Even though most cartoon characters don’t really age, for us mere mortals, time seems to fly. We all have our favorite cartoons from when we were tots, some might even still be on the air. If you’re ready for a real blast from the past and a healthy dose of complete disbelief, check out some of these cartoons which have been around much longer than you probably realized. Get ready to feel old.
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? We’ll give you one guess. Are you sitting down? Go ahead and find a chair, we’ll wait. This July will mark 22 years that the hard-working, optimistic sponge has been on TV. The series was actually created by a marine biologist and based off an educational comic he had developed about the lives of undersea critters. The comic was never published, but the show was a big hit. It continues to enjoy success and popularity to this day. There’s even a third movie that’s supposed to come out in May of next year. Mark your calendars, and celebrate with the denizens of Bikini Bottom for their crazy longevity.
It’s incredibly hard to believe that Blossom, Buttercup, and Bubbles have been around since 1998. That would make the pint-sized superheroes full-on adults by now. It’s been 23 years since the show debuted with its entertaining stories and messages of female empowerment. It lasted for 6 seasons, and many fans were just a little more than disappointed when it came to an end in 2005. The show was a charming balance of battling super villains to save the city, while still tackling issues that were relevant to little kids about day-to-day life.
Ash Ketchum first appeared as a spunky 10-year-old who wanted to be a pokemon master all the way back in 1997. That’s 24 years ago. If cartoon characters actually aged, that would mean that Ash would probably be 32, likely have a back problem, and would be taking on a middle-aged Team Rocket. The cartoon wasn’t just responsible for starting a Pokemon craze that reached far outside its native Japan but also credited for making anime-style cartoons more popular around the globe in general.
If nothing else, this show is likely the reason why you know what a “Pikachu” is.
Truly the grand-daddy of them all on the list, Scooby-Doo and the gang have been solving mysteries and debunking ghost stories since 1969. That’s 52 years, folks. Let that just…sink in for a moment. Though the original series lasted 2 seasons, several incarnations would follow and keep Scooby and crew in business for years to come. Even though it debuted well before our time, it is one of those cartoons that has endured and made itself part of many a childhood. Wonder what 50 years is in dog years…
