Top 10 Darkest Cartoons from the 90s

World domination isn’t anything new to kids’ shows, especially when it comes to superheroes and villains. “Pinky and the Brain,” known for its political satire, took it to the next level, though. In the episode, “The Really Great Dictator,” Brain explains to Pinky what a dictator is, and he does it via song. He goes on to sing about what he has in common with people like Ghengis Khan and Saddam Hussein. There’s also that sneaky Caligula reference in “A Meticulous Analysis of History.” This is a kids’ show, right?

Yakko, Wakko, and Dot always got up to crazy hijinks. With its subversive humor and endless parodies, “Animaniacs” is entertaining for all ages. But for a show targeted to kids, some of the episodes were just a bit too mature. Everyone knows the “fingerprints/ finger Prince” gag by now. A lesser-known episode is “One Flew Over the Cuckoo Clock,” which opens with Slappy flipping through the slew of 90s talk shows. It takes a turn when she snaps and seems… off. After seeing the doctor, Slappy is put in a home while Skippy gets picked up by Child Services. Now that’s dark and oddly relatable for a lot of children.

While fans look back on “Hey Arnold!” and remember the laughs, the show actually touched on some serious issues. The characters clearly suffer from various mental illnesses like agoraphobia, OCD, addiction, and crippling anxiety. The Patakis are terrible parents, neglecting their youngest daughter. Miriam is an alcoholic suffering from low self-esteem, her husband Bob fits the bill of a narcissist, and the pressure Olga faces to be perfect leads to her own depressive episodes. Helga’s attraction to Arnold arguably goes beyond a crush into obsessive stalker territory. In one episode, Arnold is mugged in an alley and the traumatic event leads him down a path of violence. And let’s not forget the Christmas episode featuring Mr. Hyunh’s heartbreaking backstory.

We already know the show was notorious for innuendos, but “Rocko’s Modern Life” was pretty dark in other ways. Rocko meets Heffer’s family for the first time. To his surprise, they’re all wolves. Heffer didn’t even know he was adopted until Rocko pointed it out. The wolves found him, fattened him up to eat, but then decided to keep him as part of the family. A very dysfunctional family. Oh, and remember that time Heffer got a chicken bone stuck in his throat? Heffer finds himself in Hell… we mean, “Heck.” His punishment for committing a deadly sin—gluttony—is to watch his best friend die over and over again for eternity. Pretty bleak.

Creepy, weird, and kinda gross. That’s “Aaahh! Real Monsters” in a nutshell. Ickis, Oblina, and Krumm are three monster friends living beneath a dump and attending the Monster Academy. The show’s creative figures have cited style inspiration from “Blade Runner,” “Brazil,” and the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine.” Pretty mature styles for a kids’ show, but hey, it works. Kids love odd creatures, and this show has some really grotesque ones. Oblina’s lips are her main tool to scare. When they are ripped off, and a human girl glues them to her own face… it’s bizarre. We’re not sure if she’s creepier with the lips, or without them.

And the award for grossest kids’ cartoon ever goes to… Yeah, anyone who’s seen “The Ren & Stimpy Show” knows just how disgusting it can be. The show’s known for its controversial dark humor, excessive violence, and implied sexual situations. The amount of body horror is enough to make even an adult look away, like a jester literally rubbing salt into his own self-inflicted wound. One particular episode has Ren nursing a toothache. Seeing him pluck out the nerve-endings from his mouth is something we’ll never get out of our heads. With voice work by such iconic creators as John Kricfalusi AND Billy West, the absurdist humor really knows no bounds.

Disney was really ahead of its time with this gothic drama series. The show follows a clan of night creatures who once protected medieval Scotland, but now look over modern-day New York City. “Gargoyles” is packed with complex mythology and Shakespearean references. But it’s the violent elements that make this a truly dark show. In the infamous episode, “Deadly Force,” Broadway visits Elisa’s apartment after seeing his favorite western movie. He plays around with her gun and accidentally shoots her. He’s horrified by the literal blood on his hands, which is pretty graphic for a cartoon. The episode was censored due to the amount of blood from Elisa’s wound.

Cartoon Network’s wonderfully surreal animated horror series was a thing all its own. “Courage the Cowardly Dog” is grim, to say the least. Muriel, Eustace, and the titular Courage are an odd trio of characters living together on a dreary farm. They’re always encountering creepy people like Freaky Fred and haunting supernatural beings like King Ramses, leaving poor Courage in a constant state of fright. The episode where Muriel is possessed by a demonic mattress is essentially a kid-friendly version of “The Exorcist.” And who’s idea was it to have a disembodied Nosferatu-looking head floating around?

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Cletus Kasady Is a Straight-Up Psychopath

Butts, Udders, & the Insanity That Is Red Guy

Gross Out Humor & Innuendos

Sugar, & Spice, & Not Necessarily Everything Nice

It May’ve Debuted in the ‘80s, But Its Success Continued On Into the Early ‘90s

When someone asks who the best Batman is, names like Keaton or Bale are usually top of mind. But what about Conroy? Arguably one of the best shows ever, “Batman: The Animated Series” has a visual style that stood above the rest. The atmosphere is pure Gotham City neo-noir. Batman villains are tortured characters who all struggle with mental illness in one way or another. Joker is the most infamous maniacal mastermind, but antagonists like Baby Doll and the Ventriloquist are surprisingly sympathetic. Baby Doll is probably one of the saddest, while Ventriloquist and his crime alter ego Scarface being one of the creepier ones. Scarecrow and his fear toxin are nightmare fuel as well. This is also the birthplace of Harley Quinn, one of the most unpredictable, chaotic, and tragic villains in the Rogues Gallery. Of course, any show is only as good as its stars, and Kevin Conroy as the Caped Crusader and Mark Hamill as the Clown Prince of Crime are simply without equal.