Forget about adulting this weekend, because it’s all about taking a trip down memory lane and watching Saturday morning cartoons instead!
Nickelodeon was a big part of childhood and it introduced some of our favorite cartoons like Rocko’s Modern Life, The Ren & Stimpy Show, CatDog, and so many more!
We fell in love with the oddball characters, the offbeat humor, and the hilarious and often misguided adventures. In fact — years later — we still find ourselves quoting an episode or humming along to a theme song.
There is no question that Nickelodeon shaped our imagination and our childhood, but there are 5 shows that have a special place in our hearts and we would happily watch again today!
It’s time to convince your mom that you’re sick and you need to stay home from school (or work...would your boss accept a sick note from your mom too?) because you have a day of watching 90’s Nickelodeon cartoons ahead of you!
1) SpongeBob SquarePants
In 1999 (and still going strong!), Nickelodeon took us on a sea voyage to Bikini Bottom where we met an optimistic sponge living in a pineapple under the sea — and our lives were never the same.
SpongeBob, Patrick, Mr. Krabs, and Squidward taught us valuable life lessons and encouraged us to see the ocean half-full. SpongeBob’s enthusiasm, eccentric outlook on life, and sheer joy for living makes him a wonderful spirit guide on the rocky road of life.
Feeling down? What would SpongeBob do?
2) Rugrats
The opening intro was practically a soundtrack for our childhood! Rugrats invited us into a secret world where babies and toddlers lived out multi-layered lives, navigated wild adventures, and — unbeknownst to their parents — carried on full conversations with each other. It was also a perfect reminder that our greatest gift is imagination and we should never lose it.
Get your diapers ready because it’s time to head out on an adventure with Tommy Pickles, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Susie, Angelica, and Reptar! Also, did we mention how catchy that darn intro is? Babababababa!
3) Aaahh Real Monsters
There’s no doubt that this was the scariest, creepiest, and strangest cartoon of our childhood. It was filled with gross hairy things, creepy crawlies, and some of the weirdest monsters we’d never want to meet under our bed.
Still, it was the only time we ever wanted to go to school (under the city dump? Sign us up); it might have been monster school, but at least it was school! And, learning to scare humans with the help of Ickis, Oblina, Krumm, and Headmaster Gromble made learning fun.
Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (wait are there really 3 exclamation points and 3 “a’s” in that title? I guess there wasn’t a lot of grammar instruction at the monster school...) managed to make the monster under the bed more of a friend and less of a terrifying “aaahh” monster!
4) Clarissa Explains It All
Clarissa Explains It All made every kid want to be Clarissa: she had an awesome best friend, Sam, who climbed in her window with a ladder, she had cool clothes, and she even had a pet alligator. Plus, it was the first Nickelodeon show to introduce a female lead. That makes Clarissa Explains It All pretty cool in our “All-in-One Perfect Complete Book of Everything Important” book.
We love when Clarissa Darling turned to the camera and “explained” her life to the audience, but we especially loved all the nickname ideas she inspired for our little brothers like: Ferg-face, Fergwad, and Fergbreath.
5) Hey Arnold!
Hey move it, football head! We don’t want to miss this episode of Hey Arnold!
The beloved 90’s cartoon, Hey Arnold!, managed to weave important themes like addiction, mental health, and homelessness into the adventures of a daydreaming 4th grader, Arnold, his best friend, Gerald, the bully (who also happened to have a secret crush on him) Helga, and an assortment of hilarious school friends and misfit adults.
Hey Arnold! was a cartoon that managed to touch on some serious topics without losing its sense of fun and humor in the process.
Being an adult can be hard work. Try leaving behind some of the stress, responsibility, and overall grumpiness by reconnecting with your favorite 90’s cartoons! Visit Bikini Bottom, head to Monster School, or just get yourself a retro Fifth Sun Nickelodeon t-shirt today!
