Weirdest cartoons you remember?

[Adrastia]

Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea. I would get up at the crack of dawn to watch it and was too young to understand what was even going on. I was just fascinated by how weird it was.



There was an animated film that I saw on PBS several times that I can't recall the name of. There's an alien girl and her coming of age story is concurrent with the story of the humans who are inches tall (or maybe the aliens are giants?) and they are treated horribly. It was really weird.

 

[dropsmegamega]

Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea. I would get up at the crack of dawn to watch it and was too young to understand what was even going on. I was just fascinated by how weird it was.

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There was an animated film that I saw on PBS several times that I can't recall the name of. There's an alien girl and her coming of age story is concurrent with the story of the humans who are inches tall (or maybe the aliens are giants?) and they are treated horribly. It was really weird.

Fantastic Planet (1973)?

 

[Waffles]

These two are international treasures:

 

[It's Thinking 2]

Cybersix was an anime that was based on an Italian comic book that took place in Spain and aired in the US.

 

[VampireLord1024]

I think Action League Now! was weird, though I know it wasn't a cartoon.

 

[It's Thinking 2]

I think Action League Now! was weird, though I know it wasn't a cartoon.

Yeah they called it "chuckamation" because it was throwing toys around. lol

 

[VampireLord1024]

Yeah they called it "chuckamation" because it was throwing toys around. lol

They should make more shows like that nowadays.

 

[Octopus]

Cybersix was an anime that was based on an Italian comic book that took place in Spain and aired in the US.

It was such a bizarre story all around. It was produced in Vancouver, had Japanese animation, and adapted an Italian comic book like you said; the comic is also profoundly not kid friendly, may I add and I think within like 10 pages has full frontal Six nudity like 3 times; perfect material to adapt into a largely kid friendly Teletoon (that's what I watched it on at least in Canada) show.

That being said, I absolutely adore that show and it deserved more recognition. That opening song is still stuck in my head. Easily one of the most formulative shows for kid Octopus.

 

[Adrastia]

Fantastic Planet (1973)?

Yeah. That was it. What a bizarre film.

 

[Spike]

That is BEAUTIFULLY weird. I love it XD

Yeah ok you won wth is that?! lol

Mtv was amazing then. I watched Liquid Television, Aeon Flux, The Maxx and The Head whenever I got the chance. I found the box set of Aeon Flux and Daria at a secondhand store a couple years ago and did not hesitate to grab them.

I remember all those good times!

It was such a bizarre story all around. It was produced in Vancouver, had Japanese animation, and adapted an Italian comic book like you said; the comic is also profoundly not kid friendly, may I add and I think within like 10 pages has full frontal Six nudity like 3 times; perfect material to adapt into a largely kid friendly Teletoon (that's what I watched it on at least in Canada) show.

That being said, I absolutely adore that show and it deserved more recognition. That opening song is still stuck in my head. Easily one of the most formulative shows for kid Octopus.

That intro slaps!

Fantastic Planet (1973)

Saw it, pretty weird alright...

Bonus, known series not so known Japanese intro:

 

[PhrawzT]

Not necessarily weird, but obscure. 3-South, Missipn Hill, The Oblongs and O'Grady are some great cartoons that could have been so much more popular.

 

[sandogma]

Yeah ok you won wth is that?! lol


I remember all those good times!


That intro slaps!

Saw it, pretty weird alright...

Bonus, known series not so known Japanese intro:

Wow I had no idea there was a unique intro for the Japanese X-Men dub. That was amazing! I would love to see a cleaned up HD remaster of those intros.

 

[stealthRUSH]

Three Friends and Jerry comes to mind

 

[dropsmegamega]

 

[It's Thinking 2]

Not necessarily weird, but obscure. 3-South, Missipn Hill, The Oblongs and O'Grady are some great cartoons that could have been so much more popular.

Freaking loved Mission Hill.

 

[Waffles]

This kid needed his own YouTube show XD

 

[PhrawzT]

Freaking loved Mission Hill.

Gus and Wally were the best.
"You should join the navy. Three square meals a day and all the gay sex you can handle."
"I am so sick of hearing about your navy days."

 

[It's Thinking 2]

Gus and Wally were the best.
"You should join the navy. Three square meals a day and all the gay sex you can handle."
"I am so sick of hearing about your navy days."

Or how about when he had that big knife stuck in his head and wanted everyone to just ignore it? lol

 

[Boo Man]

i was trying to remember a weird cartoon i used to like, all i could remember was it was set in a junkyard and one of the characters had a wheel for a foot.. with that information i somehow found it!

 

[sandogma]

i was trying to remember a weird cartoon i used to like, all i could remember was it was set in a junkyard and one of the characters had a wheel for a foot.. with that information i somehow found it!

If you liked that show and also enjoy old school beat 'em-ups you may wanna check this out!

 

[Boo Man]

If you liked that show and also enjoy old school beat 'em-ups you may wanna check this out!

haha thats so cool! ill definitely be getting that one for the nostalgia hit and because i like the genre too!
my gf particularly likes old school beat em ups like this & they are great for couch co-op
thanks for letting me know!

 

[Adrastia]

I don't think I ever considered it before, but Muppet Babies was weird. It was a very unique cartoon. The Muppets babies would use their imagination and those segments would include real life locations and movie clips. Unfortunately, said clips make copyright a nightmare and it's why there's no DVD collection.

I believe Liquid Television is in the same boat because each animation came from different artists.

 

[sandogma]

I don't think I ever considered it before, but Muppet Babies was weird. It was a very unique cartoon. The Muppets babies would use their imagination and those segments would include real life locations and movie clips. Unfortunately, said clips make copyright a nightmare and it's why there's no DVD collection.

I believe Liquid Television is in the same boat because each animation came from different artists.

I remember watching a lot of Muppet Babies. I loved how their imagination often referenced popular movies at the time and you're right, its forever trapped in copyright limbo now.

 

[Gorse]

Does anyone remember Gary the Rat? It was an adult cartoon that aired on the now-dead Spike TV network alongside Ren & Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon and Stripperella, which should give you some indication of its quality. It's a show about a big-shot lawyer in NYC who, through a Kakfa-esque transformation, turns into a rat, and he's voiced by Kelsey Grammer. Each episode is about how he deals with being both a lawyer... and a rat! LMFAO!!!!!!!

OK, the show really sucked, but I've always been mildly obsessed with it. It actually holds a record as the world's first TV show based on an internet cartoon, and the original web-based shorts are actually quite funny. (They used to be available for free on YouTube, but I can't find them anymore...) I'm so ashamed to admit that I bought this whole show on iTunes, and I regret both it and my own life. Squeak!

 

[miguk]

Super Milk Chan was a weird one. It was an anime about a baby that is a superhero but never does anything she's asked to do. It was sort of like if Hello Kitty had a love child with Ren & Stimpy.

There were a number of weird animated movies in the 70s and 80s that are underappreciated now. The Last Unicorn*, Wizards, Fire & Ice❉, and Fantastic Planet are all worth checking out. Also any Yoshitaka Amano original (Angel's Egg, the Vampire Hunter D series) is still weird despite his work having more mainstream acceptance these days.

And while they only borderline being weird, you can kind of count Interstella 5555 (though Daft Punk and anime are mainstream now, so less weird than back then) and The Black Cauldron (though it sits on the line between weird and typical Disney).

* By Topcraft Co before they became Studio Ghibli.
❉ Ralph Bakshi's work in general counts.