Best Cartoons of the 2000s
Image Credit: Krossan on Deviant Art.
Most millennials love revisiting the cartoons of their childhood and adolescence, particularly those series from the 2000s.
These cartoons are full of heart, solid jokes, and memorable characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender, benders and non-benders alike, to Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends, Gen Y still enjoys to this day, and might even be sharing with their own kids.
- Kim Possible (2002-2007)
- Samurai Jack (2001-2017)
- Digimon (1999-2003)
- The Fairly OddParents (2001-2017)
- Metalocalypse (2006-2013)
- Teen Titans (2003-2006)
- Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law (2000-2007)
- Sheep in the Big City (2000-2002)
- Codename: Kids Next Door (2002-2008)
- Danny Phantom (2004-2007)
- The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy (2001-2007)
- Ed, Edd n Eddy (1999-2008)
Kim Possible (2002-2007)
Creator: Mark McCorkle, Bob Schooley
Starring: Christie Carlson Romano (Voice), Will Friedle (Voice)
IMDB: 7.2/10
Seasons: 4
Episodes: 87
Where to Watch: Disney+, Amazon Prime, Vudu, Apple TV
Kim Possible featured the delightful titular character, a red-haired high school cheerleader who used her skills in acrobatics to moonlight as a secret agent.
Joined by her bumbling friend Ron Stoppable—and his pet naked mole rat, Rufus—they went on a number of adventures, thwarting evildoers and eating mass quantities of nachos.
Samurai Jack (2001-2017)
Creator: Genndy Tartakovsky
Starring: Phil LaMarr (Voice), Mako (Voice)
IMDB: 8.5/10
Seasons: 5
Episodes: 62
Where to Watch: Hulu, YouTube TV, HBO Max, Sling TV
Inspired by action TV shows like Kung Fu, Samurai Jack tells the story of Jack, a samurai from Japan’s distant past who gets mysteriously transported to the future.
There, he must grapple with the much-changed world, the evil spirit Aku, and try to get back to his own time.
Digimon (1999-2003)
Creator: Akiyoshi Hongo
Starring: Steve Blum (Voice), Mona Marshall (Voice)
IMDB: 7.3/10
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 54
Where to Watch: Hulu, Amazon Prime
At first glance, Digimon might seem like a simple Pokemon rip-off. It stands on its own amongst 2000s cartoons, however, with a unique premise that was perfect for the new millennium.
A group of friends gets transported into another world inside of a computer, the Digital World. There, they are bonded with one Digimon who they can talk to and command in battle.
During times of extreme crisis, of which there are many, the monsters can Digivolve into superior creatures for a brief amount of time.
The Fairly OddParents (2001-2017)
Creator: Butch Hartman, Bob Boyle
Starring: Tara Strong (Voice), Susanne Blakeslee (Voice)
IMDB: 7.2/10
Seasons: 10
Episodes: 172
Where to Watch: Paramount+, Amazon Prime,
Timmy Turner, a well-meaning but ultimately hapless 10-year-old boy, is magically granted two fairy godparents who can grant his every wish.
The show doesn’t exactly explain why some children get fairy godparents and others don’t, nor what their magical limits might be, but Timmy goes on some pretty exciting adventures with Wanda and Cosmo as they navigate his adolescence.
Metalocalypse (2006-2013)
Creator: Tommy Blacha, Brendon Small
Starring: Mark Hamil (Voice), Malcolm McDowell (Voice)
IMDB: 8.2/10
Seasons: 5
Episodes: 61
Where to Watch: Hulu, YouTube TV, HBO Max, Sling TV
This hilarious show follows the kooky members of Dethklok, a Scandinavian heavy metal band.
Written by a guitarist, the show is definitely intended for adults, and it parodies the life of fame and (occasional) fortune for musicians.
Despite their insane levels of popularity, the band tends to cause misfortune and disaster everywhere it goes.
Teen Titans (2003-2006)
Creator: David Slack, Bob Haney
Starring: Ashley Johnson (Voice), Khary Payton (Voice)
IMDB: 7.8/10
Seasons: 5
Episodes: 65
Where to Watch: HBO Max, Amazon Prime
Robin, the intrepid sidekick of Batman, struck out on his own and founded a unit of teen superheroes to take on the evildoers of the world.
Joined by his friends Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and sometimes Terra, they work to take down opposing forces who want to destroy the world or subjugate humans to their will.
Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law (2000-2007)
Creator: Michael Ouweleen, Erik Richter
Starring: Gary Cole (Voice), Stephen Colbert (Voice)
IMDB: 8.0/10
Seasons: 4
Episodes: 39
Where to Watch: Hulu, HBO Max, YouTube TV, Sling TV
Originally premiering on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim lineup, Harvey Birdman follows the adventures of the eponymous lawyer as he grapples with being a retired superhero, focused on protecting clients.
In fact, the majority of people who work at his law firm are retired cartoon characters, who would all like to do something more serious.
Sheep in the Big City (2000-2002)
Creator: Mo Willems
Starring: Kevin Seal (Voice), James Godwin (Voice)
IMDB: 7.0/10
Seasons: 2
Episodes: 26
Where to Watch: HBO Max
Sheep runs away to the Big City, where he takes great pains to avoid the military pursuing him.
Private Public and General Specific take the lead on Sheep’s case as he impersonates…well, a person, to hide from their devious plots to catch him.
Codename: Kids Next Door (2002-2008)
Creator: Tom Warburton
Starring: Dee Bradley Baker (Voice), Cree Summer (Voice)
IMDB: 7.2/10
Seasons: 6
Episodes: 81
Where to Watch: Boomerang, HBO Max, Amazon Prime
Codename: Kids Next Door follows the adventures, real and imagined, of the kids involved. All named after a number, Numbuhs One through Five work together to solve mysteries and crack codes that filter down through their serious leader.
While some of their missions seem juvenile, they were all trained by the strange Sector V in espionage.
Danny Phantom (2004-2007)
https://youtu.be/EBzMINN0H7g
Creator: Butch Hartman, Steve Marmel
Starring: David Kaufman (Voice), Grey DeLisle Griffin (Voice)
IMDB: 7.1/10
Seasons: 3
Episodes: 53
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
Danny Phantom has a strange encounter with a ghostly portal, thus gaining the ability to transform himself into a ghost with superpowers.
While kids of the 2000s figured it was just one of many cool cartoons, today’s new interpretations view it as kid-friendly commentary on how transgender people must often live a double life, wearing masks around people who won’t understand them.
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy (2001-2007)
Creator: Maxwell Atoms
Starring: Greg Eagles (Voice), Richard Steven Horvitz (Voice), Grey Griffin (Voice)
IMDB: 7.7/10
Seasons: 7
Episodes: 85
Where to Watch: HBO Max, Amazon Prime
The series is centered around the exploits of two young children-the optimistic, dim-witted, and kindhearted Billy, and the dark, ill-tempered, sinister, and very intelligent Mandy.
The ill-tempered Grim Reaper gets into a wager that forces him to become the life-long companions of two scheming youngsters after he loses.
The pair also may use Grim’s enormously strong supernatural abilities or ties with a number of beastly characters such as Dracula, the Wolfman, and the bogeyman.
Ed, Edd n Eddy (1999-2008)
Creator: Danny Antonucci
Starring: Matt Hill (Voice), Sam Vincent (Voice), Tony Sampson (Voice)
IMDB: 7.5/10
Seasons: 6
Episodes: 80
Where to Watch: HBO Max
The show revolves around life on a cul-de-sac, focusing on three friends who have nearly identical names: Ed, Edd “Double D”, and Eddy. Ed is the strongest of the three and the least intelligent, Edd is the smartest and the most socially accepted among others in the cul-de-sac, and Eddy is the leader and the most mean of the group.
Throughout the show, the trio creates numerous scams in order to make money to earn jawbreakers. They also have to deal with numerous misadventures, such as being ostracized from other kids in the cul-de-sac, as well as avoiding the Kanker sisters.
via GIPHY
The list of great cartoons from the 2000s could stretch on for miles—this decade brought young audiences some truly special gems, most of which are just as enjoyable in adulthood. Many cartoons that didn’t make this particular list are still out there. Toons from the best sci-fi anime to episodes of Bob’s Burgers to The Simpsons, and even toons from the 90s that stretch into the 2000s. Many are worth the time for a first-time watch for a new adventure or rewatch just for nostalgia’s sake.
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