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Cartoons have become some of the most popular TV series, featuring eccentric characters, silly humor, wild adventures, and some life lessons. Many successful cartoons have been released in recent years, but there are several great older cartoons that have been lost to time or totally forgotten.
Because so many cartoons have existed, some shows can get buried in a fan's memory or fly under the radar. This is especially true if a cartoon only aired for a short time or had big competition. Despite deserving to be remembered, many great cartoons have been forgotten.
10 Kenny The Shark Follows A Shark That Lives With A Human Family
2003
Kenny the Shark follows an anthropomorphic tiger shark named Kenny who doesn't want to be an ocean predator anymore. Instead, he finds happiness when he lives with a suburban family. Luckily, ten-year-old Kat speaks shark and can help him adapt to his new life on land. Shenanigans ensue as Kenny constantly tries to eat Kat's younger brother.
From 2003 to 2005, Kenny the Shark ran on Discovery Kids and NBC. Each episode was 30 minutes long and there were only 26 episodes over two seasons, which meant it mostly flew under fans' radars. Still, Kenny the Shark sometimes airs when Shark Week comes around, most recently in 2020.
9 Kipper's Characters Were Positive Role Models
1997
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Based on the characters from Mick Inkpen's books, Kipper is about a soft-spoken beagle who collects toys and goes on many adventures with his friends, including the terrier Tiger, the English dog Jake, and Pig. All the characters, except for Tiger, are positive role models. The characters' adventures mostly include going to the beach, going camping, and having snowball fights in the igloos they built.
Kipper is a British children's show that aired on Nick Jr., PBS Kids, CBS, and Tiny Pop. Running from 1997 to 2000, Kipper produced 78 episodes over six seasons. Notably, Kipper won a BAFTA for Best Children's Animation, but it seems to have been lost to time.
8 My Life As A Teenage Robot Followed A Robot Named Jenny
2003
My Life As A Teenage Robot follows a robot named Jenny, whose duty is to protect the city of Tremorton. However, Jenny wants to live as a regular human teenager and do things that other teenagers do, like go to high school. Throughout the cartoon, Jenny tries to avoid being recruited for an elite robot force and protecting Earth from constant threats.
Jenny's friends include her neighbors, Brad and Tuck, and a classmate named Sheldon Lee. My Life As A Teenage Robot ran for three seasons and 40 episodes. It aired on Nickelodeon from 2003 to 2005, but the third and final season aired on Nicktoons in 2008. Unfortunately, the cartoon was then canceled when ratings dropped.
7 Cyberchase Received A Revival
2002
Cyberchase is an educational show about three children, Jackie, Inez, and Matt. The children use math to counteract the dastardly deeds committed by Hacker. Hacker's mission is to take over the virtual universe. However, the three kids use their minds to stop whatever his plan for the episode is, whether it's fractions in fairytale land or time problems in Ancient Egypt.
Cyberchase ran on PBS Kids from 2002 to 2004. It was revived in 2013 for PBS Kids Go!, and 2022 brought its thirteenth season. Although it's critically acclaimed, Cyberchase is written for young viewers, so many adult audiences don't know it exists.
6 Tutenstein Sees King Tut Resurrected
2003
When 12-year-old Cleo accidentally resurrects King Tut, who was on display at a museum, she and her cat are forced to help him adjust to life in the 21st century. To his surprise, no one wants to worship him. "Tutenstein" is a portmanteau, combining the names Tutankhamun and Frankenstein.
Tutenstein is based on the comics by Jay Stephens and aired on Discovery Kids two decades ago. The cartoon had 39 episodes over three seasons and received a film, Tutenstein: Clash Of The Pharaohs. The show was praised for its humor and educational elements and even won two Primetime Emmys, but because it aired so long ago, many people have forgotten it existed.
5 Rubbadubbers Brings Bath Toys To Life
2003
Rubbadubbers is about seven wonderful bath toys who live in Benjie and Sis's bathroom, two human children who the audience never sees. Every episode of Rubbadubbers features a fun activity that, amusingly, never goes as planned. Viewers fell in love with Terrence the Bubble-Bath Crocodile, Winona the Whale, Tubb the Frog, Sploshy the Starfish, Amelia the Submarine, Finbar the Mighty Shark, and Reg the Robot.
The stop-motion cartoon was commissioned by the BBC in 2002. Rubbadubbers ran from 2003 to 2005, with seasons consisting of 13 episodes. It didn't reach the success of other popular cartoons of the time, so Rubbadubbers has largely been forgotten.
4 Maggie And The Ferocious Beast Focuses On One Girl's Imagination
2000
Maggie is a five-year-old girl who imagines a world called Nowhere Land where her favorite toys, Hamilton Hocks and Ferocious Beast, come to life to join her on fun adventures. The main trio was beloved by audiences; Maggie was compassionate, Beast looked scary but was very kind, and Ham was a bossy pig who lived in a cardboard box.
Maggie And The Ferocious Beast is based on the book The Ferocious Beast With The Polka-Dot Hide and originally aired in Canada in 1998. The cartoon premiered on Nick Jr. for 39 episodes. Although many fans don't remember this cartoon, Maggie And The Ferocious Beast won't be forgotten for long. In 2021, it was announced that the kids' cartoon would receive a revival.
3 Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat Teaches Valuable Life Lessons
2001
Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat follows Sagwa and her family, who live in China and are owned by a Chinese Magistrate in the 19th century. Just like her parents, Sagwa is a scribe who transcribes Chinese officials' words into beautiful calligraphy with her tail. Sagwa's siblings go on many fun adventures that teach valuable life lessons and show Chinese culture.
Sagwa aired in Canada and America and was available in both English and Chinese. It ran on PBS Kids from 2001 to 2002, but because Sagwa only aired for one season, many people don't remember it.
2 Chiro Receives Powers In Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!
2004
In Shugazoom City, a boy named Chiro stumbles upon a giant robot in a junkyard. He accidentally awakens five robotic monkeys and gives himself the energy of the Power Primate. The cyborg monkeys - Antauri, SPRX-77, Gibson, Otto, and Nova - train Chiro to become a superhero to help them combat the Evil Skeleton King.
The team use the giant robot, which can also split into six separate vehicles, when fighting larger enemies. Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! ran for four seasons with a total of 52 episodes, each 22 minutes long. Super Robot was heavily influenced by anime and was created by Ciro Nieli, who then went on to create the incredibly successful Teen Titans.
1 Rolie Polie Olie Depicts Weird And Wonderful Adventures
1998
Rolie Polie Olie takes place on Planet Polie and follows Olie, a member of the Polie family who lives in a teapot-shaped house and goes on wacky adventures. His antics often include his sister, Zowie, and his best friend, Billy Bevel. Each episode shows a different adventure, which teach viewers life lessons and important values.
Rolie Polie Olie originally aired in Canada in English and French. In the United States, the cartoon aired on Disney Channel from 1998 to 2004. Notably, the show was one of the first series to be animated entirely in CGI and won two Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program. The first five seasons are available to watch on Disney+ for fans who want to remember this classic cartoon.