In 1990, the Children’s Television Act was launched to lower the number of ads that a network could direct toward children in cartoons. This was the beginning of the demise of cartoons on network television that would culminate with the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which substantially regulates children’s television.
This would impact network programming throughout the 2000s, but before that, the networks gave kids an explosion of new original content. Some of the most memorable original content could be found on Fox Kids.
So, let’s take a look at 5 of the best Fox Kids cartoons from the ’90s.
1. The Tick
Before superhero cartoons were on every channel, there was Batman: The Animated Series, X-Men, and then along came The Tick. The Tick is a superhero parody developed first as a comic and adapted for a cartoon by Ben Edlund. The Tick joined the lineup of excellent Fox Kids cartoons on September 10, 1994, and ran until November 24, 1996, which gave us 36 episodes within 3 seasons.
The Tick is a big blue muscular man who has no secret identity and only identifies as Tick. After passing The National Super Institute in Reno, Nevada, he is assigned to The City, an ambiguous city that could be New York City or Chicago. The Tick’s “sidekick” is Arthur, who could no longer stand his mundane day-to-day accounting job. He feels a calling for something more, he wants to be a superhero. Arthur has a white moth suit that can fly, though he doesn’t have much skill in flying initially.
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The world of The Tick is filled with lots of different superheroes and villains, from American Maid, a Wonder Woman-type character in a maid outfit with an American flag apron who throws her shoes like a boomerang, to Chairface Chippendale, a villain in a suit with a chair for a head. The characters are often parodies of existing superheroes, such as Batman or The Punisher. The plots often place the heroes in real-world situations, such as the separation between heroes and sidekicks, paying rent, and falling in love.
A devoted cult following has built up around The Tick. It has had, in addition to comics and cartoons, two live-action series that have developed their own cult followings.
2. Eek! The Cat
Eek! The Cat was created by Savage Steve Holland, writer and director of Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer. The show lasted for 5 seasons, giving us 75 episodes.
Eek is a cat who likes to picture himself as the hero, which, unfortunately for him, the rest of the world has not agreed to this. He tries to be heroic and stand for good, trying to win the heart of his beloved Annabelle. Eek’s ineptitude often gets in his way, and he is usually thwarted by his oblivious owners or Annabelle’s guard dog Sharky. He always ends up reaching deep inside himself and pulls off a small victory to keep himself going back to Annabelle for more.
Eek! The Cat had a spin-off series titled The Terrible Thunderlizards about a ragtag group of militant dinosaurs trying to kill a couple of cavemen. The lizards are action movie stereotypes, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, and use big powerful weapons that they can’t properly handle.
The humans often thwart the efforts of lizards through their own ineptitude, a common theme for Savage Steve. The lizards also wrangle with a cult of skeleton dinos called Thuggosaurs, who are trying to bring an end to the lizards.
3. Bobby’s World
Bobby’s World was created by Howie Mandel before he was a judge and game show host. The show ran for 8 seasons and has 81 episodes.
Bobby is a sensitive kid who is trying to figure out the world around him, exaggerating everything with his overactive imagination. He has to survive the day-to-day of being the youngest child in a family of teenagers and adults who are often too busy with their own lives. His favorite family member is his fun-loving Uncle Ted, full of bad advice and trouble.
The episodes usually end with Bobby learning a lesson that he talks about with the real Howie Mandel.
4. X-Men
Fox Kids cartoons had a lot of action going on, and during the ’90s, most of it came in the form of comic book adaptations. This was before the movies and before Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. This was what started it all. The show lasted 5 seasons with 76 episodes.
Same as we’ve seen it play out in the comics and films, The X-Men are treated with disdain in society and are often trying the persuade people that they are good, an allegory for racism. There are also mutants who feel oppressed by normal humans and see themselves as superior. Those mutants push back against society and often go head-to-head with the X-Men.
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The animation in X-Men was top-notch at the time, and the voice actors portray their characters perfectly. The show was taken seriously, and it always showed. While the ’90s may have been tough for the comics industry, it isn’t shown here, as this was Marvel’s peak decade in animation.
5. Spider-Man
Marvel put a lot of cartoons out in the ’90s, but one of their more successful and memorable shows is Spider-Man. The show lasted 5 seasons with 65 episodes.
As we all know, Spider-Man is about a teenager named Peter Parker who, by all accounts, is a lonely loser. Peter is bitten by a radioactive spider and gains superhuman abilities to climb up walls, super strength, and spider senses. He also developed web cartridges to swing through New York City. In the beginning, rather than use his powers for good, Peter tries to make money with his powers, and, due to some unfortunate circumstances, his uncle Ben ends up a victim.
“With great power comes great responsibility.” Peter transforms into a crime-fighting vigilante who hides his identity to protect his remaining loved ones. Peter’s heroics lead him to unsavory villains that often blur the line if good and evil, succumbing to their desires.
This show was one of the most noticeable Fox Kids cartoons to mix traditional animation with CG. It didn’t look like anything else on TV in the ’90s. The show, like X-Men, took itself seriously and covered a lot of the storylines from the comics. It also introduced a lot of Marvel characters from other comics, such as Kingpin, Captain America, and The Punisher, and there were even crossovers with the X-Men.
