Welcome to the world of lists where everyone has a complaint and everyone has an opinion. When it comes to the top cartoon characters of the 1990’s you can be sure there will be generational squabbles about which is the best. Some on the list are original creations, while others have a long history on television, one of them going back to the 1940’s. There are a number of characteristics to the shows that made this list. Some aim at educating the viewers (of all ages) and creatively manage to educate and entertain at the same time. When you can sit down with your children and actually learn something, it makes for a great family connection.
There are other shows that challenge the social norms of the day, something which is becoming more common but started to gain steam in the ‘90s. Despite what the children of the ‘60s say, the world has changed and the messages that come from television, particularly adult cartoons, are far more influential than staging a protest on a college campus with TV news doing the coverage. But the individual characters make the show a top contender to be on the list. There are more than a few shows that wound up having multiple characters make the list because in many cases, it would be unfair to exclude them just to be inclusive of as many shows as possible. For the purposes of the list, many great characters can inhabit a show.
The requisite appeal to the reader’s sensitivity — the shows on this list are in no particular order.
1. Homer Simpson
OK, let’s talk D’oh here. If it weren’t for Homer Simpson the cartoon world would be a lesser place. The catchphrase D’oh is an important piece of American TV culture. He’ll use the phrase when he injures himself stupidly, done something stupid, or as a heads up (or down) when something bad is going to happen right around the corner. D’oh has been trademarked by 20th Century Fox (which brings up the question whether it is now owned by Disney). Like the catchphrase, Homer Simpson is globally known and directly connected to American TV culture (and maybe the real culture as well). “The Simpsons” began airing in the tail end of the ‘90s, just making the cut for this list.
2. Bart Simpson
There is a question whether “The Simpsons” would be as popular a TV show without the presence of Bartholomew JoJo Simpson. He is Homer’s only male child (some are thankful for that) and has a few catchphrases of his own, like “Eat my shorts!” and “Don’t have a cow man!” Then there is always, “Flunk me? Flunk you!” from one of the episodes. Many parents look forward to the day when their children grow up and leave home, but it is safe to say no serious fan of “The Simpsons” wants to see that happen to Homer.
3. Dexter
It seems every generation of TV characters has to have at least one boy genius. The currently popular non-cartoon character is Young Sheldon but Dexter was the definitive boy genius of the 1990’s. This was before the Internet seriously caught on and the idea of actually working with your hands instead of your mouse or mouth was still popular. One of the best things about the character was that no one, including the writers apparently, really knew what his nationality was. His character was inclusive before there were protests and forced political correctness. His inventions were fantastical, and there was always his bigger sister to annoy him. Naturally, his childhood curiosity often got the best of him. What more could you ask for?
4. Buster Bunny
Everything on the “Tiny Toons Adventures” series screams the “Looney Tunes” of the 1960’s except the size of the characters. (After all, it is Tiny Toons.) Bugs Bunny was the most popular of the 1960’s cartoon characters, so it is natural that the lead character in the next generation should be a rabbit — this one named Buster. But this bunny is more of a rover, he has a romantic interest and any mention of his parents is nearly impossible to find, which is appropriate for a more culturally relevant cartoon character of the ‘90s. It is not by accident that parents who grew up remembering Bugs Bunny would allow their children to watch Buster.
5. Doug
Did you know “Doug” was the Nickelodeon channel’s first original animated content series? It proved a successful venture as the character Dough went through virtually every aspect of socially adjusting to school, romantic relationships, dealing with bullying, and self-esteem. These topics don’t sound very far off from the focus of social media today. Doug was not meant to be a pioneer of the 21st century coming-of-age culture, but that is the way it turned out. Perhaps many parents today were children who watched “Doug” and many other of the Nickelodeon shows, moving the core issues of the show to social media.
6. Taz
Taz, a.k.a. the Tasmanian Devil, appeared exclusively in the early ‘90s in the Taz-Mania cartoon series. Many of the earlier Bugs Bunny and Looney Toons fans thought the Taz didn’t get enough face time during their own childhood and may have been responsible for the character’s continuation. He was mostly mouth and always ravenously hungry. If this sounds like you as a teenager in the ‘90s, then there is no need to apologize. It is an accepted part of growing up. Taz also had a few other teenage characteristics, such as having a language of his own. Unless you have a tendency to like rabbits, you can be reasonable assured you are not another version of Taz.
7. Beavis
OK, so you’re wondering why Beavis has been divorced from Butt-head (who will show up a bit later). The reason is that the writers of the show eventually allowed the two stupid characters to grow apart. The story is that the reason the series ended was because the writers ran out of material. That may sound stupid, but it is a common problem for writers. Adding a new character is often a storyline to extend a series, but can anyone really be stupider than these two guys? Besides, Beavis ended up arriving at max stupidity, so where else was there to go?
8. Arnold
The cartoon series “Hey Arnold” was a natural extension of many of the children’s cartoons what has children growing up in single parent families (Buster Bunny) or as only children (Bart Simpson). With Arnold, his story is that his parents go missing for unexplained reasons, and he is sent to live with his grandparents. Oddly, this is a much more common real life living situation for children today, and “Arnold” deals with it somewhat sympathetically. The cartoon is set in the inner city, making it relevant to more than a few school age children, and he is always looking to come up with solutions to his friends’ problems. That sounds more like children today no matter where they live.
9. Butt-head
OK, here is Butt-head. As the show progressed, it began to be obvious that the connection between Beavis and Butt-head, though based on equal opportunity stupidity, required one personality to dominate the other. That is normal-natural, and Butt-head was the one chosen to develop a somewhat dominant personality. But doing that made him just a tinge smarter than Beavis, which resulted in physical conflicts between the two. It also should be mentioned that Butt-head was not the pyromaniac, which got Beavis and oftentimes the show, in trouble with critics and family groups. Still, the idea of watching how stupid two teenagers can max out stupidity is unfortunately entertaining.
10. Sonic the Hedgehog
It was inevitable that a video game would end up creating children’s cartoon series, and Sonic the Hedgehog was among the first. Today it seems the idea has been reversed, with movie characters being converted over to video game characters with professional actors doing the voiceovers. How times have changed. The truth is, the series came under heavy criticism because it failed to make the most of its potential. But it deserves a place on this list because it unwittingly tried to make an interactive video game experience a passive and watchable one. Those who were kids in the ‘90s know the huge difference in video games then and now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fp62EpIWZk
11. SpongeBob SquarePants
Did you know creator Stephen Hillenberg of the “SpongeBob SquarePants” series was a marine biologist? It makes sense that his creation would be something found on the ocean floor. It should be pointed out that real sponges on the ocean floor do not look like kitchen sponges, but made SpongeBob easier for kids to relate to. What is most interesting about SpongeBob is that he is the antithesis of the more popular Bart Simpson because he is intelligent and optimistic. Sometimes in the world of entertainment timing is everything, and perhaps children (and parents) were looking for some balance. Whatever the reason, within two months the series had become Nickelodeon’s second highest rated show, behind “Rugrats.”
12. Lisa Simpson
We return to “The Simpsons” to add another memorable character to the list. The creators of “The Simpsons” were smart enough to insert a family member who is actually intelligent and has a moral compass. Enter Lisa Simpson, younger sister of Bart who is also passionate about many things. But Lisa’s personality not only sets her apart from her family, but also from the rest of the denizens of Springfield. Sometimes it’s hard to feel sympathetic towards the D’oh actions of Homer and Bart, but with Lisa in the picture there are times when it is possible. Maybe her presence in the series made a whole lot of smart kids watch the show.
13. Skeeter
Not to be confused with Skeeter from the “South Park” cartoon series, this character from “Doug” is Doug’s best friend. Skeeter introduced Doug to some of the finer experiences of life, including eating at a restaurant and teaching him how to dance. One of the major attractions of Skeeter for many people is that his character defied the importance of intelligence tests. Skeeter had a perfect IQ score but was only an average student in school. But another reason to include it on this list is the subtle connections it made to the 1960’s, such as Skeeter’s rock group The Beets was a satirical reference to The Beatles.
14. Plucky Duck
Another choice from the “Tiny Toon Adventures” series, Plucky Duck offers a more direct connection to the Looney Tunes character of Daffy Duck. Daffy is his idol, and fans of Looney Toons should know Bugs Bunny would be a lesser character without Daffy in his life. The writers of Plucky Duck knew that they had to keep a large part of the Daffy Duck personality – greedy, selfish, egomaniacal — to make it work with the Buster Bunny character. Regardless of which generation you come from, the rabbit-duck combination is a winning one for cartoonists.
15. Krusty the Clown
Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky is the real name of Krusty the Clown, and once again we return to “The Simpsons” for another of the top 20 cartoon characters of the 90s. Since “The Simpsons” tested many of the cultural boundaries over its 18+ year history, why not add a character whose father is a Rabbi and rejects his father’s wishes who opposes him being a clown? Krusty has a strong influence on Bart, who says, “I’ve based my entire life on Krusty’s teachings.” Disturbing as this is, seeing that Krusty is addicted to a number of vices – gambling, cigarettes, alcohol, pornography, and several types of prescription drugs — at least Bart has a role model to follow.
16. Angelica Pickles
There has to be at least one character from “Rugrats” to make the list, and the choice is Angelica Pickles. She really didn’t know how to dress (or be dressed) and like Arnold from the “Hey Arnold” series, her parents are almost never around. So she is babysat by her aunt and uncle. Because of this, the writers make her the antagonist (as opposed to Arnold) in the “Rugrats” series, being annoying, manipulative, and bullying other babies who are older than her. Throughout the series she was an only child, which apparently the writers had in mind because she was the only Rugrat who remained an only child at the end of the series. Her character is likely to remain memorable for that fact alone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKfYjJq2vXU
17. Kyle Broflovski
“The Simpsons” had their token Jewish character so it is only fitting that “South Park” does too. Both Krusty the Clown and Kyle Broflovski are major characters on their respective shows. But unlike Krusty, Kyle brought on more criticism from the Jewish community, likely because Kyle has a weird interest in toilet humor and normal bodily functions. This may be why is also one of the more foul mothed characters on “South Park.” Yet there are slices of the Jewish community that applaud the presence of Kyle on the show because it portrays what it is like for a Jewish child to be surrounded by mostly non-Jewish people and the many difficulties they face when growing up.
18. Tom Cat
Though there are a number of spinoffs to the Tom and Jerry characters developed way back in the 1940’s, Tom Cat continues to be one of the all-time favorite cartoon characters. In the ‘90s. he appears on “The Tom and Jerry Kids” series where cat chases mouse, but in this series he is more of a kitten than a cat. Many of the cartoons are adapted version of the original “Tom and Jerry” series of the 1960’s but with the violence level toned down considerably. Also, like the early version of Tom and Jerry neither speaks a word, which in itself is kind of amazing that people still gravitate to this show. Perhaps it is because there is still something to be said for imagination.
19. Blue
Blue, the main character from “Blues Clues,” is one of the few characters on this list that children can easily identify with, especially if they have a dog of their own. Blue is a female dog and is able to communicate with Steve and Joe through, naturally, barking. But the entire series centers around the three paw prints Blue leaves in every show, which are clues to the answer to a question asked at the beginning of the show. But behind the clues was a planned approach to teach preschoolers and prepare them for their educational journey. Blue was not only an entertainment character, she was an educational one.
20. Grandpa Lou Pickles
It seems only appropriate that the final character on the list is a mix of a kindly and caring old grandfather who has his moments of being grumpy and grouchy. Grandpa Lou Pickles appears in the “Rugrats” cartoons and is directly related to Angelina Pickles (so go figure). But like the kindly old man, he pampers all the Rugrats kids, and given his age he naturally acts like most of the Rugrats. It is nice to see that the writers found a way to include grandparents, who often take responsibility for their grandchildren it today’s world when their natural parents fail.
True to the standards stated at the beginning of this article, there is a wide range of representation of the types of shows — purely entertainment, educational, the combination of education and entertainment, socially challenging — that have memorable characters we will take into our future years. But it may be more important to pause and examine what effect the shows and characters had on your lives. Many of those on the list deal with problems children discuss all the time on social media.
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