Items13The creator’s order
  1. 1Hey Arnold! (1996)Hey Arnold! (1996) 7.6/10 on IMDbFirst aired Oct 7, 1996A 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…0
  2. 2Rocko's Modern Life (1993)Rocko's Modern Life (1993) 7.9/10 on IMDbFirst aired Sep 18, 1993The 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.0
  3. 3Rugrats (1991)Rugrats (1991) 7.4/10 on IMDbFirst aired Aug 11, 1991Remember 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…0
  4. 4Doug (1991)Doug (1991) 7.4/10 on IMDbFirst aired Aug 18, 1991Doug 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.0
  5. 5SpongeBob SquarePants (1999)SpongeBob SquarePants (1999) 8.2/10 on IMDbFirst aired May 1, 1999Start 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.0
  6. 6The Ren & Stimpy Show (1991)The Ren & Stimpy Show (1991) 7.5/10 on IMDbFirst aired Aug 11, 1991A 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…0
  7. 7Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (1994)Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (1994) 7.2/10 on IMDbFirst aired Oct 29, 1994Ickis, 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.0
  8. 8Oh Yeah! Cartoons (1998)Oh Yeah! Cartoons (1998) 7.4/10 on IMDbFirst aired Jul 19, 1998Come 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.0
  9. 9KaBlam! (1996)KaBlam! (1996) 7.8/10 on IMDbFirst aired Oct 11, 1996Henry 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.0
  10. 10The Wild Thornberrys (1998)The Wild Thornberrys (1998) 6.6/10 on IMDbFirst aired Sep 1, 1998The 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…0