100 Greatest Cartoons

Edited By: Zach D.
Last Updated: 12-08-12
Link: http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/m ... toons.html


Criteria:

• Cartoon rankings are based on critical acclaim, popularity, influence, impact, innovation, and
cultural significance.

• This list excludes feature-length films.


1. Looney Tunes / Merrie Melodies
2. Golden Age Disney shorts
3. The Simpsons
4. Tom and Jerry
5. The Flintstones
6. South Park
7. Popeye
8. Rocky and Bullwinkle
9. MGM-era Tex Avery shorts
10. The Ren and Stimpy Show
11. Batman: The Animated Series
12. SpongeBob SquarePants
13. Peanuts
14. Betty Boop
15. Beavis and Butt-head
16. Scooby-Doo
17. The Jetsons
18. Woody Woodpecker
19. Felix the Cat
20. Dragonball Z
21. Animaniacs
22. Family Guy
23. Gumby
24. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
25. The Yogi Bear Show
26. Pokémon
27. Alvin and the Chipmunks
28. King of the Hill
29. The Pink Panther
30. Transformers
31. Rugrats
32. Mighty Mouse
33. G.I. Joe
34. Futurama
35. SuperFriends
36. Johnny Quest
37. The Powerpuff Girls
38. Speed Racer
39. Avatar: The Last Airbender
40. The Smurfs
41. Gerald McBoing-Boing
42. Inspector Gadget
43. Astro Boy
44. Wallace and Gromit
45. He-man and the Masters of the Universe
46. George of the Jungle
47. Dora the Explorer
48. Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
49. Underdog
50. Doug
51. Aqua Teen Hunger Force
52. Tom Terrific
53. Casper the Friendly Ghost
54. Voltron: Defender of the Universe
55. Care Bears
56. DuckTales
57. Tiny Toon Adventures
58. X-men
59. Rocko's Modern Life
60. Schoolhouse Rock!
61. Mr. Magoo
62. Dexter's Laboratory
63. ThunderCats
64. Huckleberry Hound
65. Space Ghost: Coast to Coast
66. Hey Arnold!
67. Arthur
68. Spider-Man
69. Cowboy Bebop
70. Danger Mouse
71. The Fairly OddParents
72. Gargoyles
73. Top Cat
74. Recess
75. American Dad!
76. Celebrity Deathmatch
77. Doraemon
78. Ed, Edd n Eddy
79. Pinky and the Brain
80. Garfield and Friends
81. Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
82. Dungeons and Dragons
83. Neon Genesis Evangelion
84. Robot Chicken
85. Goof Troop
86. Wacky Races
87. Thomas the Train
88. Johnny Bravo
89. Captain Planet
90. The Boondocks
91. Superman: The Animated Series
92. Quick Draw McGraw
93. Courage the Cowardly Dog
94. Babar
95. Sailor Moon
96. Phineas and Ferb
97. Heithcliff
98. Jim Henson's Muppet Babies
99. Daria
100. Hong Kong Phooey


Considerations for #101-200:


2 Stupid Dogs
2DTV
Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
Action League Now!
Adventure Time
Adventures of the Little Koala
Afro Samurai
Aladdin
Aquaman
Archer
Atom Ant
Atomic Betty
Barney Bear
Batfink
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Batman Beyond
Battle of the Planets
Beany and Cecil
Beast Machines
Beast Wars: Transformers
Beetlejuice
Big O
Biker Mice from Mars
Birdman
Bleach
Bobby's World
Bob the Builder
Bod
Bonkers
BraveStarr
C.O.P.S.
Camp Lazlo
Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels
Captain N: The Game Master
Captain Pugwash
Case Closed
CatDog
Cattanooga Cats
ChalkZone
Challenge of the Super Friends
Charlie Says...
Chilly Willy
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
Clangers
Clerks
Clifford the Big Red Dog
Clutch Cargo
Codename: Kids Next Door
Colonel Bleep
Count Duckula
Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse
Cow and Chicken
Crusader Rabbit
Curious George
Darkwing Duck
Davey and Goliath
Death Note
Defenders of the Earth
Dennis the Menace
Deputy Dog
Digimon
Dink, the Little Dinosaur
Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears
Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist
Dragon Tales
Duckman
Earthworm Jim
Eek! The Cat
Fanboy and Chum Chum
Fantastic Four
Fantastic Max
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
Franklin
Freakazoid!
Frisky Dingo
Fullmetal Alchemist
Galaxy High
Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics
Happy Tree Friends
Harlem Globetrotters
Histeria!
Home Movies
I Am Weasel
Incredible Hulk
Inhumanoids
InuYasha
Invader Zim
Iron Man
Ivor the Engine
Jabberjaw
Jackson 5ive
Jamie and the Magic Torch
Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors
Jem
Josie and the Pussycats
Justice League
Justice League Unlimited
KaBlam!
Kim Possible
Laff-A-Lympics
Legend of the Galactic Heroes
Legend of the Overfiend
Les Aventures de Colargol
Liquid Television
Little Bear
Little Bill
Loopy De Loop
Lupin the 3rd
M.A.S.K.
Maggie & the Ferocious Beast
Magic Roundabout
Magilla Gorilla
Mary Shelley's Frankenhole
Maya the Bee
Men in Black: The Series
Mighty Max
Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures
Mobile Suit Gundam
Moral Orel
Mummies Alive!
My Little Pony
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Mysterious Cities of Gold
Naruto
Noggin the Nog
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
Outlaw Star
Ovide and the Gang
Paddington
Peter Potamus
Pingu
Pound Puppies
Queer Duck
Rainbow Brite
ReBoot
Regular Show
Richie Rich
Robotech
Rocket Power
Roger Ramjet
Ronin Warriors
Roobarb
Ruff & Reddy
Rupert Bear
Rurouni Kenshin
SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron
Sabrina the Teenage Witch
Samurai Jack
Samurai Pizza Cats
Sandmännchen
Sazae-san
Sealab 2021
Secret Squirrel
She-Ra: Princess of Power
SilverHawks
Silverhawks
Snorks
Sonic the Hedgehog
Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea
Spawn
Spider-man and His Amazing Friends
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Wars: Clone Wars
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Starblazer
Static Shock
Strawberry Shortcake
Street Fighter
Street Sharks
Super Mario Bros. Super Show
Superjail!
TV Funhouse
TaleSpin
Taz-Mania
Teen Titans
Tenchi Muyo!
Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales
The Addams Family
The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin
The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers
The Angry Beavers
The Ant and the Aardvark
The Archie Show
The Berenstain Bears
The Busy World of Richard Scarry
The California Raisin Show
The Critic
The Dudley Do-Right Show
The Gary Coleman Show
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy
The Herculoids
The Little Lulu Show
The Little Mermaid
The Littles
The Magic School Bus
The Marvel Super Heroes
The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack
The Maxx
The Mighty Ducks
The Oblongs
The PJs
The Pirates of Dark Water
The Proud Family
The Raccoons
The Real Ghostbusters
The Spectacular Spider-Man
The Tick
The Venture Bros.
The Wild Thornberrys
The World of David the Gnome
The Zeta Project
Thundarr the Barbarian
Timmy Time
Totally Spies!
Trigun
Valley of the Dinosaurs
Wait till Your Father Gets Home
Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?
Willo the Wisp
Wind in the Willows
X-Men: Evolution
Yu-Gi-Oh!
YuYu Hakusho
Zoids
Æon Flux

I absolutely adore Foghorn Leghorn.

Token protestation of the splitting up of Looney Tunes into individual characters because it makes no sense.

Dreww, I was on the fence about that. The reason we ended up splitting up the Looney Tunes characters was because it didn't seem fair to have a single entry for that collective, while at the same time having individual entries for Disney's cast of characters (Mickey, Donald, Goofy, etc.) -- just because they didn't have a classic show on par with LT that compiled a bunch of their cartoon shorts. Still, that's the #1 complaint I get about this list, so I am open to the idea of LT being one entry. And if that were to happen, surely LT would top the list. But do you see where I'm coming from with this?

Also, the list needs a good revamping, anyway. It's been a couple years. Feel free to make any critiques.

I'd suggest fashioning a grouping for that era of Disney cartoons. After all, there wasn't really a coherent Mickey Mouse series. There were several cartoons where different characters interacted, so it would really be impossible to separate them. Maybe fashion a "Golden Age Disney" category?

For the list I'm thinking these are the locks for the top 10:

Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies (By far the most creative, important, and innovative force in cartooning)
The Simpsons (Made cartoons something that was okay for adults to watch--huge legacy)
Golden Age Disney (Pretty innovative and important in laying foundations)
The Flintstones (The highest quality example of the stripped down Hannah Barbara aesthetic that dominated cartooning for better or worse from the mid 60s until the late 80s)
The Ren & Stimpy Show (Kick-started the creator-driven cartoon renaissance of the 90s and the return to complex WB-ish animation)
Spongebob Squarepants (Rebooted the cartoon renaissance, as well as being incredibly successful in all areas)

After that it starts to become unclear in terms of importance for me. I'm thinking Popeye, Peanuts, South Park and Tom & Jerry could round out the top ten, but I'm not sure about the order.

And of course it goes without saying that this list has a big western bias. Personally I know nothing about eastern cartooning.

Thanks for the feedback. I agree that it may be a good idea to group the Disney characters in that way.

And you're definitely right about the western bias; that's changing for the revision. I honestly don't know much about eastern world cartoons, either, but I'll do a little more research and make it work.

Evangelion anyone?

It's hard to really look at animation from an international perspective and rank Western cartoons against anime. Might be better to just have two separate lists. If not, Evangelion is certainly top 15ish material (at least).

Avatar needs to move way waaaaaaaaaaay up. At this point it's basically the most acclaimed dramatic animated series to come out of the US, maybe second only to Batman.

I think Dreww's top 3 is perfect. If Looney Tunes is counted as one then I can't see it being anywhere but #1. Obviously The Simpsons has a case but going by the critieria you'd have to imagine Looney Tunes would top. The problem being that they were made so many years apart that they basically top the criteria in their respective eras. If Looney Tunes is not grouped together Bugs Bunny should still be > Mickey Mouse.

South Park is too high. Flinstones should round out the top 5 followed by Popeye and Peanuts.

Pretty sure Avatar smokes it. That show's becoming one of the most appreciated works of entertainment-art of the last decade.

Preeeetty sure Yu-Gi-Oh caused more of a buzz than The Fairly Odd Parents, I remember kids smuggling in those cards like it was crack. And fuck yes Avatar!

Freakazoid 4 life dudes.

And just.. DZ>>>>>>>(infinite)>>>>>>>>>King of the Hill

That has more to do with the card game than the TV show. And as anyone who's ever seen TAS can tell you, the game in the show is hardly the same as the one played in convention centers the world over.
Honestly, almost everyone who's big into the game detests the show. Its basically just another Saturday morning cartoon based off a popular game.

eh fair enough