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Growing up in the staple millennial diet of processed meat and microplastics, our daily mornings were likely more peaceful; the first distraction you’ll find before mom’s angry breakfast call is a television with cable instead of a smartphone. These sweet memories of a bygone era make up the childhood bulk of millennials. The 90s cartoon shows, for that matter, are at the heart of this core memory.
In these current dark times when your flatulence no longer asks for consent (such is the struggle for people in their late 20s or later), these 90s cartoon shows shine like lighthouses in the middle of a storm to remind you of good times. And, of course, the following beloved 90s cartoon shows are there to brighten up that memory.
Rugrats
This cheeky misrepresentation of toddler behavior is one of the most clever yet simple premises for a cartoon show. Basically, what if toddlers had their own language (or what if they’re not manifesting into avatars of destruction every other minute?)?
You get the Rugrats. It’s one of Nickelodeon’s finest shows featuring a lovable and distinct cast of toddlers and their everyday shenanigans.
Every episode has a moral, and the show even deals with warm familial issues such as bratty behavior, playground politics, and inadvertent mud-eating (heh, typical toddlers). Though sometimes, they also feature more serious topics, such as parental loss and sibling rivalry, all in a cute and relatable package.
Powerpuff Girls
The 90s was Cartoon Network at its peak and millennials were blessed to have witnessed this phenomenon. In case you missed them back then, the Powerpuff Girls is about three lab-grown superpowered kindergarten girls who fight crime while attending school.
Powerpuff Girls was one of the earliest progressive feminist shows (sort of) that featured female protagonists with actual powers. And despite their brutishness or penchant for violence, they were still good girly role models for girls who watch them.
Of course, who could forget that iconic and catchy intro and intro music which is still being used in memes today?
Cow and Chicken
It’s amazing what Cartoon Network came up with back in the 90s. Because in contrast to Powerpuff Girls’ sensible superhero premise, here’s a cow and a chicken who were born to a human couple. Dad didn’t care how his wife gave birth to barn animals, thankfully; otherwise, it would have been an intense Dr. Phil episode.
Such a form of absurdist comedy was meant for adults, but somehow, Cartoon Network placed it in a timeslot for kids.
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It’s not as profound or as progressively significant as the other shows here, but it needn’t be; Cow and Chicken knows what it is and what it should be– an absurdist black comedy that made people forget their anxieties before going to work or school.
Captain Planet and the Planeteers
Okay, on to something that’s actually progressive. Captain Planet and the Planeteers was, in hindsight, quite an achievement for humanity.
It’s a cartoon show about five teenagers that were given rings with the power to summon a superhero named Captain Planet. He fights environmental dangers and even monsters who manifested out of pollutants.
Additionally, some of Captain Planet’s enemies were businessmen who wanted to destroy nature for profit and their violent henchmen. That’s something that corporations would censor these days, depending on who funds that kind of entertainment.
More importantly, Captain Planet and the Planeteers taught children how to take care of the environment and be conscious about the Earth’s overall health.
Sailor Moon
Again, another achievement in the 90s, Sailor Moon initially began as a shoujo anime in Japan which, due to its premise and message, became a worldwide sensation.
It was one of the few cartoon shows to feature strong, independent, and confident female characters who fight evil. Granted, it’s not really a perfect or ideal flagbearer for feminism; but even then, it featured one of television’s first queer or lesbian characters, which, in the 90s, was astounding.
It thus paved the way for more magical girl titles and more strong female leads.
Dragon Ball Z
Like Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z took the world by storm, perhaps even more so. It was the One Piece of its generation– wildly popular, lengthy, and flashy. It was the quintessential shonen anime or action cartoon that both adults and kids could watch.
Everything in Dragon Ball Z revolves around either the titular Dragon Balls, which could grant a wish if collected, or Son Goku, the main protagonist. The series is mostly a power struggle epic where multiple factions keep vying for control of the Dragon Balls and that mythical wish– and then there’s Goku, who just wants to train and eat food (maybe be a bad parent from time to time).
This anime raised a generation of guys to think big and never give up on their goals, and also train their bodies to at least be healthy.
Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series might not be as iconic as the other titles on this list, but it has a special quality that other cartoon shows lacked. It did not talk down to its viewers; it didn’t dumb down its stories despite being a kids’ show, and that’s endearing.
Batman: The Animated Series didn’t hold back with the artistic value of its episodes and treated its fanbase like thinking human beings who can grasp loss, grief, or the darkness of the human psyche all while being a palatable morsel even for kids.
We needn’t explain the story here, but it’s about Batman during his tenure at Gotham (past the first year of his caped crusading).
And thanks to its thought-provoking episodic stories and expert handling of the source material, Batman: The Animated Series even won some Emmy Awards.
X-Men: The Animated Series
X-Men: The Animated Series was a milestone for the Marvel franchise since it finally branched out to cartoons, and rightfully so. It’s about Professor X’s hidden sanctuary and organization for mutants as they wage war against bigotry and human prejudice while also dealing with mutant enemies with different, more violent ideals.
It’s inherently political, and the fact that it managed to be a kids’ show while vocalizing its sentiments is impressive.
More importantly, the X-Men as a whole doesn’t just stand for an anti-hate or anti-prejudice lesson. It’s also an analogy for the LGBTQ+ population who, back in the 80s and 90s, were more heavily marginalized or stigmatized. X-Men’s mutants, for that matter, were a sensible representation of the LGBTQ+ and other marginalized sectors of society.
It subliminally taught kids that being peculiar or different from the norms is not a bad thing and probably something they could be proud of. That’s why shows like these were more important under the surface.
Hey Arnold!
Hey Arnold! can be best summed up as a taste of the Big Apple, aka New York City.
It’s a city famous for being a melting pot of cultures and races whose inhabitants have learned to develop their own identities in their new land of opportunity. Hey Arnold! highlighting that kind of positive social phenomenon in some of its episodes is more than commendable.
Of course, its most usual episodic stories revolve around Arnold and his school and social life while navigating the strangely familiar cultural amalgam of New York City and elementary school politics.
The Wild Thornberrys
Finally, we arrive at quite possibly the most progressive cartoon of the 90s, The Wild Thornberrys.
This is the show you watch as a kid if you want to be a citizen of the world and to broaden your perspective. It’s open to other cultures, environments, and identities; its pro-wildlife and environmentalist message transcends language barriers and geographic stereotypes. In turn, it had a permeating theme of acceptance, love, and openness.
Such a notion was explored by the most adventurous cartoon family, the Thornberrys, who travel across the world in a recreational vehicle to create cultural and wildlife documentaries and help locales. Eliza is the beating heart of this family as her idealistic and curious nature fuels the episodic adventures. Oh, and she can also talk to animals thanks to shaman juju. It helps a lot.
Regardless, this show is just amazing and was ahead of its time, like most of the other titles here. It probably even contributed to a big chunk of the millennial population’s dreams to move away from landlocked houses and uproot towards the RV mobile home life.
To quote Tim Curry’s Nigel character, The Wild Tornberrys is smashing.