In more ways than one, MTV's run during the '90s was a golden period of television. While many appreciate the network for once being the biggest network that showcased hip, new music or for its iconic list of reality shows today, MTV is often underappreciated for its wonderful contributions to animation.
As experimental as anything else in the '90s, MTV's animated series set a huge precedent for creativity and humor for adult animation. While Adult Swim is today's modern absurdist animated network, even it hasn't been able to replicate the creativity of the classic MTV cartoons.
10 Greatest Party Story Ever (7.7)
Before Viacom showed their recent interest in adult animation (Anyone looking forward to Beavis and Butt-Head?), Greatest Party Story Ever was MTV Animation's last ever animated series. The network had been losing interest for awhile, and it was even starting to cancel animation projects around the time Greatest Party Story Ever was released.
Still, at least they were able to go out with a bang, as audiences who watched the show seemed pleased. The series itself followed the legacy of Celebrity Deathmatch by surreally animating Hollywood stars; however, instead of claymating fights between them, Greatest Party Story Ever animated actors' and musicians' wildest party stories.
9 Undergrads (7.7)
Undergrads centers around a group of undergrad students as they wade through the trials and tribulations of dorm life, financial aid, and dating. The series is actually based on the real-life experiences (hopefully exaggerated for texture) of the series' creator, Pete Williams.
This authenticity likely helped ground the absurdity of the series and cause college students to connect with it for generations. Unfortunately, the story was left on a cliffhanger before the show was cancelled for good. Thankfully, Pete Williams was recently able to use the power of Kickstarter to help set the foundation for an Undergrads movie.
8 Aeon Flux (7.8)
Aeon Flux is one of the most influential, sci-fi series to come out of animation. The show's style was striking, as it looked and felt like a grungy, sci-fi series that people could only find at the back of vintage, VHS stores. Its story focused on the sci-fi adventures and sordid romance between the titular Aeon and the self-appointed leader of Bregna and charismatic scientist Trevor Goodchild.
Parts of the plot honed in on the various, morally ambiguous experiments and actions of Trevor Goodchild. Others examined Aeon's spy-like rebellion taking place in the background. Still, all of these elements coalesced into some of the most surreal adventures in animation and one of the most captivating and complex relationships on television.
7 Spy Groove (7.9)
Spy Groove dared to imagine a world where super spies didn't look like British waiters but instead resembled hip guys who frequented night clubs. The series parodied the spy genre, often incorporating joke gadgets and making its Bond-esque villains preoccupied with petty, tabloid issues such as celebrity dating or selling a brand of coffee.
Spy Groove is the exact type of action-adventure series that one can expect from '90s MTV. Its dialogue is sarcastic and witty, its animation is bright and colorful, and it chock full of music from the era. If anyone ever wanted a more cheeky version of Totally Spies!, try hunting down Spy Groove.
6 3-South (7.9)
If Beavis and Butt-Head ever went to college - and if that college was exactly like them - they'd likely attend the anti-intellectual haven of Barder College featured in 3-South. This series focuses on the various misadventures of Sanford and Del (played by literal comedy giant and The Big Bang Theory star, Brian Posehn) as they try not to flunk out of school.
Fueled by some of the best sophomoric humor ever seen in animation, Sanford and Del hilariously show fans how to skip class, steal from the cafeteria, and mooch off of students that actually try, such as the the duo's roommate, Joe. While the show was short-lived, it would somewhat see life again in its sister series in Fox's Bordertown.
5 Liquid Television (8.0)
Much of MTV Animation's success is thanks to the creative efforts of Liquid Television. A showcase of adult animation pilots and experimental stories, Liquid Television helped jump start some of the seminal series that would define MTV, such Beavis and Butt-Head, Daria, and The Head.
Due to its propensity for attacking the senses with short after short of crude, surreal animation, some might even consider Liquid Television to be the Adult Swim of its age. Liquid Television proved to be such a network staple that it had a short revival in 2014.
4 Downtown (8.0)
Downtown is one of those shows that was so ahead of its time that it was canceled before it showed society "too much of the truth." It focused on a group of young adults just trying to survive on the streets of New York, and it went over their experiences with moving, working part-time jobs, dating, and handling the horrors of roommates.
While most of the show already has a distinct style to it, it often transitions to wonderfully fluid and surreal shorts once the characters start telling stories. While Downtown would never see its full potential, it would act as a stepping stone for creator Chris Prynoski, who'd go on to start one of the most prolific animation studios around, Titmouse.
3 Daria (8.0)
While Beavis and Butt-Head may have had the stronger cultural impact - so much so that they practically became the mascots for MTV - the two knuckleheads functionally could never have the same sincerity or writing as Daria (though fans weren't asking them to).
Ironically a spin-off of the iconic, slacker series, Daria was an insightful and sharp-tongued examination of high school and suburban life, told by the ex-support character of Beavis and Butt-Head, Daria Morgendorffer. Daria became famous for both its social and political sensibilities as well as its ability to connect with that special type of teenager who always felt they were too smart for their own good.
2 Clone High (8.1)
Clone High was a cult-hit, adult-animated series that proved that one truly condense high school dramas formulas and attach them to anything. In Clone High's case, it was a high school drama about teenage clones of various historical figures. Abraham Lincoln was the awkward, main character who's trying to land a date, John F. Kennedy was an egotistical chauvinist, Cleopatra was the Queen Bee, and Joan of Arc, the famous French warrior and leader, was the moody girl who vies for the attentions of the main character.
The creators knew the fundamentals of "high school shows" and used them to create one of the most hilarious parodies around. Due to their depiction of Mahatma Gandhi, Clone High was canceled before it could make a bigger impact, though that may change given that the series has been picked up for a revival.
1 The Maxx (8.4)
Before Harley Quinn and Invincible helped bring superhero animation to adults today, The Maxx was around to both darken the genre and take it to new and strange places. Adapted from the Image/IDW comic of the same name, The Maxx was a single-season animated series about a homeless vigilante named The Maxx who often found himself at odds against strange, dream creatures and the dark wizard, Mr. Gone.
Rather than follow the singular plot line of "good vs. evil," The Maxx has its characters travel in and out of the dream world as they either try to run away from or fight past traumas. The series would sadly only get to adapt the first volume of the graphic novel, but it left behind one of the most visually striking and introspective cartoons ever to haunt people's televisions.
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