Best Cartoon TV Shows of All Time

Cartoons are strange, lovable, and hilarious – much like the characters they’ve given to us.

Cartoons started as fast-paced entertainment for kids, but have evolved over the years into all sorts of twisted, weird, incredible TV shows like Family Guy, Spongebob Squarepants, Rick and Morty and more.

To celebrate the shape-shifting, knee-slapping art of cartoons, we ranked some of the best. Read on for the greatest cartoon TV shows of all time.

Image courtesy of Nickelodeon

1. Tom and Jerry

For almost 80 years, we’ve been watching a cat chase a mouse on Tom and Jerry – and loving every minute.

Of course, it’s a little more complicated than that. The timeless personalities of Tom and Jerry has created endless opportunities for entertainment that always makes us laugh without using any words. Even in 2018, it holds up as a great show that kids will love.

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Photo by Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock

2. South Park

South Park’s side-splitting surface of anal probes and poop jokes is the first of many layers. Since 1998, the cartoon has established itself as one of the greats with poignant social commentary that exposes the laugh-out-loud ridiculousness of celebrities, politics, and human beings in general.

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Image courtesy of Comedy Central

3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The name might sound like a jumble of random words, but Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is actually one of the best cartoons of all time.

The show follows Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael and Donatello – four turtles who have been mutated into walking, talking ninjas by radioactive ooze. The fearless group operates from the sewers of New York City and takes advice from Splinter, a wise rat sensei who trains the turtles in the art of ninjutsu.

Their ninja skills are combined with witty, irreverent humor to make a show that’s captivated viewers of all ages for decades.

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Image courtesy of CBS

4. Family Guy

Family Guy has given us some of the best comedy characters of all time. Peter, the ignorant father of the Griffin family, acts more like a baby than a middle aged man. His wife, Lois, tries (and usually fails) to keep the house together. Their three kids are Meg, Chris, and Stewie – one of which is a social outcast, another an awkward pubescent boy, and the third a mastermind with an English accent who’s set on world domination. They spend their days with a left-wing talking dog, a horny neighbor, and more quote-worthy personalities.

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Photo by Fox TV/Seth Macfarlane/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock

5. The Simpsons

Before 1990, cartoons were for children. The Simpsons changed TV when they gave us a cartoon that was overflowing with politically savvy adult humor.

The premise (like most great cartoons) is very simple: an American family deals with life. Homer, the father, is a dim-witted nuclear plant worker who likes a Duff beer. His wife, Marge, is the real matriarch of the simpson household, and their three kids – Lisa, Bart, and Maggie – range from overachieving goodie-two-shoes to trouble making prankster.

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Photo by Jim Smeal/BEI/REX/Shutterstock

6. Looney Tunes

Looney Tunes was one of the original cartoons during the golden age of American animation, and it still holds up as one of the best cartoons ever.

Instead of a series of episodes like modern shows, Looney Tunes was a collection of animated comedy shorts. This format introduced us to a spate of characters like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, and so many more.

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Photo by Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock

7. The Flintstones

Quintessential American life during the 60s was reimagined in the stone age in The Flintstones.

The Flintstone family lives in Bedrock, along with their neighbors the Rubbles. Their lives are typical: Fred Flintstone likes to golf and bowl after a long day working at the Quarry, and his wife Wilma likes to hangout with the neighbor, Betty Rubble. They drive cars, eat out, and live in two story homes, but there’s a catch: it’s all made of pre-industrial materials, and they live alongside dinosaurs, mammoths, and other extinct animals.

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Photo by Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock

8. Futurama

Futurama kicks off when regular pizza-delivery boy Fry wakes up 1,000 years in the future. He’s taken in by his only descendant, a wacky scientist named Professor Farnsworth, who runs a delivery service with a group of futuristic characters. Fry adapts to his new life in the future, and goes on adventures with his new friends that range from hilarious to heartwarming all in one episode.

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Image courtesy of 20th Century Fox Television

9. Rick and Morty

Thought great Cartoons only came out in the 90s? Wait until you see Rick and Morty.

The show quitely premiered in 2014, but has since become one of the most talked-about shows on TV. It vaguely resembles a realistic version of Back to the Future, with Rick, a mad, drunk, genius scientist, and his aloof grandson Morty going on Sci-fi adventures across space and time. They bicker about what show to watch, the meaning of life, and much (much) more, providing equal amounts of comedy and philosophy.

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Image courtesy of Cartoon Network

10. Scooby-Doo

Another classic cartoon is Scooby-Doo, which has seen numerous incarnations (and a few movies) since it originally premiered way back in 1969.

The show follows a group of four teens – Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy – and their cowardly great dane, Scooby-Doo. Together, they solve supernatural mysteries in their oh-so-70s van.

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Photo by Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock

11. Spongebob Squarepants

Spongebob Squarepants is hilarious, weird, age-transcending and thoroughly nonsensical. In other words, it’s sort of the perfect cartoon. The Nickelodeon show has been around for almost 20 years, but it’s spawned video games, movies, and most recently, a slew of memes. Like a lot of great animated TV shows and movies, it’s prime entertainment for kids, but still finds a way to insert adult humor and references.

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Image courtesy of Nickelodeon