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 by two 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 the Pokemon craze that would hit a few years later, Monster in My Pocket became 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 Pocket gets 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 League grew out of the videogames Mutant League Football and Mutant 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 League was 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 of The 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 comprised Scooby Doo's Mystery Inc. were about as 70s as you could get, you need to check out Groovie Goolies. Sometimes referred to as Sabrina 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 of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In or Hee-Haw with obnoxious musical interludes, then Groovie Goolies is 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 obviously Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! This first installment of the Scooby-Doo series 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-Doo is 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 name Rick 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.
While Gravedale High was a lighter take on monster fare, it wasn't nearly as vapid as Groovie 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 animated Beetlejuice series followed hot on the heels of the 1988 live-action film. Director Tim Burton developed and executive produced the series, and composer Danny Elfman even 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, Godzilla appeared in two animated series. The first, from Hanna-Barbera, ran in the late 70s, while Godzilla: The Series arrived 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 Monsters was 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 Monsters was 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 film The Ghost Busters and 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 Ghostbusters were 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.
Courage the Cowardly Dog
Quite possibly the creepiest creations on this list go to the Cartoon Network series Courage the Cowardly Dog. Set in the middle of Nowhere, Kansas and featuring a capable but cowardly beagle alongside the elderly couple of Eustace and Muriel Bagge, Courage saw the easily frightened pup forced to confront a number of monstrosities in each episode in order to keep Muriel safe; Eustace was a real jerk, so he could fend for himself.
Courage may have started off with an evil alien chicken plaguing our hero, but other monsters soon followed, like giant spiders, a trickster shadow, Bigfoot, a weremole, and Muriel's creepy nephew, Freaky Fred. (Okay so Fred's not technically a monster, but man is he one creepy cat.) The creativity goes a step further in this show's monster creation since there's the occasional jump scare from a totally different animation style, like stop-motion, which is always just a little bit freaky.
The Addams Family
Back to the classics we go! The title family appeared in two separate animated series, one in 1973 following the 60s live-action TV series and another in 1992 following the 1991 live-action film, both of which were based on Charles Addams' comics characters. Following Gomez and Morticia Addams, their daughter Wednesday, and son Pugsley, plus Uncle Fester, Cousin Itt, Thing, Lurch, and in the 90s series at least, Granny Frump, The Addams Family not only entertained monsters, they were monsters, albeit cultured ones. One could argue over which family is more monstrous--The Addams Family or The Munsters--but the former had two series while the latter only had a solitary animated special. This one goes to the Addams! ::snap, snap::
Tales from the Cryptkeeper
Here's another great example of an animated adaptation that takes something aimed at adults and perfectly translates it for kids. Based on HBO's live-action horror anthology show Tales from the Crypt in which the decayed Cryptkeeper acted as a punny host, Tales from the Cryptkeeper keeps all of the same elements of the live-action show except for the sex and violence. The Cryptkeeper gets a youthful translation in a much more energetic (and less decrepit) animated form, though the puns are pretty painful.
The animated series featured the usual classic monsters like werewolves, vampires, ghosts, mummies, and invisible beings, but there's also some sillier scares to be had. How many other cartoons feature vengeful fish, wax statues come to life, plant people, and even a cyclops. This is one show we'd love to see rebooted, but the original remains an enjoyable watch just the same.
Teen Wolf
Michael J. Fox put a spin on the werewolf genre in the 1985 comedy Teen Wolf by playing a character who used his inherited lycanthropic talents to win girls and high school basketball games rather than for roaming the countryside with ravenous hunger. In 1986, the animated adventures of Teen Wolf were brought to the small screen for two seasons and 21 episodes. The series kept the premise of the movie--that Scott Howard and his family were werewolves--and focused on themes of coming of age and the social pressure to fit in.
There are some changes, however, since the Howard family's condition isn't public knowledge in the cartoon. Add to this the wrinkle that the town they live in is infamous for werewolf sightings, which draws in tourists; that puts Scott in the awkward position of feeling embarrassed about his condition while also being angered at the treatment of his fellow werewolves. It's a clear metaphor for those of us who feel like we just don't fit in, with a message to simply "be yourself." Thanks, Teen Wolf!
Count Duckula
Among the sillier entries on this list is the British comedy/fantasy series, Count Duckula, a spin-off from the Danger Mouse series in which the Count character often played the recurring villain. Spanning the late 80s and early 90s with four series and 65 episodes, Count Duckula--not to be confused with Quackula--followed the title character, the latest in a long succession of counts. However, when the resurrection ritual swaps tomato juice for blood, the result is the carrot-hungry vegetarian vampire, Count Duckula.
As funny a hook as vegetarian vampires are, the plot that Count Duckula most often revisited was Igor's attempt to make his master more monstrous; Duckula's nemesis Doctor Von Goosewing, however, refuses to believe he's harmless. And while various "Dracula" characters show up in cartoon forms, this show also features such supernatural monstrosities as zombies, mechanical werewolves, and other more vicious members of Duckula's family.
Toonsylvania
The first DreamWorks Animation series, and one that was executive produced in part by Steven Spielberg, Toonsylvania was a late 90s show that opted for a recurring series of segments and gags, and a small cast of characters. Toonsylvania followed the same pattern each week: It opened with a segment about Dr. Frankenstein, his assistant Igor, and their monstrous creation (named Phil); it then transitioned with a running gag about a broken TV remote; then followed a family of zombies through their various adventures; transitioned again with a disastrous science minute from Igor; and closed with a "horror" moral about the bratty Melissa Screetch.
The show's second (and final) season changed things up with a switch to a sitcom style of storytelling. It even introduced a character inspired by Psycho's Norman Bates, which is probably the only instance of this decidedly disturbing character appearing in animated form. That alone is worth seeking this show out.
Milton the Monster Show
The 60s animated variety series Milton the Monster Show added another cutesy twist on the story of "Frankenstein" with the creation of a good-natured and friendly (though hollow-headed) monster. The product of an experiment by mad scientist Professor Montgomery Weirdo, Milton's good humor resulted from too much tincture of tenderness accidentally spilled into the mixture of essence of terror and sinister sauce. Other original monsters included the skull-faced ghoul Heebie and the cyclops Jeebie, a rival mad scientist named Professor Fruitcake and his creation Zelda the Zombie, the witch Hagatha, a biker monster named Fangenstein, and perhaps the best-named sidekick in all of cartoon history, Abercrombie Zombie.
Additionally, one of the show's more popular segments featured the superhero insect "Fearless Fly", who was an ordinary housefly who gained superpowers by putting on a pair of spectacles. Not exactly monstrous but the core cast of characters has that covered. This series might be easy to overlook since it only ran for 26 episodes in the late 60s and hasn't found its way back into the modern era, but it's still worth a revisit.
Skeleton Warriors
It's right there in the title. Skeleton. Warriors. If you were into skeletons, skulls and cartoons in the mid 90s, there's a good chance that Skeleton Warriors was one of your guilty pleasures. This show was bonkers. Its weekly intro featured a giant, golden, 3D skull with red eyes floating in the vacuum of space telling of the title characters, followed by a rocking guitar riff. So 90s. So monstrous.
The show pit the Legion of Light (who were mostly living humans except for their undead ally Grimskull) against the evil Baron Dark, a living skeleton who can turn anyone with a bit of darkness in their hearts into a skeleton minion with just a touch. And he's not even the most monstrous creature on the show! There's the half-skeleton/half-machine Dr. Cyborn, Shriek the lady skeleton (you can tell by her boob armor...), and the most monstrous of all, the six-armed Aracula, who combines your fears of skeletons and spiders into one living nightmare. Cartoons!
Monster Force
Airing around the same time as Skeleton Warriors but with a story set in 2020, Monster Force was another 13-episode series that aimed to capitalize on monster popularity but didn't quite catch on. That's a bit surprising considering that Monster Force had a Universal Monsters connection since it was a co-production with Universal Cartoon Studios. It was a sort of Ghostbusters meets Universal Monsters mashup that featured a team of teenagers/college students (of course) who used high-tech weapons to fend off the monstrous threats. Members of the team had a personal stake in their job beyond just defending humanity; Dr. Reed Crawley was once a captive of Dracula, Luke Talbot is afflicted with the curse of the werewolf, and Shelley Frank had a family member killed by Dracula.
In addition to the monsters they fight against--the "Creatures of the Night" including Dracula, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Im-Ho-Tep, the werewolf Niles Lupon, and the Bride--the original Frankenstein's monster actually sides with the heroes. Monster Force was a good idea that just didn't catch on, but that doesn't mean you can't revisit it today!
Drak Pack
A more casual monster team-up came courtesy of the early 80s series Drak Pack, a 16-episode series that focused on Drak Jr., Frankie, and Howler, who were descendants of Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and a werewolf, respectively. In a clever twist, the trio aims to make up for all the evil their ancestors have done by uniting to form the superhero team, the Drak Pack. (Not so clever is their Drak Whack, in which their human disguises are swapped for their monstrous forms with a group high-five and a shout of "Whack 'em!" ...)
This series definitely had fun letting its super-powered monsters loose upon such villains as the blue-skinned mad scientist Dr. Dred and the agents of O.G.R.E. (The Organization for Generally Rotten Enterprises), which included Toad, Fly, the big bumbling Mummyman and Vampira. If you can handle the puns--the amphibious flying car called the Drakster, the evil HQ dubbed Dredquarters--you can certainly have some fun with this one.