During my last post, I shared my favorite Nickelodeon shows, however, they weren't the cartoon shows. I had to save cartoon-list for another post. When I remember my favorite cartoons, several come to mind. Only a few stand out, though. They all were under the Nickelodeon umbrella. It was my ritual–like most kids–to watch cartoons. Even flipping through channels now, I run across the Nickelodeon channel and I see Hey Arnold! or Doug on. It takes me back to when I was kid. Wow, those days went by so quick. Here’s my list of my top-5 cartoons:
1. Rocko’s Modern Life
No debate about my no. 1 show. Rocko’s Modern Life was my favorite cartoon show. I thought it was hilarious, gross, dumb, etc. As a kid, you could care less about the “educational” value of a show. This show had ZERO, however, it was my favorite. You had Rocko the wallaby; his friends Heffer the cow and Filburt the turtle, Rocko’s neighbors the Bigheads’ and of course Spunky, Rocko’s dog. All the memorable shows (if you’re a fan). Do you remember when Heffer had his brain sucked into the big screen television? Or what about Ed Bighead’s “Magic Meatball” (a play off the magic 8-ball). One of those has to be my favorite episode. As mentioned earlier–not “educational”–but hilarious.
2. Rugrats
How many adventures did you go on as a a kid? I can remember a few, but no kid took adventures like Tommy Pickles. That kid saw everything it seemed like. He would go to places with his grandfather’s stories. He got locked in a toy store–not a good thing–but he had fun in there. The adventure was fun for me as a kid. Tommy was the coolest toddler around. We all have a faithful sidekick–Tommy was no different; he had Chuckie. We all know a Chuckie; doesn’t want to get into anything because he’s afraid of getting in trouble. Then, we all know a Phil and Lil. Two twins who wanted to get into everything. Then last, but certainly not least, there was Angelica–Tommy’s cousin. We all have the cousins’ who pick on us when we’re smaller; Tommy was no exception to that rule. I remember many days of wanting to be a “rugrat”. What I didn’t know was we all are in our smaller years.
3. Doug
Doug Funnie and Mosquito Valentine brought junior high to a younger generation. Nickelodeon gets a lot of props from me. Looking back now, we all dreams of a special girl we really like; we dreamed of being a hero (or I did). Doug brought us complex, but simple characters. “Skeeter” was Doug’s best friend; Roger was the class bully and Patti Mayonnaise was Doug’s love interest (or crush). I could relate to the cartoon. We all knew these people growing up. Sometimes, I wanted to turn into Quailman or Durango Doug. How funny to look back now. This show should be in everyones’ top-5.
4. Hey Arnold!
“Football head!” What a nickname for a kid. Arnold–who’s head was shaped like a football–was a great kid in the show. I remember thinking that my friends and I were a lot like Arnold and his friends. We all played baseball in the neighborhood and we all went to school together. That’s just like Arnold and his friends. Looking back now, I never realized how much his grandfather looked like Old man Herbert from Family Guy.
5. Rocket Power
How can we forget the kids who love to skateboard? Otto, Reggie, Twister and Squid–they took us on some wild journeys on their skateboards. Everywhere they went, they were on a skateboard. They lived on a California beach, so naturally they surfed. They loved anything extreme. They were doing things only I could imagine at a young age. I’d be willing to bet they made extreme sports relative to a younger demographic, and we can think this show. Even though I didn’t watch every episode, I watched enough. That’s why the show is in my top-5.
Honorable Mentions: Aaahh!!!! Real Monters, Angry Beavers, CatDog, Ren & Stimpy
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