The 1990s is the decade known for bright colors, grunge music, and Saturday morning cartoons. It's the subject of nostalgia on television, cinema, and even in fashion. It's got fondly remembered shows like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Ren & Stimpy, DuckTales, Batman: The Animated Series, and many more.

Of course, not all animation from the era is so well-remembered. Some were lost to time because they weren't very good in the eyes of most. Others were only relevant to a particular time and place, and some deserve more recognition and credit but somehow never seem to get mentioned. We have them all in this list of '90s cartoons.

Updated February 3, 2024 by Quinton O'Connor: It's been nearly a quarter-century since the 1990s ended, which means two things: one, if you grew up with these shows, sorry to say, but you - like us - are now old. And two, it's primetime for a 90s nostalgia renaissance, so... here we go!

Courage The Cowardly Dog

Courage The Cowardly Dog revolves around the ironically-named dog the show is named after, and the Scottish couple who took him in. Cue a slew of wacky antics involving everything from mad scientists and creeping zombies to aliens and monsters.

John R. Dilworth's Courage The Cowardly Dog has a prominent '90s vibe with that typical zaniness and charm. It had a decent run after expanding from its origins as a humble animated short, but was fairly short-lived relative to its lasting impact.

The Wild Thornberrys

The Wild Thornberrys stars a girl named Eliza Thornberry, who gains the power to speak with animals after rescuing a shaman taking the form of a warthog. Throughout this odyssey in the wilderness, Eliza and her family embark on various adventures in the wild and occasionally get into hi-jinks whilst filming a documentary.

The show was praised for its endearing, imaginative themes as well as its animal-friendly undertones. As well as its five seasons, there was also a Wild Thornberrys movie, as well as a movie crossover with Rugrats.

Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventures

Believe it or not, this bizarre animated follow-up to the cult-classic 80s film aired in 1990 and featured much of the cast from the film, including Keanu Reaves (at least for the first season). Running for two seasons from 1990 to 1991, this animated adventure continued the shenanigans you’d expect from Bill and Ted.

The series sees the troublesome, albeit excellent, pair using their time machine in order to solve the various problems they’ve gotten themselves into. This also means they come into contact with plenty of historical figures, though the show might be forgotten thanks to just how memorable the movie was throughout the series.

I Am Weasel

I Am Weasel charts the antics of the two animal frenemies fittingly named I.M. Weasel and I.R. Baboon. It began life as a segment in Cow and Chicken, another oft-forgotten show. It features ample back-and-forth banter as Baboon obsessively strives to outdo his more successful, wittier counterpart.

The show had its own wacky appeal, which helped it obtain decent ratings in the late 90s. This slapstick animation created by David Feiss is among the first of a string of "Cartoon Cartoons" - Cartoon Network's answer to Nicktoons.

Dexter's Laboratory

Dexter's Laboratory features an uptight boy genius by the name of Dexter, who speaks with a curiously unidentifiable accent. Much of the series has him facing off against his hyperactive sister Dee Dee, who has a knack for wreaking havoc in his lab and setting him back with his inventions.

The Cartoon Network classic Dexter's Laboratory actually went on hiatus in 1998 after 39 episodes spread over two seasons. It was revived in 2001 for two more seasons under a new creative team. It holds an appeal and comedic edge which remains innovative and culturally significant over two decades later.

The New Adventures Of He-Man

Thanks to how much the He-Man series could blend together back in the day, it’s easy for most people to have seen a few episodes of this 1990 series and have completely forgotten. It functioned similarly to the classic 80s cartoons and toys but with some updated designs and production decisions.

It was relatively short-lived on the air, and while people were seemingly still enjoying the series, it would serve as one of the last times people would see He-Man in a new cartoon format for quite some time.

The Pirates Of Dark Water

The Pirates Of Dark Water first aired as a five-part miniseries titled Dark Water, which was turned into a full series. The short-lived fantasy cartoon portrays an alien oceanic world being destroyed by an evil substance called Dark Water. Ren and his crew try to stop it by gathering the lost Thirteen Treasures of Rule and battle pirate lords along the way.

The Pirates of Dark Water has fleshed-out characters, a compelling story, and a creative setting. Unfortunately, it ended after the pirates had collected only eight treasures. Sadly, few seem to remember the show, though it spawned a video game and a toy line. A small dedicated fanbase still calls for a remake.

Swat Kats: The Radical Squadron

SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron features two anthropomorphic feline vigilante pilots who use their advanced fighter jet, the Turbokat, to defend Megakat City from villains and monsters while also clashing with the city's law enforcement.

SWAT Kats was the number one syndicated show of 1994, and its high ratings spawned a toy line and a video game. Unfortunately, it was canceled near the end of its second season with three unfinished episodes after the studio was said to be displeased by the level of violence.

Beetlejuice

Based on the 1988 movie, Beetlejuice was developed and produced by Tim Burton himself, but the animated series went in a different direction. Beetlejuice is an anti-hero instead of a villain, and he and Lydia Deetz are best friends who explore the morbid and wacky realm of the Neitherworld together, encountering colorful characters and getting up to misadventures.

Beetlejuice was given more screen time, and the world of animation let him use his powers without worrying about movie-level budgeting. However, the novelty wore off, and the show didn't gain the level of cult following the movie retains.

TaleSpin

Some people may recall seeing The Jungle Book’s Baloo as a pilot at some point in the early 90s, and you have TaleSpin to thank for that. The entire series sees Baloo and his work friends getting up to various misadventures one would expect from a series revolving around flying.

TaleSpin is one of those shows that you might have memories of going to rent on VHS from your local video rental store but completely forgot about until just now. It’s a strange series, but one that diehard Disney fans may want to go back and rediscover.

ReBoot

ReBoot was the first completely computer-animated half-hour TV series and features the adventures of Bob, Enzo, Dot Matrix, Phong, and the other citizens of Mainframe, the personal computer of an unnamed user, defending themselves from attacks by the viruses Megabyte and Hexadecimal.

Starting off as a lighthearted affair, it turned darker, gritty, and more mature in its third season when the comic relief character Enzo became "Matrix," the anti-hero protagonist of the story, and it started targeting older audiences. ReBoot left behind a profound legacy, and it's still a popular subject among cartoon aficionados today.

Road Rovers

Road Rovers is a short-lived series centered around the adventures of a team of five mutated anthropomorphic animal superheroes. These brave hounds are an American Goldador, a British Rough Collie, a Doberman from Germany, a Siberian Husky from Siberia, and a sheepdog from Switzerland.

Road Rovers attempted to put a new twist on an old formula by making the main characters use G.I. Joe-type gadgets and act as the pets of world leaders when not saving the world. However, Rovers failed to make any traction with audiences and was swiftly canceled.

The Adventures Of Tintin

Tintin has been a fairly recognizable character for a while, even for those who don’t know the character well, but you may have forgotten about the 1991 to 1992 series The Adventures Of Tintin.

The series does a great job of retelling classic Tintin adventures for what was, at the time, a modern audience. It’s this very thing that makes it memorable to some, but you might be one of the many people who only have fleeting images of the cartoon in your brain.

Bucky O'Hare And The Toad Wars

The French-American animated series Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars featured a unique premise that followed the titular character as a member of the Sentient Protoplasm Against Colonial Encroachment, or S.P.A.C.E., as he tries to defend his home planet Warren from invasion by the tyrannical Toad Empire.

Bucky O'Hare and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles first appeared as comic books in the same month in 1984 and Bucky O'Hare's adaptation borrows a few key elements from the TMNT universe. It would be wrong to dismiss the show as a shallow TMNT rip-off, but it never gained the traction of the turtles in a half-shell.

Mutant League

Few people know that the Sega Genesis games Mutant League Football and Mutant League Hockey had a cartoon series based on them, which involved protagonist Bones Justice's quest to learn the truth about his father by joining a professional mutant football team called the Midway Monsters.

While the first season was a mess, incorporating a wide variety of plotlines without much regard for continuity, the second season took a more serious tone. The wild, gory, and cheesy exploits of the pumped-up mutant athletes are nowadays only recalled by adult fans of the games or those who managed to catch a few episodes on TV.

The Real Adventures Of Jonny Quest

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest is a continuation of the 1964 series Jonny Quest and features teenage versions of Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji and revamped versions of the classic cast tackling real-world mysteries, legends, and paranormal events.

Real Adventures had all the making of success, but it ran into trouble when its original creator was dismissed after the first season, and the character designs were reworked to be closer to the original versions. It was also criticized as being too intense for kids, failing to gain traction with its target demographic, and its merchandise failing to sell.

Ronin Warriors

Ronin Warriors is an English dub of the anime Yoroiden Samurai Trooper and features five Ronin possessing mystical armor and weapons with elemental powers in the modern day. It was similar to a samurai version of the Power Rangers and showed up at a time when American interest in anime was on the rise.

It had appeal at the time due to the sheer action and enthusiasm it showed. Ronin Warriors ended its run in 2001, but by then, the combined power of Dragon Ball Z and Gundam Wing on Toonami prompted most American audiences to remember the Ronins rather less so than their contemporaries.

Back To The Future

You may or may not remember the Back To The Future animated series that ran from 1991 to 1992. The series featured all the notable characters you’d expect from the film trilogy but with more of a focus on Doc Brown and his family this time around.

As one might expect of a time-traveling show for kids, the series sees each episode’s conflict taking the main characters on adventures through time in order to set everything right. It’s one of those shows that makes you wonder whether it really happened, but it certainly did.

The Savage Dragon

The Savage Dragon tells the story of a mysterious dragon found in the city of Chicago with no memory of who he is or where he comes from. He then joins the police force, using his super strength to save the city.

This short-lived animated series is an adaptation of the Savage Dragon comics and features the voice talent of none other than Mark Hamill himself, as well as Jim Cummings, Star Trek alumni Michael Dorn and Rene Auberjonois, Frank Welker, and Tony Jay. Despite this, it lasted just two seasons.

Street Sharks

Street Sharks is a bizarre action comedy series about four brothers, Ripster, Jab, Streex, and Slammu, who mutate into massive, muscular, half-men half-sharks after being exposed to a machine called "the gene-slammer." They spend their time fighting a scientist named Dr. Paradigm and his monstrous creations.

It was created to promote the existing Mattel toy line of the same name. But hey, at least a young Vin Diesel was a hype man for it, so that's got to count for something.