Long before the age of Netflix and Hulu and all the other lovely streaming services we have at our disposal, there was this wonderful thing known as Saturday Morning Cartoons. Adolescent me would plunk down in front of our television that only got three channels and devours cereal while watching a block of animated shows that I came to love. I tend to consider this my first binge-watch. Some of them even still exist today, albeit in rebooted forms. But, even into adulthood, animated series hold a special place in my heart. They’re fun, fanciful, and nowadays, a lot of animated shows contain some really smart adult humor. With shows like South Park and The Simpsons enjoying incredibly long and successful runs, it’s proof that cartoons aren’t just for kids. If you’re looking for some good animated series to please both your inner child and the adult, give these a watch.
Brightly animated, quirky, and sometimes just outright bizarre, this show is amazing. It takes place in the land of Ooo, which is actually Earth after a horrible incident known as the “Mushroom War”. The main protagonist is a boy named Finn and his friend Jake. Jake just happens to be a dog with fantastic magical powers who can also talk. There’s a lot of heart to the show as Finn grows up both physically and emotionally before your eyes as the series progresses. Along the way, he meets a lot of new friends, strange and sometimes truly terrifying foes, and seeks to discover himself with every new adventure. It’s just as much a coming of age story, with Finn fighting not just monsters, but his own shortcomings and insecurities to find his place in the world and the hearts of the beings he loves. You’ll laugh and you might also shed a tear or two. The characters are largely complex and well fleshed out. Oh, and Lumpy Space Princess just happens to be one of the best animated characters ever.
You can stream it on Hulu.
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Created by the brilliant forces behind The Simpsons, you might actually be familiar with the show. Or, at least, the main character Fry, because of the “shut up and take my money” meme. If you haven’t watched the show, you really should. It centers around Fry, a hapless human who is a bit of a slacker who gets cryogenically frozen after a mishap delivering a pizza to a lab. He wakes up in the future and finds a job working for his 30 times over great-nephew, a mad scientist Professor Farnsworth, who runs an intergalactic delivery service. There’s also a foul-mouthed robot named Bender, a purple-haired cyclops love interest named Leela, and a slew of other hilarious characters that join in the animated hijinks. The animation is very Simpsons-esque, and while it’s a pretty light-hearted show overall that is heavy on the laughs, there is substance here as well. Check out Hulu to get your binge on.
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Definitely the most “adult” pick on this list, Netflix’s Big Mouth may be a bit bawdy and certainly cringe-worthy in its bluntness and gross-out humor from time to time. However, it is also a very frank, raw, poignant, and frequently hilarious glimpse back at the horrors of puberty. Beyond all the humor, there is usually a powerful message to take home. So much of it is insanely relatable of times you likely are very glad are behind you. The voice acting here is phenomenal with the talents of some seriously funny people like Maya Rudolph, Nick Kroll, and Jenny Slate. The Hormone Monstress as voiced by Maya is just incredible. And the Shame Wizard is genius.
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Check out more of our top animation picks!
