The Nelvana studio has shut its doors, ending a half-century of cartoons produced in Canada. You might recognize some of its cartoons by name, as the studio has been around for ages, so there's a high likelihood you've seen their work. You might be familiar with their animated segment in the Star Wars Holiday Special or their underrated animated rock opera, Rock & Rule.
Of course, TV cartoons are their most popular projects, and they have a history of composing some of the most memorable animations to grace the small screen. They've animated dogs, droids, and Care Bears, oh my! Show some love for the departed studio by replaying these Nelvana cartoon classics.
10 Ruby Gloom
Ruby Gloom might live in a Victorian mansion in the somber town of Gloomville, but she's not frightened by this setting. She still finds fun stuff to do in this dark location with her Gothic-style friends of Doom Kitty, Iris, Misery, Skull Boy, Frank, Len, and Poe. Lessons of teamwork and friendship can still be explored amid an atmosphere of ghosts in the air and death in discussions.
For what started as a stationary brand prior, Ruby Gloom has an instant iconography for the character designs that embraces the cute and the creepy, mixing vibrant red with deep blacks. Created by Martin Hsu, the design of Ruby and her friends immediately draws the eyes, and her charming adventures through a macabre staging have this adorable Halloween quality that exists somewhere between the charms of The Nightmare Before Christmas and the dark eccentricities of Invader Zim. While not the most popular cartoon, it gained a cult following that resulted in, of all things, a fan garment line.
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Follow the adventures of the cheerful Ruby Gloom as she navigates her gothic world.
Simultaneous streams 3 Price Included with Amazon Prime subscription ($15/month or $139/year) or $9/month standalone Visit Amazon Prime Video Stream Ruby Gloom on Prime Video Expand Collapse 9 Star Wars: Droids
Released a few years after the conclusion of the original Star Wars trilogy, Droids featured the further adventures of C-3PO (reprised by Anthony Daniels) and R2-D2. Set before the events of the first Star Wars movie, the robot duo is owned by various human masters as they traverse the galaxy. They'd also run into familiar side characters like the bounty hunters Boba Fett and IG-88.
Airing as part of The Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour, this show was a solid step towards bringing Star Wars more into the realm of animation. Despite dealing with robotic characters, Nelvana took some liberties to make the duo more expressive in their actions. While the show only lasted one season, the cartoon had its charms, as well as a theme song from Stewart Copeland of the Police.
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Tag along with 3PO and R2 on their adventures in their Star Wars animated series.
Stream Star Wars: Droids on Disney+ Expand Collapse 8 Bob and Margaret
While kids' cartoons were Nelvana's bread and butter, but they didn't shy away from adult animation like Bob and Margaret. The animated sitcom follows a British couple who struggle to interact with the world while maintaining their ho-hum jobs as dentists and podiatrists. Despite their cautious nature, their many outings and communications often end up with shouting or something going wrong, ranging from an argument at a dinner party to a hostage situation on an airplane.
Bob and Margaret stood out from other animated sitcoms by focusing more on the dry mundanity of marriage and work, tapping into the spirit of British humor. The series expanded on the awkwardness from the original pilot film (involving a surprise birthday party where Bob ends up pantsless). It explored more of the common issues of a childless couple, figuring out what to do next with their lives. The show might not have been as big a hit as something similar to King of the Hill, but it did last for four seasons.
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This British animated comedy is a classic.
Stream Bob and Margaret on Tubi Expand Collapse 7 Redwall
Based on Brian Jacques's books, Redwall is a fantasy epic set in a world of anthropomorphic mice. Matthias is a mouse raised by monks at Redwall Abbey, tasked with a quest through dangerous lands to acquire a lost armor and weapon with great potential. While on this adventure, he'll be accompanied by his loyal friend and love interest, Cornflower. What follows is an epic tale of fantasy and adventure, set in an intricate world of legends, tribes, and long-running legacies.
There was a surprisingly dramatic tone to Redwall that made the fantasy all the more engrossing, feeling less like a cartoon of mice who used swords and more like a rousing tale through wondrous lands and compelling characters. The series lasted so long that most of Brian Jacques's Redwall books, including Mattimeo and Martin the Warrior, would be adapted for the cartoon. The animation was clean and detailed, but it looked too cartoony for the material, making this such an exciting show to watch when it aired on PBS (or Teletoon if you were in Canada).
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Mice Matthias and Cornflower head out on an epic adventure to find a legendary weapon in this fantasy cartoon series.
Stream Redwall on Tubi Expand Collapse 6 Inspector Gadget
Don Adams went from voicing the absent-minded spy on Get Smart to an absent-minded cyborg detective on Inspector Gadget. As the titular inspector, he attempts to solve crimes with his many cybernetic attachments, ranging from a helicopter in his hat to legs that extend several feet. While Gadget isn't too bright when trying to foil the mysterious Doctor Claw (Frank Welker), he does have help in the form of his wise niece Penny (Cree Summer) and anxious beagle, Brain.
Inspector Gadget felt like a double-whammy of great cartoon comedy, with Gadget often fumbling his cases and literally fumbling with his body's many gadgets. Having Don Adams in the role really adds to the character as an investigator who is bad at his job, but tries too hard for a joke, as Adams puts on his familiar Maxwell Smart delivery. The animation also made Gadget's many contraptions so cool that it made me want the toys all the more, since getting cybernetic enhancements for a helicopter head just didn't seem in the cards.
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Go-go gadget! Follow the adventures of the teched-out inspector, Penny, and her dog, Brain, in this favorite kids' cartoon.
Simultaneous streams 3 Price Starting at $8/month or $60/year Stream Inspector Gadget on Paramount+ Expand Collapse 5 Babar
The iconic elephant in Jean de Brunhoff and Laurent de Brunhoff's books was given the royal cartoon treatment with Babar. Before he became known as the king of the elephants, Babar rose to the rank of royalty by exploring the wilderness and cities. After running hunters out of his realm, Babar becomes a leader and father.
For those who don't recall much about Babar, it's a pretty dark cartoon about an ascension to the throne. In this story, Babar's mother is gunned down by hunters, and a king is poisoned to death by mushrooms. It was a surprisingly thoughtful cartoon about an elephant who starts walking bipedally and donning a crown. Considering the politics and topics in the show, it was refreshing to see such earnestness in a TV-Y cartoon.
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The charming tale of the orphaned elephant as he returns home to become king.
Stream Babar on Tubi Expand Collapse 4 The Care Bears Family
What started as a series of greeting cards, The Care Bears Family also became a popular cartoon of the 1980s. The series revolved around various bears with different emotions who helped kids with their problems, while residing in their cloud kingdom of Care-a-Lot. The many bears would steer the kids in the right direction, using their magical powers, including the team effort move called the Care Bears Stare.
The Care Bears were the first huge hit of the Nelvana studio, given that they worked on the Care Bears special that preceded the TV series. The show is surprising in its focus on making kids take their feelings seriously while exploring greater concepts, such as talking about death through the idea of a giant that will only awaken for a short time and then go back to sleep for a lifetime. The show could also get somber, given that the Care Bears faced off against the cruel villain, Lord No Heart.
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The famous caring critters from Care-a-Lot travel the world helping those in need.
Stream Care Bears on Tubi Expand Collapse 3 The Adventures of Tintin
The iconic comic book characters created by Hergé come to life in the animated adaptation of The Adventures of Tintin. The series follows the globetrotting reporter Tintin, who solves mysteries and tracks down artifacts with his allies, the plucky dog Snowy and the scrappy Captain Haddock. They'll face off against various foes and dangerous forces of nature in travels that will take them from the sweltering desert to the ocean's depths.
The Adventures of Tintin is faithful to the comics in more ways than one. The cartoon not only maintains Hergé's style with pupil-free eyes, but also directly adapts comic storylines, including The Secret of the Unicorn and Cigars of the Pharaoh. As a co-production between Canada and France, the show maintains the chipper charm of the comic books and even inserts Hergé as a cameo in a few episodes.
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Follow the adventurous reporter Tintin on his worldly adventures.
Stream The Adventures of Tintin on Prime Video Expand Collapse 2 The Magic School Bus
The Scholastic book series that made science more exciting made a solid transformation into a cartoon. The eccentric teacher, Ms. Frizzle (Lily Tomlin), has a magical bus that can transform into any vehicle/creature of any shape and size. With this valuable teaching aid, she takes her class on field trips to let them see the human body's inner workings and the grandest sights of outer space.
Developed with Scholastic, The Magic School Bus was an entertaining and informative cartoon that was a treat among 1990s cartoons. Tomlin was ideally suited for the role of Frizzle, and the animation had a balance of matching the details of science and the imagination of the book in how a bus could become anything. As a staple of PBS programming, the cartoon left a lasting impression, especially for the closing segments where the kids correct the show's producers with scientific facts, making the show feel more intelligent rather than talking to the young audience with simplified science.
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Lily Tomlin voices the iconic Ms. Frizzle in this equally iconic series about her and her class's adventures on the titular school bus.
Stream The Magic School Bus on Tubi Expand Collapse 1 The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police
Based on Steve Purcell's comic, Sam & Max is the absurd detective adventures of an anthropomorphic dog, Sam (Harvey Atkin), and a rabbit, Max (Robert Tinkler). Their cases were anything but standard, as they were thrown into situations involving fridge monsters, rat people on the moon, and marital problems of Greek gods. The duo approached every situation with clever humor, as Sam often made strange observations while Max was prone to random acts of slapstick chaos.
For a cartoon airing on network television, The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police was a fast-paced and funny show cut above most Saturday morning cartoons. There was a knowing nature to the comedy that was daring enough to make sly jokes about bodily functions and occasionally break the fourth wall with references to censors and commercial breaks. While the show only lasted for 13 episodes, it has become a cult hit since and even won a Gemini Award for Best Animated Series.
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A fan favorite about detectives Sam and Max, an anthropomorphic dog and rabbit, respectively, and their hilarious and absurd cases.
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Nelvana is not the only cartoon studio to close its doors, given the history of studios like Filmation and Ruby-Spears. Given that companies became defunct in the 20th century, it's impressive that Nelvana lasted as long as it did. They'll be greatly missed as the studio that makes magic buses come to life and mice go on fantastical adventures.