Just because an animated show didn't last very long doesn't mean it was necessarily bad. A popular cartoon can find itself canned for a variety of reasons, from network politics to problems with advertising or merchandise.
Sometimes shows are outright canceled before the creators could conceive the ending they wanted. Other times, the show is puton an endless hiatus without officially canceling it, leaving its status in some legal limbo. At times, a network's machinations can even make releasing a show — whether they're home releases or as reruns — next to impossible. However, that doesn't mean that fans have forgotten their favorite shows.
10 Princess Starla & The Jewel Riders: This Cartoon Figured There'd Be A Market For Magical Girls In The West
Originally intended as an adaptation of Dragonriders of Pern, this Arthurian-influenced cartoon involved a princess, Starla — also known as Gwenevere in alternate versions of the series — who protects the kingdom of Avalon with her friends Tamara and Fallon, the Jewel Riders, who have powers over the sun, the moon, and Earth.
The short-lived series lasted two seasons and could be seen as an early attempt at a Western magical girl series. An attempt to reboot the series came years later with the Avalon: Web of Magic book series.
9 Time Squad: Having All Of History For Episode Plots Could Not Keep The Show Going
In this cartoon, in a distant future, history starts to unravel, causing agents of Time Squad to go back in time and set things right. The series focused on one dysfunctional group: a violent agent, Buck Tuddrussel, an uppity robot, Larry 3000, and a plucky orphan, Otto, who seems to be the only person with a basic understanding of the history involved.
While lasting two seasons, the show was relatively well-liked but appeared to have been killed because it came out at a time when the network was going through a reshuffle.
8 Thundercats: Neither Reboot Lasted As Long As The Original Cartoon
This remake of the famous Rankin-Bass cartoon features a race of alien-cat people trying to build a life on the planet Third Earth while fighting evil. As opposed to the original cartoon — where the hero Lion-O is a kid that was accidentally progressed into an adult — here he is portrayed as a teenager.
While the original series did relatively well, lasting around four seasons, this take on the series only lasted one season, with twice as much content originally planned. The franchise would get a later reboot, ThunderCats Roar, that took the series in a more comedic light, but would also only last a season, albeit with twice as many episodes as its 2011 counterpart.
7 Sym-Bionic Titan: There Are Plenty Of Rumors Over What Happened
In this Cartoon Network series, a weird mix between a high school drama and a space opera, a princess, her bodyguard, and a robot pose as humans on Earth and must defend their new home from the alien forces that sent them on the lam, to begin with.
The show was canceled after its first season, although at least 10 more episodes are believed to have been written. Rumors abound as to what caused the network to kill the show, from network politics to failure to get a toy line.
6 Megas XLR: High Ratings Could Not Stop A Network From Changing Hands
In this cartoon, mankind will one day find itself contending with alien overlords and so, to save the human race, a giant robot is sent back in time to prevent the horrors to come. However, it ends up in Jersey City where a gamer named Coop combines it with a car and a video game. Joined with his slacker friend Jamie and time-traveler Kiva, he must use his new "toy" to protect the Earth. Something of a love-letter to the fandom community, the series had shout-outs to everything from Mazinger Z to Sailor Moon.
The show was actually believed to have gotten high ratings for Cartoon Network, but the show was apparently killed by a change in network management, with new figureheads not liking the show. Not only was a third season planned beforehand, had it continued, a television special and a console game were also planned.
5 Motorcity: One Season Still Brought About A Cult Following
Set in a futuristic version of Detroit, a group of rebel hot-rod racers, the Burners, face off against an evil tyrant, creating an underground haven dubbed Motorcity.
This Disney XD show developed a cult following but only lasted a season. Allegedly, the show had been something of a network plaything from the beginning, having been pitched for 10 years for it to get greenlit. While the series was canceled before the first season was finished, the showrunners were able to give the series a two-part finale.
4 Danny Phantom: Things Went Downhill For The Show By Season 3
In this Nickelodeon cartoon, a boy named Danny, the son of professional ghost-hunters, is accidentally transformed into a ghost-human hybrid by his parents' technology. He then takes it upon himself to use his new powers to fight evil ghosts that are plaguing his town.
While developing a cult following, the series began to see its end towards the third season, with the network airing episodes out of order and falling ratings.
3 My Life As A Teenage Robot: Some Countries Only Got The First Season
In this Nickelodeon cartoon, a robot built with the mind of a teenager, XJ9, or "Jenny," is designed with the intention of protecting the world from intergalactic threats. Her biggest problem, however, is wanting to live and be seen as a normal teenager.
The series did well in the ratings during the first season but the show would end up facing problems with the network soon after, with the second season facing delays. The third season would be sent to another network. Some foreign airings also stopped after the first and second seasons.
2 Teen Titans: It Technically Lives On Through Spin-Offs
This Cartoon Network series explored a group of DC Comic's younger heroes as they fight villains in the animesque Jump City. Unlike other similar superhero shows at the time, the series generally avoided having the characters deal with alter-egos. The series also notably aimed at a younger demographic than DC's superhero shows of the '90s.
Although the series lasted five seasons, the show still ended with a few storylines unresolved, such as the fifth member of the team, Starfire, not getting a story arc. Technically speaking, the cartoon would eventually survive through various spin-offs, like the DC Nation Teen Titans shorts and the Teen Titans Go! cartoon.
1 World Of Winx: The Parent Show Lives On
This Netflix spin-off of Winx Club featured the girls looking for talented kids on Earth, publicly for a reality show, but in reality to protect them from dark forces from a mysterious — yet familiar — realm out to get them.
The series was popular with fans of the original show, who liked the new art style and the older direction the series was taking, but it ended after two seasons. Afterward, Netflix worked on developing a live-action reboot of the series, with the original cartoon continuing to release more episodes.