Entertainment Weekly's 25 Greatest Animated TV Series

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Kunmui

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Entertainment Weekly is doing another one of their "countdown" lists. This time the list involves the top 25 animated programs (that have aired in America, as there's only 1 1/2 titles in this list that involve anime). The interesting part: Entertainment Weekly is actually having the readers determine the number 1 show. You can cast your vote here.

Here's the list of shows that will make up the list (prepare for complaints):

  • Adventure Time
  • Animaniacs
  • Aqua Teen Hunger Force
  • Archer
  • Batman: the Animated Series
  • Beavis and Butt-Head
  • The Boondocks
  • The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show
  • Cowboy Bebop
  • Family Guy
  • The Flintstones
  • Futurama
  • King of the Hill
  • Liquid Television
  • Ren and Stimpy
  • Robot Chicken
  • Rocky and Bullwinkle
  • Rugrats
  • Scooby Doo
  • The Simpsons
  • South Park
  • Spongebob Sqaurepants
  • Star Wars: Clone Wars (the Genndy Tartakovsky version, not the CGI version)
  • The Tick
  • The Venture Brothers
 
No Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, Foster's, Regular Show, PPG, Dexter's Lab and Johnny Bravo. :shrug: I'm gonna vote for Adventure Time. At least that's there.
 
What the heck? No Avatar? Come on, that's at least in the top 20 best animated series ever, and it's recognizable. I'd also like the option to vote for Regular Show, The Secret Saturdays, Sym-Bionic Titan, and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, but Avatar is the biggest show missing.
 
The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show: This is it. We know every part by heart.
I almost wouldn't consider it a TV series, but since they do, it's the winner.

Star Wars: Clone Wars (the Genndy Tartakovsky version, not the CGI version): Thank you for picking the right one!
The GT version is absolutely brilliant.
The CGI version is almost unwatchable and beyond unlistenable. Makes me want to break the tv.

Archer: I don't think the show gets the attention it deserves, but I am surprised to find it on the list.

Robot Chicken: The only one I don't think deserves a spot. Sometimes it's good for a laugh, but I just don't think very highly of it.
 
Looney Tunes is listed there, as The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show (oh, and lol, they listed Wile E. Coyote as "endlessly quotable").

I voted Bebop.
 
Does EW have nothing to offer but insipid lists? :shrug: With the exception of a few current series (like Archer and Adventure Time), this is just a boringly typical list of the most influential TV cartoons.
 
It may be boring, but that's probably because - for the most part - these types of lists are usually on the money and tend to list the same shows. I'd agree that most of the shows listed there belong on that list. I know it's boring seeing the same stuff listed there over and over but my question is, what would you want to see on a top 25 list instead?

The fact that I'm seeing very, very recent Cartoon Network shows being mentioned as candidates for a "Top 25 Ever" list is a little concerning, not that I agree with EW listing Adventure Time or Archer either.
 
If that's directed at me for mentioning Regular Show and Sym-Bionic Titan, allow me to defend my choices. Sym-Bionic Titan is easily my favorite Tartakovsky show, with its plotlines, interesting characters, and the epic action scenes. I'm still kinda peeved over the cancellation but nothing serious. Regular Show has been one of the most consistently funny cartoons I've seen a long time, and maybe it doesn't belong on the list, but it just came to my mind when thinking of exclusions from the list.
 
I voted for Scooby Doo. It was a tough pick between it and Looney Tunes and the Simpsons for something I would call the "greastest cartoon ever".
 
I will never understand the perrennial appeal of Scooby-Doo for anyone over the age of eight. :shrug: I watched it when I was a kid, but that's all that was on thirty years ago.
 
I'll note that EW is owned/published by Time-Warner, in case that was any influence on this list.

While not sure if I'd count Looney Tunes (given they were theatrical shorts), it would make the top of my list of cartoons *overall*. Still, like any other list, some choices of mine would be personally driven (I hate "Family Guy") or based on more eras chosen (some of the choices are way too recent, like "Clone Wars" or "Adventure TIme", while I'd include the various "Peanuts" specials as a category).
 
Since the quality of a show is not constant and changes as it goes along, a show with consistent quality (both in animation and writing) over a long period of time should be given higher consideration than one with a significant shorter episode run.

Why is that? They're only two of the best animated TV series EVER. Please explain. I myself had to choose between the two of them since this list is so sadly lacking. I chose Bebop, BTW.

This is such a bad list to choose from, it isn't funny. As has been mentioned, Avatar should be on it. There are others, of course, but what's really clear is that they have a bias against Disney TV animation, unlike the love most polls like this have for Disney feature animation. Not only are none of the Disney afternoon shows represented, there's no mention of Gargoyles or Kim Possible, probably their two best series ever. Remember, Kim Possible was given a fourth season mostly due to fan desire to see the show continue. Not many shows can claim the same.
 
Still, shows with one or two seasons already in the bag shouldn't be looked down upon for possible future stagnation in quality.
 
Potential stagnation isn't the issue--when considering a show for inclusion in a poll like this, long-running quality should take precedence. If the time span considered was shorter, say the last few years, shows with short runs gain much more validity to be chosen. For instance, I wouldn't pick Sym-bionicTitan for EW's poll, but if only the last 5 years was considered, it would be one of my top picks.
 
It's actually a pretty recently-skewed list in general - only four cartoons from before the nineties. (fiveifyouwanttobereallypickyandcountthesimpsonsasapreninetiesseries)

Kind of interesting that they picked Cowboy Bebop for the one foreign cartoon, as opposed to more obvious nostalgia hits such as Pokemon or DBZ.



I think he means he's having trouble choosing between Bebop and B:TAS.
 
And the fact that "Phineas and Ferb" isn't on the list is especially troubling, as there seems to be a pretty unanimous opinion among TV viewers and folks in the entertainment industry that it's one of the greatest animated series Disney has ever produced.
 
Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Robot Chicken? Seriously? I admit the shows are good for a laugh every now and again, but they are nowhere near top 25 material. Props to them for including Cowboy Bebop, though.

This list is also missing Ed, Edd n Eddy and The Powerpuff Girls.
 
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