I’m always grateful to God and my parents for making me a 90s baby, haha. If you are the 80s and early 90s baby, Saturdays from 8 am to 11 am were the best hours of your childhood—the Golden Era of Cartoons. My great Saturday mornings as a kid happened because of three networks: Fox Kids’, Kids’ WB, and Nickelodeon.
I had to start at the top: Fox Kids’. I believe that Fox Kids’ had the best lineup of cartoons out of the three networks. Fox Kids’ was the top-rated children’s program block among the major networks until 1998. Fox Kids’ programmed shows like Bobby’s World, Taz Mania, Batman: The Animated Series/The Adventures of Batman and Robin, X-Men, Spider-Man, Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, Tiny Toon Adventures, and many more.
Bobby’s World and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers were two of my favorite shows from Fox Kids’. I used to love hearing Bobby’s Worlds’ theme song. The theme song is very catchy and memorable. I can still hear it in my head; I think I might go to Youtube to listen to it, haha. Graphic design for the theme song is impeccable. Bobby’s World lasted seven seasons on Fox Kids’. It’s on streaming services like Amazon Prime and Sling TV.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers! I cannot tell a story about my childhood without the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in it. I can speak for days about how much this show meant to me as a kid. Tommy Oliver is every guy’s favorite ranger. Tommy is a legend among the Power Rangers community and is considered to be the greatest Power Ranger of all time. In the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, he was the White Ranger and my favorite the Green Ranger. As the Green Ranger, you knew it was serious business the moment he would take out the flute. Tommy also serves as a love interest to the original Pink Ranger Kimberly Hart. Oh my god! Kimberly was my first crush as a little boy. What an unforgettable show! Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was one of the most popular programs in Fox Kids’. The show became one of the block’s highest-rated programs when it debuted in 1993.
Animaniacs was one of Fox Kids’ popular shows from 1993 to 1995 before going to Kids’ WB. That’s where I discovered Animaniacs and became a big fan of the show. Both Animaniacs and Batman served as the top 1-2 punch for Kids’ WB.
Kids’ WB was part of The WB Network. I loved Kids’ WB. It was one of those channels that I would frequently tune in. Kids’ WB had incredible shows like Animaniacs, Freakazoid, Superman: The Animated Series, The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries, and The Pinky and The Brain.
Aside from Saturday mornings, Kids’ WB cartoons would also air on weekdays from 3 pm to 5 pm. It was the best. I remember when I was in 1st Grade during the 1997-98 school year. When I came home from school, I remember seeing Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and The New Batman Adventures for that time slot. I got goosebumps thinking about those days. It was a different time; I miss those times.
Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and Batman were three of my favorites shows from Kids’ WB. Pinky and the Brain and Animaniacs had great theme songs. As for Batman, come on now. I’m Team Batman! I’ll watch anything that’s Batman related. The animated series was great. The stories in this series tend to give more focus to Batman’s supporting cast, which include crimefighters Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl etc. The New Batman Adventures was the successor of Batman: The Animated Series.
The last stop is Nickolodeon. Nickelodeon had memorable programs such as The Ren & Stimpy Show, Doug, Rugrats, Hey Arnold, and so much more.
Nickelodeon’s The Ren & Stimpy Show is my favorite 90s animated series. The show lasted five seasons and had a long-lasting influence on television animation. Ren & Stimpy received widespread critical acclaim after its run. I can’t fail to mention that the show drew some controversy. Some episodes from the series were removed off because of the expose of violence, alcohol, religion, etc.
Ren & Stimpy is one of the best cartoons of the 90s and cartoons for adults. In my opinion, Ren & Stimpy is one of the Top 50 most fantastic cartoon characters of all time. The Ren & Stimpy Show is available on Amazon Prime Video.
Kids nowadays will never understand what it was like to wake up early in the morning to watch these iconic cartoons. I was fortunate to grow up in an era where there were no smartphones. As a kid, Cartoons and Super Nintendo was my bread and butter. When I turn on the TV on Saturday mornings, I see nothing on these significant networks. We are in the Golden Era of TV Drama and Reality Shows. These cartoons will forever be in the minds and hearts of us 80s and early 90s kids. Hopefully, we see these cartoons on more streaming services platforms, which it’s already happening.
Oh yeah! One more thing. I want to give a massive shout out to my best friend, Kevin Rodriguez. He was the mastermind behind the idea of me writing about the cartoons from the 90s.
