5 Underappreciated Cartoons IV

Well, well, I finally found more. It's been three years since my last Underappreciated Cartoons list. That's three years of searching for stuff to put into a fourth entry. It took a while, but I think I finally found a couple of good ones.

Same ground rules as all the previous lists:

• No anime stuff
• No repeat entries - if it was on a previous list, you won't see it here.

Right, with all that out of the way, let's get on with it!

5. Men in Black: The Series (1997 - 2001)

Starting off at No. 5 on our list is Men in Black: The Series.

In 1997, a little sci-fi/comedy film called Men in Black was released and was a smash hit at the box office. Not long after that, an animated series was released and, like the film, it was remarkably successful. The series ran for 53 episodes over four seasons.

Story-wise, it follows the film pretty closely. Agents K and J are part of a covert government agency - the titular Men in Black - fighting alien threats to Earth. I remember seeing more than a few reruns on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.

4. Sabrina: the Animated Series (1999)

Around the mid-90s, audiences were introduced to Melissa Joan Hart and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Three years later, an animated series aired on ABC. Sabrina: The Animated Series ran for 65 episodes from September to November 1999.

The series follows a 12-year-old Sabrina Spellman as she navigates being a very powerful witch. The episodes follow the same formula: Sabrina uses magic to deal with a situation, then realizes, in the end, that it's probably not a good idea to use magic for everyone.

3. Aaahh!!! Real Monsters! (1994 - 1997)

So...here's one I don't think many people have seen.

The series aired 52 episodes over four seasons on Nickelodeon from October 29, 1994, to November 16, 1997. Story-wise, the series follows three monsters as they attend a school where they learn to scare humans.

It was positively received, but it seems to have disappeared. This is one of the few series I saw as a kid that genuinely scared the hell out of me. Its art style was grotesque, and looking back, I can't see how I was able to watch this one.

In a clear demonstration of how weird my family is, this was one of my cousin's favorite series.

2. Nightmare Ned

Nightmare Ned...this is one I'd completely forgotten about. The series follows a kid named Ned Needlemeyer who deals with his daily issues, with some disturbing nightmares.

The series was based on a computer game of the same name, produced by the Walt Disney Company and aired on ABC for one 12-episode season, and was met with mixed reviews.

Sadly, it only released once and has since been unofficially uploaded to YouTube.

1. The Mummy: Animated Series

Loosely based on the two films, the series follows the O'Connell family as they're chased around the world by the undead high priest Imhotep and his lackey.

Produced by Universal Cartoon Studios, this series doesn't seem to be remembered by anyone these days. It's beautifully animated, well-written, and paced. It ran for 2 seasons from September 2001 to June 2003 and aired 26 episodes.

Much like Nightmare Ned, I'd completely forgotten about this series. The best part of this series is that you don't actually need to have seen the films to understand what's happening. Each episode is a self-contained story, with one or two arcing pieces.

Final Thoughts: We've Got 20 Entries

So, that's that, we've finally hit 20 entries. I loved writing this piece; it was loads of fun to take this journey down memory lane. I hope you guys and gals enjoyed reading.

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.