Ahh beautiful cartoons…
I don’t know much, I think that much has been established by now, but one thing I do know is cartoons. As eating Coco Pops and watching animation were pretty much my only hobbies throughout my twenties, I have spent a lot of time slumped in a chair watching colourful shapes try to break free from the shackles imposed on them by the sheer genius of The Simpsons.
Picking a top ten is tough so lets apply some ground rules. I am discounting any cartoons that are solely for children. So excellent cartoons like Animaniacs, Pink Panther and Transformers are out. Children’s cartoons are a whole different genre deserving of their own article. I am also discounting anything that didn’t come out vaguely within my own lifetime so no Loony Tunes. Lastly, I haven’t seen the goddamn animated Batman series that everyone goes mad for so don’t blow up my comments talking shit about it and keep Batman’s name out of your mouths. For once.
OK! Let’s go…
10. Family Guy (1998-)
Number of episodes: 309
Perversely, Family Guy would probably be higher up this list if it had finished around ten years ago. While, in it’s prime, it was one of the most consistently funny animated series on television, it lacks any kind of emotional punch and also is sometimes just plain nasty for the sake of cheap laughs.
Having said that, only South Park and the The Simpsons have introduced so many characters from one show into the public consciousness and many of these characters have had a profound effect on popular culture. Also Carter Pewterschmidt is a wonderful, wonderful thing.
9. Beavis and Butt-Head (1993-2011)
Number of episodes: 222
This is a weird one for me as SKY TV was such a luxury when I was a kid that I only managed to catch the occasional episode of Beavis and Butthead when I was round at my rich friends house. More than anything though, this tale of two slacker teenagers is an important cartoon. It launched the career of Mike Judge who would go on to produce such wonderful and varied work as King of the Hill, Office Space and Silicon Valley. This seminal ’90s cartoon was also influential in introducing a shit load of alternative music to an audience that otherwise wouldn’t have heard it.
As a side note, Beavis and Butthead Do America is one of the greatest animated films ever made.
8. Bojack Horseman (2014-)
Number of episodes: 49
A relative newcomer on this list, Bojack Horseman started life as an interesting curio before evolving into one of the most nuanced and thoughtful shows on television – animated or otherwise.
The ingenious set up sees washed up sitcom star Bojack Horseman attempting to traverse the cut throat world of post TV malaise, normally with a drink in his hand. Now entering it’s fifth season, Bojack Horseman has mined some surprising emotional depths while still being laugh-out-loud funny, mainly due to the efforts of it’s star, Will Arnett.
7. Aqua Teen Hunger Force (2000-2015)
Number of episodes: 139
Quite simply one of the weirdest cartoons ever produced. Aqua Teen Hunger Force was one of the many fantastic animated series to come from the Adult Swim network and it is also one of the most successful.
Meatwad, Frylock and Master Shakes are respectively a naive meatball, an authoritative cup of fries and an obnoxious milkshake who live in a terrifying and grotesque alternative universe. The genius of Aqua Teen Hunger Force comes in the form of the long suffering Carl, the relatively normal, and definitely human, slob who lives next door to the aforementioned talking snacks. Viewed through the skewed lens of Carl, the gang’s antics are made even more harrowing and hilarious. Not for the faint hearted.
6. Adventure Time (2010-2018)
Number of episodes: 279
This one is testing the limits of the very rules that I, myself, created. Is Adventure Time a cartoon just for children? I would argue not. The fact that the storylines are serialised rather than self contained and also the sheer maturity and complexity of the characterisation ensures that Adventure Time could and should be enjoyed by people of all ages.
Having said that, after nearly 300 episodes Adventure Time is starting to lose it’s sparkle but when the series raps up with four special episodes in September, the world will be a slightly less magical place.
5. Futurama (1999-2013)
Number of episodes: 140
Matt Groening’s second most famous animated series burned so brightly for around three seasons before collapsing under the weight of it’s own conceptual meandering. Those early seasons were focused, clever and quite unlike anything else that had come before. The chemistry between Bender and Fry is still unrivalled in the world of cartoons but when it was bad, it was really bad.
Futurama went on way, way longer than it should have done. Remember the good times.
4. Bob’s Burgers (2011-)
Number of episodes: 150
I’m calling it now. Bob’s Burgers is the most underrated cartoon ever released. Featuring the voice talents of H. Jon Benjamin (who also voices the eponymous superspy Sterling Archer in Archer), Bob’s Burgers is the show that you wish The Simpsons still was. Hilarious, beautifully animated and packed full of heart, Loren Bouchard’s creation is about as good as animated television can be. If you haven’t already seen it, treat yourself.
3. South Park (1997-)
Number of episodes: 287
South Park changed everything when it crashed onto our screens at the tail end of the ’90s. Trey Parker and Matt Stone broke every rule in the book with their choppy animation and foul mouthed rhetoric and, in doing so, they influenced everything from Family Guy to Archer to F is for Family.
At one point, South Park wasn’t just the king of animated series, it was probably the best show on television, it’s sartorial genius as powerful as it was unparalleled. Unfortunately, the recent switch to serialised storytelling has seriously harmed South Park’s impact but when on form, it is still the funniest cartoon out there.
2. Rick and Morty (2013-)
Number of episodes: 31
Community creator Dan Harmon has produced another pop culture behemoth in the shape of genre bending sci-fi extravaganza Rick and Morty. Easily the darkest show on television, Rick and Morty has captured the imagination of TV watchers everywhere on a scale not seen since the aforementioned South Park.
Harmon and co-creator Justin Roiland speak freely about attempting to identify and subvert genre conventions and it is this attention to detail that has made Rick and Morty so hugely successful. It could all go wrong in season four, but, right now, Harmon and Roiland have created something that will be seen as another revolutionary step in the journey of animated television.
1. The Simpsons (1989-)
Number of episodes: 639
The Simpsons never ending decline has been a running joke for at least as long as the show has been floundering, but after well over 600 episodes it is difficult to be too critical. The very best shows incite passionate discussion around favourite episodes, favourite seasons, favourite characters. To be able to actually recall individual episodes is rare with such a throwaway medium as television but The Simpsons has episodes that deserve to be mentioned above most films in terms of quality and achievement.
The Springfield Files, Mr Plow, Marge vs the Monorail etc etc, the list of unforgettable episodes is almost endless and, despite diminishing returns, the Treehouse of Horror entries are still an event in the Johnson household. The Simpsons has been a part of my life since I was old enough to watch television. It may be much derided now, but we will miss it when it is gone.
And so… it’s over. More than usual, I found this top ten incredibly difficult to compile and having to exclude shows such as Robot Chicken and Archer broke my heart. God, I love cartoons…
That’s all folks!
Honourable Mentions:
Robot Chicken
Archer
King of the Hill
Big Mouth
F is for Family
The Boondocks
Ren & Stimpy
Spongebob Squarepants
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Drawn Together
God, the Devil and Bob