Favourite Children's Cartoons

[Toby The Casual Prince]

Did you have any favourite cartoons as a child, and if so, have you seen them again when older? How do they hold up to you, if at all? Why or why not, and do you find anything problematic in them you didn't see as a child? Did you have a favorite character then, and is it the same now?

In addition: Are there any more recent remakes or spin offs you have seen? How are they in comparison?

For example, I loved Scooby Doo when I was a kid. I preferred the "What's New, Scooby Doo?" from 2002, but I also really liked "Scooby Doo, Where Are You?" (from 1969) though I found that one creepier at times, and maybe a bit less bright and colourful (I loved bright colours as a child xD). Whenever I could I rented Scooby Doo movies (the cartoon ones!) on our way to our country house.
Favourite character(s) then: Velma and Daphne
So, as I have seen both of the versions mentioned above when older, and a few movies, do they hold up?

Short answer: YES! How can you even ask that me?

Long answer: Well, yes. I still really enjoy most of them. However the episodes do tend to be a bit repetitive, so are some of the movies. I do not get as creeped out as I did when I was a child which always is a bit of a pity and the characters do seem very static and maybe not very deep. But do I still love them? Yes. It is also nice to see active female characters.
Favourite character(s) now: Velma and Daphne (I do not change much, do I?)

[Copper]

Well, I loved Spongebob growing up. Patrick was my favorite character. But going back and watching it now, I see that the newer seasons are much worse than the older ones. They've made Spongebob and Patrick dumber, and are using a different type of humor, more gross stuff, to appeal to kids. Which actually seems to be a trend in all kids shows these days. The episodes I used to watch are still pretty good though. Now my favorite character has changed to Squidward. :D

[Toby The Casual Prince]

Well, I loved Spongebob growing up. Patrick was my favorite character. But going back and watching it now, I see that the newer seasons are much worse than the older ones. They've made Spongebob and Patrick dumber, and are using a different type of humor, more gross stuff, to appeal to kids. Which actually seems to be a trend in all kids shows these days. The episodes I used to watch are still pretty good though. Now my favorite character has changed to Squidward. :D

I agree with that the later seasons tend to be worse! I am not sure if it has to do with actual quality or nostalgia, but I like to think it's the quality.

My favourite has always been Squidward cx I suppose I identify

[lostinfiction]

Avatar, the Last Airbender!!! Such a good show, I did a rewatch of it recently. My favorite character was Toph, or maybe Iroh. But in all honesty every character was well developed, so it's hard for me to pinpoint a true favorite.

[Toby The Casual Prince]

Avatar, the Last Airbender!!! Such a good show, I did a rewatch of it recently. My favorite character was Toph, or maybe Iroh. But in all honesty every character was well developed, so it's hard for me to pinpoint a true favorite.

Ah yes! Avatar The Last Airbender is always awesome! And I too did a rewatch recently, and it was still awesome. Though I have added to my favourite characters after the rewatch.

[Kitteridge]

I must have gone through the first season of Ren and Stimpy thousands of times. :P I so wanted a doggy like Ren when I was young! A good number of the episodes still make me really laugh, though I don't watch very often. I feel the "adult" version of the show spoiled it a bit.

And I still watch early Spongebob now and then. That was a favourite of my entire family. Squidward and Plankton are my favourites.

[Toby The Casual Prince]

I must have gone through the first season of Ren and Stimpy thousands of times. :P I so wanted a doggy like Ren when I was young! A good number of the episodes still make me really laugh, though I don't watch very often. I feel the "adult" version of the show spoiled it a bit.

And I still watch early Spongebob now and then. That was a favourite of my entire family. Squidward and Plankton are my favourites.

I never watched that show, but from what I have seen it is a show that could work for different ages? I didn't know there was an adult version!

[Kitteridge]

I must have gone through the first season of Ren and Stimpy thousands of times. :P I so wanted a doggy like Ren when I was young! A good number of the episodes still make me really laugh, though I don't watch very often. I feel the "adult" version of the show spoiled it a bit.

And I still watch early Spongebob now and then. That was a favourite of my entire family. Squidward and Plankton are my favourites.

I never watched that show, but from what I have seen it is a show that could work for different ages? I didn't know there was an adult version!

Hm, depends on your sense of humor. There's plenty of bizarre and crude jokes that might turn some people off, but I have much older family members who love it. My mom watched it once while pregnant and threw up. xP Some of the animation is awesome too. The show made me want to get into making cartoons.

Don't watch the other version. It's called Adult Party Cartoon, or something. It's really dirty and pretty much goes out of it's way to be offensive. Not many episodes were made.

[Toby The Casual Prince]

I must have gone through the first season of Ren and Stimpy thousands of times. :P I so wanted a doggy like Ren when I was young! A good number of the episodes still make me really laugh, though I don't watch very often. I feel the "adult" version of the show spoiled it a bit.

And I still watch early Spongebob now and then. That was a favourite of my entire family. Squidward and Plankton are my favourites.

I never watched that show, but from what I have seen it is a show that could work for different ages? I didn't know there was an adult version!

Hm, depends on your sense of humor. There's plenty of bizarre and crude jokes that might turn some people off, but I have much older family members who love it. My mom watched it once while pregnant and threw up. xP Some of the animation is awesome too. The show made me want to get into making cartoons.

Don't watch the other version. It's called Adult Party Cartoon, or something. It's really dirty and pretty much goes out of it's way to be offensive. Not many episodes were made.

I will probably stay away from Adult Party Cartoon then xD It doesn't sound like something I would enjoy.

[Grace Barton]

I loved the original Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon when I was a kid. I saw a dvd boxset in the shop a couple of years ago, so of course I had to buy it for the sheer novelty and to reminisce. There were loads of episodes I hadn't seen, plus many I could remember. I still love it now. Tails is still my fave. The only problem I have with it is comparing it to the games, and also to the more recent versions (e.g. Sonic X--Sonic was never that grumpy and would never leave Tails behind under any circumstance). I suppose the other problem is that in the original series Tails was meant to be four years old (excellent language skills for a four year old, though he can't write, apparently).

Would Digimon count? I was 15 when it came out... and I still have a strong fondness for it (and yes, I have that on dvd as well, though they're not official and something someone made, but it's the closest I could get since the UK thought only providing the first 8 episodes or so on dvd and not the rest of the series was a good idea, apparently). Fave character? Was and always will be Tai. I don't know why. I just gravitated to him. Must be the goggles. XD Digimon Tri is due out this year using the original cast (Tai included, obviously). I confess, I squealed in delight. It's like my childhood coming back. Gotta watch it. :)

I also had an addiction to Reboot for a while... don't think that has the same fondness for me. Bob was always my favourite, but I can't remember why. I think the 'sequel' series ruined it for me. The first series ended on a sad note, and the second series didn't add much hope, so I lost interest.

[Toby The Casual Prince]

I loved the original Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon when I was a kid. I saw a dvd boxset in the shop a couple of years ago, so of course I had to buy it for the sheer novelty and to reminisce. There were loads of episodes I hadn't seen, plus many I could remember. I still love it now. Tails is still my fave. The only problem I have with it is comparing it to the games, and also to the more recent versions (e.g. Sonic X--Sonic was never that grumpy and would never leave Tails behind under any circumstance). I suppose the other problem is that in the original series Tails was meant to be four years old (excellent language skills for a four year old, though he can't write, apparently).

Would Digimon count? I was 15 when it came out... and I still have a strong fondness for it (and yes, I have that on dvd as well, though they're not official and something someone made, but it's the closest I could get since the UK thought only providing the first 8 episodes or so on dvd and not the rest of the series was a good idea, apparently). Fave character? Was and always will be Tai. I don't know why. I just gravitated to him. Must be the goggles. XD Digimon Tri is due out this year using the original cast (Tai included, obviously). I confess, I squealed in delight. It's like my childhood coming back. Gotta watch it. :)

I also had an addiction to Reboot for a while... don't think that has the same fondness for me. Bob was always my favourite, but I can't remember why. I think the 'sequel' series ruined it for me. The first series ended on a sad note, and the second series didn't add much hope, so I lost interest.

I love Digimon!! :''') I am so excited for the new series!! And I had a childhood crush on Matt. Or I identified with him. I still love him. And Izzy, Gabumon, TK and Sora. And Kari... I just love them all xD

[Guest Sheka4]

Kid's Next Door for me was one of the greatest cartoon's as a kid, it taught me so much valuable lessons and I always loved seeing the main characters who were only just kids going against the authority of adults who they felt like were abusing their power. I'm really hoping that spin off gets the green light.

[daveb]

Looney Toons, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Tennessee Tuxedo, Hoppity Hooper, George of the Jungle, Felix the Cat, and some of the older Max Fleischer cartoons and other old cartoons from the 40s.

[Toby The Casual Prince]

Kid's Next Door for me was one of the greatest cartoon's as a kid, it taught me so much valuable lessons and I always loved seeing the main characters who were only just kids going against the authority of adults who they felt like were abusing their power. I'm really hoping that spin off gets the green light.

Ooh! I really liked that one too, and my brother liked it even more. I haven't seen it in a while, though at the time I really liked number 3 and number 4. It was a bit annoying because I watched it at cartoon network and then something must have been wrong because all of a sudden it was only aired in Danish (I'm Swedish) and we couldn't watch it anymore... I didn't know there were thoughts about a spin off! Sounds interesting!

[Guest Sheka4]

Kid's Next Door for me was one of the greatest cartoon's as a kid, it taught me so much valuable lessons and I always loved seeing the main characters who were only just kids going against the authority of adults who they felt like were abusing their power. I'm really hoping that spin off gets the green light.

Ooh! I really liked that one too, and my brother liked it even more. I haven't seen it in a while, though at the time I really liked number 3 and number 4. It was a bit annoying because I watched it at cartoon network and then something must have been wrong because all of a sudden it was only aired in Danish (I'm Swedish) and we couldn't watch it anymore... I didn't know there were thoughts about a spin off! Sounds interesting!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqmZ1vPnLFg

The link is towards an updated segment of the announcement for the GKND (or Galactic Kids Next Door) spin off, that though yet there is much buzz around there has yet to be an official announcement about the series.

[Toby The Casual Prince]

Looney Toons, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Tennessee Tuxedo, Hoppity Hooper, George of the Jungle, Felix the Cat, and some of the older Max Fleischer cartoons and other old cartoons from the 40s.

Ah yes! Looney Tunes, that's probably one show I grow to appreciate. I wasn't too convinced when very small but later I really liked it. And now I still do.

[Larkaloke]

Sonic the Hedgehog (this one), the 80s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, Rocky and Bullwinkle, and Danger Mouse were my favourite cartoons as a child. In fact, they were really the only ones I watched; I've never watched terribly much TV, and indeed, Sonic is the only one I ever watched on TV. The others I only saw on VHS or occasional reruns.

Sonic still holds up surprisingly well, and I do still enjoy watching it. Not quite as much as I did when I was a kid, but well enough. The plots were usually fairly interesting, at least. I'm most fond of the original TMNT comics, but the cartoons have their high points. I still like watching them sometimes. I do think that the 80s ones were better than some of the more recent ones. Rocky and Bullwinkle is, of course, as enjoyable as ever. There's plenty of stuff there for all ages. Watching large numbers of Danger Mouse episodes at once can get pretty surreal, and I don't necessarily recommend that, but I do still enjoy watching them from time to time. As far as favourite characters go, Sally was my favourite character in Sonic when I was a kid, but now I don't really have one in the show (Knuckles ended up my favourite character overall, but doesn't appear in the cartoon); Raphael has always been my favourite turtle, and still is, although at times when I was growing up Donatello came out ahead as a favourite; and I don't have favourite characters in the other two.

Really, though, the great majority of things that I liked when I was younger are things that I still enjoy, so it would be more surprising to me if I didn't still like those shows.

[Guest]

My great cartoon loves as a kid were Scooby Doo (any series, but especially 1969), and the Powerpuff Girls. Later on, Clifford the Big Red Dog.

Really, anything with dogs in it got my immediate attention.

These days, I don't find Scooby Doo nearly as interesting. Powerpuff Girls I may actually want to rewatch sometime.

At 16 I (re)discovered Alvin and the Chipmunks, the '60s cartoon, the '80s cartoon, and the couple cartoon movies from the late 90's/early 2000's. I saw the live action, too, but was a far bigger fan of the cartoon.

I spent a couple years big into the fandom. Like, huge. Now, I still like it, but I'm not big on it. There's a new tv series now, I need to check it out sometime.

These days I'm mostly into anime. I wasn't allowed to watch it as a kid, so I discovered it late.

[Kitteridge]

Another one I forgot to mention was Popeye. We had many tapes of that, plus some other old cartoons.

I decided to rewatch some episodes a couple years ago but could barely get through any. Seeing Olive Oyl being terrorised and assaulted was really uncomfortable, yet we're supposed to find it funny.

There were only one or two episodes I found enjoyable, because I liked them as a little kid and they didn't anyone fighting over her.

[WhenSummersGone]

I watched so many shows as a kid, some may be Canadian: Rocko's Modern Life, Rugrats, Pokemon, Sailor Moon, Tiny Toon Adventures, Tom and Jerry, Garfield, Looney Tunes, Disney cartoons, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain and Hey Arnold!

My favorite is probably Animaniacs. Then there were the shows that weren't cartoon, ya I watched too much tv lol.

[Luki]

The 2 shows I remember most fondly were Arrrrrgh Real Monsters and Insektors.

Still watch Real Monsters for fun, and the internet gave me a wonderful surprise in the form of the Insektors American dub that I never knew existed (so I got to watch the same show twice - one with a hoard of British gags, and one with a faithful translation)

[Mycroft is Yourcroft]

Scooby Doo! :D

And Pokemon! :D

And Sailor Moon! :D

[Guest]

Pokemon. I remember loving that, too. But my mom made me stop watching it. =P She didn't approve of any anime, had probably read some sort of church thing denouncing anime as evil.

The anime I'm into now is uncensored, unlike what was on tv for kids back then. So she really wouldn't like the stuff I watch now. :P

Oooooh, Speed Racer! My big brother loved that, and I used to love watching it with him.

[Toby The Casual Prince]

Sonic the Hedgehog (this one), the 80s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, Rocky and Bullwinkle, and Danger Mouse were my favourite cartoons as a child. In fact, they were really the only ones I watched; I've never watched terribly much TV, and indeed, Sonic is the only one I ever watched on TV. The others I only saw on VHS or occasional reruns.

Sonic still holds up surprisingly well, and I do still enjoy watching it. Not quite as much as I did when I was a kid, but well enough. The plots were usually fairly interesting, at least. I'm most fond of the original TMNT comics, but the cartoons have their high points. I still like watching them sometimes. I do think that the 80s ones were better than some of the more recent ones. Rocky and Bullwinkle is, of course, as enjoyable as ever. There's plenty of stuff there for all ages. Watching large numbers of Danger Mouse episodes at once can get pretty surreal, and I don't necessarily recommend that, but I do still enjoy watching them from time to time. As far as favourite characters go, Sally was my favourite character in Sonic when I was a kid, but now I don't really have one in the show (Knuckles ended up my favourite character overall, but doesn't appear in the cartoon); Raphael has always been my favourite turtle, and still is, although at times when I was growing up Donatello came out ahead as a favourite; and I don't have favourite characters in the other two.

Really, though, the great majority of things that I liked when I was younger are things that I still enjoy, so it would be more surprising to me if I didn't still like those shows.

TMNT for life! But I like Leonardo. Always have. Donatello is a strong second. And I really liked the 2005 TMNT, I haven't seen much of the 80's one. I think I own about six episodes on DVD, but one of them stopped working D:

[Prairie]

The only cartoon I remember that I watched regularly was He-Man. I especially liked the transformation/magical scenes. Watching it now the animation is so stock-repetitive and the plot is so shallow. Even so, I still connect with the feelings I had so I still hold a special place for it. I remember having the action figures and how neat and detailed all their clothing/accessories were. Just looking up some pictures of them brings me back.

[coyote55]

Ah, cartoons! I'm a fan of many, all the way from the Looney Tunes and early Hanna-Barbera stuff through the current crop. I'm ancient enough to have watched the Flintstones and Jetsons in their first seasons, when they were aimed as much as adults as children.

Personal favorites include:

Jay Ward's stuff - Rocky and Bullwinkle, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, Fractured Fairy Tales. The scripts were often written on multiple levels, with snide political humor and fourth wall breaking comments from the characters.

A lot of H-B classics, of course; the Flintstones, Yogi Bear/Huckleberry Hound, Top Cat, Shazam, Scooby Doo, Herculoids, Space Ghost, and too many others to name. Some have aged better than others, and there were a few I couldn't watch. To this day, I'm convinced that whoever concieved of the Banana Splits was on mind-altering drugs.

A lot from the 1980s that have already been mentioned. Dexter's Laboratory, Animaniacs, Ren & Stimpy, Pinky and the Brain, and lots more. I'm less familiar with current series, but if it's a cartoon, it grabs me and I watch it.

Edit: No one has mentioned Beavis and Butthead.... And how on earth did I forget the Simpsons and Familyy Guy?? Must have posted before coffee.

[Larkaloke]

TMNT for life! But I like Leonardo. Always have. Donatello is a strong second. And I really liked the 2005 TMNT, I haven't seen much of the 80's one. I think I own about six episodes on DVD, but one of them stopped working D:

Indeed! I've developed more of an appreciation for Leonardo over the years, and really, the only turtle that I have ever been not so fond of is Michelangelo (and not that I dislike him, either). I've always been something of a loner and have struggled with anger issues all of my life, so Raphael tends to be the one I relate to the most -- probably why he's my favourite.

I have at least some of the 2005 episodes. They did stick closer to the original comics in some ways, as I recall, which I appreciate. They're probably actually better than the 80s one, but the 80s one was what I grew up with. It did get a bit overly silly at times. I don't know much of anything about the newest version, but the animation style is very off-putting to me, so I probably won't check it out.

[Toby The Casual Prince]

TMNT for life! But I like Leonardo. Always have. Donatello is a strong second. And I really liked the 2005 TMNT, I haven't seen much of the 80's one. I think I own about six episodes on DVD, but one of them stopped working D:

Indeed! I've developed more of an appreciation for Leonardo over the years, and really, the only turtle that I have ever been not so fond of is Michelangelo (and not that I dislike him, either). I've always been something of a loner and have struggled with anger issues all of my life, so Raphael tends to be the one I relate to the most -- probably why he's my favourite.

I have at least some of the 2005 episodes. They did stick closer to the original comics in some ways, as I recall, which I appreciate. They're probably actually better than the 80s one, but the 80s one was what I grew up with. It did get a bit overly silly at times. I don't know much of anything about the newest version, but the animation style is very off-putting to me, so I probably won't check it out.

Yeah, I haven't checked out the latest one either due to the animation style. It just doesn't appeal to me. I could be missing out, but I'll probably re-watch the 2005 version instead.

[desertxsnow]

I've never stopped watching cartoons, actually. I still watch new eps of things like Adventure Time, Gravity Falls, Steven Universe and MLP whenever they're on. For those discussing the new TMNT show, it's actually pretty good and Rob Paulson (who has done many voices over the years, but voiced Raph in the 80s show) voices Donny in this version.

Some of the shows I keep going back to that I had watched as a kid would have to be pretty much anything that aired on Kids WB, Fox Kids, or Cartoon Network until about 2003. I then moved overseas and ended up going back about 5+ years in terms of shows that were available to me via AFN (Armed Forces Network). In late 2004, I was introduced to one of my all-time favorite shows though: Danny Phantom. They recently released the entire series on DVD and I snapped a copy up quick. I've memorized so many of the episodes of that, haha. I got "introduced" to anime (I didn't realize Pokemon/Digimon/DBZ/etc were anime) when I was in the Philippines and fell in love with Detective Conan. That was also around the time Kim Possible and American Dragon: Jake Long were coming out on Disney, so hurray even more awesome shows to watch. Between 2007 and 2012, I didn't watch many cartoons, though.

TL;DR: Pokemon, Digimon, CN 90s shows, DC animated shows, various anime, Kim Possible, & American Dragon: Jake Long off the top of my head, but Danny Phantom and Detective Conan will always be my faves.

[Skycaptain]

As a young kid, Tom and Jerry, all the Loony Tunes, Battle of the Planets, Scooby-doo, and Wacky Races. As a slightly older kid, the Flintstones.

Funnily enough, the one cartoon I have never got on with is the Simpsons