"Guts" wasn't my favorite game show, but I watched it quite often due to it being on all the time. It was a purely physical competition, with kids swimming, biking, climbing,
shooting, and playing their way to the top. The best part was the last challenge, which was always the climb to the top of the big mountain in the middle
little corny. You couldn't watch it past age seven without rolling your eyes. Still, it gets points for diversity and for helping a generation care about the environment.
"Darkwing Duck" was Disney's first show that was entirely meant to be genre parody. It only lasted two seasons, but it was pretty funny. Darkwing's constant battles between his desire
10-year-old opinion, wasn't as good as the comic itself, but there were some good laughs to be had. Even the in-between segments with the farm animals could be pretty funny.
The '90s "X-Men" cartoon was one of the very few serious superhero cartoons I watched as a kid. At the time, I appreciated it because of its decent number of
This show was the epitome of '90s weird. It had quirky everywhere, including in the opening credits where both "Petunia," the little woman in a red dress tattooed on Little
"Dinosaurs" really rides the line between a kids show and a "family" show, but it involved puppets and a lot of slapstick comedy, so I'm counting it. I certainly watched
scary stories shows for kids in the '90s, but this one was definitely the best. Today, we don't have anything like it for children. It's probably for the best.
I didn't love "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" like some of my fellow '90s kids did, but it deserves a spot on the list. I remember enjoying the gags about pizza
Despite being a little too educational for my young taste, "Wishbone" was pretty cute. I would definitely watch it now, and I'd probably learn a few things. As an English
I was extremely into "Pokémon" as a kid. If nine-year-old me was making this list, Pokémon would be at the top, no contest. It was the only anime I watched, even
trying hard. Mostly, it was cute and inspired many fantasies of running away from home and raising animals. Not to fight each other, of course. Hopefully.
"Kenan & Kel" was a show based entirely off of the chemistry between Kenan Thomson and Kel Mitchell, originally discovered on the kids variety show "All That." It wasn't as
good as "All That," but it was still pretty hilarious. I don't think you could find a former '90s kid who couldn't finish your thought if you asked, "Who loves
"Beetlejuice" (the cartoon) technically started in late 1989 and ran through 1991. It was another one of the grosser kids shows, but I enjoyed it due to my early love
some oddly touching moments. I've never forgotten the episode where "Beetlejuice" is driven crazy by his parents who always tell him to "remember to wash between his toes." He later
I didn't like "Doug" as much as some people — it usually appears higher on these kinds of lists. I remember mostly watching "Doug" while waiting for "Rugrats" to come
on. However, I can recognize that it was a good show that taught a lot of good lessons: Facing your fears, dealing with bullies, eating bananas with tomato sauce.
did love Judy's character, and in fact probably would have loved a show that revolved around her rather than her boring brother. I also remember enjoying the songs by the
"Muppet Babies" was more of a mid-to-late 80s show, but it lasted until 1991 and I definitely remember watching it in the '90s. The show did a great job of
This was one of the better educational shows. Not only did it actually teach me a lot, it did it while not being totally corny. Except for Carlos' jokes, but
shows that focused more on teenagers and their teenage problems, but I liked Clarissa. She was different, and her feuds with her nerdy brother Ferguson were good entertainment. Sometimes, they would
"The Angry Beavers" was a lot of chaos and slapstick comedy, but in a good way. It featured the beaver brothers Dagget and Norbert trying to live with one another
"DuckTales" really skirts the edge of what you could call a 90s show, running from 1987 to 1990. But how can you leave out "DuckTales?" Huey, Dewey, and Louie were
cute little characters getting into fun adventures and ticking off Uncle Scrooge, the character who taught us all that there is definitely such a thing as having too much money.
This show was, in my opinion, highly underrated. It's not often remembered, but I recall laughing until my sides hurt at some of their cartoon shorts. My favorite was Prometheus and
What kid didn't dream of some day being on "Double Dare" and going through the obstacle course? Forget "Family Feud," "Double Dare" was the epitome of family game show excellence.
Now, this is good educational children's programming. Bill Nye gets bonus points for being the best thing they showed us in school. It was good to the point that I
it was some quality girl power. What other shows did we have that were purely about girls kicking ass? I mean, maybe "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," but that was definitely
Also known as "Tiny Toons," at least by me, this animated gem often goes overlooked. The '90s version of "Looney Tunes" was a perfect fit for '90s kids, with more
"Recess" was one of those incredibly smart shows of the late '90s. Following the lives of a diverse collection of fourth graders, the school that was their world has its
"Dexter's Lab" was my all time favorite Cartoon Network show. Every character was hilarious in their own way, and several of the episodes played with interesting tropes, like the one
about this show were the frequent suggestions that the history we mortals know is not the real history, such as those two months all of Europe was ruled by a
This was my favorite game show as a kid. I could never get enough of "Legends of the Hidden Temple." It was just a cool premise that included cool stories
"Tiny Toons" was good, but "Animaniacs" was great. This show was worth full belly laughs when the Warner Kids were on screen, and the other segments were all pretty funny
"All That" was the children's version of a sketch comedy show, and it pulled it off perfectly. Not every segment was good, but there were so many amazing ones. The
"Salute Your Shorts" has to be, by far, the most underrated '90s show in existence. I loved it, and it did not get enough credit or enough air time, let
and got four other nominations just for 1993. There is something so relatable about each of the kids and the things they go through — including Bobby's fear of spiders.
This show absolutely had to be in the top five. "Hey Arnold!" was a work of art. The stories, the animation, the diverse and interesting characters, Arnold's grandma, the list
Helga Pataki was particularly relatable for me, being a rather gruff and not-so-girly girl growing up who did not like being seen as vulnerable or weak. But every
"Arthur" is so good that it's still going after launching in 1996, and I'm glad it's still around to continue teaching our children about the important things in life.
parents' safety after the 9/11 attacks. Many other episodes deal with common issue kids go through, such as dyslexia, loved ones with cancer, and bed-wetting.
"Rocko's Modern Life" was my "Ren & Stimpy." It was still weird, wacky, and sometimes gross, but not gross to the same degree, and it didn't have that creepy factor
don't understand why there aren't any memes based on it. I still think about the time Rocko and Filbert found Ralph Bighead and his reaction to the idea of seeing
Remember when I said I wasn't much of a fan of superhero shows? "Batman: The Animated Series" is a big time exception. This show was definitely a work of art
and the DVD collection should probably be in a museum somewhere, or at least in a time capsule to ensure the aliens who discover Earth after the human race dies
I grew up as a true '90s kid, watching all the best kid shows after school when there was no such thing as TiVo and nobody had the internet in their homes yet. Now, in the year 2018, I've used the most sophisticated metrics that are not at all just my personal opinion based on the shows I personally watched to put together this list of the best 40 kids shows from the '90s.
Enjoy, football heads.
