Cartoon Network was established in 1992 as the first cartoon site. Some of the best cartoons come from it: like Ed, Edd N Eddy, The Powerpuff Girls, and Ben 10. Its original programs and acquisitions have made the network a place to see high-quality animated content.
This is not always the case, however. Some shows haven’t aged particularly well, either because of the humor or other content. Even in the 1990s, there were shows that either didn’t measure up or just didn’t stand the test of time. Not all anime can achieve legendary status, and some audiences don’t look too fondly of these shows anymore.
8 What happened to Robot Jones? Is a valid show title and question
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What happened to Robot Jones? was a 2001 Cartoon Network Original. It was inspired by a short film from Cartoon Network’s Big Pick contest. Although he didn’t win that year, he became very close and Cartoon Network picked him up anyway. The show followed a teenage robot going to school and going through some of the same things humans go through (or at least try to go through).
The show was famous for having a 1980s aesthetic. This aesthetic seemed to be its downfall, as kids at the time couldn’t relate to the setting or technology of the time. Regular show had a similar aesthetic, but it was helped by the over the top situations Mordecai and Rigby found themselves in. RobotJones would do even worse today due to its rather annoying conflicts in addition to a backdrop that the kids just don’t understand.
seven Total Drama Island can be painful these days
Total Drama Island was essentially a way for Canadian television station Teletoon to cash in on the popularity of reality television. In 2008, he attracted legions of fans of all ages across the world. The series was also one of the first on Cartoon Network to have a TV-PG rating instead of TV-Y7.
The series appealed to the lowest common denominator, and that’s even clearer today. Between the fart, the awkward flirt and the sadistic host, Total drama did its best to stay relevant even after so many viewers wanted it gone.
6 A monkey was a pony one trick away from my gym partner
My gym partner is a monkey premiered in 2007 and was kind of a weird sight in hindsight. A human boy transfers to an animal school because his last name is Lion. How can animals go to school? Until the suspension of disbelief takes over.
The show mostly had one joke, and it was Jake Spidermonkey’s butt. Thanks to Tom Kenny for trying to make this work, but today’s kids would see through this poor attempt at humor. Talking Animals was mostly a note, and Adam Lion wasn’t a big protagonist. The show became the butt of the joke until it ended in 2008.
5 Tenchi Muyo! Was a sign of the times
Tenchi Muyo! was an OVA (Original Video Animation) about a teenager who had a secret lineage and connection with aliens. It was one of the first harem series with a touch of space action. The action bits were the rationale for its Toonami broadcast (which is more than what Hamtaro was right).
Tenchi Muyo! was constantly censored, leading viewers to wonder if it belonged to Cartoon Network. On top of that, the rise of top romantic comedy anime like Kaguya-sama: Love is war? makes the show mediocre. Tenchi Muyo! just isn’t that great, and fans better seek out better rom-coms.
4 Squirrel Boy was a little mediocre
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Squirrel Boy was a mid-2000s cartoon about a boy and his talking squirrel friend. The show largely faded into obscurity despite getting decent airplay in the mid-2000s. of its dissemination.
Rodney the squirrel was an unlovable character. He was a huge jerk to everyone around him. The rest of the cast was pretty boring. The show was created by the late Everett Peck, but had none of the appeal of his other show, Duck man.
3 The cow and the chicken were disgusted in the center
Cow and Chicken was a 90s Cartoon Network show about a cow and a chicken born to human parents and living in a fucked up world. The show was known for its mild and crude humor and the main characters ate pork butts as if they were going out of style. On the show, Charlie Adler played the triple role of Cow, Chicken, and the Red Guy (who was basically the devil).
The show has taken a lot of things under the radar. Once upon a time there was an island called Asswipe (pronounced Ass-WEE-pay), and a Forbidden episode featured an all-female biker gang eating people’s rugs (yes, really). The edginess of the show really wouldn’t hold water for today’s kids, because that kind of childish humor doesn’t work well anymore.
2 Wacky Races is full of silly cliches
Of all the classic Hanna-Barbara shows airing on Cartoon Network at the time, Wacky races had to be one of the dumbest. It’s a pretty simple premise: professional runners racing in cartoon settings. The character archetypes are very simplistic, and not in a charming way like in scooby-doo Where Josie and the Pussycats.
The show is sometimes uninspired and at other times pointless. Why does Dastardly always cheat when he is ahead? And if he cheats, how does the governing body not tackle it? Wacky races was revived in the 2010s, and it was only marginally better than the original.
1 Johnny Bravo’s irony is lost on some
Johnny Bravo was a late ’90s cartoon about a budding Casanova trying to pick up girls. He always failed, much to the delight and amusement of the audience. Many people, including parents, didn’t see the greater irony at work here and just saw a prime example of toxic masculinity.
The joke with Johnny is that he never makes it, so maybe he’ll eventually reform to get the girl. The general premise of the show has not aged well, and while many children understand that Johnny never wins, parents worry that their sons will take away the wrong message from the show.