Cartoons & Cereal: The 15 Greatest Animated TV Theme Songs

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Think back if you can, scour your memory banks and try telling yourself that it didn’t feel great to be a kid?! Nowadays, the stuff that comes on air is a bit adult even for the most developed young mind, but back in the day, you had some pretty exciting choices. Shows like Family Guy, Adventure Time, and Regular Show have all culled a memorable spot in one’s heart with their memorable tunes, but most people forget the obvious classics in favor of today’s recent successes.

With or without lyrics, these past small screen wonders managed to trigger all sorts of sensory responses: laughter, eagerness for adventure, or pure adrenaline.

The animated TV theme songs presented in this list will make you feel nostalgic in ways that might seen foreign, but don’t fret, we’re in a no judgment zone. While you don’t have to plug these cuts into your iPod playlist for your early morning jog, these short and addictive ditties will instantly get you in the mood to pour a big bowl of Cap’n Crunch and veg out with the quickness.

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Photo: Deviant Art

Fat Albert

A throwback classic created by edutainer Bill Cosby found Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids using the funky intro to indoctrinate audiences about problems faced by the young in an urban community.

Duck Tales

Wanna be a baller? A shot-caller? Well, this theme song made everyone under the age of 13 imagine diving into a pool full of gold, and living the life of luxury.

The Boondocks

The classic Adult Swim show managed to spoof, parody or straight insult many who offended simple civil liberties. Hip-hop artist Asheru‘s sharp diatribe got fans ready for the ruckus, for real!

The Flintstones

The first family of cartoons made everyone laugh even before the show started, and was the most financially successful animated franchise until The Simpsons took its spot.

Spider-Man

This song has been parodied (see: The Simpsons Movie), been meta-fied in films (see: Spider-Man 2), and will forever live in nerd/geek pop culture as the definitive theme song for everyone’s favorite neighborhood arachnid superhero.

The Pink Panther

Henry Mancini‘s jazz-idiom theme song would become one of his best-known works, which found many cartoon fans enjoying these animated theatrical shorts.

Pinky and The Brain

Animaniacs might have had everyone’s attention, but this rodent duo managed to steal the show with their plots to take over the world. Who wouldn’t want to rule the globe while rocking to this theme?

Captain Planet

Don Cheadle may have made Captain Planet into a meme, but when this cut originally came on, you couldn’t help but slap the first person you saw ruining the ecosystem.

George of the Jungle

A classic from the gate, this catchy theme song managed to spoof the Tarzan character with great comedic timing and a hilarious beat! Watch out for that tree.

Jem and the Holograms

Say what you want, but if you liked girls growing up then you couldn’t escape seeing all the cute ones rocking out to Jem and her infectious theme song every week.

G.I. Joe: An American Hero

A legion of young boys all wanted to make plastic guns and fight the forces of Cobra after this adrenaline-inducing song blared out of television speakers.

Samurai Jack

Genndy Tartakovsky‘s action-adventure ‘toon had one of the illest openings on TV with his funky ditty about a samurai warrior trapped in the future.