101 Dalmatians: The Series was a hilarious, cute, and well-written show, yet hardly anyone payed attention to it. Although the continuity was a lot different from the previous films in the franchise (Or the book), it still manages to be a great show, but was sadly eclipsed by the other shows played on One Saturday Morning at the time. Sharing the same timeslot with Animaniacs didn't help, either. It's a really good show that deserves a second look, but the edited versions of the episodes on Disney Junior don't give it any justice.
6teen and Stōked are certainly nowhere near as popular as Fresh TV's hit series Total Drama, and often ignored or dismissed for their differences (and the latter for its similarities to the former), which is frankly a complete shame, because both series are incredibly funny and at times genuinely touching shows with a fantastic cast of extremely relatable characters and the occasionaly ability to handle more serious subjects and major changes in status quo, as well as managing to successfully avoid many of the numerous problems that plagued their sister show after its first season. Tragically, both series completely flopped in the United States, with Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon both totally screwing them over, hence why they remain far less popular or well-remembered compared to Total Drama.
The 7D. Its writing is simpler than other Disney XD shows (it was originally pitched to Disney Junior), but it has a nice silly charm to it with likable characters and good comedy. The show's executive producers are Tom Ruegger (Animaniacs) and Tom Warburton (Codename: Kids Next Door). How could it not catch on?
Adventures from the Book of Virtues is a creative PBS animated series dedicated to teaching virtues to kids, with great animation and cool characters. Apparently, it's been so obscure in the past few years that people seem to forget it, even after being taken off the air...and yet, it's quite popular with the animation industry and the production company behind it stillpromotes it today.note One assumed reason why the show was quietly forgotten by some viewers was due to PBS's Invisible Advertising that only put it on their primetime and Sunday morning schedules.
The Adventures of Figaro Pho is a very funny and creative series. Yet, despite the series being fairly large, with the title character also having appeared in animated shorts and video games, most Western audiences have probably never heard of it except from Netflix. The show stars a young boy named Figaro and his Robot Dog Rivet. Figaro is a shy, antisocial boy who has every phobia in the world, and conquers one of his fearsOnce an Episode. Although the premise seems similar to Courage the Cowardly Dog, it stands out enough to be unique and charming, with fluid CGI animation and a great soundtrack.
The Adventures of Tintin (1991) is still extremely popular in Europe and Canada (where it is widely considered by both regions to be one of the greatest cartoons ever), but remains criminally obscure in the US. Which is a shame because it is easily among the bestAnimated Adaptations ever, near-perfectly recreating the original comics (give or take a bit of distillation here and there) and their thrills and adventure while also boasting an awesome soundtrack and a top-notch voice cast to truly bring the source material to life.
American Dad! is often a victim of complaining, simply because 1.) The family structure is similar to Family Guy, therefore it MUST be a clone and 2.) It's a Seth MacFarlane show, so it automatically deserves to be hated in the eyes of some. However, American Dad! has proven to have developed a unique brand of humor and is often praised for its writing and handling of hot-button issues. Too bad FOX refuses to promote the show as much as it does the other animated programs.
Animals. Like, Jesus fuck, it becomes a pretty heartwarming yet funny show from season 2 onwards, but its almost never discussed.
Astroblast! was a PBS Kids Sprout original preschool show that lasted for two seasons featuring a cast of anthropomorphic animals running a smoothie cafe in space. For a cartoon targeted at very young children the humor is fast-paced and can be clever on occasions. The animation is quite decent and the characters are entertaining and lovable.
Atomic Betty gets a lot of crap from people who claim it is nothing more than a generic Kim Possible ripoff, and that is seriously unfair (because every cartoon starring anAction Girlis a ripoff ofKim Possible, right?). What people are missing out on is a series inspired by retro sci-fi that stars an amazing female lead and manages to produce tons of great action scenes that really made the most out of an otherwise relatively low animation budget as well as plenty of exciting stories that demonstrate how the writers' weren't afraid of shaking up the status quo, setting up for big reveals, or playing around with continuity. Atomic Betty knew it was something special and really does not get enough credit for making the most out of that.
Atomic Puppet. This series is about a kid who own a talking sock puppet who is actually a transformed superhero, and they fight crime as a superhero duo. As weird as that premise sounds, it's tons of fun and action-packed with spectacular art and animation (by the same people behind Wander Over Yonder and Star vs. the Forces of Evil), great characters, and a huge case of Growing the Beard. Unfortunately, it has an extremely tiny fanbase because Disney XD treated it as expendable slot filler. And this is a show that was nominated for two Annie Awards in 2016 and the National Cartoonists Society's 2016 Reuben Award for TV Animation (alongside The Loud House and the freakin' Simpsons), for crying out loud!
Barney was a short lived tv series that ran from 1988 to 1999. It starred a friendly sheepdog named Barney. The show was nothing but pure Sweet Dreams Fuel.
Big City Greens doesn't get that much attention compared to other modern animated series from Disney like Gravity Falls and Star vs the Forces of Evil, and that's a crying shame, because it's hilarious, gorgeously animated, and has a ton of great music, well-thought-out writing, and loveable characters.
Birdz. Completely impossible to find outside YouTube. But it was a good show from the twilight of CBS' Saturday-Morning Cartoon era and it got screwed over massively. Enjoy the characters and the writing that manages to offer morals without beating them over your head or shoehorning them in.
Speaking of CBS' Saturday Morning Cartoons, there's also Flying Rhino Junior High. Interesting premise, funny characters and hidden educational messages. But it continued airing until CBS let Nick Jr. take over their SMC block.
Blazing Dragons, a wonderfully funny and clever show that was cursed by a late-night time slot in the United States. Some viewers stayed up to watch it every night, though.
Bob and Margaret was a charming and funny British-Canadian adult cartoon that hardcore averted the worst stereotypes associated with adult animation, favoring a deadpan sense of humor, a grounded, realistic tone full of relatable stories, and plenty of likable and well-rounded characters. The show was extremely popular in Canada and Britain when it was airing, but also a huge hit in the United States, where it aired on Comedy Central and actually managed to rival South Parkin the ratings! Sadly, it's completely faded into obscurity since it ended, retaining only a tiny cult following.
Bobby's World was a show on FOX Kids that has very little recognition anywhere despite its hilarity.
The BOTS Master. One of the only shows about mecha not to come from Japan, and actually pretty decent and cool at that... and yet barely anyone seems to know about it.
Bounty Hamster was a very sadly short-lived British animated series (only twenty-five 11 minute episodes were made) that was never aired in North America, only the UK and Australia (though you can download the whole series if you know where to look). With a ludicrous amount of hilarious Shout Outs, great animation and characters, and Phineas and Ferb co-creator Jeff "Swampy" Marsh in charge of storyboarding, it was a seriously awesome and funny show that shamefully never even broadcasted in the United States.
Braceface was a really funny and pretty realistic show with some pretty good storylines and great characters, but doesn't get much recognition.
The Brothers Flub, a cartoon about alien brothers who deliver packages to various worlds. Sure, it's not one of the best cartoons out there, but a ton of people who have heard of it hate it just because of its obnoxious theme song, which could also be the reason for it being one of the obscurest cartoons ever. This show deserves less hate, especially since, as mentioned earlier, most of it is because of the theme song, and only the theme song; the show itself is So Okay, It's Average at best.
Poor Camp Lazlo gets passed off by many due to simply not being like Joe Murray's previous cartoon. A crying shame too. It had charming characters (even the jerks were lovable), great humour, and a heart that was in the right place.
During its time on air, Clarence is one of CN's least popular shows. What people are missing is a funny and surprisingly progressive show with a lot simple (in a good way) charm and heart.
Class of 3000 was a hilarious show with great characters and Awesome Music that never quite got the attention it deserved due to being Screwed by the Lawyers and low ratings not justifying the high budget.
Class of the Titans, a great Greek mythology-themed series with good action, humour, characters, and story that reminds one of Teen Titans, X-Men, or Percy Jackson and the Olympians in a good way.
Clone High, full stop. An amazing, clever, stylish, and most of all, HILARIOUS show that was epicly Screwed by the Network, especially in the U.S. (In its native Canada it managed to get a fair showing by virtue of Canadian content laws and attract a niche following.) It didn't help that for a long time the only legal way to view it in the U.S. was to import the DVDs from far-off Canadia, making it tough to get a hold of even for those few who'd stumbled on it during its short-lived stint on MTV. You HAD to stumble on it, since it never received a regular time slot. It did eventually receive a quiet, totally unpromoted U.S. DVD release, long after those few who'd heard about it in the first place had forgotten about it.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2017) is an interesting Canadian television adaption of a beloved film franchise about the adventures of Flint and Sam as teenagers in Swallow Falls. While it does have flaws, such as continuity errors, a sadistic and grim tone (Flint, Sam, and Gilbert are frequently mistreated even though they didn't deserve it, and it doesn't help that they're kids), some gross-out humor, and some unlikable characters, but if you look past the flaws, it is an average cartoon with decent animation, surprisingly great voice acting, unique writing, some well-written humor, and some heartwarming and/or wholesome moments. I think it has far too much hate mostly due to the "Canadian cartoons are bad" mindset many online cartoon fans have (but not all of them, thankfully), but it does have a small fanbase, which is better than no fanbase at all, but I can see why it may not be some viewers' cup of tea.
Code Lyoko, an excellent French cartoon about virtual reality. It has all the thrilling action one would expect from a kids sci-fi show, but it also has a dark, Genre Savvy villain and surprisingly touching romantic arcs. A Darker and Edgier reboot would be much appreciated.
Code Monkeys, which used to air on G4. It had solid ratings for its network's standards, but was only canceled after season 2. It has many funny moments, quirky and colorful animation, and memorable characters. The concept itself would be like Scott Pilgrim: The Animated Series. You can find the entire series (as of this post) on Netflix.
The Crumpets had a unique art style, an adorable character design, funny jokes and neighbor feuds, and clever stories and writing, though it's not safe from bursts of mean-spiritedness and surprisingly dark moments that are unsuitable for touchy audiences. It has a very minimal fanbase and a lack of reviews (even in its native France). The English dub for the first two seasons (which features anime dub regulars) is on Amazon Prime Video UK, although it is partially available on YouTube. The show isn't afraid to be progressive in regards to feminism and homosexuality. The sequel, Teen Crumpets, was more character-driven, had a more likable cast in some ways and great rock musical numbers, and even won two awards, but a complete English release has yet to be seen.
Cupcake & Dino: General Services, full stop. A cute, hilarious, creative, and genuinely heartwarming show about two brothers and the odd jobs they work around their town. Nearly every character is super likeable; the animation is excellent (with some really fun usage of Medium Blending), and the series handles the brotherly bond between its title characters perfectly. The show is just absolutely gleeful to watch. I mean, The New York Times called it one of the best new TV shows of 2018, for crying out loud!
Cybersix had fantastic music, characters, plot development, and animation... and lasted one season.
Danny Phantom was once a big deal on Nickelodeon... until they decided to end it because Hartman spent more than they expected. Even though the third season was the weakest... it still has a loyal following hoping for a return.
Daria is often overshadowed and overlooked compared to the show it spun off of (in fact, most aren't even aware that B&B had a spinoff at all!), but the show was brilliant in its own regards. It can even bring in viewers who missed the show nearly a whole decade after it ended due to how well it captures the overratedness of teenage life and high school. Also, it has one of the finest examples of Heterosexual Life-Partners ever between the title character and her best (and, for a while, only) friend.
Dave the Barbarian had endearing characters and some truly wonderful writing. It even had the critics on its side! There were actual reviews about a Disney cartoon that really raved about the show! Sadly, not even Disney will provide it the DVD treatment, nor reruns.
Delta State is the perfect antidote for anybody fed up with the Animated Shock Comedy. Boasting an ambitious story with a unique premise and interesting characters, the show's most standout point was easily its Rotoscope animation, giving it a stunning and memorable animation style that perfectly matched just how ahead of its time it was. And yet it only ran for a single season, ending on a cliffhanger.
Dennis and Gnasher 2009 is a show that outside of Australia and the UK which the show is made in, it doesn't seem to get enough attention outside of those countries but even when it does, it ends up being regarded as Political Overcorrectness which it isn't. The writing is decent, the animation is very appealing, the voice acting is pretty well done (in both countries) and it has a sense of enjoyability I haven't felt since The Simpsons. It only has 3 DVD releases of the series (which isn't even the whole series), and even though a new season is currently airing, I feel like the show should at least be given a second chance to look at the good things about it.
No Detentionaire? Shocker. The show's about a Grade 10 Korean-Canadian student who gets framed for a prank he didn't do. It slowly becomes more than that and it's too awesome to ignore.
Di-Gata Defenders would be easy to dismiss as a Follow the Leader to Avatar: The Last Airbender given that it debuted roughly around the same time and also used an animesque style, but it was much more ambitious than that, even for its time. Its story, action, and worldbuilding were all-around excellent, but they got even better as Cerebus Syndrome settled in (especially during the even stronger Season 2), and the show even crossed some lines Avatar never did, including outright killing and maiming some of its main characters (including a few of the heroes!).
Dofus. Much like Wakfu (listed below, and taking place in the same universe, but a thousand years earlier), Dofus is a character-driven, beautifully animated series, and its movie (which had a far more serious tone than the series it was based on, despite having the same animation style and characters) even moreso. Yet despite having a theatrical release, almost nobody outside of France and Belgium even know about either series. Even the official wikis are wildly out of date. It should be further noted that the Dofus Movie ("Dofus Book 1: Julith") wasn't very well-marketed in its native France, either, meaning that what was intended to be the first in a series may be the only Dofus film.
Dorg Van Dango is a charming and funny little cartoon with fantastic art and animation (no surprise, given that it's from the studio behind The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea) a fun premise that creates some really entertaining plotlines, a quirky but generally likeable cast, and a few touching themes regarding friendship.
Dragon Tales - unlike most of the examples on this page, Dragon Tales was actually very popular at one point, but hasn't really had much cultural staying power despite being one of PBS' most successful cartoons of the 90s. Dragon Tales, The Magic School Bus and Arthur were the "big 3" of their 90s cartoons. While The Magic School Bus and Arthur are still beloved to this day, Dragon Tales isn't nearly as well-remembered. Most people who watched the show tend to bring up the theme song and nothing else. Despite it's status as a lesser-known cartoon, it still holds up well today with lovable characters, well-done animation, and humorous and fun stories. It has a unique charm to it that's hard to find in many modern preschool series. Strangely enough, all of their big 90s cartoons were based on a book series except for this one. So it's kind of been forgotten.
Droners deserves so much more recognition than it gets! With spectacular Animesque visuals, likable characters, and plenty of fun plots, the show is a bit like a more sports-centric version of Wakfu in some ways (they're both from France), and definitely recommended to anybody who loves that show!
Dude, That's My Ghost!. It gets criticized for the main character sporting a similar hairstyle to another boy from a show with ghosts, though it's far from a Danny Phantom copycat. The characters are interesting, the backgrounds are beautiful, and the show has its own unique take on ghosts. It has its problems due to some broken continuity, some episodes out of order, and no actual pilot episode, but if you're looking for a quaint show with a bromance of a budding filmmaker named Spencer Wright and an undead popstar with a name like Billy Joe Cobra, this is the show for you.
Eliot Kid, which didn't even have a page here for a long time! Well, the show is probably only known by those who have Netflix subscriptions or those that were lucky enough to see the Cartoon Network lineup in Western Europe during 2010-2011 (Or watch it on POP or CBBC, if you're a brit)... but anyway, this is a great show! It stars Eliot, a young boy with an active imagination who spontaneously has various Imagine Spots throughout episodes about how mundane tasks can be made into something awesome! The show is highly reminiscent of Rugrats or Jacob Two-Two in terms of how the episodes play out. The characters are quirky and fun, little Eliot and his friends are so adorable, and Eliot's dad is a lovable idiot. If you like wacky cartoons with cute, big-eyed characters and a colorful animation style, then you'll want to give this show a try!
Evil Con Carne got overshadowed by The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, which led to the series have a small run, which is terribly unfortunate because it was hilarious with many of the Black Comedy elements that made Billy and Mandy so popular, as well as some very clever parodies of the camp and cliches of old action cartoons, like G.I. Joe. The whole show can be described like if G.I. Joe was from Cobra Commander's perspective but didn't take itself seriously at all.
Fangbone! gets a lot of crap for its superficial similarities to Star vs the Forces of Evil, but what viewers are missing out on is a very entertaining and well-crafted series with a fun cast of enjoyable characters, nicely written stories that occasionally prove surprisingly ambitious, excellent animation with a nice artstyle, some creative takes on common fantasy tropes (including some nice world-building, a lot of neat ideas that are executed well, and some truly crazy monsters) and plenty of exciting action scenes. Sadly, the series was colossallyScrewed by the Network and ended up running for only a single season.
Fillmore! was a parody of 70's buddy cop films and crime dramas that took place in a middle school. The show was littered with hilarious one-liners, action-packed chase scenes, and great characters and stories. A shame it didn't make it past 26 episodes.
Fly Tales is a collection of animated shorts about an anthropomorphic fly that was only ever aired properly in Canada, France, and Eastern Europe. YouTube just may be your only shot at watching it.
The Fool and the Flying Ship was a Russian folktale that was apart of Rabbit Ears Productions "We All Have Tales" series and it was quite a humorous and witty story. It was narrated by none other than the late Robin Williams and it was probably one of the most creative and hilarious interpretations of the old Russian folktale. Unfortunately, it tends to go by unnoticed, just like its parent company, due to being available to limited markets at the time (only being available through educational sites) and even though the entire Rabbit Ears series is now available on DVD, it's still not recognized by most of the audience.
The Fox and the Crow was a really interesting series, despite only about a handful of episodes. It definitely needs more love because it was fast-paced, hilarious, and quite innovative compared to much of Columbia Cartoons' other pre-UPA output.
Freaky Stories was an endlessly entertaining horror-comedy Animated Anthology that went out of its way to ensure every episode was a unique and special treat, boasting different artstyles, soundtracks, and narrators in each of its 140 stories. Sadly, it is almost completely unknown outside of its native Canada (where it is a nostalgic Cult Classic for many), in part due to its horrendous mistreatment by Fox Family in the States (which would have gotten the series killed prematurely if it weren't for the sheer adoration its Canadian broadcasters had for it).
The Future is Wildanimated series. This animated spinoff of the speculative documentary of the same name didn't last long after one 26-episode season and deserves a lot of attention. It tells the story of four teenage kids named CG, a girl from the year, 12,000 A.D., Emily, Ethan and Luis, and their pet Squibbon who use a time machine called the Time Flyer to find a new home for humanity which is threatened by a mega ice age at CG's era. The episodes are full of fun and the show itself is very good with great characters, depth, motivation of story, hints of romance, and showing the future worlds from the documentary.
Gawayn, a troperiffic French/Italian cartoon that deserves more attention than it's getting. It didn't get as much love as Oggy and the Cockroaches which still airs today everywhere, while Gawayn only aired to a handful of countries.
Generation O!: An early 2000's cartoon about a popular rockstar girl who still has to deal with some real-life problems kids tend to have, such as (to name one example) not being allowed to have her ears pierced. It only managed to get one 13-episode season, but is still pretty enjoyable. Letters to Cleo did a good job on the songs that appeared in the show! Also, Suzanne Collins, the author of The Hunger Games, was a writer on this show.
Get Ed, a tragically short-lived series from Jetix that combines a fantastic cast of rounded and relatable characters, strong story arcs with gradual Cerebus Syndrome and an excellent overarching mystery suurounding the title character, and an all-around rocking soundtrack to make for a seriously underrated treat.
Godzilla: The Series. Say what you will of the American 'Zilla, but the series itself was pretty much the old Hanna-Barbera cartoon, but better. And minus Godzooki, unless you count Nigel, who wasn't really annoying as just prone to always getting smashed. Still crossing my fingers for a full DVD release someday.
Gofrette is not a well-known show, seeing as how it aired on a channel not many people have, but it really needs more recognition and appreciation. The show is highly reminiscent of SpongeBob SquarePants or Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! in terms of how the episodes play out. Granted, to many the flash animation is poor most of the time, but the writing is creative, there are lots of lovable and memorable characters, and you can't help but be interested in the surrealism of the show. And who can forget the show's extremely catchy Theme Tune? It's an underrated gem that can make kids (and sometimes even adults) get a laugh. Check it out.
While a lot of people tend to look favorable at some of Greg Weisman's work, such as Gargoyles and the aforementioned The Spectacular Spider-Man and his current series Young Justice (2010), there's little love for his work with the second season of W.I.T.C.H.. He was able to fix a lot of the mistakes made during the first season, greatly improve what as mediocre storyline in the comics, "Nerissa's Revenge", and greatly expand on a lot of characters that the comic never dreamed of.
Grojband isn't as popular as Fresh TV's other animated series (with many unfairly dismissing it for how different it is; it's made by a different pair of people than Total Drama) and was unfairly Screwed by the Network during its time on air. And that's a shame because it's a very funny show loaded with Awesome Music exploring multiple genres, creatively zany writing, excellent character chemistry and interactions, and a very self-aware nature that gives it a unique and offbeat presentation despite its simple-sounding premise.
Grossology is totally not for everybody (for obvious reasons), but if you have a strong stomach, you'll find a genuinely unique, interesting, and entertaining series that brilliantly combines well-researched science edutainment, outlandishly creative (if bizarre) ideas, and some really fun action in a neatly-executed manner. Not bad for the Animated Adaptation of a kids' non-fiction book!
Most people know about Guess How Much I Love You but do they know it got an animated adaptation? It really deserves more love like really, you don't need any aggressive stuffs to be in there. The music is lovely, the characters are adorable and the artstyle looks colourful. Shame that Disney Junior took it off and never aired season 2.
Harvey Beaks. From its gorgeous animation to its lovable cast to its excellent stories to its warm heart, it deserved all the rave reviews it received from both critics and fans. Unfortunately, it never developed a fanbase as big as those of other positively received cartoons of the 2010s like Gravity Falls, Adventure Time, or The Loud House, and it was ultimately Screwed by the NetworkHARD (the last episodes were burned off on Nicktoons, the graveyard channel for all Nickelodeon cartoons that the network has deemed no longer needed). To add insult onto injury, the production team had a lot of great plans for the show's future.
It's Pony, a wholesome cartoon that is a collaboration with Nickelodeon and the British animation studio Blue Zoo, featuring a girl and her talking pony. Like Harvey Beaks, it was a laid-back Nicktoon in a sea of hyperactive Nicktoons. So, it was no surprise that this show got shunted to the Nicktoons channel after endless waiting for its return. Being greenlit from the previous management didn't help matters.
Heckle and Jeckle is an old cartoon series from Terrytoons with great madcap Looney Tunes-style humor, fantastic voice acting, and very interesting direction.
Jacob Two-Two definitely deserves a shout out. Boasting a cool scribbly artstyle with splendid watercolor backgrounds (even if the actual animation is very dated), the series perfectly blends a sitcom-like sense of calmness and realism with fantastical Roald Dahl-esque adventures with plenty of entertaining characters to boot.
Jimmy Two-Shoes is a Canadian animated series that's audience was severely limited by its distribution by Disney in the United States and United Kingdom, rarely promoting it and airing it at rather strange hours, likely due to Values Dissonance between America and Canada. Which is a shame, because it's an excellent, hilarious show with great characters, extremely catchy music and some actually very nice animation done by the same studio that animates Wander over Yonder.
The pilot Joey To The World never got picked up by Cartoon Network even though it's part of it's failed Cartoonstitute anthology series. One main reason is the creator didn't know the cartoon was supposed to be for kids, and it mentioned condoms, rape, smothering from mothers, whorehouses, crackheads and many other stuff kids shouldn't know. It was actually pretty funny and would have definitely succeeded had it been made for [Adult Swim].
Jojo: The Violet Mystery is a European Christmas special that has never been brought to the English-speaking world, and it remains obscure in spite of the JojoBelgian Comics' fame, home video releases and repeat airings for over a decade. With a decent English dub (it exists!), animation and character design, and an inviting atmosphere, it is a heartfelt story of friendship and acceptance between children despite its dramatic moments.
KaBlam! got little popularity due to Hey Arnold! premiering around the time. Matters were worse a few years later when Spongebob Squarepants premiered in 1999. Season four never finished and seasons five and six never saw the light of day.
Kaijudo has all the ingredients for a great show, such as an overarching plot, anime-esque style, and amazing action. Plus, series creators Henry Gilroy and Andrew R. Robinson worked on well loved and notable action shows. Despite this, it isn't anything more than a Cult Classic.
Kenny the Shark is a fun, quirky cartoon about a sweet girl named Kat who adopts a pet tiger shark named Kenny. It is a slice-of-life cartoon in which Kat and Kenny have various misadventures, mostly due to Kenny disobeying, doing things his way, or simply falling prey to his natural shark instincts. Didn't last very long, unfortunately (Only two seasons), and isn't very well known either.
King Arthur's Disasters. It has colorful animation, the voice acting is excellent, and its antics have that nostalgic feel as they resemble that of Scooby Doo or any other old cartoon (ironically, one country airs it on Boomerang). It doesn't air in the United States. and not that many fans contribute enough to its "fanbase."
If you love charming and comedic cartoons (as well as cats), then look no further than Kitty Is Not a Cat — a hilarious show with a colorful cast of lovable characters, a unique and appealing artstyle, tons of Awesome Music, and even a surprising amount of satire hidden amongst its characters' silly shenanigans. And yet despite running for a successful three seasons, the series remains extremely obscure, in part due to its distribution being severely limited in North America.
The Legends of Treasure Island was a very interesting take on the Treasure Island story as it's an Anthropomorphic Animal Adaptation that added more supernatural and dark elements as well as expanding the role of one of the minor characters from the book, Pew. Fairly overlooked and left into obscurity, it needs just as much attention as any for those that love this kind of stuff.
Life's a Zoo is an award-winning series that does an excellent job parodying the reality TV genre with funny and self-aware writing, an enjoyable cast of characters that excel at satirizing their reality show stereotypes, plenty of excellent music videos, and a well-made stop-motion animation style that helps it stick out from similar series like Total Drama and Drawn Together. Definitely work checking out if you're a fan of the aforementioned series.
Little Dogs on the Prairie was a short-lived direct-to-video Religious Edutainment show about a group of prarie dogs living in an Old West town, learning lessons about lying, cheating, stealing, etc. Unless most religious entertainment for kids, the religious stuff takes a backseat (only mentioned in the theme song and opening narration) and makes it a genuinely entertaining and fun show. Sadly short lived and fell through the cracks being overshadowed by more popular religious cartoons like VeggieTales and 3-2-1 Penguins! (which is from the same creators as this show) Oh, and the theme song is a lot of fun and incredibly catchy.
The Little Flying Bears. It's nearly impossible to find a full episode of the cartoon in English and is only well-known by a few Canadian and European furries (as well as Nostalgia geeks).
Loonatics Unleashed does not, we repeat NOT deserve half the crap it gets. It needed some work to be honest, but it was by no means godawful. Most of the haters of this series were simply sticklers for nostalgia and the old Looney Tunes, completely ignoring the main characters are descendants of the legendary LT characters and not the Tunes themselves..
Looney Tunes as a series may be very well-known, but much of its cartoons from the 1930s, specifically the Merrie Melodies of that era, are unfairly brushed under the rug. Although they definitely have some Early-Installment Weirdness going on and have little of the Slapstick that makes the later shorts popular, the 1930s Merrie Melodies are surprisingly endearing cartoons with beautiful animation and imaginative direction.
Magic Adventures of Mumfie: Though it was popular in its home country of Britain as well as in the United States, Germany, Norway and Japan, the series has fallen into obscurity, unlike its sister show Thomas & Friends. Full of beautiful animation and great storytelling and being critically praised, it's a show people of any age can enjoy.
The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack was a surprisingly funny and awesome show that deserves more. Cartoon Network got rid of all the online episodes and stopped showing reruns the day after the finale aired. It has a pretty small fanbase, too. It's also worth pointing out that without this show, the likes of Adventure Time, Regular Show, and Disney's Gravity Falls would have never been picked up. The creators of those shows all worked on Flapjack and so their own shows could be considered Spiritual Successors.
Middlemost Post is yet another original Nicktoon surrounded by Nick's endless lineup of spinoffs and reboots that deserve some love. It's not a SpongeBob nor a Breadwinners ripoff like some people make it out to be. The show has a colorful setting, memorable characters, awesome soundtrack that leans heavily on ska, clever humor that is on par with the good episodes of SpongeBob, and plenty of heartwarming moments.
Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series, one of Disney's cartoons from the 1990s. It was an action-comedy that had endearing characters and some truly impressive action scenes. And it only lasted one season, most likely due to its unusual premise and the fact that it was totally different from the movies that it was based on.
Mike, Lu & Og is perhaps the most underrated Cartoon Network show from the 1990s. While it did get some good reviews, praising it for being an international effort (between the U.S. and Russia) and having a tomboyish girl in the lead, it was barely promoted and now Boomerang airs it pretty much whenever they feel like it. Some of the characters are interesting, it had genuinely funny moments and it put a clever spin on the Culture Clash cliche.
A Miss Mallard Mystery is a fun show with amazing 2D animation centering around a world full of ducks, one of them being a famous "ducktective" who solves mysteries with Willard (Miss Mallard is his aunt). Yet it only aired between 2000 & 2001—and to the light of day has no media release and was only aired in Canada and Italy. The only way you could watch it was on the now-defunct Jaroo, and even that website overruled its videos with toy reviews for stuff little kids never even heard of.
Mission Hill is a absolutely fantastic animated series created by former writers for "The Simpsons", Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein in 1999 on "The WB", later appearing on "Adult Swim" in 2002. This show had remarkably three dimensional characters, many hilarious scenes, and a wonderfully unique art style with expressive, vibrant colors. Unfortunately, it lasted a mere 13 episodes before being canceled (with 5 extra episodes that were never finished). This show has largely been forgotten, but a small fan following does exist. The complete series has been released on DVD, and it's easy to find the episodes online.
Moville Mysteries was a darkly funny and very smart show that excelled in the realm of horror-comedy while not being afraid to regularly cross into some surprisingly gruesome territory for a kids cartoon. Sadly, it remains largely obscure outside of a devoted cult following, in part due to its poor treatment by the networks and lack of distribution in the US (despite the show being picked up by Fox Kids for airing).
Mr. Bogus was a really great and funny slapstick-filled show for its time. The show followed the adventures of the eponymous character, Bogus, a small yellow gremlin who always got into one scrape after another. What makes it even more endearing is that it is actually based on a series of Belgian claymation shorts that were created and aired back in the late 1980's. These shorts were even shown as part of the series' tie-ins to commercial breaks and returns from commercial breaks. However, the show only lasted for three seasons, and after it ended its run, it faded into obscurity like nearly everything else. All in favor of a DVD release of this show, say aye.
The Mr. Men Show has all the elements of a great cartoon: quirky characters, good songs, and randomness that's just good. It lasted for 2 seasons even though fans were hoping for a 3rd.
Muppet Babies (2018) has all the ingredients for a good show: fun, lovable characters, great animation that makes the characters look like regular Muppets, great comedy and morals, and it's created by Mr. Warburton. Despite decently good treatment, especially in comparison to the previous Muppetshows, it still doesn't have a large following.
My Little Pony Tales: Many people don't like this or think it's an earlier G3 clone of MLP. While it definitely has its problems (like bad music, continuity errors, and one episode that should not have been made), it does tackle certain issues fairly, the characters have some personality and are flawed (though they could have gotten more development), and it does take its audience seriously.
All versions of My Little Pony that predate Friendship is Magic need more love. My Little Pony (G3) especially, as it's obvious that most of the people who insult it have never seen it in full as it is actually very close to Friendship is Magic, or at least has all the things that makes FIM so awesome to those who love it.
Don’t forget My Little Pony 'n Friends. Surprisingly dark villains, heroic action, genuinely interesting Token Human characters, a serialized format… What's not to love?
Nina Needs to Go!: Yes, every episode had a Potty Emergency, but those potty emergencies led to some amusing moments, and the youngsters as well as sensitive adults may find it satisfying that there are no potty failures. The animation is cute, there is no inappropriate or negative stuff and there is no room for a Sick Episode or a Very Special Episode, which makes it perfect for people who like happy stuff and puns!
Ninjago is actually pretty interesting and fun to watch for something that's Merchandise-Driven. It has characters with actual personality, and it’s not that cheesy as one might expect. However, there's been no reviews and the only people commenting on it usually are either 11 years old or care only about the toy sets.
Ollie's Pack is a really funny, nicely animated, and surprisingly cute and charming little show with a flawed but strong cast of characters (including a fantastic supporting cast), a well-executed blend of the grounded and the fantastic, and a strong emotional core that allows for a lot of genuinely touching and wholesome moments that truly cement the series as one made with genuine love and care by its creators.
Oswaldo. A very funny and charming cartoon from Brazil that very effectively combines a Slice of Life approach with the wacky antics of its characters. It's absolutely no surprise that the show ran for 4 seasons and became one of Cartoon Network Brazil's most popular series during that time, and yet very few have heard of it, in part due to its lack of distribution in North America (although an English dub for the series does exist).
Pablo The Little Red Fox, a British piece from 1999, is a rather lovely offering. The silk painting based style is nice to look at, without being demanding on the eyes. The simple, bedtime story-like plots are nicely done, and are told without feeling like they're talking down to children. and will leave a watcher happy by the time the credits are rolling. The theme song is beautifully composed, and will stick with those who listen. The urban environment is unique for a show focused on animals, and urban beauty is captured very well. All in all, this show is just one massive heartwarming moment.
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures is a clever, if somewhat goofy take on a 30+ year old video game that had literally no story to begin with, but still manages to stay pretty tongue-in-cheek and not take itself too seriously. The backgrounds are gorgeous, there are some excellent character designs in regards to the ghosts, and it's up there with Wreck-It Ralph for its completely unabashed love of the original game and classic gaming in general, in terms of Mythology Gags, homages and overall style.
Packages from Planet X is a really fun and hilarious sci-fi cartoon with great characters and a lot of entertaining stories that really go all out with the premise. Unfortunately, it got Screwed by the Network in USA and only lasted one season as a result.
Pelswick. The Audience-Alienating Premise (or just the art; John Callahan is somewhat notorious for his odd-looking style) made people either not watch or dislike it, but it was laugh-out-loud hilarious, mainly based on wit, had interesting and likable, yet flawed, characters, and was remarkably progressive for having a non-token, non-perfect, non-Woobie paraplegic protagonist, while simultaneously daring to mention that not all progress was good progress. Plus it had a great theme song. Now, it's one of the most obscure Nicktoons ever.
Pepper Ann was a hilarious and clever show, however, unlike the other "big three" One Saturday Morning shows, it wasn't merchandise driven or a cult hit with adults. It's also the least remembered, and the only one of the "big three" without a video or DVD release, as well as not being rerun as often as the other two, and when it was, it was usually during school or when people are asleep. And it had a great theme song as well.
Phantom Investigators. It had a very unique animation style- stop-motion for the human characters, puppets for monsters, and live-action actors for the ghosts (the studio also produced Life With Loopy for Nickelodeon, which also needs more love), the characters were great, and the episodes were a lot of fun to watch. Unfortunately, WB cancelled the show after thirteen episodes because more girls were watching than boys, despite the show being number one in the timeslot every time it was on. Fortunately the entire series is available for viewing online, but a legal DVD or digital release is highly unlikely.
The Raccoons is a prime example. The series revolves around Bert Raccoon and married couple Ralph and Melissa Raccoon, of whom Bert is a friend and roommate. The series mostly involved the trio's efforts against the industrialist forces of greedy aardvark millionaire Cyril Sneer, who usually tries to destroy the forest for a quick buck. However, Bert, Ralph and Melissa would always save their forest from Cyril's schemes, with help from their forest friends including Schaeffer, a gentle sheepdog; Cedric, Cyril's college graduate son; and Sophia, Cedric's girlfriend. As the series progressed, Cyril became more of a sympathetic character, eventually becoming an antihero. Due to the genuine heart and soul put into the series' storylines, the more dramatic feeling and sense of depth the series took on in its later seasons, and the dazzling soundtrack, combined with the fact that there's a reboot on the horizon, the series' small cult following just isn't enough.
Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja. The fact that this series hardly caught on at all is almost baffling if just because the character and art style designs were made by Jhonen Vasquez, the creator of Invader Zim. It's likely being overshadowed by the success of Gravity Falls and Motorcity, though it's made by the same studio as the latter. Still, so far it's an excellent series that loves playing with and satirizing the cliches of other Kid Hero shows, with very fun characters and fantastic animation and voice acting that will hopefully grow in popularity.
The animation company Rabbit Ears Productions had put out some really fantastic stories that had iconographic animation that was surprisingly good for the 1980s and the 1990s, had various celebrities narrating the stories and remained faithful to the stories they were telling such as retelling various fairy tales and folktales like The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship and The Bremen Town Musicians. Unfortunately, many people are not aware of this series and even though the company has managed to put out DVDs of this series, it still goes by unnoticed by the fans with only a few videos showing up on YouTube.
Ready Jet Go! is a super underrated PBS Kids sci-fi series that deserves more attention and praise. In our decade, there are tons of shows aimed at preschoolers that have no heart, talk down to kids, have little educational value, and are only made to sell toys. Ready Jet Go! is the opposite of all those. It has tons of love put into it, talks to kids, has tons of educational value, and is not Merchandise-Driven. It's not super in-your-face about science, but it's not too subtle either. If you watch the episodes in the correct order, the show improves in every episodes with it's amazing soundtrack composed by Jim Lang, developed and relatable characters, gorgeous animation, clever humor, as well as some deep and meaningful moments that are rare in young children's media these days. The pacing is also excellent. It can easily manage to be an educational show, a musical, a slapstick comedy, a gentle slice-of-life show, and a science fiction drama all at the same time, and that's why it deserves more recognition.
Nelvana's Redwall series deserves far more recognition than it gets. Easily among of the finest of their numerous excellent Animated Adaptations, it retained the best elements of the original books and masterfully brought them to life, while also adding a phenomenal voice cast.
Robot and Monster is perhaps the most underrated Nicktoon ever made. It had intresting characters, clever writing, and great voices. Sadly, no one watched it, because it looked like a rip-off of Fanboy and Chum Chum. Nick put the show on hiatus after the Christmas Special in 2012 with no telling of when it will come back. It returned in late 2013 on Nicktoons TV, though only two of the four remaining episodes have aired so far. (Including a half-hour special that was supposed to air as the series-finale) However, the entire series (including the two episodes that hadn't aired yet) was released on DVD in 2014.
Robotboy does not deserve some of the flack it gets (at the very least the first 2 or 3 seasons). If you look past the rip-off accusations and unfair judgments people make, it is an otherwise decent action/comedy show.
Robotomy was an enjoyable show about robots in school. With episode plots like a social networking site befriending Thrasher and Blastus, and Thrasher accidentally setting a war whilst babysitting Maimy's little brother. But Cartoon Network decided to yank it off the air since it hardly got airplay outside America and promotion, and was left in the dust of the success of Adventure Time and Regular Show. Shame, since it was funny and Patton Oswalt provided Thrasher's voice.
Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths and Legends. A fantastic show saddled with a clumsy title. The show posits that all the monsters of old myth and legend are actually different communities of aliens living secretly on Earth for various reasons. Some like the Yeti are benign, while others like the Vampires and Lycanthropes are hostile to humanity. The show is arc-based and follows a The Men in Black-type organization as it deals with these creatures, though the male main character doesn't entirely trust the organization's motives. The best thing in the show is the Action Girl female lead, Shlain Blaze, a white-haired Gothbanshee with sound-based powers and a cool Irish accent. The theme song was awesome, too. When it was rebroadcast for a short time on Saturday mornings in the U.S., the episodes were shown out of order, and they led off with the goofy giant ant episode that had nothing to do with the major plot arcs.
Ruby Gloom was fantastically animated with gorgeous Gothic scenery, likeable characters, and excellent writing. Unfortunately, there were only two seasons and it has never been aired in the United States.
Sabrina: The Animated Series: While it differs a lot from its live-action and comic counterparts (which is why people hate it), it's a very cute show with great storylines and characters, and it has developed a cult following. The spin-off, Sabrina's Secret Life? Uh, yeah...
Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat is Slice of Life themed show that focuses on the life of a Siamese cat named "Sagwa" who lives with her brother Dongwa and little sister Sheegwa, all three of the cats are owned by The Magistrate. The show follows a day to day life of Sagwa and sometimes the humans themselves. This show used to come on PBS Kids a lot during the early and mid 2000's as well as their spinoff cable channel Sprout (now owned wholly by NBCUniversal). There are a few DVD's which contain episodes from the show, and other episodes can be found on YouTube, though they're rather hard to find. PBS Kids and WHYY would constantly play reruns of the show during it's run. This show would also teach the viewers some facts about Chinese culture. At the end of each episode, Sagwa would narrate about the origins of the stuff that was shown in the show such as the origin of Fortune Cookies, Mooncakes, Chinese New Year, and the Chinese Dragon.
3 words. Sanjay and Craig. Sure it got a lot of decent ratings, but many viewers are acting like the show is a crime against humanity or something, when in reality, it’s a really harmless show that has the vibes of 90’s Nick. (It helps that the minds behind The Adventures of Pete & Pete are working on it.) It is easily the most misunderstood Nicktoon of all time. That, and Season 2 is a prime example of Growing the Beard thanks to less emphasis on what led many to despise the show.
Santa Bear's High Flying Adventure was a wonderful animated Christmas special that portrayed the true meaning of Christmas in a positive light and had a pretty adventurous plot with Santa Bear trying to save Christmas from Bully Bear. Unfortunately, almost no one remembers this cartoon at all due to it not being shown on TV since the 1980s and not having a DVD release ever since. It's predecessor "Santa Bear's First Christmas" is even more lesser known.
The Secret Show is a British cartoon series that ran for two series. It has clever writing and lots of hilarious running gags, with a unique animation style and likeable characters.
Sheep in the Big City is one of the more obscure Cartoon Cartoons (having only lasted 2 seasons), and that's honestly an enormous shame because it was utterly brilliant and hilarious show in its absurdity and postmodernism that makes it stand out very well even amongst Cartoon Network's better-known original series.
SheZow is a hilarious throwback to those old comics and their ridiculousness, plus it has a crossdresser as the main character. How progressive! Unfortunately, due to being on The Hub, the same channel that has My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, it's stuck with only 26 episodes, with season 2 unlikely to be made.
Skatoony is a show worth mentioning. Rarely are there any animated shows that double as a quiz show, plus the characters are diverse and colorful. It has yet to see the light of day airing in Cartoon Network US, even with the North America remake. Also for fans of Total Drama or Jimmy Two-Shoes, the North American remake guest stars characters from said shows and generally executes their usage quite well.
Sonic Boom has acquired vocal critics mainly because of the more contemporary, stylised Character Designs being very different from the norm as well as the fact that The Rise Of Lyric Video Game (Which most people associate Sonic Boom with the most) was a rushed glitchy mess. If you give the show a chance there are some well written episodes that might let you redeem The Sub Franchise.
Song In The Sky is an indie animation on YouTube about an emotionally broken fighter pilot who lives in a post-post-apocalypse and is trying to survive. The first episode sets up fantastic world-building and characterization, and its creators intend to make more!
The Spectacular Spider-Man is possibly the greatest Spider-Man cartoon yet, with both tight plotting and incredibly fluid animation, yet it was ignored by many simply because it wasn't like the 1990s Spider-Man cartoon.
Well, to be accurate, it ended because Disney bought Marvel way too soon... however, it gets this because Disney and Marvel seem to want nobody to remember it in favor of Ultimate Spider-Man (2012)... which is the opposite of this show in every way.
Though admittedly inferior to said Spectacular series, Ultimate Spider-Man itself is unfairly hated. While the first season is hit and miss, the second is almost certainly worthy enough to rival its predecessors.
Spliced. You can't even see it in the US unless you use YouTube or are one of the lucky few to get Qubo. And the network that airs it in its native Canada doesn't seem too fond of it either. It's funny, takes inspiration from The Island of Doctor Moreau for its interesting character designs (read: Mix-and-Match Critters you never would've thought of mixing in a million years) and it feels like something that would've aired on Nickelodeon in the mid-1990s. Oh, and Peri is cute.
Squidbillies is possibly the most underrated show on [adult swim]. Though at a first glance it just looks like a brain cell killing mass of idiocy, but actually has a great deal of clever humor and timing. The jokes are far from predictable and hackneyed, and a couple of character development scenes appear from time to time. Despite it actually being Adored by the Network (thankfully, since any other network would have cancelled it by the end of the first season), it still maintains relatively low ratings due to people judging it by it's cover.
Stickin' Around had not only some of the best usage of visual Stylistic Suck for any cartoon, but its writing and overall tone perfectly matched its intention of being a cartoon that felt like it was made by kids (further enhanced by the fact we have Children Voicing Children for the entire cast), making for a delightfully hilarious and shamelessly wacky show. And while it does have a cult following, it is ultimately very obscure.
Despite being made by the same studio that created the enormously popular Bluey, most people have never heard of The Strange Chores. And that's a dang shame, because they're missing out a delightful series with excellent animation, an extremely likable cast, plenty of fun and imaginative spins on common horror tropes, well-executed morals and themes that never get too preachy, and even a surprisingly decent number of heartwarming moments underneath the general horror-comedy focus.
Teacher's Pet had great writing and great animation, and was one of the funniest Disney shows ever made. It even got a movie, which sadly bombed due to poor promotion. And despite the fact that critics adored the series, it hardly gets any recognition.
Team Galaxy was one of Marathon Media's underrated animated programs that the American audience dismissed as "Totally Spies!IN SPACE!". Compared to that show, the heroes are more capable given the situations they have to deal with.
Teen Titans Go!. Sure, it's rife with numerous changes to the original show and several very blatant and awkward attempts to be trendy, not to mention the fact that most characters were Flanderized. Despite all this, the art style is very lush and slightly reminiscent of Adventure Time, it's a funny and charming cartoon, and it doesn't deserve the bile it gets from fans of the original show (like other new CN shows, its detractors mainly come from nostalgia sticklers who believe that the show's concept should not be changed).
Time Squad seems to only be remembered for it's infamous homosexual innuendo and being a rip-off of Jay Ward's classic "Peabody and Sherman"; but it was so much more than that with clever writing, hilarious interpretations of historical figures, and playing fast and loose with the jokes.
Time Warp Trio. Despite being an animated TV adaptation of a popular children's book series, the show didn't last very long due to a low amount of viewers. The show featured 10-year old boy Joe receiving "The Book" from his Uncle Joe as a present for his 10th birthday. Joe and his friends, Sam and Fred, didn't realize that it's a magical time-traveling book and they end up travelling to the past and future due to their inexperience with handling such a book. The episodes were full of adventure and historical education, which made it fun to watch and learn at the same time! Unfortunately, the show was cancelled after a year of airing, and so far, only rumors of future episodes have been spread.
Nelvana's Timothy Goes to School. This show takes place in a World of Funny Animals and focuses on a group of Kindergarten students at Hilltop School. The main character, Timothy, is a young 5 year old raccoon who's best friend is Yoko a kindhearted Japanese kitten. Timothy loves helping out his friends and the other class students when something goes wrong or they're in a bad situation. The show is based on the works of Rosemary Wells (who would be involved with the Max and Ruby series in 2002), with the first two episodes adapting the original Timothy and Yoko books while the rest of the episodes adapt some stories from the Yoko & Friends series. A few episodes also had original plots with some good Aesops for children and adults to learn. The show first aired on PBS Kids "Bookworm Bunch" Sunday morning block from 2000-2004 (of which all the other series that were shown on it could qualify as well), then returned in reruns on Discovery Channel and TLC's "Ready Set Learn" block. The show can be seen on Qubo in America (which doesn't get too many viewers being a digital subchannel and all), and Canadian channel Treehouse TV has all the episodes on Youtube though they can't be seen outside of Canada. The show also airs on Tiny Pop in the UK.
From Teletoon's golden age there's Toad Patrol, a lush, cutesy-looking show with a darkly intriguing storyline not unlike many shows that would come later, such as Adventure Time and Steven Universe. It doesn't come up in conversation as much as other Canadian animated shows, though it does have its share of fans.
The Trap Door is a British claymation cartoon from the mid-80's that has a small cult following. The show is about a blue monster named Berk who lives in a castle with his friends, Boni the skull and Drutt the spider, and works for the Thing Upstairs, an unseen monster at the top floor of the castle, by feeding him food made from the monsters from a cave connected to the castle by a trap door. The animation and storytelling for this series are pretty good, and its odd mixture of horror and comedy (although the horror themes mostly prevail) is rather interesting, but you'd be hard-pressed to find many people who have even heard of this show.
The Town Santa Forgot, one has to wonder why no one ever puts this special on their "Top Whatever Number Christmas Films" lists.
Trust Me, I'm a Genie is a funny, enjoyable cartoon about the adventures of a Camel, Diego and his wisecracking genie sidekick, Ziggy. Ziggy is a raccoon genie that comes out of a soda can and he granted Diego's first two wishes for a cafe and swimming pool. But then Ziggy got sand in his can and his magic went defective so every third wish fails. Ziggy has an obsession with being set free from his can and is always trying to sell a third wish to Diego but it always backfires much to Ziggy's annoyance. Diego has many other friends as well including a Granola Girl bird named Zazie, an Insufferable Genius fennec fox named Joe, a scorpion with a Money Fetish named Tony, a Surfer Dude lizard named Larry and an Almighty Janitor goat shopkeep named Sonia. There is no known DVD release, English wikipedia page or even merchandise and I was responsible for creating the tvtropes page for the cartoon all by myself.
Turtle Island — a 26-episode Canadian-German animated series about a group of animals living on a tropical island headed by a wise turtle king, while a three-man pirate crew tries to steal the king's treasure. While the show had some written comedy and nice storylines, there are no English episodes available on YouTube. Besides Canada and Germany, it does have a small cult following in places like the Middle East and Indonesia, though.
Tutenstein is a hilarious, witty show about a 3,000-year-dead Pharaoh who returns as a mummy. Did we mention he was a bratty 10-year-old when he died? Resurrection didn't fix that. It also makes some really awesome usage of Egyptian Mythology, which features prominently in many episodes. Absolutely wonderful, but somehow ridiculously obscure.
The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat is a surreal, hilarious show starring one of the world's most famous cartoon characters... and hardly anyone has heard of it.
It also applies to Felix the Cat in general; one of the most popular cartoon characters of the silent era, he was eventually overshadowed by Mickey Mouse and most people nowadays are either vaguely aware of him or just plain don't know who he is.
Vikingskool, full stop. Top-notch animation (no surprises here, given its created by none other than Cartoon Saloon of Secret of Kells fame!), hilarious comedy, excellent worldbuilding, very effective storytelling that perfectly mixes silly episodic shenanigans and morals with plot-driven Dark And Edgier moments and enthralling character growth, and a phenomenally well-written and well-rounded central trio with perfect chemistry. So much to love about this series, yet so few even know it exists.
Wakfu is a well-plotted character-driven animesque series with beautiful artwork and a ridiculously catchy theme song. Unfortunately, its only available in continental Europe.
Fortunately, a small group of people are subbing the episodes into multiple languages, and the English and Russian subs have gotten through every episode of Season 1 and are starting on Season 2. Googling them is fruitful.
The creators launched a (successful) Kickstarter campaign, which promised to make an English dub of Season 1. It blew past its goal; so not only will they dub Season 2, but they'll also make another episode.
Unfortunately, the general agreement is that the dub isn't very good (most notably, the English voice actors seemed to think they were dubbing a show aimed at a much younger audience than the one the often violent and risqué series was actually aimed at), which didn't help the series' obscurity in the US.
There was also a Season 3 released in 2017 (which takes place after a timeskip) and several movies that take place between Season 2 and 3 that cover the missing time period.
The creators also made another series, "Dofus," listed above, which takes place in the same universe, has a feature-length movie, and is even less well-known that Wakfu itself.
We Baby Bears is the prequel spin-off to We Bare Bears and deserves more love because it's surprisingly good and it's better than it's given credit for. Unlike We Bare Bears which was a more of a sitcom like Clarence, We Baby Bears is more of an adventure fantasy show. It's a very cute show, the bears themselves are so adorable, they search for a home in a magical box and in each episode go on a fantastical adventure in a different world somewhat like Infinity Train and the adventures they have are comparable to ones found in Adventure Time, Steven Universe, and Summer Camp Island. Each episode is unique and distinct with a different theme and characters. The adventures the bears have are surprisingly enticing, the art in this show is vibrant, The tone of the show is sweet, wholesome, and makes you feel happy and nostalgic, and the other characters are cute too. You can't help but have your heart melted. This show sadly gets largely ignored or derided for it's Spinoff Babies premise which is definitely been overdone in animation, Being Lighter and Softer than We Bare Bears and other Cartoon Network series such as Infinity Train, as well as the Denser and Wackier tone similar to The Powerpuff Girls 2016. But compared to Cartoon Networks other reboots, We Baby Bears is more effective in it's humor and style, it's not so mean-spirited, it's not over-reliant on toilet humor or pop-culture references, and it's also not so bland compared to Sponge Bob Square Pants spin-offs, or Planet Sheen, We Baby Bears unlike many other spin-offs of this type seems to have a lot more passion put into it. It's not mature in tone like Infinity Train or The Owl House but it's probably one of the better shows in the midst of the Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Recommended if you are into cute animation that's also Sweet Dreams Fuel.
The Wild Thornberrys is arguably one of the greatest nature-themed shows around (animated and live-action alike), with its mature addressing of the finer points of conservation, a respectful and well-researched look at non-Western cultures, and some compelling and nuanced characters (some of whom get some much-appreciated further development in The Movie). Sadly, while it was one of Nickelodeon's hottest properties early in its run, it ended without much ceremony and has been largely forgotten.
While Wild West COW Boys Of Moo Mesa has a cult following behind it, there are still few people that even remember or know about it, despite its very bizarre setting, it has great writing, enjoyable characters and lovely camp value.
Wishfart may sound really dumb from the title alone, but make no mistake, it is much more entertaining than you'd expect. Its got some really fun and creative stories that take Be Careful What You Wish For plots in some of the most insane directions imaginable, a distinctive cast of enjoyable characters (how many other cartoons center around a maverick leprechaun, a talking puffin, and a Japanese ghost girl as best friends?), and is actually quite hilarious (there is far less toilet humor than the title suggests).
Wolves, Witches and Giants: It was a fun and witty show featuring the narration of the late Spike Milligan. Each antagonist would fill the roll of such fairy tales as Goldilocks and even ones obscure. Made by the same people whom did Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids, it has a bit of humor you could understand. Heck, even the antagonists can be funny sometimes as well. This is one of those shows that deserve as much attention as The Legends of Treasure Island.
Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum is super fun and educational, but gets looked down on by some as a Little Einsteins ripoff, even though the two shows have nothing in common if you actually watched them. You can learn a lot about famous people who shaped history, and the three main characters are some of the most lovable, relatable characters in the realm of preschool television. Just because it's a preschool show doesn't mean it's bad, so you should definitely check it out, especially if you miss Ready Jet Go! (mentioned above), which got unceremoniously cancelled.
Xyber 9: New Dawn got repeatedly Screwed by the Network, both Fox and Jetix, despite having awesome characters, an interesting backstory, five-star voice talent (Tony Jay and Tim Curry were both present) and even some decent for its time CG. It's oddly similar to a Eastern RPG, so if you like those, you'll probably like this, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AoOXxVOPUw