To those that love reminiscing about the past, the cartoons in the ‘90s can be argued to be some of the best cartoons out of any decade. Shows like Rugrats, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Batman: Animated Series, Powerpuff Girls and Doug were some of the top five most watched and loved. They had a wide range of different types of humor from dark to light and fun. We hold these shows close in our hearts in our childhood memories. So it would be weird if we saw creepy or overly suggestive characters from our favorite cartoons, like a grown up Misty from Pokemon in revealing clothing.
Fan art is up to the imagination and style of the creator. So fan art of a cartoon can be anywhere from realistic, to creepy, to modern, to highly controversial. To those who hold ‘90s cartoons near and dear to their heart, seeing a different style of the cartoon might tarnish those fond memories. There are artists who like to take art to the next level, like giving babies two heads or making beavers dance on a pole. All these themes and more are a part of this list of ‘90s cartoon fan art that will forever tarnish your memories.
15 RUGRATS
Rugrats is another one of the top three most popular ‘90s cartoons. It is a cartoon about talking toddlers who go on adventures together. Talking babies has always been a favorite theme in pop culture. These talking babies had their own storylines and character development. They were also cute and fun to watch. The show lasted 13 years, and it even had films, and a grown up TV show version and games created after the show.
The contrast of this piece of fanart by Tohad might change your view of the show. These babies in the illustration look monstrous and scary. Their skin is veining and their eyes hold a deadly gaze. Also Phil and Lil are conjoined twins which is always creepy to look at.
14 ROCKO’S MODERN LIFE
Realistic art of cartoons always comes across as a little offsetting. And this realistic drawing of Rocko’s Modern Life from Pac Xi is very offsetting, especially the more you look at Rocko, the wallaby. All the characters are in the usual couch from the show, but they are actual animals and weird looking ones at that.
Rocko’s Modern Life is about a wallaby named Rocko and his friends Heffer the cow, Filbert the turtle and Spunky his pet dog. The staff on the show had a lot of creative freedom, so they were able to add in adult humor and innuendos that the fans enjoyed. The show only lasted four seasons but it is still known as a popular ‘90s cartoon. There is a rumor that a TV special will premiere in 2018.
13 ANGRY BEAVERS
Daggett and Norbert are brothers and some beavers that are usually angry. Norbert is the smart one and Daggett is the immature and less intelligent one. But in this photo by bunnychan, they are both seductive dancers. They have a love-hate relationship, but they are currently working as a team to maximize profits on the stage. Fans of the show might have mixed feelings on this fanart.
Angry Beavers aired on Nickelodeon for five years and there were no extra films or games like other shows. Fans enjoyed the contrast and quarrels between the two brothers. The older was more mature brother is usually too smart for Norbert and Norbert is too dumb to understand. It won several awards for best animation and daytime series.
12 THE REN & STIMPY SHOW
The Ren and Stimpy Show is about a cat and a chihuahua and it was one of the top watched cartoons of the ‘90s. It grew a following fast from its dark humor and numerous innuendos. The show normally pushed the boundaries on what was acceptable for a children's cartoon. It helped influence other TV shows such as Beavis and Butthead and South Park. The show ran for five seasons.
This version of Ren and Stimpy is creepy and might change your view on the show from childhood. The chihuahua as Ren has acne and a crazy grin. Stimpy, the cat has weird hands ready to grab something. An all around weird piece of fan art from Chris Labrenz that would tarnish anyone's childhood.
11 DOUG
Patti Mayonnaise was one of the main characters on the popular cartoon Doug. She plays the best friend of Doug and also his love interest. She is a little more extroverted than the shows main character, Doug, but they still get along well as friends. A little too well, because Doug has a crush on her throughout the whole show.
The show is set up when Doug is between the ages of 11 and 12 and so are his other friends. So this piece of fanart by Todd_Spence is very creepy to say the least. Anyone who watched Doug when they were younger might cringe at the sight of a pregnant Patti Mayo, and then maybe wonder if it was Doug that is the father.
10 THE WILD THORNBERRYS
The Wildthorn Berrys was a show on Nickelodeon in the ‘90s about a nomadic family that made documentaries about nature. The story follows one of the daughters Eliza and her life with crazy parents and the ability to talk to animals. Along their travels they also pick up a feral child named Donnie that they take care of, and also a chimpanzee named Darwin.
In this piece of fan art by Isaiah Stephens, Eliza is with her sister Debbie and feral Donnie. They are matured and grown up in this piece. Eliza is more nerdy in the show, but here she has grown out of that. Isaiah Stephens has many other fan art that has the same concept of depicting characters from cartoons as grown up or matured.
9 CREEPY SAILOR MOON
This version of Sailor Moon might tarnish your fond childhood memories of the show. The show is about cute yet powerful girls who help save the Earth. This fan art piece by P. Hos is dark and twisted. The colors are red and black instead of the cheerful white, red and blue. Sailor Moon’s eyes are also on top of her head. One girl has a long knife with no head, and the other a elongated neck.
This may tarnish diehard fans’ memories of Sailor Moon. The TV show is also known for light humor even though the Earth could be in grave danger. This, however, work of art does not look light in humor. These girls are on another level of creepy and look like they will tear up anything and anyone.
8 FUTURAMA
Futurama started in the late ‘90s and was aimed at a more mature audience than children. But that didn’t stop children from watching it and growing up with its characters. It was still in the PG-13 boundaries but this photo of Amy Wong is definitely pushing those boundaries. This pinup of Amy Wong by Miss Futurama is more risque than her usual pink tracksuit.
Amy starts out in the show as the ditsy, spoiled brat that interns at Planet Express. Her character goes through development as the show goes on. Although she has many partners in the first few seasons, she later settles down with Kif Kroker. So this photo isn’t too crazy for those who watch the show, but is still pushing cartoon boundaries.
7 POKEMON INDIGO LEAGUE
Pokemon Indigo League has always been kid-friendly in its TV shows, films and games. This realistic art of Misty on the beach in revealing clothes by Dandon Fuga is far from kid-friendly. Whether you only watched the show, or just played the games, or everything Pokemon, this version of Misty is much different.
Misty started as a main character from the beginning in the ‘90s TV show. Ash met her when he went to the Cerulean Gym to battle. Misty is more of a stubborn tomboy and was tired of her four glamour sisters in the city and decided to travel with Ash instead. She would say the main reason she joined Ash was to get her bike back -- she dreamt of becoming the best water Pokemon trainer.
6 SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS
Spongebob first aired in the late ‘90s and has been one of the most well-known cartoon from the internet. There are memes and YouTube videos inspired from this show, as well as fan art. This manly version of Spongebob is by scopophobia. The artist might have been going for a sexy appeal, but his square head on a muscular yellow body looks very creepy.
Spongebob is about a sponge who lives under the sea with his starfish friend Patrick. He works at the Krusty Krab that is own by the crab Mr. Krabs. The show still airs news episodes to this day because of its popularity. It has also won many awards and franchised major films, as well as video games, book and comics books that have been based on the show.
5 THE POWERPUFF GIRLS
Sugar, spice and everything nice…plus some powers and weapons. This piece of fan art depicts the girls Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup as older girls with really cool powers. This grown up version by Ross Tran will change the way you viewed the ‘90s cartoon. He has also done a lot of other realistic cartoon artwork that is worth checking out as well.
The Powerpuff Girls first aired in 1998 and ran until 2005. It was a popular show for all genders that focused on girl power and being a superhero and still cute. The TV show also was a popular one in the ‘90s and branched off into books and a film. There were rumors spreading around that there would be a remake of the show, but that didn’t happen.
4 THE SIMPSONS
Here we have Lisa Simpson strutting down the streets in the latest Marc Jacobs seasonal trends: A button down lilac blouse with checkered high-waisted shorts. This is one of many fanart pieces from Michele Moricci. He redesigns characters such as Disney Princesses and other cartoon characters in the latest fashion trends from high fashion designers.
The Simpsons is one of the most popular and longest running cartoons on television. It’s about the Simpson family and the shenanigans they get into. Lisa is the middle child and she is the smartest in the family and enjoys playing the saxophone. Because of her high intelligence, she often feels left out of her family. Her normal attire is an orange dress. So this new outfit is definitely in upgrade in her style.
3 TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
The first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV show ran in the late ‘80s and into the ‘90s. It became a staple show for ‘90s cartoons that were aired every Saturday morning. For ‘90s kids, we grew up with these family-friendly, action-adventure show. But to later see this version, by AzumiLee, of April O’Neil from the show reading seductively in a yellow jumpsuit could be shocking or fun, depending on your view.
April was a news reporter on the show. She was a series regular and was one of the first people to discover the Turtles hideout in the sewers. They made her the damsel in distress on many occasions. Shredder and other villains enjoyed kidnapping her to their advantage against the Turtles because April and the Turtles were friends.
2 SAILOR MOON
Sailor Moon was a manga that was adopted in a TV show in Japan in 1992 to 1997. It became successful and popular very fast and soon had a second series and feature films. Sailor Moon is about middle-school student Usagi Tsukino who finds a cat the gives her a brooch to turn into Sailor Moon. She uses her new powers to form a team of Sailor Soldiers to save the Earth.
Sailor Moon starts off as a young girl in middle school and we see her grow up to be a powerful princess and soldier. In this fan art by Evviart, Sailor Moon or Usagi has gone a different route in growing up from a happy school girl. This piece of fan art makes her more edgy and not carefree in a different way.
1 HEY ARNOLD!
Hey Arnold! is a show about a fourth grader named Arnold and his friends. One of his friends, Helga Pataki is pictured in this fan art by jebbiepinka. Helga is dressed in a revealing and seductive sweater dress with low pigtails. Arnold is definitely surprised by this attire. Helga in the show wears a pink dress over a white T-shirt and has aggressive pigtails and a unibrow.
Helga was the bully in Hey Arnold! and always picked on Arnold. She was mean to everyone and no one liked her. This illustrated fan art show a completely different version on Helga. She is easier on the eyes and doesn’t have a unibrow. Helga was in love with Arnold, but if she changed her attitude and attire, she might have a chance with him.