In today’s television landscape, theme songs aren’t nearly as ubiquitous as they used to be. Almost every TV show in the past had a theme song to introduce you to the show each time it aired. It’s a shame, really, because theme songs are often what you remember most about shows you grew up with, but in this digital streaming era — a catchy theme seems less and less a priority for modern show producers.
Today, we’re going to look back at some of the most memorable of TV show theme songs from the 1990s, specifically animated TV shows. According to Wikipedia, there were over 300 different animated series that aired in the ‘90s, so this is purely based on immediate recollection.
Below are the top 10 most memorable animated TV show theme songs from the 1990s!
Looking for the ’80s? We got you: The 8 Best ’80s Animated TV Show Theme Songs – Ranked
Arguably one of the best animated series from the ‘90s, period, the Batman theme song isn’t quite as memorable as the show itself, which is kind of the opposite of how it seems to go with a lot of these songs. Nonetheless, the theme song does a good job of setting the tone for what you’re about to watch, which is arguably what it’s supposed to do.
Now this is probably the opposite of number ten – the theme song is very memorable, but the show itself, not as much. We couldn’t tell you one plotline from Animaniacs, but we can sing along to the theme song. Pinky and the Brain, which started out on this show and eventually evolved into its own show, also has a memorable theme song, but we argue this one is moreso, and that’s why it gets a spot in the top 10 here.
You may not remember the TaleSpin theme song off the top of your head at first, as both DuckTales and Chip N Dale are more memorable (they’re in the ‘80s list, don’t worry), but once it starts playing with its “ohhheeeayy’s,” you’ll dance right along to its reggae-style tune. The show featured characters from The Jungle Book, re-adapted for this animated series about pilot Baloo, his boss Rebecca, and his navigator Kit.
Interestingly, Doug’s creator was very involved in creating the music for the show overall. The theme song itself was recorded before any animation was done, which apparently was not common. It features the classic, “do do do do do do do do do do do” that you, uh, really need to know the tune to get, but if you know it, you get it. Doug originally started out on Nickelodeon, but eventually moved over to Disney, though many think those episodes are far inferior to the Nickelodeon ones.
By far the most popular of the Nicktoons of the ‘90s era, Rugrats spun off movies, other series’, video games, and is even in the pipeline for a reboot series set to premiere in 2021. Until 2012 when Spongebob Squarepants surpassed it, Rugrats was the longest-running Nickelodeon animated series of all time, with 172 episodes produced over 13 years. The show also gained over 20 awards, including four Daytime Emmy Awards, six Kids’ Choice Awards, and its own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, so it should be no surprise that its theme song also stands out as one of the best.
Though The Simpsons is still on to this day, it enjoyed its true heyday in the 1990s — you couldn’t escape Bart Simpson. Today, Homer is the more popular character, but regardless of all that, the theme song is certainly one you remember. It was composed by Danny Elfman after creator Matt Groening approached him asking for a retro-style piece. The show’s theme song is one of the few in television history that is truly a weekly don’t-skip — each opening is tailor-made per episode, with Bart writing different words on the school chalkboard, and the family all ending up on the couch in different, fun, and zany ways.
Even though there are no words in this theme (like about half of the themes here), once you hear or start thinking about the X-Men theme, it gets stuck in your head like no other. The instrumental theme was composed by Ron Wasserman, who also happened to do another memorable theme song, a little something called the Power Rangers. You may have heard of it.
They’re tiny, they’re toony, they’re all a little loony… If you watched Tiny Toon Adventures at all back in the ‘90s, you know this tune by heart. So it shouldn’t shock you that this theme song ended up winning a Daytime Emmy for its creators. Also interesting to note — the show used a full orchestra to compose the music for its episodes, something you don’t hear of often for an animated TV show.
The eco movement in the ‘90s was strong — those of us who grew up during that time really took environmentalism to heart, thanks in part to shows like Captain Planet, which was all about Captain Planet and the Planeteers working to save the Earth from evil polluters. Kids had different heroes to look up to in each of the Planeteers, who represented different cultures and personalities. Famous actors who voiced guest roles on some of the episodes included Jeff Goldblum, Whoopi Goldberg, Meg Ryan, Martin Sheen, LeVar Burton, and Sting. And the theme song? It’s the most memorable part of the show, period.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were everywhere in the ‘90s – they had an animated television series, multiple movies, and of course, the toys. The toys were everywhere. Everyone had a favorite turtle, and if you didn’t hear cowabunga at least once a day, what was even happening? The theme song was just as memorable as the turtles themselves — the heroes in a half-shell, the spoken interludes (he’s a radical rat!), it had it all.
What was your favorite animated TV theme song from the ’90s? Let us know in the comments!
- Chuck Lorre, yes that Chuck Lorre, creator of such hits as Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory, recorded the theme song for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and performed the spoken parts.
- Captain Planet was the second longest-running cartoon series of the ’90s, producing 113 episodes.
- Mark Mothersbaugh was the composer for Rugrats‘ series run, including the theme song. You may also know him from as a member of the band Devo of “Whip It” fame.
- The Batman Animated Series theme was a variation on the music written by Danny Elfman for Tim Burton’s Batman films, and in fact the entire score of the series was inspired by his music for those films.
- The man who provided the voices of Skeeter, Mr. Dink, and Porkchop on Doug, Fred Newman, created the signature theme song and the various doo doo doos and snap and pops.
- Chuck Lorre, yes that Chuck Lorre, creator of such hits as Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory, recorded the theme song for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and performed the spoken parts.
- Captain Planet was the second longest-running cartoon series of the ’90s, producing 113 episodes.
- Mark Mothersbaugh was the composer for Rugrats‘ series run, including the theme song. You may also know him from as a member of the band Devo of “Whip It” fame.
- The Batman Animated Series theme was a variation on the music written by Danny Elfman for Tim Burton’s Batman films, and in fact the entire score of the series was inspired by his music for those films.
- The man who provided the voices of Skeeter, Mr. Dink, and Porkchop on Doug, Fred Newman, created the signature theme song and the various doo doo doos and snap and pops.
