The good old days…. How many times have you found yourself standing before the door of your childhood memories? Childhood days are truly golden but ‘90s childhood? It had a distinct charm. Being a ‘90s kid feels like a blessing and you can’t know it if you aren’t one.
Many things made growing up in the ‘90s beautiful and reminisce worthy and one of them was the cartoons.
From among the array of shows, we all had our favourites- Tom & Jerry, Powderpuff Girls, Dexter’s Laboratory, Popeye, Scooby Doo, Timon and Pumba…. These made our mornings and afternoons so much more exciting and enriching. But there were many others that we liked and enjoyed equally but do not remember today. These are the cartoon shows that somehow couldn’t stay as popular as the others and went out of the mind of their loyal viewers years later.
But they somehow remained etched in my memories all these years, some faintly and some more clearly. I compiled them into a list of ‘90s cartoons that you don’t often find a mention of anywhere.
So here’s delighting all the ‘90s kids with cartoon shows that are forgotten but shouldn’t have been.
1. Clifford the Big Red Dog
My afternoons never went without watching this cartoon. The show was about a girl named Emily and her red dog who becomes very big when he gets old. I don’t remember much about this show, only the friendly big red dog and faintly the little girl Emily.
2. Just Kids Cinderella
I loved, loved, loved this. This was my favourite version of the classic fairytale. I loved it so much that I rewatched the entire show on YouTube a few years back. Its video quality was not that great and some of the episodes were missing, but the nostalgia and the feel-good vibe were intact. I just found out the entire show is available on Zee5 in both Hindi and English. Whoopee!
3. Justice Friends
This one is a completely forgotten cartoon show from the ‘90s. The evidence of this is I got the name wrong first. I wrote Justice League instead of Friends.
The show was about a group of superheroes who could never do anything right. They ended up goofing things up that made for a hilarious watch. I am still puzzled how could such a fun cartoon show got wiped out of memories so easily.
4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
This was one of the most loved cartoon shows back then, but today it is hardly spoken along the same lines as Scooby Doo or Popeye. This show made turtles so cool and likeable. Totally loved it.
5. The Little Lulu Show
Do you remember the little girl in red dress giving a speech on stage? This is what I had to put in Google search because I had forgotten the show’s name. I would wait eagerly for this show before heading to school in the afternoon. More than 25 years later, I have finally found what the cartoon was called and my excitement can’t be bottled up. I thoroughly enjoyed this show although I didn’t understand a word of it back then (this was the only cartoon that was not dubbed in Hindi). It is about a girl with unique black hair that began with her talking about an experience from her life on stage.
6. Kipper the Dog
Again, I didn’t remember the name of this cartoon, I just searched about it based on my memory of an episode centered on hiccups. And thanks to Google again, I found it! Kipper the Dog was very cute and his adventures were so fun to watch. I miss it so much.
7. Captain Planet
Dharti (earth), Jal (water), Vayu (wind), Agni (fire) and Dil (heart)! CAPTAAAIINN PLANET!
Captain planet was born when these five elements came together. Five youths were given five rings by the spirit of Mother Earth- Gaia. Each ring represented the five elements. Whenever the planeteers faced grave trouble, they united their powers to give rise to Captain Planet. What was so unique and lovable about this ’90s cartoon was that the superhero not only saved the day but also taught us a thing or two about keeping our environment safe and healthy. If only we could have remembered the lessons in our adulthood.
And just to mention, I had a special soft corner for the boy whose strength and ring was fire.😊
8. The Great Book of Nature
When Ballu Bhaiya (or was it Bhalu Sahab?) came and opened the big book of nature, it was time to drop everything you were doing and get ready to be taken to a world of stories rich with simple living and morals.
The show always started with Bhalu Sahab or the friendly bear opening the Great Book of Nature. He would flick it open and the page that landed on top contained the story of the day that was told to the gathered forest animals and the little ones sitting on the other side of the TV. Each story was cherishing and absolutely delightful.
9. Wacky Races
I don’t know why I liked this show. Everything about it was weird and wacky. I remember the evil characters from the show. They were so evil you felt a rush of dislike for them and wanted them to be taught a lesson. There were also nicer than nice characters that made you want to be like them. This ’90s cartoon show was really one of a kind and offered thrill and adventure with its races and made for a highly exciting watch.
10. Heidi, Girl of the Alps
Little Heidi and her ability to spread cheer and see the good in everything. Like the book, this show was filled with feel-goodness that was hard to shake off. If Heidi wasn’t there, my childhood would have felt a little incomplete.
That’s all folks!
I plan to sign a petition to bring all these ’90s cartoons back on TV. Come, join me!
Do you remember any of these cartoons? Are your favourites on the list?
I hope I succeeded in providing you with a heavy dose of nostalgia with this.