Remember This: 10 Cartoons You May Have Forgotten From Your Childhood

By Kat George

There are some childhood cartoons that seem to be universally remembered and continuously recalled in nostalgic conversation—Captain Planet, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Adventures of Tin Tin and Ren & Stimpy to name but a few. It’s these shows that we all carry stories about (like my few weeks as a petulant 5-year-old refusing to wear underpants unless they had pictures Michelangelo, The Party Dude, printed all over them), but what of the shows you watched just as vehemently, but for one reason or any other have fallen through the growing cracks in your adult brain? There are some shows, although less ubiquitous than the aforementioned, that carry just as much nostalgic value, and that are addled with just as many memories of childhood. Here are a few.

1. SuperTed

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZg74STOfig&w=575&h=390]

Don’t judge me: I had a huge crush on SuperTed growing up. For some reason, little Kat thought SuperTed was just about the sexiest thing ever—psychoanalyze that. And Spotty, what a sidekick! You may actually be surprised how much you remember the opening credits; I found the words rolled off my tongue like Springsteen lyrics.

2. Disney’s Adventures Of The Gummi Bears

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loUNoy0Qub0&w=575&h=390]

High adventure that’s beyond compare, indeed! Watching The Gummi Bears was the favorite part of my day, and not just because it was on as soon as I got home from school.

3. Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e5q6ubDlZE&w=575&h=390]

I thought the Rescue Rangers theme song was so funky, that maybe they should play it on the radio or someone famous should cover it. Obviously, I was a child of impeccable taste.

4. Samurai Pizza Cats

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXiJYcK4-GU&w=575&h=390]

It was like everything I liked about Michelangelo but with cats (some genius saw an opportunity and distilled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles into its most basic, popular element). And it’s got more fur than any turtle ever had.

5. Babar

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMtO_oWdnu8&w=575&h=390]

As a child I always became deeply troubled and anxious whenever Babar was in danger. I have the haziest memory of my dad taking me to see Babar: The Movie at the cinema. It was the first movie I ever cried to. I also have vivid memories of the episode where Rataxes’ wife makes him a horn warmer.

6. Pingu

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58i2tk6Eiac&w=575&h=390]

Stop motion at it’s finest. There were times when Pingu was laugh out loud funny (I know because I’ve spent the past 20 minutes watching clips and LOLing), and times when it was as dark as an Antarctic blizzard, especially when Pingu acted up only to be (sometimes violently) punished by mum.

See also: Postman Pat (and his black and white cat)

7. Tiny Toons

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HW7YTWeg20&w=575&h=390]

I had a Tiny Toons coloring book, and I remember being overly excited when the local video store had a coloring-in competition featuring the Tiny Toons characters. Convinced I had this one in the bag, what with all my sweet experience coloring in Tiny Toons, I entered the competition. In my first brush with personal failure and disappointment, I didn’t win.

8. Inspector Gadget

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-JHfXVlkik&w=575&h=390]

Go go Gadget nostalgic charm!

9. Dexter’s Laboratory

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4com2AMqqW8&w=575&h=390]

Ah, the golden age of smart ass cartoons with drawings diverging from the Disney-esque mold we were so used to! I was suddenly aware of these new cartoons that were overtly tongue-in-cheek and sometimes quite dark in subject matter. And I loved Dee-Dee (bonus).

See also: Rugrats, Aaahh! Real Monsters, Rocko’s Modern Life

10. Care Bears

The Care Bears were my ultimate favorite for some time—I wanted the ability to shoot love and rainbows out of my belly, and when mum wasn’t watching I’d stand in the mirror, pull my top up, and focus all my energy on shooting crap out of my tummy. When I was cranky, my mum would always call me Shreeky and I’d be so ashamed for bearing any likeness to a bad guy I would be almost instantly silenced.