October the first, 1992 is a day to remember - then, by the tunes of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture’s finale and with cartoon explosions on the screens, the Cartoon Network channel was launched. A historical day, indeed! And, although it wasn’t the first channel with animation as its main attraction, it was definitely the first 24-hour broadcaster to show animation exclusively. Just a year later, in 1993, in addition to an extensive Warner Bros cartoon library, Cartoon Network added its first original series - The Moxy Show. And from there, things took an unexpected turn with the airing of The Ren And Stimpy Show, which was definitely aimed at… Well, we’re not sure what kind of an audience this series was intended for, but it definitely wasn’t kids. After that, the rest is history as Cartoon Network soon became the carrier of the most original animated series that attracted audiences from various age groups with their tongue-in-cheek adult humor, incredible characters, and forever new adventures.
And here we invite you for a thorough Cartoon Network series retrospective. From such childhood-nostalgia-inducing series as Dexter’s Laboratory and Courage The Cowardly Dog to newer but not any less iconic shows as Adventure Time, this list will show both the good ole stuff and the newest additions to CN’s ever-expanding library. So, boldly scroll on down below and check out our list of the best Cartoon Network TV shows! Upvote the cartoons you’ve enjoyed watching while growing up or found out about in your adult days, and share this article with your friends!
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#1 Courage The Cowardly Dog
Courage The Cowardly Dog, an animated horror/comedy series, follows Courage - a kindhearted yet easily scared orphaned dog whose parents were sent into outer space by a crazed veterinarian. Now Courage lives with an elderly couple, Muriel and Eustace, in the middle of Nowhere. Somehow it seems that the trio always gets into some bizarre, nightmarish misadventures with various entities, monsters, and occurrences haunting everything they do. Courage The Cowardly Dog is truly one-of-a-kind series filled with surreal humor, an eerie atmosphere, and always original happenings.
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72points
#2 The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy
Grim stories are seemingly the forever favorites of kids, and if you were to ask why, we’d be stumped and left without an answer. The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy proves this point so well, though, by following a seemingly dark story that nevertheless is enjoyed by millions of kids worldwide. So, here you get to meet Billy - a quite dense, happy-go-lucky boy and an utterly cynic, remorseless girl named Mandy. She enters the story by winning a limbo contest to save Billy’s pet hamster and gains the mighty Grim Reaper as their friend in eternal servitude. So, two kids that are worlds apart from each other and the Grim Reaper then, of course, enter various bizarre adventures of which even the Reaper is often scared.
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67points
#3 Dexter's Laboratory
Dexter’s Laboratory follows a boy genius Dexter, who, unbeknownst to his parents, runs a high-tech laboratory in his room. Here Dexter invents various useful and useless devices and materials with his older sister Dee-Dee constantly trying to sabotage his plans. There’s also a rival boy genius and Dexter’s superhero pet monkey. And you know the rest - time for misadventures! Dexter’s Laboratory was probably one of the earliest CN series known to attract not only kids but younger adults too and proved again that animated series should be given the credit that they deserve.
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66points
#4 Scooby-Doo
While Scooby’s animated adventures started as early as 1969, it was in 2010 that Cartoon Network took the franchise over and expanded the Scooby-Doo universe by adding various important background characters, such as the characters’ parents, high-school friends, and neighbors. This Scooby-Doo series was also much more like a televised novel with overarching plotlines, continuous stories, and much deeper character relationships. Well, of course, the mysteries to solve are still here, the characters are still the same, and Scooby is as goofy as ever!
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65points
#5 Teen Titans
Teen Titans, an animated superhero series, follows the lives and adventures of the five main members of the eponymous team. Each one of them has a set of very specific abilities, from being able to communicate with animals to having psionic abilities. The team all live together in the Titans Tower and protect their neighboring city from various threats and criminals, all the while trying to live their adolescent lives as normal teens. Teen Titans soon became one of the most acclaimed Cartoon Network series, praised for its character development, humor, and serious themes. In fact, it pretty soon became so famous that multiple spin-offs, video games, music albums, and collectibles were released.
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63points
#6 Tom And Jerry
Tom And Jerry had many ‘owners’ throughout the years, but it was Cartoon Network that added new and original premises to this absolute classic animation. With CN’s rendition of the legendary duo’s misadventures came various fantastical worlds in which they play their never-ending cat and mouse game. Here they spend some time in medieval castles, a mad scientist’s laboratory, and various other places that were never before seen in the series. And the best part is that Cartoon Network’s cartoonists kept true to the original concept of the duo, meticulously replicating their looks and the overall vibe of the classic animated series.
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61points
#7 Ed, Edd N Eddy
If you’ve ever wondered why Ed, Edd N Eddy gets funnier when you get older, it is because the task to create this cartoon was given to former adult cartoonist Danny Antonucci. He was very inspired by the classic cartoons of the 1940s-1970s and added his experience to create the very goofy trio of Eds, giving them multilayered personalities that were somewhat atypical for cartoon characters. The pre-teen Eds are always scheming and plotting to make money off their peers for buying jawbreakers, for which they can do seemingly anything. And that’s how they always end up in some hilarious and humiliating predicaments.
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60points
#8 Codename: Kids Next Door
Cartoon Network’s series never lack originality, and Codename: Kids Next Door pushes the envelope further. Here we get to meet a diverse group of ten-year-old school children who operate from a very high-tech treehouse, fighting against adult and teen villains. What’s even better is that these youngsters and their Sector V group are actually a part of a worldwide organization called the Kids Next Door. Huge complex schemes, various incredible weapons, and true team spirit aren’t things that these kids aren’t capable of controlling and adhering to, so their adventures are more and more grandiose with each episode.
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59points
#9 Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends
Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends is an exceptionally warm and adorable series set in a world where imaginary friends and humans coexist. Actually, the inspiration for this story came to writer Craig McCracken when he adopted two dogs from an animal shelter, substituting the dogs with various imaginary friends, so it’s no wonder why it is so heartwarming. The main duo of the story is a kid named Mac and his imaginary friend Bloo who’s forced to relocate to a foster home when Mac’s mom orders him to end their friendship. This, of course, prevails with Mac, and Bloo befriends other creatures and embarks on various adventures together.
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59points
#10 The Looney Tunes Show
The Looney Tunes Show took stories and characters from the original Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies and gave them a 21st-century makeover. And while a portion of the audience wasn’t too happy about this series deviation from the original plots and the lack of slapstick comedy, others praised it for its cool visual style, original humor, and voice acting. Also, as with probably everything that came on the Cartoon Network channel, this rendition of Looney Tunes was oriented to adults, too, with added love triangles between the characters, talks about employment, and loads of dialogue. And, although the character designs veer off from the originals, we think that it is still a great addition to the Looney Tunes legacy.
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58points
#11 The Powerpuff Girls
The Powerpuff Girls, a superhero animated series, follows three kindergarten-age girls, Buttercup, Blossom, and Bubbles, and their father and creator, Professor Utonium. Despite being of a very young age, the girls fight various monsters and villains that are terrorizing their city of Townsville with the help of their superpowers. Besides their unbelievable adventures, the superhero trio also has to deal with age-appropriate problems, such as bed-wetting, loose teeth, and going to school. And if it already seems like great fun, there’s usually a homage or a small parody of some other pop culture events thrown into each episode for good measure. Oh, and a fun fact - the series was originally named Whoopass Stew! Which, if you’d ask us, seemed pretty great already!
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57points
#12 Regular Show
While originally intended for kids, Cartoon Network’s Regular Show quickly gained fans in all age groups. First of all, its premise is very painstakingly relatable to adults - a blue jay Mordecai and a raccoon named Rigby are both groundskeepers at a park who spend most of their time avoiding work at all costs and entertaining themselves. And while a boring job isn’t a concept that kids are very well acquainted with, it sure resonated with young adults. For some added fun, their attempts to solve even the simplest of problems often end up in a bizarre, supernatural adventure, and that’s the part that’s more oriented to kids. Although the show gained quite a notoriety for its dark humor, sexual innuendos, adult humor, and mature themes, Regular Show is still very much loved by younger and older audiences.
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55points
#13 Johnny Bravo
Johnny Bravo, an Elvis Presley and James Dean-inspired character, has brought adult humor and pop culture references to kids since 1997 with his ever-failing attempts to woo the ladies. And although this sunglasses-wearing, narcissist, dimwitted, self-proclaimed womanizer is all the things you’d expect from some sit-com lead, Johnny Bravo somehow found amazing popularity among the younger audiences. That might prove that kids do understand much more than we’d like them to.
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54points
#14 Samurai Jack
Samurai Jack follows the adventures of the titular Jack - a Japanese samurai prince who wields a mystic katana capable of cutting through anything. Jack sets out on a quest to hunt Aku, a shapeshifting demon who’s terrorizing his kingdom. But, of course, it isn’t all that simple, and once Jack is about to deal a final blow to the demon, he sends the samurai into a dystopian future where the land is ruled by another demon. At this point, Jack’s mission gets even more complicated, but it’s all the more fun for the viewers!
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53points
#15 Ben 10
Ben 10, a triple Emmy Awards-winning series, follows the story of Ben and his Omnitrix. What’s an Omnitrix, you ask? Well, it’s an alien-made wristwatch-like device that contains DNA samples of different alien species. Thus, Ben himself can transform into various aliens with superhuman abilities using the Omnitrix. Of course, there are intergalactic enemies and supernatural entities that Ben must conquer, and the adventures that he gets into are seemingly never-ending!
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50points
#16 Adventure Time
Adventure Time, a truly iconic series of the last decade, follows the adventures of Finn the Human and Jake the Dog, who’s Finn’s adoptive brother-dog with the ability to shapeshift at will. While Finn is a fiery little boy with strong morals, Jake is a bit more like Bill Murray’s carefree character from the movie Meatballs (who was an actual inspiration source for Jake, if you’re wondering). The dynamic duo lives in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, where they interact with various major characters, such as Princess Bubblegum, a sentient piece of gum, the menacing but misunderstood Ice King, and Marceline, The Vampire Queen, who’s a huge fan of rock, just to name a few. Just by reading these short character descriptions, you should get a pretty good understanding of the bizarre events that happen in this series and the off-kilter humor it presents. No wonder Adventure Time soon became virally famous, engaging fans from various age groups.
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49points
#17 What's New, Scooby-Doo?
What’s New, Scooby-Doo?, a series that ran on Cartoon Network for three years starting in 2003, brought the viewers a revamped version of the original Scooby-Doo Where Are You! animated series. Same as before, the groovy gang consisting of Scooby, Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy travels to various locations to solve supernatural and very natural mysteries. It’s only the use of various never-before-seen technologies and devices that sets What’s New, Scooby-Doo? apart from its 1969 predecessor, really, but we absolutely don’t mind!
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49points
#18 The Amazing World Of Gumball
The Amazing World Of Gumball centers around the life of Gumball Waterson, a blue cat, and his goldfish best friend and adoptive brother, Darwin. The two attend the same middle school in the fictional city of Elmore, California, and often find themselves in various shenanigans. Although Gumball is labeled as a family comedy show, the series doesn’t shy away from exploring serious subject matters like philosophy, marriage, cyberbullying, mental illnesses, and the human condition. So, basically, an educational show wrapped in a colorful, adorable package that does a great job introducing serious topics to kids.
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46points
#20 Scooby-Doo! Mystery, Inc.
Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated is the eleventh incarnation in the Scooby franchise. Mystery Incorporated returns to the gang’s early days where they are still solving mysteries in their hometown, just the villains are way more outlandish than they were ever before. Another unexpected thing in the Mystery Incorporated series is that it is a continuous story with character arcs continuing from episode to episode. Also, it might just be a bit darker than other Scooby-Doo series, paying homage to the classic horror movies and seeking inspiration in H. P. Lovecraft’s works.
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42points