Name this cartoon:

This series ostensibly followed Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, siblings who live in the Warner Bros. water tower. However, the show had a cast of thousands—not to mention the cameos of characters from other franchises and real-life people. Like the best cartoons, it was written for adults but marketed to children. It made the series a classic one—there are so many jokes we now understand when re-watching scenes—and it’s no surprise that there’s talk of bringing the show back for a victory lap.

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This show once parodied The Shining. Of course, I loved it. Like the previous entry, this series was known for its adult-oriented humor (there was a character named Chokey Chicken); only this show certainly dialed it up to 11 (again, Chokey). It was very controversial in its day, which led to its cancellation, but it also became highly influential. To this day, this is the only Nickelodeon show ever to feature a depressed lead character who works as a phone sex operator.

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Is it safe to say that these two are the premier music and pop culture critics of their generation? I think it is. The adolescent degenerates are barely functional and obsessed with sex and violence (as all teenagers are). They also love heavy metal (as all teenagers should). While presented as a simple show, creator Mike Judge’s brilliant writing was often very subtle. The main characters aren’t particularly smart, but the series itself was a deftly written social satire.

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This series ended in 1992, but after hearing two bars of the opening theme, I can guarantee anyone of my generation would suddenly remember the lyrics to the entire song. The series was a bit of Animaniacs-lite (the Animaniacs even replaced this show in 1992) with its offbeat and sometimes surprisingly adult humor. The series followed adolescent rabbits Buster and Babs Bunny as they go through Acme University to obtain their degree and become Looney Tunes characters. Naturally, their teachers were the classics: Bugs, Daffy, Porky, etc.

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This was the show that truly began the anime invasion in the West during the 90s. While few anime shows ever climbed to the level of popularity of this show, none of them had the staying power (aside from Pokemon maybe) this one did. Featuring dynamic action scenes (when the animation wasn’t recycled and when the characters were finished powering up) along with enough sci-fi-fantasy insanity to keep audiences glued to the franchise even decades later. It also helps that they produce good merchandise.

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For my money, it is my favorite show in FOX’s animation domination on Sundays, way back when. A grounded show with subtle humor that appreciated its folksy Texas cast rather than lambasts or parodies them. Sure, sometimes the characters themselves were the butt of the joke, but it was still done with love and affection. There are certain things now—“I tell yah h-what” and “Propane and propane accessories” that are part of the cultural lexicon now. The series was never the giant hit the Simpsons or even Family Guy were, but it certainly deserves to be named among the best and brightest. Dale Gribble forever.

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This series was ahead of its time. It was a parody of superheroes decades before the film craze reached a fever pitch. If there were ever a time to bring a show back—even just in re-runs, now would be the time. Fun Fact: many believe the titular character was a parody of Batman; in reality, he’s a parody of the Shadow—early Batman comics took “inspiration” from the Shadow strips and serials. That said, Batman along with many other pulp heroes of the era are satirized in this series.

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I’m not sure how many people are going to remember this series, let alone the character. Sure, he made his debut a few years before Batman or even Superman. Unfortunately, despite the efforts of, well, everyone, the character hasn’t managed to stay in the public consciousness the way Batsy and Supes have, and that’s a damn shame. His comics are still be published too. This animated series took the titular character to the far-off year of 2040. Here, Kit Walker, Jr. had to discover and come to terms with his family legacy and fight future-crime.

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So, did he ever get with Patti or what? And did that Roger kid ever get treatment for his jaundice? Poor thing. For a Nickelodeon/Disney cartoon, this was a surprisingly heavy show at times. It dealt with unrequited love, depression, death and the adolescent desire to fit in. The series provided a reasonable metaphorical guidebook through the early stages of puberty. Depending on when a kid discovered the show, it was a sign of things to come or a therapeutic way of getting through.

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Hey, it’s the Simpsons, but in New England! But honestly, for whatever criticisms over this show in comparison to the Simpsons, or however anybody feels about what both series were then or have become since, there’s no denying that when this show debuted in 1999, it was a breath of fresh air. There was a clear desire to be different, to be weird, and to be mean. Sure, mean isn’t nice, but it’s often entertaining. The series followed the Griffin family and their talking dog and infant baby—can they understand the baby? Even after all these years, I’m still not sure.

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This show was ahead of its time. With the state of movies being what it is, Jay Sherman’s reviews would be magnificent, and of course, still, end in “It stinks!” Sadly, this series only lasted two seasons. Ironically enough, part of the reason viewers didn't take to the show was that Jay didn't come off as particularly nice or warm. In the series itself, Jay’s own show was constantly in danger of cancellation for the same reasons. Considering how many revivals there are now, perhaps we’ll see the stout hapless reviewer again one day.

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The Animaniacs was brilliant. That these side characters earned a spinoff was not a surprise. Their popular series ran for several seasons with the same subversive comedy and social commentary as the show that spawned it. Episodes followed the eponymous genetically engineered rodents--one a genius, the other insane--as the former attempted to take over the world. Adding in a very knowing nod to Orson Welles’ distinctive voice and patois, and the result is one of the finest animated comedies of all time.

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This superbly influential cartoon was as brilliant as it was controversial. Wonderfully, it was always causing problems for the Parents Television Council for its ability to portray major violence and sneak incredibly obvious innuendo, sexual content and increasingly dark humor. The spontaneous and absurdist style allowed for the titular dog and cat to be living in the Old West one week and be astronauts the next. The constantly renewing setting and broad style allowed the show to remain constantly fresh (in both meanings of the term).

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The last great Hanna-Barbera cartoon followed through super-powered children (there are lots of child soldiers in these shows, aren't there?) fighting a never-ending battle against evil, often represented by their archenemy Mojo JoJo, a genius monkey with plans for world domination and no sense of style. There was Blossom, the leader, Bubbles the, well, bubbly one, and Buttercup, the tomboy. The series itself ran its course back in 2006 but was rebooted in 2017 to much critical and fan acclaim.

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Of all the Gundam shows, this was the only one to really take off in the West. It aired on Toonami alongside Dragon Ball Z and followed a group of teen soldiers fighting the United Earth Sphere Alliance led by Treize Kushrenada and Zechs Marquis. The series wasn’t great with character development but had richly explored themes of war, hate, peace, and philosophy. It asked questions of morality and honor. It never spoke down to its young audience. That’s probably why we loved it. Well, that and the Wing Zero.

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The incredibly meme-able and nigh-unkillable first child of the Simpsons, this Matt Groening creation took the world into the far-off future of the year 3000. This version of the future parodied/took inspiration from sci-fi from every corner of fandom, with obvious love and affection for the genre. With one of the best voice casts of all time and a clear arc set up for Fry and Leela, the series fully embraced its insane concept and managed to simultaneously become one of the best comedies and sci-fi shows of the era.

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By the 90s, the Transformers franchise was on life support. Hasbro decided to produce this show as a last-ditch effort to wring the last bit of money out of it. And then they hired Larry DiTillio and Bob Forward as showrunners. Together, the two not only created a classic series but made the franchise popular again. Eschewing robots disguised as vehicles, they were now animals. The series easily crossed between campy humor and dark, serialized stories. It featured the death of the beloved Dinobot and the coolest Megatron ever.

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This mild, low-impact children’s cartoon is retroactively hysterical with the memes that have come out in recent years. I mean, how great is the internet that it can literally take something as innocent and milquetoast as this show and turn its characters into maniacs and degenerates with just a single frame of an episode and adding a mean-spirited caption. Anyway, the show itself was made to be a helpful tool for younger children; episodes focused on bullying, socializing, good behavior and adapting to difficulties. It really was a nice little show.

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Yet another child, this time named Max, is forced into fighting the eternal war of good and evil. He has a talking bird named Virgil (unrelated to the wrestler) to give him advice and a sword-wielding bodyguard at his side called Norman. Naturally. I remember the commercials for the playsets of this show. God, they were cool. Anyway, Max was made to fight mythic, mystical enemies and even the occasional space invader. His archenemy was called Skullmaster, which rates a 7.3 on the Killmonger Scale of Awesome Villain Names.

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Unlike any of the other cartoons on this quiz, the series started out as a video game series first. The story follows a worm who becomes a superhero after finding an alien mech-suit. He also has a villain called Queen Slug-for-a-Butt. Yes, the humor is incredibly surreal, and the cartoon in its entirety has aged very well. Between the humor and the very concept of the franchise, it’s clear how strange video games and cartoons are willing to be, and that’s always a good thing. And give a follow to creator Doug TenNapel. He’s a good dude.

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Without Beavis and Butt-head, it's likely this show would never have been made. Featuring a similar mixture of crass and subtle comedy, these four elementary school students have endured as animated royalty for decades now. Crossing every line of decency and acceptability, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have created a series that is both incredibly funny and picked apart for its philosophical and political points. Sure, Bart Simpson the head off a statue, but Cartman fed a bully’s parents to him in chili. Sure, Family Guy has a political bent, but Parker and Stone have been called the most important satirists of the last 25 years.

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Success breeds both contempt and copycats. This was one of the many Ninja Turtles copycats that made it to TV in the 90s. Trade turtles for sharks, pizza for burgers, and stealthily maneuvering through sewers for screaming down the streets in monster trucks. While not at all original, the series was not without its charms, or even a sense of pathos too. The sharks want desperately to become human again and avenge their father’s death at the hands of Dr. Luther Paradigm. Pretty heavy stuff for a kid's show.

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This was the highpoint of Disney's decade-long obsession with anthropomorphic ducks. The series followed three brothers--Huey, Dewey, and Louie (the nephews of cantankerous Donald Duck no less)--and their misadventures with their wealthy, cheap and moody great-uncle Scrooge McDuck (really have to drive that duck thing home). The series was so popular it spawned comic books and video games through the 90s. Its popularity and quality endured enough to warrant a reboot series in 2017 starring David Tennant.

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When looks for crystallization of the insane ideas that cartoons are capable of, look no further than this series. It features a sentient sponge who lives underwater, works at a burger shop and has a best friend who is a squirrel from Texas. He can also somehow play the flute with his nose. The underwater community he lives in even has functioning superheroes and supervillains. The only thing more surprising is the series’ vitality. It has 11 seasons, two films, video games, theme parks rides, and very shortly, a musical.

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As I mentioned previously when the anime invasion hit the West, it hit hard. However, few franchises ever get to be a phenomenon the world over. In the case of this franchise, not only was it a phenomenon the world over, but it’s still going strong today. Beginning as a card game and branching out into literally every other media currently available (to say nothing of the recent cell phone game which did gangbusters), this franchise has endured for decades.

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In the 90s, Marvel also produced several great cartoons. This adaptation of The X-Men was probably the best. Serialized, accessible but never talking down to its young audience, the series’ legacy is honored and influence still gigantic. It never shied away from the complicated racial allegories that are tied into the marrow of the franchise and was even able to kill off a character (at least briefly). While the animation has largely been criticized, the writing (and the brilliantly placed Marvel cameos) guarantee the show’s status as a classic.

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To an entire generation (and virtually anyone else who discovers it), this is the definitive version of Batman. It's an incredible feat for what is essentially a children’s cartoon based on a character that has seen so many interpretations that one would need a NASA computer to count fully. Created by many of the producers of Tiny Tunes (I know, right?), this series is a perfect distillation and representation of an iconic character. So iconic that at no point in the intro is the word “Batman” ever mentioned.

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Look, this show had ties (tenuous and theoretical, admittedly) to Macbeth, my favorite Shakespeare play, so of course it was going to show up here. It followed a group of (ahem) creatures waking up after thousands of years to 1995 New York. Naturally, they decide to fight crime. Too bad it wasn't in the 70s when that was really needed. Anyway, the surprisingly complex series offered strong characters and heavy themes including gun violence and interracial relationships. It also featured Keith David's awesome voice in the lead role.

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Following the success of Batman, a Superman spinoff was made with the same production team. The art style was simplified due to budget constraints, but the writing, music, and voice-acting were still top notch. This series not only portrayed Supes perfectly but also Lois and Lex. It also provided audiences with the first adaptation of Jack Kirby’s New Gods in more than 20 years. Hell, there were even a number of episodes where Superman bled. Underappreciated series, the whole thing. Clancy Brown is a national treasure.

Name this cartoon:

This brilliant cult classic was produced by Steven Spielberg and created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini of Batman: The Animated Series. To say this show had a great pedigree is an unbelievable understatement. That fact that it surpassed expectations is a miracle. The show was brilliant in that it never rested. The titular lead was increasingly unhinged, the humor jumped around everywhere, and the world-building was excellent. Unfortunately, its comedic style was too ahead of its time, and the series was canceled. But check it out. While some of the then-contemporary jokes have aged, it’s still great entertainment.

Name this cartoon:

This series mixed accessible children’s comedy with surprisingly deep, emotional storytelling. Taking place in an inner-city boarding house, the series delves into the lives of fourth graders with subtly troubling pasts and equally subtle methods of serialization. The show ran for five seasons, though disputes between creator Craig Bartlett and Nickelodeon put the series in flux for over a decade. However, in 2017, a feature film was released, tying up some loose ends of the series.

Name this cartoon:

I never noticed this as a kid, but in this show, characters were never allowed to directly punch each other. That, along with stringent rules about gunplay, affected the presentation of the show, but clearly, it went right over my head. Despite its FCC-imposed limitations, Spider-Man was still Spider-Man; actions scenes we're fast and exciting and poor, put-upon Peter Parker was, well, poor and put-upon. Spidey’s villains received great portrayals--particularly the Green Goblin. Even Carnage somehow came across well.

Name this cartoon:

A spinoff of Beavis and Butt-head, this series followed the sarcastic and nonplussed eponymous character as she navigated high school and adolescence. For an entire generation, this series was the most realistic portrayal of their own adolescent struggles. It was honest, sad and funny in a way that few series can compare, back before MTV became the establishment. As in the case of series shows in this quiz, its last popularity and impact have allowed for a revival, taking place 20 years later, to be greenlit.

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Name this cartoon:

Of course everyone knows this show. It ruled the 90s. It was the 90s. For a while there, it was the smartest, funniest and most consistent series on television, featuring a sprawling cast and a constantly adaptable style of humor. The show has not only become and remained a pop culture mainstay but the longest-running animated series of all time. It has added catch-phrases to the lexicon known the world over and even created new words along the way. “Embiggen” and “Cromulent” have literally been added to the Oxford dictionary.