The 11 Best Cartoons Of The ‘90s

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1. Hey Arnold!

Hey Arnold! — the chronicles of a cranially deformed 4th grader growing up in an unnamed big city — tackled heavy issues like no other cartoon has been able to since. Whether watching the orphaned Arnold’s football head deflate at the sight of a “Parent’s Day” flyer, or Mr. Hyunh give up his daughter so she could be safe from a war-torn country, or Stoop Kid take his first step off the stoop he was abandoned on as an infant, the Nickelodeon staple always went straight for the gut.

In addition to the theme of the parent-child relationship, the show also dealt with the woes of being a misunderstood outcast. Perhaps because he himself was ostracized for his appearance, Arnold always sympathized with the plights of the city’s downtrodden weirdos, like Pigeon Man, who opted to watch the bustle of society from the rooftops with his winged friends instead of participate in it – he feared he was too “different.” Or The Sewer King, who hid away beneath the city. And, of course, there was Helga, who was rejected by her family for failing to live up to the standards set by her beautiful older sister.

Hey Arnold! challenged us to look at life from the perspectives of people we didn’t understand, and sit next to that weird kid no one else would sit next to at lunchtime..

Image via YouTube

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