In the age of reboots and retcons rife with nostalgia bait, not every beloved cartoon gets the attention it deserves. Some ran for a single season or were unceremoniously cancelled without any chance to properly wrap everything up. They left their characters and plots high and dry without resolution and left fans to their own resources to campaign for more content or create their own endings.
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So long as the nostalgia train keeps chugging along, these are ten shows more than worth the effort of shaking off the dust and bringing back to the small screen.
Danny Phantom (2004-2007)
One of Nickelodeon’s most famous cancelled cartoons, Butch Hartman’s Danny Phantom only had three seasons. The show follows a half-ghost's escapades fighting a colorful rogue's gallery, all while maintaining his alter ego as a lowly high school student. Danny Phantom's main villain, Vlad Masters, is a creative twist to cartoon villains, equally threatening and hilariously incompetent in his quest for power, and Danny’s mom.
The show’s finale, “Phantom Planet,” is regarded as a sloppy and dissatisfying ending that rushed to tie up loose ends and bring relationships together. A reboot has been teased before with nothing to show for it, and it’s high time for Danny to go ghost once again.
Transformers: Prime (2010-2013)
Hasbro’s Transformers franchise has received many iterations of cartoons since the 80s, each with a rotating cast of characters both new and old and a few mainstays at its core. With some iterations more popular than others, The short-lived Hub Network’s Transformers: Prime brought stellar CG animation and an episodic plot to its three-season run.
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Cancelled in part due to the cost of production, Prime was given enough time properly wrap up dangling plot threads and a movie to bring a satisfying end. However, with the depth of the characters both Autobot and Decepticon, Prime could have done so much more with fan favorites that never got the chance to shine.
Inspector Gadget (1983-1986)
Produced by French syndication company DIC Audiovisual, the original Inspector Gadget ran for two seasons, following the titular half-cyborg inspector as he combats the forces of M.A.D. and its villainous leader, Dr. Claw. The often bumbling and incompetent inspector is usually aided by his resourceful niece, Penny, and their dog, Brain.
The franchise saw films to poor critical reception and a 2015 single-season reboot. Once 54th on IGN's list of the top 100 animated TV shows, Inspector Gadget deserves the modern revamp other cartoons from the era have already received, with the show’s wild and zany episodes sure to please fans old and new.
Invader Zim (2001-2002)
Yet another beloved Nickelodeon show cancelled well before its time, Invader Zim had one full season and only six completed episodes of its second season that didn’t even air on the network’s main channel. The titular Zim is an alien with lofty goals of conquering Earth, aided by his robot servant GIR.
Pitted against the paranormal investigator Dib, the show’s wit, animation, and creativity won it an Emmy among other awards. The franchise has spawned nearly everything except more episodes, with a film, comics, a convention, video games, and even themed bumper cars. Needless to say, Invader Zim deserved far better than it got.
My Life as a Teenage Robot (2003-2005)
Nickelodeon’s Teenage Robot followed XJ-9, or Jenny, balancing life as a robot superhero and surviving the drama of high school and mundane every-day goings-on of being human. A serialized comedy series, Teenage Robot was cancelled due to poor ratings. Despite this, the show was nominated for an Emmy and several Annie Awards.
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With the boon of superhero media still going strong, Teenage Robot brought a beloved female protagonist and female parental figure that would do well with a shiny new reboot. Twenty years later and while some jokes and clichés show their age, Teenage Robot was a funny and lighthearted cartoon that ended far too soon.
Dave the Barbarian (2004-2005)
Disney’s short-lived Dave the Barbarian follows the titular Dave and his two sisters, Candy and Fang in a quasi-middle age setting plagued by the forces of the Dark Lord Chuckles the Silly Piggy. In its single-season run, Dave the Barbarian features anachronistic shopping malls, a princess wholly unafraid to knock some heads, and a narrator that happily breaks the fourth wall.
Winner of an Annie award and well-loved by fans and critics alike, the show was cancelled due to low ratings. Dave the Barbarian’s off-beat comedy stands out from other cartoons of the Disney canon like Phineas and Ferb and could have lasted for near as long if given the chance.
Gargoyles (1994-1997)
Disney’s Gargoyles follows a dynamic cast of anthropomorphized gargoyles, stone by day and alive by night to roam the skies and streets of 1990s Manhattan, after waking from a 1000-year old curse. The show’s three-season run featured uniquely dark tones and storylines and episodic arcs that earned it high praise and continued love among fans. IGN ranked it 45th in 2009’s top 100 animated tv shows.
Gargoyles owes its end in part to the creation of DreamWorks. With the death of then-Disney president Frank Wells and the infamous schism that saw Jeffrey Katzenberg leave to form DreamWorks, taking much of the foundation of the show with him. By the time of the show’s limited third season, it had lost much of its original writers, its creative flexibility, and its support from Disney.
Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995)
Consistently regarded as one of the best animated series of all time, Batman: The Animated Series won accolades for its voice cast, plot, character arcs, artistry, score, and themes, all in the span of only 85 episodes. The caped crusader shined in TAS’ unique noir atmosphere and won several Emmy and Annie awards.
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Of all the reasons a show could end too soon, TAS dared to quit while it was ahead and leave fans exactly where they should be – craving more. Its legacy in expanding the continuity of the DC universe and endearing fans to less appreciated characters at the time like Harley Quinn can’t be understated.
The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (2010-2012)
While the series is only a decade old, this iteration of the Avengers cartoon is the best of the bunch. Featuring as many familiar faces to the film fans as those less known in the comics, EMH brought shiny new animation, a solid voice cast, and a well-rounded story to the small screen.
In the early days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, EMH was unceremoniously replaced by Avengers Assemble to better reflect the cast of the films. With only two seasons, EMH had the potential to give more unknown characters the spotlight and leave the main six to the films, but it wasn’t meant to be.
The Jetsons (1962-1963, 1985-1987)
For as memorable as its art design and characters are, Hanna-Barbera’s The Jetsons only had 41 episodes. Compared to its counterpart, The Flintstones with 166. The Jetsons followed the titular family’s antics and daily life in Orbit City, in a not-so-unfamiliar take on the future of world.
The Jetsons’ short-lived run hasn’t been forgotten in the 60 years since its debut. The show has since seen film spinoffs, comics, and video games and has yet to successfully land a reboot, though not for lack of trying. In the age of reboots and nostalgia bait, The Jetsons remains one franchise unfairly overlooked.
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