Finding the best cartoon of all time

[takyris]

Um, you guys do know that they made a Dukes of Hazzard cartoon, right? Doesn't that pretty much render any question of BEST CARTOON EVAR moot?

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

70's and earlier: Nothing holds a candle to the classic Looney Tunes, though some Tom & Jerry stuff comes close

80's: Ducktales and Dangermouse were easily the best, in that they were 2 of my favorites then and are still enjoyable today. Voltron and Transformers didn't hold up as well.

90's: Animaniacs rocks hard. On toast. Batman: TAS is also excellent. Honorable mentions to Beast Wars and The Tick, though Beast Wars took a while to take off.

This decade: Samurai Jack is possibly the greatest action cartoon ever made. Teen Titans is generally very good. Really like Justice League, but I feel like JLU has diluted the goodness on a few episodes with second-stringers who really don't deserve to carry the core team's capes. Heck, most of them aren't even 2nd stringers. They're about 4th or 5th at best. And the more they tap into the DC Universe's version of Greek mythology the more I think the show might drop off my DVR. One or two good lines or moments in a 22 minute episode are not worth this mangling of the source material, IMNSHO.

 

[ddvmor]

...For American based cartoons, seriously nothing compares to The Simpsons...

The Simpsons is a cartoon? I thought it was reality TV!

 

[Testament]

Two lists, one focusing on American works, one more inclusive.

80s: Only one possible winner, and that is Transformers.
90s: The Simpsons. What a revolution. Followed by The Tick.
00s: Justice League or Invader Zim.

And now, the real list:

80s: Super Dimesional Fortress Macross. Robotech was good, but original is by far the best.
90s: Neon Genesis: Evangelion or Princess Mononoke. They may just be the greatest achievments in Anime history. Both masterworks by master creators (Hideaki Anno and Hayao Miyazaki respectively).
00s: Hard to tell. Right now Zim leads the way across the globe.

 

[Klaus]

Oh, i'd like to add Star Blazers (Yamato) to my 70's pick. It influenced even Star Wars!

And Galaxy Rangers for the 80's. Cool toon that deserved more airtime.

 

[mr_outsidevoice]

70's- never missed an episode of Super Friends. Ever.
80's- I dug Transformers. Even the post-movie season simply because continuity actually existed.
90's- Gargoyles for the development of its mythos, Animaniacs cause it was funny beyond words, and Batman TAS cause it was flat out good.
00's- I am partial to Zim and Samurai Jack.

 

[Desdichado]

Oh, i'd like to add Star Blazers (Yamato) to my 70's pick. It influenced even Star Wars!

Was that the one with the big battleship that somehow flew through space? I remember liking that as a kid, but all my memories of it now are hazy.

 

[Mallus]

Was that the one with the big battleship that somehow flew through space?

Yes.

And it flew through space because it was stuffed full of alien space princess technology given to humanity by well, a space princess [Starsha of Iskandar].

And the human military used the wreck of a WWII battleship because 1) there didn't look like much else was left to construct a spaceship out of, and 2) conveniently, most of the oceans were boiled away, leaving the derelict hulk of the Yamato on the surface.

I can't believe I forgot Star Blazers...

 

[The Serge]

Invader Zim is absolutely hilarious. So's Family Guy. Samauri Jack's generally spectacular and sometimes very funny (the Scotsman) or frightening.

 

[Mallus]

Invader Zim is absolutely hilarious.

I take it you've read Johny the Homicidal Maniac and The Bad Art Collection?

Zim is good, but Jhonen V. without the constant, absurdist stream of expletives is a bit like non-alcoholic beer...