Challenge of the Superfriends
We here in the Ninja Nation love our cartoons. From rising at the crack of down on Saturday mornings in the 70′s and 80′s to enjoying them with the next generation on Cartoon Network, they have always been a great source of entertainment, escape and fun. With that said, the crew at Comics Ninja has decided to put together their list of the best 50 cartoons of all time. To qualify, the cartoon had to be a regular weekly series for television so some of our favorites including the Peanuts and the Christmas specials are reserved for another list another day. We will present the list as a countdown with installments of ten at a time. So let’s get rolling, here are the best cartoons of all time starting with numbers 50-41, enjoy!
50. Spiderman (1967)
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o29VoxtsFk
This is the first of three Spiderman related cartoons in the top 50 list and was the first animated adaptation of the Spider-Man comic book series created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko. Just like the comic book Spider-Man was a cool superhero because he wasn’t as infallible as other superhero characters. He was a wise guy and his alter ego, Peter Parker, was constantly beset with personal problems. The theme song of the show became a popular standard with lyrics written by Academy Award winner Paul Francis Webster and the music composed by Bob Harris. The song’s opening lines,
“Spider-Man, Spider-Man,
Does whatever a spider can,”
became almost as synonymous with the character as his costume.
49. Transformers (1984)
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AIFoBRIny0
The new movies notwithstanding, Transformers was one of the most popular cartoons of the 80s, depicting a war of giant transforming robots with Optimus Prime and his autobots on one side and the evil Megatron and his Decepticons on the other. Written and recorded in America, the series was animated in Japan. The entire series was based upon the line of transforming toys originally created by Japanese toy manufacturer Takara, which were developed into the Transformers line by the American company Hasbro. The series was original and did not follow the trend of Hanna-Barbera’s copycat mysteries/adventure cartoons a decade earlier. Obvious care was put into the production with first rate voice artists, concepts and storylines.
