Top 20 TV Cartoons from the 90s: 1. Animaniacs

2. Batman: The Animated Series
Ran from: 1992-1995
Why it's awesome: Batman is already awesome, but this cartoon portrayal combined some of the best interpretations to produce a highly acclaimed vision of the Batman universe. The creators drew on Tim Burton's movies, Frank Miller's comic and imagined a dark, mature, visually engaging series that still stands up as a companion piece to Christopher Nolan's rebooted film franchise.

What else is there to say - simply an awesome cartoon. Once again I haven't seen too much of it (it screened during the afternoon whilst I was still coming home on the bus from school), however the episodes I have seen (including the animated film Mask of the Phantasm) have been fantastic. It gave life to not only the classic villains (Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, Riddler et al) but also showcased some of the lesser known villains as well (such as the Clock King) and even successfully reinvented Mr Freeze.

To top it all of, it introduced Harley Quinn, who became so popular that she was brought into the comics proper.

 

This is probably my favorite 90s cartoon. The animation is great and the characters were compelling. The show had great villains, like Champion said.

 

As I look at the not-insignificant portion of my comic book collection that is composed of Batman titles, I know I have this show to blame.

Awesome show, and it holds up spectacularly well even when you're 18 years older. Not to mention it's the reason Mark Hamill is generally cited as the definitive Joker.

 

Loved this show. I still watch it pretty regularly. Love how the opening sequence defines basic facts about Batman:

1) fights crime

2) SCARY. Look at his intro in the opening sequence: He just appears, jumping down from somewhere, and the two criminals react as if the Boogeyman just jumped in front of them. The second guy looks pretty terrified as Batman disables his partner, too.

 

Brilliant show.

 

I have to echo darthramza: To me, this show (along with its spinoff movies like Mask of the Phantasm) is THE definitive interpretation of Batman.

I keep hearing Mark Hamill's voice as the Joker whenever I read graphic novels like The Long Halloween. Who could have known Luke Skywalker would have made such an awesome Joker?

 

Pretty obvious what #1 is going to be now, but good as it was, I wouldn't put it over Batman: TAS. Whatever.

There's a few though (Pizza Cats and Captain Planet most notably) that have zero business being anywhere near the top twenty best shows (animated or otherwise) of any decade. I mean... for what it was, Pokemon was a decent enough show, but that over both the Superman and Spider-Man animated series (neither as good as Batman, but still...) and the first few seasons of South Park, just to name a few? No way, man. No way.

This seemed like an... okay list at first glance, but the more and more I think about it, it's pretty awful, IMO. I feel like I could come up with a much better top twenty only using shows that originated in the US, not even including shows like Evangelion and Cowboy Bebop. Hell, I may even do just that if I have the time.

 

In fairness to the author, the list was actually titled 'top 20 kids cartoons' (I simply left it out as I think some of the cartoons are just as applicable to adults). Going by that criteria cartoons such as South Park, Cowboy Bebop and Neon Genesis Evangelion would have no place on the list due to their mature themes, language and violence.

 

This is sort of default Batman. Kevin Conroy's voice is still what I hear when I read a Batman comic.

 

I grew up with Batman and the X-Men and to date nothing will top those two in my mind. I bought the Batman DVDs several years ago and spent days watching theme and reliving my childhood as well as taking away new perspectives on things I had missed when younger. This was also a show my parents loved to watch with me. Same with X-Men. Those were shows that really appealed to all ages.

X-Men has aged less gracefully but it did several things like quest said. The definitive theme song, the definitive Wolverine voice (No one compares to Cal Dodd "I go where I wanna go. Hey! Tinwoodsman! I'm sending you back to Oz...in pieces! , Tell Cyclops I made him a convertible") It also did a nice job at developing it's ensemble cast. EVERY character had their own few episodes. While Wolverine had the most, the others all had their own fair share. They also introduced sympathetic villians like Magneto "You're all fools! Heroic fools. The brave are always the first to die." Characters were made appealing to kids. Gambit and Wolverine were the rebels "Everyone can relax. Gambit has returned" , Storm and Rogue made a great team "Storm! Mistress of the elements commands you to release that child! Lighten up on the speeches Sugah" And while Jubilee could be annoying, she had her moments as well and the show did a nice job of showing her evolve.

Now Batman, is almost a different league from any other show. For starters. It had some of the best animation that still holds up rather well. It had a fantastic voice cast. But most important, it had excellent music for just about every character. Talk about definitive themes, look at the themes the late great Shirley Walker created as well as the themes other composers contributed. I have the two disk set of just some of the music they released but there is still so much more. Finally, the writing was always top notch. It managed to appeal to kids while still being interesting enough to keep adult attention and it's why I love popping in the DVDs every now and again. Mark Hamill and Arleen Sorkin still amuse me with the Joker and Harley Quinn's antics after watching the episodes numerous times. And of course, this show gave us three characters that have quickly inserted themselves seamlessly into the Batman mythology (Harley Quinn, Detective Rene Montoya, Detective Harvey Bullock).

 

Batman:TAS should be number one, in my eyes.

 

This isn't the best animated series of the 1990s. This is the best animated series of all time. That this isn't #1 is a massive failure on the part of whomever it was that created this list. To this day, I can put on any DVD in this series and enjoy it. Everything about this show was brilliant. Everything. The void work, the writing, the music, the animation, the plots, the ambiance, the storytelling, the deep respect it showed for the Batman mythology and the courage it showed in making changes that have only strengthened the character.

It is, without a doubt in my mind, the definitive take on the character of Batman. Even more so than the most recent movies, more so than Frank Miller's work, more so than Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams in the 1970s. The only Batman stories that come close are the Paul Dini Detective Comics stories in recent years, and given Dini's connection to Batman: TAS, it's not surprising. It's the definitive take on one of the greatest fictional characters in history, and the only thing that I can say remotely resembling a complaint is that there is no overarching plot or journey in the story, that it's a essentially a series of one-offs. Nothing that came out of 90s cartoons even comes close to this series.

 

I thought it was solid. The comics around that time were pretty good, so the TV version never struck me as the ne plus ultra of Batman.

 

I can't think what would be better than this. Totally great series.

 

I would have no problem with this being #1 on the list. But I also have no problem with it taking #2 to what I'm assuming MUST be #1.

I love Batman, but to be honest there were a number of episodes that were just too grown-up for me to "get" as a kid.

Revisiting a cartoon segment I loved as a child only to realize that the whole thing was a full-on Raging Bull parody, complete with a take on the "Did you **** my wife" scene? Now that's magic.

 

And finally, here it is - the Number 1 cartoon from the 90s ...



1. Animaniacs
Ran from: 1993-1998
Why it's awesome: An animated skit show from Steven Spielberg featuring just the right amount of hilarity and violence? Of course it's awesome. The array of bizarre characters, settings and humour? Still awesome. Birthplace of Pinky & The Brain? That's why this is number one.

Yakko sings 'Nations of the World'

That is all.

The Nostalgia Critic did one big tribute episode to the cartoon, which included interviews with some of the creative names behind the series:

Animaniacs Tribute - note that it's in 3 parts.

The Nostalgia Critic also has another (more amusing) video:

Top 11 Naughtiest Moments in Animaniacs

Heh, "fingerprints".



That's it for the list, thank you everyone for your participation. Feel free to now post how wrong it is and what should have been included.

 

There is only one show that could be placed above Batman on this list.

Animaniacs is that show. I mean, damn. It's hard to adequately sum up the awesome.

Not to mention their incredibly helpful songs of gigantic lists (Wakko Warner single-handedly got me a 100 on a state capitals test), parts of which will never leave you.

 

I love Animaniacs. I think that it's hilarious, and you're right...who can forget the States song or the President songs? Fantastic cartoon, but I don't know if it's better than Batman. I'd probably swap these two in order, but I really won't complain too much. Either one is deserving.

 

Which one? I can't remember.

 

I still say Batman beats it out. But there is no denying that Animaniacs deserves one of the top slots. It did a brilliant job of mixing in humor with bits of education. My father still remembers it for Yakko's state capital song.

 

Choosing Animaniacs over Batman is like choosing Cats over Les Mis. Not to say Cats is bad; is it what it is, and I'll happily call Animaniacs the second best cartoon of the 90s. When it was on, it was brilliant. But at the end of the day, it's a one note show, great for humor most of the time (and some incidental education), whereas Batman was so much more. It was dark, it was scary, it was tragic, it was heartwarming, it was inspiring, it was horrific, and it was funny (on a related note, for me, the funniest moment in any cartoon I've ever seen involved a Batman episode, where "Killer Croc" tells a story about how he almost got Batman with a rock. A BIG rock).

 

Its annoys me alittle when we hear his voice in other version of batman animated movies and the Arkham assylum game. It would be nice if we could get other voices to make the versions of the of the upcoming animated movies more different. Still they are awsome.

I did read wikipeadia about Batman and bruce timms did mention according to the site he might want to return to the Batman animated series in his style again from the early 90s.

Plus Mark hamill did say he was going to retire as the Joker but now he is back.

 

Arkham Asylum was excellent partly because of the additions of Conroy, Hamill and Arleen Sorkin. Those three were instantly recognizable voices and while they weren't like their Animated counterparts, they did a very nice job in their roles and did not feel out of place.

Gotham Knight on the other hand, Kevin Conroy was definitely out of place.

Also, Mark Hamill, Kevin Conroy and Arleen Sorkin are doing DC Universe Online and again their talent helps improve the atmosphere and make the game really feel like a part of the DC world.

No one has done Harley Quinn justice in the animated series that have followed. Same with Mr.J in animated tv. On the Direct to DVD however, Batman Under the Red Hood had an excellent voice cast with Bruce Greenwood doing an excellent job as Batman and John Di Maggio delivering a very creepy take on the Joker.

It's also interesting to note that Batman is perhaps the only animated series I can think of to return years later with the same setting and cast. There was no reboot. It was a continuation just with enhanced animation. It also went and delivered some great episodes such as Mad Love and Joker's Millions.