As we get closer and closer to Halloween, the cultural pull to dig out some creepy classics and monster movies grows ever stronger. But not everyone is into hardcore horror or blood and gore. Luckily, the history of animation is loaded with examples of monstrous cartoons that run the spectrum from the truly spooky to the straight-up silly. There’s something for everyone out there, and we’ve put together the best to satisfy your craving for family-friendly Halloween fare.
This list of the 25 Most Monstrous Cartoons Ever is going to stick to series that are appropriate (or at least intended) for kids, so that means we won’t be including any mature cartoons, bloodily violent animated series, or a good chunk of anime. We’ll also be sticking mostly to monsters in the classic sense, avoiding things like aliens, robots, or interdimensional beings. It’s a subjective list so there’s some gray area for discussion, but either way I hope we’ve included some nostalgia-friendly shows for your enjoyment!
Check out the list below and be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments:
Bonus: Monster in My Pocket
Monster in My Pocket, created bytwo former Mattel executives, launched as a Matchbox toyline in 1989, one which featured small plastic figures of monsters and legendary creatures from religion, mythology, contemporary works of fiction, and urban legends. Like thePokemoncraze that would hit a few years later,Monster in My Pocketbecame a collection obsession. The media franchise spread across every conceivable form of media in the very early 90s, culminating in a 1992 video game and animated special.
Monster in My Pocketgets a bonus mention since it did bring to life a number of classic monsters in a novel way, but it only did so for the Halloween special,Monster in My Pocket: The Big Scream.It finds Dr. Henry Davenport (aka the Invisible Man) overseeing the world’s most dangerous monsters in a Transylvanian prison. When Vampire, leader of the monsters, uses a shrinking spell to escape (by shrinking the entire prison and then somehow teleporting everything to Los Angeles…), both good and evil monsters (and a Jamaican werewolf named Wolf-Mon…) find themselves in the care of a famous horror writer’s 10-year-old daughter. If only there was a way for them to get back to their normal size…
Apparently there was a 2003 computer-generated series made by Peak Entertainment for a UK release, but Cartoon Network never opted to pick the series up for a US showing. Shame!
Mutant League
Another animated series that was part of a bigger franchise (which is a pretty common occurrence since a lot of cartoons were essentially half-hour long toy commercials),Mutant Leaguegrew out of the videogamesMutant League FootballandMutant League Hockey. It enjoyed a pretty solid run of 40 episodes over two seasons in the mid 90s and introduced a whole new collection of characters to the monster canon.
Starting with an earthquake during a football game that uncovers buried toxic waste, releasing fumes which turn players and spectators alike into horrible mutants,Mutant Leaguewas a surprisingly sophisticated satire on the state of professional sports (at least as far as Saturday morning cartoons were concerned). Bones Justice and his Midway Monsters teammates find themselves under the corrupt control of Mutant League commissioner, Zalgor Prigg. Taking the commentary even further, the games themselves were often rigged in such a way as to exact maximum damage on the players, who would often lose limbs, break bones, or get decapitated. Don’t worry, just throw them in the toxic chemical bath known as the Rejuvenator and they’d be good as new again!
Inhumanoids
If ever there was a case for a show in which the monstrous villains should actually defeat the heroes, it was the short-lived 1986 series,InHumanoids. This Hasbro series, based on a toy property, saw the human scientists of Earth Corps battling against a trio of subterranean monsters dubbed InHumanoids. If it wasn’t for the assistance of the Mutores, a group of elemental monsters who have a vested interest in defeating the InHumanoids, these scientists and their poorly designed battle-suits would have been (and should have been) wiped out in no time.
The saving grace to this sub-par monster cartoon was the design of the monsters themselves. Tendril is a massive Cthulhu-like creature with vine-like tentacles, D’Compose looks like the partially decayed corpse of a T. rex, and some of the Mutores include the sentient tree-like creatures, the Redwoods (…) who, at first, are straight out ofThe Evil Dead. This may not be one of the best cartoons ever made, but it’s certainly one of the most monstrous.
Groovie Goolies
If you thought the gang of kids who comprisedScooby Doo’s Mystery Inc. were about as 70s as you could get, you need to check outGroovie Goolies.Sometimes referred to asSabrina and the Groovie Goolies, since it featured Sabrina the Teenage Witch and her aunts, this Filmation cartoon centered on a group of hip and with-it monsters residing in the haunted boarding house, Horrible Hall. The characters were designed as 70s iterations of classic Universal Pictures monsters, monsters who took up musical instruments and sang pop songs as a preferred pastime.
If you’re looking for scares, shrieks, and spooky stories, look elsewhere. If, however, you want a silly series that’s like an animated version ofRowan & Martin’s Laugh-InorHee-Hawwith obnoxious musical interludes, thenGroovie Gooliesis the one for you!
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?
The more successful and longer-lasting 70s series that focused on mysterious monsters (but actually featured no monsters at all, not until much later at least) is obviouslyScooby-Doo, Where Are You!This first installment of theScooby-Dooseries that ran in 1969-70 launched a mega franchise that continues to this day. Over numerous animated series, specials, TV movies, direct-to-video features, and even live-action films, Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby have been solving mysteries by unmasking monsters, revealing the men and women behind the crimes.
And yet, despite the fact that the antagonists were almost always people in costumes in the early days,Scooby-Doois still one of the most inventive monster cartoons in animated history. Every episode had to have a unique and inventive crook who not only pulls off some sort of rime but also cooks up an elaborate scheme to throw the cops off the scent. And they would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids, and Scooby-Doo!
Gravedale High
Perhaps you remember this silly series better under the nameRick Moranis in Gravedale High. It ran for just 13 episodes (which could be considered lucky in this monstrous universe) in the fall of 1990 when Moranis was arguably at the height of his acting career. Moranis himself voiced the role of human teacher Max Schneider who oversaw a class of unruly high school monsters in the town of Gravedale. With names like Vinnie Stoker, Frankentyke (who had a striking, likely intentional resemblance to Bart Simpson), Reggie Moonshroud, and (sigh) Cleofatra, it should be quite clear that these monsters were yet another version of Universal Pictures' classic characters like Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, the Wolf Man, and the Mummy.
WhileGravedale Highwas a lighter take on monster fare, it wasn’t nearly as vapid asGroovie Goolies. The students dealt with real world problems both personal and academic, they just did it with a scary slant befitting their monstrous nature. The truly funny part of this series is that, though Moranis took top billing, it was the modern monsters who stole the show.
Beetlejuice
It used to be that, if there was a popular movie that could conceivably find a niche audience with kids, there’d be an animated series following soon after it. At least, that’s the way it was in 1989 when the animatedBeetlejuiceseries followed hot on the heels of the 1988 live-action film. DirectorTim Burtondeveloped and executive produced the series, and composerDanny Elfmaneven reworked his movie’s theme for the show. It also reunites Goth girl Lydia Deetz with the title character, the bio-exorcist of the “Neitherworld.”
Where the cartoon changes things up, however, is by making Beetlejuice more palatable than his live-action counterpart, though he retains his con-man characteristics. The animated series also vastly expands the world and introduces the audience to Beetlejuice’s family, and other Neitherworld residents like Jacques the skeleton bodybuilder, Ginger the dancing spider, and, of course, sandworms. It’s a rare example in which a movie introduces a concept that a cartoon show just absolutely runs with.
Godzilla: The Series
Let’s get away from the relatively small movie monsters for a bit and raise the stakes 30 stories high, or so. Easily featuring some of the biggest monsters ever to take to the small screen,Godzillaappeared in two animated series. The first, from Hanna-Barbera, ran in the late 70s, whileGodzilla: The Seriesarrived as a sequel of sorts to the 1998 feature film. Both series featured a team of human scientists who could call on Godzilla in times of great need (ie every episode).
But the main source of enjoyment in either series was watching the King of the Monsters take on a wide variety of other gigantic monstrosities. The original series saw Big G taking on such creatures as the Fire Bird, the Colossus of Atlantis, giant flies, octopi, black widow spiders, and beetles, and even a cyborg whale! The newer series was just as obsessed with giant forms of otherwise normal critters but also included such colorfully named creatures as Crustaceous Rex, El Gusano Gigante, and Cyber-Flies. Check these shows out if you like your monsters super-sized.
Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
I mean, it’s right there in the title! Nicktoons’Aaahh!!! Real Monsterswas a departure from more traditional monster shows in that it followed a trio of monster students as they navigated training and adolescence. Ickis, Oblina and Krumm are among the most unique monsters you’ll find in this list, as are their friends at monster-training school. Their education under the bizarre thumb (and heels) of The Gromble is paired with practical scare sessions in which the monsters must venture out into the real world and terrify the normals.
Aaahh!!! Real Monsterswas a refreshing installment in the monster cartoon archive since it avoided the good vs evil trope and allowed its characters a surprisingly deep level of characterization. There’s a lot of humor, heart, and horror to be found here, so it’s worth another watch.
The Real Ghostbusters
The Real Ghostbusters–not to be confused with the live-action 1975 filmThe Ghost Bustersand its 1986 animated series–is clearly a classic cartoon in its own right, but it also boasts a rather monstrous rogues gallery. There are your run-of-the-mill ghosts and hauntings right alongside the more inventive and memorable characters, characters like the Boogieman, Samhain, Killerwatt, the Sandman, Shoggoth, and even a family of trolls to name a few.
The Real Ghostbusterswere clearly the human heroes in a battle against some really monstrous foes but every once in a while they found some humanity in the horror and some sympathy for their spectral foes. The most famous ghost to cross over to the heroic side is, of course, Slimer, who was played up more for comedic relief in the cartoon than anything else.
