The Top 20 Cartoon Series of All Time

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The Top 20 Cartoon Series of All Time

Post by Worm Mad » Wed Mar 02, 2005 2:11 am

Well, disgusted by Channel 4's recent Top 100 Cartoon Show list, me and S2k decided to make our own top 20. Bear in mind that this list only contains shows that have been on TV, had a series (rather than a one-off show) and is a cartoon in the conventional sense. Anyway, here are entries 20-16 with an explanation of why they're good shows and why they're positioned as they are. I'm sure Ben will add his own comments to these, and then we can proceed to the next five. Why pace the list out like this? Simple... it's more DRAMATIC!!! Anyway, let's start...

20. Tintin: Based on the brilliant Tintin comics by Herge, this show sadly fails to live upto the original books'. A lot of key parts are cut from the stories and the voice-acting could be a lot better. Having said that, the title-music is superb and the animation remains true to the style of the book.

19. Bucky O' Hare: Personally, I would have had this little fellow higher but as it was a colaberative effort, we eventually decided to put the hare in the 19th spot. The show has a great soundtrack, good visuals and is pretty funny. I can't remember it that well as it's a long time since I saw it, but seriously - a green space hare, that's enough to put him in the top 20.

18. Ghostbusters: I actually don't really like this show... at all. The visuals are sub-par, the music isn't nearly as good as in the films and the show is generally a bad attempt at turning the film into a TV series, which doesn't work. Still, it's a popular show and "I aint afraid of no ghost" is funny, however many times you hear it.

17. Sam & Max: This cartoon show, based upon the characters first seen in Steve Purcell's comic strips and Lucasarts' excellent adventure game fails to reach the high standards of its predecesors. The voices aren't quite as good and the humour isn't nearly as funny as in the game. Nevertheless, the art style is pretty reasonable and despite not being up to the high comedy standards of Lucasarts' classic, it is funny.

16. Card Captors: A controversial one this, so I'd better explain myself. There's very little manga on terrestrial TV and so before I got digital, I jumped at any chance to see some. Well, one of the few series shown was this one - which I initially had a very low opinion of (the main character seemed obnoxious and the dialogue sub-par). However, the series goes from strength to strength as you watch it, especially towards the end of the first series and into the second where it becomes much more intelligently written and darker in tone. Also, though the main character can grate a little, many of the other characters are more well rounded. Seriously, it's one of those shows that are easy to judge harshly at first but you really need to watch for a while to understand and get into.

More coming soon!
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Post by Pooka » Wed Mar 02, 2005 4:32 am

I'd just like to say, I was pleased that Spirited away got into the top 10, disgusted by Pokémon's low rating of 45, and felt fobbed-off by The Simpsons at number 1, when Family Guy and Futurama are miles better.

AND WHERE'S EARTHWORM JIM?!

Okay, carry on.
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Re: The Top 20 Cartoon Series of All Time

Post by SupSuper » Wed Mar 02, 2005 3:39 pm

Worm Mad wrote:20. Tintin: Based on the brilliant Tintin comics by Herge, this show sadly fails to live upto the original books'. A lot of key parts are cut from the stories and the voice-acting could be a lot better. Having said that, the title-music is superb and the animation remains true to the style of the book.

19. Bucky O' Hare: Personally, I would have had this little fellow higher but as it was a colaberative effort, we eventually decided to put the hare in the 19th spot. The show has a great soundtrack, good visuals and is pretty funny. I can't remember it that well as it's a long time since I saw it, but seriously - a green space hare, that's enough to put him in the top 20.

18. Ghostbusters: I actually don't really like this show... at all. The visuals are sub-par, the music isn't nearly as good as in the films and the show is generally a bad attempt at turning the film into a TV series, which doesn't work. Still, it's a popular show and "I aint afraid of no ghost" is funny, however many times you hear it.

17. Sam & Max: This cartoon show, based upon the characters first seen in Steve Purcell's comic strips and Lucasarts' excellent adventure game fails to reach the high standards of its predecesors. The voices aren't quite as good and the humour isn't nearly as funny as in the game. Nevertheless, the art style is pretty reasonable and despite not being up to the high comedy standards of Lucasarts' classic, it is funny.

16. Card Captors: A controversial one this, so I'd better explain myself. There's very little manga on terrestrial TV and so before I got digital, I jumped at any chance to see some. Well, one of the few series shown was this one - which I initially had a very low opinion of (the main character seemed obnoxious and the dialogue sub-par). However, the series goes from strength to strength as you watch it, especially towards the end of the first series and into the second where it becomes much more intelligently written and darker in tone. Also, though the main character can grate a little, many of the other characters are more well rounded. Seriously, it's one of those shows that are easy to judge harshly at first but you really need to watch for a while to understand and get into.

More coming soon!
20: True, not as good as the books, but still pretty good. Though I guess they had to cut some parts to get them to fit in those small episodes.
Oh and it wasn't dubbed (OMG!).

19: Never watched it as it was never shown around here.

18: It wasn't on the air for too long and it didn't seem very good.

17: Probably one of the few cartoons worth of watching around here. Unfortunately, like 90% of cartoons playing in national channels, it got dubbed to portuguese, which makes every cartoon so terribly worse due to bad translation, loss of many inside jokes and usually lame voice actors. Thank god for cable channels :)

16: Personally, I don't like it. I hate most manga shows that are shown or national channels because they are usually lame/childish/girly, and I find Card Captors no exception. It might be just the dubbing that makes it seem so, but no matter how much people seem to like it and how much I watch it, I just can't stand it! :x
Last edited by SupSuper on Sat Mar 05, 2005 7:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Alex » Wed Mar 02, 2005 6:52 pm

Ooh! Oooh! Time to be pedantic!

Card Captors on TV is anime, not manga. Manga is the "comic-book" form. Anime is the TV name.

(Of course, I'm assuming that you're not reading a manga on TV. If you are then my being pedantic was silly, but reading manga on a TV is even sillier, so eh ;)).


Okay, carry on. ;)

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Post by FW » Wed Mar 02, 2005 8:06 pm

I'm hoping Earthworm Jim, Flintstones, and The Jetsons make the list.

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Post by M3ntal » Wed Mar 02, 2005 8:11 pm

Alex wrote:Ooh! Oooh! Time to be pedantic!

Card Captors on TV is anime, not manga. Manga is the "comic-book" form. Anime is the TV name.

(Of course, I'm assuming that you're not reading a manga on TV. If you are then my being pedantic was silly, but reading manga on a TV is even sillier, so eh ;)).


Okay, carry on. ;)
Manga is the name of a company who publish comics, books, and films. For instance, Princess Mononoke, believe it or not, is Manga.
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Post by Alex » Wed Mar 02, 2005 8:16 pm

M3ntal wrote:
Alex wrote:Ooh! Oooh! Time to be pedantic!

Card Captors on TV is anime, not manga. Manga is the "comic-book" form. Anime is the TV name.

(Of course, I'm assuming that you're not reading a manga on TV. If you are then my being pedantic was silly, but reading manga on a TV is even sillier, so eh ;)).


Okay, carry on. ;)
Manga is the name of a company who publish comics, books, and films. For instance, Princess Mononoke, believe it or not, is Manga.
I beg to differ.

http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/video/mh/


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Post by Super Frog » Wed Mar 02, 2005 9:21 pm

SuperFrog: The Animated Series had better be Number One



Oh, right, they never made that, did they? :(
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Post by Pooka » Wed Mar 02, 2005 9:35 pm

I started it once.
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Post by Worm Mad » Wed Mar 02, 2005 10:23 pm

Anyway, here are the next five...

15. Looney Tunes - Who can forget all those classic characters? Foghorn Leghorn, Daffy Duck, Michael McHaggis. Well, okay, I made the last one up. Still, LT has given us a number of classic characters over the years and deserves to be commended for that.

14. Earthworm Jim - The game was great! .... er, I haven't actually seen the series. Ben suggested this one.

13. Around the World with Willy Fog - With a classic soundtrack, good humour and a storyline taken from a great book, this couldn't fail to be one of the top 20 cartoon series of all time. Small problems with this series are some significant deviations from the original text, including the creation of a couple of characters and the occasional episode that doesn't live upto the usual standards. Nevertheless, a great show.

12. Powerpuff Girls - Basically, this show deserves to be here because of two words... Mojo Jojo. The arch-nemesis of the Powerpuff Girls is a hilariously scripted megalomanical monkey and one of cartoon's greatest characters. Some of the other bad-guys aren't that great, but the episodes are usually funny and well written. A good example of Hanna Barbera's new wave of classics.

11. Pinky and the Brain - Breaking away from the Animaniacs, this great comedy pair attempt to take over the world again and again without result. Clever, funny and basically just great.
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Post by MtlAngelus » Thu Mar 03, 2005 12:06 am

I would suggest to stick Inuyasha, Thundercats, SilverHawks and Mazzinger Z in there, but I guess I'm suggesting a bit too much :p
Oh and South Park
And Invader Zim
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Post by Alex » Thu Mar 03, 2005 12:07 am

Shaolin_Demon wrote:And Invader Zim
I agree with that one.

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Post by M3ntal » Thu Mar 03, 2005 12:17 am

Alex wrote:I beg to differ.

http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/video/mh/


p.s. "Windows" is not "Microsoft". It's developed by Microsoft, but it's not Microsoft. "The Simpsons" is not "Fox". etc.
Well my mate has the DVD, and it has the Manga logo on it. Regardless of Mononoke, my point was that Manga is a company that releases films, not just a type of comic book. Remember Akira?

http://www.manga.com/about.html
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Post by SupSuper » Thu Mar 03, 2005 1:56 am

Worm Mad wrote:Anyway, here are the next five...

15. Looney Tunes - Who can forget all those classic characters? Foghorn Leghorn, Daffy Duck, Michael McHaggis. Well, okay, I made the last one up. Still, LT has given us a number of classic characters over the years and deserves to be commended for that.

14. Earthworm Jim - The game was great! .... er, I haven't actually seen the series. Ben suggested this one.

13. Around the World with Willy Fog - With a classic soundtrack, good humour and a storyline taken from a great book, this couldn't fail to be one of the top 20 cartoon series of all time. Small problems with this series are some significant deviations from the original text, including the creation of a couple of characters and the occasional episode that doesn't live upto the usual standards. Nevertheless, a great show.

12. Powerpuff Girls - Basically, this show deserves to be here because of two words... Mojo Jojo. The arch-nemesis of the Powerpuff Girls is a hilariously scripted megalomanical monkey and one of cartoon's greatest characters. Some of the other bad-guys aren't that great, but the episodes are usually funny and well written. A good example of Hanna Barbera's new wave of classics.

11. Pinky and the Brain - Breaking away from the Animaniacs, this great comedy pair attempt to take over the world again and again without result. Clever, funny and basically just great.
15. Good old classics. No matter how many times I watch them they're always good for a couple of laughs. My favorite characters are Wile E. Coyote/Roadrunner and Daffy Duck.
Too bad this is happening.

14. Same here :P

12. It's by Hanna Barbera? I didn't know.
Yes, Mojo Jojo is great, but the latest new episodes seem to be getting lame. On Cartoon Network at least.

11. Agreed :)
Last edited by SupSuper on Sat Mar 05, 2005 7:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by FW » Thu Mar 03, 2005 3:32 am

I grew up watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(the old cartoon) and Freakazoid

Hopefully these two will be added to the list ;)

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Post by Cyclaws » Thu Mar 03, 2005 10:35 am

Anyone ever see "Wacky Races"? I loved that.
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Post by Braininator » Thu Mar 03, 2005 11:35 am

Looney Tunes is hard to place in a list, it's so vast. I wish they would start putting out some decent DVD's, particualry of individual characters.

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Post by Alex » Thu Mar 03, 2005 4:23 pm

M3ntal wrote:
Alex wrote:I beg to differ.

http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/video/mh/


p.s. "Windows" is not "Microsoft". It's developed by Microsoft, but it's not Microsoft. "The Simpsons" is not "Fox". etc.
Well my mate has the DVD, and it has the Manga logo on it. Regardless of Mononoke, my point was that Manga is a company that releases films, not just a type of comic book. Remember Akira?

http://www.manga.com/about.html

There is a company that releases films, yes. But he said "There's very little manga on terrestrial TV" - Obviously he didn't mean the company, you don't say "There's very little Fox on terrestrial TV" or whatever. I took what he said in context. :P
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Post by Worm Mad » Thu Mar 03, 2005 9:26 pm

Okay, enough about the whole manga/anime thing. I did know the difference, I just forgot about it when I was writing that message, that's all. And now, onto the next five...

10. Dexter's Lab - I have to say that I wasn't a big fan of this originally but since then it's grown on me and I've seen some remarkably funny episodes. Another example of Noveau Hanna Barbera and a mighty fine example at that. Just shows that they're still the masters at making great cartoons. [NOTE: Apparently recent DL episodes aren't very good - well, according to Ben, anyway. I haven't seen any recently so can't judge]

9. Wacky Races - The greatest Hana Barbera cartoon ever is a golden oldie and all the better for it. The genius in the show is that it's like a real race, where anyone can win (except central protagonists and villains - Dastardly and Muttly) and yet you have all the classic Hanna Barbera magic. With humourous characters, diabolical tricks and nail-biting twists, Wacky Races is without doubt one of the finest cartoons ever made. Also, I've got the game for PC, which while not quite living upto the series standards, is still a good fun game.

8. Inspector Gadget - I'm not quite sure what it is about IG that propelled it so high up the charts (it was originally going to be quite a bit lower) but it's got a classic and original charm that can't be ignored. Blending different cartoon styles in the more western appearance of Gadget and the Commisioner while having a more Japanese anime look to the girl (Penny) and the dog (Brain) gives the show a distinct visual style while the humour and plotlines are consistant throughout. The real genius of the show was that IG wasn't really the hero, he just thought he was. The real people saving the day were Penny and Brain while the bumbling Gadget got the glory. While future iterations such as the horrendous Gadget Boy (probably the worst cartoon of all time) and the poorly realised films would all but kill Gadget's credibility, the original remains a master of its genre.

7. X-Men : Okay, I'm going to be honest, here. X-Men was never really my favourite super-hero cartoon (that belongs to the next entry) and I much prefered the films to the original cartoon. Nevertheless, the music is absolutely brilliant, many of the characters are instantly memorable and the plots are first rate (well...most of the time). Looking back on this, I think I'd probably enjoy it more now than I did when I was younger. It's certainly a worthy top 10 entry.

6. Spider-Man : Okay, I recently saw an episode of the original Spider-Man cartoon and I have to stress that I don't mean that series(which was cringingly bad). I mean the good series which was on when I was younger. Anyway, the art is fabulous, the plots are great (and run on over numerous episodes) and the show is generally great for anyone who likes Super Heroes. What really sets it apart from the rest though, in my mind, is the awesome enemies that were set up against the web-slinger. Green Goblin ("I am the only goblin, the GREEN goblin!"), Doc Ock, Carnage, Venom, Doctor Doom and many more. Each had a reason for being evil and each was a worthy foe. Although the films are good (the second one's great), they still can't do justice to this tour-de-force of a show.
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Post by SupSuper » Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:06 pm

Worm Mad wrote:Okay, enough about the whole manga/anime thing. I did know the difference, I just forgot about it when I was writing that message, that's all. And now, onto the next five...

10. Dexter's Lab - I have to say that I wasn't a big fan of this originally but since then it's grown on me and I've seen some remarkably funny episodes. Another example of Noveau Hanna Barbera and a mighty fine example at that. Just shows that they're still the masters at making great cartoons. [NOTE: Apparently recent DL episodes aren't very good - well, according to Ben, anyway. I haven't seen any recently so can't judge]

9. Wacky Races - The greatest Hana Barbera cartoon ever is a golden oldie and all the better for it. The genius in the show is that it's like a real race, where anyone can win (except central protagonists and villains - Dastardly and Muttly) and yet you have all the classic Hanna Barbera magic. With humourous characters, diabolical tricks and nail-biting twists, Wacky Races is without doubt one of the finest cartoons ever made. Also, I've got the game for PC, which while not quite living upto the series standards, is still a good fun game.

8. Inspector Gadget - I'm not quite sure what it is about IG that propelled it so high up the charts (it was originally going to be quite a bit lower) but it's got a classic and original charm that can't be ignored. Blending different cartoon styles in the more western appearance of Gadget and the Commisioner while having a more Japanese anime look to the girl (Penny) and the dog (Brain) gives the show a distinct visual style while the humour and plotlines are consistant throughout. The real genius of the show was that IG wasn't really the hero, he just thought he was. The real people saving the day were Penny and Brain while the bumbling Gadget got the glory. While future iterations such as the horrendous Gadget Boy (probably the worst cartoon of all time) and the poorly realised films would all but kill Gadget's credibility, the original remains a master of its genre.

7. X-Men : Okay, I'm going to be honest, here. X-Men was never really my favourite super-hero cartoon (that belongs to the next entry) and I much prefered the films to the original cartoon. Nevertheless, the music is absolutely brilliant, many of the characters are instantly memorable and the plots are first rate (well...most of the time). Looking back on this, I think I'd probably enjoy it more now than I did when I was younger. It's certainly a worthy top 10 entry.

6. Spider-Man : Okay, I recently saw an episode of the original Spider-Man cartoon and I have to stress that I don't mean that series(which was cringingly bad). I mean the good series which was on when I was younger. Anyway, the art is fabulous, the plots are great (and run on over numerous episodes) and the show is generally great for anyone who likes Super Heroes. What really sets it apart from the rest though, in my mind, is the awesome enemies that were set up against the web-slinger. Green Goblin ("I am the only goblin, the GREEN goblin!"), Doc Ock, Carnage, Venom, Doctor Doom and many more. Each had a reason for being evil and each was a worthy foe. Although the films are good (the second one's great), they still can't do justice to this tour-de-force of a show.
10. I agree with both you and Ben. I personally find really funny the concept of his secret lab only being secret to his parents :lol:

9. Yes it's good, but it's got few episodes so I can't enjoy it without it becoming repetitive. Then again I've watched pretty much every episode of most cartoons on CN :P

8. I used to view that and it was really good, but now we get Gadget & The Gadgetinis (ugh), in which they replaced the dog with two smaller Gadgets, added a bunch of new characters (mainly for comical value) and Gadget is dumber and more stupid than ever. And it's dubbed to portuguese so it's gotta suck ;)
Last edited by SupSuper on Sat Mar 05, 2005 7:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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