The best cartoons to watch on Netflix, Hulu, HBO and more

We are long past the era of Saturday morning cartoons. In the era of streaming television, where services like Netflix and Hulu have the means to surprise-drop whole seasons of animated shows and feature-length films on subscribers without warning and and where (nearly) all your favorite shows are accessible with the push of a button, popular animated television is no longer “appointment” television and instead is a matter of finding time to fit it in with the rest of one’s busy media schedule.

Here at Polygon, we love animation — especially the era of animation when one had to be in front of a television set at a particular time of the day on a particular day of the week in order to catch our favorite shows. We’ve put together a list of our favorite childhood cartoons and where you can watch them. For the sake of this list, a “Saturday-morning cartoon” is less a matter of whether it aired on the weekend or not, but rather a matter of a show that made any day it aired on feel like a Saturday for the duration of its run time.

Here are Polygon’s favorite Saturday-morning cartoons!

American Dragon Long

Image: Walt Disney Television Animation

American Dragon Long He made an immediate impact in the San Gabriel Valley-based extracurricular club. He had dyed his hair spiky to indicate that he was an asexual. It’s coolIt was an Asian-to-white show. Because Disney finally realized how much we love Brenda Song, we fell in love with him and decided that it was time for us to explore other roles. Like any good superhero show, Jake’s own arc is focused on his ability to hone his powers — practicing his ability to shape-shift into a dragon. —Nicole Clark

American Dragon LongDisney Plus allows you to watch it live on-demand.

Arthur

Image: Cinar/PBS Kids

If you were a PBS kid growing up in the ’90s or early 2000s, then you — like me — might have absolutely loved Arthur. The aardvark family was so lovely, even if they didn’t always get along in the moment. His friends Buster, Muffy and Francine were my favorite and I am obsessed with their Library Card Song. There were also many cameos including late night stars. Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. This is a truly amazing and enjoyable show for children. Why am I sobbing? It’s a beautiful day. —NC

ArthurYou can stream it on PBS Kids.

Avatar for The Last Airbender

Nickelodeon Animation Studio

I’ve watched this show across so many platforms. It was streamed on Netflix after it moved to Netflix. I also watched the show in college. Legend of Korra episodes as they launched on Nickelodeon’s own streaming site (the final season never aired on TV, even though the show has since hit cult status). However, as a youngster I was captivated by the series. Avatar episodes after school and on weekends, fully engrossed in the world’s elemental magic system and its geopolitical strife. Its storytelling was sophisticated for a kids’ cartoon, and I watched it as I went from preteen to teen, crossing the chasm of 13. Even though my mother was often entrusted with dealing with my obsession, she enjoyed it as well. Even though I am an adult, this animated program is one that I still love. Steven Universe). —NC

Avatar of The Last AirbenderIt is streaming on Netflix.

Batman: The Animated Series

Warner Bros. Animation

You Could Write a short blurb Batman: The Animated Series. I Could Try to summarize, in one-to four-sentence paragraphs, the impact of this series on my artistic and narrative sensibilities. It also inspired me to embark upon a lifetime journey through art, which would eventually lead me to writing about it.

But instead, I think I’ll just quote a paragraph from an essay I wrote last month for the show’s 30th anniversary:

My love and devotion to Batman: The Animated SeriesIt transcends the medium or character. The show didn’t just introduce me to the character of Batman, and it didn’t simply cement my love of animation; it opened my world to whole dimensions of art and expression and history I might never have pursued or known had I not encountered that series from an early age. In no uncertain terms, Timm and Radomski’s show is, however many degrees removed, responsible for setting me on the course to pursue a career writing about art and sharing that knowledge and passion with others. I’m a curation editor here at Polygon, which means my job is sifting through the ever-growing and shifting catalog of movies, television, comics, and games and spotlighting work I find particularly noteworthy, thought-provoking, and beautiful. If it wasn’t for Polygon, those qualities would not have come to me. I also wouldn’t think of writing about them. Batman: The Animated Series.

Batman: The Animated SeriesYou can stream it on HBO Max.

Beast Wars: Transformers

Alliance Communications

I was not yet born when the original Transformers cartoon series first aired on American television but, to paraphrase an old meme, “Born too late to watch TransformersI was born way too young to see space. But, my brain is just right to completely lose it over. Beast Wars.” Old-school Transformers fans will shake their heads and harrumph at the idea of the 1996 CG series being one’s introduction to the franchise, but to my 6-year-old self, I loved it all the same and couldn’t tell the difference.

The cartoon told the story of Optimus Primal and his crew of Maximal comrades who crash land on a mysterious planet — revealed to be prehistoric Earth — along with their mortal adversaries, the Predacons, led by Megatron. Beast Wars was one of my formative introductions to serialized storytelling and a series which, years later, even considering the dated visuals, still manages to hold up as a drama that’s as riveting as it is occasionally hilarious. —TE

Beast WarsYou can stream it on Tubi or Pluto TV.

Big Guy, Rusty The Boy Robot

Image: Dark Horse Entertainment, Columbia TriStar Television

Big Guy, Rusty The Boy RobotTo me, this cartoon represents the ideal Saturday morning cartoon. Based on Frank Miller and Geof Darrow’s 1995 comic book of the same name, the series follows the eponymous Rusty, a boy robot who resembles a cross between Astro Boy and Pinocchio, who is set to replace the BGY-11, a massive war robot built as a last-ditch defense against world-ending threats both terrestrial and extraterrestrial. Unbeknownst to most of the world, however, including Rusty, the Big Guy is not in fact a robot— it’s a heavily armed battle suit piloted by Lieutenant Dwayne Hunter, who works undercover as the Big Guy’s ostensible “repairman.”

A mashup of broad-shoulder superheroics and sci-fi kaiju action shot through with themes of aspirational futurism and coming-of-age drama, Big Guy and Rusty is the third most inspiring giant robot cartoon this side of Yasuhiro Imagawa’s Giant Robo and Brad Bird’s Iron Giant. In just two seasons Big Guy and Rusty travelled across Earth and to 200 years ago to find the truth. They also fought evildoers along the journey and formed a surrogate family.

Unfortunately, it is just like many cartoons from its time. Big Guy, Rusty The Boy RobotThe shocking finale caused the cancellation of the show, and it still captivates and puzzles me. It was a great show. Big Guy, Rusty, it’s the journey that matters more than the destination. Plus, it’s got an absolute banger of a opening theme song. —TE

Big Guy, Rusty The Boy RobotIt is streamable on YouTube

Danger Mouse

Image: Cosgrove Hall Films. Thames Television

Parodying James Bond — or, if you want to be specific, short-lived 1960s Bond knockoff TV series Danger Man — 1980s British cartoon Danger Mouse This story is about Penfold, a secret mouse agent who uses an eyepatch, a roll-neck sweater and white rolls to foil the evil plans of Baron Greenback. Humor that feels sophisticated and grown up is what kids love the most. Danger Mouse’s mix of slapstick, farce, gentle satire, and radical, fourth-wall-breaking wit hit this sweet spot with unerring aim. It even had the courage to mock its perfect hero, and the very idea of heroism — Danger Mouse’s essential cowardice is often what saves his skin. —Oli Welsh

Danger MouseIt is streaming on Netflix.

Danny Phantom

Image by Billionfold Inc. and Nickelodeon Animation Studio

I still rewatch the show’s finale on my tiny fifth-generation iPod Nano, which I’d spent iTunes money on to entertain myself during long bus rides to volleyball tournaments. There is nothing more attractive than a teenage drama with an occult streak or a cast I loved.

In case you’re not familiar with the plot: Young Danny Fenton (he was just 14) when his parents built a very strange machine, it was designed to view a world unseen. (He’s gonna catch ’em all cause he’s Danny Phantom.) When it didn’t quite work, his folks — they just quit. Danny looked inside. The flash of lightning was so powerful that everything changed. His molecules were rearranged. He woke up to find that he was glowing green with snow white hair. He was more special than any of the others because he could fly through walls and disappear. It was then that he knew what he had to do — he had to stop all the ghosts who were coming through. He’s here to fight for me and you. —NC

Danny PhantomParamount Plus allows you to watch it live.

The Fairly OddParents

Image: Frederator Studios, Nickelodeon Animation Studio

In the 2000s, Nickelodeon meant that you wished for fairy godparents such as Wanda and Cosmo. This jazzy intro tune! You have the power to do whatever you want (with some very strange unintended results). Finding out the matching pair of animals and inanimate objects that are your fairy godparents. Fun fact: Cosmo, Wanda and their 10,000 year marriage are both goals. Sure, they bicker — but show me a man I have to endure for 10,000 whole-ass years and I would not fare nearly as well. —NC

The Fairly OddParentsParamount Plus and Netflix are available for streaming.

Arnold,

Nickelodeon Animation Studio – Imag

Hearing “Hey Arnold” will always be synonymous with hearing “football head” — the insult of choice from titular Arnold’s bully Helga (who also happened to have a massive crush on him). To be fair, Arnold’s head is actually in the shape of a football. This show was very silly and always focused on friendship. There is an entire episode where Arnold and his BFF Gerald attempt to learn how to roll their R’s so they can look hot (relatable). My parents loved the episode because it taught them a lesson about being polite to elders, not lying about your homework and never riding a rollercoaster. —NC

Arnold!Paramount Plus or Hulu can stream it.

KaBlam!

Nickelodeon Animation Studio

KaBlam! never skyrocketed to the stratosphere like other Nicktoons in Nickelodeon’s premier Saturday-night block, Snick — probably because the series defied an elevator pitch that could take it any higher than the ground floor. This is something I understand. I’ve rewritten this damn blurb three times and I’m still failing to separate this bizarre contraption into its individual parts.

Essentially, Nickelodeon hired a collective of indie artists to create serialized animated shorts in a hodgepodge of styles, from 2D and stop-motion to puppetry and “Chuckimation.” There was a claymated slapstick comedy about an alien and a Neanderthal; a knockoff A-Team led by garage sale action figures; a hangout comedy from famed children’s author Mo Willems; and interstitials starring grunge kids Henry and June, presumably named after the first American film to receive an NC-17 rating, itself based on the diaries of Anaïs Nin.

Needless to state, there has never been and will continue not be anything like KaBlam!Television; YouTube is its nearest contemporary. The internet has revolutionized the world. KaBlam!It would have been a complete explosion. —Chris Plante

KaBlam!Paramount Plus allows you to watch it live.

Kim Possible

Image: Walt Disney Television Animation

All the junior high girls tried to use their phones as a way to have fun in the senior year. Kim Possible ringtone. Popular, fashionable, AndKim Possible is a very sporty person. Kim’s cheerleading background added credence for her gymnastic talents as a spy. It was also brave to give Ron Stoppable, her best friend, a name and made burrito-loving (and a mole rat pet as his pet) half of his personality. This show has been a constant comfort-watch. I binged it, in its entirety, in spring 2020 — along with my lockdown roomie — while we cried and ate Chicken McNuggets. There were many Shego emotions in my life (some things are never the same). —NC

Kim PossibleDisney Plus allows you to watch it live on-demand.

Mummies Alive!

Image by DIC Productions. Northern Lights Entertainment

This one-season wonder from 1997 sometimes feels like a hallucination — even my pals who mainlined every WB and Fox cartoon aren’t familiar with this syndicated attempt to funnel the Egypt-mania of the 1990s into a TMNT/GargoylesMold for a -type of action. Doing The MummyThis was two years earlier The Mummy, Mummies Alive!Scarab, an evil sorcerer who was trained in marital arts, returned to modern times to seize the spirit of Prince Rapses II. He is now Presley, an American twerp. Luckily, Rapses’ marital arts-trained guards also return from the dead to protect the boy, and “WITH THE STRENGTH OF RA!!!” kick Scarab’s ass each week.

It was a surprise to me that I didn’t know what it meant, however Mummies Alive!This was the latest creation of high-stakes, kid-friendly genius at the X-Men: The Animated SeriesAuthors Eric Lewald, Mark Edens and Julia Lewald. It makes sense: Mummies Alive!While the action took place (every toyetic mugger bodyguard had its sweet vehicle and protective body armor), the stories mattered. The undead crew navigated San Francisco in an animated fashion, bringing together friendship, fear, humor, and a sense for geography. Maybe it was too weird for a ripped-from-comics late-’90s lineup, but today it would make anyone gaga for Avatar for The Last AirbenderCombat choreography is a fable. —Matt Patches

Mummies Alive! Is streaming via CONtv on Amazon Prime Video

Pinky and the Brain

Warner Bros. Animation

“Television! Teacher, mother, secret lover.”

That’s a Homer Simpson quote, but I wasn’t allowed to watch The Simpsons as a child in the ’90s; instead, I had the programming block known as Kids’ WB. Which was good, because I definitely didn’t have any friends at the time. While most other classmates were hanging out at their buddies’ houses, washing down PB&J sandwiches with some Capri Sun, I headed straight home after I got out of school at 3 to hang out with my cartoon pals instead. They included the Warner sisters and the Warner brothers, but the thing I loved more than the animated maniacs was the genetically modified laboratory mice that debuted on the series as regular characters: Pinky, the Brain, and Acme Labs’s airheaded Acme Labs-comrade, Pinky.

Back then, I mostly just loved their goofy catchphrases — “Are you pondering what I’m pondering, Pinky?” — and their mouse-brained schemes, like the Brain’s repeated attempts to control humanity through subliminal messages. However, my appreciation of them grew over time. Pinky and the BrainAnd AnimaniacsIt was then that I realized how jam-packed they were with parodies and references. First off, the shows became even funnier and more interesting when I learned, say, who Orson Welles and Vincent Price were (Maurice LaMarche, the actor behind the Brain, has described his voice for the character as “65% Orson Welles, 35% Vincent Price”). But more to the point, it was incredibly important that I, as a sheltered child of immigrants, could get a crash course in 20th-century American pop culture from some children’s cartoons. Who knows if I would’ve made it on to Jeopardy!They are not necessary. —Samit Sarkar

Pinky and the BrainHulu streams it.

Pokémon

Image: OLM/The Pokémon Company International

My brothers and me first entered the original in 1994. Pokémon series, our parents didn’t want us watching it because they thought it promoted animal violence. We had to covertly watch it.

What we would do is ask to go to grandma and grandpa’s house on the weekends, and then lie to our grandparents about being able to watch it. I don’t actually remember the precise timing of when the episodes aired, but I do remember watching it in the evenings as I drank strawberry milk before bedtime. —Ana Diaz

PokémonIt is streaming on Netflix.

Powerpuff Girls

Image: Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Cartoon Network Studios

You can have sugar, spice and all things nice. Powerpuff GirlsThis dynamic really clarified the redhead/redhead combo of blonde, brunette and redhead. Instead of being a cartoon’s only girl, you could be one of three types of girls: sassy and sporty, a nurturing leader, or cute and forgetful. No matter which, you could still have the superpowers to defend a city — if you managed to sneak out after dark. Critically, Powerpuff GirlsIt contained just the right amount gross stuff. I mean, you could see Mojo Jojo’s exposed brain in his clear helmet. This was the golden age. Courage the Cowardly DogThis was a series I attempted to see but couldn’t because of the horrifying scenes that made me gag. —NC

Powerpuff Girls You can stream it on HBO Max.

Proud Family

Image: Walt Disney Television Animation/Disney Media Distribution

Proud Family It was often on rotation as one of my favourite family-comedy cartoons as a child. I related to Penny — and obviously hated her frenemy LaCienega, with her enormous flipper feet (in hindsight, that was mean of me) — and was obsessed with her grandma Suga Mama. I still remember watching reruns of “Romeo Must Wed” where Penny plays Juliet in the school play, and “rehearses” a smooch with Kwok (voiced by Dante Basco). —NC

Proud Family You can stream it on Disney Plus.

Rocket Power

Image: Klasky Csupo, Nickelodeon Animation Studio

As someone who grew up in Los Angeles’ suburbs, it was natural that I believed these Venice Beach kids whose parents would let them play XTreme Sport were the best. I imagined a world where I’d do what they did, and they’d be my friend. How would you deal with the fact that I’m called Squid. It would be manageable. I would manage.) We could play street hockey, bike down hills, and surf huge waves. Reggie and me would become best friends, evidently. Ich recollect an episode in which Otto turned 11 years old and I was thinking. This is it So old. —NC

Rocket PowerParamount Plus allows you to watch it live.

Scooby-Doo!

Image: Hanna-Barbera Productions

It was a great time to wake up with Scoob, my brother, and watch them solve crazy mysteries. They are truly legendary, and the Harlem Globetrotters episodes stand out for me. The Mystery Gang has been a major influence on my appreciation of television and movies. Velma deserves a shoutout. finally being comfortable with her true self. You go, Velma. —Pete Volk

Scooby-Doo!You can stream it on HBO Max.

Spider-Man

Image: Marvel Studios, Tokyo Movie Shinsha

I can’t think of anything that got me up from my bed or back to school faster than new episodes. Spider-ManTo watch. The hit ’90s animated series, along with its predecessor, X-MenFor a comics enthusiast,, was weapon-grade catnip. There was the bitchin’ theme song (I did all the moves), iconic reinterpretations of classic Spidey villains, a host of guest characters (they even did a Secret Wars crossover), and yeah, I asked for the toys every Christmas (and even got a couple). As an adult, I marvel (sorry) at the show’s creative successes given the way that showrunner John Semper Jr. was frequently hamstrung, either by censors — which is why everyone, cops included, had ridiculous laser guns — failed movie plans keeping certain characters and stories off-limits, or the simple fact that season-long story arcs would never be aired in order given how broadcast networks aired children’s programming. It’s a miracle the show stands up to any scrutiny, and it’s a big part of why I love comics today. —Joshua Rivera

Spider-ManDisney Plus allows you to watch it live on-demand.

SpongeBob SquarePants

Nickelodeon Animation Studio

It is not necessary to introduce one of Nickelodeon’s most beloved and beloved cartoons. Instead I’ll just point out that I still know all the lyrics to nearly every famous song out of that series — and I was not even a dedicated viewer. The episodes were just broadcast. Thank you frequently. Sometimes when I am walking home after ordering pizza from a local spot I will start singing “The Krusty KrraAAAaaAAAAbb-AAaaaab is the peeeeeza (yeeahh) for you and meeeEEEEE” while waving the box around. —NC

SpongeBob SquarePantsParamount Plus allows you to watch it live.

Teen Titans

Warner Bros. Animation

It is the minute that Teen TitansThe theme was on and I buckled up for an adventure where my found family of teenagers kicked the butt of many recurring villains that were hard to remember. Cyborg and Beast Boy were always my favorite characters. I even stopped listening to episodes about Starfire and Robin. Robin was always the one who made it difficult. You can just let Beast Boy, Cyborg and other characters play video games. Why weren’t any of them real people so I could smooch them? Haha… just kidding. Or? Season 1’s “Nevermore” was a favorite, since it featured so many versions of Raven. I was in my Warped Tour era — what can I say? —NC

Teen TitansYou can stream it on HBO Max.

Tick

Image: Sunbow Entertainment, Graz Entertainment/Disney Platform Distribution

Before superhero parodies were cool, Tick The comic’s raucous portrayal of airheaded heroes made it a big hit. Ben Edlund was responsible for the creation of the comic-book hero character. It was a Saturday-morning cartoon my father enjoyed as much as I, if not more, because of its humor and appeal to all age groups.

It is filled with a bizarre cast of fantastically named characters, including Barry Hubris and Eyebrows Mulligan. Tick Several live-action versions of the story were made, including the excellent 2016 revival on Prime Video. This intro is jazzy and will tell you everything you need. Spoon!!! —PV

TickHulu streams it.

Totally Spies

Image by Image Entertainment, Marathon Media

I spent many summer days with my cousin where we’d plonked in front of the TV to watch Teen TitansFollowed immediately by Totally Spies — our favorite shows, which always had back-to-back episodes. The series mixes fun genres — teen girl movies, James Bond-esque spy procedurals, along with a clear anime influence — to create one of the most popular girl-led action cartoons of the early 2000s. I loved the cool gadgets (rings and hair sprays, sneakers) It was a joy to work with them. Sailor MoonAnd Powerpuff GirlsAnd so, of course, I loved it. Totally Spies. —NC

Totally SpiesPrime Video is available for streaming.

Ulysses 31

Image: DIC Audiovisuel. TMS Entertainment

The French were more into anime than the rest. There was a handful of legendary collaborations between Japanese and French studios in the 1980s. Ulysses, a space captain, is subject to the fury of immortal gods after he saves Telemachus and other children from Cyclops, the frightening techno-giant Cyclops. Zeus then puts the crew to bed and sends them off to search for the kingdom of Hades.

To a British kid at the time, the show’s foreignness combined with its mythic dimension made it seem mysterious and important, over and above its cool Star Wars stylings and banging theme tune. (Ulysses 31 was one of the inspirations for Daft Punk’s DiscoveryMusic videos and related film Interstella 5555.) —OW

Ulysses 31It is streamable on YouTube

Evolution: X-Men

Image: Film Roman, Marvel Studios

X-Men Evolution’s premise sounds like fanfiction, and that should be taken as a compliment, because it works. In this show, all of the X-Men are teenagers attending a public high school where they must keep their mutant powers under wraps; they’re only allowed to be out of the mutant closet when they go back home, to Xavier’s boarding house.

Since everyone is sixteen years old, the show focuses much more on character and melodramatic love relationships than the political oppression and systemic oppression faced by the X-Men. X-Men, The Animated Series(and in the comics). As a consequence, X-Men EvolutionThis is a slower-moving story that allows each of the young mutants to shine. —Maddy Myers

Evolution: X-MenDisney Plus allows you to watch it live on-demand.

X-Men

Public opinion on cops in the United States has changed a lot in recent years, and stories about superheroes have faced similar scrutiny, since they’re often framed as superpowered police (or they work with the cops directly). It may surprise you to learn, then, that the X-Men animated show from the ’90s is one of the most “fuck the police” television shows ever produced, while also being a superhero TV show geared toward children.

The X-Men, instead of cooperating with police officers, are subjugated by the government. This makes cops the greatest enemy. Another common enemy is? Another common enemy is bigoted hate groups that seek to eliminate mutants. They are treated as an oppressed minority. Nothing is more thrilling than seeing Rogue fight a neo Nazi while Storm unleashes her lightning powers against a group of cops. Despite a few sloppy episodes and skipping, the X-Men cartoon was able to successfully navigate the awkwardness that mutants can be used as a metaphor of various oppressed minority (most often queer people). The result is absolutely still worth a watch – especially given that the show is set to return for another two seasons on Disney Plus in fall 2023. —MM

X-Men You can stream it on Disney Plus.