The decade that was the 1990s is fondly remembered for being fun, colorful, and, at times, a bit weird. Nothing exemplifies this more than Nickelodeon’s iconic 90s TV lineup — and more specifically, the Nicktoons.
While classics like Doug, The Ren & Stimpy Show, and Rugrats are remembered by most, there are quite a few odd Nicktoons that were left behind. These are a few of the more zany shows that you may have forgotten existed.
1. Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (1994): The Best of the Weird 90s Nicktoons
While you could make an argument that there were weirder 90s Nicktoons, none of them were darker than Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. In fact, outside of Are You Afraid of the Dark, this might be the darkest show Nickelodeon ever produced—regardless of decade.
The show features three adorable but creepy monsters who live underground and go to a monster school to learn how to frighten humans. There were talks of a movie at one point, but the concept was deemed “too frightening for children,” which is understandable.
One can assume that’s why the similar but way less scary Monsters, Inc. was released in 2001.
2. Kablam! (1996)
Similar to MTV’s Liquid Television, Kablam! was an animated sketch comedy anthology that was equal parts weird and genius. There were half a dozen or so shorts that were featured regularly and almost all of them had their own unique animation style.
A few of Kablam!’s shorts even had their own successful spinoffs—most notably Action League Now!
Fun fact: While many Nicktoons aired on Nickelodeon’s Saturday Night Nickelodeon (SNICK) programming block, Kablam! was the only show to be produced solely with SNICK in mind.
3. CatDog (1998)
There’s nothing that weird about doing an “odd couple” television show—especially on Nickelodeon. But the idea that a dog and a cat would somehow be conjoined twins, and look even more strange than that idea is on paper, is classic 90s Nick.
CatDog wasn’t as successful as other late 90s Nicktoons like SpongeBob SquarePants or The Wild Thornberrys. It was, however, easily one of the weirdest things Nick broadcasted on our television screens during that time.
4. The Brothers Flub (1999)
Speaking of lack of success, The Brothers Flub just barely sneaks in on this list. The show only ran for one season and is as forgettable as a 90s Nicktoon can be.
In case you forgot (we understand), the show was about two alien brothers who worked as couriers in outer space. They traveled via spacecraft to other dimensions, encountering all sorts of odd people and places.
Quick – sing the theme song to yourself. Can’t do it, can you?