Best Animated Shows of the 2000s

[sterlingice]

In my lifetime, there have been very distinct eras of animation. The 80s is well known for toyetic animation: Transformers, GI Joe, He-Man, Thundercats, and more. There were also Disney cartoons: DuckTales, Rescue Rangers, Tailspin, Darkwing Duck and Saturday morning cartoons: TMNT, Smurfs, Garfield and Friends. As we started to reach the middle of the 90s, stylized superhero cartoons were the rage with WB's Batman and Superman and Fox's X-Men, Spider-Man, and The Tick. We also had Spielberg cartoons: Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, and Pinky and the Brain and Nickelodeon: Ren and Stimpy, Rugrats, Doug, and similar before giving way to the SpongeBob Squarepants juggernaut. Cartoon Network resurrected the Hanna-Barbera brand from obscurity and slapped it on a lot of Craig McCracken and Genndy Tartakovsky shows like Dexter's Lab, Johnny Bravo, and The Powerpuff Girls. Meanwhile, animation styles changed as Toonami was pushing anime hard: DBZ most notably but a ton of others, ranging from Sailor Moon to Neon Genesis Evangelion to Cowboy Bebop to Tenchi Muyo. And computer animation was starting to starting to be cheap enough for weekly shows with Mainframe leading the way on Reboot and Beast Wars/Machines.

That brings us to the 2000s. You can see from the above, that in the decades leading up, there were a lot of dynasties. Yes, there were individual studios making shows but you see a lot of common shows with common themes made by the same studios, producers, and writers. But as all information in this age has become splintered, so has animation. I started thinking about this a month or so ago (you know, now that it's 2012): What were the best cartoons of the 2000s? I don't think there's any way the decade will be remembered as fondly as the 90s or 80s, which produced some of history's greatest animated shows. However, there's a pretty substantial variety to choose from.

Quick rules: it has to have started in 2000-2010. So, for instance, while SpongeBob Squarepants was dominant during the decade of the 2000s, it started in 1999. Also, we're not talking about primetime network cartoons- so no Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy, etc. They really are their own beast and should be treated as such. Lastly, anime is really tough to place on the list so I left it off: do you use the US date or the Japanese date, how do you compare anime to western animation, etc.

Some notable shows that missed the list but deserve mention
Various X-Men incarnations: Evolution, Wolverine- Neither up to the quality of the 90s show in terms of story, tho Evolution brought an interesting drawing style to the table while Wolverine and the X-Men felt a lot more in plot like the old show but only lasted one season
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002) - It really felt like an 80s cartoon modernized: formulaic but in a tongue-in-cheek way, always started with Skeletor plotting and ended with a moral; It had quality animation and much too short of a lifespan
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) - Really long lived, under the radar revival but no real peak
Code Lyoko - Creative animation and the show managed to break outside its simple plot mold after 2 stagnant seasons; Think Reboot for kids without the depth
Spectacular Spider-Man - It gets a lot of high praise in animation circles but I've never seen it

The Top Ten
10. Duck Dodgers I struggled with finding a 10th show I thought was worthy and settled on Duck Dodgers. It's impressive to see Looney Tunes still around after all these years and they even have a more recent incarnation out now. This particular one featured an excellent voice cast and was well put together.

9. invader ZIM - I'll admit: I've never seen this before and it's here solely on reputation. It seems to be the indie band favorite of the decade- that short lived show that was amazing but no one outside of the huge cult following of hardcore fans have heard of it. I honestly can't speak to it one way or the other but it is the only Nickelodeon show on the list.

8. Jackie Chan Adventures - Yes, it actually started in 2000 and, yes, I had to look that up because I thought it was older. It's a good show with lot of similarities to another underrated Sony show from the 90s, MIB: The Series. It's not the most well animated but the style suited the show and the Jackie Chan style of action. The plot got a little bit out of hand towards the end in terms of increasing scope beyond the universe. However, it's remarkably solid: if you're building a lineup of cartoons, you need steady performers just like you need stars.

7. Ben 10 - It's a show I never really watched as it seemed targeted just a little too young for my tastes- not enough content for the adults (or at least bigger kids, mentally) watching the show. However, it has lasted 3 series and 150 episodes and is still going which shows some longevity for an American cartoon in this era.

6. Teen Titans - Admittedly, the show has a ceiling due to lesser known superheroes but they made the most of what they had. The show excelled at humor and breaking the fourth wall and taking chances with both story and animation. The Trigon and, especially, Terra story arcs are definitely high quality and Slade was a fitting, if only slightly generic, villain. I could actually make an argument that it's more adult than a popular superhero ensemble higher up the list.

5. Kim Possible - In the 80s and 90s, Disney was, of course, an animation powerhouse. But they've fallen on tougher times in the last decade. They can still churn out some quality shows, however. Again, like our previous entry, it has great humor for all ages. It's a show that could easily have devolved into a lot dumber territory but was instead quite smart. It has good animation, a good voice cast, and an excellent rogues gallery. Maybe the slickest produced and put together show on the list with the possible exception of the top spot.

4. Star Wars: Clone Wars - I think someone on this board said something to the effect of how awful it was that they held back plot from the prequel movies that desperately needed it to make a cartoon. Well, Attack of the Clones's loss is an animated fan's gain. There are two different incarnations of the Clone Wars and I basically combined them here as one. The first was an interesting experiment in 2003 by Cartoon Network and Genndy Tartakovsky, similar in style to the #3 show on the list. There were 20 episodes of 3 minute length to play between other shows and it finished up with 5 episodes around 12 minutes long. The second is from 2008 and still showing with some of the best computer animation around. I've never really followed it and when I've watched it, I feel it's targeted a little younger than I'm interested in, but it seems like it's of good quality.

3. Samurai Jack - We live in an internet age where we're fortunate if people remember something 10 days ago from now much less 100 years from now. However, when history remembers the previous decade, it may be this show that is points to for moving animation forward. Genndy Tartakovsky's "experiment" is ridiculously stylized with amazing animation which pushed the style and standards of the genre. Think about this: it's a cartoon in an era with no attention spans and often there are no characters talking for minutes at a time- only music and action on screen. That was Samurai Jack. It was a show that seemed to have no boundaries to the point where it was tough to even describe: a futuristic, samurai western(?). As such, it was prone to meandering and experimentation so it's not as tight as it could have been with its narrative. Still this show stands as an opus by one of the greatest animators of our lifetime and its influence and uniqueness cannot be denied.

2. The Justice League - How do you rate something with a larger scope but not nearly as competent writing as its predecessors (Batman, Superman)? For those who don't know the history, Superman and Batman were in limbo in the late 90s a couple of times, waiting for a decision from KidsWB, so a lot of the talent splintered more than people are willing to admit- some waited around to see if the current shows would be renewed, some went to other WB shows (like Paul Dini and Batman Beyond or Static Shock or The Zeta Project), and some went to other networks altogether. The show does a lot of things very well: the voice acting cast is filled with veteran quality VAs and the animation is very good. Bruce Timm, et al, did an amazing job tying together the various DC properties and even having stories across different series. It's huge in scope and has a huge cast of characters made even larger with the Unlimited brand in its 3rd season (which unfortunately also dilutes the product). However, compared to its predecessors, it falls short. Batman is the animation standard of our lifetimes, Superman had an amazing main story arc with scenes like Dan Turpin's death which are as powerful as any in cartoon history, while The Justice League would do something like ruin what should have been a plot twist by the animators focusing in on a character's eyes where he shifts them from side-to-side like some villain from a melodrama. To me, it seemed more like a show of huge ambition but some unfulfilled promise.

1. Avatar: The Last Airbender - It's the complete package: good art, good story, interesting and complex characters, very serialized, and lots of twists and turns. There's humor for the kids but also for the adults watching. It's approachable "anime" for a western and younger audience. Anyone's top 10 list from the 2000s should have this on it and it should be near the top of many. This is where the whole project started- I was watching a rerun on some station over Christmas and thinking "what show in the 2000s is better than Avatar". I think the answer has to be: none. I don't think it can stand up to classics like The Looney Tunes or a more recent favorites like Batman but something has to have the mantle of "best of the decade" and I think this is it.

SI

[CrimsonFox]

awesome thread...will get to this later tonight or tomorrow.

[Matthean]

I'm pretty sure at least one of the Batman series belongs on the list. I think a number of anime would be on there as well. Little protest over The Last Airbender though. Not flawless, but one of the best animated things I have seen. Period.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Matthean

I'm pretty sure at least one of the Batman series belongs on the list. I think a number of anime would be on there as well. Little protest over The Last Airbender though. Not flawless, but one of the best animated things I have seen. Period.

I can't think of a Batman that was in the 2000s, tho. Batman the Animated Series was long done, even TNBSA. Batman Beyond started in 1999. Batman: The Brave and the Bold is more campy and Silver(?) Age (sorry- don't know my comics that well). I think there was another Batman on WB for a couple of years but wasn't it pretty short lived and like this weird mutant computer animation-anime hybrid aimed squarely at kids? Or did I completely just misread it?

I'd be curious about an anime list for the decade. Again, gotta set some ground rules (when it started/when it was making its largest mark/etc) but I'd definitely be interested. For anime, I mostly think 90s, tho- wow was that a golden age for anime.

SI

[Matthean]

I haven't seen them, but based on popularity here's a list. Case in point, I think City of Heroes message board had something like a 100 page thread on Naruto.

Fullmetal Alchemist, 2003
Claymore, 2007
Naruto, 2002
Bleach, 2004
Death Note, 2006

I did see Moribito, 2007. It is more of a single season type of show, but I think it would do rather well against some of the others on the list.

EDIT: Samurai 7 was from 2004, but I liked Moribito a lot better.

[Surtt]

I think The Venture Bros. should be in there somewhere.

[Grover]

I feel like anime is a completely separate beast from the cartoons we're listing here and that would be good for another thread.

A few cartoons I'd like to add into this list or put up for discussion:

The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack

Adventure Time with Finn and Jake

Fairly Odd Parents

The Venture Bros. (though I realize this might count as "prime time")

[sterlingice]

You know, I'm not really sure what to make of Adult Swim here. I mean, most of it is recycled primetime shows (Seth McFarlane stuff, Futurama, King of the Hill) or a lot of it is not animated or just awful (see Tim and Erica Awesome Show for an example of both). I have a soft spot for both The Venture Bros and Robot Chicken but it feels like putting them on the list is like putting South Park next to My Little Pony. If it's "best animated shows of all time" and you open things up to Looney Tunes and The Simpsons and The Flintstones, yes- but this list seems like it should be for shows where you don't have to hid the kids' eyes.

SI

[CrimsonFox]

10 (tie). Samarai Champloo (2004) – I can’t list the best anime show ever made, Cowboy Bebop, so I’ll mention my second favorite as it used one of the same voice actors. It involved 2 samarai, one totally wreckless and wild and the other studious and disciplined, who become indebted to a slutty waitress and must now follow her searching for a man that killed her father. As most anime goes, it has beautiful animation and artwork. I liked how it didn’t go all urban and modern like most anime tend to do. Nor does it go fantasy or cutesy or unreal in any way. It’s like watching medieval Japan, kimonos and cottages and all.




10 (tie). Johnny Test (2005) – This was a show that at first came across as a generic show for ADD kids but actually was quite clever. The animation is really nothing great, but the character design and writing is actually really good. A pair of genius scientific teenaged sisters do experiments on their hyper little brother and his (also an experiment) talking dog Dukey. Very fast-paced and just silly fun.



9. Teen Titans (2003) – This show had some really good stories and really strong character development. That’s something I find is often missing from superhero tales. Maybe because they are kids and fallible and unsure and hyper and striking out on their own and often fail, that makes their characters so appealing. It frequently upped the stakes and fed upon the individual insecurities of all of the team and that seemed to bring them all closer together. Yet it still didn’t take itself too seriously. Just played the drama straight and the humorous moments, well sometimes it worked and sometimes it tried too hard and descended into the ultra cutesy anime style that it really didn’t need to. But still it was enjoyable.





8. Invader Zim (2001) – To this day I wonder how this show ever was made for the Nickelodeon network as it was aimed at kids older than that and it actually found an audience much older. This is a show embraced by geeks, nomatter what kind of geeks they are. Perhaps because all the dialogue was delivered with an intense over the top bombasity. The premise is an inept alien sent to earth as an afterthought by a group of powerful aliens who are taking over the universe. They are basically getting rid of him so they give him a broken brain-damaged robot named Grr and he tries to blend into a normal earth life to observe them in a school setting. I do like it, it is funny (especially when talking about tacos), but I say I feel about it as Yahtzee Crenshaw from Zero Punctuation feels about Portal. It’s got the most annoying f***ing fans in the world.



7. Chowder (2007) – A very odd artistic style. A mix of traditional animation and stop-motion with some occasional Claymation. It can be very funny using an odd twist of wordplay and puns in its own little world. It has a very good cast including Dwight Schultz (Howling Mad Murdock from the A Team and Barkley from Star Trek: TNG) and John Dimaggio (Bender from Futurama) as well as Dana Snyder in a minor role (Shake from Aqua Teen). Chowder is a an apprentice to chef Mung Dahl (Schultz) and his wife (a fairy) and helper Schnitzel (Dimmaggio who says nothing but Ratharatharatha). All the food is very tongue in cheek (and I’m sure that’s been a dish on the show at one point or another).



6. Adventure Time (2010) – Take an art and animation style that you’d expect from those old time black and white cartoons (where all the characters has wibbly-wobbly arms and legs) and then give it a premise of a simple D&D adventure and that’s Adventuretime. It’s weird but in a fun way. It’s crazy. It’s irreverent. It doesn’t use puns, but it just gives you that feeling of being a kid and making up a stupid game with its own rules. And John Dimaggio (Bender from Futurama) and Tom Kenny as The IceKing really add their great comic timing to this.



5. The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (2008) – A fantasy gone totally wrong. If I had to describe this series and/or art style in one word it would be “decay”. This was not a pretty or happy little series and was no doubt a direct in your face against the more kiddie Spongebob squarepants. Things were not happy in this show. They were downright nightmarish from the characters to the voices to the encounters. Things just decay. And at the center of this nightmarish decay was a small boy with the most cheery attitude ever, Flapjack, apprentice sailor to the old horrible Captain K’nuckles (Brian Doyle-Murray, from Wayne’s World and Caddyshack…yes Bill’s brother). And they don’t live on a ship. They live in a whale. And they eat nothing but candy in their endless persuit of the famous and mystical Candy Island. Despite the nightmarish quality of everything about this show…it was damn funny and damn good. Could have you in stitches one moment and creep you out the next. The best example of this decay was the story of the mermaid whose hearts granted wishes.



4. Yoko! Jakamoko! Toto! (2002) – If you happen to flip by the Sprouts channel you’ll see an endless stream of googlywoogglysnookumsbooobooboo. That’s what is sold to very young children as entertainment. Until you happen upon this masterpiece. This show takes place in the desert and follows the adventures of a bird, a monkey and an armadillo. There was little to no dialogue in this show, other than the sounds the friends made and them saying each others’ names. The artistic style was amazing, very southwestern. How this show told its little stories reminded me of whenever Calvin and Hobbes comics wove its tale without dialogue. Just subtle brilliance. Sometimes it had a message, sometimes it didn’t. Oftentimes it was just about discovery and how the three friends helped each other. A nice little lesson to teach in a very good way.




3. Samarai Jack (2001) – “Gotta get back back to the past, Samarai Jack”. I’m usually not a fan of dramatic action cartoons. Sometimes too pretentious, too much going on ALL the time or nothing in it seemed real because everything was TOO important. Too melodramatic. Too unreal. Then this show came along. It was happy just to take calm moments and just stay on them for ages. Simplicity. Just as the main character searches. Ever searches for a way home. Ever walks the earth defeating the evil of his arch-villain Aku. The classic good vs evil premise gone in gorgeous soundscapes, lush scenery, and a very distinct comic book style. So that when the action slices through the calm, it kicks you on your butt. And it comes at you with an intense over the top speed as it pelts its hero against truly overwhelming odds. THIS is what it means to be a hero. And it has one of the best drawn villains ever.



2. Harvey Birdman: Attourney at Law (2000) – Somewhere along the line, Cartoon network got it in its head that 15 minute cartoons are the wave of the future and commissioned nothing but those. Most were absolutely terrible, but in every bin of feces there is a diamond. That was Harvey Birdman. The premise? Birdman was a very old old show from 1967. He was a superhero that was powered from the sun. They took that character and they gave him a job as an attourney, prosecuting a parade of Hanna Barbera characters. The gags were fast and furious and sometimes I missed the next scene from laughing so hard. Various episodes included Booboo bear as the unibooboo bomber, Scooby and Shaggy pulled over for possession of marijuana, and a high speed chase involving Speed Buggy. It had a first rate cast including Gary Cole (from Office Space) and Stephen Colbert. And really it had the best theme song…ever.



1. Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends (2004) – I’m sure everyone has watched one of the classic Bugs Bunny cartoons and thought, wow they just don’t make cartoons like this anymore. Well finally they did. In 2004 this brilliant show from Craig McCracken came along with a wonderfully unique premise, a first-rate cast, and comedic timing the like hasn’t been seen since the glory days of Chuck Jones himself. The show centers around a type a sort of Humane Society, but instead of pets, they deal with Imaginary Friends, because once kids get too old for them, they get abondoned. Centering this is a boy named Mac whose imaginary friend Bloo now lives there and is surrounded by a giant English butlertype rabbit, a tall basketball playing red nice guy, a Mexican monster that likes potatoes, and a crazy bird-airplane-thing that only says her name (yet every time she says it you can figure out exactly what she’s saying) as well as the teenager that works there for her grandma, the eccentric madame Foster. It’s pure comedy gold. And animtionwise it did have a really unique style, an antiqueness to it if you will. It was a true ensemble in every sense of the word. Every episode I declared a new favorite character as it gave the chance for every one of them to shine.



Special Mention
Home Movies (1999) – It is a pity I cannot put this show on my list. It first premiered in mid 1999 and was actually the first show ever shown on Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim”. It had the best dialogue ever, mainly because a lot of its scenes were both scripted and improvised. It focused on three kids that do nothing all day but make movies while the main character’s mom continually tries to find work and their worthless soccer coach gets in one scheme after another. The real star of the show was H Jon Benjamin IMHO who has since gone on to a lot of other things but his timing and characters of Jason and the Coach made the whole thing very very funny, but everyone in the cast really made this show work and creator Brendon Small’s heavy metal songs in it were all pretty darn funny too. Overall a wonderfully tight ensemble cast in a series about dialogue and arguing. It is better than most live action sitcoms. I have to mention it despite its ineligibility because it would certainly be my number one otherwise.

[cschex]

Love Home Movies. I'm watching it on Netflix Instant these days

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

You know, I'm not really sure what to make of Adult Swim here. I mean, most of it is recycled primetime shows (Seth McFarlane stuff, Futurama, King of the Hill) or a lot of it is not animated or just awful (see Tim and Erica Awesome Show for an example of both). I have a soft spot for both The Venture Bros and Robot Chicken but it feels like putting them on the list is like putting South Park next to My Little Pony. If it's "best animated shows of all time" and you open things up to Looney Tunes and The Simpsons and The Flintstones, yes- but this list seems like it should be for shows where you don't have to hid the kids' eyes.

SI

i think it's easy enough to rank unrelated things against each other. It's just a matter of preference, quality, and how well it does what it set out to do, whether be a comedy, drama, superhero, fantasy, kiddie show, whatever.

[Drake]

Christ. Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends was funny.

I was glad having kids gave me an excuse to watch it.

ETA: I'm not sure that excuse can adequately explain why I got to watch Flapjack, though. Also mucho funny.

[Rizon]

I've only heard of a couple of shows listed in this thread, but Samurai Jack was pretty awesome. I use to watch it with my nephew years and years ago.

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by Rizon

I've only heard of a couple of shows listed in this thread, but Samurai Jack was pretty awesome. I use to watch it with my nephew years and years ago.

tis why I supplied samples In a few cases I found my favorite episodes.

[PackerFanatic]

Love Chowder.

[CrimsonFox]

I purposely didn't put one I used to like. Looking back I probably should have put it on. THe problem is it just got to a point of sucking and tainted what it originally was:

Robot Chicken (2005) - The first few seasons of this had some very funny stuff in it. What it was was simply sketch comedy using stop motion animation. blazing speed the gags came. Now unfortunately it's all about killing everyone and kicking everything in the balls and such. It lost its spark but it used to do parody of movies and TV oh so well, like this...what every law & order episode basically boils down to...with chickens:



And every now and then, there would be a moment like this...that would blow me away...



And of course you can't mention Robot Chicken without mentioning Star Wars as that's what they've spent most of the show parodying...this kills me every time...

[mckerney]

#1 for me is easily Archer.



Did you see Regis this morning?

[DCSportsFan12]

Clone High was a funny show on MTV at the beginning of the decade. The premise of the show was that a bunch of historical figures were dug up the government and cloned. The clones are in high school and it basically just makes fun of teen dramas. Pretty stupid but tons of laughs.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by mckerney

#1 for me is easily Archer.



Did you see Regis this morning?

I'm up to episode #9 and the last time I saw dialog this sharply written and at the pace they do it was Arrested Development.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Fullmetal Alchemist was pretty fantastic, but I thought it completely fell apart at the end of the first season. I haven't dialed in the second season or the movie(s?) because of it.

[thesloppy]

#10-1: Frisky Dingo



..and anybody who likes Archer, but hasn't seen Frisky Dingo should really take care of that, because Xander Crewes is the superior character.

[Grover]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

#10-1: Frisky Dingo

..and anybody who likes Archer, but hasn't seen Frisky Dingo should really take care of that, because Xander Crewes is the superior character.

Harrumph!

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by mckerney

#1 for me is easily Archer.



Did you see Regis this morning?

ah yes the guy that plays Archer is H Jon Benjamin, the guy I spoke of as the Coach and Jason in Home Movies. Archer is essentially the same character as Coach McGuirk.
Check it out if you haven't already

[CrimsonFox]

MAD (2010) - Have to mention the recent MAD show on cartoon network. Forget MADTV (the SNL clone with Artie Lange, Phil Lamarr, David Herman, and Alex Borstein). That had NOTHING to do with MAD Magazine aside from using the face of Alfred e Neumann at the beginning. But this new show MAD on Cartoon Network is EXACTLY like the magazine, which basically mocks and nail pop culture to the wall as well as have some weird and goofy regular segments like Don Martin, the doodles in the margins, and Spy vs Spy. And it really nails the artistic style of Sergio Aragones (the margin doodle guy), Don Martin, and Antonio Prohías (Spy vs spy).

Teenagers no doubt will appreciate this more as I know I would have, but still some of the bits are pretty funny and I always loved spy vs spy.

[Grover]

I actually caught an episode of MAD yesterday where they did a great spoof on Tom Hanks and how "Nobody anywhere saw Larry Crowne"

[JonInMiddleGA]

I'm pretty sure that I'd end up with something like an amalgamation of the lists by SI and CrimsonFox.

Kim Possible is very strong with me and Avatar ended up being a very solid series, cartoon or otherwise. The mention of Foster's is quality, since it captures one that seems too easy to overlook. I'd also put Fairly OddParents on a list of ten without any real hesitation.

From there, some others that haven't been mentioned might crack my list somewhere, including
-- The Weekenders - a tween version of "Hey Arnold" is probably as good a thumbnail description as any
-- Chalk Zone - Rudy draws it, it becomes real inside the Chalk Zone
-- Fillmore - Safety Patrol version of L&O / CSI
-- Jimmy Neutron - much like Odd Parents, it's the character quirks that make this better (Carl & his llama fetish for example)
-- House of Mouse - Reviving some multiple iconic characters for a younger generation, so many replacement voices but they didn't break the charm
-- Teen Titans - Too good to leave off my list even though I think I actually liked some of the omissions better personally
-- Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy - My son, now 13, insisted this deserved a spot for the decade, so there you go. Surprising, because I doubt it was one of his 20-30 most watched, so I'm going with this being a merit vote "upon further consideration" on his part.

That's 11, so I probably ought to make myself stop. But...

Biggest surprise omission from discussion so far, adult division? Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Biggest surprise omission from discussion so far, kid division? Phineas & Ferb
Show that could have been better than it was? Kappa Mikey
Show that made my list but got bumped last minute?Danny Phantom
Previously mentioned I wish had made my list? Duck Dodgers
Obscure show I seriously considered? The Mighty B!
Weirdest show I considered? The Oblongs
Best tween show I left out? As Told By Ginger
Show I figured would make it but didn't? Codename:Kids Next Door
Best shows from the same studio that could have made my list? Total Drama Island/Action and 6Teen. Canadian studio Teletoon probably does some of the most watchable - but tame - stuff for adults the past several years. On the one hand it's straight up copies of common live action fare, on the other hand they seem to be sending it up at times as well.
Shows that are really more amusing than I would have expected? A pair of movie inspired mainstream toons, Back To the Barnyard & Penguins of Madagascar. Not classics, but they make me laugh somewhere in every episode and doggone it, there's value in that.

[CrimsonFox]

To this day I have no idea what Billy and Mandy is about.
No clue...

Even tho the intro is kinda cool



OMG yes Oblongs! How did I forget that! One of the best performances ever by both Will Ferrell and Jean Smart and some interesting as hell character design. cancelled way before its time

[CrimsonFox]

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

To this day I have no idea what Billy and Mandy is about. No clue...

2 kids beat The Grim Reaper on a bet over their hamster's soul and he's forced to be their best friend "forever & ever". TGR ain't exactly thrilled with the situation but lives up to his end of the bargain.

Broke the 4th wall a lot, plenty of anachronisms, even had a show within the show (Evil Con Carne) for a couple of seasons.

[CrimsonFox]

and this is just wrong but worth posting....Robot Chicken's spoof on Se7en...with the Smurfs

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

2 kids beat The Grim Reaper on a bet over their hamster's soul and he's forced to be their best friend "forever & ever". TGR ain't exactly thrilled with the situation but lives up to his end of the bargain.

Broke the 4th wall a lot, plenty of anachronisms, even had a show within the show (Evil Con Carne) for a couple of seasons.

I liked how death was going for the Geoffrey HOlder voice (the 7-up guy)


And of course Billy West in it...I did like Mandy.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I'm pretty sure that I'd end up with something like an amalgamation of the lists by SI and CrimsonFox.

Kim Possible is very strong with me and Avatar ended up being a very solid series, cartoon or otherwise. The mention of Foster's is quality, since it captures one that seems too easy to overlook. I'd also put Fairly OddParents on a list of ten without any real hesitation.

From there, some others that haven't been mentioned might crack my list somewhere, including
-- The Weekenders - a tween version of "Hey Arnold" is probably as good a thumbnail description as any
-- Chalk Zone - Rudy draws it, it becomes real inside the Chalk Zone
-- Fillmore - Safety Patrol version of L&O / CSI
-- Jimmy Neutron - much like Odd Parents, it's the character quirks that make this better (Carl & his llama fetish for example)
-- House of Mouse - Reviving some multiple iconic characters for a younger generation, so many replacement voices but they didn't break the charm
-- Teen Titans - Too good to leave off my list even though I think I actually liked some of the omissions better personally
-- Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy - My son, now 13, insisted this deserved a spot for the decade, so there you go. Surprising, because I doubt it was one of his 20-30 most watched, so I'm going with this being a merit vote "upon further consideration" on his part.

That's 11, so I probably ought to make myself stop. But...

Biggest surprise omission from discussion so far, adult division? Aqua Teen Hunger Force
Biggest surprise omission from discussion so far, kid division? Phineas & Ferb
Show that could have been better than it was? Kappa Mikey
Show that made my list but got bumped last minute?Danny Phantom
Previously mentioned I wish had made my list? Duck Dodgers
Obscure show I seriously considered? The Mighty B!
Weirdest show I considered? The Oblongs
Best tween show I left out? As Told By Ginger
Show I figured would make it but didn't? Codename:Kids Next Door
Best shows from the same studio that could have made my list? Total Drama Island/Action and 6Teen. Canadian studio Teletoon probably does some of the most watchable - but tame - stuff for adults the past several years. On the one hand it's straight up copies of common live action fare, on the other hand they seem to be sending it up at times as well.
Shows that are really more amusing than I would have expected? A pair of movie inspired mainstream toons, Back To the Barnyard & Penguins of Madagascar. Not classics, but they make me laugh somewhere in every episode and doggone it, there's value in that.

Danny Phantom I thought about. Never really watched it but seemed pretty good. I'm feeling like maybe I shouldn't have omitted Fosters and found a spot on my list somewhere for it. And, wow, I totally overlooked Codename: Kids Next Door. For some reason, I was thinking it was pre-2000s but I should have known better. I should check out some of the teletoon stuff. I have a soft spot in my heart for Canadian tv (YTV helped fund Reboot's comeback!)

Robot Chicken- I just love most of the time. It's basically sketch comedy so there's going to be some variable quality but it hits more often than it misses with me. You can tell there are multiple writers as there are jokes that are just crude for crude's sake (Chronic Masturbator Smurf from above) but some are just pure witty: look for the Knights of the Round Table with Sir Mix A Lot- completely clean and just word play. The following clip sums them up perfectly: "Farts", "Balls", "Retards", and "Ironic Satire with clever subtext" appear on the spinning wheel:



SI

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Robot Chicken- I just love most of the time. It's basically sketch comedy so there's going to be some variable quality but it hits more often than it misses with me. You can tell there are multiple writers as there are jokes that are just crude for crude's sake (Chronic Masturbator Smurf from above) but some are just pure witty: look for the Knights of the Round Table with Sir Mix A Lot- completely clean and just word play. The following clip sums them up perfectly: "Farts", "Balls", "Retards", and "Ironic Satire with clever subtext" appear on the spinning wheel:

SI

And Magic Unicorn Mayonaisse!

[CrimsonFox]

[CrimsonFox]

[DCSportsFan12]

Xiaolin Showdown

[Ragone]

I clearly expected to see Aqua Teens mentioned in here somewhere, and it was as a notable omission.

Hmm, and i really do enjoy penguins of madagascar.. Also as an educational animated show.. Octonauts my daughter loves, and is rather tolerable as an adult.

[JediKooter]

In no particular order:

Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Metalpocalypse
Robot Chicken
Samurai Jack

And I either can't think of any more or there really isn't any other ones that I like.

[cody8200]

Phineas and Ferb is gold. It always makes my wife and I laugh - oh yeah, our daughter kind of likes it too.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by cody8200

Phineas and Ferb is gold. It always makes my wife and I laugh - oh yeah, our daughter kind of likes it too.

Phineas and Ferb is the Pinky and the Brain of the '00s.

[cody8200]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

Phineas and Ferb is the Pinky and the Brain of the '00s.

Ah. Another of my favorites. I really miss that show. I wonder if Netflix will ever get it.

[TurnerONU22]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

Phineas and Ferb is the Pinky and the Brain of the '00s.

Quoted for truth. I'm not gonna lie, sometimes I just use my 16 month old as an excuse to watch the show. And both CD's are almost always on in the car when he's with us.

[Drake]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

-- Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy - My son, now 13, insisted this deserved a spot for the decade, so there you go. Surprising, because I doubt it was one of his 20-30 most watched, so I'm going with this being a merit vote "upon further consideration" on his part.

That show would have given my uber-religious parents a freaking heart attack. I remember watching it with my kids one afternoon and Mandy started quoting sections out of Crowley's Book of the Law...and it just cracked me the fuck up.

My parents spent my childhood paranoid about hidden satanic/occult influences in everything from cartoons to D&D to Cabbage Patch dolls. (Srsly. Evangelicalism in the '80's was weird. In many ways, even weirder than it is now.) Anyway, there was always some grapevine source with odd satanic/occult/demonic accountings that were influencing pop culture.

And then Mandy quotes BotL, and I realized that an obvious occult reference would have gone right over my parents' heads, because they didn't know the literature.