, Ringo Starr. The special was updated with different animation and had no input from the show's creator, which in my opinion, was okay but I certainly preferred the original animation. It was also announced that Cartoon Network would be bringing the girls back sometime in 2016. Let's hope they do them justice.

8. Spider-man

What do you get when you combine great story telling, a collage-going superhero, pioneering computer animation and Aerosmith? The greatest Spider-man series to date. Now don't get me wrong I have watched some of the new Spider-man series and while they are good in their own right, this one still stands head and shoulders above the rest. The animation style was traditional cel with some help from CGI in certain shots. The illustrators took great pride in the accuracy of the details of New York which showed in each episode. The show revolved around Peter Parker, who already had his powers, and his life as his alter ego. Another show with fantastic set of villains, Doc Ock, Kingpin Mysterio, Chameleon, Green Goblin, Shocker, Scorpion, Rhino, the Vulture, Hobgoblin, Lizard, Kraven and my personal favorites the sybiote which resulted in Venom and Carnage. Just about every classic villain made some appearance in this show as well as fellow heroes like Captain America, X-men, the Punisher, Blade, Iron Man, Doctor Strange and the Fantastic Four. It was Marvel's universe and boy did they show it. Of course who can forget the amazing guitar oriented intro by Joe Perry of, guess who,  Aerosmith?

7. Hey Arnold!

"Move it, football head!" The words often yelled by Helga Pataki to berate Arnold, the love of her life. Her soliloquies often overheard by Brainy who almost always got punched in the face afterwards. Eugine and his horrid luck and "I'm okay!" after every accident. This show had a great well rounded cast from all stages of life, from Arnold's grandparents, Phil and Gertie, to Oskar Kokoshka (who I can do a great impression of) to his fourth grade classmates that attended P.S. 118. In 2002 Nickelodeon released a movie on the big screen which I remember going to watch and enjoying it. In particular the moment when Helga finally confesses her love for Arnold right before kissing him. Of course she denies it in the end and it all goes back to the way things were with her "hating" Arnold, but him not so convinced. From what I have read it generated mixed reviews from critics, but that's one reason I don't listen to them and judge the movie for myself. 

6. Ed, Edd n Eddy

From the whistling intro to the dexterity of one name, this was the show to watch if you wanted a good laugh. It followed "the Eds" on their unconventional schemes for monetary gain from their neighbors of the cul-de-sac they lived in order to buy the ultimate prize, jawbreakers. It usually ended with them failing in embarrassing ways. Although I do remember one episode where they managed to get enough quarters to finally buy their beloved, over-sized, jawbreakers but in one way or another they rolled down the hill and the episode ended with them chasing after their sweets. In my younger days, I had two best friends that I always hung out with and my parents would call us the Eds. I ended up being Ed, who was not the sharpest crayon in the box, simply because I had a younger sister, just like him. His sister, Sarah, was horrific, the complete opposite of mine which I always found funny. "Double Dee" was the poindexter of the group who would help with the building of the contraptions to help with the day's scheme. Eddy was the unofficial leader of the Eds. He was the one who would come up the concepts to trick the "suckers" into giving them their quarters. He would know all about what it takes to be cool thanks to his older brother who he mentioned through out the series. In 2009 the series finale was aired and finally revealed to us his older brother. If you still haven't seen it and enjoyed the series growing up I truly suggest it, so no spoilers on here.

5. Rugrats

Premiering the day after my first birthday, Rugrats grew to be one of the longest running shows on Nick. It got so big it begot not one, not two but three movies! One thing I recently found out is that the show even has its own star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame and with good reason too! This has to be my favorite NickToon due to its, shall we say, interesting perspective of the world. Tommy with his screw driver, the master lock picker he was, and the parents who were never the wiser about the adventures the baby crew went on. Angelica, most of the time there to throw a cloud over the babies' parade. The tenacious twins who usually were at odds but at the end of the day cared for each other. And of course, how can we forget the ever cautious Chuckie Finster? Always the foil to Tommy and his impulsive behavior. Then after the movies a new Pickles was introduced as well as a sister for the timid red-haired boy, Dill and Kim. The cleverness (or not so cleverness) of Tommy's younger brother's name was lost to my younger self, although I can appreciate it quite a bit now. There was never an episode I didn't really care for in this series, it always presented a thrill.

4. Animaniacs

From the man that brought us E.T. and Jurassic Park came a kid's show filled with satire for all ages. WB really hit the nail on the head when it came to this show. I remember, like most 90s kids, having a fanny pack and the one I had was of the animaniacs. I loved that thing and wore it everywhere. For this post I tried to find a picture of a similar one, but failed miserably. I will look to see if I can find it and post a picture of it on here. Anyway, back to the subject at hand, the eccentric characters of the show always managed to entertain. From the Warners to the insane and genius mice. Each character was, in their own right, the most interesting one of the bunch. The always amusing "Helloooo Nurse!" uttered whenever she would appear, whether as a nurse, flight attendant or what her occupation might have been in that episode. Oh, and a little tidbit, there are the two Warner brothers Yakko and Wakko and their sister Dot. Where'd Dot come from you ask?

                                                          (excuse my poor Paint skills)
 

3. Pokemon

The franchise that spawned a TV show, manga, video games series, countless movies (really I lost count how many have come out to date), and one of the greatest trading card games of the 90s, Pokemon. I recall rushing home from the bus stop so I wouldn't miss that day's episode of Pokemon. The still strong franchise has grown to overwhelming proportions. They hold several competitions a year for both the video and card games to find the one who really became "the very best". There are so many memories that are attached in one way or another to Pokemon that I could really write an entire post of just them, but I won't bore you. I will say that I still watch the show from time to time (especially when some of the original episode came to Netflix) and often play the new game that comes out (as of this post the new ones I am anticipating are Alpha Ruby and Omega Sapphire). Heck, just last weekend I went to a concert "Pokemon Symphonic" where they played music from all the different generations of the games, and I had a blast. The show screams 90s louder than most and has motifs to educate kids on how to be a good person. Not to mention it has one of the best theme songs ever!

2. Dragon Ball Z

The first anime I remember watching was Dragon Ball, all about the peculiar child with a tail and a tendency to transform into a raging giant ape during the full moon. It progresses as bad guy after bad guy fall before this humble all powerful kid, with an unwavering moral compass and the social skills of a rock. In the end he grows up and fights to prove he's the strongest in the world. In the series following, Dragon Ball Z, we're introduced to his son and brother who reveals he is not of this world but an alien of an almost extinct warrior race called Saiyans. One of the most action packed series of all time, this is number two on my list. From the first episode of DB to the last episode of GT, it took me nearly thirteen years to watch the entire series. I always waited until they came out on TV (Toonami) to watch them. Now while this show may have its flaws, it is really one of the best ones you could watch. When I look back on it I realize there was a lot, and by a lot I mean A LOT of talking when there could've been more action, but I digress. When I first watched Goku transform into a Super Saiyan, I geeked out. After Gohan went Ascended Super Saiyan, I yelled "Yeah!" at the television. It was delightful to watch this show for the first time, to say the least. I guess you could say my love for this show is OVER 9,000!



1. Batman: The Animated Series

So we come to the best of the best of 90s cartoons, the epitome. My favorite superhero, the dark knight, the world's greatest detective, the caped crusader, Batman. At the time of its release, this was the absolute best representation of Batman, hands down. The gritty 40's feel to the series was perfectly complimentary to what makes Batman, Batman. The endless parade of fascinating villain after amazing villain and great story arcs MADE the show. Of course that's not to belittle the great cast of voice actors from the greatest Batman voice, Kevin Conroy, to the most spectacular Joker, Mark Hamill, or as he's known in some circles Luke Skywalker. I know my fanboy is showing a little bit but when it comes to this show I can't quite help it. It was thanks to this show I had one of the best birthday candles in existence, a full wax statue about a foot tall of Batman. It was for my fifth or sixth birthday. As far as I know it was at my great-grandma's house for the longest time, as of today I'm not too sure unfortunately. When it comes to the ultimate animated show of the 90s, BTAS is the clear winner.



Honorable Mentions:
As I said above, the 90s was packed with fantastic cartoons, so many that whittling them down to the best ten was difficult. In my quest to track down the best I came across many that narrowly missed the cut and I felt they deserved a mention, even if only after the fact. 

From Disney Channel:
Darkwing Duck
TaleSpin
Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers
Recess (Like number ten, the other show with the "hero" who wears a red backward baseball cap)
Goof Troop
The Lion King's Timon And Pumba

From Nickelodeon:
Ren and Stimpy
Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
Rocko's Modern Life
Catdog
Doug (Who went to Disney in the mid-nineties)
The Wild Thronberrys
The Angry Beavers
Rocket Power (Yes, this started late in '99 but I still consider it a nineties cartoon)

From Cartoon Network:

Courage the Cowardly Dog
Dexter's Laboratory (This and courage were really close to tying for numbers 9 and 5)
Johnny Bravo
Two Stupid Dogs
I am Weasel
Cow and Chicken

From others:
X-men (If you couldn't tell I enjoy superhero shows)
Phantom 2040 (Told ya)
Superman: The Animated Series (Again)
The Tick (Agai...ah you get it)
Tiny Toon Adventures
Freakazoid
Beetlejuice
Gargoyles
Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?
Aurthur
Beavis and Butthead
Captain Planet and the Planeteers
Superman
Sailor Moon
ReBoot (All CGI!)

There are also others that didn't make the cut due to a technicality, such as the Simpsons which actually started in 1989, although I do consider them a 90's show. Others would be As Told By Ginger, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy and Invader Zim which premiered in the 00's.And as always the cartoons I watched that were quite older than the nineties like Tom and Jerry, Scooby Doo, Johnny Quest, Space Ghost, Muppet Babies, Speed Racer, Superfriends and so on.

Well There you have it. My Top Ten 90s cartoons. Did I miss any? Let me know! Till next time.