15 Cartoons From the ‘90s That We Want Rebooted

Nothing really ends. Recent revivals for Adventure Time, Regular Show, The Powerpuff Girls and more have made it clear that network executives everywhere will welcome any nostalgic-loving viewer with arms wide open. However, success stories like X-Men ’97 show that animated reboots don’t have to be cynical cash grabs.

Nostalgic reboots can take beloved animated series to their full potential with more creative freedom and budget. Some well-loved cartoons from the 90s only became popular after their run was tragically cut short. Other shows were seriously hindered by Standards and Practices for Saturday morning cartoons for basic TV.

For the children of the 90s, these terrific cartoons deserve another chance at the spotlight.

1. SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron

Hanna-Barbera isn’t typically associated with high-adrenaline action cartoons, but in 1993 the Scooby-Doo studio delivered a cartoon like no other on Cartoon Network.

SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron followed Jake “Razor” Clawson and Chance “T-Bone” Furlong as two jet pilots on a self-appointed mission to save their feline anthropomorphic city from any extraordinary threats that come its way. While the series may appear to be nothing more than a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles knockoff, SWAT Kats distinguished itself with its slick presentation and bombastic action all centered around aerial vehicles, such as the duo’s jet fighter called the Turbokat.

2. Mighty Max

The 1993 Mighty Max cartoon essentially adapts Doctor Who for North American kids. In lieu of time travel, the titular hero (voiced by Rob Paulsen) used his M-branded hat to travel across space and time with his scholarly fowl mentor, Virgil, and his hulking bodyguard, Norman.

Although the show’s location-jumping premise just offered an excuse to sell the series’ “Polly Pocket but for boys” toys, it resulted in many fun and surprisingly dark adventures that typically featured offscreen deaths.

3. ReBoot

No, the critically panned live-action/CGI-animated reboot in 2018 doesn’t count.

The original ReBoot TV show didn’t play like a low-grade Power Rangers knockoff like ReBoot: The Guardian Code; it was a one-of-a-kind CG-animated cartoon about humanoid programs trying to protect their computer world from viruses and video game catastrophes initiated by the “user.”

Although the CG animation in ReBoot doesn’t hold up by today’s standards, it still leaves an impression that it was released seasonally on a TV time and budget. TV CG animation has come a long way since 1994 and a streaming service relaunch would allow ReBoot to do more dramatic episodes like the later seasons.

4. The Pirates of Dark Water

The Pirates of Dark Water was an ambitious, but sadly canceled too soon TV series about alien pirates trying to save their homeland from corrupted waters.

A prince named Ren searches for the “Thirteen Treasures of Rule,” a legendary treasure that might save his dying kingdom of Octopon and stop the evil Dark Waters from permanently corrupting the alien world of Mer. However, plenty of villains sail across the black-infested seas and want the treasure for themselves.

5. Spider-Man (1994)

The incredible streaming success of X-Men ’97 on Disney+ has opened doors for more animated revivals from the Fox Kids era.

Outside of the iconic mutant heroes, the 1994 Spider-Man: The Animated Series is the only other Marvel show that can match such a strong fan demand for a revival. The brief Spider-Man cameos in X-Men ’97 already offer a great sneak peek at what a modern continuation would look like, as well as show what it could do without any embarrassing censorship holding it back. (No more shoulder tackling for Spider-Man).

The series’ lengthy storylines would also feel more at home on a streaming service than as a Saturday morning kids’ cartoon.

6. Hey Arnold!

Although the series finally received its finale in the form of Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie, a new TV series for the football head would be a welcomed addition to any modern streaming service.

Hey Arnold! was one of those rare Nicktoons that was grounded in reality, as it followed the everyday life of Arnold Phillip Shortman (yes, that’s his real name) as a child living with his crazy grandparents in a fictionalized city populated by crazy kids and adults alike.

The series was always at its best when it explored urban fantasies, as well as too-real situations like the Christmas episode where Arnold tries to reunite Mr. Hyunh with his long-lost daughter who was rescued from the Vietnam War as a baby.

7. Pepper Ann

Describing Pepper Ann as “Doug for girls” does a disservice to the 1997 cartoon. The One Saturday Morning cartoon revolves around a 12-year-old girl named Pepper Ann as she tries to determine if she’s truly “too cool for seventh grade.”

Although Doug and Pepper Ann focus on kids dealing with everyday life through their wild fantasies, Pepper Ann comes off as more relatable and less moralistic — especially for female viewers who rarely have their perspectives on display on kids’ TV. Not a lot of Disney cartoons out there have its female lead struggle with the idea of wearing a bra like Pepper Ann.

8. Gargoyles

Before the Marvel buyout solved Disney’s longstanding problem of capturing the young boy audience, the company launched Gargoyles as an attempt to sway the children over from Batman: The Animated Series to the Disney Channel.

The 1994 animated drama by Greg Weisman and the late Michael Reaves was an anomaly for Disney. It featured dramatic and complex storylines about supernatural creatures brought back to life in modern-day New York by a manipulating billionaire named David Xanatos.

Gargoyles didn’t shy away from blood or references to death. One episode in particular dealt with detective Elisa Maza becoming a victim of friendly fire after a gargoyle named Broadway played around with her gun. This pivotal moment led to Broadway forever hating firearms and opting for a more hands-on approach to villains.

9. Duckman

Although the late Everett Peck passed away in 2022, his artistic talents continue to live on in the memories of Duckman. Originally a one-shot comic by Dark Horse Comics, Duckman is a crude but sharp-wit cartoon that featured Jason Alexander as the egocentric duck that everyone loves to dunk on — including his family.

Just like The Simpsons — Klasky Csupo animated both shows — Duckman thrived on pushing boundaries and delivering satirical jabs, while also pulling on a few heartstrings. Intentional or not, Duckman infamously ended on a cliffhanger and fans deserve to see a resolution to the shocking revelation.

10. Todd McFarlane’s Spawn

Nothing embodies the 90s more than the extreme popularity of Spawn, an assassinated soldier brought back to life as a demonic superhero.

While Spawn-mania has dried up, the animated Spawn cartoon for HBO was one of the best renditions of the character in its heyday. Unlike the live-action 1997 movie, Todd McFarlane’s Spawn embraced its edgy origins with sexuality, extreme violence and a disturbing visual atmosphere. Despite the critical acclaim, the series ended on a frustrating cliffhanger after 18 episodes.

11. The Angry Beavers

The Angry Beavers followed the tried-and-true Nicktoon formula of pitting two personality-conflicting animal buddies together for 11 minutes of comedy. In this case, the smooth-talking beaver named Norbert Foster “Norb” and his frantic younger brother Daggett Doofus “Dag,” now living together after their parents kicked them out to make room for their new, younger sisters.

Although the series itself is still hilarious, The Angry Beavers premiered during a time when Nickelodeon tried to move away from its edgy identity, causing the titular beavers to be more “slightly annoyed” than “angry.” A revival would allow The Angry Beavers to finally let loose.

12. The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest

Warner Bros. Discovery continues to struggle with its long-rumored live-action adaptation of Jonny Quest.

1996’s The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest laid out the perfect blueprint for such a modern revival. The Cartoon Network show was a modernized revival of the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon from the 1960s. Jonny and his best friend Hadji are now teenagers going on more dangerous adventures with Dr. Quest and their bodyguard Race Bannon — who has a teenage daughter named Jessie as well.

Like a lot of 90s action cartoons, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest featured a lot of surprising material dealing with death and intimidating imagery…as well as embarrassingly bad CGI segments known as “QuestWorld.”

13. The Tick

Although there have been two valid live-action attempts, The Tick works best in animation. It’s where the superhero parody starring a loveable lunkhead and his timid sidekick Arthur can truly shine without fear of limited budgets and instant cancelations.

The Tick plays like a kid-friendly version of The Venture Bros., as it sharply mocked and lovingly embraced the superhero genre.

14. Street Sharks

There’s no denying that Street Sharks was yet another attempt to duplicate the success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with four radical dudes turning into anthropomorphic sharks because…reasons.

That said, the three-season series embraced its absurd premise more than others with ridiculously delightful villains and unapologetically toyetic vehicles used to save the day. The toys were also really cool! Any franchise approved by Vin Diesel deserves another go-around.

15. Batman Beyond

Even though comic books have continued continuity with mixed results, Batman Beyond has yet to return in animated form despite its strong reception.

A futuristic Batman series starring a smart-mouth teenager named Terry McGinnis being mentored by an elderly Bruce Wayne for KidsWB somehow beat the odds by being anything but terrible. The show forged a legacy of its own, as it revealed the dark fate that fell on the protectors of Gotham and its supervillain assailants, as well as adding a Spider-Man-like quality to its new caped crusader.

Unfortunately, a new Batman Beyond would have to be made without the late Kevin Conroy. However, if Michael Keaton won’t fulfill his destiny as old-man Bruce Wayne in live-action, then there’s always animation.