i'm just passing through folks don't
tend to pass through pottsfield welcome
to watch mojo and today we're counting
down our picks for the top 10 darkest
kids cartoons
[Applause]
[Music]
for this list we'll be looking at
animated shows aimed at young audiences
that regularly dealt with unsettling or
serious subject matter what do you think
is the darkest kids show are there any
we missed let us know in the comments
below
number 10 teen titans although teen
titans focused on dc's younger
superheroes the show wasn't afraid to
talk about mature themes every member of
the group struggled with at least one
complex issue the alien starfire
overcame prejudice and stereotypes there
are those on other planets who feel
tamaranians are inferior
truck is what they call us after robin
fought the vicious slade the hero fought
the villain's ghost in an episode that
was a metaphor for post-traumatic stress
disorder i've been fighting slade for so
long
i guess it's hard to just let it go
but sometimes i feel like i'm the only
one still looking for him
the only one who can stop him the titans
even have to fight raven's twisted
father in a climactic episode that
directly discusses death and features a
ton of disturbing imagery
while the show sounds dark its ability
to incorporate humor and action kept
this superhero adventure from getting
too grim
number 9. invader zim this kid's cartoon
about an alien constantly tiptoed the
edge of being a full horror invader
zim's unique animation style already
seemed a little freaky and weird but the
show often crossed the line when the
little green guy tried to conquer earth
with unsettling plans of full body
horror one of the most notorious
examples comes from the episode dark
harvest you're full of organs aren't you
why yes
yes i am and you wouldn't notice if you
were say missing
probably not when the alien zim wanted
to get human organs to fit in better he
borrowed some from whoever's nearby
as his body gets more horrifying to look
at victims have their organs replaced
with random items
[Music]
it's hard to believe invader zim
episodes like this were allowed to be
shown to younger audiences this has to
stop
i'm afraid i don't know what you're
talking about look at you you've gone
too far number eight gravity falls
after the pine twins travel to spend
some time with their grunkle stan they
discovered that there's lots of strange
things lurking around gravity falls hey
look what i can do
[Music]
dear t for you kid the creatures and
characters that inhabit the local area
can be really terrifying we still have
nightmares about the unsettling forms
the shapeshifter twisted itself into
before dipper literally gave it the axe
[Music]
unfortunately that scary creature
doesn't hold a candle to bill cipher
this demon had no problem possessing
bodies or openly declaring that he'll
slay whoever he wants in the falls with
characters like these it's no mystery
why you might want to watch gravity
falls with lights on what crazy thing do
you want anyway to eat my soul to rip
out my teeth are you gonna replace my
eyes with baby heads or something yeesh
kid relax all i want is a puppet number
seven adventure time on the surface this
show is just a light-hearted fantasy
adventure about finn and his dog jake
fighting the evil ice king and other
baddies i'm no more nice now you get ice
try watching those tapes with frozen
eyeballs
but as the series continues the
characters deal with increasingly
complex situations we learned that the
wacky ice king was once a normal guy
whose crown caused him to slowly lose
his memories and sanity just watch over
me until i can find my way out of this
labyrinth in my brain and regain my
sanity
and then maybe betty my princess
maybe you will love me again
please love me again betty at one point
we watched the happy-go-lucky finn lose
an arm in a visceral and dramatic
incident and we could go on for hours
about why the lich king is one of the
most terrifying villains in western
animation you are strong child
but i am beyond strength
i am the end
and i have come for you finn while the
lands of ooh finn lives in can be a
charming place he and his friends often
took really dark turns
number six infinity train
infinity train is a fantastic show with
vibrant art direction and concepts that
will engage audiences of all ages the
titular vehicle also stopped many times
to cover mature territory while
characters have been on the train
they've unpacked issues about divorce
morality and serious trauma
audiences had to watch beloved beings
meet tragic ends in several emotional
episodes there's also a character known
as mirror tulip aka lake who had to find
her life's purpose while trying to avoid
being shattered to pieces what did you
think would happen if you were allowed
through the exit you just go out into
the world with your metal skin and your
magic deer and what high school prom
college her dangerous and existential
crisis alone was full of heartbreaking
moments that raised questions that even
adults would find hard to answer riding
the infinity train will take children on
an adventure that veers into truly
complex places teamwork begins with two
people trusting each other
[Music]
for you
you're no person number five steven
universe
steven universe had a lot to unpack with
a therapist by the time the beloved and
layered series ended while the adorable
animation will pull new viewers in
images of steven turning into a cat
cronenberg monster might throw them off
stephen that is freakish no it's not
it's natural
outside of body horror we learned that
each character carries heavy baggage
underneath their gems even the extremely
composed pearl constantly copes with
abandonment issues and depression due to
the loss of her friend pink diamond
another gem named lapis had trouble
trusting others after being imprisoned
and thrown into a toxic relationship
lapis
can you see
i can't stop not for a second
don't look for me i don't want your help
but just let me do this for you and as
steven grows up he's forced to make
complex moral decisions and deal with
his own mortality the longer you spend
with the crystal gems the more serious
things got there you go again do you
understand why you defend their flaws
i know why pink
you like surrounding yourself with
inferior gems number four avatar the
last airbender
we had a feeling a show set during a
global war would be more mature than
your average cartoon but avatar the last
airbender shocked us with how willing it
was to show heroes dealing with
everything from the loss of one person
to the destruction of an entire culture
hey eng you find my dinner yet
aang i wasn't really gonna eat the lemur
okay
oh man although you'd think these events
would make viewers completely despise
the villains we felt bad for antagonists
like zuko who struggled with trauma and
harsh childhoods you will
learn respect
and suffering will be your teacher
i looked away
and when the show wasn't tackling these
issues it could dive into pure nightmare
fuel imagery watching ko the faith
stealer do exactly what his name implied
still leaves us shaken today avatar's
sequel series the legend of korra also
became known for combining heavy themes
and startling imagery it will be just
like the good old days
number three the ren and stimpy show
sometimes it feels like 90s nickelodeon
was trying to freak you out as a child
in rocko's modern life we saw character
nearly expire and visit um
heck and cat dog was known for putting
its main character in the middle of skin
crawling situations
[Music]
but by far the most disturbing of the
bunch was the ren and stimpy show it was
a deranged black comedy full of brutal
slapstick and really adult jokes the
muddy mud skipper show is brought to you
by gritty kitty litter and since the
illustrations drew a lot of scenes with
excessive amounts of detail the show was
full of shocking and disgusting imagery
it's no wonder the boundary pushing show
eventually got a reboot that was firmly
and exclusively for adults he's skippy
give me a drag on that thing
[Music]
number 2 batman the animated series
if you're talking about dark kid shows
you can't forget about the dark knight
himself as batman traveled through
gotham he came across twisted and
sympathetic characters he met an actress
who started losing touch with reality
because she was unable to traditionally
age now i'm baby for good and everyone
will love me again hugs
the heart of ice episode dived into mr
freeze's tragic history with his ill
wife i can only beg your forgiveness
and pray you'll hear me somehow
some place
where a warm hand waits for mine and
occasionally batman would question his
own sanity the grim tone this show set
would pave the way for series like the
new batman adventures to tackle subjects
around death and it also allowed batman
beyonds to feature more scenes of body
horror
[Music]
[Applause]
without the dark knight's original
series animated superhero offerings
might not have become so mature
before we unveil our top pick here are a
few honorable mentions the powerpuff
girls the bright colors can't cover up
the mature parts of this cartoon
the animals of farthing wood a kids show
that was not modest about offing its
characters
please
whatever you do dearest
don't curl up
the marvelous misadventures of flapjack
prepare for regular doses of nightmare
fuel i think i know what you want
string
over the garden wall two half brothers
experience weird and dark scenarios hold
on everybody
let's not jump to any conclusions
samurai jack this samurai is no stranger
to scary and scarring events
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number one courage the cowardly dog
it almost felt like this award-winning
kid show had a special talent for
freaking its viewers out please have
mercy on us we are a poor farm family
we'll try harder we will all right
you have until midnight to grow
something each misadventure this fearful
little mutt in his owners went through
was almost guaranteed to disturb you in
one episode a man with an obsession with
shaving animals constantly torments
courage
and oh such fuzz such fuzz it does
demand that i
be naughty
little dog also stared into disturbing
faces like a ghost head that was too
focused on planting and every single
courage fan remembers where they were
when that disturbing blue being appeared
in one of the dog's nightmares
[Music]
we don't blame the pink pup for
screaming his lungs out in every episode
since we still get scared watching the
series it will probably stand the test
of time as one of the darkest kids shows
ever do you agree with our picks check
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