The 1990s were an experimental time for animation. The decade saw a bunch of new networks trying to cater to all sorts of new audiences. Even shows for kids felt like they were throwing everything at the wall to see what would stick. That said, the 1990s also saw a rise in animated shows meant for adult audiences, with mature cartoons starting to enter the mainstream.
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
Thanks to this, a lot of cartoons created during the Generation Z timeline, usually referring to the late 1990s to, at most, the early 2010s, often came off as strange. Some employed a unique new art style. Others stood out with what kinds of stories they told. For example, a few animated kid’s shows from this era featured a surprising amount of dark and scary content. However, at the end of the day, what made some of these shows so weird is honestly what made a lot of fans love them.
15 Courage the Cowardly Dog (1999)
Courage the Cowardly Dog was a Cartoon Network series revolving around the titular canine, who lives with his kindly owner Muriel and her miserly husband Eustace in Nowhere, Kansas. Each episode sees the family get caught up in some spooky supernatural shenanigans. While some monsters are friendly or misunderstood, usually Courage has to rescue Muriel from some dangerous fate, making viewers wonder if his name really is so ironic.
Things Don’t Always Get Resolved in the End
The series is infamous for its dark content, with all manner of scary threats targeting the little family. What made things especially spooky was that the series didn’t have much continuity. This means that characters, usually Eustace, could get killed or suffer some horrible fate at the end of the story, even if they are somehow fine by the next episode. In fact, the trend of Eustace getting killed started in the original pilot. In another infamous episode, “The Great Fusilli,” Muriel and Eustace are transformed into lifeless puppets, and this is not fixed at the end.
14 Totally Spies (2001)
Totally Spies revolves around three high school girls in California, Clover, Alex, and Sam, who are secretly spies for an organization called W.O.O.H.P.. the “World Organization of Human Protection.” Most episodes start with a subplot that usually has the girl dealing with some issue at school, usually involving their rival Mandy, before W.O.O.H.P. founder Jerry summons them for a new mission. Somewhat reminiscent of Charlie’s Angels and Josie and the Pussycats, the series is notable for its anime-influenced art style.
Brainwashing and Mutations Abound
Between the girls’ powerful gadgets and technologically-advanced supervillains, this series combines science fiction with a spy series. Early episodes of the series are also infamous for a certain running joke. If a villain’s plot involves brainwashing, Sam always falls victim. When a scheme involves mutations, Clover always falls victim. For her part, Alex often falls victim to being captured or imprisoned, notably being the focus of the “A Spy is Born” two-parter.
13 Dave the Barbarian (2004)
Dave the Barbarian was a Disney Channel cartoon revolving around the titular Dave, prince of the kingdom of Udrogoth. While his parents are traveling around the world, his sister Candy serves as regent, while Dave is tasked with serving as a barbarian hero. Unfortunately, in spite of his muscular appearance, Dave doesn’t have much talent or interest in being a barbarian. However, with the help of his sisters, their wizard uncle, a piglike dragon, and a talking sword, Dave faces off against all sorts of colorful villains.
Things Might’ve Been Weirder Behind-the-Scenes
Much like in The Flintstones, the characters act and do contemporary things, just with some Middle Ages flair. There isn’t much of a fourth wall, with the characters completely aware they’re in a television show. One episode, for example, reveals the narrator doesn’t simply explain what’s going on, but actually controls their universe..
The strangest thing about the series, however, is about what might have been. Over the years, it was rumored that wrestler John Cena would’ve taken over for the voice of Dave had the series gotten a second season. Another rumor alleged that Cena was attached to a possible film adaptation of the series.
12 Chowder (2007)
Chowder is an animated series set in the colorful Marzipan City, where a young cat-bear-rabbit named Chowder works as an apprentice to the chef Mung Daal. Rounding out the business is Mung’s deadpan pixie wife, Truffles, and rock monster assistant, Shnitzel. In a world where everything revolves around food, the next big dish could just turn out to be what saves the day.
Take the Moon, Take the Sun
The series works with all sorts of mediums, even throughout a single episode. A random character or transition wipe could be accomplished with stop-motion animation or puppets. One episode revolving around the characters running out of money even cuts to live-action footage of the voice actors having a car wash. One of the most infamous aspects of the series was that each episode ended with puppet segments, which were unfortunately skipped over when the series originally aired.
11 The Oblongs (2001)
The Oblongs takes place in Hill Valley, a divided town. The privileged and affluent live in the Hills. In the Valley, however, rampant pollution has caused the residents to endure a variety of transformations. The title family consists of patriarch Bob, who has no limbs; his wife, “Pickles,” who lost her hair after moving from the Hills; and their children, Milo, conjoined twins Biff and Chip; and Beth, who has a pink growth coming out of her head.
Things Were Even Weirder in the Book
The show was based on the book, Creepy Susie and 13 Other Tragic Tales for Troubled Children, although some of the darker elements were downplayed. Milo’s friends Helga and Susie, for example, proved to be much deadlier in the book than they were in the cartoon. Of course, in the series, it’s a main point that the people of the Valley are mostly good in spite of appearances, in contrast to the superficial people of the Hills. The series was also notable for being a rare adult animated series that aired on The WB.
10 Cow and Chicken (1997)
Cow and Chicken is a Cartoon Network series made as one of its original “Cartoon Cartoons.” The series takes place in a world where a chicken and a cow are brother and sister. Adding to the surreal nature of the show, their parents appear to be missing the top halves of their bodies, but otherwise appear human.
Then There Was The Weasel
in the original pilot, which aired as part of the What a Cartoon! series, Chicken gets captured by the devil over cigarettes, only to be rescued by his sister’s Spanish-speaking alter-ego, Super Cow. The devil, now known as the “Red Guy,” became a recurring character on the series proper, often with a new identity each episode. Likewise, Super Cow was often needed to save the day.
Like a lot of the “Cartoon Cartoons” of the era, the series was split with another series, I Am Weasel, which proved popular enough to get its own spin-off. Notably, the Red Guy was still a recurring character in this series as well.
9 The WIld Thornberrys (1998)
The Wild Thornberrys revolved around the titular family, who traveled around the globe filming all sorts of animals from around the world in their various habitats. The youngest daughter, Elisa, has a secret power: she can talk to animals. This actually enabled her to become best friends with a chimp, Darwin, who travels along with the family, who is actually quite civilized, especially compared to Donnie, a wild boy the family found in the wilderness.
Talking to Animals Is Just the Start
Throughout the series, Eliza must keep her power a secret. This becomes an issue in the episode, “Dances With Dingoes,” in which her sister Debbie catches her in the act. After getting help from the Aboriginal Australian community, Eliza gets her sister to have strange hallucinations in which she and her family turn into animals, causing her to write off the whole thing as a dream.
The series was also well-known for tackling ghost stories and urban legends, with episodes involving vampires, swamp witches, and all sorts of ghosts. Often, there was a mundane explanation for what happened, though the end sometimes suggested otherwise.
8 The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy (2001)
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy revolves around two kids, Billy and Mandy, who become best friends with the personification of death himself, the Grim Reaper. Billy is a simple-minded boy, while Mandy is dark and relentless, with ambitions toward world domination. When Billy’s pet hamster gets sick, Mandy strikes a deal with Grim to spare his life with a limbo contest, with the added bonus of Grim being their best friend and servant if they win. In the end, Grim learned too late not to underestimate Mandy.
Life’s an Adventure When You’re Friends With Death
As Grim is a cosmic being, Billy and Mandy get to go on all sorts of adventures with him and encounter all sorts of magical beings. These range from going to wizarding school to getting telemarketing jobs for Cthulhu. One of the strangest parts of the series might just be the original pilot, in which a slightly older Billy and Mandy discover the benefits and joys of trepanning.
7 All Grown Up! (2003)
All Grown Up! was a spin-off of Nickelodeon’s long-running series, Rugrats, except now the famous babies are aged up to 10 years old. No longer a series about the world as seen through the eyes of a baby, the main characters are now able to communicate with the adults of the world. In fact, Tommy’s younger brother Dil, who was something of a plot device in the original series, is now a character and one of the gang.
Wait Until They Meet a Ghost
Some of the storylines, like the kids dating and after-school jobs, seemed a little too mature for the main kids, considering Tommy and his friends were explicitly at most ten years old. Some viewers were left wondering why the characters weren’t simply aged up to teenagers instead. Of course, the title also sparked some confusion, since some fans were expecting to see the babies as adults.
While the series was more of a slice-of-life series than the more imagination-focused Rugrats, the series wasn’t completely devoid of surreal elements. The infamous “Interview with a Campfire” special had the gang uncover the graves of a few lost pioneers, complete with a real ghost.
6 Angela Anaconda (1999)
Angela Anaconda was a Canadian-American animated series revolving around an imaginative girl named Angela Anaconda and her friends in Tapwater Springs. The series was notable for its art-style, which featured the characters animated from black-and-white cutouts, giving it a 1950s-style aesthetic. Each episode usually contained a dream sequence, usually involving Angela getting revenge on her nemesis, a rich bully named Nanette Manoir, and her mean teacher, Mrs. Brinks, among other enemies.
From Kablam! to Digimon
The series actually started as a series of shorts on the Nickelodeon series, KaBlam!, which featured slightly different designs for the characters. Despite the somewhat 1950s style of the series, Angela was no stranger to the anime boom of the 1990s: when Digimon: The Movie was released in a few countries, it was preceded by an infamous short in which Angela and her friends are waiting in line to see it. When Nanette causes trouble, Angela has a dream imagining herself and her friends as anime-style heroes.
5 Perfect Hair Forever (2004)
Perfect Hair Forever was a short-lived anime parody that aired on Adult Swim. A young, yet prematurely bald, boy named Gerald searches for the perfect hair. On his journey, he is opposed by the multicolored-haired villain Coiffio. Such characters include a living tornado with two different personalities, a talking tree, and a flying hot dog. The series is a spin-off of the Space Ghost series, with Space Ghost himself appearing throughout the series.
The Strangest Part Was the Scheduling
Probably the strangest thing about the series was its initial release and its production history. The series’ pilot aired without being advertised, with viewers expecting the release of the Squidbillies pilot. After an initial season of eight episodes, the second season was only a single episode. Allegedly, the second season was meant to have over 16 episodes, only for the crew to lose interest in the series. After a hiatus, a third season, known as “Bald,” was released as a two-parter.
4 CatDog (1998)
CatDog stars an unusual pair of brothers; one is a cat, the other is a dog, and they are literally on opposite sides of each other. Cat is sophisticated and perpetually unlucky, while Dog is naive and happy-go-lucky. Living in a fish-and-bone shaped house with an acerbic mouse named Winslow, they go on all sorts of adventures.
And Their Parents Are Even Weirder
The show was especially known for its dark and sadistic humor, with many episodes ending with Cat being somehow humiliated. The mystery of how such a creature as CatDog could exist is naturally a running joke in the series, especially the hidden secret of how they’re able to use the bathroom. A special, “The Great Parent Mystery,” seemed like it would finally answer the secret to CatDog’s origin, but it ended with a twist: viewers instead get to meet CatDog’s long-lost adoptive parents, a sasquatch and a frog.
3 The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (2008)
The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack stars a young boy, Flapjack, who lives inside a whale, his foster-mother Bubbie, and a surly, tall-tale-telling pirate named Captain K’nuckles. Of course, Captain K’nuckles really isn’t the great adventurer his stories paint him as, but Flapjack is his biggest fan. The three have adventures in the port town of Stormalong Harbor. All the while, they dream of one day finding the legendary Candied Island.
Saving the Weirdest for Last
The series takes place in what vaguely resembles the 18th or 19th century, but the talking whale should clue viewers in that this is a series where anything can happen, on land or on sea. The show’s color palette is made up of various browns, greys, and blues, in contrast to more colorful shows. That said, the series saves its most surreal moment for the grand finale: in the last scene, too much candy transforms the characters into live-action actors.
2 Codename: Kids Next Door (2002)
Codename: Kids Next Door takes place in a world where kids are in an ongoing world with adult supervillains, forming groups armed with makeshift technology. The main cast is made up of Sector V, each assigned a different “Numbuh,” who fights adult tyranny while based in their treehouse. As the series went on, the kids and their organization were having intergalactic battles against adult tyranny.
The KND Weren’t Always the Stars of the Show
The cartoon started life as “Kenny and the Chimp,” which was originally going to feature the Kids Next Door as supporting characters before it was decided to make them the stars of the show. Interestingly, the original “Kenny and the Chimp” pilot actually aired
Over the years, a possible sequel series, Galactic: Kids Next Door, has been teased, complete with a video leak. In one notable moment, a recurring character, Lizzie, was revealed to have been a plant-like alien in disguise the whole series. While the concept allegedly started as an April Fool’s Day hoax, it is rumored to have sparked interest in an actual sequel series.
1 Robot Chicken (2005)
Robot Chicken is an Adult Swim stop-motion series, mostly made up of dark reimaginings of classic characters, often ones aimed at children. While many of the parodies take place in the characters’ original universes, just less child-friendly, the show’s stop-motion style allows each skit to evoke what it would look like if various toys came to life. Allegedly, the series got its name from a menu item at a Hollywood Chinese restaurant.
The Most Unexpected Crossovers
A few skits are crossovers of sorts, in which a more family-friendly franchise meets up with a more mature one, like the Crypt Keeper taking down the Monster High dolls or the Scooby gang joining up with Lisbeth Salander from The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Others feature classic cartoon characters in the plot of a darker movie-plot, like the Smurfs acting out a parody of Se7en.
A few characters from the series have become popular in their own right. Bitch Pudding, originally a parody of a Strawberry Shortcake parody, has gone on to star in parodies of The Sound of Music, The Crucible, Pyscho, and Murder She Wrote, in addition to getting her own special.
