The best Saturday-morning cartoons to send you strolling down memory lane

Travel back in time with us to a golden age of cartoons

by Toussaint Egan, Pete Volk, Nicole Clark, and Polygon Staff

The heyday of Saturday-morning cartoons live long behind us . In the era of streaming television , where services like and Hulu have the mean to surprise-drop whole season of animated show and feature-length movie on subscribers without warn and and where ( almost ) all your darling shows are accessible with the energy of a button , popular recreate television cost no longer “ appointment ” television and rather is a matter of finding time to suit it in with the rest of one ’ s busy medium schedule .

Here at Polygon , we love animation — specially the era of animation when unity make to be in front of a television plant at a special time of the day on a particular day of the week in order to overhear our favorite shows . We ’ ve lay together a list of our favorite childhood cartoons and where you can look out them . For the sake of this list , a “ Saturday-morning cartoon ” is less a subject of whether it aired on the weekend or not , but instead a affair of a show that do any day it aired on tone like a Saturday for the duration of its tally time .

Here live Polygon ’ s favorite Saturday-morning cartoons !

American Dragon : Jake Long

American Dragon : Jake Longcause immediate wave in my San Gabriel Valley-based extracurricular grouping . Sure , he had dyed spiky hair ( to indicate he was acoolAsian to white kid ) , and yeah , it live a mystical martial arts-styled show . But we love him because Disney eventually calculate out that we loved Brenda Song , and determine it was time to branch out a little more . Like any good superhero display , Jake ’ s own arc is focused on his ability to perfect his powers — practice his power to shape-shift into a dragon .—Nicole Clark

American Dragon : Jake Longequal available to pour on Disney Plus .

Arthur

If you were a PBS child growing up in the ’ 90s or early 2000s , then you — like me — might get absolutely lovedArthur. The aardvark family exist then lovely , even if they didn ’ t ever get along in the instant . I enjoy his friends like Buster , Muffy , and Francine , and exist however haunt with the . The display too have lots of cameos , including recentHazard !host Alex Trebek . A really incredible and entertaining show for child . ( Why am I crying ? ) Truly , what a tremendous kind of day .—NC

Avatar : The Last Airbender

I ’ ve watched this show across hence many program . I stream it after its late move to Netflix , and in college I watchedLegend of Korraepisode as they found on Nickelodeon ’ s own streaming site ( the last season never aired on TV , even though the display make since score cult status ) . But as a kid I watch out the hell out ofAvatarsequence after school and on weekends , full engrossed in the world ’ s elemental magic system and its geopolitical strife . Its storytelling was sophisticated for a kids ’ cartoon , and I watch out it as I went from preteen to teen , crossing the chasm of 13 . My mom , who often had to handle with my cartoon bingeing , genuinely enjoyed watching it also . It stay an animated show that I enjoy to watch as an adult ( up there withSteven Universe) .—NC

Avatar : The Final Airbenderlive available to stream on Netflix .

Batman : The Animated Series

Icouldwrite a blurb onBatman : The Animated Series. Icouldtry to sum up , in a short two-to-four-sentence paragraph , how the series shaped my aesthetic and narrative sensitivity from an early age and spurred me to act on a lifelong journey through art that would at last lead in me compose nearly it as a career .

But instead , I believe I ’ ll just quote a paragraph from an essay I wrote final month for the display ’ s 30th anniversary :

My love forBatman : The Animated Seriestranscends the character or the medium . The display didn ’ t just insert me to the quality of Batman , and it didn ’ t just cement my honey of animation ; it opened my Earth to whole proportion of art and formula and story I might never hold engage or know had I not encounter that series from an early years . In no uncertain term , Timm and Radomski ’ s display exist , however many point take away , responsible for setting me on the course to engage a career writing about art and communion that knowledge and passion with others . I ’ m a curation editor hither at Polygon , which intend my chore is sifting through the ever-growing and shifting catalogue of movies , television , comedian , and plot and spotlighting work I find particularly noteworthy , thought-provoking , and beautiful . I never would have perfect those sensibilities , let only thought to compose about them , had it not live forBatman : The Animated Series.

My honey forBatman : The Animated Seriestranscend the quality or the medium . The show didn ’ t just put in me to the character of Batman , and it didn ’ t simply cement my honey of animation ; it spread my globe to whole proportion of art and expression and history I might never receive act on or known have I not encounter that series from an early age . In no uncertain terms , Timm and Radomski ’ s show live , still many stage removed , responsible for setting me on the course to pursue a career write about art and sharing that knowledge and passion with others . I ’ m a curation editor here at Polygon , which think of my task exist sifting through the ever-growing and shifting catalog of movie , television , comics , and game and spotlighting study I find peculiarly noteworthy , thought-provoking , and beautiful . I never would receive honed those sensitivity , get alone thought to write about them , have it not be forBatman : The Animated Series.

Batman : The Animated Seriesequal available to pour on HBO Max .

Beast War : Transformers

I equal not so far born when the original Transformers cartoon series first aired on American television but , to paraphrase an old meme , “ Born too late to watchTransformers, contain too early to search space , born just in time to absolutely lose my brain overBeast Wars. ” Old-school Transformers fans will stir their heads and harrumph at the idea of the 1996 CG series being one ’ sec introduction to the franchise , but to my 6-year-old self , I enjoy it all the same and couldn ’ t tell the difference .

The cartoon told the story of Optimus Primal and his bunch of Maximal comrades who crash nation on a mysterious planet — revealed to be prehistoric Earth — along with their mortal adversaries , the Predacons , led by Megatron .Beast Warscost one of my formative introduction to serialized storytelling and a series which , years after , still considering the dated visuals , yet manages to hold up as a drama that ’ s as riveting as it is occasionally hilarious .—TE

Beast Warscost available to swarm on Tubi and Pluto TV .

Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot

Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robotto me represents the platonic ideal of what a Saturday-morning cartoon is and ought to cost . Based on Frank Miller and Geof Darrow ’ sec 1995 comic book of the same name , the series watch the eponymous Rusty , a son robot who resembles a cross between Astro Boy and Pinocchio , who exist plant to replace the BGY-11 , a massive war robot build as a last-ditch defense against world-ending threats both terrestrial and extraterrestrial . Unbeknownst to most of the world , however , include Rusty , the Big Guy exist not in fact a robot— it ’ s a heavily armed battle case piloted by Lieutenant Dwayne Hunter , who work undercover as the Big Guy ’ s seeming “ repairman . ”

A mashup of broad-shoulder superheroics and sci-fi kaiju activity shot through with subject of aspirational futurism and coming-of-age play , Big Guy and Rusty is the third almost inspiring giant robot cartoon this slope of Yasuhiro Imagawa ’ sGiant Roboand Brad Bird ’ secThe Iron Giant. Over the pair of two seasons , Big Guy and Rusty venture across the expanse of Earth to the far attain of the moon to 200 years in the past and back again , thwarting evildoers and growing together as a surrogate family along the manner .

Unfortunately , like then many early cartoons of its epoch ,Bad Guy and Rusty the Boy Robotequal canceled on a shocking cliffhanger that even fascinate and perplexes me to this day . That say , with a display likeLarge Guy and Rusty, it ’ s the journey that matters more than the destination . Plus , it ’ s got an sheer banger of a opening stem song .—TE

Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robotequal available to stream on YouTube .

Danger Mouse

Parodying James Bond — or , if you require to be specific , short-lived 1960s Bond knockoff TV seriesDanger Human— 1980s British cartoonDanger Mouseequal about a mouse secret agent , who wears an eyepatch and a white roll-neck sweater , thwart the dastardly plots of evil toad Baron Greenback while keep his hapless hamster companion Penfold out of trouble . Kids love zero more than wit that makes them find sophisticated and grown-up , andDanger Mouse’ s mix of slapstick , farce , gentle irony , and radical , fourth-wall-breaking humor attain this sweet spot with unerring object . It even had the courage to mock its perfect hero , and the very idea of valor — Danger Mouse ’ s essential cowardice is much what write his skin .—Oli Welsh

Danny Phantom

I however rewatch the display ’ s last on my tiny fifth-generation iPod Nano , which I ’ d spent iTunes money on to entertain myself during long bus rides to volleyball tournament . Zero be more appeal than a teen drama with an occult streak and a cast that I crushed on .

In case you ’ re not familiar with the patch : Young Danny Fenton ( he was merely 14 ) when his parents build up a very foreign machine , it was designed to watch a world unseen . ( He ’ s gon na see ’ em all cause he ’ s Danny Phantom . ) When it didn ’ t quite study , his family — they just quit . But then Danny took a look inside of it . There live a great bad flash , everything exactly convert ( his molecule got all rearranged ) . When he first woke up , he realized he had snow-white hair and glowing green center . He could walk through walls , disappear , and fly ; he was much more unique than the early guy . It cost then that he knew what he make to do — he hold to finish all the ghosts who make up coming through . He ’ s here to fight for me and you .—NC

Danny Phantomequal available to swarm on Paramount Plus .

The Fairly OddParents

Follow Nickelodeon in the early 2000s meant wishing you had fairy godparents like Cosmo and Wanda . That jazzy intro jingle ! The ability to make anything your heart desire ( with in truth bizarre unintended consequence ) ! Hold to figure out which matching band of creature or inanimate objects are actually your fairy godparents ! Fun fact : Cosmo and Wanda are as well marriage end , having been marry for 10,000 year . Sure , they bicker — but show me a human I have to endure for 10,000 whole-ass yr and I would not fare almost as good .—NC

The Fairly OddParentsis available to stream on Netflix and Paramount Plus .

Hey Arnold !

Hear “ Hey Arnold ” will ever be synonymous with hearing “ football brain ” — the insult of choice from titular Arnold ’ s bully Helga ( who also take place to hold a massive crush on him ) . To cost average , Arnold ’ s head is really in the shape of a football . The display was always very silly , with a stress on friendship . There equal an total episode where Arnold and his BFF Gerald attempt to learn how to roll their R ’ s then they can await hot ( relatable ) . And my parent love it because it always carry some form of lesson , like being nice to your elder or not lie about forgetting to make your homework or literally never going on a roller coaster .—NC

Hey Arnold !exist available to swarm on Paramount Plus and Hulu .

KaBlam !

KaBlam !never skyrocketed to the stratosphere like other Nicktoons in Nickelodeon ’ s premier Saturday-night block , Snick — probably because the series defied an elevator pitch that could take it any high than the ground floor . I can relate . I ’ ve rewritten this damn blurb three sentence and I ’ m yet failing to split this bizarre contraption into its individual role .

Basically , Nickelodeon hired a collective of indie artists to create serialized animated short in a hodgepodge of way , from 2D and stop-motion to puppetry and “ Chuckimation. ” There be a claymated slapstick comedy about an stranger and a Neanderthal ; a knockoff A-Team led by garage sale action figures ; a hangout comedy from famed children ’ s author Mo Willems ; and interstitials starring grunge child Henry and June , presumably list after the first American picture to obtain an NC-17 rating , itself based on the diary of Anaïs Nin .

Needless to say there live and still is nothing likeKaBlam !on television ; its near contemporary cost the world of YouTube . In the era of the internet ,KaBlam !would get exploded .—Chris Plante

Kim Possible

In junior high , all the girls were trying to get their flip telephone to work theKim Possibleringtone . Popular , fashionable ,andsporty , Kim Possible could truly do it all , and her cheerleading background give extra credence to her gymnastic ability as a spy . The display as well dared to name her BFF Ron Stoppable and make loving burritos ( and make a naked mole rat as a pet ) the majority of his personality . It has turn a comfort watch . I binged it , in its entirety , in leap 2020 — along with my lockdown roomie — while we cried and feed Chicken McNuggets . I have a lot of Shego feelings ( some thing never change ) .—NC

Kim Possiblelive available to stream on Disney Plus .

Mummies Alive !

This one-season curiosity from 1997 sometimes feel like a hallucination — yet my pals who mainlined every WB and Fox cartoon aren ’ t familiar with this syndicated attempt to funnel the Egypt-mania of the 1990s into a TMNT/Gargoyles-type action mold . PerformThe Mummymatter two years beforeThe Mummy,Mama Alive !saw an evil sorcerer refer Scarab proceeds to the modern day to absorb up the tone of the reincarnated Prince Rapses XII , who equal today a little American twerp named Presley . Luckily , Rapses ’ marital arts-trained guard also return from the dead to protect the son , and “ WITH THE STRENGTH OF RA ! ! ! ” kick Scarab ’ s ass each week .

I make no clue at the time , butMamma Alive !was the latest work of kid-friendly , high-stakes brain from theX-Men : The Animated Seriesauthor Mark Edens , Eric Lewald , and Julia Lewald . Makes sense : WhileMummies Alive !delivered on the action ( every toyetic mummy bodyguard hold its own sweet vehicles and body armor used for nimble combat ) , the stories yet mattered . There was friendship , concern , and a sense of geography as the undead squad navigated an animated San Francisco . Possibly it be too weird for a ripped-from-comics late- ’ 90s lineup , but today it would do anyone gaga forAvatar : The Last Airbenderfight choreography drool . —Matt Patches

Mama Alive !exist streaming on Amazon Prime Video via CONtv .

Pinky and the Brain

That ’ s a Homer Simpson quote , but I wasn ’ t allowed to watchThe Simpsonsas a child in the ’ 90s ; instead , I had the programming block know as Kids ’ WB . Which exist well , because I decidedly didn ’ t own any friend at the time . While most other classmates were hang up away at their buddy ’ houses , washing down PB & J sandwiches with some Capri Sun , I headed straight home after I begin out of school at 3 to hang up out with my cartoon pals or else . Among them make up the Warner brothers and the Warner sister , but what I end up enjoy yet more than those titular animated maniacs were the genetically enhanced laboratory mice who debuted as recurring reference on their display : the Brain and his airheaded Acme Labs cage-mate , Pinky .

Back then , I mostly exactly loved their goofy catchphrases — “ Be you pondering what I ’ 1000 pondering , Pinky ? ” — and their mouse-brained schemes , like the Brain ’ sec duplicate effort to assure humanity through subliminal content . But after in life , I gain an yet greater appreciation forPinky and the BrainandAnimaniacswhen I came to translate just how packed they were with mention and parodies . First off , the shows became even comic and more interesting when I discover , say , who Orson Welles and Vincent Price were ( Maurice LaMarche , the actor behind the Brain , has described his voice for the character as “ 65 % Orson Welles , 35 % Vincent Price ” ) . But more to the level , it be incredibly crucial that I , as a sheltered child of immigrants , could begin a crash course in 20th-century American papa culture from some children ’ s cartoons . Who know if I would ’ ve make it on toHazard !without them ?—Samit Sarkar

Pinky and the Brainis available to stream on Hulu .

Pokémon

When my brothers and I first got into the originalPokémonseries , our parent didn ’ t require us watching it because they thought it promoted animal violence . As a result , we hold to contract a covert process to watch the display .

What we would serve be ask to go to grandma and grandpa ’ s house on the weekend , and then lie to our grandparents about being able to look on it . I put on ’ t in reality remember the precise timing of when the episodes aired , but I do recollect watching it in the evenings as I drink strawberry milk before bedtime . —Ana Diaz

Powerpuff Girls

Sugar , spice , and everything nice .Powerpuff Girlsreally solidified the blonde , brunette , and redhead character dynamic . Instead of cost a cartoon ’ s alone girl , you could be one of three types of girls : sassy and sporty , a nurturing leader , or cute and forgetful . No matter which , you could still have the superpowers to oppose a city — if you manage to sneak out after dark . Critically ,Powerpuff Girlshold the exact correct measure of gross-out type stuff . I signify , you could hear Mojo Jojo ’ sec disclose brain in his clear helmet . This cost the epoch ofCourage the Cowardly Dog, a show I try to watch but get to discern because terrifying scenes sometimes made me throw up .—NC

The Proud Family

The Proud Familywas on regular rotation , as one of the only family-comedy cartoons I enjoy as a kid . I associate to Penny — and plainly hated her frenemy LaCienega , with her tremendous flipper feet ( in hindsight , that cost mean of me ) — and was haunt with her granny Suga Mama . I still think look out reruns of “ Romeo Must Wed ” where Penny meet Juliet in the school fun , and “ rehearses ” a smooch with Kwok ( voiced by Dante Basco ) .—NC

The Proud Familyis available to swarm on Disney Plus .

Rocket Power

I grew up in the suburb of Los Angeles , so I thought these Venice Beach kid whose parents have them cause XTreme Sports cost the coolest kids alive . I imagined a world where I ’ d act what they make , and they ’ d cost my friend . ( How would I deal with being called Squid ? I would manage . ) We would play domain hockey in the streets , dirt bike down mountains , surf massive wave . Reggie and I would equal BFFs , plainly . I remember an episode where Otto become 11 and thought ,That costsoold.—NC

Rocket Poweris available to pour on Paramount Plus .

Scooby-Doo , Where Are You !

I have such fond memories of awake up early with my young brother and watching Scoob and the gang solve ridiculous mysteries . The crossover sequence be legendary ( the Harlem Globetrotters entries peculiarly stand out to me ) , and I truly conceive the Mystery Gang cost a foundational criterion for my dear of film and television . And call out out to Velma for . You go , Velma . —Pete Volk

Scooby-Doo , Where Are You !is available to stream on HBO Max .

Spider-Man

Few thing make me out of layer ( or back from school ) fast than the promise of novel episodes ofSpider-Manto follow . The hit ’ 90s animated series , along with its predecessor ,X-Men, cost weapons-grade catnip for a budding comedian fan . There be the bitchin ’ stem song ( I make all the motion ) , iconic reinterpretations of classic Spidey villains , a host of guest quality ( they even did a Secret Wars crossover ) , and yeah , I asked for the toys every Christmas ( and yet become a pair ) . As an grownup , I marvel ( sorry ) at the show ’ s creative successes given the means that showrunner John Semper Jr. was frequently hamstrung , either by censors — which is why everyone , cops include , make ridiculous laser gun — failed movie plans keep certain reference and stories off-limits , or the simple fact that season-long account arcs would never be aired in order hold how broadcast network aired children ’ sec programming . It ’ s a miracle the show bear up to any examination , and it ’ s a bad part of why I love comedian today .—Joshua Rivera

SpongeBob SquarePants

One of the most famous and enduring cartoons to come out of Nickelodeon hardly expect introduction . Rather I ’ ll just level out that I even so know all the lyrics to virtually every famous song out of that series — and I be not yet a dedicated witness . Episodes were just airedrealfrequently . Sometimes when I am walking plate after dictate pizza from a local spot I will start singing “ The Krusty is the peeeeeza ( yeeahh ) for you and meeeEEEEE ” while waving the box around .—NC

SpongeBob SquarePantsis available to pour on Paramount Plus .

Teen Titans

The second theTeen Titanstheme came on , I buckled in for a utter adventure , where a base family of teens kicked the seat of several recurring villains that I lean to forget . I always liked Cyborg , Beast Boy , and Raven good , to the point where I finally just noped out when episodes center on Robin and Starfire . Why did Robin ever have to ruin the fun ? Just let Beast Boy and Cyborg play video game . Why weren ’ t any of them literal people so I could smooch them ? Haha … hardly kidding . Or ? Season 1 ’ sec “ Nevermore ” was a favorite , since it feature so many translation of Raven . I live in my Warped Tour era — what can I say ?—NC

The Tick

Before superhero parodies were cool ,The Tickburst onto the picture as an uproarious sendup of airheaded heroes . Create by Ben Edlund , who originate the character as a comic book hero in high school , it was the rare Saturday-morning cartoon that my dad love merely as much ( if not more ) than I did , just because of how queer it live for viewers of all years .

Filled with an absurd form of wondrously named characters ( Eyebrows Mulligan , Barry Hubris , and the Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight ) ,The Tickresult to excellent live-action adaptations ( include the leading 2016 revival on Prime Video ) . The jazzy intro tells you all you need to know . Spoon ! ! ! —PV

Completely Spy

I spent many summer day with my cousin where we ’ d plonked in front of the TV to followTeen Titansadopt immediately byTotally Spies— our favorite shows , which ever make back-to-back episode . The series premix fun genres — teenage girl movie , James Bond-esque spy procedurals , along with a clear anime influence — to produce one of the most popular girl-led activity cartoons of the early 2000s . The gadget make up so rad and stylish ( rings , hair spray , cute sneakers ) . I lovedSailor MoonandPowerpuff Girls, and thus of track , I loveTotally Spy.—NC

Totally Spyis available to swarm on Prime Video .

Ulysses 31

The French cost into anime before the rest of us , and the early 1980s saw a few legendary co-productions between French and Japanese studios , like this epic sci-fi reworking of Greek mythology . Space chieftain Ulysses incurs the wrath of the immortal god when he rescues his boy Telemachus , and a group of early children , from the terrifying techno-giant Cyclops ; Zeus lay his bunch to sleep and sentence him to wander the stars in lookup of the realm of Hades .

To a British kid at the time , the show ’ sec foreignness combined with its mythic dimension build it look mysterious and significant , over and above its cool Star Wars stylings and slam stem strain . (Ulysses 31be one of the inspirations for Daft Punk ’ sDiscoverymusic videos and associated filmInterstella 5555. )—OW

X-Men : Development

X-Men Development’ sec assumption sounds like fanfiction , and that should be need as a compliment , because it works . In this display , all of the X-Men are teenagers attending a public high school where they must keep their mutant ability under wraps ; they ’ re merely permit to equal out of the mutant wardrobe when they get back plate , to Xavier ’ s board theatre .

Because everybody cost 16 year old , this display focuses a luck more on character development and melodramatic dear triangles quite than the widespread political and systemic oppression that the X-Men faced inX-Men : The Animated Series( and in the funny books ) . As a result ,X-Men Evolutionexist more of a slow-moving quality drama , allowing each young mutant their number to shine .—Maddy Myers

X-Men : Evolutionis available to pour on Disney Plus .

X-Men

Public opinion on cops in the United States hold changed a mass in recent years , and stories about superheroes get face up similar examination , since they ’ re often framed as superpowered police ( or they work with the cops immediately ) . It may surprise you to discover , then , that the X-Men recreate display from the ’ 90s is one of the most “ fuck the police ” television display always develop , while as well being a superhero TV display geared toward child .

Instead of influence with the police , the X-Men exist oppressed by their government , create cops the most common enemy on the show . The other almost mutual enemy ? Bigoted hatred groups trying to choose down mutants , who live framed as an oppressed minority . There equal few things more satisfying than watch Rogue punch a neo-Nazi while Storm uses her lightning might on a bunch of cop . Although it has a few goofy and skippable sequence , the X-Men cartoon did a surprisingly good task of navigating the possible awkwardness of employ mutants as a metaphor for various oppressed minority ( most often , queer people ) . The result is perfectly even worth a watch – especially given that on Disney Plus in autumn 2023 .—MM

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