Ahh, the 90s. The decade that still feels like it was only 10 years ago. What a great time to be a child. We had a lot of great things, but mainly we had the best and most inappropriate cartoons. Many times, usually over alcohol, I have had conversations about how wrong said cartoons were. How did they even target these towards children? Because we didn’t realize how inappropriate they were – we just loved them. Here is my list of the 10 cartoons from the 90s that would never be aired to children in 2016.
1. "The Ren & Stimpy Show
OK, first off, they were both naked all the time and presumably hooking up. They were also always up to some crazy kind of antics like chopping up their bed with an ax or giving us all an intense fear of the dentist with episodes like “Ren’s Toothache.”
2. Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
This show was just plain creepy. It was one of my personal favorites, but it really freaked me out. It made the thought of monsters under your bed even more real.
3. Rocko’s Modern Life
Rocko dealt with more adult issues than we even realized at the time, such as: humiliations of the everyday world, keeping friendships and awkward dating. Not to mention I’m pretty sure he worked as a phone sex operator. Not really ideal content for children, but we all still loved that talking wallaby anyway.
4. Hey Arnold!
Everybody loved "Hey Arnold!," but there were some underlying issues that wouldn’t be allowed on a children’s show today. Helga was not only a bully, but her mother was most likely an alcoholic. Also, stoop kid was actually a stoop baby, meaning he was abandoned there as a child and spent his entire life on a stoop.
5. Pinky and the Brain
Two lab rats trying to take over the world. Not that the show itself was so messed up, but we know what happens to lab rats in real life. And it ain’t pretty.
6. Cow and Chicken
Well, their parents were just disembodied legs, and they kept the upper half of said parents in a closet. So there’s that.
7. Johnny Bravo
Mr. Bravo was a pervert that had zero respect for women except for his mama. He consistently harassed any woman he crossed paths with. This was the type of cartoon character only the 90s could get away with.
8. Courage the Cowardly Dog
This show was probably the creepiest of them all. I always felt so bad for Courage. He dealt with some messed up crap. Like becoming a puppeteer of his owners' dead bodies or watching Muriel become possessed by a mattress demon. I think courage was anything but cowardly because I would have been the hell out of there.
9. Rugrats
Not only did these kids have almost zero supervision, the adults that were around were kind of questionable. Stu was most likely clinically depressed and Grandpa was watching porn after the kiddos went to bed.
10. Ed, Edd N Eddy
It was a bunch of weird kids that didn’t seem to have any parents. One even carried around a plank that was his best friend. Then there were the “Kanker Sisters” who kidnapped the Ed’s and made them play house.
These cartoons were the staple in any 90s kid life. They just don't make them like they use to (and maybe that's a good thing, or not).