The 20 Best Nickelodeon Cartoons
Before social media made it physically impossible for you to sit still and watch TV, you were just a kid sat across a TV, engrossed in your favorite Nickelodeon cartoons. The best days were the ones where your fake sickness actually worked to get you out of school, and you could spend your morning watching Nick Jr. But when that didn't work, you still couldn't wait to get home to catch Stick Stickly introducing the TV-Y7 animated series. Those were the moments that stuck with you, and they were the reason why to this day you still love discussing your favorites. Just like we do. Here are our picks for The 20 Best Nickelodeon Cartoons (that premiered before 2005, because let's be real, how can you call a relatively new show GOAT?).
CatDogOne cat. One dog. One body. Can you imagine the boardroom pitch for this show? There are so many questions that CatDog never answer. For example, how do they use the bathroom? How is it that despite their hatred for one another, they still consider each themselves to be best friends with one another? CatDog literally gets into some pretty compromising positions. Somewhere between biology class and Napoleon Dynamite's obsession with ligers, most of us learned that a cat/dog hybrid animal is actually totally impossible.
Of course, CatDog is filled with hijinks from the title characters, as they are egged on by others that cause them grief: Winslow, the mouse who lives in their home; the Greaser Dogs, the neighborhood bullies; and last but not least, Rancid Rabbit. His name alone is self-explanatory.
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy GeniusOriginally a film, Jimmy Neutron was a series for the smart kids in your neighborhood, but it only ran for three seasons. Characterized by his swirly-cone hairstyle, and catchphrase ("Brain Blast!"), Jimmy is an 11-year old suburban boy genius with a strong love for science experiments, who spends most of his time with his robotic dog, Goddard, and embarks on scientific quests with his best friends Carl and Sheen, just like most of your nerdy classmates. In addition to warding off his arch nemesis, Cindy, he also somehow manages to hide all of his adventures from his dazed and confused parents, who don’t seem to mind his wandering away so much.
KaBlam!KaBlam! is a collection of short films broken up into different styles of animation, narrated by Henry and June, who have small adventures of their own in between shorts. From naked action figures in a short titled "Action League Now!" to mute cavemen in "Prometheus and Bob," no one would blame you if KaBlam!'s been pushed to the back of your mind. It's certainly capable of inspiring the most scarring of nightmares.
Maggie and the Ferocious BeastA cute, inquisitive little girl named Maggie, lives in her own imaginary world known as “Nowhere Land." In reality, she takes the characters nowhere, but that’s what makes the show so special—she encourages creativity amongst all the little kids stuck inside with the babysitter at home. Not to mention, the Ferocious Beast actually functions more like a cuddle buddy, not necessarily a ferocity in itself. Like Maggie, he's a kind soul who is always down for an adventure and is characterized by his catchphrase, "Great Googly Moogly!"
Little BearMaurice Sendak illustrated Else Holmelund Minarik's Little Bear book series in the late 1950s and early 1960s before Nickelodeon produced five seasons of the show starting in 1995. Little Bear, along with his animal friends, Duck, Owl, Cat and Hen, as well as his one human friend, Emily, hang out near a pond and learn life's big lessons together. Simple, sweet, and perfect for kids pre-emo phase.
The Fairly OddparentsThe theme song says it all, Timmy Turner is “an average kid that no one understands.” Except, as the song goes on to say, he’s so much cooler than average, because he has two pet fish that also happen to be his fairy godparents, Cosmo and Wanda. Whether he's making wishes in Dimmsdale, a fictional California town, or Fairy World, Timmy always manages to wreak havoc.
The show is packed with life lessons about being happy with what you have, but most importantly it teaches you to never bury dead pets in your backyard, because your gerbil will rise from the dead and seek revenge. As of 2013, new episodes were still being produced, so Nick hasn’t totally gone to the dogs, or I suppose, the gerbils.
The World of David the GnomeLike many other Nicktoons, The World of David the Gnome is based off a book titled The Secret Book of Gnomes, by Dutch author Wil Huygen. Narrated by Christopher Plummer, the series is also known as David, el Gnomo, because it started off as a Spanish series, produced by BRB Internacional. The titular character, David, is voiced by Tom Bosley, of Happy Days fame.
At 399 years old, David's the oldest gnome alive. He's also a doctor with a keen eye and heart for helping everyone in his village. The show began airing in ’87, and had its final run on the American airwaves back in ’96, but made its way to Australian television in the mid 2000s. Just like David, this show will probably go on forever.
Invader ZimFor those who are a little more on the weird, violent side, Invader Zim is perfect. An extraterrestrial from the planet Irk whose only mission in life is to destroy Earth, Zim often fails to take over the world. With the help of GIR, his malfunctioning robot servant, Zim is fairly incompetent.
Invader Zim was made for older children and young teenagers, but Nick was forced to pull the show during the second season after it faced criticism from parents about the show's depiction of violence, and the fact that it was not bringing in enough ratings, considering how much it cost to create it. The series was left unfinished, leaving everyone to wonder if Zim ever destroyed Earth (but probably not since we’re all still here).
The Busy World of Richard ScarryThe Busy World of Richard Scarry is one of those shows that you're not quite sure if you actually watched when you were a kid, or if you just dreamed up an apple-car driving worm who wears a Tyrolean hat and lives in a world called "Busytown."
This cartoon with a European sensibility is actually the byproduct of many children's books, written and illustrated by Boston-bred author Richard Scarry. The books, which were popular in the 1950s and 60s, were turned into a French-Canadian animated series that premiered on Showtime in 1994, and ran for 65 episodes before entering syndication on Nickelodeon and other children's media networks.
Blue's CluesBlues Clues was amazing when Steve was Steve. Nick threw a wrench with the gender roles early, when it was revealed that Blue was a girl and Magenta was a boy. Steve and Blue went on countless adventures and drew up the schematics to their plans on that big red chair. Once Steve became Joe…life was never the same after that. Once Joe made his debut, Blues Clues wasn’t the same anymore. Too bad we never really understood the full story of what happened to Steve though…
The Wild ThornberrysWho didn't want Eliza Thornberry's secret gift to communicate with all of the animals she and her family interacted with on a daily basis? The Wild Thornberrys gave our childhoods a taste of adventure when our parents might not have let us have any at all. Eliza, her sister Debbie, adventure crazed parents, her loveable adopted feral brother Donnie and talking monkey Darwin were always traveling to the world’s most exotic locales. While The Wild Thornberrys left us in 2004, it produced three movies (two of which were theatrical releases) and was revived for one night in 2013 as a part of Nick's The '90s Are All That.
As Told by GingerAs it's one of the few cartoons that features characters who actually grow older and change over the course of its few seasons, every preteen girl could relate to Ginger Foutley, the titular character of As Told by Ginger. The character development on this cartoon is heralded by many fans and network executives. Who could forget the time when Ginger's best friend Darren finally got his headgear removed and became noticeably more popular, and suddenly the object of Ginger's affection?
While the show only had three seasons, it did air 60 episodes, leaving it to air over the course of about six years.
The Angry BeaversThe Angry Beavers have a right to be angry: brothers Daggett and Norbert are forced to move to the fictional town, Wayouttatown, Oregon, after the birth of their younger sisters has kicked them out of the dam. Way outta their hometown, manic Daggy and laid-back Norbert adjust to home away from home with their other woodland creature buddies.
While The Angry Beavers made its American debut back in 1997, it reached Canadian audiences in 2009, and aired on TeenNick's The '90s Are All That back in 2011. Fun fact: Ed Asner, Dick Clark and Craig Ferguson all voiced incidental characters on the series.
Rocket PowerEvery extreme kid's dream, Rocket Power focuses on Otto, Maurice, Sam, and Reggie as they surf, skate, and play extreme sports all day, every day. With the support of Ray “Raymundo” Rocket, Otto and Reggie’s cool surfer dad, and Uncle Tito, the loveable best friend to the family who helps run the legendary Shore Shack, the quartet live their lives on the edge on a daily business. What's more, it should be noted that Reggie is an empowered female character who's an extremely talented athlete and in charge of creating her own zine.
Aaahh!!! Real MonstersAaahh!!! Real Monsters was Monsters, Inc. before Monsters, Inc. was even a thought. The main characters consist of frightening creatures who live underneath a dump and attend a monster school in New York City, where the homework assignments include scaring humans. Classified in the "comedy horror" genre on Wikipedia, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters is definitely a show that younger kids probably shouldn't have been watching, but watched every episode of anyway.
RugratsA '90s staple, Rugrats ran on Nickeoldeon for 13 years. Who would've thought that a show about toddlers would've lasted that long, with its three films, a spinoff series, and two direct-to-video special?. Until 2012, right after SpongeBob Squarepants aired its 173rd episode, Rugrats was Nick's longest running Nicktoon.
SpongeBob SquarePantsWe all know the answer to the question, “Who lives in a Pineapple under the sea?” The now-iconic, yellow sea sponge made his debut to the world right after the 1999 Kids' Choice Awards. The creator, Stephen Hillenburg, was a marine biologist in California for over a decade before developing the idea for SpongeBob SquarePants, and created his master's thesis film about the theory of relativity at the California Institute of the Arts in 1993. Bonus fun fact: SpongeBob and his gang of anthropomorphic sea creatures live in Bikini Bottom, which is underneath the Bikini Atoll, a real tropical atoll in the Marshall Islands.
Hey Arnold!Arnold's the football-headed fourth grader we all know and love. Between fighting with Helga (who harbored a secret crush on him), hanging out with his best friend Gerald, and pining for Lila and Ruth, Arnold gave us life, and even though we’ll never know what happened to his parents, we’ll probably always have a good laugh thinking about the crazy life lessons he received from his Grandpa and Grandma.
While Hey Arnold! aired 100 episodes from 1996 to 2004, Arnold's humble beginnings started in the late 1980s, as part of three claymation shorts titled Arnold Escapes from Church, The Arnold Waltz and Arnold Rides a Chair.
Rocko's Modern LifeDon't lie to yourself, we know you read Rocko’s Modern Life in the same inflection as the voice behind its catchy theme song. Rocko is an Australian wallaby who somehow owns a pet dog (because apparently in O-Town, just as in many other cartoons, animals can own other pet animals) and works as a telephone operator. Rocko's Modern Life launched the career of the voice behind our favorite sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea, Tom Kenny, and, never a stranger to innuendo and double entendre, had some questionable episode titles for a children's series. Voicing Rocko was Carlos Alazraqui, also known as the voice of Denzel Crocker on The Fairly OddParents, the Taco Bell chihuaha in the old Taco Bell commercials, and for his live-action role as Deputy Garcia on Reno 911!
The Ren & Stimpy ShowRemember that time Ren attached a saw to his belt, placed a log on Stimpy's back and proceeded to saw back and forth, while Stimpy asks him if he's going to "finish the job?" It's okay, we watched Ren & Stimpy for years and also somehow never picked up on the fact that they were supposed to be a dog and a cat, which begs the question, what are these executives thinking when they pitch these shows to children's networks like Nickelodeon? You also probably might not have realized it at the time, but Frank Zappa, Rosie O'Donnell, and Tommy Davidson all voiced small characters on the show over the course of its five-season run.
DougIs it just us or did Doug seem like he was clinically depressed? He never stopped moping around with his best friend Skeeter and dog Porkchop, writing in his journal (which he was always quick to clarify was not a diary) about his extreme crush on Patti Mayonnaise, and arguing with his over-dramatic, beatnik sister, Judy, at the dinner table. To top it all off, he coped with his aversion to social settings and mistreatment by Roger, the school bully who looks not unlike Macklemore, by wearing his underwear over his pants, tying a belt to his head and calling himself "Quailman." We won't even get into why Doug was white when just about everybody else on the show was multicolored, or why Doug was moved from Nickelodeon to Disney in 1996 after two years of being on hiatus.
So why does it top the list? Because we were all screwed-up, repressed emo kids who looked to our cartoon counterpart for catharsis.
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