Before Kids WB and Fox Kids were the must-watch blocks of network television, there was The Disney Afternoon. The syndicated block of Disney-produced cartoon shows was special because it didn’t look or feel like most afternoon cartoons of the early 1990s. They had better animation quality, catchy theme songs, and an adventurous spirit.
A handful of quality cartoons graced this weekday afternoon block composed entirely of Disney programming. The titles ranged from sitcom-style takes on familiar Disney characters to a thrilling dose of urban fantasy. If you want to relive the early 1990s, there’s no better way than turning on these Disney Afternoon classics, and luckily, they’re all available on Disney+.
10
Quack Pack
Quack Pack is the teenage sequel series to DuckTales, featuring older iterations of Huey, Dewey, and Louie. The trio now resides with their uncle, Donald Duck, leading to plenty of slapstick, the character was known for, as he attempts to raise these three boys. The globetrotting continued as Donald’s career as a TV cameraman took him to many locations, following his girlfriend, the TV reporter Daisy. Naturally, the brothers get into trouble and try to sneak around their uncle for a chance to have some teenage fun.
Quack Pack was more distinct from DuckTales because it gave the trio more distinct personalities instead of color-distinct shirts and hats. Huey is a fate-believing leader, Dewey loves pulling pranks, and Louie is a comic book geek who adores animals. The series also had plenty of fantastical plots involving mad scientists, superheroes, and witches. Despite arriving in the twilight years of the Disney Afternoon, Quack Pack was a fun addition to the block for continuing and developing the three adventurous ducks.
9
Adventures of the Gummi Bears
Long before The Disney Afternoon and even DuckTales, Disney was testing the waters of cartoon television with Adventures of the Gummi Bears. Based on the candies, the show takes place in a medieval fantasy land where the bears of Gummi Glen are the last of their race, using their magical abilities to protect their realm from evil. With the aid of their special Gummiberry juice, they go on adventures involving dragons and knights with a wondrous charm.
Debuting in 1985 and airing its final season on The Disney Afternoon block, this was the cartoon that set the tone for everything that would make Disney’s future afternoon shows great. The animation was bright and colorful, starkly contrasting with the 1980s competition for cartoons like Transformers and He-Man. The show also had a robust voice cast of talents like Jim Cummings, Jason Marsden, and Tress MacNeille, all of whom went on to more roles in future Disney cartoons. With a theme song I’ve never gotten out of my head, this show stuck with me longer than the candies stuck to my teeth.
8
Timon & Pumbaa
As the most eccentric side characters of The Lion King, Timon & Pumbaa feature the comical adventures of the meerkat and warthog duo. Timon and Pumbaa did far more in this show than just find more bugs to eat in the jungles of Africa. They would also take their adventures from the outback of Australia to the wonderment of cities, trying to avoid the traps of villains like the deceptive man Quint and the bird criminal Toucan Dan.
Less Lion King and more Ren & Stimpy, the Timon & Pumbaa cartoon had its charm for making the fast-paced antics of the boisterous boys more center stage. It also helped that the show featured the returning voice of Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa and even Nathan Lane as Timon for a few early episodes (later replaced by Quinton Flynn and Kevin Schon). As far as slapstick cartoons went in the 1990s, this one still holds up as simple fun, further embracing the philosophy of hakuna matata.
7
Bonkers
Bonkers can be easily summarized as a modern TV series iteration of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The show follows the mismatched cop duo of the eccentric cartoon bobcat Bonkers D. Bobcat and his cranky detective partner Lucky Piquel. Each episode finds them solving various crimes around Hollywood, usually involving some cartoon-related characters or events, making Bonkers an ideal addition for solving cases.
Bonkers felt the most like a crossover show because it featured many cameos of familiar Disney characters, ranging from icons like Mickey Mouse to Afternoon regulars like Darkwing Duck. The cartoon crime cases were also pretty clever in how they made the zany antics work for cop stories. So while we may never get another Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Bonkers came the closest to giving young audiences the police procedural that could’ve been made from such a concept.
6
Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers
Chip ‘n’ Dale went from being the troublesome chipmunks of the woods to a mystery-solving team in Rescue Rangers. Working alongside the genius mechanic Gadget Hackwrench and the chummy pilot Monterey Jack, they take on daring missions in a world of villains big and small (though mostly big). Their rivals include the crime boss Fat Cat, the mad scientist Norton Nimnul, and the crime lord Rat Capone.
Part of the fun with Rescue Rangers was the show’s scale, as everything seemed massive for the central critters in a world of danger. They would often retool familiar objects into machinery and vehicles, finding various ways to stop their towering opposition. The cartoon also popped with its own iconography, where it’s almost impossible not to view the titular duo now without their attire inspired by Indiana Jones and Magnum P.I.
5
Goof Troop
Goofy became more notable as a suburban dad in the sitcom-style cartoon Goof Troop. The show focuses on Goofy raising his tween son Max in a modern suburban setting, dealing with all the trials and tribulations of family, work, and school. Goofy is also joined by his neighbor/rival, Pete, who lives next door with his own family, which includes his eccentric wife Peg, uncertain son Pete Junior, and chatty daughter Pistol.
While the other Disney Afternoon shows usually retooled familiar characters for grander adventures, Goof Troop was refreshing for grounding a notable icon as more of a relatable dad. There were some fantastical episodes in the show, but most of the time, the focus was on the understandable antics of the father-son dynamic. This version of Goofy became so perfect that the show would be expanded into the theatrical film, A Goofy Movie, which posed a more dramatic road trip adventure for Goofy and a teenage Max.
4
TaleSpin
The Jungle Book was spun off into TaleSpin, a cartoon with more in common with Robert Louis Stevenson than Rudyard Kipling. The series finds the big bear Baloo, a cargo pilot working for his new boss, Rebecca Cunningham, taking over his business. Baloo’s brash and adventurous nature sends him into daring deliveries across the skies, aided by allies like the sky-surfing Kit Cloudkicker and targeted by air pirates like Don Karnage.
TaleSpin was a strange idea born from the freedom earned by Disney Afternoons and the popularity of The Jungle Book amid its re-release at the time. The air and island-based adventures were fun, but I remember falling in love with Kit’s retractable air surfboard. I always wanted that as a kid for the chance to surf across the clouds, and be honest, you probably wanted it as well, if you remember this show.
3
Darkwing Duck
Spinning off from DuckTales, Darkwing Duck featured the adventures of Drake Mallard and his alter ego, the masked hero. Although framing himself as a creature of the night akin to The Shadow, Darkwing was an absent-minded hero whose gadgets didn’t always work properly. He’s aided in his vigilante justice with the devoted Launchpad McQuack and Gizmoduck, helping him defeat such villains as Negaduck, Bushroot, and Megavolt.
Darkwing Duck was one of my favorites of the Disney Afternoon block because of Jim Cummings’s perfect voice as the absurd duck and the clever comedy of this anthropomorphic setting. One episode I never forgot was the horrific alien conspiracy episode, which managed to mix elements of Invasion of the Body Snatchers with Twin Peaks. Understanding those references now makes me appreciate this cartoon all the more. However, as a kid who hadn’t seen that media yet, that episode felt as genuinely terrifying as the source material.
2
Gargoyles
The gargoyle Goliath (Keith David) is cursed with his brethren to be encased in stone for centuries. His kin finally awaken in modern-day New York City, thanks to the magical obsessions of the billionaire David Xanatos (Jonathan Frakes). While the gargoyles get used to this new environment, they make new allies like the cop Elisa Maza (Salli Richardson) and enemies like the conflicted gargoyle Demona (Marina Sirtis).
Gargoyles met the call of bringing action cartoons to Disney Afternoon when superheroes were in vogue in the 1990s. The animation was as dark as Batman: The Animated Series, but it still boasted the high production values that other Disney cartoons were known for. In addition to boasting a fantastic cast that was mostly plucked from Star Trek: The Next Generation, the merging of action and fantasy has given this show a cult fanbase that persists despite the cartoon having been dormant since the 1990s.
1
DuckTales
Based on the popular comic book series, DuckTales follows the adventures of Scrooge McDuck and his three nephews. As one of the world’s wealthiest men (or ducks), the grumpy mogul foils villains trying to steal his riches and searches the globe for treasures. They’ll contend with all sorts of colorful villains, ranging from the bumbling Beagle Boys to the dark magic of Magica De Spell.
Before the Disney Afternoon was established, DuckTales paved the way for Disney’s place in syndicated afternoon television as a top cartoon contender. Debuting in the late 1980s, it was a real game-changer with fantastic animation quality and charming writing that felt more like a clever Disney feature than a watered-down cartoon built for cheap Saturday morning thrills. The gamble on quality paid off as DuckTales is one of the grandest cartoons of the Disney Afternoon, so revered that it received a reboot in 2017.
The Disney Afternoon was a great way to launch the Renaissance of cartoon television in the 1990s by raising the standards in production and writing. It was no longer enough for a show to look like a stiffly animated toy commercial, where studios like Warner Bros. and Nickelodeon stepped up their game with quality cartoons that have stood the test of time. While The Disney Afternoon was soon drowned out by more popular shows like Animaniacs and Batman: The Animated Series, Disney’s TV cartoons are still worth highlighting for starting that era with a cartoony bang.
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The Disney Afternoon was a syndicated afternoon block of cartoons that ran throughout the 1990s, including DuckTales, Goof Troop, and Darkwing Duck.