Back to Happiness: 5 Forgotten Cartoons You Might Have Loved as a Kid

written by Caleb Olson

June 30, 2024 11:00 am

Back to Happiness: 5 Forgotten Cartoons You Might Have Loved as a Kid — Image credit: Jetix Concept Animation, The WB

These five made many people's childhoods better.

Every generation of kids has its own favorite things to watch. While streamers, YouTube and Tiktok are popular today, a few decades ago, kids waited patiently for cartoons to air on TV. And some of those cartoons were so good that they could still be popular today if they hadn't been forgotten – like these five.

Bakugan Battle Brawlers (2007-2009, 4 seasons, 5.8 on IMDb)

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Available on: Tubi TV, Amazon Prime

Based on the Bakugan toy franchise, this Japanese-Canadian anime series is set in a world where some people – mostly children – possess the fascinating toys of the same name, which can transform into various monsters and be used to fight for the title of the world's most skilled brawler. The Bakugan themselves are beings from another world, banished to other dimensions after the collapse of their home planet. Only together can the aliens and humans rebuild their home.

Winx Club (2004-2019, 8 seasons, 6.2 on IMDb)

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Available on: Amazon Prime

This Italian-American animated series follows Bloom, a young girl from the fictional city of Gardenia on Earth, who discovers that she has magical powers and that her parents aren't her real parents. To learn how to control her powers and find out about her past, she enrolls in the Alfea College for Fairies, where she makes new friends and together they fight all kinds of evil to save many worlds.

Magi-Nation (2007-2010, 2 seasons, 6.3 on IMDb)

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Available on: Tubi TV

Based on the card game of the same name, this Canadian-South Korean animated film centers on Tony Jones, a young boy from Earth who is taken to another world called the Moonlands because he is believed to be the prophesied hero destined to rid the world of a dangerous evil sorcerer trapped in the core. To do this, Tony must find magical artifacts called Dreamstones. Hopefully, his new friends and various fantastic creatures that inhabit the Moonlands can help him.

W.I.T.C.H. (2004-2006, 2 seasons, 7.3 on IMDb)

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Available all over YouTube

This Franco-American adaptation of the Italian comic book of the same name revolves around a group of teenage girls from Heatherfield, a fictional town on Earth, who one day discover that they have mystical powers over the five elements of nature and are destined to become the next Guardians of the Veil, mystical warriors charged with protecting various worlds. Together, the girls embark on a journey full of danger, as there are many villains they must battle.

Jackie Chan Adventures (2000-2005, 5 seasons, 7.4 on IMDb)

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Available on: Amazon Prime

Starring Jackie Chan, this cartoon followed his fictionalized animated version, an archaeologist working with a secret US agency fighting crime. Hectic as it is, Jackie's life becomes even more chaotic when his niece from Hong Kong, Jade, comes to live with him and his uncle in San Francisco, and a criminal syndicate begins a hunt for ancient talismans believed to possess magical powers.