10 Nostalgic Cartoons from the 90's.

TVNZ, Murica and Milk & Cookies...

Cartoons. Oh the comfort! Every morning with a bowl of cereal or plate of toast, kids across New Zealand knew that they could sit down in front of their television and all of life's troubles would simply evaporate into thin air. Even the ads were amazing; new LEGO, Super soakers, the latest RC car, Barbie - it didn't matter, cartoons were often a child's special time and lucky ol' 90's kids really got the best of the best.

In NZ, shows always arrived a lot later than when they first screened in the US so when we say '90's' we're talking later than Heman, Thundercats and Jem & The Holograms but earlier than Johnny Bravo, Recess and Hey Arnold. Enjoy! DISCLAIMER: Some kids grew up without TV and watching cartoons is not necessarily the most healthy thing children could be doing.

1. Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990)

Magic rings, saving the world from pollution and corporate greed and an outro song Freddy Mercury could just about be proud of!! Captain Planet was an institution that will live on in the hearts of 90's kids forever.

"We're the Planeteers, you can be one too, coz saving our planet is the thing to do. Looting and polluting are not the way, here's what Captain Planet has to say: "The Power is Yours!"

2. Samurai Pizza Cats (1991) 

Basically this show represents an analogue internet. Ninjas. Pizza. Cats. Literally launching from their base out of a giant cannon was amazing and what a treat it was whenever they had to call for reinforcements.

3. James Bond Jr. (1991)

There were two stand out features in this show. Firstly, the watch. Bond's watch could get him out of more situations than Macgyver could shake a roll of duct tape at. Secondly, he always 'got the girl', in a cartoon kind of way. 90's brilliance.

4. Doug (1991)

Doug. What a guy. What a delightfully average, run-of-the-mill guy. Even the school bully was cooler than Doug but we loved him anyway. Boy oh boy did we love him, I'm not sure why, but we did.

5. The Adventures of Tin Tin (1991)

Adventure and mystery epitomized (as far as cartoons go). The team behind this production really cared about making a great show. There was such a strong sense of atmosphere and intensity to each episode which always made for one hell of an emotionally fueled prepubescent trip.

6. Conan the Adventurer (1992)

Magic metal sourced from meteors used to forge tools and weapons for the race of man later became a vital tool to slay the evil Serpent Men who sought to free their Deity from the Abyss. Fantasy cartoons were rare during this era and it's fair to assume fans of this show became avid Dungeons & Dragons players.

7. Batman (1992)

Genuinely dark and gritty this series did a phenomenal job at truly capturing the tortured essence of Bruce Wayne and his shadowy alter ego. Gotham City felt like a big, menacing, hopeless place to be without the vengeful presence of our troubled hero.

8. Animaniacs (1993)

This show above all else was just plain funny. Like, it was REALLY funny as a kid. In fact, on reflection, Steve Spielberg was a bit ahead of his time. It's a crying shame that kids these days don't have TV shows like this to watch. Oh the laughs.

9. Rugrats (1991)

This show always had a bizarre appeal, so much so it's hard to wrap one's head around. It was fun but somewhat melancholic. Perhaps it was the confinement and desperation to escape which tapped into the concept of rebellion and adventure... There is however an interesting theory about Rugrats in which all the children are figments of Angelicas imagination. It's dark, harrowing and although it's been "proven false" a fun idea non the less. Check out the conspiracy here.

10. Gargoyles (1994)

This cartoon dabbled with gothic, steam punk, sci fi and contemporary themes in what was actually a very well rounded and exciting story line. Character development was a strong aspect of this show too and viewers who lasted more than a couple of episodes likely turned into emotionally invested lifetime fans.

10. Conclusion

Well wasn't that a fun trip down memory lane. I bet we missed out lots of your favorite cartoons but that's okay because you can comment below or on Facebook.

Lots of love

The NZ Best Team.