10 Best Shows Like Saturday Morning Cartoons

The idea of ​​a “Saturday morning cartoon” has long been extinct, with DVR and streaming meaning people rarely watch the latest episode of a favorite TV show at any given time. However, some of the best animated TV shows of all time, decidedly from the post-Saturday morning cartoon era, capture the aura of these old cartoons. They are classically 2D animated, mostly lighthearted, very episodic, and made primarily for younger audiences.

There are options from the best Disney animated TV shows to the best animated fantasy shows that have selectively nailed the feel of a classic cartoon, on par with the big names in the Looney Tunes and Scooby-Doo. For anyone missing out on the best Saturday morning cartoons of all time, possibly enjoying them now on streaming, Several networks and services have new offerings. These selections put their own twist on the formula with more modern elements of humor and commentary and ever-evolving animation.

10

Regular Program (2010-2017)

Mordecai & Rigby’s “Regular” is different from ours

In general, Cartoon Network seems nostalgic for the days of true Saturday morning cartoons, when several of its best-known shows demonstrate the same aura. Regular Program called himself “anything but“with a mix of talking animals and other characters with the wackiest and somewhat boring designs embarking on a series of strange adventures. The first episode also establishes that Mordecai and Rigby are in their 20s, a somewhat unusual detail for this type of show.

Regular Program It then sets into a routine of what are essentially the two dumbest college students possible, seeking out regular things like promotions and concert tickets – with disastrous results. At some point in each episode, something completely strange intrudes into your reality, from a trip to the moon to zombies to a coffee-producing being. Regular Program it doesn't have much thematic weight and just feels weird at its core, creating a strangely compelling series of mishaps.

9

The Amazing World of Gumball (2011-2019)

The daily lives of Gumball and his family are wild but well-crafted

A mix of characters and plots is also the way to describe The Amazing World of Gumball, which follows a family led by a married cat and rabbit (the wife even makes a joke about how cats and dogs aren't meant to be together), in a world populated by powerful shapeshifters, talking hot dogs, and action figures overloaded. Each episode is an explosion of randomness, truly capturing the episodic nature of a cartoon that can be watched whenever the schedule coincides with the airing.

Yet The Amazing World of Gumball it occasionally demonstrates some shockingly clever humor, often delivered at warp speed and commenting on everything from parenting struggles to niches in gamer culture. The show is bizarre, bordering on uncomfortable, but fun and hilarious in a way that has allowed it to last seven seasons, with the lingering possibility of a The Amazing World of Gumball film.

8

ZIM Invader (2001-2006)

The underrated antics of an incompetent alien invader and his nemesis

ZIM Invader stands out as one of the best shows to watch while you wait Hotel Hazbin 2nd season for being one of the main programs that inspired the Prime series. Both Richard Steven Horvitz and Andy Berman make the show deeply funny, with over-the-top deliveries of their missions ingrained in each episode as they are locked in a less-than-sly indirect game of cat and mouse. The basic premise hits some of the same beats as Phineas and Ferbif the A and B plots were combined into one, but it's much more underrated than the show that came after it.

Like most similar programs, ZIM InvaderThe film's repetitive format means it can be watched out of order, but its darker form of comedy – arguably coming too early for this subgenre – means it was less successful in its time. Today it has achieved a loving cult status, resonating with modern animation of Hotel Hazbin to Scott Pilgrim takes off. Changing tastes in the genre also possibly helped the classic show get its fun follow-up film on Netflix. ZIM Invader stands out from other possible Saturday morning cartoons in style and tone, but it's fun for similar reasons.

7

Duck Tales (2017-2021)

The new DuckTales gives the old one a run for its money

Duck Tales It was a Saturday morning cartoon, one of Disney's most classic cartoons. It's something that inherently should never be topped, but the 2017 reboot is shockingly good for fans of the Disney staple. Above all, David Tennant voicing Scrooge McDuck is something no one knew we needed or expected him to do. The new Duck Tales came into the modern Disney Channel era with witty and hilarious beats between Scrooge, Donald, the triplets and more.

Duck Tales' The weakest moments are actually when it tries to construct an overall plot, likely trying to follow the example of some of the most successful and praised cartoons of the 2010s. However, the show is at its best in the standalone episodes , where the individual idiosyncrasies of the Duck family lead to the best and silliest adventures with moments of wonderfully witty humor. Duck Tales incorporates some delightful elements from the classic Disney canon, like the theme song or Donald meeting Daisy, for a show that rivals the original.

6

Amphibian (2019-2022)

A Froggy Sleeper hit for Disney Channel with so much love

Amphibian is the less acclaimed cousin of Gravity falls and The Owl Housebut very entertaining for anyone who deigns to watch. Both The Owl House and Amphibian were created by the former Gravity falls storyboarders, bringing with them a similar animation style, sense of humor, and approach to building fantasy worlds. Amphibian has some overarching plot points that are shockingly dark, with many, many monster-of-the-week type stories packed in between the more climactic installments.

Amphibian throws viewers into the strangest other world yet (in the unofficial version Gravity falls(led universe): one of talking humanoid amphibious creatures, with a family that takes in a displaced human teenager. However, fans of the show will tell you that The dynamic that emerges between 13-year-old human Anne and frog child Sprig is a friendship for the ages. Amphibian heralds a story that's hard to believe, but once it's done, there's no escaping the jokes, the friendship, and the moments that genuinely bring tears.

5

SpongeBob SquarePants (1999 to present)

The fan-favorite character who lives in a pineapple under the sea isn't going anywhere

SpongeBob SquarePants It may have technically started out as a Saturday morning cartoon in the late 1990s, but it has adapted with each new development in the medium and is now perfect for audiences seeking that kind of nostalgia – while also producing new episodes. The series' sometimes mean-spirited humor is balanced with the unabashedly and strangely whimsical world, which is the perfect setting for a famous pirate and a menagerie of beloved sea creatures to draw thousands of kids who watch the action every episode.

Each episode is its own adventure for the characters and viewers, where SpongeBob and his friends learn one lesson or another that might bring them closer together. Ultimately, SpongeBob SquarePants It lasted so long because fans just can't get enough of the crazy world. Each character has their own brand of campy humor that clashes and comes together in a fun, yet episodic way, meaning it can be watched in almost any order.

4

Kim Possible (2002-2007)

The classic animated action show where nothing is impossible

Buffy the Vampire Slayer may have come first with a series of monster outbreaks fought by a high school student with adventure experience, but Kim Possible changed some elements of the genre and uniquely fit that premise into a light-hearted cartoon. The titular heroine leads a double life as an ordinary student and crime-fighting agent, much more complicated than her Disney Channel live-action counterpart, Hannah Montana. Kim Possible remains one of the best Disney Channel comedies of all time because of its surprising mix of genres.

At least surprising at the time, before Gravity falls, The Owl House, and other selections of the best fantasy TV shows ever made expertly combined the tone of an episodic children's show with a heavier action-adventure plot. Fans are still indulging in each episode's self-contained adventures, with sharp humor, brilliant action, and Kim dealing with the same things as every other high school student.

3

Gravity Falls (2012-2016)

Disney Channel's Mysterious Success Still Surprises Audiences

Gravity fallsin many ways it moves away from the structure of a Saturday morning cartoon when its hook is the construction of the overall mystery, with the best episodes of Gravity falls being the ones that constitute the main moments of these stories. However, the show accomplishes something unique where the “downtime” between big reveals can contain very small moments that will pay off later but can still be enjoyed on their own. About that, Gravity falls is truly one of the best animated TV shows of all time, with its stellar combination of hard-hitting fantasy and moving stories.

Gravity falls offers a powerful narrative about the things that can destroy a sibling relationship, with both Dipper and Mabel and their “grunts“Stan and Ford. There are some true adventure-of-the-week narratives that manage to rival some of the bigger reveal episodes, demonstrating the series' very imaginative world-building and humor. Gravity falls It's an incredibly unique mix of something that feels like it came from a child's mind with smart, well-crafted stories that adults will be drawn to as well.

2

Adventure Time (2010-2018)

The adventures of Jake the dog and Finn the human are timeless

Adventure Time stands out as the best of Cartoon Network's classic and celebrated animated shows, comprising a long series of individual adventures with a rotating cast of charming characters. The world is bright and silly, but tinged with sadness, with some traumas that have shaped the sweet, friendly characters. However, Finn and Jake undertake one mission after another, which can be enjoyed as short, singular bursts of fantasy.

Adventure TimeLater plot twists and character revelations give the world more narrative weight, but what makes it beloved is the myriad imaginative concepts that form the corpus of its stories. The humor is also different from many of its contemporary shows, with a gentle rather than sharp weirdness that will still make viewers laugh out loud. Adventure Time is bittersweet, a supposed one-off Saturday morning cartoon that will also, in its own way, last for years to come.

1

Phineas and Ferb (2007-2025)

All 104 days of summer vacation are amazing

If Adventure Time is Cartoon Network's greatest achievement in continuing the legacy of classic Saturday morning cartoons, so Disney is Phineas and Ferb. The entire series follows essentially the same scenario, in which Candace tries to reveal her brothers' impossible invention to her mother and fails, and the family pet Perry the Platypus fights the evil Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz and triumphs. The sum of its parts would make for a somewhat redundant spectacle, but Phineas and Ferb It never ceases to amaze with its brilliance.

There's some very clever humor behind it all, with countless meta jokes that are iconic to fans of the show. The show plays with its own formula without ever straying from it, also gradually, subtly building relationships between family and friends in the minds of viewers. Phineas and Ferb is an immensely fun and light-hearted cartoon, with hundreds of episodes that can be watched without context, providing a modern Saturday morning cartoon experience.