If CBBC was cosy and safe, Cartoon Network was wild, weird, and wonderfully ours.
Cartoon Network in the late 90s/early 00s felt like the slightly older sibling of kids’ TV: loud, chaotic, and full of characters who made no sense but all the sense in the world. The bright colours, surreal bumpers and that checkerboard logo that whispered, “something fun is about to happen.”
💥 The Golden Line-Up
No skipping past Dexter’s Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, Johnny Bravo, Ed, Edd n Eddy, Cow and Chicken, Courage the Cowardly Dog and I Am Weasel. Every show had its own brand of chaos — from Dexter’s “Dee Dee, get out of my laboratory!” to Mojo Jojo’s marathon monologues. The humour was sharper, the animation wilder, and somehow it all worked.
🌀 The Vibe
Cartoon Network wasn’t just a channel — it was an aesthetic. Black-and-white squares, punchy idents, and those quick “Cartoon Cartoon!” stings. I’d flick over from CBBC and instantly know I’d landed somewhere different — a little rebellious, like the network trusted me to get the jokes even if I was technically too young to understand half of them.
🧃 After-School Chaos
For me, CN was tea-time TV. I’d sprawl on the carpet with a drink and let the noise wash over me while the Powerpuff Girls saved Townsville (again) and Dexter plotted another invention. Sometimes I’d pinball between Nickelodeon and CN like I was running my own TV studio — but deep down, Cartoon Network had my heart.
📼 A Little Anecdote
We actually call my stepdad Mojo Jojo because of his monologues 😂 He’ll start explaining something and just keep going — full dramatic hand gestures, the lot. Every time he does it, I can hear that Cartoon Network voice in my head. Honestly, it’s one of those family in-jokes that stuck, and now I can’t see Mojo Jojo without laughing.
💭 Looking Back
Cartoon Network shaped my sense of humour more than I realised. It taught me that weird can be wonderful, that big feelings and bright colours aren’t just for kids, and that storytelling doesn’t have to be neat to be powerful. It celebrated creativity in all its messy, glorious chaos — and left me with theme tunes I still hum in the shower.
Your turn: What was your go-to Cartoon Network show? Tell me in the comments — and yes, I’ll lovingly judge if it wasn’t Dexter’s Lab 😉
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Asten Does Nostalgia 
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