Random Cartoons From '90s You Completely Forgot Existed (21 items)

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  (#20) Extreme Ghostbusters

  • Maurice LaMarche, Tara Strong, Pat Musick

  In an attempt to revitalize the franchise and springboard off the success of The Real Ghostbusters animated series from the late '80s, Columbia TriStar Television put together a newer, edgier version called Extreme Ghostbusters. The series wasn't as well-received as its predecessor, and only lasted 40 episodes before getting the ax.

  The show takes place in the same universe/canon as the previous outing, but is set several years in the future. With no supernatural activity in New York to "bust," the Ghostbusters have effectively put themselves out of business. The original members go their separate ways, but when the ghosts return, it's up to a new "extreme" generation to take on the threat and form a new team.
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  (#7) The Wacky World of Tex Avery

  • Billy West, Cree Summer, Maurice LaMarche, Kathleen Barr, Scott McNeil, Ian James Corlett, Lee Tockar, Terry Klassen, Phil Hayes

  Created as an homage to celebrated animator Tex Avery and the cartoons of his era, The Wacky World of Tex Avery aired 65 episodes consisting of 195 individual segments between September and December 1997. However, the show had nothing to do with Avery's actual cartoon creations, which include most of the classic Looney Tunes roster.

  Wacky World's segments are based on seven different shorts following the exploits of Freddy the Fly, Power Pooch, Maurice and Mooch, Ghengis and Khannie, Einstone, Pompeii Pete, and a cowboy named "Tex Avery." Unlike Avery's creations, these characters have since faded into obscurity.
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  (#18) Toxic Crusaders

  • Kath Soucie, Rodger Bumpass, Michael J. Pollard, Chuck McCann, Susan Blu, Gregg Berger, Ed Gilbert, Paul Eiding, Susan Silo, Hal Rayle, John Mariano, Patric Zimmerman

  In 1991, a series based on Troma's The Toxic Avenger was made to capitalize on the success of shows like The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Captain Planet and the Planeteers. The series was called Toxic Crusaders, and it survived long enough to air the 13 episodes created for the first season. There wasn't a second.

  Naturally, the show depicts the Toxic Avenger in a much more child-friendly way than the R-rated movies. However, without the over-the-top innuendo and general mayhem of its namesake franchise, Toxic Crusaders is remembered as nothing more than a generic also-ran in the pantheon of kids' programming.
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  (#8) Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys

  • Malcolm McDowell, James Avery, Michael Dorn, Jeff Bennett, Maurice LaMarche, Dom Irrera, Jerry Doyle, Karen Maruyama

  Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys may be an awesome name for a television show, but it wasn't enough to save the series from cancellation after two years and 26 episodes. Developed as a comedy/sci-fi action series for children, it was intended to capitalize on its success with an accompanying toy line.

  Inspired by the monkey-manned spaceflights the United States launched in the 1960s, Captain Simian speculates on what might havehappened if a rocket veered off course and into outer space. Discovered years later by a race of beings whose name is so complicated it can't be written or pronounced (it's just said in silence on the show), Charlie the chimp is granted intelligence - and an arsenal - to help protect the universe from the evil Lord Nebula. He then recruits a team of Earth simians to help him out, and the series follows their adventures.
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  (#13) New Kids on the Block

  • Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre, Jordan Knight, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Danny Wood, Jonathan Knight, Scott Menville, Loren Lester, David Coburn

  These days, boy bands from Korea are considered to be some of the most popular groups around, but back in the 1980s and early '90s, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who didn't know who New Kids on the Block were. The band was so popular, a plethora of merchandise sprung up around them, which included an animated series simply called New Kids on the Block.

  The cartoon focuses on the group as they get into various antics alongside their real-world manager, Maurice Starr. Fifteen episodes aired before it was canceled just four months after it premiered on ABC.
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  (#21) Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

  • John Astin, Christian Guzek, Kath Soucie

  Attack of the Killer Tomatoes was a strangely successful parody movie that came out in 1978. It wasn't the sort of film you would expect to launch a franchise, but it got a sequel, a toy line, and a Saturday morning cartoon. 

  The cartoon takes place five years after the so-called Great Tomato War, and features a world in which tomatoes are banned. Unfortunately, a mad scientist continues to experiment with the ornery fruit and even manages to turn a tomato into a human.

  The show was just as silly as the movies, which may have led to its downfall. Kids didn't get the joke, and the show didn't get more than 23 episodes before Fox canceled it.

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