Your favorite cartoons

[SuperStingray]

As a kid, I used to watch cartoons all the time. I don't really watch TV as much anymore, but I've been having a bit of a nostalgia trip lately and I've been thinking about how great some of the cartoons I used to watch were.

You probably haven't heard of this one, or at least don't remember it that well, only living for about two short seasons with very little marketing. But call me a fanboy because it's probably one of the most hilarious TV series I've seen to this day. It kind of has a "lol so randum XD" humor to it, but it does it in a way that works kind of like Homestar Runner, parodying tropes and producing memorable running gags while still not taking itself seriously in the slightest. For instance, there's actually a robot called "The Plot Device." The basic outline of the show is that a secret military organization called... Secret Military Organization is chasing a sheep named... Sheep to power their Sheep powered-ray gun. Trust me, it gets better. Check out the pilot. Beyond that, you have a great Bee Gees parody, fake commercials and a ranting Swede to close each episode. I'll end it here, though, because if I tried to name every line that left me laughing like a stoned hyena, I'd be here all night.

This is probably among my favorite cartoons for the same reason Metroid Prime is my favorite video game- because it simply stuck with me. It engraved itself in my brain with some of the most hilarious and haunting images I've ever seen, some even simultaneously. If you haven't seen it, it revolves around Courage, the titular dog, and his owners, the sweet old Muriel and the cranky old Eustace Bagge who live in an empty farmland in the middle of Nowhere, Kansas. They get tied up in some of the craziest scenarios, some supernatural, some alien, some horrible and some just plain bizarre, and it is up to Courage to save them (but if forced to choose, always Muriel.) But as far as kid's cartoons go, it's fucking terrifying. Really, it makes The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy look like Scooby Doo. You have the mummy of King Ramses, a psychotic barber, and... this. It may not seem like much now, but I was about 10 when I saw this stuff. But in the end it's probably among the best works of dark comedy I've ever seen.

This was a very unique show in that it was very off color yet strangely relatable, kind of like a King of the Hill for kids, but on shrooms. Each episode is basically about three kids trying to find new schemes to earn money which they intend to spend on jawbreakers. Problem is, they usually fail. From lemonade stands to minigolf courses to river cruises. It's one of those shadenfraude-based shows where the main characters always seem to fail, not for lack of trying. But there's a good mix of Looney Tune slapstick and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH9fmR97eYw-ish character development.

There's a lot more I enjoyed, but I think those are my top three. Some close runners up would be Fairly Odd Parents, Pokemon and Dexter's Lab. There are even some newer ones I enjoy like Regular Show and Adventure Time. What are your favorites?

[Lady Lily]

I used to watch stuff on boomerang. And grim adventures of billy and mandy.

[Ferno]

This man, this was my all-time favorite cartoon series as a kid. I loved the atmosphere, the real-life situations they tackled, and stuff that cartoons can't get away with these days. Also, I was always kind of a sucker for the whole one-sided Helga & Arnold thing that went the course of the whole series. The episodes when she was in danger of losing the secret were always suspenseful and the ever-changing Arnold shrines were creepy yet hilarious. Good stuff.

Pretty sad how the series was cancelled before production on the real movie began however, yeah, "Hey Arnold: the Movie," was originally a TV movie that for whatever reason, got upgraded to a theatrical release. An actual bigger-budget movie was in the works (where Arnold & Co. go searching for his parents,) but complications caused the series to be cancelled before then...

:<....:<..............:<

[Diogenes]

Seconding the love for Courage; it's a great show with a weird sense of humor and some genuinely creepy moments.

Futurama's a good one; pretty much every episode can make me laugh out loud at least once, if not multiple times, but it's also got the depth for some surprisingly emotional moments ("Jurassic Bark" and ."The Luck of the Fryrish" being the two big ones). It's rare to find something that can balance the two properly.

And although there's already a topic for anime specifically, I have to give a nod to Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. The first series was good, but the second (which actually follows the manga, whereas the first diverges off into its own thing after a while) is great.

[SuperStingray]

Woah didn't realize I posted this in the Computer games section. Sorry bout that.

This man, this was my all-time favorite cartoon series as a kid. I loved the atmosphere, the real-life situations they tackled, and stuff that cartoons can't get away with these days. Also, I was always kind of a sucker for the whole one-sided Helga & Arnold thing that went the course of the whole series. The episodes when she was in danger of losing the secret were always suspenseful and the ever-changing Arnold shrines were creepy yet hilarious. Good stuff.

Pretty sad how the series was cancelled before production on the real movie began however, yeah, "Hey Arnold: the Movie," was originally a TV movie that for whatever reason, got upgraded to a theatrical release. An actual bigger-budget movie was in the works (where Arnold & Co. go searching for his parents,) but complications caused the series to be cancelled before then...

:<....:<..............:<

Can't believe I forgot Hey Arnold. That show was great. The Pigeon Man episode was just beautiful.

Edited February 2, 2011 by SuperStingray

[Lady Lily]

This man, this was my all-time favorite cartoon series as a kid. I loved the atmosphere, the real-life situations they tackled, and stuff that cartoons can't get away with these days. Also, I was always kind of a sucker for the whole one-sided Helga & Arnold thing that went the course of the whole series. The episodes when she was in danger of losing the secret were always suspenseful and the ever-changing Arnold shrines were creepy yet hilarious. Good stuff.

Pretty sad how the series was cancelled before production on the real movie began however, yeah, "Hey Arnold: the Movie," was originally a TV movie that for whatever reason, got upgraded to a theatrical release. An actual bigger-budget movie was in the works (where Arnold & Co. go searching for his parents,) but complications caused the series to be cancelled before then...

:<....:<..............:<

I can't believe I forgot that show

[Tori Himemiya]

I love cartoons. In fact I've been watching more cartoons in this age than I used to. There's a couple that I will keep in my memories of a happy time.

Evil Con Carne

I love this show. Its a bunch of Saturday morning villains trying to take over the world every episode. It sadly only lasted 15 episodes and it was a great 15 episodes at that. I'll admit most of the humor is a bit more for adults buts really funny. All the characters are colorful for a show about villains and I can't help but laugh through it all. The series art style has greaty improved from the original shorts before it got booted off the air. Evil Con Carne being canceled was even lampshaded with Skarr's cameo in Billy and Mandy as being bought out by an entrainment company It was such a great show and I was pretty glad that Skarr got to develop after ECC. But Evil Con Carne's adventures will live on in my memories.

Beetlejuice

I loved the movie but I love the series more I'll admit. The series focused a lot on Beetlejuice and Lydia and made Beetlejuice more family friendly, or at least so they thought. But I really love its humor which is a lot of visual puns depending on the situation's context. They even had an Indiana Jones parody as a running gag. But even if it is more lighthearted than the movie is still as good as it.

And that's all I get to today.

[Vertekins]

This man, this was my all-time favorite cartoon series as a kid. I loved the atmosphere, the real-life situations they tackled, and stuff that cartoons can't get away with these days. Also, I was always kind of a sucker for the whole one-sided Helga & Arnold thing that went the course of the whole series. The episodes when she was in danger of losing the secret were always suspenseful and the ever-changing Arnold shrines were creepy yet hilarious. Good stuff.

Pretty sad how the series was cancelled before production on the real movie began however, yeah, "Hey Arnold: the Movie," was originally a TV movie that for whatever reason, got upgraded to a theatrical release. An actual bigger-budget movie was in the works (where Arnold & Co. go searching for his parents,) but complications caused the series to be cancelled before then...

:<....:<..............:<

Hey Arnold was freaking classic. What a great shame it is that the second movie never got made. The characters were just so likeable, especially Steely Phil

What I loved about Hey Arnold was that it never belittled it's audience. It also wasn't afraid of depicting gritty reality and even a blatantly homosexual character (Mr Simmons) And it's no overexaggeration that this show was just as good at getting crap past the radar as Rocko's Modern Life was. I was honestly shocked when the fashion designer guy in the episode "It Girl" shouted "B******s" in all of it's uncensored glory and yet the armbands of the Nazi's in "Veterans Day" had their swastika's changed to unsmiley faces. Hell, even Miriam was an obvious alcoholic even if they bowlderised her alcoholism into a smoothie obsession.

It also had a fantastic sense of humor and consistent characterisation. Throughout it's run, I never once thought that there was a dip in quality or that it had at any point jumped the shark.

Hey Arnold aside, I adore(d) Ghostbusters, Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers, Goof Troop, Alladin, Rugrats, The Flintstones, Sonic SatAM, early seasons of Pokemon except most of the Johto saga (Which was filler upon boring filler), and the Tom and Jerry cartoons.

If live action shows count then count me a big fan of Kenan and Kel too

[Glenn]

I'll throw in my picks... The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, being the obvious, and Tom & Jerry, being the classic. I also thought that Star Wars: Clone Wars, the short-lived series of animated shorts, was pretty sharp (but ultimately pales in comparison to what followed).

Actually, ignoring my biased love of Sonic and Star Wars, it really is just Tom & Jerry...!

[-Mark-]

Dexter's Laboratory and PowerPuff Girls are both epic win. ...or rather, they were, then they started to go balls-up like most Cartoon Network cartoons did, around the early-to-mid noughties. The latter two seasons of Dexter were rubbish, and the show just lost all its charm by the end of its run. PowerPuff Girls fared a bit better, but still went downhill toward the end. It really didn't help that Cartoon Network started changing the art style for all their shows. It made everything look terrible, like it had been drawn and animated in Flash. Also, they changed Dexter's voice actor after series two, and he just sounded irritating after that.

I used to watch Billy & Mandy for a while. That was one of CN's last 'good' cartoons. Of course, sadly that started quite late, so it took a nosedive along with all of their other shows much sooner.

Also, anyone else remember Jackie Chan Adventures? Damn that show was awesome. First series in particular.

[TheDanimator]

Oh man...Well my two top favorite are...

1. Beast Wars "not really a cartoon, but animated."

2. Sonic Satam

3. Family Guy "seasons 1-3 only"

4. South Park

And here are some more favorites...

Spongebob, Doug, Hey Arnold, Recess, Rugrats, Pokemon "season 1", Dexters Lab, Powerpuff Girls, Ren and Stimpy, 2 Stupid Dogs,

DragonBall Z, Yu Yu hakusho, Animaniancs, futurama, AOSTH, Beavis and Butthead, Spider man "90s cartoon", Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,

Arthur, and more... haha

[Mollfie]

My favourites from my childhood:

Hello Kitty

Hamtaro

Hey Arnold

Pokemon

Ah! Real Monsters!

Thundercats

He-Man

She-Ra

Powerpuff Girls

Ed, Edd and Eddy

Dexter's Lab

Mike, Lu and Ogg

Angry Beavers

Johnny Bravo

Courage the Cowardly Dog

Beetlejuice

Doug

Rugrats

2 Stupid Dogs

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog

Yu Yu Hakusho

Inuyasha

Sailor Moon

Spiderman

Arthur

Gargoyles

Animals of Farthing Wood

Jez reminded me or some more:

Mario Bros

Gummi Bears

Biker Mice from Mars

Muppet Babies

Inspector Gadget

Care Bears

X-men

I didn't have cable tv/sky until I was about 12 or 13 so the Cartoon Network ones were watched mostly at my sisters house. I would just go over and spend the whole day watching her TV lol.

Those are the ones I remember from my childhood. I still watch anime though so the list could go on and on but I'll save you that. I also like watching re-runs of cartoons still now as an adult. I'll sometimes check out new cartoons but most are just annoying.

Edited February 4, 2011 by Mollfie

[Glenn]

Oh my God, how could I forget...?!

Beats everything. Even Tom & Jerry.

[-Mark-]

See, it's funny, I don't really count 'adult' (or certainly not overly kid-friendly) shows like The Simpsons, Futurama and what have you as 'cartoons', similarly to how I don't just throw anime in under the same label.

I mean, I know they, for all purpose and intent, technically are cartoons, but it doesn't feel right thinking of The Simpsons on the same tier as say, Dexter's Lab. They're wildly different shows, shown at totally different time slots, with totally different target audiences.

Edited February 2, 2011 by Mahzes

[Senator NinjaShark]

Don't Mind me, Just being the Greatest Cartoons ever created.

Honorable mention goes to Futurama, Angry Beavers, Dexters Laboratory, TMNT (Both Old and New), PPG, Ren and Stimpy, Gargoyles, Transformers Animated, Beast Wars, Tom and Jerry, various Disney Shorts and Looney Toons. Those are Awesome too.

Edited February 2, 2011 by Mr. NinjaShark

[TheDanimator]

OMG!

How did I forget to mention Freakazoid???

Thanks!

Edited February 2, 2011 by TheDanimator

[Mollfie]

See, it's funny, I don't really count 'adult' (or certainly not overly kid-friendly) shows like The Simpsons, Futurama and what have you as 'cartoons', similarly to how I don't just throw anime in under the same label.

I mean, I know they, for all purpose and intent, technically are cartoons, but it doesn't feel right thinking of The Simpsons on the same tier as say, Dexter's Lab. They're wildly different shows, shown at totally different time slots, with totally different target audiences.

Futurama, Simpsons etc are technically adult cartoons. So that's why I never put then in as "cartoon cartoons", just because the ones I've listed for example are aimed at kids but Simpsons is aimed more at adult viewers. Kids still watch it, but that's not really the audience.

Anime is something I did watch as a kid (hello kitty, hamtaro, pokemon etc) but I got more into as an teen and adult, and most of the shows I watch are for teenagers and older.

I only list the ones I watched as a kid because those are ones I would class as "memories".

If that makes sense?

Edited February 2, 2011 by Mollfie

[Axl.EXE]

All these posts and not one from the legendary Disney Afternoon Lineup?

Kids, I am disappoint.

[Mollfie]

I mentioned Gargoyles.

I have vauge memories of Talespin.

[SuperStingray]

Dexter's Laboratory and PowerPuff Girls are both epic win. ...or rather, they were, then they started to go balls-up like most Cartoon Network cartoons did, around the early-to-mid noughties. The latter two seasons of Dexter were rubbish, and the show just lost all its charm by the end of its run. PowerPuff Girls fared a bit better, but still went downhill toward the end. It really didn't help that Cartoon Network started changing the art style for all their shows. It made everything look terrible, like it had been drawn and animated in Flash. Also, they changed Dexter's voice actor after series two, and he just sounded irritating after that.

I stopped watching PPG around the movie, but I could tell Dexter was running out of steam when they stopped making title cards.

I do have to give PPG credit, though, for managing to have such good cross-gender appeal for a show with a clear female demographic.

Edited February 3, 2011 by SuperStingray

[Syntax Speedway]

I still watch batman cartoons regularly, particularly the brave and the bold.

Some of the shows I watched as a kid included the Pokemon and digimon animes, the angry beavers and catdog, but I always found hey Arnold boring and would only watch it if there was nothing else on.

[Sapphire]

Currently, my favorite is Adventure Time. I think it's hilarious in all aspects. The extremely detailed facial expressions during certain parts, crazy, sometimes dark humor (suicidal balloons under a blood oath?!). It's just... everything I love in a cartoon. EVERYTHING.

As for others, I currently like to watch Powerpuff Girls and Dexter's Lab on Boomerang. Regular Show is pretty good, and I'll laugh at older Spongebob episodes. I also really used to like Hey Arnold!, Animaniacs, Hysteria and Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. Oh, and would Avatar: The Last Airbender count? It's not technically an anime...

[SuperStingray]

EDIT: NEVER MIND

Edited February 5, 2011 by SuperStingray

[Ferno]

And it begins....

[Axl.EXE]

Nice going, Stingray. You have just created an Internet Backdraft. One can only wait for the flames to arrive.