7 Best Kids’ WB Animated Shows That Defined the ’90s

During the early 1990s, Fox Kids and the Disney Afternoon were the biggest players in Saturday morning cartoons, earning a lot of money. Warner Bros. Animation was already a major success for Fox, creating many of their most popular superhero and comedy shows. Seeing the potential value of these shows, Time Warner decided to create its own dedicated children’s programming block to showcase animation made directly by their studio. This led to the official launch of Kids’ WB on September 9, 1995, which was a key part of the plan to build the new WB Television Network.

Kids’ WB quickly changed the television landscape by taking popular shows from other networks and launching bold, new original series. The block became known for giving creators a lot of freedom, resulting in shows that didn’t follow typical children’s programming rules. This appealed to both kids and older viewers, creating a shared viewing experience that made the brand incredibly popular. The late 1990s were a peak period for Kids’ WB, with the block expanding to include weekday afternoons and strategically bringing in Japanese anime, which had a lasting impact on entertainment worldwide.

7) Men in Black: The Series

The popularity of alien conspiracy theories in the late 1990s helped make the 1997 film Men in Black a huge hit, and the animated series quickly brought that same world to television. The show features Agents J and K, voiced by Keith Diamond and Ed O’Ross respectively, as they monitor and manage alien activity on Earth, adding new and unusual aliens to the existing story. Men in Black: The Series had a distinctive visual style that reflected the trend toward more realistic animation at the time, and it maintained the dry, bureaucratic humor of the original movie. While the series didn’t closely follow the movie’s storyline – which may explain why some modern fans overlook it – Men in Black: The Series arguably told the best stories outside of the comic books, using its episode format to allow characters to develop and change.

6) Pinky and the Brain

Spinning off from the hit show Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain gave the famous lab mice their own show on Kids’ WB! Each episode followed The Brain, voiced by Maurice LaMarche, as he came up with a new plan to take over the world, with help from his kind but not-very-bright friend, Pinky (voiced by Rob Paulsen). The show was known for putting the duo in cleverly designed settings, from accurate historical periods to funny parodies of famous movies. The great chemistry between the voice actors made their silly adventures feel surprisingly sweet and showed a touching, if unusual, friendship. Their signature question and answer—Pinky asking, “Gee, Brain, what do you want to do tonight?” and Brain replying, “The same thing we do every night, Pinky—try to take over the world!”—became hugely popular in the 1990s and is still well-known today. Pinky and the Brain even won an Emmy Award, proving its lasting impact on animation.

5) The New Batman Adventures

Many fans consider Batman: The Animated Series the best version of the Dark Knight, thanks in part to Kevin Conroy’s iconic voice performance. Its success led Time Warner to create a dedicated animated block, and in 1997, The New Batman Adventures moved to Kids’ WB!. The new series featured a more modern, streamlined art style with sharper angles, allowing for more dynamic action sequences and blending well with Superman: The Animated Series and the growing DC Animated Universe. The stories also broadened to include other heroes, with Dick Grayson as Nightwing, Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, and Tim Drake taking on the role of Robin. While some fans weren’t thrilled with the visual changes, the show continued to deliver compelling superhero stories, demonstrating the enduring creativity of the DC animated world.

4) Superman: The Animated Series

Premiering on Kids’ WB in 1996, Superman: The Animated Series offered a fresh take on the superhero, moving away from the silliness of previous versions. It portrayed Clark Kent (voiced by Tim Daly) as a character who could be physically hurt, facing realistic global conflicts. The show’s creators designed a Metropolis that looked like a hopeful, futuristic city from the 1939 World’s Fair, a stark contrast to the dark atmosphere of Gotham. Like the critically acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series, it featured complex stories and mature themes, demonstrating that Superman could carry a similarly compelling drama. Importantly, the series’ ongoing storyline directly led to the creation of Justice League, which became one of the most popular animated shows of the 2000s.

3) Animaniacs

Originally airing on Fox before moving to Kids’ WB! in 1995, Animaniacs was a wildly energetic cartoon series. The show followed the mischievous Warner siblings—Yakko, Wakko, and Dot—who constantly escaped from the studio water tower to cause playful chaos, often targeting Hollywood and the network itself. Animaniacs was known for its fast-paced humor, blending slapstick comedy with clever jokes for adults, political commentary, and parodies of the entertainment industry. It also featured memorable, fully orchestrated songs that taught viewers something new. During its run, Animaniacs won several Daytime Emmy Awards, proving that cartoons could be both smart and enjoyable for kids.

2) Batman Beyond

In 1999, Batman Beyond debuted on Kids’ WB, introducing a new take on the Dark Knight. The series followed teenager Terry McGinnis (voiced by Will Friedle) who unexpectedly finds himself wearing a high-tech Batsuit and teaming up with a retired, older Bruce Wayne (voiced by Kevin Conroy). Set in a futuristic, cyberpunk version of Gotham City, the show replaced classic gangsters with villains involved in genetic engineering and digital crime, all brought to life with a striking visual style of dark shadows and bright neon lights. While some were unsure about a teenage Batman, the series quickly gained a following thanks to its moody atmosphere and the strong relationship between Terry and Bruce. Batman Beyond was even recognized with a Daytime Emmy, and its impact grew with the highly praised movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, which delved into the tragic story of the original Joker, and the spin-off series The Zeta Project, which expanded the DC Animated Universe’s vision of the future.

1) Pokémon

In 1999, the animated series Pokémon premiered on Kids’ WB!, introducing the adventures of Ash Ketchum (voiced by Veronica Taylor) and his partner Pikachu (voiced by Ikue Ōtani) to a huge audience. The show followed Ash’s journey to become a Pokémon Master in the Kanto region, combining standalone monster battles with ongoing storylines and character development—a format that was unusual for Western cartoons at the time. Released alongside the popular Game Boy games and trading cards, Pokémon created a powerful connection between different types of media, quickly becoming a playground phenomenon. Its easy-to-follow stories and the famous slogan “Gotta catch ’em all!” helped turn Pokémon into a worldwide franchise, eventually becoming the most successful media brand ever.

2026-06-08 22:41