It seems like everyone grew-up in the 90’s, even the ones that didn’t.
That is just how most people who grew up in that era tend to see things. The whole world started with the 90’s for us folks as the decade witnessed the peak of all things great – from sitcoms to cartoon shows to videogames.
For every Indian kid from that time – who came back from school beating the scorching heat, with kilos of books inside their backpacks, those Hindi-dubbed cartoons were like an irresistible escapade, that one just couldn’t do without.
Today we’ll be looking back at some of the best cartoon-shows that we witnessed back in the 90’s, that simply can’t be touched or replicated.
That era just served the best of animated stories and characters. And that is not to be contested. Not with this diehard 90’s kid.
From Disney to Hannah Barbara, here are the 20 most memorable and best Hindi-dubbed shows from the 90’s:
TaleSpin
The show was so fantastically dubbed in Hindi that it sits up there with the original English version. Perhaps even better. The adventures of ‘the best pilot in the world’ – Balu and his countless adventures at the expense of Ritika Mahalingam
DuckTales
The richest duck on the planet, who had so much money (in the form of coins, of coarse) that he could literally swim into it. The adventures involving our favourite, greedy and rich-old Uncle Scrooge and his nephews – Louis, Hewie and Dewie are still just unmissable. Also the most nostalgic theme song ever!
Adventures of the Gummi Bears
A fantasy-land far, far away where a certain group of ‘gummi bears’ can speak, live like normal human beings and possess a magical potion, which makes them super-bouncy and super-powerful.
Dexter’s Labratory
From Cartoon Network’s never-ending repository of fantastic shows, came this classic tale of a born-genius and his mischievous sister, Dee Dee. These two were always causing a laugh riot, with Dexter’s parallel secret-life as a child scientist, running in the basement of their house.
Powerpuff Girls
Three super-adorable girls, who could fly and basically kick-ass. Whenever Townsville city was in trouble, by an attack from a giant monster or an invading alien ship, Powerpuff Girls were there to save the day!
Recess
This iconic show also aired through Disney Hour and followed the hilarity of a group of friends pursuing school together. Exemplifying the awesomeness that was a ‘recess’, during our school days. This show had everything.
Tom & Jerry
An almost no-dialogue run-and-chase between this iconic pair of cat and mouse made for the most iconic and recognizable show of our time. Just what household in the 90’s did not play this show? None, we believe.
Aladdin
Magic, desert, a fabulous genie and a talking parrot. This show had just the right mix to light our fantasies as kids. Glued to the TV-screens while finishing our homework, Aladdin was one of the biggest and “baddest” shows of our time.
Darkwing Duck
A lesser known gem-of a show, which had such an intriguing plot and episodes that they still stay etched in the memories of those who watched it then. A detective, crime-fighting duck – who saves the day from criminals and bad guys. This show was loaded with legit awesomeness.
Goof Troop
Another lesser-known fantastic show, which was hilarious enough to leave you in splits with all the buffoonery done by the show’s titular character – Goofy and his nosey pair of neighbours, who’d always get him into trouble. Ah, how we wish to relive the magic of this fantastic show.
Little Mermaid
The classic tale of Aerial – the princess of Atlantis, was made familiar to every Indian household in the 90’s with this Hindi-dubbed version which aired in Disney Hour. Little Sebastian and Flounder were the other two unforgettable characters, who accompanied the little mermaid on her many adventures on each episode.
Johnny Bravo
This cocky lad, who couldn’t help but hit on pretty girls – despite being knocked-down every single time tickled our funny bones every day after school. Johnny Bravo aired on Cartoon Network and it’s Hindi dubbing just added several layers of local and relatable jokes to the show, making it all the more funny for us Indian folks.
Courage The Cowardly Dog
“Nasamajh Doggy” – Courage wasn’t just the most cowardly dog around, but also the most adorable. His trysts with all sorts of supernatural and ghostly villains and his loyalty towards her human-mommy Muriel, made all of it’s stories a delight to watch.
The Jungle Book
Us Indian kids were originally familiarized with this iconic show when it used to air on DD National, perhaps before many of had cable networks. The iconic character of Mowgli and his many adventures in the jungles of India, created the most unforgettable tale of all times.
Captain Planet and The Planeteers
“Captain Planet, He’s a Hero, Gonna take pollution down to zero” – who else used to sing-along to this starting theme song of this VERY 90’s show? Captain Planet was born out of the ‘elements rings’ carried out by 5 or 6 of the show’s protagonists, who along with this unusual and modern-day hero, attempted to fight the realistic evil called – environmental pollution.
The Scooby-Doo show
Among the most classic shows of it’s time, Scooby Doo and his team of spies attempted to un-riddle the most complicated of mysteries, involving ghosts, spirits and criminals of all sorts. The perfect backdrop to all our daytime chores back then.
The Road Runner Show
We didn’t quite understand the theme song, but we made to sure to sing along every time we heard ‘Beep Beep’ in it. The ultimate chase between the show’s hero and a wild coyote, trying to get a hold of fast-running bird, but always falling face-down, hitting himself, one way or another. A roller-coaster of laughter.
Pokemon
Starting from the early 2000’s, this show became quite a craze among kids worldwide and India was no exception. We all whole-heartedly followed the story of Ash – the Pokemon trainer and his friends, as they cruised through all sorts of places to enhance their skills and become the ultimate Pokemon master.
Buzz Lightyear
A forgotten cartoon among Indian kids, which was no doubt one of the most intriguing and entertaining of them all. This space hero and his friends were always there to save the day whenever there was a travesty of universal proportions.
Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers
Every character on this show was absolutely adorable, including the two lead squirrels who led the pack as ‘Chip’ and ‘Dale.’ We all glued to our TV screens to watch them unravel mysteries after mysteries and to fight evil our in the world, in spite of their size.
Plenty of other countries made our day, back in the day, and made us eagerly look forward to the next one. But these 20 hand-picked toons certainly top the list.
Which were your personal favourite cartoon shows from back in the day?