As a 90's children we had a fantastic selection of cartoons to choose from. In reflection however, a handful of these shows could be considered a little dodgy, especially as they were for a young audience. Still, these shows have a special place in our generations hearts, plus we turned out alright... didn't we?
Noddy
Noddy is a fairly sound lad. He gives lifts to all his mates in his little red and yellow car and brings them on fun adventures, helping his friends along the way. But Noddy also shared his bed with a pink bunny rabbit, which was a bit controversial in the 90's. And let's not forget the... em... Gollywog. Very dodgy altogether.
Ren and Stimpy
This was classed as a kid's show, and was shown on Nickelodeon until the mid-90's but in no way is it suitable for children. Ren, an emotionally unstable deformed looking Chihuahua and his idiotic but good-willed companion Stimpy would go on very odd adventures with plenty of grotesque violence and an unnecessary erotic undertone added to each episode. Kids shows can be seen to be a bit of the soft sides these days, but Ren and Stimpy are on their own level of tasteless garbage.
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Braceface
The show's composition of having it's main character a insecure teenage girl (Sharon) with braces is bad enough in itself. Throughout the series Sharon's braces would often act as magnets causing her to get into embarrassing situations. The show basically taught that braces will bring you nothing but embarrassment and unwanted attention.
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Arthur
There isn't anything morally wrong with Arthur and his animal friends; he's a good kid, who sometimes fights with his little sister D.W and gets into trouble, but also learns his lesson. But he's no fucking craic. You can fuck right off with your library card lads.
The Magic Schoolbus
I personally loved this show. The thoughts of going to school and having your lizard loving teacher taking you on daily schooltrips to the past, the universe or wherever was mindblowing. But on reflection, it's very possible that Ms. Frizzle was slipping the kids acid in there juicebox on the daily.
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Shin-Shan
In this Japanese magna series which was usually only shown at 6am we followed the shenanigans of Shin Chan. A cheeky little fellow, who loved pulling down his pants and sticking sparklers in his arsehole. A bit of a laugh as a child if you ask me, but as a parent I'd turn that shit off.
Pokèmon
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A classic. This legendary cartoon was a favourite among the 90's kids, it taught us that friendship is important, determination is vital for success and it's totally okay to en-capture animals against their will and force them to battle. When you think about Pokèmon in the animal rights point of view, it's fucking atrocious. But fuck it, it's just a cartoon and Pikacu is the cutest thing to come out of the 90's.
The Wild Thornberrys
We all love a bit of Nigel, he's just smashing (sorry, I couldn't resist). But if my child spent most of her time talking to animals I'd be a tad concerned. Eliza was constantly running into herds of lions and jungles, having fun with the animals, which made me as a child kind of want me to run away to forest and live with wolves and shit. Which was unrealistic, but the temptation was further impaled into my mind every time I watched it.
The Rugrats
Absolute rascals. This show encouraged its' young viewers to use their imagination when it came to adventures, but what it taught me was that you'll always have more fun if you disobey your parents and go for an adventure in prohibited places. Which was true as a child, but this would have wrecked my head as a parent.
