To Cartoon Network, Disney, Nickelodeon, and any network that has screwed over a beloved show, pissed off a fandom, and short-lived someone's passion.
10. Histeria!
History repeats itself! Or better yet, you CAN live in the past! Whichever works because thanks to Father Time, the cast can travel to the far reaches of history. Interacting with real life events that occurred long ago. And meeting the people we only ever read about in the history books. From Joan of Arc to Shakespeare. Benjamin Franklin to even Martin Luther King Jr.. The people of Histeria! turn history lessons into pure-hearted comedy!
You’ve grown up with Animaniacs and Tiny Toon Adventures. But who remembers this WB classic?
As a 90s kid, I cherished every moment of KidsWB...before it shut down and sh*tty CW network took over.
If anyone can actually remember this show, it served better lessons than what school could even teach you (especially since the history books are completely outdated).
Due to budget, not all the episodes got to be animated. Thus, leading to its cancellation.
It’s possible it also got cancelled because fans were more interested in shows of the 2000s. Especially Pokemon.
If this show ever gets a reboot (and we live in a decade where reboots are POSSIBLE), this show could do a world of good.
Granted, there are some historical event episodes that need to be redone (like the Christopher Columbus bit).
9. Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil
Clarence “Kick” Buttowski is a small yet adrenaline-seeking kid. Always donned in his jumpsuit and helmet, he is Mewllowbrook’s youngest wannabe-daredevil. While he doesn’t mean to cause trouble with most of his stunts, there are “enemies” who want him to suffer. Together with his best friend Gunther, Kick makes it his goal to become a top daredevil. And no one, not even his loser brother, mean neighbors, or his uptight “anti-fun” classmate, will stop him.
This was a decent cartoon that gained a great following.
And Disney screwed it over.
F*ck princesses, Kick Buttowski was KING.
While he did cause trouble, his skills were often used with the best intentions.
There was the Halloween episode where Kendall Perkins (my second least favorite in the show) dared Kick and Gunther to go to the creepy house on the hill.
It turned out the reason it looked so creepy was because a kind old woman loved Halloween so much. She and her late husband made a fortune selling the spookiest decor!
Every year, she would wait for trick-or-treaters. Kick and Gunther were the first ones ever to visit.
But instead of taking all the candy that would fill them until next Halloween, Kick invited the other kids (minus Kendall) to join in the festivities. He brought joy to both his friends and the old lady.
There was the episode where he saved Gunther’s family restaurant from shutting down.
He risked getting chased by an angry mob, who all immediately forgot being pissed as soon as they smelled the food.
How can his neighbors call him a menace when he often does selfless things like that?
He was everyone’s hero.
And I’d like my hero back. In a reboot.
8. Wander Over Yonder
Wander is a travelling nomad who, along with his best friend/trusty steed Sylvia, venture throughout the galaxy. Discovering and making new friends along the way! He’s always willing to lend a helping hand to anyone. Even help Lord Hater, the galaxy’s most feared, amazing conqueror (at least that’s what Hater calls himself).
This was the real beginning of Disney giving us the middle finger.
2015 was when we had the “ultimate trio”: Wander Over Yonder, Star Vs. the Forces of Evil, and Gravity Falls.
But apparently Disney decided to pick favorites. They were eager to milk off Gravity Falls the same way Nick is currently doing with Spongebob.
They wanted to give benefits to a creator who already made the decision to end Gravity Falls after two seasons.
Yet right off the bat they just tell the creator of Wander Over Yonder they’re pulling its plug after the second season. Right when Craig McCracken was planning for the third one.
No matter how popular the show was. No matter how many people were looking forward to more episodes. Disney did not give a f*ck.
This is where I began to realize that my childhood channels did not hold our interest 100%.
Even SVTFOE ended up getting the short end of the stick after three dedicated seasons. Thanks to Disney (and possibly torch-wielding Starco fans), we end up with the sh*ttiest series finale since Time Squad.
Wander Over Yonder was an amazing show and Disney failed to see that.
They failed to realize how much the orange, furry guy meant to us.
They failed to realize how much we NEEDED that third season.
While they’re too busy becoming a joke of a monopoly and ruining franchises (Star Wars, Simpsons, etc), the WoY fandom fights to this day.
I don’t give a f* ck about new princesses or “the first ever LGBT character in Disney history”.
I want 2015 to come back.
I want Wander to come back.
I want good ol’ Disney to come back.
7. Ducktales (2017)
Financially struggling Donald has no choice but to have his three nephews meet their estranged trillionaire uncle Scrooge McDuck. What starts off as a bitter reunion leads to a new life with an old duck who “works harder than the hardies, and tougher than the toughies”. Together, the family do things like possibly solving a mystery. End up rewriting history. Just a whole lot of duck tales. (WOO-HOO!)
Remember that meme that circled around when this show premiered?
The “TAKE NOTES, CARTOON NETWORK” meme.
Seriously, how many CN reboots were actually a success?
This was the BEST reboot we had all decade.
And Disney decided to screw it over because they “wanted to move on”. Or some kind of corporate bullsh*t like merch sales or whatever.
You know what’s really sad? The creators had been preparing for this moment since making season 2. They didn’t think they would be greenlit for a third season.
And when the network told them they wouldn’t be approved for a fourth...well, can you just imagine the feeling?
The entire DT crew was full of the best, most creative, most nostalgic writers to grace the Disney animation studio.
The fandom has grown so much since the pilot episode. And 90s kids have been incredibly grateful that this show did the original right.
We were all looking forward to a fourth season. We were not ready to see this show end.
We wanted at least two more seasons. And a movie.
You know what really sucks?
The cancellation was announced in late 2020.
The series ended in early 2021.
Yeah, this is proof we’re still living in Hell.
And Disney is the devil.
6. Mucha Lucha
The Foremost World-Renowned School of Lucha, young Luchadores study the art of masked wrestling. In the name of honor, family, tradition, and donuts, lucha is the heart of any wrestler. Rikochet and his pals use their skills and signature moves to fight competitors, enemy forces, and even each other in the name of Lucha Libre.
When KidsWB used to be around. And you’d watch this alongside Pokemon and Xiaolin Showdown.
Not to mention this show used Adobe Flash of all things. And it was used brilliantly.
Three wonderful seasons of comedy, character spotlight, and signature moves.
And the network shut it all down while a fourth season was in the works.
Yet shows like Teen Titans Go somehow still stay on the air.
Mucha Lucha was so original and creative. (and NOT RACIST, so shut up, Karen!)
I miss the days of Rikochet and the gang getting into all sorts of trouble. I loved the bad guys they had to face. And I would always get hyped every time they had a new signature move to use.
I especially enjoyed the episodes where secondary characters got a chance to shine. Episodes dedicated to the secondary or background characters are my absolute favorite.
Anyone who stills holds this show to their heart even after 16 years would remember awesome characters like Frenchtwist, Sr. Hasbeena, Cindy Slam, El Gundamo, and especially Penny Plutonium.
Other characters who either provided small bits of dialogue or just stood in the background never even got a chance to shine.
Creators Eddie Mort and Lili Chin mentioned they had so many more episodes planned after the third season. Mort even stated that he wants to greenlight a spin-off series where all the little luchadores are now teens and still carrying the same chaos like when they were kids.
We’re in the decade of reboots and bringing back things that were awesome in the 90s and early 2000s.
And while some of us didn’t exactly like the Rugrats spin-off series “All Grown Up”. Seeing the characters of Mucha Lucha much older gives us a sense of connection. Like they grew up along with us.
Come on, network people, give us that spin-off!
5. Robot and Monster
Robot and Monster are roommates living in a city full of Mechanicals and Organics. Best friends yet complete opposites. Robot’s the frustrated, pessimistic one who thinks the world is against him. Monster is the cheerful, always friendly optimist that is practically the world to Robot. Together they tackle the ongoing chaos that is life in their highly dangerous city. Whether it’s working at the Blinking Lights factory, gorging on bacon, running away from an invention gone wrong, or running away from their creepy, obsessive, overly clingy neighbor Ogo, the two got each other’s back.
I literally hate Nick for cancelling this one.
Dave Pressler put his heart, soul, and PASSION into this series. It was an underrated blessing.
And if you think I’m exaggerating, watch it for yourself.
How AMAZING is that CGI animation? And it’s not even Pixar or Dreamworks!
A lot better than Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness and Penguins of Madagascar were animated. (They did Alex the lion REAL dirty...)
Not to mention how deep this series was. Sure, there was a lot of dark humor and lots of laughs.
But how many actually relate to Robot?
He’s the black sheep of his family. He loves inventing but every invention has either blown up or went rogue. And just when he thinks he’s almost made his dreams come true, life hits him even harder.
Monster was either the comfort character or the cause of the problem. Or symbolizing our attempts to repress our depression.
What was even more despicable about Nick cancelling this: they barely promoted it. And they had the AUDACITY to say the low views/ratings was on the RnM crew.
Not to mention more broken promises. They asked for more episodes. And when those episodes were made, they didn’t even air all of them.
They didn’t even give Robot and Monster a proper send-out. It took us fans having to find the episodes on iTunes to see how the finale went.
And it wasn’t even considered a finale. It was just another episode.
Pressler had so much planned for the future of RnM. And Nick took that opportunity away.
They took away what could have gone down as one of the best Nickelodeon cartoons in history.
Hell, maybe it could have been airing with new episodes today if Nick hadn’t lost its charm. And sold its soul to stupid teen sitcoms and gross toilet humor (f*ck “Sam and Cat”).
Thankfully, the entire series is on DVD. But maybe if RnM had stuck around longer, there could have been more.
I follow Dave Pressler on Instagram. He’s an amazing artist! Even though the show got unplugged, I’m glad to see he’s still pursuing his passion.
Who knows? Maybe when Nick is on the verge of bankruptcy (and we all know that’s going to happen eventually), they’ll be so desperate they’ll bring RnM back.
Or, you know, be another pawn in Disney’s monopoly.
4. Chowder
Chowder is a young apprentice to Chef Mung Daal, who runs a successful catering business. Always hungry with a large appetite for life, Chowder must learn the ways of being a good chef if he’s going to inherit the business one day. But that’s a little hard when he’s distracted by delicious food, avoiding the obsessive Panini, and whatever else happens in Marzipan City.
Reason this got cancelled: the execs at Cartoon Network thought it didn’t “fit the demographic for young boys”.
Mind you, this cancellation happened around the time CN Real began. (Which, got itself cancelled shortly after, thank god)
Okay, two things:
WHAT DEMOGRAPHIC? Last time I checked, Chowder was loved by both kids and adults. And their parents. And their parents’ parents.
Who the actual f*ck said this show was for “young boys”? It was a cartoon loved by the men, women, and non-binary. The show did not cater to a specific age or gender. It was just something for everyone to enjoy.
Also, Cartoon Network, how can you say Chowder didn’t “fit in” when you promoted shows like Steven Universe, Total Drama, Victor & Valentino, and even Craig of the Creek?
Chowder would have fit right into the 2020s!
C.H. Greenblatt put his heart and humor into making this show. It goes down in history as the ULTIMATE FOURTH WALL BREAKER OF CARTOONS.
What’s really sad is that this was not the last time a show of his got cancelled.
Harvey Beaks, after two seasons, got screwed over by Nick.
This is a sign that networks today will either make or break your dreams.
3. Megas XLR
In the year 3037, humanity has constantly fought a losing battle against the alien race known as the Glorft. In a last ditch effort, they steal one of its mechas and create their own war machine, naming it Megas. Their plan is to take it back in time two years before the battle, to put the fight in their favor against the Groft. However, a surprise Groft attack forces them to send Megas to the past with any preparations. The mecha robot ends up in the 1930s, where it remains in a junkyard for more than 70s years. A slacker mechanic named Coop discovers it in 2004, and turns it into a hot rod project. While he and his best friend Jamie take it for a joy ride, they meet Kiva, a woman who travels to the 21st century to take over Megas. However, because of Coop’s modifications, she has no choice but to train him. And hope he’ll be able to change the future.
Remember CN City?
Remember all those amazing bumpers and ads featuring characters from different shows interacting with one other?
Remember that one bumper where the entire city was playing hide and seek and Jimmy from Ed, Edd, n’ Eddy had to look for everyone?
And let’s not forget that badass bumper featuring Fred from Scooby Doo challenging Coop with his Megas.
The good ol’ days of Cartoon Network.
Megas XLR was a huge part of it. Was a huge part of our childhood.
And CN took that away from us.
Don’t get me started on how this led to the beginning of the end of Cartoon Network.
I’m still shivering from the awful years of CN Real, Fried Dynamite, and especially the “hype” for awful Canadian-animated shows (Almost Naked Animals, WTF).
CN is doing much better.
But they’re still pulling sh*t out of their greedy, corporate asshole.
Remember the Powerpuff Girls reboot?
Ben 10 reboot?
And the god-forsaken series that is STILL GOING known as Teen Titans Go?
We demanded a sixth season of the original and they mock us with this abomination.
No seriously, they constantly mock the fandom. There was even an episode about it featuring Control Freak!
It took 13 years for Samurai Jack to get its final season.
Don’t you think we’ve waited long enough for Megas XLR?!
I hope Adult Swim gets this show too. Because if Megas XLR eventually does come back, there’s no way in Hell I’m trusting CN to “reboot” it.
2. Sym-Bionic Titan
When enemies attack their homeworld, three aliens escape to Earth. Under the guise as a family moving to the suburbs, they get a taste of humanity. And while it has its ups and downs, the human race is amazing. Which makes the trio all the more desperate to protect it when evil forces threaten their new home.
This show was the sh*t.
And Cartoon Network was ABSOLUTE SH*T for cancelling it.
After 20 episodes, CN decided this show wasn’t worth everyone’s time.
The hell were they talking about? Fans DEDICATED their time to watching this show.
According to why it got cancelled: no toy sales.
CN had the balls to end this show because the creator couldn’t find someone to make a freaking toyline.
So basically childhood is just one giant price tag.
Also, to the people who refused to give this show a toyline...I just want to talk.
And you’d think because general audiences watching the show were older kids and adults, they’d make merch we’d actually buy?
Like where the hell are the shirts?
The plushies?
The 30-inch posters we could have hung on our walls and gaze at with longing before bed?
DO YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH I WOULD PAY FOR A POSTER OF LANCE?!
There was a Craig of the Creek episode, “Kelsey the Elder”, that kicked us right in the nostalgia.
A bunch of characters close to our age spent the majority of the episode reflecting on early 2000s cartoons. They got really teary-eyed when Sym-Bionic Titan was brought up.
So did we.
I cannot say “F*ck you, CN” enough...
1. Danny Phantom
Danny Fenton was just an average teen living in Amity Park. His parents are eccentric ghost hunters who tried and failed to make a portal bridging the ghost world with the human world. However, when Danny steps in and accidentally presses the ON switch (something his parents failed to realize), the portal starts. And his DNA ends up getting fused with ectoplasm, making him a half-ghost. Now ghosts constantly terrorize Amity Park. With his best friends Sam and Tucker, Danny Fenton transforms into Danny Phantom.
Whether it was Hartman being over budget, or Nick deciding to “move on”. Either way, this show should have stayed a little longer.
Not long like how Nick has been milking Spongebob. But long enough that it finally told its story.
Phantom Planet was an okay finale, but...in my opinion, I didn’t like how Danny’s parents found him out.
I preferred how they did in “Reality Trip”, before Danny had to wipe out everyone’s memories. It just felt more genuine and assuring.
Thinking about Butch Hartman’s recent stuff, I’ve realized that this was the ONLY show he made that didn’t suck.
Fairly Odd Parents used to hold that pedestal. Until Chloe.
T.U.F.F. Puppy and “Bunsen is a Beast” were really great ideas. But were executed horribly.
And don’t get me started on The Garden. Saberspark did us a great service by actually buying and watching that sh*t-show so we didn’t have to.
It doesn’t help that Nick was becoming a shell of its former self by the time they cancelled this show.
If Nickelodeon and Butch Hartman want to redeem themselves. Then they better bring back Danny Phantom.
And not f*ck it up like Cartoon Network.
