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1
Hey Arnold! (1996)
7.6/10on IMDb
First aired
A good starting point if you remember the look of the cartoon more clearly than its stories. Arnold's boarding house is full of adults with lives of their own, and the city feels bigger than the playground. The show gives lonely or difficult neighbors a little time before it asks you to decide what to make of them.
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Rocko's Modern Life (1993)
7.9/10on IMDb
First aired
The zeal with which this cartoon turns everyday obligations into ordeals makes more sense after you've had a job. Try the episode where Rocko gets fired from the comic-book shop. It makes a lousy day at work look exactly as frantic and unreasonable as it feels.
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Rugrats (1991)
7.4/10on IMDb
First aired
Remember how big the backyard looked when you were small? When Angelica hits Tommy's ball over the fence at a picnic, the show takes the loss every bit as seriously as he does. Rewatch the original run for how sharply a small problem can divide what the adults see from what the babies think is happening.
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Doug (1991)
7.4/10on IMDb
First aired
Doug puts his worries into a journal. When the usual school and friendship troubles get too much, there's always Quailman, the superhero he imagines himself to be. The original Nickelodeon episodes are a gentle rewatch if you prefer a cartoon that gives an awkward kid time to get a sentence out.
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SpongeBob SquarePants (1999)
8.2/10on IMDb
First aired
Start with the original first season if the later franchise feels too big to navigate. In Help Wanted, getting hired to cook at the Krusty Krab is a life ambition. The comedy works because SpongeBob throws himself into a shift with the enthusiasm most people reserve for leaving work.
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The Ren & Stimpy Show (1991)
7.5/10on IMDb
First aired
A wound-up Chihuahua and an unflappable-looking cat are barely a premise, which leaves a lot of space for a face to stretch or a close-up to get truly ugly. Pick this one for the draftsmanship and the rhythm of the escalation. If the gross-out is what put you off, the years may not have changed that.
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Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (1994)
7.2/10on IMDb
First aired
Ickis, Oblina, and Krumm go to school to learn to scare humans. It's a terrific setup if you want the creeps with something to laugh about. Try the episode where Krumm loses his stench and thinks his career is over. It's school anxiety in a form only this cartoon could get away with.
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Oh Yeah! Cartoons (1998)
7.4/10on IMDb
First aired
Come here to see beginnings. The showcase gave filmmakers short slots to try out their own characters, and the pieces that led to The Fairly OddParents and ChalkZone sit alongside work that never became a regular series. The back-to-back changes in ideas and drawing styles are half the pleasure.
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KaBlam! (1996)
7.8/10on IMDb
First aired
Henry and June link an assortment of shorts that can go from drawn characters to the action figures of Action League Now! in the space of one show. Watch it when you want the feeling of flipping through a comic and never quite knowing what the next page will look like.
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The Wild Thornberrys (1998)
6.6/10on IMDb
First aired
The Thornberrys travel to film wildlife, and Eliza can talk to the animals they're filming. What holds up is the gap between the documentary the family thinks it's making and what Eliza learns by listening. This is the pick for a bit of adventure with room for an animal to be difficult or funny on its own terms.
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CatDog (1998)
6.5/10on IMDb
First aired
A cat and a dog share one body, so a disagreement can stop both of them in their tracks. Try the horror-movie story, where Cat starts by teasing Dog for being scared. That quick swing from smugness to shared panic is more fun than the show's wilder detours.
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The Angry Beavers (1997)
7.1/10on IMDb
First aired
Daggett and Norbert are beaver brothers with time on their hands. Give them an indoor golf course and they'll make the contest about who gets the cart. It's a good rewatch for anyone who recognizes the small, technically pointless arguments that only become important when a sibling is involved.
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Rocket Power (1999)
6.8/10on IMDb
First aired
Otto, Reggie, Twister, and Sam take their games seriously. The skating, surfing, and competition give this one a brighter, more restless energy than the cartoons that stay at school or home. Revisit it when you want the feeling of a whole afternoon free and friends who are already out the door.
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