Blog Talkback: Toons of the 2000s: Top 5 Nicktoons

Nice list.... though I'd have made SpongeBob #1 and Avatar #2 (though I haven't seen that show, it seems popular/successful enough), given SpongeBob is this decade's most popular cartoon IMO. Also would've replaced El Tigre with Zim (or "Teenage Robot"), both shows that have a bigger (though cult) following than El Tigre...

-B.
 
Looking back, I am wondering why As Told By Ginger didn't get a spot on the list? Not even an honorable mention? I thought it was a pretty nice show that was grounded into reality with some nice characters, but still had a silly feel to it.
 
I agree on Ginger. I think that along with Rocket Power and All Grown Up aren’t given the credit they should. Ginger was a pretty good comedy/drama, something that should be on TeenNick, IMO.

Please Nick, just air those final high school episodes already!
 
This list was a tad more predictable than the others but I agree with it mostly. I personally would have switched Spongebob and Avatar as well as replaced El Tigre with Penguins. I imagine once it's around longer it will get a lot more recognition. Still, a very good list that's very representative of the best Nicktoons.
 
Only one I disagree on is Jimmy Neutron being anywhere in the top 5. I never saw its appeal and often came across as boring and predictable. I'd easily put Danny Phantom or Zim in its spot just for having more enjoyable characters and better stories and adventures.
 
Even with how unbearable it is now, "The Fairly Oddparents" still made the top 5? I'm gagging and vomiting at the same time. I'm gavomiting. In terms of consistently funny Nicktoons, I'd place "Catscratch", "Back at the Barnyard" and "All Grown Up" higher.

And I truly don't think it's any big loss that neither "Danny Phantom" nor "Invader Zim" made the top 5.

"Jimmy Neutron" was a good show and, if not for the wholly unlikable Cindy (and the shippy nonsense between her and Jimmy), it could very well have been a great one.
 
I didn't think anything could beat Spongebob, and that is my one irk about the list. Spongebob after ten years is still the highest gross of Nick, while Avatar cuts short of making any mark. I think money speaks, as quality for Spongebob is an all around better show for the target audiance, and can still get the adults to watch it. Avatar doesn't get that.

Penguins is also a force that Nick hasn't had since Spongebob, and I see great things for it.
 
This is not a list of most financially successful cartoons, which is objective. This is a list of what the blogger thinks are the most memorable and high-quality cartoons of the decade.

That said, I was rather expecting Spongebob to be ahead of Avatar. Despite the fact that I like Avatar more, Spongebob has had more cultural impact, more episodes, more air time, more of everything offscreen. Not putting Spongebob first on the top Nicktoons list would seem like not putting the Simpsons first on the top prime time animated comedies list. I guess the list really does reflect the sole opinion of the reviewer, and not the success of the cartoons in any way, culturally or financially. From that view, I would have done the same thing.

I mostly agree with the rest of the list, though like many others I must express confusion over Invader Zim being excluded from the top 5 while something recent like El Tigre was included.
 
Money doesn't talk for this list. As FriendlyMushroom said, this list is about what the staff (with Dudley being the final arbiter) thought were the BEST Nicktoons, not the most financially successful. If that were our basis for comparison, then there would have had to be a place on there for Dora the Explorer, and I don't think anybody here would have been happy about that.

I also know a large number of adults who were/are avid fans of Avatar, so I think you're way off base in saying that it doesn't draw an adult audience.
 
I thought Avatar had more adult fans than Spongebob... :shrug:

Since when does money= quality? I'm not dissing on Spongebob, I find it a enjoyable show, but I find Avatar to be higher quality...
 
All I was saying is that Spongebob has the ability to work over and over again, while Avatar doesn't. One viewing and you really can't watch an episode again and gain the same entertainment out of it like Spongebob can do. As for the audiance, I figure more adults that watch it with their kids stay with it, and tune in when their kids don't, while the Avatar adult fans do that, but less of them.
 
Depends on what you mean by "adult fans". If you mean avid fans who go out of their way to watch the entire show, buy DVDs, and in general interact with other fans, then Avatar takes it. If you mean fans who just enjoy sitting down and watching the show whenever it's on, Spongebob takes it.

Avatar certainly does have appeal for adults. My dad, who couldn't be troubled to watch cartoons normally and said "You're seventeen, Jason" once when I was watching Naruto, became interested enough in Avatar to watch episodes I bought on DVD and then watch Sozin's Comet with my brothers and
me.

EDIT: Personally I totally disagree with the assertion that an episode of Avatar is worth only one viewing. While you can't get the same story anticipation twice, repeated viewings allow you to catch details and events you didn't really notice before (examples being Zuko's broadswords sitting on the wall of his cabin before the Blue Spirit, Azula being in the crowd at Zuko and Ozai's Agni Kai, etc.). Not to mention fight scenes are fun to rewatch, and Avatar has its fair share of humor that still gets a chuckle second time around.
 
I love re-watching Avatar episodes, and they are entertaining, because there's more stuff that you could've missed.

And when Nick replays Spongebob a hundred times, I get annoyed at seeing the same episode. (Though that's Nick's fault)

And I have no problem if Sponge was number one, for it's iconic status...
 
Oooh, I tried to vouch my butt off for Danny Phantom to be on the list, but no dice. I personally consider El Tigre to be a merely decent series - I wasn't all into the rambunctious energy and the flash animation (though I will say it's one of the more nicer and detailed I've seen), but hey, ya win some, ya lose some.

However, I do stand by Dudley's decision to make Avatar number one; it's just an all-around excellent series that handles all its elements (no pun intended) and genre with ease and flow.
 
I know what you mean. It would have been nice to see As Told By Ginger receive at least an honorable mention. I agree that it was grounded in reality and it had nice characters that were easier to relate to/sympathize with than some other series.

As for the list, I feel that it works. I'm glad that El Tigre has some attention since it was an underrated series. Despite it's short run, I thought that it was able to pull off a clever idea in a charming way. It would have been nice to see what they would have done with the series if it had continued.

I wasn't really impressed with the humor in Jimmy Neutron. It wasn't a terrible show by any means, but it didn't seem that great to me either. Only Sheen and Carl were funny to me, while most of the other characters were either fine with me or kind of didn't appeal to me. I personally would have put Danny Phantom in that spot, but I'm glad that it was able to get an honorable mention. I can understand why the Penguins of Madagascar didn't make the list. I'm sure that they'll make it on the best of 2010's list though.

While I don't really enjoy FOP anymore, I can understand why it's on the list. It has done really well for itself and some of the earlier episodes are still enjoyable to me.

I'm actually glad that Avatar beat out Spongebob for the number one spot. Spongebob is a nice show and it still does well after being ten years old. However, Avatar was able to show that Nick is capable of making a great action series. Nick tends to be better with comedy than action, but they were able to change that with Avatar. It provided a nice balance of comedy with action to create an engaging storyline. The amount of change and growth the characters go through during the course of the series also makes it a great series. Going back to watch the series from beginning to end allows for people to see how well the series handles its characters and storyline.
 
Well I'm glad Jimmy Neutron made the spot cuz its one of my favorite shows. However I am shocked that Invader Zim made an OM cuz its popular and a very good show, I guess if you find it way overated that's another thing. Yah sad MLAATR didn't make the list :(
 
Number one - three are in absolutely the correct order I believe. All three are quality shows that deserve those spots. Never cared for four or five, but that's just me.
 
Jimmy Neutron has become a very important character in the Nicktoons universe. Whenever there's a cross-over through videogames and even Universal Studios theme park rides, Neutron is the character to make it happen. So, he's gonna be around as long as Spongebob.
 
I'd personally have put Danny Phantom on the list, but it did have times when it wasn't consistant. When it was good it was good though.

Avatar would definatly top my list though.
 
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