When it came to cartoons in the '90s, the selection was formidable. There were great shows both when kids got home from school and on those sainted Saturday mornings. What was the best can be debated for days, but Gargoyles deserves to always be in the discussion. It was a series that pushed the envelope of what a cartoon could do.
It was well ahead its time and deserves the cult following it has. There are others that would battle it for the crown of the best cartoon of the '90s, some of which have branched out into multiple forms of media.
10 Gargoyles: Every Character Had Moments To Shine
There are many shows out there with ensemble casts that tend to only focus on a few characters, leaving everyone else in the dust. That was never the case with Gargoyles' Manhattan branch.
Every single one of the cast members had character arcs and episodes that focused solely on them. Sure, Goliath was the protagonist of the group, but the betrayals both Brooklyn and Lexington felt reverberated through their characters the entire show.
9 Batman The Animated Series Created A Character So Good It Became Canon In Comics
An animated property rarely affects its comic counterpart. The incredible Batman The Animated Series flipped that on its head with the creation of Harley Quinn, a character that not only became canon in the comics but became one of the show's most popular characters.
She's a microcosm of why the series was so great, a character that while a villain, held a level of sympathy, particularly with Batman. Batman's treatment of his villains throughout the show is the biggest highlight, giving him more humanity than his comic counterpart often has.
8 Gargoyles: It Had Darker Tones That No Other Cartoon Dared Touch
In the '90s, showing blood was a big no when it came to cartoons, and the same went for the use of actual guns. Gargoyles bucked that trend by having both. Not only did characters bleed, but they routinely were pushed to the brink of death, adding major stakes to the series.
The most notable example of this trope involved Broadway accidentally shooting Elisa in the arm with her gun. She was hospitalized after, and all of the Gargoyles worried for her safety.
7 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Was A Merchandise Titan
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are still going strong today, and a big reason is how good the cartoon was in the late '80s and early '90s. It's one thing for a show about talking turtles to be a hit with kids and quite another for it to become the cultural phenomenon it became.
No cartoon of that era ever came close to it in terms of its merchandise, and there was a good reason why. The turtles were an entertaining quartet of characters, and the themes of the show were pretty advanced for its time.
6 Gargoyles: The Lore Was Deep & Rich, Pulling Heavily From Shakesphere
There was a clear love for Shakesphere throughout the series, showrunners admitting as much. The fact Macbeth existed as a villain was one of the most notable elements, but it was sprinkled throughout a series that had deep and rich lore tied to it.
The Gargoyles weren't merely a plot device and part of the three races of the world, along with humanity and the fae. The longer the show went on, the deeper it got, and had it continued, the Illuminati would have no doubt been explored more.
5 X-Men Tackled Many Of The Same Issues As Gargoyles & Had One Of The Best Opening Themes Ever
In the '90s, the X-Men were king in Marvel, and this show is a big reason why. It tackled many of the same issues that Gargoyles did, handling them with a far softer touch, and was one of the first series to introduce multiple-episode arcs.
Many of its major storylines took four-plus episodes to work through. On top of all that, it had one of the best opening themes of all time. Every kid in the '90s knew the song, humming along with it on Sunday mornings.
4 Gargoyles: It Tackled Tough Issues In A Way That Didn't Pull Punches
The show was littered with messages, ranging from gun safety to how wrong it is to judge people by their appearance. The racial undertones of the series were always clear, with bigotry shown towards the Gargoyles as a reference to how some people are treated in reality.
It also addressed the cycle of hatred and why it was so difficult to overcome. There were never any punches held back either. Their gun safety message going beyond simply stating that guns are bad and focusing more on why it was the owner's responsibility to take safety measures.
3 Rugrats Helped Tackle The Issues Of Growing Up Head-On
A show centered around babies had no business being as deep as Rugrats was. Words can't express what a special show it was, gathering more than a few Emmys along the way and even possessing its own star on the Walk of Fame!
The show tackled issues that were very real for the kids watching them, from dealing with bullies to why friendship was important. It even taught viewers about historical events in a digestible way.
2 Gargoyles: The Villains Were Some Of The Most Nuanced In Cartoon History
Villains in cartoons tend to only have one dimension, and that's to be evil for the sake of evil. They are all card-carrying villains who only exist to get in the hero's way. That isn't the case with Gargoyles, where the villains may have been the most interesting characters in the show.
Both Xanatos and Demona are the pinnacles of cartoon villains. They both had goals that made sense to them and progressed as the series went on. Demona realizing how lonely she was was a great piece of character development.
1 Recess Was Far Ahead Of It's Time & Highly Underrated
For as underrated a gem as Gargoyles is, Recess may be even more overlooked. The show hardly ever gets mentioned when talking about great cartoons, and it's a crime it isn't more beloved.
The show touches on themes viewers would never expect from a show about recess. There were so many political themes tied within it, from the playground having its own form of government to the class structure inside of it. Characters also develop over time, even those that initially seem one-dimensional.