The heyday of Saturday-morning cartoons is lengthy behind us. In the period of streaming tv, the place providers like Netflix and Hulu have the means to surprise-drop entire seasons of animated exhibits and feature-length movies on subscribers with out warning and and the place (almost) all of your favourite exhibits are accessible with the push of a button, fashionable animated tv is not “appointment” tv and as a substitute is a matter of discovering time to suit it in with the remainder of one’s busy media schedule.

Here at Polygon, we love animation — particularly the period of animation when one needed to be in entrance of a tv set at a selected time of the day on a selected day of the week with a purpose to catch our favourite exhibits. We’ve put collectively a listing of our favourite childhood cartoons and the place you may watch them. For the sake of this listing, a “Saturday-morning cartoon” is much less a matter of whether or not it aired on the weekend or not, however fairly a matter of a present that made any day it aired on really feel like a Saturday in the course of its run time.

Here are Polygon’s favourite Saturday-morning cartoons!

American Dragon: Jake Long

Image: Walt Disney Television Animation

American Dragon: Jake Long made rapid waves in my San Gabriel Valley-based extracurricular group. Sure, he had dyed spiky hair (to point he was a cool Asian to white children), and yeah, it was a mystical martial arts-styled present. But we beloved him as a result of Disney lastly discovered that we beloved Brenda Song, and determined it was time to department out somewhat extra. Like any good superhero present, Jake’s personal arc is concentrated on his means to hone his powers — training his means to shape-shift right into a dragon. —Nicole Clark

American Dragon: Jake Long is accessible to stream on Disney Plus.

Arthur

Image: Cinar/PBS Kids

If you have been a PBS child rising up within the ’90s or early 2000s, you then — like me — might need completely beloved Arthur. The aardvark household was so pretty, even when they didn’t all the time get alongside within the second. I beloved his pals like Buster, Muffy, and Francine, and am nonetheless obsessive about the Library Card Song. The present additionally had tons of cameos, together with late Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. A genuinely unimaginable and entertaining present for youths. (Why am I crying?) Truly, what an exquisite form of day. —NC

Arthur is accessible to stream on PBS Kids.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Image: Nickelodeon Animation Studio

I’ve watched this present throughout so many platforms. I streamed it after its current transfer to Netflix, and in faculty I watched Legend of Korra episodes as they launched on Nickelodeon’s personal streaming website (the ultimate season by no means aired on TV, though the present has since hit cult standing). But as a child I watched the hell out of Avatar episodes after college and on weekends, absolutely engrossed on the planet’s elemental magic system and its geopolitical strife. Its storytelling was subtle for a children’ cartoon, and I watched it as I went from preteen to teen, crossing the chasm of 13. My mother, who typically needed to take care of my cartoon bingeing, genuinely loved watching it too. It stays an animated present that I like to look at as an grownup (up there with Steven Universe). —NC

Avatar: The Last Airbender is accessible to stream on Netflix.

Batman: The Animated Series

Image: Warner Bros. Animation

I may write a blurb on Batman: The Animated Series. I may attempt to sum up, in a brief two-to-four-sentence paragraph, how the sequence formed my aesthetic and narrative sensibilities from an early age and spurred me to pursue a lifelong journey by means of artwork that may in the end lead to me writing about it as a profession.

But as a substitute, I feel I’ll simply quote a paragraph from an essay I wrote final month for the present’s thirtieth anniversary:

My love for Batman: The Animated Series transcends the character or the medium. The present didn’t simply introduce me to the character of Batman, and it didn’t merely cement my love of animation; it opened my world to entire dimensions of artwork and expression and historical past I’d by no means have pursued or identified had I not encountered that sequence from an early age. In no unsure phrases, Timm and Radomski’s present is, nonetheless many levels eliminated, answerable for setting me on the course to pursue a profession writing about artwork and sharing that data and keenness with others. I’m a curation editor right here at Polygon, which suggests my job is sifting by means of the ever-growing and shifting catalog of flicks, tv, comics, and video games and spotlighting work I discover significantly noteworthy, thought-provoking, and exquisite. I by no means would have honed these sensibilities, not to mention thought to write down about them, had it not been for Batman: The Animated Series.

Batman: The Animated Series is accessible to stream on HBO Max.

Beast Wars: Transformers

Image: Alliance Communications

I used to be not but born when the unique Transformers cartoon sequence first aired on American tv however, to paraphrase an previous meme, “Born too late to watch Transformers, born too early to explore space, born just in time to absolutely lose my mind over Beast Wars.” Old-school Transformers followers will shake their heads and harrumph on the thought of the 1996 CG sequence being one’s introduction to the franchise, however to my 6-year-old self, I beloved all of it the identical and couldn’t inform the distinction.

The cartoon advised the story of Optimus Primal and his crew of Maximal comrades who crash land on a mysterious planet — revealed to be prehistoric Earth — together with their mortal adversaries, the Predacons, led by Megatron. Beast Wars was certainly one of my formative introductions to serialized storytelling and a sequence which, years later, even contemplating the dated visuals, nonetheless manages to carry up as a drama that’s as riveting as it’s often hilarious. —TE

Beast Wars is accessible to stream on Tubi and Pluto TV.

Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot

Image: Dark Horse Entertainment, Columbia TriStar Television

Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot to me represents the platonic supreme of what a Saturday-morning cartoon is and should be. Based on Frank Miller and Geof Darrow’s 1995 comedian e book of the identical identify, the sequence follows the eponymous Rusty, a boy robotic who resembles a cross between Astro Boy and Pinocchio, who is ready to switch the BGY-11, an enormous struggle robotic constructed as a last-ditch protection towards world-ending threats each terrestrial and extraterrestrial. Unbeknownst to a lot of the world, nonetheless, together with Rusty, the Big Guy shouldn’t be in truth a robotic— it’s a closely armed battle swimsuit piloted by Lieutenant Dwayne Hunter, who works undercover because the Big Guy’s ostensible “repairman.”

A mashup of broad-shoulder superheroics and sci-fi kaiju motion shot by means of with themes of aspirational futurism and coming-of-age drama, Big Guy and Rusty is the third most inspiring large robotic cartoon this aspect of Yasuhiro Imagawa’s Giant Robo and Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant. Over the span of two seasons, Big Guy and Rusty ventured throughout the expanse of Earth to the far reaches of the moon to 200 years previously and again once more, thwarting evildoers and rising collectively as a surrogate household alongside the best way.

Unfortunately, like so many different cartoons of its period, Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot was canceled on a stunning cliffhanger that also fascinates and perplexes me to at the present time. That stated, with a present like Big Guy and Rusty, it’s the journey that issues greater than the vacation spot. Plus, it’s received an absolute banger of a opening theme track. —TE

Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot is accessible to stream on YouTube.

Danger Mouse

Image: Cosgrove Hall Films, Thames Television

Parodying James Bond — or, if you wish to be particular, short-lived Nineteen Sixties Bond knockoff TV sequence Danger Man — Nineteen Eighties British cartoon Danger Mouse is a few mouse undercover agent, who wears an eyepatch and a white roll-neck sweater, foiling the dastardly plots of evil toad Baron Greenback whereas conserving his hapless hamster companion Penfold out of bother. Kids love nothing greater than humor that makes them really feel subtle and grown-up, and Danger Mouse’s mixture of slapstick, farce, mild satire, and radical, fourth-wall-breaking wit hit this candy spot with unerring goal. It even had the braveness to mock its excellent hero, and the very thought of heroism — Danger Mouse’s important cowardice is commonly what saves his pores and skin. —Oli Welsh

Danger Mouse is accessible to stream on Netflix.

Danny Phantom

Image: Billionfold Inc., Nickelodeon Animation Studio

I nonetheless rewatch the present’s finale on my tiny fifth-generation iPod Nano, which I’d spent iTunes cash on to entertain myself throughout lengthy bus rides to volleyball tournaments. Nothing is extra interesting than a teen drama with an occult streak and a solid that I crushed on.

In case you’re not aware of the plot: Young Danny Fenton (he was simply 14) when his dad and mom constructed a really unusual machine, it was designed to view a world unseen. (He’s gonna catch ’em all trigger he’s Danny Phantom.) When it didn’t fairly work, his of us — they only stop. But then Danny took a glance within it. There was an awesome huge flash, every thing simply modified (his molecules received all rearranged). When he first wakened, he realized he had snow-white hair and glowing inexperienced eyes. He may stroll by means of partitions, disappear, and fly; he was far more distinctive than the opposite guys. It was then that he knew what he needed to do — he needed to cease all of the ghosts who have been coming by means of. He’s right here to struggle for me and also you. —NC

Danny Phantom is accessible to stream on Paramount Plus.

The Fairly OddParents

Image: Frederator Studios, Nickelodeon Animation Studio

Watching Nickelodeon within the early 2000s meant wishing you had fairy godparents like Cosmo and Wanda. That jazzy intro jingle! The energy to get something your coronary heart wishes (with actually weird unintended penalties)! Having to determine which matching set of animals or inanimate objects are literally your fairy godparents! Fun truth: Cosmo and Wanda are additionally marriage targets, having been married for 10,000 years. Sure, they bicker — however present me a person I’ve to endure for 10,000 whole-ass years and I’d not fare almost as properly. —NC

The Fairly OddParents is accessible to stream on Netflix and Paramount Plus.

Hey Arnold!

Imag: Nickelodeon Animation Studio

Hearing “Hey Arnold” will all the time be synonymous with listening to “football head” — the insult of selection from titular Arnold’s bully Helga (who additionally occurred to have an enormous crush on him). To be honest, Arnold’s head is definitely within the form of a soccer. The present was all the time very goofy, with a concentrate on friendship. There is a complete episode the place Arnold and his BFF Gerald try and discover ways to roll their R’s to allow them to look sizzling (relatable). And my dad and mom beloved it as a result of it all the time imparted some form of lesson, like being good to your elders or not mendacity about forgetting to do your homework or actually by no means happening a curler coaster. —NC

Hey Arnold! is accessible to stream on Paramount Plus and Hulu.

KaBlam!

Image: Nickelodeon Animation Studio

KaBlam! by no means skyrocketed to the stratosphere like different Nicktoons in Nickelodeon’s premier Saturday-night block, Snick — in all probability as a result of the sequence defied an elevator pitch that might take it any larger than the bottom flooring. I can relate. I’ve rewritten this rattling blurb 3 times and I’m nonetheless failing to separate this weird contraption into its particular person elements.

Essentially, Nickelodeon employed a collective of indie artists to create serialized animated shorts in a hodgepodge of kinds, from 2D and stop-motion to puppetry and “Chuckimation.” There was a claymated slapstick comedy about an alien and a Neanderthal; a knockoff A-Team led by storage sale motion figures; a hangout comedy from famed kids’s writer Mo Willems; and interstitials starring grunge children Henry and June, presumably named after the primary American movie to obtain an NC-17 score, itself primarily based on the diaries of Anaïs Nin.

Needless to say there was and nonetheless is nothing like KaBlam! on tv; its closest up to date is the world of YouTube. In the period of the web, KaBlam! would have exploded. —Chris Plante

KaBlam! is accessible to stream on Paramount Plus.

Kim Possible

Image: Walt Disney Television Animation

In junior excessive, all the ladies have been making an attempt to get their flip telephones to play the Kim Possible ringtone. Popular, modern, and sporty, Kim Possible may actually do all of it, and her cheerleading background gave additional credence to her gymnastic talents as a spy. The present additionally dared to call her BFF Ron Stoppable and make loving burritos (and having a unadorned mole rat as a pet) the vast majority of his persona. It has turn out to be a consolation watch. I binged it, in its entirety, in spring 2020 — together with my lockdown roomie — whereas we cried and ate Chicken McNuggets. I had quite a lot of Shego emotions (some issues by no means change). —NC

Kim Possible is accessible to stream on Disney Plus.

Mummies Alive!

Image: DIC Productions, Northern Lights Entertainment

This one-season marvel from 1997 typically appears like a hallucination — even my buddies who mainlined each WB and Fox cartoon aren’t aware of this syndicated try and funnel the Egypt-mania of the Nineties right into a TMNT/Gargoyles-type motion mildew. Doing The Mummy factor two years earlier than The Mummy, Mummies Alive! noticed an evil sorcerer named Scarab return to the fashionable day to suck up the spirit of the reincarnated Prince Rapses XII, who’s now somewhat American twerp named Presley. Luckily, Rapses’ marital arts-trained guards additionally return from the useless to guard the boy, and “WITH THE STRENGTH OF RA!!!” kick Scarab’s ass every week.

I had no clue on the time, however Mummies Alive! was the most recent work of kid-friendly, high-stakes genius from the X-Men: The Animated Series writers Mark Edens, Eric Lewald, and Julia Lewald. Makes sense: While Mummies Alive! delivered on the motion (each toyetic mummy bodyguard had its personal candy autos and physique armor used for nimble fight), the tales nonetheless mattered. There was friendship, worry, and a way of geography because the undead squad navigated an animated San Francisco. Maybe it was too bizarre for a ripped-from-comics late-’90s lineup, however in the present day it will make anybody gaga for Avatar: The Last Airbender struggle choreography drool. —Matt Patches

Mummies Alive! is streaming on Amazon Prime Video through CONtv.

Pinky and the Brain

Image: Warner Bros. Animation

“Television! Teacher, mother, secret lover.”

That’s a Homer Simpson quote, however I wasn’t allowed to look at The Simpsons as a toddler within the ’90s; as a substitute, I had the programming block generally known as Kids’ WB. Which was good, as a result of I undoubtedly didn’t have any pals on the time. While most different classmates have been hanging out at their buddies’ homes, washing down PB&J sandwiches with some Capri Sun, I headed straight residence after I received out of college at 3 to hang around with my cartoon buddies as a substitute. Among them have been the Warner brothers and the Warner sister, however what I ended up loving much more than these titular animated maniacs have been the genetically enhanced laboratory mice who debuted as recurring characters on their present: the Brain and his airheaded Acme Labs cage-mate, Pinky.

Back then, I principally simply beloved their goofy catchphrases — “Are you pondering what I’m pondering, Pinky?” — and their mouse-brained schemes, just like the Brain’s repeated makes an attempt to regulate humanity by means of subliminal messages. But later in life, I gained a fair higher appreciation for Pinky and the Brain and Animaniacs once I got here to know simply how packed they have been with references and parodies. First off, the exhibits turned even funnier and extra attention-grabbing once I realized, say, who Orson Welles and Vincent Price have been (Maurice LaMarche, the actor behind the Brain, has described his voice for the character as “65% Orson Welles, 35% Vincent Price”). But extra to the purpose, it was extremely vital that I, as a sheltered youngster of immigrants, may get a crash course in Twentieth-century American popular culture from some kids’s cartoons. Who is aware of if I’d’ve made it on to Jeopardy! with out them? —Samit Sarkar

Pinky and the Brain is accessible to stream on Hulu.

Pokémon

Image: OLM/The Pokémon Company International

When my brothers and I first received into the unique Pokémon sequence, our dad and mom didn’t need us watching it as a result of they thought it promoted animal violence. As a consequence, we needed to undertake a covert operation to look at the present.

What we might do is ask to go to grandma and grandpa’s home on the weekends, after which deceive our grandparents about with the ability to watch it. I don’t truly keep in mind the exact timing of when the episodes aired, however I do keep in mind watching it within the evenings as I drank strawberry milk earlier than bedtime. —Ana Diaz

Pokémon is accessible to stream on Netflix.

Powerpuff Girls

Image: Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Cartoon Network Studios

Sugar, spice, and every thing good. Powerpuff Girls actually solidified the blonde, brunette, and redhead character dynamic. Instead of being a cartoon’s solely lady, you might be certainly one of three varieties of ladies: sassy and sporty, a nurturing chief, or cute and forgetful. No matter which, you might nonetheless have the superpowers to defend a metropolis — should you managed to sneak out after darkish. Critically, Powerpuff Girls had the precise correct amount of gross-out sort stuff. I imply, you might see Mojo Jojo’s uncovered mind in his clear helmet. This was the period of Courage the Cowardly Dog, a present I attempted to look at however needed to spot as a result of terrifying scenes typically made me throw up. —NC

Powerpuff Girls is accessible to stream on HBO Max.

The Proud Family

Image: Walt Disney Television Animation/Disney Media Distribution

The Proud Family was on common rotation, as one of many solely family-comedy cartoons I beloved as a child. I associated to Penny — and clearly hated her frenemy LaCienega, together with her monumental flipper ft (in hindsight, that was imply of me) — and was obsessed together with her grandma Suga Mama. I nonetheless keep in mind watching reruns of “Romeo Must Wed” the place Penny performs Juliet within the college play, and “rehearses” a smooch with Kwok (voiced by Dante Basco). —NC

The Proud Family is accessible to stream on Disney Plus.

Rocket Power

Image: Klasky Csupo, Nickelodeon Animation Studio

I grew up within the suburbs of Los Angeles, so I believed these Venice Beach children whose dad and mom allow them to do XTreme Sports have been the good children alive. I imagined a world the place I’d do what they did, they usually’d be my pal. (How would I take care of being referred to as Squid? I’d handle.) We would play area hockey within the streets, grime bike down mountains, surf large waves. Reggie and I’d be BFFs, clearly. I keep in mind an episode the place Otto turns 11 and considering, That is so previous. —NC

Rocket Power is accessible to stream on Paramount Plus.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!

Image: Hanna-Barbera Productions

I’ve such fond reminiscences of waking up early with my youthful brother and watching Scoob and the gang remedy ridiculous mysteries. The crossover episodes are legendary (the Harlem Globetrotters entries significantly stand out to me), and I actually consider the Mystery Gang was a foundational touchstone for my love of flicks and tv. And shout out to Velma for lastly being snug together with her true self. You go, Velma. —Pete Volk

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! is accessible to stream on HBO Max.

Spider-Man

Image: Marvel Studios, Tokyo Movie Shinsha

Few issues received me away from bed (or again from college) quicker than the promise of latest episodes of Spider-Man to look at. The hit ’90s animated sequence, together with its predecessor, X-Men, was weapons-grade catnip for a budding comics fan. There was the bitchin’ theme track (I did all of the strikes), iconic reinterpretations of traditional Spidey villains, a number of visitor characters (they even did a Secret Wars crossover), and yeah, I requested for the toys each Christmas (and even received a pair). As an grownup, I marvel (sorry) on the present’s artistic successes given the best way that showrunner John Semper Jr. was continuously hamstrung, both by censors — which is why everybody, cops included, had ridiculous laser weapons — failed film plans conserving sure characters and tales off-limits, or the easy indisputable fact that season-long story arcs would by no means be aired so as given how broadcast networks aired kids’s programming. It’s a miracle the present stands as much as any scrutiny, and it’s an enormous a part of why I like comics in the present day. —Joshua Rivera

Spider-Man is accessible to stream on Disney Plus.

SpongeBob SquarePants

Image: Nickelodeon Animation Studio

One of essentially the most well-known and enduring cartoons to return out of Nickelodeon hardly requires introduction. Instead I’ll simply level out that I nonetheless know all of the lyrics to just about each well-known track out of that sequence — and I used to be not even a devoted viewer. Episodes have been simply aired very continuously. Sometimes when I’m strolling residence after ordering pizza from a neighborhood spot I’ll begin singing “The Krusty KrraAAAaaAAAAbb-AAaaaab is the peeeeeza (yeeahh) for you and meeeEEEEE” whereas waving the field round. —NC

SpongeBob SquarePants is accessible to stream on Paramount Plus.

Teen Titans

Image: Warner Bros. Animation

The minute the Teen Titans theme got here on, I buckled in for an ideal journey, the place a discovered household of teenagers kicked the ass of a number of recurring villains that I tended to neglect. I all the time preferred Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven finest, to the purpose the place I ultimately simply noped out when episodes targeted on Robin and Starfire. Why did Robin all the time must wreck the enjoyable? Just let Beast Boy and Cyborg play video video games. Why weren’t any of them actual individuals so I may smooch them? Haha… simply kidding. Or? Season 1’s “Nevermore” was a favourite, because it featured so many variations of Raven. I used to be in my Warped Tour period — what can I say? —NC

Teen Titans is accessible to stream on HBO Max.

The Tick

Image: Sunbow Entertainment, Graz Entertainment/Disney Platform Distribution

Before superhero parodies have been cool, The Tick burst onto the scene as an uproarious sendup of airheaded heroes. Created by Ben Edlund, who developed the character as a comic book e book hero in highschool, it was the uncommon Saturday-morning cartoon that my dad loved simply as a lot (if no more) than I did, simply due to how humorous it was for viewers of all ages.

Filled with an absurd solid of terrifically named characters (Eyebrows Mulligan, Barry Hubris, and the Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight), The Tick led to glorious live-action diversifications (together with the stellar 2016 revival on Prime Video). The jazzy intro tells you all it’s worthwhile to know. Spoon!!! —PV

The Tick is accessible to stream on Hulu.

Totally Spies

Image: Image Entertainment, Marathon Media

I spent many summer season days with my cousin the place we’d plonked in entrance of the TV to look at Teen Titans adopted instantly by Totally Spies — our favourite exhibits, which all the time had back-to-back episodes. The sequence mixes enjoyable genres — teen lady motion pictures, James Bond-esque spy procedurals, together with a transparent anime affect — to create one of the crucial fashionable girl-led motion cartoons of the early 2000s. The devices have been so rad and trendy (rings, hair sprays, cute sneakers). I beloved Sailor Moon and Powerpuff Girls, and so after all, I beloved Totally Spies. —NC

Totally Spies is accessible to stream on Prime Video.

Ulysses 31

Image: DIC Audiovisuel, TMS Entertainment

The French have been into anime earlier than the remainder of us, and the early Nineteen Eighties noticed a couple of legendary co-productions between French and Japanese studios, like this epic sci-fi remodeling of Greek mythology. Space captain Ulysses incurs the wrath of the immortal gods when he rescues his son Telemachus, and a bunch of different kids, from the terrifying techno-giant Cyclops; Zeus places his crew to sleep and condemns him to wander the celebrities looking for the dominion of Hades.

To a British child on the time, the present’s foreignness mixed with its mythic dimension made it appear mysterious and vital, over and above its cool Star Wars stylings and banging theme tune. (Ulysses 31 was one of many inspirations for Daft Punk’s Discovery music movies and related movie Interstella 5555.) —OW

Ulysses 31 is accessible to stream on YouTube.

X-Men: Evolution

Image: Film Roman, Marvel Studios

X-Men Evolution’s premise appears like fanfiction, and that needs to be taken as a praise, as a result of it really works. In this present, all the X-Men are youngsters attending a public highschool the place they need to hold their mutant powers beneath wraps; they’re solely allowed to be out of the mutant closet after they return residence, to Xavier’s boarding home.

Because everyone is 16 years previous, this present focuses much more on character growth and melodramatic love triangles fairly than the widespread political and systemic oppression that the X-Men confronted in X-Men: The Animated Series (and within the comedian books). As a consequence, X-Men Evolution is extra of a slow-moving character drama, permitting every younger mutant their flip to shine. —Maddy Myers

X-Men: Evolution is accessible to stream on Disney Plus.

X-Men

Public opinion on cops within the United States has modified quite a bit lately, and tales about superheroes have confronted related scrutiny, since they’re typically framed as superpowered police (or they work with the cops instantly). It might shock you to be taught, then, that the X-Men animated present from the ’90s is without doubt one of the most “fuck the police” tv exhibits ever produced, whereas additionally being a superhero TV present geared towards kids.

Instead of working with the police, the X-Men are oppressed by their authorities, making cops the most typical enemy on the present. The different commonest enemy? Bigoted hate teams making an attempt to take down mutants, who’re framed as an oppressed minority. There are few issues extra satisfying than watching Rogue punch a neo-Nazi whereas Storm makes use of her lightning powers on a bunch of cops. Although it has a couple of goofy and skippable episodes, the X-Men cartoon did a surprisingly good job of navigating the potential awkwardness of utilizing mutants as a metaphor for numerous oppressed minorities (most frequently, queer individuals). The result’s completely nonetheless value a watch – particularly provided that the present is ready to return for an additional two seasons on Disney Plus in fall 2023. —MM

X-Men is accessible to stream on Disney Plus.