Gushing About Shows You Like (Sugar Wiki)/Western Animation

Gush about Western Animation here.

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• Rocko's Modern Life, that show made me laugh so hard and made my gut hurt badly. I miss it, they need more shows like that on nickelodeon today.
• El Tigre. Good balance of humor and drama, interesting characters, just enough ham to be fun but not narmish, and it's the only series with two contradictory pairings that I can't decide between. Tigre/Frida and Tigre/Cuervo. If that dosen't earn gushability, I don't know what does. Plus I love how social the heroes and villains were outside of work. Why are there no episodes on Youtube!?
• Monster Allergy is the best show I watch. It's comedy with the monsters.
• This trope loves Winx Club, despite being aimed at 6-12 year old girls. It's simply impossible not to love it: practically every character is quirky, likeable, and important to the show, there are funny moments, dramatic moments, epic moments and the battle scenes are impressive, and here's the best part: There's absolutely no Unresolved Sexual Tension, no Will They or Won't They?, no Love Triangle...seeing stable pairings from the very beginning is a refreshing change.
• I loved watching Beverly Hills Teens as a kid. It's a silly show, but I was just discovering I liked girls at the time it aired, and this show had a lot of them, who frequently wore swimsuits. Oh, yeah!
• Futurama is the best thing I have ever seen, heard, and bought disturbing amounts of merchandising for. God bless you, Matt Groening, and thank you for giving me something so wonderful to do instead of talk to my friends, exercise, or sleep.
  • Seconded. Also, props to David X. Cohen and the rest of the team as well. I was deathly afraid that Futurama would Jump the Shark when it came back, but I was so beautifully wrong.
  • Thirded(?). Thank you God, for giving me something so wonderfully addictive that I quote it randomly in everyday life, demand merchandise for, draw obsessively, and do so many fanworks for that my friends think I'm deranged.
  • Fourth...ded. It makes me feel good to be a geek, and always makes me smile at the raised brows when people walk in my room and see my giant Futurama poster amongst the pink, sparkles and fashion magazines. Any show that can have such an emotional impact (see: "those" episodes. You know the ones.), and still be a comedy show at the end of the day is a mark of one of the greatest shows to ever exist. Futurama cast and crew, you rock.
  • Fifth...ed...ded. Thank Comedy Central Futurama's coming back. With original voices too. I'm going to enjoy ever nanosecond of the old gang's new adventures...and Zoidberg's too.
  • Sixthded...ed...ded. I pretty much didn't begin watching it until right when it got cancelled off Fox, only viewing it on Adult Swim. Before that I only caught a few seconds at a time, as back then I doubt my parents would want me to watch such a show. But boy am I glad to have become a fan. I love every episode, even the newer ones which I, too, were afraid would be less good. My other favorite show will most likely never be un-canceled, but Futurama's return is glorious enough to make up for it. Anyone else's jaw drop when they first heard that four full-length movies were coming out? It had been hard for me to believe...
• This troper just discovered the The Penguins of Madagascar. Oh my GOD!!!! I despise cartoons, but that show is addictive WIN!!!! I seriously think Skipper is a bigger Badass than Colonel Jack O'Neill. (Okay maybe not, but he's darn close]].
  • King Julien alone is comedy gold, but all the other characters are made of win (certainly can't overlook a certain otter). Add a healthy dose of Getting Crap Past the Radar and plenty of Ho Yay, lots of Rapid-Fire Comedy and jokes that probably only adults would get.
  • This troper has say that the original Madagascar and Escape 2 Africa are two of his favorite movies with memorable characters, awesome animation, and The Power of Friendship. And who could forget Nana beating the crap out of Alex, twice!
• This troper spent a great deal of his childhood watching Mighty Max religiously - when you're 5 years old and exposed to a 20 minute, Merchandise-Driven kids cartoon that respects its pre-teen audience as much as Mighty Max did, it really helps you develop a crap filter. The plot was solidly structured and well paced, the monsters, particularly the lead villain, were horrific Nightmare Fuel and the main trio, while drawing heavily on genre archetypes, were sympathetic and deep.
  • The dialogue was kickass too.
  • The rockin' theme tune - the heavy metal guitar solo really got you prepped and excited for badassery.
• Aqua Teen Hunger Force is made of win and epicness. If you don't get it, that's because you're an elitist. * cries*
• Avatar: The Last Airbender does everything right--my only cause for complaint with it is the few things that could have been done even righter, but held back. (Also "The Great Divide," although I got a funny Fanfic out of it, so I can't complain as strenuously as most.) And never has a family show succeeded so amazingly at blowing The Smurfette Principle out of the water.
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of the most amazing Western Animation series that was based off of the most classic plotline.
  • Avatar also has some of the best female characters in anything ever.
  • Totally! It made me laugh and cry and do quiet mad dances of glee, and once a show does that it has my loyalty forever. Or at least until it tries out shark-jumping, but Avatar never did that. So much love for it. Avatar: The Last Airbender is a Crowning Moment of Awesome all by itself.
    • Shouldn't you call it jumping the Unagi?
    • Especially the Grand Finale blows the HSQ through the roof, into space and then through the whole universe, until the recursive nature of the universe - not infinite enough to contain that much awesomeness - curved it back unto itself, creating an infinite cycle...
  • Not to mention, it made me feel sorry for an emo character. Normally I can't stand emo characters.
  • I personally found Avatar to be just a really interesting show, until the finale. Then it turned into a CMOA for all of Western Animation. :D
    • Especially the finale! The fact that they managed to make Azula, who until that point had been one of the poster-children for Magnificent Bastard in training into an utter woobie by showing a gradual mind-break... my jaw dropped and a tear was shed when she saw her "mother" in the mirror.
    • Agreed. It's a testament to the writing on this show that they can attempt to take a supremely despicable character you've loved to hate throughout the series and make your heart ache with pity for her in the end...and succeed oh so well.
  • My little brother likes it simply due to the frequency of losses for the main characters. Unlike other children's action shows, they really need to work to attain victory, and the 20-episode seasons preclude excess filler. As for me, I read that the entire staff was forced to buy the entire boxset of FLCL and watch it. Looks like it paid off in spades.
  • The fact that it made this troper cry when it ended is a testament to its rightful place among legendary storytelling.
  • Btw, the one silver lining to the underwhelming disappointment that was The Last Airbender is the excellent Prequel manga Zuko's Story. The Backstory we've been dying to see since Episode 3!
  • This Troper can't find anything else to watch now. WHY DID IT HAVE TO END???!?
• Disney is just about my favorite thing ever. Yeah, people may complain about Disneyfication or whatever, but at the end of the day, who cares? The animation is literally the best to come out the US, ever. The music is extremely catchy. The stories and characters are fun and memorable. I just love it.
  • A-men. Why must everything be Darker and Edgier? If you want the originals, go read them, and leave us to enjoy the happiness.
  • And if you really want Darker and Edgier, they've got that too. Have you watched Sleeping Beauty lately?
    • Dammit, you're right! Disney stuff has happy endings, but that doesn't stop the hardcore stuff from happening on the way.
  • Lion King and Mulan — my two favorites. Ahhh, I want to watch those again!
  • Beauty and the Beast is quite possibly one of the most perfect things ever committed to celluloid.
  • The Little Mermaid. Ariel is so freaking HOT!
    • Not to creep people out, but virtually all Disney princesses are foxes. (Not literally, unless referring to Maid Marian.)
  • I had the beautiful experience of not actually seeing Aladdin until I was 16, where I could instantly appreciate how incredibly awesome (and how frequently hilarious) it is.
    • What I especially like about this movie is Aladdin and Jasmine's chemistry. It feels very un-forced and natural, probably one the most natural in a Disney movie. Plus, they're just so darn cute!
  • On the other hand, I've been a fan of Aladdin and The Lion King since age 4. And my love of them both hasn't waned at all since then. I still act like a giddy 4-year-old when watching them.
  • Even with the Disneyfication and the Plucky Comic Relief gargoyles, I still love The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Having one of the best Villain Songs in Disney history helps.
    • Not to mention one of the best I Want Songs of all time.
    • Let's just call the whole soundtrack to that film Crowning Music of Awesome. 'Cause it is.
    • This troper heartily concurs (and absolutely canNOT get "Hellfire" out of her head!), and happens to like the plucky gargoyles. Could Mary Wickles have picked a better final role in her career, I ask you?
    • This troper apsolutly ADORES Hunchback of Notre Dame. It's her favourite Disney-movie of all time. This movie is beautiful! The music is beautiful, the backgrounds, the character-desgins: it's all so beautifully drawn! I love the movie's theme about loneliness and acceptance, and it has one of the best darker stories in all of Disney-dom. Did I mention it got one of the very best Disney-villains ever? I LOVE this movie!
  • Heck, everything Disney between 1991 and 1996 or so is a thing of beauty on some level or other. Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas (historical liberties aside) "Hunchback"...Brilliance.
  • It wasn't the first feature-length animated film ever, but Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs still deserves credit for the colossal artistic undertaking that it was in 1937, and the fact that it so smashingly works even now. Walt and his animators knew that audiences would demand a lot from a movie made this way, and were determined to give them a movie that would stand alongside what other great, live-action filmmakers were doing at the time and justify its then-huge expense. Given that it was both a huge hit and became the standard for what animated features could/should aspire to in terms of engaging audiences with great characters, an involving story, and gorgeous artwork and carefully considered music, it deserves a lot of love.
  • The Emperors New Groove succeeded by being a departure from the typical Disney style with hilarious Lampshade Hanging, brilliant use of the Subverted Trope, and copious amounts of Breaking the Fourth Wall, and yet it still retained the endearing character relationships of Disney. It certainly is a very creative and original work especially in Disney context.
    • It's even more awesome considering that Executive Meddling forced the team to scap THE ENTIRE ORIGINAL PREMISE FOR THE FILM and make into pop comedy to compete with Dreamworks, AND IT DIDN'T SUCK! That's a Crowning Moment of Awesome for the company as far as this tropers conscerned!
  • This movie was the most hilarious animated feature she'd seen as a kid. Still is one of the funniest. David Spade and Disney- who knew?
  • This Troper must say, he considers Treasure Planet to be one of Disney's best films of all time and was VERY surprised to find out that it doesn't seem to be all that popular. Not only is the concept of Treasure Island in space handled handled surprisingly well, but even when viewed as a straight adaptation, I found that as far as Disney movies go, Treasure Planet actually does the original novel justice and is relatively free of Disneyfication. Add this to the great visuals, excellent music, and the surprisingly moving friendship between Jim and Silver, and you've got yourself an underappreciated masterpiece.
    • Agreed, this is definitely a movie that Needs More Love...
      • Third. I epically liked the music.
      • Fourth-ed! I loved how the animation managed to merge 2D and 3D graphics beautifully into a world that really takes my breath away! I want to be in the Etherium naooo!
      • Fifth...ded? Though that might just be because this troper is a sucker for anything steampunk...
    • In a similar theme — Oliver and Company. Listen to "Why Should I Worry" and tell me that is not the coolest dog you have ever encountered in your journies throughout media. Go on. Try and work up the gall to lie that much. I'll wait. (It's Billy Joel, for cryin' out loud!)
    • This troper considers the Parental Substitute arc to be a bit overblown and the "moving friendship" to be something of a Warped Aesop and prefers the ambiguity of the original, which never forgets that a cutthroat pirate is a cutthroat pirate. However, this troper will agree that is a gorgeous adaptation nevertheless.
  • It must be said, as simply as possible: Song of the South, whatever else it may have, contains some of the best animated characters ever rendered in 2-D in the West, and still, as far as This Troper knows, holds the standard for combining live action with 2-D, not to mention some damn catchy songs. Keep Circulating the Tapes, my friends. Keep Circulating the Tapes.
  • Hercules is outstanding, in this troper's opinion a lot better than the myths it's based off of (Hercules killing Megara? Yeah right, they're too cute of a couple for that). Hades is one of the best Magnificent Bastard villains ever, and Susan Egan is amazingly sexy as the voice of Megara.
    • I do not get why people say Disney doesn't care about the myths they base their movies on - they couldn't possibly put a third of the stuff in Greek myth in, it's for kids! And yet they snuck so many references in, proving that they do care.
  • In any case, Disney is appearently on the way of making Darker and Edgier stuff in the future, so there's not really much to complain either.
  • Bambi is the film that made me decide to become a filmmaker. It had a huge emotional impact on me as a kid, and seeing the "Making of" that's on my videocassette immeadiately after put me on a track I might not be on today without it.
  • Flaws aside, The Princess and the Frog is definitely one of Disney's best films. Wonderful cast (both in the movie and the voice work), using all the better parts of the company's animated films (and averting the obvious ones), and it's got Goliath playing as the villain.
    • Oh my lord, seconded. Sure, the plot moved a bit too quick for my taste, but I didn't let it bug me because I felt like a happy little girl again watching it. Princess and the Frog has loads of that Disney magic. Felt just like old times.
  • The Great Mouse Detective and The Rescuers Down Under deserve a mention. The former is a wonderful Sherlock Holmes movie with Vincent Price as the villain and a spectacular climax, and the latter is one of the only good sequels (not to mention one of the only two theatrically released) Disney has ever produced.
  • Tangled proves even further that Disney is still very in-touch with what it does best: fairy tales. Such a good movie with amazing characters.
    • Tangled has become the first Disney film since The Lion King to make over 500 million dollars worldwide. That is saying something in terms of the movie's quality.
  • I love Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers. It somehow strikes a chord in my heartstrings, and at least once a year since the movie came out, I have to watch it again. Every time Mickey Mouse comes up in a conversation, I have to gush about how much I love that movie. Loudly.
  • Even though I can't forgive the movie with some of its racial stereotypes, I still think Dumbo is just as good, if not better, as its contemporary Disney movies. What I absolutely adore about it is the fact that Dumbo (the character) is unlike so many other movie characters; he's just a baby that wants to be with his mother! The animation is stellar, and the music (Oh god Baby Mine) is amazingly beautiful. Oh, and it has the most heartwarming ending in the entire Disney Animated Canon. It's my absolute favorite Disney movie, alongside Fantasia and Pinocchio.
    • Hey now, the racial stereotypes weren't even that bad, considering that the obviously Negro crows were some of the most jovial, helpful, all around likable characters in the whole film.
  • I feel blessed to have Fantasia be the first film I ever watched at age 2, one of my first memories in fact. I can never choose a favourite segment, because the music fits so beautifully with the animation, it's absolutely perfect. It was around age 20 that I started thinking seriously about why I love animation and it harkens back to Fantasia every time; it introduced animation to me, not as something meant only for kids, but as an artform, even if I didn't understand that at the time. Although I love The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and every Pixar movie to date, I still think to this day that if I'd been introduced to animation through any other film I probably wouldn't appreciate it the way I do now.
  • The Lion King, Toy Story 2, Beauty and The Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Frog and Nightmare Before Christmas are this troper's favorite movies due to their epic soundtracks, visuals, storyline and characters.
  • This tropers Disney-favourites is Hunchback of Notre Dame (and now in random order because it's impossible to place:), Robin Hood, The Great Mouse Detective, Mulan, The Emperors New Groove, Lion King and Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
    • And while we're on this subject, Atlantis: The Lost Empire is such a cool movie. This movie have such brilliant characters - the entire team, but especially Milo. He's my favourite Disney-hero ever! And the settings and the way it's drawn with the underwater, underground, and Atlantis itself? BEAUTIFUL! The story, their adventure, and the story of Atlantis and the crystal, is such a cool story. A good story with good characters, in good design. I love this movie.
    • Seconded. Seriously despite it's vibrant art, colorful characters, and cool setting, it was sadly swept under the rug and never revisited. The Disney poster movie for Needs More Love...
• Pixar is my favourite thing ever. All their movies are brilliant pieces of work, and no movie before or since has affected me emotionally as WALL-E.
  • Seconded. They are incredibly creative with their subject matter, and even better, they're and not overtly Anvilicious like so many children's movies.
  • Thirded. Pixar tells the stories they want to tell, rather than the most marketable stories for the current trends. That's why their stuff is so damn good--because it's genuine.
  • Fourthed. This troper can't remember the last movie he saw that had him on the verge of tears well after it was over. He isn't moved by much... which makes the whole thing kind of odd, seeing as it's mainly about a trash compactor who falls in love with a floating egg. Any movie that can pull that off is a masterpiece by default.
  • Fifth'd! Remember at the beginning, how they portrayed that crushing loneliness of being pretty much the only sentient thing on Earth?
  • Sixth'd... Hang on, I'm the first guy. Anyway, the moment at the end, where EVE was desperately trying to save Wall-E? THE best moment in movie history. Ever.
  • Seventh'd. It had a social message about what might happen if we become too lazy and dependent on technology that seemed frighteningly plausible, and yet that message never got in the way of the adorable story of a brave little robot who carved out a life for himself all alone and manages to find companionship. And the fact that WALL-E likes musicals makes the whole thing more adorable. And his bachelor pad is awesome.
  • Eighth'ed: Their storytelling is indeed excellent, but the first sequence that brought me to tears was Wall-E's first sight of space. The animators brought a sense of wonder to every single frame - perfectly appropriate, considering Wall-E's wide-eyed joy in every new thing he encounters.
  • Ninth'd. I saw it with my fella... and then saw it again, and again, as we took first my parents and then his to experience the gospel of Wall-E.
  • Tenth'd? Everything that was said above. And Wall-E himself was SO. DAMN. CUTE. Squee. Gotta love M-O, too. And his fruitless quest to rid the Axiom of "foreign contaminants". The beginning was pure gold. It takes pure genius to make a cockroach look so cute that you just want to hug it. And that you go 'aww. D:' when Wall-E seems to crush it at the end. And when he seems to lose his sentience and then gets it back? Tear. Jerker.
  • Up to Eleven. There's a reason why:
    • 10 out of their 11 movies have a 90+ % rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Cars being the only exception with 74% and 9 out of 11 movies are in the IMDB Top 250 (except Cars and A Bugs Life - their only other movie with a Rotten Tomatoes rating below 95%).
    • Toy Story is the most critically-acclaimed trilogy in movie history. Toy Story 1&2 have perfect 100% ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and Toy Story 3 used to have a perfect rating (now it's 99%) and still has 100% among Top Critics. If you don't go by percentage, they weigh in with 9.4, 9.2 and 9.1 out of 10 - compare that with the 9.5/10 for The Godfather 2. Toy Story 2 is the second best reviewed movie on Rotten Tomatoes and Toy Story is #7 while Toy Story 3 used to be the #1. Toy Story 3 is currently entry #6 on the IMDB Top 250 (it has a 9.1/10 rating, which would make it tie with The Shawshank Redemption and The Godfather for the first 3 spots but lacks the mass of ratings).
    • Up was the second animated movie ever to be nominated for an Oscar for best movie, after Beauty and The Beast's nomination resulted in the creation of a new category so that the constant Award Snubs wouldn't create as much controversy. It's only a matter of time until they win the Best Picture Oscar.
    • What this troper loves so much about Up is the variety in it; there's saddness (for Fredrickson's loss) there's hilarity (usually from the talking dogs, especially Dug), there's exciting action sequences, and there's even a touching, happy ending! On a side note, I actually have a golden retriever, and judging from her behavior (and I've heard this is how most golden retrievers behave) I suspect that if she could talk, she would probably sound a lot like Dug, which just makes Dug even funnier for me!
  • And that reason is: Quality is the best business plan.
• The Road to El Dorado. Sure, it was animated. Yes, there was Narm. But it was a cartoon movie with character development, snappy dialogue that wasn't forced, and slapstick that managed not to spoil the undercurrent of seriousness.
  • Having seen that one first at the age of ten, this remains one of this tropers absolute favorite kid's films. Kenneth Brennaugh and Kevin Kline in the same voice box together? Seriously, how does it get any better than that?
    • This troper absolutely adores that movie, and its characters, and its soundtrack, and its animation...
• The Incredibles: Proof that even superhero concepts that have been explored to death can be awesome again when they're done right. Not to mention character development arcs for all the main characters, a supervillain who thoroughly subverts the usual supervillainous goals and modus operandi, and the Hundred Mile Dash — one of the most spectacular chase scenes ever put to film.
  • This movie, I believe, is what made me fall in love with superheroes.
  • The beauty of this film is that it's not about superheroes who are a family. It's about a family who are superheroes. Family first, superpowers second.
    • The glorious soundtrack is what does it for this troper. See Crowning Music of Awesome.
  • It's the best Fantastic Four movie never made.
  • It's also the best Watchmen movie ever made.
• Finding Nemo manages to be incredibly funny, heartwarming, and tragic all in one movie. And Dory is probably one of my favorite fictional characters EVER.
  • Oh Finding Nemo! My heart was captured within the first five minutes of gorgeous animation, raw distilled emotion, and beautiful beautiful music! And then you just kept on getting even more awesome!
  • This troper is in awe of Finding Nemo's hilarious, sparklingly witty script! Who else could make "P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney" funny? And the voice talent - awesome. Ellen Degeneres and Albert Brooks deserve a lot of credit.
  • Wanna hear something ridiculous? This troper works with kids in an after school program, and one day we (me and my 6th grade class) decided to watch Finding Nemo. And at the very end when Nemo and Marlin are racing towards each other after everything that's happened, I started tearing up. In front of my kids. Oh it was ridiculous. But damn I love that movie.
• I know it's not here, which is a mistake, But Toy Story and it's Sequel really deserve a mention.
  • More than a mention, I'd say--Toy Story is to computer animation what Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is to cel, and the sequel is that rarest of things, a sequel which is actually as good as (if not better than) the original. The reason why awesomeness like The Incredibles and WALL-E exists is because Pixar set the bar high from the start, and then did everything they could to get it higher.
  • Toy Story 2 did the incredible feat of surpassing its already excellent predecessor. When Jessie the Cowgirl started talking about kids outgrowing their toys ... oh gosh, this troper just started blubbering.
  • And just when you thought Toy Story sequels couldn't possibly come any better, along comes Toy Story 3 to completely blow its predecessor (And possibly even the original) away by delivering everything you were waiting for and so much more. Simply put, to call it an emotional roller coaster would be an understatement.
    • This tropette doesn't really cry at movies, but at the end of Toy Story 3 she was pretty much sobbing and laughing at the same time. A fantastic send-off for a wonderful trilogy.
• Monsters, Inc. never fails to give this Troper a case of the warm and fuzzies.
• Hey Arnold is a show that I don't think was truly appreciated in its amazingness. For a Y7-rated show, they got away with A LOT, but that's not why it was amazing. (It only helps its cause.) Helga is a nine-year-old girl who has unintentionally mentally abusive parents and latches onto Arnold early on her life (at the age of three) arguably to keep herself trudging through life. While Arnold is portrayed in the later seasons as being a Gary Stu, I think it actually helps to define how Helga sees Arnold. Plus, the episode "Helga on the Couch" may be one of the deepest episodes ever on a kids' show. It has humor in it, but it's also heartbreaking. Ignore the loose animation style that seems to turn a lot of people nowadays off from the series, watch it with an open mind.
  • Oh, and to continue my case of why the show is amazing, I bawl just thinking about the episode "The Pigeon Man."
  • I've been rewatching the series lately, and now I remember why I loved it so much. It's deep, it has interesting and engaging characters, its urban legend episodes are deliciously spooky without going overboard, and it's surprisingly shippy for a kids' cartoon made in the 90s.
• Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog Needs More Love. Seriously! It's madcap, hilarious, Looney Tunes-style action, and just fun. The show never takes itself too seriously, which is appreciated. It's one of those shows in which the villains are just as entertaining as the protagonists, especially with the vocal talents of Long John Baldry as Robotnik. And the funniest part? The Ho Yay. Definitely. Hearing Tails say "You look hot, Lucas!" is probably the best bit of the whole shebang. Sonic's always crossdressing and enticing Robotnik, who himself has had some "questionable moments" of the sort. Good Lord I am getting off topic. To sum up, AoStH is a classic series. (You knew it was me, didn't you?)
• Time Squad was funny, I mean it had Luke Skywalker/The Joker as the voice of Larry 3000, the Anachronisims, and every rule that makes it fun. I wish people would talk about it more.
  • Seconded! The humor was not half bad, some of the plots were hilarious, and Tuddrussell and Larry's relationship was a delicious ice topping! The old-married-couple-like bickering, the seemingly venomous insults, the pranks and nuisances they did to each other and the occasional Crowning Moments Of Heartwarming were all extremely entertaining and provided hours of great fun to this troper both as a kid and now.
• What would Star Wars be like if everyone was even more Badass and there was more action? It would be Star Wars: Clone Wars.
  • Also, Asajj Ventress FTW.
  • Also, how General Grievous should have been.
• Exo Squad is probably the best war-themed Western animated series, as well as one of the earliest and most successful anime-influenced cartoons, reaching the same, if not higher, level of thematic maturity, quality writing, characterization depth, and animation.
• There's not many series, animated or otherwise, that you can genuinely call epic, incorporating a wide variety of settings, interesting characters, sprawling civilizations and high adventure. The Mysterious Cities of Gold is probably the only pre- Avatar: The Last Airbender series that can rightfully call itself Epic with a Capital E. Despite the "throw everything in but the kitchen sink" nature of its plot, (giant flying mecha? Alien elves? Francisco Pizarro?) it still manages to hold together well. And kudos for the writers for creating such a well-rounded cast (and for creating Mendoza, who is probably one of the greatest Lovable Trickster Rogue Bastards of all time...)
• The whole of the DCAU is the pinnacle of its entire medium.
  • Seconded and thirded on that.
  • Batman the Animated Series was one of the most Badass cartoons in the history of humankind.
    • Da na na NAAAAAAAAAA, NAAAAAAAAAAAAA.. Crowning Music of Awesome DOESN'T EVEN BEGIN TO DESCRIBE IT.
    • Agree a zillion times. That series set the standard for all superhero cartoons to come, DC or Marvel.
    • Thirded! I drove myself into the poorhouse collecting the first three seasons, but it. Was TOTALLY. Worth it. ^_^
    • Agreed completley. Though also, despite what Fan Dumb may say, The Batman in it's 2nd, 3rd, and (ESPECIALLY) 4th seasons did justice to the Dark Knight as well.
  • Superman: The Animated Series doesn't get nearly enough credit for how awesome it is, and it proved that the DCAU could do the Myth Arc and do it well. Superman doesn't have as enormous a Rogues Gallery, but the pure concentrated awesomeness of Lex Luthor and Darkseid (not to mention the reimagined Brainiac, Toyman, Mxyptlk, and Bizarro), made sure that it would reach the same heights.
  • Justice League Unlimited is a culmination of every lesson learned throughout the DCAU. Its first season may be the best individual season of any show of all time (and its second is less of a contender, only because it's so unneccesarily Cut Short).
    • Seconded, but I'm going to say the first two seasons (comprising the first story arc- CADMUS) was pure brilliance.This was a show I started watching to laugh at how over the top it was, and this story made me absolutely love it.
    • Thirded, the entire CAMDMUS arc was amazing. It's thanks to that show that I got into comics. I was so surprised at how genuinely good it was. It remains one of my favorite shows ever.
  • It's been ten years and this troper still loves Batman Beyond as much as she did the first time she ever watched it. She grew up on Batman the Animated Series and greatly appreciates the care that went into sculpting a new Batman who turned out to be just as awesome as the original.
  • Okay, you ready? Here it comes.... BATMAN BEYOND: RETURN OF THE JOKER IS THE GREATEST BATMAN MOVIE EVER! PERIOD!! There. I said it.
  • The four main shows of the DCAU: Batman the Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and Justice League (that includes Unlimited) are just pure and utter brilliance. Intelligent writing, mature storytelling, complex characterization and character relationships with strong emotional investments and universally excellent voice acting. To say that they are great kid shows doesn't do them justice. They're just damn great shows, whether you're a kid or adult. As said above, taken as a whole, they are practically the pinnacle of Western Animation.
• Batman the Brave And The Bold is epic. Epic action, epic humor, Rule of Cool pulled off really well...and the Musical Episode. Squeeeeeee!
  • Not to mention, it has the best version of Aquaman ever. Outrage!
• SpongeBob SquarePants deserves its legions and legions of fans - how many other cartoons feature a sentient poriferan and his echinoderm friend battling a fish dressed as a cowboy on top of David Hasselhoff?
  • "Krusty Krab Training Video" in particular is Parental Bonus brilliance. "Ah, POOP, you never let us down!" "The ceiling is right, Squidward: you're not a very good employee!"
  • I must say, there is something wonderfully subversive about that show too. How many other shows would have a main character who, when being told that a hat makes him look like a girl, respond with utter hope and sincerity "Am I a pretty girl?" So many moments have a Getting Crap Past the Radar feel even if it's not an overtly dirty reference. It seems likely that somewhere out there, there floats an academic paper on Subversive Notions of Gender Roles in Spongebob Squarepants, and I would so read it.
    • Seconded. Seriously, how many other animated shows manage to have so many jokes that appeal to such a broad age spectrum, get so much past the radar, and have a long-running and consistent undertone of deliberate Ho Yay, yet still manage to remain such a fundamentally innocent children's show with completely family-friendly Aesops?
  • The worst part? Seasonal Rot has made the show entirely despised by everyone, and now all those classic episodes have been buried under the newer Flanderized ones...
• Rankin Bass' The Hobbit. Two Words: Brother Theodore. His Gollum and the whole awesome Nightmare Fuel sequence in his creepy cave more than make up for the show's painfully '70's animation.
  • Bonus points for using Tolkien's original lyrics in some of the songs, and for not wimping out with the big bloody battle at the end. (And Smaug is impressively badass, too...)
  • And speaking of Rankin-Bass, The Last Unicorn is the best thing they ever did. A grown-up fairy tale with unconventional heroes, clever writing and a Bittersweet Ending. A movie which is scary and heartwarming in all the right places. When will Hollywood wake up and realize that a good cartoon relies more on the quality of its writing, than on the quality of its animation?
    • The Last Unicorn, how I love thee.
  • The Flight of Dragons was also a winner. Epic fantasy, beautiful, signature character designs, in-depth dragons, and James Earl Jones? ^_^
  • What about the Christmas specials that made them famous?
• The Secret of NIMH - One of Don Bluth's first brave efforts to destroy the Animation Age Ghetto. If he had just kept to making mature and non-pandering movies like this one instead of trying to emulate Disney, he would have done a lot better.
  • Also if Justin the Rat doesn't make you want splendor at his characterization genius, nothing will.
    • Let's not forget Mrs. Brisby! Actually, theres a Still of Justin and Brisby kissing. If that doesn't turn you, absolutely nothing will.
  • Seconded!
  • I credit this movie with giving me the idea that rats are not scary or gross, but incredibly cool. An opinion I maintain to this day.
• Don Bluth has another gem called All Dogs Go to Heaven. The premise is amazing, and Burt Reynolds and Dom Deluise are perfect voice actors for the titular Charlie B. Barkin and Itchy Itchiford, respectively. Overall, it is a film that is dark, hilarious, sad, and heartwarming at the same time, a combination that everyone should try. Plus, it is as much for adults as it is for kids.
• Arthur is not just a kids' show, and I know I'm not the only adult who loves it. Anyone and everyone can enjoy it, what with the humor, all of the random popular references ("Brain, if you don't stop, you'll turn into a guy who sneaks around in the rafters dropping chandeliers on people!", not mention parodies like Henry Screaver and Persimmony Glitchet), the lessons that aren't completely full of Narm, and awesome occasional celebrity appearances (my favorite is Art Garfunkel as The Singing Moose). Some people write it off as a family-friendly version of The Simpsons, but it has its own style. Honestly, some of the humor (especially the more subtle Shout Outs) gets funnier when you become an adult:

Francine (to Brain): Brain, if you don't stop this now, you'll be some outcast running around in the school rafters dropping chandeliers on people!

• Transformers. Especially Beast Wars and Transformers Animated. You get action, interesting characters, and the kind of coolness that can only come from Transforming Mecha. All this, and possibly one of the best toylines of the modern age to back it up, making Merchandise-Driven a blessing rather than a curse.
  • On the subject of Transformers Animated, it deserved a lot less complaining around the beginning. The characters and plotlines won over quite a few naysayers(this troper included). I defy you not to find Bulkhead very very huggable or Prowl ridiculously cool. And Optimus gets some surprisingly awesome moments(Endgame, 'nuff said). The 80's kids can keep their G1, I'll be happy with my Animated. <333
    • Can't we keep both? <3
  • The Transformers: The Movie is probably the most metal kids' movie ever. A bunch of robots (many of which have viking helmets for heads) fighting robotic sharks, robotic squids and a giant goddamn planet to the sound of the best hair metal money could buy? Badass.
  • Beast Wars is brilliant, even though there's no reason it should be. It exists to sell toys. DESPITE this, it's funny, engaging, and even sometimes sweet. It's the best Transformers series, TV or comics, ever, by virtue of the writing, the acting, and the often-beautiful animation. This Troper even has a soft spot for Beast Machines, which, if nothing else, tries to do more than sell toys.
    • Someone really needs to make a Beast Wars movie. The perfect preview would be to make it LOOK like King Kong fighting the T-Rex, and right when the T-Rex is about to loose: TRANSFORM and shoot Kong, and then another TRANSFORM and Mecha-Kong shoots back. THEN introduce the characters as Optimus Primal and Megatron. That would be so awesome it would disrupt the space-time continuum. Just keep Michael Bay as far away from the movie as possible.
    • PRIME. First TF show I really got the chance to watch, and I am blown away by the character development, the humor, the plot lines. It's FANTASTIC!
  • Let me tell you a story: After watching Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, I was sure that nothing in whole animation will ever impress me on that level ever again. Several anime were close but still not enough. Then I watched Transformers: The Movie and my reaction was exactly the same like after watching TTGL – I was staring at the monitor for good five minutes, unable to say anything more than simple wow.You got the touch, Optimus Prime, you got the touch.
• The Looney Tunes series is the greatest collection of animation in the world. Their top directors - Bob Clampett and Chuck Jones - are the top two animation directors in history. They could work in any style, parody or straight, and invented about half of them. Tex Avery, though he didn't truly come into his own until his MGM years, was the first filmmaker to truly demolish the Fourth Wall. There is a reason that they have become the meter-stick against which all animation is judged. The reason is this: they are the flat best.
• This troper adores Re Boot and has for over ten years. Brilliant animation, deep and compelling characters. She can even still recite one episode off by heart!
  • Yeah! Matrix and AndrAIa forever!
  • Re Boot needs way more love. The script is pure genius, and once you get past the first season's episodic nature and into the storyline, the levels of epic go through the roof.
  • Season 3 made Re Boot one of the darkest shows of my childhood. It's amazing what they got away with once they broke free of the BSNP shackles. Main character exile, off-screen head crushing, Replacement main character LOSING AN EYE, and showing the wound WITH BLOOD on-screen. That would never be allowed to air today. It's probably why Mainframe Entertainment could never get a proper DVD release. Thank God for YouTube.
  • This tropette was about five years old when she started watching Re Boot (staying up until 10:00 at night to watch it, which is pretty much considered late when you're a kindergartener), and she's convinced it helped shape her into the proud nerd she is today.
• The Spectacular Spider-Man may even be able to match (or out-do?) BTAS, given time.
  • I'm not sure one outdoing the other is even an applicable notion. It sounds suspiciously like it belongs in the same folder of ridiculousness as an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object, two symphonies being simultaneously more beautiful than each other, or a man being his own grandfather.
  • There are two reasons why I love this show so much. For one, there's virtually no Reset Button or Status Quo Is God in this show; characters evolve, friends of Peter Parker or even just random characters from past episodes become major villains, and plots carry on to next episodes, much like a comic book (obviously, this has the problem of watching an episode on TV out of context, but this Troper saw all the episodes online and in order). Now, I'm not sure how often this happens in animated shows, but it's a rather refreshing change. And the other reason why I love this show so much? OMG THE ACTION SCENES KICK SO MUCH ASS, HOLY JESUS FUCK!!!
  • The older Spider-Man series holds a special place in this troper's heart. Yes, the people had lasers, but dammit I grew up on it. It was a good show, without Status Quo Is God, and it actually felt like a comic book cartoon.
• It's hard to believe that something like Daria even existed, it was so smart and brilliantly written. I'm sure I'm not the only person for whom it helped get them through middle school or high school, and the characterizations were just spot-on. It's one of my most missed shows.
  • Daria really does merit more love, for all that it's characters were deliberately over the top it managed to feel utterly natural, hell they even pulled off a love triangle that didn't seem silly. Episodes like Boxing Daria showed that it could be more than just cynical humour too, they really did develop their story into something special.
  • So true. One of the most deserved of a cult following ever. This troper owns the entire illegally downloaded series (shhh), and has even checked out numerous '90s albums from the library, just to compose her own compilations of the music used from the show.
• For that matter, Beavis and Butthead was a lot better than it seemed to be during it's height of popularity. For a show about the two stupidest guys on the planet, the writing was surprisingly smart and shows how wonderful Mike Judge is at writing about the banal and ordinary. The music videos were something I didn't appreciate as a kid but now they're just hilarious.
• On that note: King of the Hill. Its wonderfully deadpan in its humour, with the best use of irony this troper has ever seen. Its characters are flawed, failed human beings who you just can't help but like. They're the type of characters you feel you could actually meet (indeed I know many people who remind me of those characters). And it never, ever resorted to hugely outlandish scenarios or Jump the Shark moments to deliver a laugh. It is, in my estimation, a thousand times better than Family Guy or the modern Simpsons.
  • When I grow up, I want to live on Rainey Street. And gosh darn it if the show doesn't make you feel like you can. It's the realest, most true-to-life animated show I've ever seen in my life.
• People who complain about how Cartoon Network has no good shows nowadays are obviously forgetting about Chowder. It's colorful, fun, and a Parental Bonus-packed shows that doesn't treat its audience as if their age is the same number as their IQ.
  • Seconded to the max. Chowder is the best show Cartoon Network has come up with since Ed, Edd n Eddy.
• Forget about George Costanza, for {{Geoduck me}}, Jason Alexander will always be Eric Tiberius Duckman. What the hell are you staring at?
• South Park is a show which, in this troper's opinion, actually gets funnier every year (although season 12 could have been better). I don't know how they do it!
  • Seconded, strangely. Strangely because this troper is, and has a reputation for being, the most innocent person over 10 she knows and usually frowns upon Dead Baby Comedy. So much that she always assumed she'd hate South Park. Then she actually watched a scene from the movie "Blame Canada", to be exact...and she loved it. And now she's addicted. Weird, man.
• I know Teen Titans had its Anvilicious moments, but by golly, I love that show anyway. Robin may be partly responsible, but still... "How Long Is Forever?" is one of the most heartbreaking and yet beautiful television episodes I've ever seen. And as for "The End"...wow, just wow.
  • Especially Slade's lines in "The End". "For the record, I'm nobody's servant!" Just...wow.
  • Raven + Calling the Old Man Out = Pure, utter CMOA.
  • Oh, seconded seconded seconded. Where will I ever find another show with such engaging and endearing characters, awesome action sequences, genuine humor and heartbreak, that's not afraid to be off-wall-zany one minute and deadly serious the next? Besides Avatar of course...
  • Aftershock. Part. Two. Tear Jerker and Crowning Moment of Awesome all in one. And the MUSIC...
  • This troper would like to give a special mention to the Season One and Season Five finales. The Apprentice episodes have to be one of most seamless and well-written cases of arc-welding she's ever seen and "Titans Together"? Dude... Bad. ASS.
    • Honestly, don't get this troper started on Apprentice... FAVOURITE. TT. EPISODE. EVER. I love how it shows Robin's dark side, that it has inspired innumerable fanfics, and Slade is such a Magnificent Bastard (it helps that his voice is pure sex...).
  • Now now, let's not forget to include Things Change in the season five finale. Who cried? Definitely not me. *shifty eye*
  • Despite the fact that the only two English people in the show were villains with bad teeth and terrible skin and there was no non-stereotypical English character to act as contrast... the show still holds a place in this English troper's heart.
    • That said, Beast Boy made a rather epic Brit.
• First of all, let's give some general love to Venture Brothers. That having been said, let's give some specific love to Dr. Girlfriend who, in this troper's opinion, manages to be one of the most complex, nuanced female characters in television today, even WITH her five-pack-a-day voice. Who knew?
  • Hell, all the characters are complex, nuanced, and interesting. Even the titular Venture brothers, the most cartoonish of all the characters (by Word of God, even), are deep and complex if you pay attention. Even the characters who you'd expect to be one-note jokes in any other show (including, as you said, Dr Girlfriend). One of the best written shows, ever.
    • Damn. Right.
• Not enough love around here is given to Space Ghost Coast to Coast. Especially Zorak. Who can't love him?
  • The Christmas episode sold me. HI MY NAME IS BRAAAAAAK.
    • Flipmode is quite possibly the funniest 15 minutes ever aired on Adult Swim. Just to name a few:
  • My God! Wooden Eels! SURFACE! SURFACE!
• Zorak is dead! MURDERED! Moltar, serve the first course!
  • DO NOT! DISTURB! THE JUDGE!
  • God, that was violent. I blame....the sea.
  • Dive! Dive! SUCK ON THE PIPES!
  • Hold on Busta, we're going underwater!
  • Hey, wood! We should build something!
  • IT'S SYMBOLIC, Moltar. Things don't always have to do things!
  • I guess now it's a better time than ever to name our first sponsor! Natural Gas. IT GIVES YOU SOME IDEAS, HEH HEH!
  • THEN WHAT WAS THE POINT OF SANDING MY FACE OFF?!?!?!
    • Every time I see that episode, it puts me in a good mood.
• The X-Men animated series was wonderful. It managed to condense the comics and make them a little more kid-friendly. The fact half the people this troper's age who read the comics now admit this was what started it all for them is good. Also, my first OTP comes from here.
  • X-Men is the show that got me into the comic. For which I shall be forever thankful. ^_^ Also, their treatment of Dark Phoenix remains my favorite animated moment in superhero TV shows ever.
    • Suugars, X Men the Animated Series is purely one of the greatest animated series ever made. They made the show kid-friendlier than the comics: no one ever dies and they have Family Friendly Weaponry (Where did the poor Morlock get the Jedi Lightsabers?). Yet they included all those mature themes (racism, religion) that you just don't see in animated shows these days. Not only that, they gave the printed character life with both the spectacular roles they were given (despite being crippled by The Worf Effect, Wolverine is still Badass, and he makes the best lines in the series) and the awesome voice casting (Rogue, Apocalypse, Mr. Sinister, I'm specially looking at you).
• Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron was the last hurrah of traditional Western animation, at least in this generation. And what a hurrah it was! It out-Disneys recent Disney. Sure, it has its flaws, but the sheer amount of heart the people working on this film put into it positively makes it glow. It works beautifully on a technical level, too - if digital animation really is the way to go from here on out, can't we at least have more tradigital films like this, please?
  • I first saw that movie when I was nine and obsessed with horses, in a special early screening. It's remained special to me ever since.
  • This movie holds just as special a place in my heart. Even aside from the gorgeous animation, the heartfelt music, and the simple but powerful story, my mother was always a huge lover of horses--I owe my own love of them to her. She was diagnosed with cancer the year before it came out, and got to see the preview for it included on Shrek. She died near the end of that year, and so never got to see Spirit. When I finally got to see it the following summer, all I could think as I watched it through my tears was 'My mother would have LOVED this...'
• WITCH is one of the best animated shows of the last decade. It's entertaining the whole way through and the animation is lovely. Plus, the cute girls aren't bad either.
  • Well, the first season was pretty generic Magical Girl fare, but the second season (with Greg freaking Wiseman on board) was awesome...especially Nerissa, particularly at the end...
• Superjail is one new series I absolutely adore, and one of the few programs on Adult Swim (Or, really on any program block on TV) that makes me almost constantly happy, and I am not the type who finds ultraviolence funny! It's a show that, despite it's effed-up subject matter, doesn't take a mean spirit to it, which I find weirdly satisfying. Plus, and a big plus this is, the animation is wildly original, a character in itself among several just as hilariously quirky :) .
• The Simpsons. No matter when or even if you think the show Jumped The Shark, you've gotta admit that there's no other show out there that could have pulled off a 20-year run with a number of good episodes. Even the dullest episodes (yes, even "The Principal and the Pauper") achieve at least a few laughs. I don't think there's any other show that could claim that.
  • This troper grew up with The Simpsons since she was a little girl and still watches every single episode. It isn't really meant for kids at times, but the fact that a cartoon can be so funny to adults for twenty years is amazing.
• Family Guy may today be known as an Anvilicious Gag Series, but the first three seasons were pure brilliance, making me laugh almost consistently.
  • Seconded. Yes, it was Anvilicious, but only a show like this could make something like frequent cutaways to totally unrelated segments work so well.
    • Despite how Anvilicious it can be at times, and how annoying some gags are, the series is still capable of producing funny episodes. Three Kings best exemplifies this and in this troper's opinion, is by far the greatest episode of season 7.
      • Hell even now it's a Anvilicious Sadist Show it's still awesome.
• Kung Fu Panda, all the way. What's not to like? Gorgeous, lush animation (as well as a wonderfully stylized, rip-roaring, truly awesome 2-D dream sequence). More laugh-out loud moments than this troper remembers in an animated movie since Emperor's New Groove. Absolutely kickass Training Montage. A hero who is genuinely affecting, good-hearted, and endearing who you actually want to see triumph. Incredible cast of supporting characters. Excellent voice work. A true dedication and proper honor paid to the art of the craft, the integrity of the world they created, and the Chinese culture they were depicting. A villain who, however much you agree he was misguided, tragic, and worthy of redemption, you can't deny was complex, menacing, Badass, and thoroughly effective. And wonderful, exciting, memorable music, courtesy of the always inspiring Hans Zimmer * worshipworship* . Dream Works did everything right.
  • Seconded. The fact that Dreamworks did everything right, in this troper's opinion, is enough to make this one a Crowningmomentofawesome. Plus, the MUSIC. PRETTTTTYYY.
  • Thirded. How the HELL did I miss seeing this one in theaters?! Freaking... gorgeous... scenery... animation... music... gaaaahhh...
  • Fourth'd, oh so much. I haven't watched a single movie on DVD so much since The Lion King. Not once has an extremely detailed website got me so hyped. And the music! And the animation! The voice acting (especially Shifu and Tai Lung)! The choreography! It's just awe-inspiring.
• This troper rediscovered Animaniacs on Youtube recently and realized that they were so much wittier, funnier, and savvier than he ever gave them credit for.
  • It took this troper by surprise too. After passing them over along with the rest of children's TV back when it aired, to hear wit like this — "All we know is that we like you. We have no taste,but we like you." — is spurring a need for box sets.
  • Animaniacs is made of pure, unfiltered AWESOME!! It's fast paced, hysterical, is funny without being gross, and had the most adult humor in a kids show I have ever seen. It is exactly on the border of the Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism, is well animated, mature and doesn't go out of its way to offend everyone.
  • This troper was baffled by Animaniacs when she was a kid. Now she knows why-- do most kids get the Whole Plot References to Les Misérables? Not to mention all the Getting Crap Past the Radar. And, despite this troper's childhood bafflement, much of the humor works on two levels. The "to be or not to be" "translation" skit works for the adults because the dichotomy of Dot's translations with Shakespeare is hilarious, and for the kids because she says "skullhead". It's just masterful humor.
• Freakazoid is funny. What more do you need?
  • Mention that it's a children's show that features former President Clinton, Princess Diana, Bill Gates (who can be mentioned by name because he's a close friend of Steven Spielberg) and even Henry freaking Kissinger. That's what I need.

Bill Gates. It not only runs Windows, but it washes them too!

• If there's only one E/I cartoon you should watch, it's Warner Bros' Histeria! The producer of Tiny Toons and Animaniacs brings us often-hilarious sketches based around historically important events and people, and you gotta love that wacky group of singing children known as the Histeria! Kid Chorus, 'cause if you honestly don't, you've got serious problems.
  • Not to mention that when they weren't Getting Crap Past the Radar they were running the radar over with a steamroller, or dropping the network censor onto a naval mine. Literally. "Alright, damn the torpedoes it is!" indeed.
• Pinky and The Brain. Come on, it's a show about two lab mice trying to take over the world. What's not to love?
• The Fairly Odd Parents deserves far less shit than it gets.
  • I used to watch that show all the time!!! As I grew older, the episodes did start to seem a little simplistic to me...but that doesn't stop me from still enjoying it.
• Home Movies is just wonderful. Much more subtle and understated than most Adult Swim shows, yet still utterly hilarious. Coach Mc Guirk is a living testament to the genius of H. Jon Benjamin. And what other show would do something like the Rock Opera of Franz Kafka?
• Over the Hedge derserves a lot more love - it's one of the few non-Disney movies with heart, charming character designs and beautiful animation all the way through. The celebrity voices aren't half bad and the characters (both animal and human) aren't Ink Suit Actors! One of Dream Works' better movies.
  • Aren't Half Bad?!?! The celebrity voices make that movie! Bruce Willis as R.J.? Awesome! William Shatner as the dad opossum? Hysterical! The Crowning Moment of Funny in that film is when William Shatner explains the possum philosophy:

"You have... to DIE... if you want... to LIVE!!

• • • I read the original comic strip for about two years before the film was announced. The movie made me laugh more. And you're talking to a guy who sees the flaws first in adaptations and never sees the point of them. (To be fair, yes: Coraline was awesome too. One more statement like that and my "Snob" badge will be revoked, but I could care less.)
• What, nobody gushing over Invader Zim? The rapid-fire social satire and perpetual mean-spirited humor that blend the low and high brows of comedy makes for a series that will never, EVER fail to entertain.
  • Not to mention that it supplies hysterical characters that are somehow strangely endearing despite their, uh, eccentricities. Oh, and it painted a lovely shade of gray over the whole Hero and Villain concept. Depending on the point of view, Dib or ZIM could fit either role. And that's just awesome.
  • The incredible Alternate Character Interpretation in this fandom is to DIE for. Seriously.
    • The Cyberpunk-ish and totally dark world of Jhonen Vasquez. He is a mad genius. This troper finally discovered the show on Netflix in late October 2010... and hasn't gone one day without thinking about it since. Gir and his randomness, Zim and that Napoleon complex of his, Dib and his gigantic head, Gaz and her deadpan humor and personality... what's not to love?
• Who else loves The Critic? It had a fascinating ensemble of characters, frequently hilarious scripts, and it didn't assume Viewers are Morons - it was more likely to make fun of people with that mindset. Its frequent use of cutaway gags and rather fanciful universe pre-dates Family Guy while being noticeably wittier and kinder.
  • I do, I do! It was hilarious as a kid, and still just as funny to me now. Jay's father is a walking Crowning Moment of Funny and puts all other CloudCuckoolanders to shame. He's Secretary of Balloon Doggies ('cause the balloon doggies demanded it), the first black female head of the Ku Klux Klan (who, when running for Vice President, just wants to say AMERICA STINKS!), and the Energizer Bunny on the side.
    • And he posed for the Krazy Glue logo! How do you top that?
  • Me too, and let me tell you something: I liked the smart parodies and humor, but what I really LOVED about this series was the incredible well development drama and storylines. My God, this cartoon had more credible relationship development that most of soap operas
  • I first found it late at night watching Comedy Central with no school the next morning in my middle school years. I got around to watching it again recently and concluded that it was far ahead of its time.
    • Research tells me that Judd Apatow was a writer for it. That explains a lot.
• I must say that I probably wouldn't be the X-Men fan I am today were it not for X-Men: Evolution. I know it has its flaws, but... I love it.
• Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!! This troper is completely serious. Yes, there were a few episodes that were pretty lame, but overall, this is an incredibly under appreciated series with some wonderful storytelling, great characters/relationships between them, and a desperate need for an ending. (Darnit, Jetix.)
  • Seconding this. So many people I know never even heard of it, but it had a GREAT cast and some of the episodes and plots were fabulous.
• Olive The Other Reindeer is an inexorable part of this Troper's Christmas Eve tradition. It's clever, creative, fast-paced and witty, with a a genuinely funny and heartwarming story, not just the stock Aesops and toy shilling. A rather unique animation style, bolstered by a witty script delivered by a fantastic voice cast, topped off with a couple of really cool songs here and there (Drew Barrymore can't sing at all, but she's still fantastic in the lead role).
  • Oh, this troper totally agrees! Even if it was just because Michael Stipe voiced one of the reindeer. And the Fandom Rejoiced bigtime.
  • YES. This troper watches it every Chirstmas and wishes there was fandom.
  • Extra yes here. And there's something hysterical in the backgrounds every few seconds. We watch it every Christmas (even though we're Jewish), and sometimes we still find something new to laugh at.
• DuckTales hasn't been listed already? How can that be? One of Disney's first animated TV shows, and adaptated from the work of Donald Duck comic book writer/artist Carl Barks, this was one of the biggest factors in the start of Disney's Renaissance in the late 1980s. How can you not find this, a show about ducks who hunt for treasure, awesome?
  • WOO-OOH!
• Phineas and Ferb is surely the greatest TV show Disney's made in this decade. There's something about a teenaged girl being upset by her little brothers' summer activities while their pet platypus is off pestering a mad scientist that really makes it work.
  • The thing going for the Disney Channel these days are the cartoons. Weekenders and Recess are two of their older shows, and while we're stuck with Anvilicious dramas about superficial girls, you have Phineas and Ferb, a show that goes over-the-top for litte kids and is actually funny.
  • This very pretentious smugy adult LOVES this cartoon...Even the elite has a kiddie side...
    • This Troper loves it. This Troper's Nephew loves it. This Troper's sister loves it. This Troper's Mother loves it!
  • This Troper will state why, outside of catchy tunes and hilarious moments, this show has a genuine heart to it. No one is truly mean, not even the bully and especially not the "Evil" scientist. Refreshing for a kids show. The episode that sums it all up is "Summer Belongs To You." I'm not going to spoil anything but it shows just how well the characters interact and how optimistic the show is.
  • Phineas and Ferb is genuinely warm, genuinely witty, and so rife with tropes that the main entry is two pages long! This overage Troper started watching it with her son and now watches it whether he's anywhere in the vicinity or not, peppers her everyday conversations with quotes from the series, and shills the show to anyone with the patience to listen. She also has her own Perry the Platypus t-shirt, and no, you may not borrow it!!!
  • This Troper absolutely LOVES this show for its humor, cast of characters, and, as most have said before, genuine heart. Speaking of the characters, I must mention that the Phineas-Isabella pairing is one of the most ADORABLE pairings I've seen in cartoons(I know they're a little young for that, but still); there are definitely some moments where I just wanna say "Aww!" Anyways, if anyones asks if I'm a little old to be watching this show, I'll proudly respond, "Yes, yes I am." :)
  • This Troper really, really thinks that it is not just too good for a Disney show, it is legitimately one of the best western animation shows, if not the best, that aired in its years, and that includes non-Disney, more adult-oriented cartoons.
  • This troper is one of the many teens and adults who think that today's kids' shows are hit-and-miss, mainly miss, and longs for the simple, fun 'toons of her youth. Phineas and Ferb could easily be one of those shows that she loved as a kid. It's good enough to compete with the best of them, even taking the Nostalgia Filter into account.
  • After having a panic attack, this troper was lying down in her moms room, watching Summer Belongs To You. And it helped me calm down a bit, working as a distraction. It, along with Adventure Time, are my two favourite shows. But where Adventure Time is mostly sheer insanity and randomness, Phineas and Ferb has some really heartwarming, sweet moments. Its bizarre and funny, but it's got some really sweet moments and even a few tearjerkers. And for being so simplistic, the animation is amazing. All in all, its a fantastic show.
    • That episode you mentioned really helped me out one night when I was depressed. Generally it's just a big load of happy. :-)
  • King Nerd This Troper just loves the sheer insanity and whimsy of the show though I find Candave to be an overused Running Gag and Iseabella to be something of a Mary Sue I live every one else so I don't mind.
  • Phineas and Ferb is the gift that keeps on giving. Just when you think it's all over, they can't possibly top that last one...bam, they do. Endless creativity, plenty of Character Development, laugh-out-loud humor...the show just gets better and better, and yes, they're making Season 4. (It seems like the type of thing that would be Too Good to Last, but you have to hand it to Disney Channel--they know when they have something good, and they know when to stop the Executive Meddling and let the creators push their horizons.)
• Speaking of awesome Disney cartoons, it's not on anymore, but Fillmore is just super-cool, thanks to relying on copius Mundane Made Awesome.
  • Seconded. Fillmore kicks so much ass. A modern-day children's cartoon that parodies '70s Buddy Cop Shows — and pulls it off? Sign me up.
• Ferngully: The Last Rainforest is one of the most beautiful movies ever made. A lot of people are quick to dismiss it as overly idealistic Anvilicious "tree-hugging hippie crap". This troper asks "What's wrong with that?" (and Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped). Anyway, the art is gorgeous, the songs are fantastic, and Batty and Hexxus are two of the most memorable characters you'll ever see in a non-Disney animated feature (it's no exaggeration that they have the best songs).
• Kim Possible has gorgeous animation, solid storylines, plenty of Lampshade Hanging, and characters that anyone will inevitably fall in love with. What more could you ask for?
  • This troper is a huge Kim Possible fan. She can watch episodes over and over and still find something new to think and laugh about.
  • This troper believes it to be the definitive Action Girlfriend show, and thankfully holds up well without the Nostalgia Filter
• A more classic example would be Rocky and Bullwinkle. Very possibly the wittiest animated cartoon ever produced.
  • YES! Finally, someone agrees with me!
    • Thirded.
• Gargoyles deserves a mention here as possibly being the best television show Disney has and ever will, produce. It has interesting plotlines and well written story arcs, top quality animation, and three dimensional, sympathetic characters-including the villains! Truly a work of Genius.
  • Oh dear God, seconded. Goliath. David Xanatos. Win.
  • Speaking of sympathetic villains - Demona. And for those whose memories may have shorted out, skip to 4:40, and watch: 5 words for you all - "The access code is... alone." Sad in its own right, but the entirety of the previous 3 episodes dealt with her background!
  • This Troper never even heard of the show until he was seventeen and got interested in it two years later. However, having watched a few dozen episodes now, he can safely say it's one of the best cartoons ever made. Suck on that, nostalgia filter.
  • Not only is Gargoyles awesome in and of itself, it comes with spectacular amounts of Hey, It's That Voice!, making it extra fun for Star Trek fans.
  • Something that bears mentioning is the fact that Gargoyles was one of very few cartoons that did an appropriate Aesop involving guns! Not "guns are bad", but "guns are dangerous, so treat them with respect."
• Ah, Code Lyoko. Let's face it, there is better action out there. But for a supposedly action show, this Animesque sensation had incredibly compelling character interaction. In addition, Jeremie and Aelita remain my favorite pairing from any work of fiction.
  • Agreed. While seasons three and four had a number of weaknesses, all in all, the series was very entertaining, and the characters great (this troper is particularly fond of Sissi Delmas, one of the most lovable of all Libbys.)
• The Nightmare Before Christmas is my favorite Halloween movie and my favorite Christmas movie ever. The score alone is absolutely made of win.
• Biker Mice from Mars remains one of this troper's favorite shows from my childhood. Solid animation, fun dialogue, great characters, motorcycles, explosions, good writing, the destruction of Limburger Tower at the end of every episode- seriously, pick a feature.
• Oh Mission Hill, why were you Too Good to Last? Such great jokes, character development that's rare for an animated series, the perfect balance of crudeness and heart, an eye poppingly wonderful color scheme, awesome writing, and one of the most realistic portrayals of post-college aimlessness. The episodes towards the end of the season were just fucking TV Tropes Made of Win Archive, and makes you wish so much it could have had more seasons. Their final episode, "Plan 9 From Mission Hill" is in a class by itself, a love letter to both great cinema AND the So Bad It's Good cult classics. A great little gem that Needs More Love.
• Danny Phantom. Funny at times, dramatic at others, and having some serious Character Development, it's something that rarely fails to entertain.
  • Seconded. I am completely myopic on my obsession with the series for some four years running now. Also, Vlad is sex on legs.
  • Thirded. This troper has been in love with the show's entire concept since its very first commercials before its pilot airing in 2004. I immediately fell in love with its execution, and haven't looked back since. For me, the highlights of the 2004-2006 years were those blessed 8:30 Friday night timeslots that new DP episodes would air. I don't think there will ever be another show I love as much as this one, what with its Myth Arcs, its sympathetic characters even though they might be villains, and its ability to have multiple-episode arcs while staying episodic at the same time.
  • The night the ninth episode aired where Jazz secretly discovered her brother's Secret Identity, it instantly became my favorite show at the time and the first one I became so obsessed over, I had to find something else to do with it besides watch it over and over. Thus, I joined my first online fandom... and breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't weird that I found the main character so attractive.
    • Oh gosh, that ninth episode. "My Brother's Keeper" is one of the best episodes of ANY animated series I've ever seen. It's extremely touching to see a teenager realistically depicted struggling with depression, self-esteem issues, and a strained sibling relationship. And of course, seeing Danny overcome it all in the end for his sister's sake is heartwarming beyond words. Whatever faults this show may have had, "My Brother's Keeper" is positively sublime, and great showcase of the series at its best.
  • Danny Phantom was the first show that ever got this Troper involved in a Fandom. The last season was weak, but STILL managed to be better than most cartoons! Nick's decision to cancel it was a major nail in the channel's coffin.
    • Whilst 'Phantom Planet' was a good way to end the show, this troper is still unsure about their decision to let everyone know Danny Phantom's true identity, and was deeply saddened that they were forced to abandon some brilliant arcs (e.g. Dani Phantom and Valerie Grey). Still... Fanfic Fuel!
• Word Girl is fantastically written and wonderful. It's just an excellent series.
  • Seconded. Oh, god, seconded. With a fanbase growing by the week (A fantastic feat for a PBS Kids Cartoon), rich characters, stunningly absolutely beautiful animation, great voice actors, the plot...
• Swat Kats is far and away the best animated series that Hanna-Barbera has ever put onto the screen. Not only was it well animated, but until they meddled twice in season 2, it had the best /plots/ of any HB cartoons. It had plot, action, lots of explosions, lots of color... it was AMAZING and as good as or better than a lot of the anime. Just that it was antrho furries, and there was supposedly a "violence in cartoons" flap at the time. Even with only 25 episodes, it LIVED Rule of Cool. And the fans will not let it be forgotten.
  • Why this show hasn't gotten a DVD release is beyond me. It deserves one. A good one.
• The 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is just awesome. Funny, true to the source, and remarkably mature for an ostensible "kid's show". I'll miss it when I get all the way through.
  • Amen. Not only does it stick true to the original Mirage comic books, but improves on them. The Turtles receive better characterization and its humor just makes great stories even better. It's like the TMNT version of Batman the Animated Series. Definitely one of the best cartoons of the 2000s.
• Samurai Jack was a good show, a really good show. It was setup so you could start watching it at anytime and immediately fall into it, yet it was worth going back and watching the earlier episodes. Not for anything like deeper understanding of the story or Continuity, no the show was just good.
  • This troper agrees that is was a very good show (occasional unwanted "comedy" episodes aside), but he disagrees regarding continuity - he loves all the little, subtle Continuity Nods that you pick up when you watch the show in one go.
  • He also just watched one of its best episodes - in which Jack shows up at the end, kicks the arses of the bounty hunters plotting to kill him, and doesn't even speak, just walks away into the snowy wastes while the last alive bounty hunter - the princess - snarls in anger, unable to fulfil her contract with Aku to free her people from slavery by killing him. It's a pretty bleak episode. This is one of the best series he's ever seen, animated or not.
    • One of this troper's favorite episodes is the one that soley focuses on a random robot mook that was (un)lucky enough to be created with emotions. After quitting his assassin job due to not being able take it anymore because of his conscience he's blackmailed by Aku to kill Jack. The ending is predictable, but that gives it much more impact, it's one huge deconstruction of the show's own formula. It's brilliant and probably one of the best episodes of the show as well.
  • The interesting thing is that while many of the episodes were highly predictable and full of clichés, they still managed to be awesome. I really don't understand how it worked, but it worked. I miss that show very, very much and hope the promised movie comes out sooner or later.
• Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy managed to use the same characters, the same setting, and the same time of year throughout all its episodes until the last season or so and still be wildly entertaining. Yes, it was stupid humor, but why is that a bad thing?
  • The characters were interesting. Especially Double D, with his brilliance & ability to make complex machines out of garbage. "Stereotypes"? They were more like the Greek archetypes, if anything. And the Greeks invented drama, so there.
  • The scams were wildly imaginative & entertaining.
    • Humor wasn't everything. The episode where Ed thinks he's a monster is legitimately scary, even though you know that it's just Ed in a costume. The last season also pulled a bit of character development out of its ass, leading to an unusually satisfying conclusion in the movie, & also a Crowning Moment of Awesome for Ed.
• Megas XLR. The show is probably the best Western parody of anime and the giant robot genre around, and that's only the beginning. The characters and situations are hilarious, Coop is a complete subversion, and somewhat deconstruction, of the giant robot pilot. Not to mention how ridiculous the show can be with characters that include a Power Rangers/Gatchaman parody team, the Super Mario Brothers and Sonic the Hedgehog as killer parade balloons, a M.O.D.O.K. parody voiced by Bruce Campbell himself, and a Mr. T robot. Yes, they are as awesome as they sound. Why did it have to be Screwed by the Network?
  • Megas XLR is the best show ever! The gags are hilarious, it has fun characters, and I enjoy all the mindless destruction. I really wish it lasted longer.
    • Agreed. WHY IS THERE NO DVD RELEASE YET?!?!
  • I DIG GIANT ROBOTS! YOU DIG GIANT ROBOTS! WE DIG GIANT ROBOTS! CHICKS DIG GIANT ROBOTS!
    • Nice.
• Let me be the first to express my love for Up, which proved that Pixar are the undisputed masters of emotional manipulation, and was a damned beautiful movie besides. John Lasseter said it best: "Quality is the best business plan."
• I've got to express my love for Jackie Chan Adventures here. The best moments were definitely the various appearances of Super Moose. That moose was awesome.
• The action was fun, but a bit scripted. The villains were developed and numerous. American Dragon Jake Long was pretty good in its first season. The second season made people wonder how such a thing could come from Disney. The artwork became smooth and detailed, the characters were being detailed by the minute, and the plot of the Huntsclan and the Dark Dragon reached its ultimate prime. Shame it couldn't have lasted longer...
  • It gets downright sad when you read just how epic the Executive Meddling truly was. The series creators had a blog up a while back where they vented some of this, and sadly it's since been closed to the majority of the public — but the stories they told rivaled and probably surpassed Firefly's struggles (Your plot is too interesting for those kids! Your firebreathing dragon has to wear elbowpads and a helmet while flying! We're mandating a fart joke in the pilot! We don't like Trixie sounding like a black girl! Make Jake use slang all the time, even though you wanted it to be a signal of him being about to do something stupid and morally questionable!). It gets awesome again when you realize everything that ended up on the air is what they slipped past this bullshit at immense pain and effort.
    • And then it gets more awesome when a lot of the show's staff and voice cast left Disney afterward, and the first thing they worked on under a freer rein was...Avatar.
      • I love American Dragon Jake Long as well. It's a shame that so many people are quick to call it terrible because of Jake's Jive Turkey, because there is so much that is fantastic about the series. For one, for a Disney Channel show, it pushed the envelope dramatically with the Jake and Rose storyline. Second, unlike most Disney Channel villains like Dr. Drakken or The Dark Lord Chuckles the Silly Piggy, the villains were more threatening than comical, which as someone who likes villains, I think is awesome. Third, the show has so many story arcs throughout the two seasons that there is actually a real story going on in the series, which is pretty rare for a Disney show. Most Disney Channel shows are shows that are two 11-minute episodes long that are in no way connected or are Monster of the Week shows.
• I've got to add Captain Planet. This show taught us nineties kids a whole lot, and managed to be exciting and iteresting too. I still love it, and introduced it to my younger brother, who has declared his desire to become a Planeteer. Tell me you didn't want one of those rings.
• Godzilla: The Series is definitely the best thing to come out of the American Godzilla movie. For one, Godzilla himself. He isn't a lame mutant iguana, he's GOD FREAKING ZILLA here, in all his fire-breathing take-on-the-world-and-WIN badassery. It also scores major points with me for not only homaging a lot of the original Godzilla monsters, but for having Godzilla take on the Loch Ness Monster.
• Aeon Flux. Goddamn it, why can't we have more awesome, sexy, surreal, Mind Screwy shows any more.
• This troper is absolutely in love with The Secret Saturdays. Nice animation, the heroes don't always win, the characters are all entirely loveable, the script is wonderful, the family dynamics work well, and the fact that said troper has been a lifelong cryptozoology fan is the icing on the cake--especially because aside from cameos it's mostly lesser-known but very interesting cryptids.
• While is aware of the films flaws ( 2 should had lasted longer before he died.), 9 is one of my favorite animated pictures. The animation's amazing(this coming from someone who perferes the 2D animation style), the music's enjoyable, the characters, while flat, are mostly likeable, the music's amazing, and the voice acting's is well done.
  • Seconded. 9 quickly rose to the top of my "favorite movies ever" list after I saw it, simply because I feel like it was made for me and people like me. The premise, the design, the characters... I couldn't believe that there was so much awesome packed into 80 minutes of movie.
• I can't believe nobody talked about The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. It's simply awesome. It takes a setting that could be too serious, or too much of a downer, and transforms it in an interesting comedy resource. It's hillarious to see that all magical places can be full of amusing people. Teehee.
  • Seconded. The episode "Who Killed Who" deserves special mention, what with its eerie atmosphere and a fairly epic twist. "She beat death", anyone?
• Rugrats, Rocko's Modern Life, and Ka Blam!!. These three cartoons were my favorites while growing up watching Nickelodeon!
  • This troper was very loyal to Rugrats growing up (ironically, she came to appreciate the older episodes much further on then they were first aired)- Tommy was first a baby when she was one! Not to mention Hey Arnold, Rocket Power, As Told by Ginger, The Fairly Odd Parents, All That...
• Why oh why can't we have vigilantes like Darkwing Duck anymore...
  • Agreed, this troper was shown a clip of the show by a friend and instantly fell in love with it. I then proceeded to watch every last episode on Youtube, and despite being on the idealistic end of the Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism, it still managed to keep the balance of action and drama with comedy and slapstick perfectly balanced. The show has some of the most memorable characters to come out of Disney's vaults, both heroes and villains.
• The Superhero Squad Show. When I learned of a new Marvel show coming to Cartoon Network, I was excited. Then I was disappointed on the chibi animation it would have. Sure enough, it turned out to be the Avengers in Televised Super-Deformed format... and it was awesome! I'm only familiar with some major Marvel characters like Iron Man, Spider-Man (Wonder when he'll appear) and Wolverine, but seeing all the universe's characters in each episode just makes it great. The animation is actually quite impressive and the voice acting... Well, I'll name two voice actors to give you an idea: Tom Kenny (as Iron Man) and Steve Blum (as Wolverine, reprising his role from Wolverine and the X-Men; only here he has a lighter sounding voice).
• Coraline is one of the best movie adaptation ever. Who knows that kind of movie could've been animated in stop-motion? The voice acting is one of the best in the movie history, the soundtrack is creepy yet impossibly awesome, and the script... well, just look up Fridge Brilliance for details.
  • Second. This movie was made for me.
• This might be a bit obscure, but Richard Mc Guire's short at the end of Fears of The Dark. Fears of The Dark is an French anthology of five black and white horror short films. Most of them aren't anything special but Mc Guire's is incredible. The way he uses the black and white is unbelieveable. There's this one part where the man lights a fire in a black room, and white light rolls over the black and... I can't describe it and do it justice. You can watch part of it here but if you're an animation nerd you owe it to yourself to see the full thing.
• Okay, Mainframe Entertainment is responsible for a number of shows that might not have seemed like awesome concepts, but their final execution manages to surpass expectations. Re Boot was already mentioned, and there's Beast Wars, of course, but perhaps one of the best surprises these guys brought about was the Hot Wheels World Race series. Somehow, the team managed to take what was little more than a marketing gimick and give it a magnificent final form, especially with the Acceleracers mini-series. Characters were fleshed out, action was exciting, the plot went lots of places without ever completely losing focus, and the sheer amount of dis-trust within the entire story really makes it feel real, like the characters are actually paying attention to how insane their situation is. And, minimal product shoutouts, which is a nice bonus. All around, a solid show that, upon viewing again some years after the fact, still holds up.
• What about Total Drama Island? That show is hilarious. I found myself actually caring about who won, and all of the Getting Crap Past the Radar was hilarious. Not to mention that Courtney and Duncan made an awesome couple.
  • Seconded. Wonderful, complex three-dimensional heroes and villains, realistic portrayal of teenagers in their not-so-natural habitat. Love and friendship blossoming even under the intense fire of competition. Third season especially, which had the best Crowning Music of Awesome Teletoon has ever had to offer. And, of course, the hilarious moments that brought tears to all our eyes. Special mention goes to Gwen for being the original series hero, for staying strong through all the crap she took in Action and World Tour, and just for being my favorite. You'll always be a winner in my eyes, Weird Goth Girl.
  • King Nerd I have been obsessed with it since the moment I first saw it it's just so bizzare with the funniest host of all time.
  • For that matter, Total Drama: Revenge of the Island; everyone thought the new cast would ruin everything, but as soon as I saw the first episode of it, my mind was completely blown away. In more ways than one.
• Robot Chicken is a very funny comedy. It has wonderful parodies and unusual style. And once I found out that the titular Robot Chicken is a metaphor for average child, watching all that shit all day long, it almost made me cry. No, seriously.
• Does anybody remember Widget the World Watcher? It DESERVES to be on dvd! The story does talk about saving the enviroment, but it's way more upbeat than Captain Planet.
• Wakfu! Oh, Wakfu! If I could live on beautiful animation, Wakfu would be my only sustenance. Ankama really outdid themselves; they've created an expansive, detailed fantasy world with a beyond-loveable Five-Man Band on an epic quest that, despite having a relatively low quotient for originality in its overall premise, shows the blood, sweat, and tears put into it in every frame, and has an irresistible charm that keeps you looking for more. Watching something that people loved creating is good for the soul, and Wakfu is a shining North Star in that department. Many a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming and Crowning Moment of Awesome are contained within this little French beauty, and it hasn't even finished its first season yet (which unfortunately means that non-French speakers either have to go hunting for wild subs or will have to wait for the English dub to roll around). The international fandom for this show is far too small, and woe am I who has no one to fantard over it with.
  • Seconded. The first season is over, and it is one of the most incredible finales I've ever seen in an animated show.
• I LOVE The Golden Age of Animation, all those old cartoon shorts from the 30's and 40's, from the heartfelt and cute ones to the zany slapstick ones. Whenever I'm in a bad mood I'll just sit and watch some old cartoons, and they make me feel better, as they ought to, since their original audiences were going through the Great Depression and World War Two at the time. Walt Disney, Tex Avery, Looney Tunes, Popeye, Tom and Jerry, it's all good.
• Are we forgetting to gush the most hillarious kid-friendly, Parental Bonus spouting, wonderfully written comedy of all time, Rugrats. Shame on you and Nick for canceling it.
• All this and no Moral Orel? You could fill out a list of reasons the show kicks ass on 387.44 million miles of printed circuits in Cyrillic binary and it wouldn't even come close to adequately explaining just how much of a triumph the show is. Here we have a show that so perfectly blends comedy and drama, love and hate, biting sarcasm or empathetic character study, that it's impossible to finish the series an unchanged man.
  • And the third season is AMAZING. Seriously. This show made me think, it made me howl with laughter, it has even made me cry. And I didn't even cry during Grave of the Fireflies.
• Peter Pan and The Pirates. With Tim Curry as Captain Hook, copious amounts of Nightmare Fuel, and well-developed characters, how could you go wrong?
• Any fan of animation deserves to sit down and watch Mighty Mouse the New Adventures. Though it's place in animation history seems to have been tainted by that preacher saying he saw Mighty snorting cocaine in one scene, it's so ahead of it's time it's crazy. Without it, all the great animation of the 90s wouldn't have happened. Check it out.
• Any fans of King Arthur's Disasters out there? What a brilliant show!
  • YOU. ARE. A. Fl IPPING. SAINT.
• Cats Don't Dance. Gorgeous animated movement, unmatched line-quality and colors; golden-age Hollywood shout-outs, likeable characters, and an amazing villainess. And, of course, epic show numbers. It leaves you kinda speechless, don't it?
• How to Train Your Dragon. While Your Mileage May Vary if you had read the books(which I didn't yet), it was a fantisc film all the same. My only gripe is that, while Astrid is no Shallow Love Interest, the love relationship between her and Hiccup isn't that all that developed. They could be just friends, and it won't change anything.
• The Ruby-Spears Mega Man cartoon. Guilty Pleasure to some, So Bad It's Good to many, but this troper unabashedly loves it. The voice acting was excellent, especially Ian James Corlett and Scott McNeil, and the animation was good too. Especially in high-budget episodes. ^^
  • Seconded. Though my friend, a Mega Man fan, tries to pretend this show doesn't exist, I can't help but watch it once in a while out of, say, the guilty pleasure thing.
• I love Codename: Kids Next Door. All the kids are adorable and badass and hilarious. And I love the Delightful Children From Down The Lane, even if they are a bit creepy.
  • Yes! This show was fun and amazing. Where else could you see an episode involving secret agent children battling the monstrous, sentient food of an evil lunch lady who eventually unleashed a giant sandwich demon upon the town, so the kids fight back with a genetically engineered super wrestler hamster, and the entire time they're singing rock opera? Codename: Kids Next Door is and will always be spectacular.
  • I positively love this show. The thing about it that really impresses me is how simultaeneously childlike and mature it is. The Two-By-Four Tech, the wonderfully over-the-top theme vilains, that awesome treehouse, all serve to give the series a...erm, delightful tone, just like how an especially imaginative child might see the world. And somehow, it manages to be suprisingly mature at the same time - the characters are well-developed, the stories are sometimes rather dark and sophisticated, but it never really goes too far (at least, most of the time).
• Say what you will about the annoyances the Cash Cow Franchise has brought, but the original Ben 10 series was just plain alien-superhero fun.

Seconded by King Nerd I love all the aliens and Ben and Gwen make such a cool duo with the Grand Finale "Goodbye and Good Riddance" being the bet conclusion to any series ever,it kills me inside that Ben 10 Alien Force din't continue on from there.

• Generator Rex has done what I thought was impossible and restored my faith in Western Animation. A compelling plot, characters that are deep and Deconstruct common themes often used. It can be serious when it wants to, and still retain humor that's genuinly funny. Plus, The fight scenes are epic and the weapons have multiple areas covered.
  • Seconded, oh so much. This tropette also loves how they avert tropes like Designated Protagonist Syndrome and Invincible Hero with Rex. Instead of being like other heroes who are made only to be a nice, perfect role model and end up reminding you of a cardboard box, Rex is instead a charming Jerk with a Heart of Gold, and we love him for it. It's also one of the only shows that can seamlessly combine Body Horror and comedy.
  • Thirded. This troper just caught up with the series and it's the reason I've started getting back into Western Animation. I'd also like to mention that, being Hispanic, I flipped out at the idea of a Mexican-Argentinean hero. Yes, Rex does have quite a horrible accent (though it's canon that he could never speak Spanish well, as his brother points out) and not all of their references are accurate, but for an American animated action show for kids? This is hands-down the best work I've ever seen. Besides that, the show takes a lot of risks with the violence and dark themes it can show, and it really makes me appreciate the work the writers put into it.
• Did it keep me up at night as a child? Yes. Can thinking about it or even getting a line stuck in my head keep me up at night now, even though I'm over 20? Yes. Do I have an irrational fear of rabbits, especially anthropomorphic ones because of this movie? Heck yes! But, sweet Frithrah! I love Watership Down and its gorgeous animation, music, and over-all story telling. It's just one of those things that's worth the psychological scars.
• The Weekenders! The show has great characters and is just so funny. It's also swimming in Running Gags — but they never get annoying. And the theme song's sung by Wayne goddamn Brady, which is the icing on the cake.
• Ruby Gloom The show is hilarious and uses typically scary and villainous characters in a cute and funny way. And you know you enjoyed those before and after episode skits. What other children's show stars a re-animated doll, a skeleton, a cyclops, a banshee, a ghost, a bat, three ravens named Edgar, Allan, and Poe, a two-headed monster and a black cat?
• The Super Mario Bros. Super Show. I know it's not as perfect as the games, but I really enjoyed the acting of Captain Lou Albano (may he rest in peace), and how they fleshed out characters like Luigi, giving him the sort of cowardly feeling he would canonically adopt in later games, and even Bowser (King Koopa) was just a load of fun to watch.
  • The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3. More action than the predecessor, but the Koopalings had their own personality, moreso than in SMB 3 (this Troper likes Morton/Big Mouth the most), not to mention that the music actually matches the NES-like notes.
    • Super Mario World...y'know what, screw it, I know the shows aren't very accurate, but I'm a complete sucker for video game-based cartoons...unlike some.
• The Angry Beavers. Everything about this show is almost like Ren and Stimpy, but on a cleaner scale, somewhat. It's very zany, the characters are fun, and even my dad likes the title (ahem...)
• When I discovered YouTube, I put my Nostalgia Filter to the test. I found that there were some cartoons that I liked as a kid, but not so much now as an adult, but I found that there were cartoons that I appreciated more as an adult than as a kid. I appreciate Gargoyles, Re Boot, Beast Wars and the DCAU for their impacting drama, (although the action scenes are awesome as well), I appreciate Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Pinky and The Brain and Freakazoid for their side-splitting hilarity, I appreciate DuckTales, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, Darkwing Duck and Tale Spin for the warm fuzzy feeling that each episode leaves you with and I appreciate the first Ninja Turtles cartoon simply because it exists. Nowadays, I'm a huge fan of X-Men Evolution, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Transformers Animated and the second Ninja Turtles cartoon for most of the reasons mentioned and I'm eagerly waiting for Young Justice to air.
• Adventure Time. Seriously. Outside of Chowder and Flapjack, this is the best show Cartoon Network has had in ages: amazing animation, unique characters, and an offbeat sense of humor. Not to mention the crapload of stuff it gets away with. Granted, not everyone may understand the show, but it has a large teenage fanbase. The show was originally headed to Nickelodeon, but they wanted to water it down because it was too weird; Cartoon Network greenlit it a few years later and gave Pen Ward more creative fredom, slapping it with a TV-PG rating. I commend CN for making such a bold move.
  • This troper finds it particularly notable that Adventure Time is a clever, fast-paced show stationed in a scenery and style reminiscent of those kiddie shows. It's quite an entertaining contrast.
  • What time is it? Time to gush about this show. This troper also finds this cartoon extremely enjoyable, largely because of the Widget Series-ness and the Surreal Humor. But the main reason is because the Land of Ooo is a whole nother world, extremely colorful and with a drawn out map to boot! And there are so many princesses. Not to mention it all takes place After the End which is really cool. It also takes dark turns once in a while and stablizes it with heartwarming moments, which more cartoons now-a-days need. Matt Groening also likes it... so yeah.
• Regular Show is possibly the best cartoon this troper has ever seen. It's a Widget Series but the characters are so real and lovable. The humor is witty and edgy, and the character designs are so clever! JG Quintel, I salute you!
  • I must gush as well. This show gives me hope that there are still good cartoons out there, and that creativity isn't dead. I have an uncompromising man-crush on JG Quintel for this show.
• Can't believe there's no mention of The Ren and Stimpy Show yet. No show, earlier or later used Deranged Animation so gleefully and amazingly well. It was pure entertaining to watch with its' nonsensical sense of humour, Status Quo Is God taken Up to Eleven, unforgettable characters that became the basis of a cartoonish duo, loose, intentionally off-model animation, and popularising the controversial Gross-Out Show and Gross Up Close-Up. This show is an innovative classic that every cartoon fan should be familiar with.
• Sym-Bionic Titan. As if Genndy Tartakovsky didn't prove himself enough as a great director, this show just enforces it! Great, likable characters, fantastic writing and directing, great comic timing, awesome battles, and something I haven't seen in a western animated series for years: A VILLAIN WHO SCARES THE LIVING S**T OUT OF ME! And as if that wasn't enough, there's actual continuity and character development! And as if THAT weren't enough, episode 10 ends with a giant robot fighting a giant monster WITH AN 80'S LOVE BALLAD PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND! It may not be as artistically done as Samurai Jack, but when you worst complaint you have for a show is "it's not Samurai Jack", you know you have something good on your hands!
  • This troper admits getting into this series because of Lance, but came to enjoy this series for this humor, writing, sad moments, and heartwarming moments. The battles are awesome and the characters all have their awesome moments and she loves the music and how they used an actual song from the eighties in episode 10. She can't wait for the next season.
  • Adding to what they said, why this show works for me is the level of subversion or different routes it takes that most TV shows with teens leads end up playing straight with. Bitchy cheerleader? Nope. She becomes a better person and falls for a nerdy guy. Male lead being an idiot while the female is the smarter one? Nope. Lance may be more impulsive then Ilana, but he is clearly not an idiot (as so much as he makes idiotic decisions) who is VERY good at what he does. Bad guys who linger and send their minions to do the work for no reason? General Modula actually has a reason to stay (securing and ruling the planet he conquered) and when he does show up, he often pulls of a villain act that makes him downright scary. Teens with "attitude" who references pop culture and catchphrases that usually end up annoying? Nope. Lance and Ilana speak like actual people. I could name more, but this show is golden.
• Doug. This was my favorite show as a child, and still is. The characters and storylines are great, and has some good Ear Worms as well. I prefer the Nickelodeon version, but I don't HATE the Disney one.
• Courage the Cowardly Dog.
  • And you should all be ashamed for it. Was it full of aesops? Did it have an ongoing plot? Was there any character development besides like... TWO villains of the week turning over a new leaf? No. But it was freaking awesome.
• Anybody remember Magic School Bus besides me? I loved that show when I was a kid and I recently began rewatching my old favorite episodes. It's still great, but now I'm beginning to understand why. First of all, the science revolved around the plot instead of the other way around in other edutainment shows. You follow the characters on their adventures and as they learn, you learn. The characters were unique and relatable, if not entirely well-rounded and, unlike most edutainment shows that just preached at you, there was a plot. Most important was how the kids solved the problem of the episode - by using knowledge they had and seeking out knowledge they didn't have, with the teacher providing guidance, but hanging back so the kids could work the answer out on their own. That's the best way to learn, as far as I'm concerned; and it worked, too. I learned a lot of science from that show. Plus the idea of imagining yourself on one of those wacky field trips was a blast and who wouldn't expect some kind of wackiness from a teacher with more crazy outfits than the cast of a Final Fantasy game?
  • This troper remembers watching that show in preschool. I understood every second of it. While I really can't enjoy the episodes so much anymore, mainly because I know everything they have to teach inside and out, you have to hand it to the writers. They made 54 episodes spanning a wide range of topics and teaching complex scientific concepts...and they made it accessible to four-year-olds. This show was the entire reason science bored me to death in grade school. "Teacher, do we have to go over plate tectonics again? I already learned all about it when Dorthy-Ann lost her books at an underwater volcano."
• I started watching My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic, and despite me being an older male, I just can't stop! The characters have their own unique personalities so they're not so flat and bland, the writing is nicely...written, and the humor is appreciative! Count me as an official "Brony"!
  • It helps that they're all adorable. Especially Fluttershy.
  • Seconded. This show is the definition of why you should NEVER judge a book by it's cover. Like many Bronies, this troper was a bit skeptical hearing about it. I mean really, a show about six cute, colorful ponies having regular adventures while learning about friendship? Then, out of curiosity I decided to watch the show...and I'm so glad I did. The characterization of the main cast is spot on, the self-aware humor rules, and in an age where most cartoons rely on gross out humor or vulgar jokes, this show avoids all of that while being fun in it's own right. All while having the most adorable little badasses you've ever seen. By far, one of the best break-out hit cartoons of the new decade.
  • Thirded. This troper got into the series in a similar manner to the one above-was very skeptical about it, got curious, and I am now a major Brony and very proud of it. The characters are given fantastic characterization, and are incredibly enjoyable to watch. The humor is great, and I love the fact that the show's creators actually follow the fanbase. And while the show is great on it's own, it holds a special place in my heart-I have a history of frequent depression, but upon discovering this show, it's no longer a problem-all I have to do is watch an episode, and I instantly feel better. Also, for some reason, I've always felt more closely attached to fantasy than reality-and since this show has impacted me greatly because of that, due to it's fantastic characters and world. Sure, it may be a bit weird that a show about cartoon ponies was a life-changing experience for me, but it's the truth. In short, I love this show and don't plan on stopping anytime soon.
  • In particular, I really love the show/brony community's mascot, Derpy Hooves/Ditzy Doo. I really love her. She makes me smile, she has legions of fans to help further her identity and is one of the sweetest ponies I've seen on the show. She is a hard working single mother, she has saved the universe with Doctor Whooves, she has a great friends like Carrot Top, a possible other daughter in Sparkler, she can be either very adorable clumsy or mentally or physically handicapped, she just fills me with so much love I proudly ate a muffin and wore grey on March 1st, aka Derpy Day. It strikes me especially as alot of shows can feel agoraphobic and not want many background characters, one that has taken the internet by storm and paved way for many possible brony or pegasister converts to share her love. And Dinky is very very adorable, more than likely taking it from her momma no doubt.
  • This Troper is a girl, a sixteen year old. She's bullied a lot. Now, I'm not the type to say a show changed my life... I was always afraid to be myself but this show is amazing and it ended up being the thing to not only make me friends, through the amazing Brony community but I stopped being afraid to be myself, the lessons this show taught me were just the type I needed. These characters showed me sides of myself that until I saw, I couldn't be. So this is my favourite show and for good reason.
  • This troper became a brony through different circumstances than most bronies. Nine out of every ten bronies became bronies after going through a haters phase. I never really hated it, I was rather indifferent to it. In the end though, I sat down and watched it... and I fell in love with it. As a Christian, it has strengthened me also. Because I amvery open about the fact that I watch a girl's tv show (when in reality it has evolved beyond that), it has helped me stand up for Jesus too. Thank you God for making me a brony.
• The HUB's other awesome series, Dan Vs. is simply genius. It's like all the maturity of a late-night TV-14 animated show, but subverted enough that kids can watch it, and it's still good.
• Recess...just Recess. It may seem like a generic show about a bunch of fourth-graders at school getting in trouble, but there's more. It seems to have been created in a way that not only the kids can enjoy, but their parents as well (such as the movie, which is one big Shout-Out to The Sixties). It shows that the kid characters don't need fairies, small superpowered creatures, or superpowers to have an enjoyable show. What we have here are a group of kids that act like real kids. The humor is very witty and there are plenty of heartwarming moments (such as T.J.'s "best friend" essay in "The Break-Up"). Oh, and the main six are pretty Badass Adorable.
• Ka Blam!. Hilarious characters, stories, and really deserved more than Nickelodeon gave it. Henry and June have got to be some of the most hilarious characters in the show (June is the Bugs to Henry's Daffy), and they're pretty cute, too. Action League NOW should be named Crowning Moment of Funny: The Animated Series. Sniz & Fondue was a funny Slice of Life short with two ferret/cat/mole/thingies who are on the geeky side. Prometheus & Bob was one of the bests. Life with Loopy was also a great short, even if it gave you nightmares, it was still sweet. And The Off-Beats was a really good Peanuts-esque short. Sure, a lot of the later one-shot shorts weren't the best, but it's a great show that Nickelodeon should've treated better. And the main duo were temporarily the mascots of the channel.
• The classic episodes of Thomas the Tank Engine And Friends. Drawing on some of the finest source material, and adding great voice talent, amazing model work, and one of the best scores ever (done on a synthesizer, too).
• If no one else will say it, I will: the world of animation wouldn't be the same without Aardman Studios. They are to stop-motion what Pixar is to CG. These guys have given us some truly great stories and characters. There's Chicken Run - a film that manages to be funny, heartwarming and awesome all at the same time, and is in my opinion the unfortunate receiver of the ultimate Award Snub - the majorly underrated and drop-dead hilarious Flushed Away...and, of course, them. That iconic duo who need no introduction; you know who I'm talking about. That charmingly ditzy inventor and his beloved pet. That pet is without a doubt one of the most incredible animated characters ever. He's better an expressing emotion than some Real Life actors are. And he does it all with his eyebrows. Who says you need to have a mouth to win an Oscar?
  • This Troper, who recently found his DVD of "The Were-Rabbit" right before getting Netflix, which has ALL of the Wallace and Gromit shorts, would have to agree. Aardman is a brilliant studio, and it's great knowing that they'll have 2 movies (Arthur Christmas and Pirate: band of Misfits), within months of eachother later this year (and early next year)
• The Mr. Men Show its a simple and amazing show that appeals to everyone. It really give the Mr Men and Little Misses a good modern look. What makes it so great is it has the chemistry of a great cartoon, the jokes, plots, and the music are all mixed in just the right way.
• I hate to say it, but, I actually LIKE "Captain N". Sub-par animation? Yes. Little to do with the games featured in the show? Understatement. Still fun to watch? Hell yes!
• Duck Dodgers. It was funny, clever, well-drawn and had the best theme song ever. I can not gush about the theme song enough. It sounds like the finest Tom Jones impersonator they could fin.... Oh, it IS Tom Jones? Carry on.
• Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes: A well balanced ensemble cast, witty well paced dialogue, shout-outs and continuity nods out the wazoo...and they redeemed Hank "Wifebeater" Pym and made him a cool character. Lemme repeat that: They took the poster child for Never Live It Down and reforged him into a science toting Badass Pacifist!
• Chalk Zone was my childhood defined. I loved to (and still love to) draw and I always wished to be whisked into a world where my creative freedom came to life after I first saw it on Oh Yeah Cartoons. It's theme song was amazing, the villains were creative, and the main characters were incredibly relatable. It still feels like an adventure to watch at 2:00 AM. Obsession? Yes. I'm sad that it had to end after a good 6 years, but Nickelodeon! Put it on DVD already!
• Adventures from the Book of Virtues. This is one of the most creative animated series I've ever seen on TV. I mean, it's very inspirational for an edutainment series. It's got some charming and funny characters, a unique all-star cast, and really neat storylines, the animation and backgrounds are utterly gorgeous and very reminiscent of a Disney movie, and the orchestral music is brilliantly done. Not to mention, the adapted source material segments (which mainly consist of stories from the Bible and the Greek mythology) and the life lessons (or at least "virtues", as the show puts it) for kids are great. It's a shame it's being forgotten in the past few years.
• Not sure if this belongs here or in Anime, But Oban Star Racers is absolutely made of awesome and win. It's one of the absolute best shows I have ever seen, ever.
• Young Justice, people. Freaking Young Justice. This has to be one of the best DC Animated shows since Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League. They manage to keep the set mythology of the characters, and yet keep it fresh and keep us invested. With every episode, you can tell that the writers genuinely care about what they're putting out there.
• Camp Lazlo. It was just a nice, simplistic (in a good way) show that one could enjoy at almost any age. Don't worry about the fact that summer camp is lasting a bit too long. It's also a nice throwback to Rocko's Modern Life, for any viewers who've seen that show.
• No one's mentioned The Powerpuff Girls yet? That show had such clever humor, and some pretty impressive Getting Crap Past the Radar moments.
• The Animals of Farthing Wood: Let's see. It's got some good animation, memorable characters, an absolutely beautiful soundtrack, some very dark moments, and quite a number of genuinely sad ones. Although the third season kinda lacks some of these qualities, the first two are utterly brilliant.