“Enter at your peril, past the bolted door
Where impossible things may happen that the world has never seen before”
If you’re a 90s kid, you surely recognise this theme song. 1990s was the time when the finest cartoons were produced. They were a delight to watch and essentially shaped our childhood. Today we present to you a list of our favourite cartoons from that era which we grew up watching.
The Powerpuff Girls
“Sugar. Spice. And everything nice. These were the ingredients chosen to create the perfect little girls. But Professor Utonium accidentally added an extra ingredient to the concoction… Chemical X. Thus the Powerpuff Girls were born. Using their ultra-superpowers, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup have dedicated their lives to fighting crime and the forces of evil”
Basically, this is the story of the Powerpuff Girls in a nutshell. This cartoon network show was one of the timeless favourites. The show centres around three kindergarten girls named Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup, who were created by a scientist called Professor Utonium. They live in the city of Townsville and fight monsters and evil masterminds on a daily basis. Some of their arch nemeses are Mojo Jojo, HIM, Fuzzy Lumpkins, the Amoeba boys, the Rowdyruff Boys and Sedusa. The Powerpuff Girls are valued additions to the small league of female superheroes. The series was nominated for six Emmy Awards, nine Annie Awards, and a Kids' Choice Award during its run and won two Primetime Emmys and two Annie awards. This show had such a profound effect on the viewers that yours truly once tried to make the Powerpuff Girls by mixing sugar, spice and everything nice (candies and ice-cream mainly). But alas, there was no Chemical X. Thus the Powerpuff Girls were not reincarnated.
Dexter’s Laboratory
Dexter’s Laboratory is another cartoon Network masterpiece. It’s about Dexter, a seven year old boy genius who has a secret laboratory in his room where he keeps his ingenious inventions and does whacky experiments. His parents don’t know about his secret, but his annoying older sister Dee Dee keeps him busy by ruining his work and creating new challenges for him all the time. He has a rival named Mandark, who is also a scientist and has a weakness for Dee Dee. The show had four Primetime Emmy nominations, Nine Annie Awards nomination and three Golden Reel Award nomination and won three Annie Awards.
Rugrats
This one is a Nickelodeon hit. It’s about a bunch of toddlers and their adventurous experiences. We see the world as envisaged by Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Angelica and occasionally Susie and Kimi. After going through the kids’ wild imaginations described by childish pronunciations of everyday words, there is always a lesson at the end of each episode. Rugrats had 32 nominations and won over 20 awards, including the Emmys, Annie Awards and Kid’s Choice Awards.
SpongeBob SquarePants
– Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
– SpongeBob SquarePants!
SpongeBob SquarePants is the most popular cartoon on Nickelodeon and is still running. SpongeBob is a sponge who lives in a pineapple at the undersea city of Bikini Bottom and works as a cook in a fast-food store called the Krusty Krab. His best friend is Patrick, a silly starfish and his neighbour is Squidward, a grumpy octopus. Other characters include SpongeBob’s friend Sandy the Squirrel, his pet Gary the meowing snail and his employer Mr. Krabs, who is a greedy crab. The show has had 43 award nominations and won 41 awards including Emmy Awards, Annie Awards, Golden Reel Awards, Kid’s Choice Awards and BAFTA Children’s Awards. It is so popular that it has its own franchise line generating billions of dollars every year. In 2011 a new species of mushroom, Spongiforma squarepantsii was named after the show’s main character!
There were so many other awesome shows during the 1990s- Captain Planet, Hey Arnold, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Johnny Bravo, The Wild Thornberrys, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, CatDog, Looney Toons… the list goes on and on. The mere mention of any of these shows is enough to make any 90s kid nostalgic. Speaking of which, time to watch the reruns of SpongeBob SquarePants again. That’s all folks!