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These 33 ’90s Cartoon Characters Were Fan Favorites Of Film And TV Viewers
This is one post to get ~animated~ about.

These 33 ’90s Cartoon Characters Were Fan Favorites Of Film And TV Viewers

There are many cartoons that stand the test of time, but ’90s kids will agree there were an endless amount of epic animated shows and movies during this decade.

Nicktoons Productions / Via giphy.com

Exhibit A is Gerald Johanssen, aka the “definition of cool.”

While the list could go on and on, these 33 cartoon characters were the greatest of the ’90s.

1. Susie Carmichael

Nicktoons Productions / Via youtube.com

Where you watched him: Hey Arnold!

Voiced by: Mainly three different actors — Lane Toran, Phillip Van Dyke, and Spencer Klein

Fun fact: The show’s creator, Craig Bartlett, confirmed in 2016 that Arnold’s full name is Arnold Phillip Shortman (with his middle name, Phillip, being an homage to his grandpa).

3. D.W. Read

9 Story Media Group / Via youtube.com

Where you watched her: Arthur

Voiced by: Five people over the course of the series — Jason Szwimer, Michael Caloz, Robert Naylor, Oliver Grainger, and Ryan Ehrenworth

Fun fact: In a July 2021 Finding D.W. podcast episode, casting director Debra Toffan answered the question why D.W. was always voiced by male characters. She said, “I think because D.W. is a rough-and-tumble little girl. She’s a little brat.”

4. Johnny Bravo

Hanna-Barbera Productions / Via youtube.com

Where you watched him: Johnny Bravo

Voiced by: Jeff Bennett

Fun fact: The character’s name drew inspiration from the full name of the show’s creator, Efram Giovanni Bravo Partible. 

5. Dexter

Cartoon Network Studios

Where you watched him: Dexter’s Laboratory

Voiced by: Mainly Christine Cavanaugh and Candi Milo

Fun fact: In 2001, Genndy Tartakovsky told IGN he considers creating Dexter to be his most important career accomplishment. 

6. Gerald Johanssen

Nicktoons Productions / Via youtube.com

Where you watched him: Hey Arnold!

Voiced by: Jamil Walker Smith

Fun fact: Even after Jamil hit puberty, he voiced Gerald. His deeper voice was written into an episode, “Gerald’s Tonsils,” which explained that the character’s voice had change as a result of a tonsillectomy.

7. Daria Morgendorffer

MTV Animation / Via youtube.com

Where you watched her: Daria

Voiced by: Tracy Grandstaff

Fun fact: The show was made by MTV with the goal of increasing the network’s female viewership.

8. Beetlejuice

Geffen Film Company / Via youtube.com

Where you watched him: Beetlejuice

Voiced by: Stephen Ouimette

Fun fact: Stephen said in a Saturday Morning Rewind interview that he did nine callbacks before securing the role of Beetlejuice.

9. Sailor Moon

Toei Agency

Where you watched her: Sailor Moon

Voiced by: Kotono Mitsuishi and Kae Araki played Sailor Moon in the Japanese version of the series. Tracey Moore and Terri Hawkes first voiced the role in English. Linda Ballantyne and Stephanie Sheh later took on the part at different times.

Fun fact: At one point, Disney planned to secure the rights to make a Sailor Moon film.

10. SpongeBob SquarePants

Nickelodeon Animation Studios / Via youtube.com

Where you watched him: SpongeBob SquarePants

Voiced by: Tom Kenny

Fun fact: Tom has won two Daytime Emmys for voicing SpongeBob.

11. Anastasia

Twentieth Century Fox / Via youtube.com

Where you watched her: Anastasia

Voiced by: Meg Ryan

Fun fact: The yellow ballgown Anastasia wears at the close of the film was based on a dress worn by the real-life Anastasia, according to PopSugar.

12. Balto

Amblimation / Via youtube.com

Where you watched him: Balto

Voiced by: Kevin Bacon

Fun fact: Balto was a real-life dog who led a sled dog team that delivered vital remedies to people suffering from diphtheria in 1920s Alaska.

13. Bubbles, Blossom and Buttercup

Cartoon Network Studios / Via youtube.com

Where you watched them: The Powerpuff Girls

Voiced by: Tara Strong as Bubbles, Cathy Cavadini as Blossom, and E.G. Daily as Buttercup.

Fun fact: Craig McCracken told CBC Radio in 2018 that he originally named the group the Whoopass Girls when developing the characters.

14. Doug Funnie

Jumbo Pictures

Where you watched him: Doug

Voiced by: Billy West

Fun fact: Doug creator, Jim Jinkins, told HuffPost in 2014 that Doug’s name was initially Brian.

15. Tommy Pickles

Nickelodeon Animation Studios / Via youtube.com

Where you watched him: Rugrats

Voiced by: E.G. Daily

Fun fact: E.G. once completed a recording session as Tommy for the show while she was in labor, she told The Guardian in 2015.

16. The Joker

DC Comics

Where you watched him: Batman: The Animated Series

Voiced by: Mark Hamill

Fun fact: Mark used various chuckles for the Joker based on the character’s mood because he felt his laugh should be “like a musical instrument,” he said in an interview for Batman DVD extras.

17. Homer Simpson

20th Television Animation / Via youtube.com

Where you watched him: The Simpsons

Voiced by: Dan Castellaneta

Fun fact: Homer is named after the father of The Simpsons creator, Matt Groening. Matt told Entertainment Weekly in 2010 that he wanted “to both amuse … and just annoy [his father] a little bit” when creating Homer Simpson.

18. Cat and Dog

Nickelodeon Animation Studios / Via youtube.com

Where you watched them: CatDog

Voiced by: Jim Cummings and Tom Kenny

Fun fact: CatDog was based on a character Peter Hannan included in an unpublished book, A Few Superheroes You’ve Probably Never Heard Of, he told The Washington Post.

19. Olie

CBC

Where you watched him: Rolie Polie Olie

Voiced by: Cole Caplan

Fun fact: Although there have been no recent updates, in December 2020 the show’s creator, William Joyce, wrote on Twitter that he was working on new Rolie Polie Olie episodes.

20. Ord

Children’s Television Workshop / Via youtube.com

Where you watched him: Dragon Tales

Voiced by: Ty Olsson

Fun fact: Once Dragon Tales became popular with young kids, Ty would sometimes call sick children and do his Ord voice over the phone to cheer them up.

21. Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello and Michelangelo.

Murakami Wolf Swenson / Via youtube.com

Where you watched them: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Voiced by: Mainly Rob Paulson,  Cam Clarke, Barry Gordon and Townsend Coleman

Fun fact: This series was the first time the TMNT characters were seen on screen.

22. Jack Skellington

Touchstone Pictures

Where you watched him: The Nightmare Before Christmas

Voiced by: Chris Sarandon, and singing voice by Danny Elfman 

Fun fact: Disney wanted Jack Skellington and other Nightmare Before Christmas characters to have eyes, but Tim Burton rejected this idea.

23. T.J. Detweiler

Disney Television Animation

Where you watched him: Recess

Voiced by: Andrew Lawrence and Ross Malinger

Fun fact: Some iconic child stars voiced T.J. in this series — Andrew started his career with Brotherly Love and Disney Channel movieswhile Ross played Jonah in Sleepless in Seattle.

24. Belle

Walt Disney Pictures

Where you watched her: Beauty and the Beast

Voiced by: Paige O’Hara

Fun fact: Belle was the first Disney princess to have brown hair.

25. Fievel Mousekewitz

Universal Pictures

Where you watched him: The American Tail films

Voiced by: Phillip Glasser

Fun fact: Steven Spielberg produced the first two American Tail films, and Fievel was named after his grandfather.

26. Lola Bunny

Sculptured Software Inc.

Where you watched her: Space Jam

Voiced by: Kath Soucie

Fun fact: Lola was created for Space Jam when animators thought drawings of Honey Bunny, Bugs Bunny’s love interest, that were from the ’60s looked too much like Bugs.

27. Ms. Frizzle

South Carolina ETV

Where you watched her: The Magic School Bus

Voiced by: Lily Tomlin

Fun fact: In 2022, Lily told Variety she was initially hesitant to accept the role of Ms. Frizzle as she believed she was “not good at any kind of voiceover.” It was only after sending a test tape to Scholastic that she agreed to voice the part.

28. Nigel Thornberry

Nickelodeon Network / Via youtube.com

Where you watched him: The Wild Thornberrys

Voiced by: Tim Curry

Fun Fact: Tim voiced both Nigel and his father, Col. Radcliffe Thornberry, in the series.

29. Pikachu

Pokémon USA / Via youtube.com

Where you watched him: Pokémon

Voiced by: Ikue Ôtani

Fun fact: In a 2004 interview with Manga University, Ikue said when she went in for her Pokémon audition, she thought she was trying out for the role of Meowth and she brought the wrong script with her.

30. Rocko

Joe Murray Productions Inc. / Via youtube.com

Where you watched him: Rocko’s Modern Life

Voiced by: Carlos Alazraqui

Fun fact: Rocko was originally supposed to be yellow.

31. Dot Warner

Warner Bros. Animation / Via youtube.com

Where you watched her: Animaniacs

Voiced by: Tress MacNeille

Fun fact: Tress has revisited the role of Dot for the Animaniacs reboot, which launched on Hulu in 2020.

32. Courage

Cartoon Network

Where you watched him: Courage the Cowardly Dog

Voiced by: Marty Grabstein

Fun fact: Series creator, John R. Dilworth, first included Courage in his Oscar-nominated short, The Chicken From Outer Space.

33. Cow

Cartoon Network / Via youtube.com

Where you watched him: Cow and Chicken

Voiced by: Charlie Adler

Fun fact: Charlie used the voice of Audrey, played by Ellen Greene, from Little Shop of Horrors as a source inspiration when auditioning for Cow.