Talk about second-hand embarrassment! Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’re counting down our picks for the animated series that began airing in the 90s with the worst combination of characters, writing, and overall production values.
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00:00Man, that really stinks.
00:02It does not!
00:03Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the animated series that
00:08began airing in the 90s with the worst combination of characters,
00:12writing, and overall production values.
00:14Did not.
00:15Did too.
00:16Did not.
00:17Did too.
00:19Number 20.
00:20Family Dog.
00:21Family Dog began as a well-received short from Brad Bird, who later directed animated
00:27classics like The Iron Giant and The Incredibles on the anthology series Amazing Stories.
00:33The show itself came years later, and it was, well, a dog.
00:37I hate Sundays.
00:40I don't know why I bother, I really don't.
00:42It follows a suburban family and their titular canine, Jonah, as they get into various shenanigans.
00:48But the family is deeply unlikable and needlessly cruel to each other and their dog,
00:54making for an animated sitcom that's more depressing than funny.
00:57Skip, walk the dog.
00:59Okay, okay, god forbid I should have a moment's peace to read my paper.
01:03CBS clearly didn't have much faith in it,
01:05airing it during the typically dead summer months and canceling it after only 10 episodes.
01:13Oh my god, what happened?
01:15Number 19.
01:16Yo Yogi.
01:17Did you ever wonder what Yogi Bear would be like as a teenager and or a crime fighter?
01:22No, you probably didn't.
01:24Next time, Cindy, let me do the figuring.
01:26But somehow that didn't stop this ill-conceived update from getting the green light.
01:31This show depicts the famous ursine picnic basket thief as a young detective,
01:36alongside other famous faces from the world of Hanna-Barbera.
01:39Now that's what I call bad table manners.
01:43From the theme song alone, the attempt to pander to youth culture is so blatant,
01:48it might as well be asking, how do you do, fellow kids?
01:51Audiences said no to Yo Yogi, and really, can you blame them?
01:59Number 18.
02:00Stressed Eric.
02:01It's one thing to have a protagonist on an animated sitcom have times of difficulty
02:06and overwhelm, but when it's their default mode, it's just not enjoyable.
02:10Just remember, you've got to be calm today for Brian's sake.
02:14It's his day.
02:15That's the case of Stressed Eric,
02:17about a frazzled middle-class London father trying and failing to keep it together.
02:22Though the show does manage to convey how anxiety manifests,
02:25watching more than a few minutes can feel suffocating without any greater purpose.
02:30Alison told me you were at your mother's funeral.
02:33Oh, oh, oh, yeah, yeah, yes, uh, right, uh, the funeral.
02:37And the titular Eric isn't the kind of lovable loser that makes us want to root for him.
02:42It's a feel-bad show that may appeal to very specific tastes,
02:46but which just leaves us feeling empty.
02:52Number 17.
02:54The Adventures of Super Mario Brothers 3.
02:57Super Mario Brothers 3 is considered to be one of the best video games of all time.
03:02This TV adaptation, loosely inspired by the aforementioned game,
03:06isn't considered to be one of the best anythings of all time.
03:09Let go!
03:11I'll catch ya!
03:12Nice catch, Mario!
03:14Its predecessor, the Super Mario Brothers Super Show, was no masterpiece,
03:18and this one is even worse.
03:20Though it takes cues from the game, such as power-ups,
03:23that's not enough to make up for the shoddy animation,
03:25irritating characters, and overall lack of creative spark.
03:29I'm the king here!
03:30I'll decide what land we're gonna take over!
03:33You're not taking over any land, you Bowser Koopa!
03:36What?!
03:38Mostly, it feels like a reminder of all the better things you could be doing with your time.
03:43Like, for instance, just playing the actual game.
03:45Insist it was all my fault, brother!
03:48Well, I insist it was all mine, brother!
03:51Number 16.
03:53The Brothers Flub.
03:541999 saw the premiere of Futurama,
03:57an animated sitcom about a delivery crew exploring strange planets
04:01that soon became a beloved cult classic.
04:03It also saw the premiere of The Brothers Flub,
04:06which has a markedly similar premise, with much worse execution.
04:10Come on, everybody dreads laundry day, especially bad guys.
04:14I see your point, but don't you think it's kind of icky to run around wearing dirty clothes?
04:19Following a pair of alien brothers and couriers as they travel through the universe,
04:24it's the rare 90s Nickelodeon cartoon that seems to have inspired no nostalgia in anyone,
04:29except maybe memories of changing the channel minutes into an episode.
04:33Did you hear something?
04:34Nothing out of the ordinary.
04:36Crass, loud, and generally unpleasant,
04:39The Brothers Flub could have just as easily been called The Brothers Flop.
04:43Party's over!
04:45Get back to work!
04:46Number 15.
04:48Wishkid.
04:48You can probably make an educated guess about who voices the titular Wishkid,
04:53Nick McClary, just by looking at him.
04:56Just a minute!
04:58I can be a real pilot!
05:01The success of Home Alone led to an attempt at making Macaulay Culkin
05:04into a star in animated form as well, and it didn't exactly work out.
05:08I wish I was principle.
05:09I wish I was principle.
05:11I wish I was principle.
05:14The premise is that Nick has a magical baseball glove that can grant wishes,
05:19once a week, which predictably backfire.
05:21The repetitive plotlines aren't helped by Culkin's clear lack of experience with voice acting.
05:26A friend?
05:27Frankie, I just had to buy you a little something that reminded me of you.
05:31A decade later, the Fairly OddParents took a similar premise to much better results.
05:36Number 14.
05:37Little Shop.
05:38Don't get us wrong, we absolutely love Little Shop of Horrors,
05:41both the original B-movie and the musical adaptation,
05:44but it wouldn't be our first choice for an animated adaptation.
05:48But who are you?
05:49Where are you from?
05:50How did you-
05:51Would you butt out with the questions?
05:53I'm trying to be dormant here!
05:55Little Shop takes the deliriously sinister premise of a people-eating Venus flytrap
06:00and tones it down considerably.
06:02Now, Junior is a companion to the young nerdy Seymour,
06:06and though he has some powers,
06:08he's much less carnivorous than he is in the live-action adaptations.
06:11Don't just sit there like a piece of moss.
06:14Let's go to the grocery store.
06:16We know that compromises need to be made with adapting things for kids,
06:20but Little Shop just feels like a generic cartoon.
06:22Rather than the gleefully twisted horror comedy that inspired it.
06:26Sounds pretty sappy to me.
06:28Number 13.
06:29Pro Stars.
06:31Some athletes excel in their chosen sports so much,
06:33they're likened to superheroes.
06:35Then gentlemen, there's only one thing to do.
06:38It's game time!
06:40So it's easy to understand where the idea for a show depicting sports legends Michael Jordan,
06:44Wayne Gretzky, and Bo Jackson as a crime-fighting team,
06:48helping kids to be their best.
06:50Though it has some good intentions,
06:52it's hard to miss how much it's true to cash in on the fame of its real-life counterpoints.
06:56Though Jordan himself rarely showed up for live-action segments.
07:00Call it a swing and a miss, a fumble or an air ball.
07:03Either way, it's just not good.
07:05Don't worry, Mom.
07:06Uh, Wayne can explain everything!
07:08Me?
07:09Yeah, he can.
07:10He's the one who taught me how to play baseball.
07:13He's the one who taught me how to play baseball.
07:15He's the one who taught me how to play baseball.
07:17Wayne can explain everything!
07:19Me?
07:20Me?!
07:21Number 12.
07:22Pinky, Elmira, and the Brain.
07:24Though many have fond memories of watching Tiny Toon Adventures and Pinky and the Brain,
07:29the nostalgia is not the same for this crossover.
07:32Are we going to take over the world before or after a bathy-wathy?
07:37Trat!
07:39Bathy-wathy for the little mousies and their poopy smeh.
07:43Combining the worlds of hyperactive Elmira Duff and the former lab mice,
07:48this show came from meddling studio executives trying to make the latter series more of a sitcom.
07:54The creators didn't hide their frustration with the situation,
07:57even referencing it in the theme song.
07:59It's what the network wants, why bother to complain?
08:03The voice acting and animation are still on point,
08:06but why waste so much time and talent fixing something that was perfectly good as it was?
08:12It's what the network wants, why bother to complain?
08:16The earth remains a goal, some things they can't control.
08:20They're Pinky, Elmira, and the Brain.
08:23I deeply resent this.
08:25Number 11.
08:26Caillou.
08:27Caillou didn't dominate the 90s like he did the 2000s,
08:30but he was introduced in 1997 and many wished they had never gotten to know him.
08:35Mommy! Mommy!
08:37Based on a series of children's books, it's about the titular four-year-old boy
08:42as he makes his way through the world.
08:43That's a fine premise in theory,
08:45but what bothers so many about this is how the titular character will act
08:49immaturely without being corrected.
08:51I don't want to be late for the circus.
08:54The circus?
08:55Oh no Caillou, that's not today.
08:57The circus isn't till tomorrow.
09:00No! No, it's today!
09:03I got all dressed!
09:06It's today!
09:07This is not ideal for a show watched by impressionable children,
09:11and over the years, a strong backlash against Caillou has formed.
09:15While he's not always insufferable, it doesn't make up for the times when he is.
09:20Caillou, why did you do that to Rosie?
09:23I don't like Rosie!
09:24Number 10.
09:25The Wacky World of Tex Avery.
09:27In what was meant to be a heartfelt tribute to the man behind numerous Looney Tunes,
09:31the ill-fated anthology series The Wacky World of Tex Avery
09:35instead turned out to be an awful Animaniacs-inspired travesty.
09:44Although featuring some of animation's best voice actors,
09:47such as Billy West, Maurice LaMarche, and Cree Summer,
09:50the show contained none of the iconic Looney Tunes characters Tex Avery turned into cultural icons,
09:56and focused on a lackluster and downright insulting
09:59caricature of the legendary animator himself.
10:01I have just invented the dinosaur trap!
10:05I love it, I love it!
10:07Airing for 65 episodes between 1997 and 1998, a full 17 years after Avery's death,
10:14we're just happy he wasn't around to witness it.
10:17Don't mention it!
10:19Number 9.
10:20The Mask Animated Series.
10:22Cashing in on Jim Carrey's successful turn as the green-faced anti-hero,
10:26The Mask Animated Series proved to be an inferior continuation of the 1994 box office smash.
10:31That's a spicy meatball!
10:37Following more along the lines of the gritty comic books that the film was based on,
10:41the absence of Carrey voicing the titular character left much to be desired.
10:45Not gonna find a rat in this cup, I called it!
10:47Smoky!
10:50The animated series saw the clumsy Stanley Ipkiss take on a bevy of villains
10:55intent on taking over Edge City,
10:57including the Jason Voorhees-like Walter from the comics.
11:00Featuring the voice talents of Frank Welker, Jim Cummings, and Rob Paulson,
11:04the series ran for three seasons.
11:06Super-powered mutants are destroying the city!
11:08It wasn't anything special, but at least it was better than Son of the Mask.
11:14Number 8.
11:15Fish Police.
11:16While the 80s may have pioneered the genre of anthropomorphic creatures
11:20in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Duck Tales,
11:22the 1990s tried their best to up the ante, to a greater or lesser degree.
11:27I said Inspector Gill, not inspect her gills.
11:30I'm a cop who's a cop.
11:32Case in point, the hilariously absurd Fish Police.
11:35Running for only one season in 1992, and consisting of six episodes,
11:39Fish Police pulled out some big guns, literally,
11:42with depictions of street violence, mature themes, and a noir-inspired storyline.
11:47You're the one who pulled the trigger, my dear.
11:49My tentacles are clean.
11:51The show also featured some heavy talent with John Ritter and Tim Curry providing voice work.
11:56Needless to say, the show was eventually buried by CBS,
11:59but still received a small cult following.
12:01Don't you know caffeine is bad for your health?
12:06Damn, I hate risking my life for an unevolved species.
12:09Number 7.
12:10Ace Ventura Pet Detective.
12:12By 1994, the likeness of Jim Carrey could not be escaped,
12:16especially after the smash hit Ace Ventura Pet Detective.
12:20Go in there.
12:21Woo!
12:22Sure enough, the marketing execs planned an entire animated series
12:26surrounding the over-the-top privatized Further Adventures.
12:29Spike, pack your down underwear.
12:32The lack of Jim Carrey, much like The Mask,
12:34proved to be a source of disappointment in the series' embarrassing three-season run,
12:38even seeing an unwanted crossover episode with The Mask in 1997.
12:42Somebody stop us!
12:46With humor more akin to the Ace Ventura sequel When Nature Calls,
12:49the animated counterpart just didn't live up to the hype of the original film.
12:53Alrighty then.
12:55Number 6.
12:56Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.
12:58There are some movies that just shouldn't even be considered for children's entertainment.
13:05A prime suspect in this case would be the abysmal and unnecessary cartoon adaptation
13:10of the ridiculous sequel to the 1970s cult B-movie, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes,
13:15that aired on Fox Kids between 1990 and 1991.
13:18Taking place five years after the Great Tomato War of the first film,
13:22the animated series followed the exploits of Dr. Putrid T. Gangrene
13:26in his attempts to take over the world with homicidal tomatoes.
13:29But I, using just six milk bottles and a tuning fork,
13:33have discovered how to drive tomatoes into a frenzy!
13:36As much as it had the makings of a wacky series,
13:39Attack of the Killer Tomatoes only managed to fall flat after 21 episodes.
13:43Wow!
13:45Major gross-out.
13:46Number 5.
13:47Hammer Man.
13:48In the early 90s, M.C. Hammer could be seen virtually anywhere.
13:51Isn't that sure looks like it?
13:55That's a UKFC honey barbecue chicken.
13:59It was only a matter of time before he got his own animated TV series.
14:02Airing for only 13 episodes in the fall of 1991,
14:06Hammer Man had the unique distinction of actually having the iconic rapper star in the show,
14:10well, the live-action parts at least,
14:12with vocal duties being taken over by actor-screenwriter Clark Johnson.
14:16Later of the Wire and Homicide Life on the Street fame.
14:22Hammer Man proved to be a ridiculous cash-in-attempt on Hammer's fame
14:26with the titular superhero, along with the help of his living shoes,
14:29tackling various social issues in the fictional Oak Town.
14:36Number 4.
14:37Mega Babies.
14:38With almost universally bad reviews, the gross-out humor of Mega Babies was definitely
14:46not the best choice Columbia, TriStar, and eventually Sony Entertainment
14:51banked on for success in the wake of Rugrats.
14:53Set in the uninspired Your City, USA, Mega Babies follows three super-powered infants
14:58who fend off giant robots and invading forces in disgustingly imaginative ways.
15:04Featuring plenty of disgusting jokes surrounding feces, snot, and other bodily fluids,
15:09Mega Babies sure did redefine the use of the term gag.
15:17However, that didn't stop the creators from giving us 52 mucus-filled episodes
15:22over two seasons in the late 90s.
15:25Number 3.
15:25Dumb and Dumber.
15:26Jim Carrey again?
15:28Once again cashing in on the comedian's jarring fame,
15:31Hanna-Barbera's unfortunate animated take on the misadventures of Harry Dunn and
15:34Lloyd Christmas proved to be an understandable failure.
15:42Although future Spongebob Squarepants stars Bill Fletcher,
15:45Jim Carrey and Harry Dunn are still the most popular characters on the show.
15:49Nah, I don't know how to read music.
15:51Although future Spongebob Squarepants stars Bill Figerbock and Tom Kenny
15:55provided voice work on the Dumb and Dumber animated series,
15:58the child-friendly approach to the show clashed with the source material's adult-oriented toilet humor.
16:03We're just glad they never animated the movie's famed diarrhea scene for a child audience.
16:13Needless to say, 13 episodes was all we got.
16:15And didn't need.
16:19Number 2.
16:20New Kids on the Block.
16:28Easily one of the hottest groups around in the late 80s,
16:30the New Kids on the Block ushered in the 90s with a forgettable cartoon series.
16:42Much like Hammer Man,
16:43the New Kids on the Block show only featured the famous boy band in live action sequences.
16:48Handing off the voice work to other actors for the animated portions.
16:57After a lackluster 15-episode season in 1990,
17:00ABC didn't renew New Kids on the Block for a second run,
17:03which let many cartoon enthusiasts heave a sigh of relief.
17:09Featuring bad animation, lack of humor and boring plot lines,
17:12the team of Jonathan, Jordan, Joey, Donnie and Danny
17:16should have just stuck to the stage and off the screen.
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17:37Number 1.
17:38The Brothers Grunt.
17:39In one of the most bizarre cartoon series ever approved,
17:42even by MTV standards, The Brothers Grunt gave gross-out fans a run for their money.
17:51It followed a group of fraternal, underwear-clad, cheese-eating,
17:54walking-talking-boil-like humanoids grown off their creator's back
17:58that are in search of their lost brother.
18:05The premise alone makes for a nauseating experience,
18:08and that doesn't even factor in the various bodily fluids being splashed around everywhere.
18:12The less said about the series, the better.
18:14With a nearly unanimous negative reception,
18:17the horrific Canadian television series has never been officially re-released
18:21since its cancellation after 35 episodes in 1995.
18:27Which of these animated series makes you cringe?
18:30Let us know in the comments.
18:32Talk about a rush!
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