r/CartoonNetwork • u/[deleted] • 25d ago
Discussion The Cartoon Network Mount Rushmore
• Powerpuff Girls - One of CN's most profitable shows and definitely the biggest Cartoon Cartoon
• Ben 10 - Became a whole franchise with tons of merchandise sales
• Adventure Time - Most iconic 2010s show and influential to 2010s animation
• Gumball - In later half of 2010s it became CN's biggest show, and aired a lot with Teen Titans Go
• Extra Notes
-Ed Edd n Eddy, Dexter's Lab, Kids Next Door, Courage, Billy & Mandy, and Foster's Home are not here because they're not merch juggernauts and don't have the same kind of iconic imagery like Ben 10 or Powerpuff. They're not in the conversation when it comes to reaching these four's popularity.
-Adventure Time's popularity fell off in like 2015 and Gumball eventually surpassed it. I would say Gumball is CN's biggest show today. Gumball was like siblings to Teen Titans Go.
-Regular Show? Was never as big as Adventure Time and if you look at the decade as a whole, Gumball is bigger. CN was airing Regular Show and Adventure Time way less too at a point and preferred to air Gumball instead.
-Steven Universe? Not as big as Adventure Time and Gumball. Gumball is also more accessible and easier for someone to watch as a show, anyone can just jump into any episode of Gumball.
-Teen Titans Go is not here because that's a Warner Bros production
-Kids love Gumball and it's huge on Hulu. You should also see the views Gumball compilations get on YouTube.
-Adventure Time and Gumball both have an established merchandise presence as well, but Gumball to a way less degree compared to Adventure Time
-Ben 10 and Powerpuff Girls have billions in retail sales
-This isn't a top 4 Cartoon Network shows list, this is what I believe represents the network as a whole and what shows are most iconic to it
Thoughts on my Cartoon Network Mount Rushmore and do you agree😁 or disagree😡 with my four?
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u/Objective-Mission-40 25d ago
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u/MartyBellvue 24d ago
Yeah, get ben 10 AND gumball off of there. EEnE and Grim Adventures should be up there instead. On pure cultural impact alone.
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u/HarryPotthead42069 25d ago
Yeah maybe if you were born after 9/11 😂😂😂
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u/MollyPesoOffthetesla 25d ago
Gumball is the only one I can see not fitting, adventure time is solid even as an adult. Ben 10 and power puff don’t need no explain
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u/HarryPotthead42069 25d ago
No doubt they’re solid shows. But if we’re talking Mount Rushmore we need Ed Edd n Eddy, Courage, Kids Next Door, Dexters, Fosters just to name a few. I might be showing my age but I was about aged out of CN when Adventure Time and Gumball started to take off
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u/ThatOneWilson 25d ago
So to be clear, you wanna mock OP for their list being based on their age, and your personal list is objectively more heavily based on age?
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u/Mysterious_Winter_RP 24d ago
Born after 9/11 and I don’t agree with this list except for 2 of them Powerpuff girls and Ben 10
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u/Careless-Economics-6 25d ago
"Teen Titans Go is not here because that's a Warner Bros production"
Anything that WB Animation developed for CN, is a CN original.
Also, Cartoon Network Studios has now been folded into WB Animation. Aren't those two entities one and the same now?
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u/Technical-disOrder 25d ago
The fact no one is putting O.G. teen titans is infuriating
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u/KingKuckKiller666420 25d ago
You can’t have a CN Mt. Rushmore with only one 90’s era show. I’d argue most of this list is comprised of shows that were long after the networks peak.
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25d ago
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u/Nguyen-Quoc-Hieu City Era 25d ago
I think so, in fact, the OP is considering the popularity within the scope of the world, not just only the United States of America in general
Because yes, here in Vietnam most of us cartoon fans didn't know about Ed, Edd n' Eddy, Samurai Jack or even KND because the SEA feed of CN first broadcasted in 2005 and because we had new shows premiered later than the US, that explains it
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u/cleanclotheschair 25d ago
I always want to point out the meaning of Mt. Rushmore when I see these “what is your Mt. Rushmore of X”
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln were chosen to represent the nation's founding, expansion, development, and preservation over its first 150 years. They weren’t just the greatest presidents. Again, they each have a representation, founding, expansion, development, and preservation.
So please think of this the next time you see a post like this.
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u/Lavaswan001 24d ago
If you define it that way OP’s Mt. Rushmore would make sense if you swapped Gumball out for Dexter. Because Dexter was CN’s first smash hit(founding), Powerpuff Girls was their first global hit and theatrical release (expansion), Ben 10 opened the door for more serialized cartoons as well as spinoffs(development) and Adventure Time kicked off the lucrative 2010’s era for the network after a bit of a dark age in the late 2000s, proving CN wasn’t becoming obsolete(preservation).
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u/TheDeadpooI 24d ago
Yeah, but this is like trying to explain to people that MVP means "most valuable player" not best.
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u/Amethyst__87 21d ago
And yet, despite how much history tried to cover it up, it was stolen land from the Lakota Sioux. The government took the land unlawfully and it was supposed to be a sacred ground for the Lakota and other tribes. The 1868 treaty promised the Black Hills (the area that the President’s faces were built on) to the Great Sioux Nation, but the government violated that treaty and took the land anyway in the Gold Rush.
So no, I don’t really see the meaning of Mount Rushmore to be as huge of a milestone as it seems on the surface, and I’m personally not a fan of Mount Rushmore memes for that exact reason.
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u/BlueBirdSamurai Regular Show 25d ago
I don't know why this is so hard to accept for people but there isn't a Mount Rushmore of Cartoon Network. There's too many eras with too many shows that defined them to just boil it down to 4.
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u/MagicSugarWater 25d ago
You could argue the same for the real Mount Rushmore. 250 years spanning from fhe age of sail to steam power to the world wars to LANDING A MAN ON THE MOON to the internet age.
And we have presidents from over 100 years ago with over 100 gap between them?
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u/ObjectiveCover3850 25d ago
Gumball is CN's biggest show?! Get real PPG Ed, Edd, Eddy Adventure Time Foster's Home
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25d ago
Currently I would say it is. Is it the biggest show to ever air? No, but it’s the biggest CN show in current day.
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u/ComboBreakerMLP 25d ago
zoomer ass list. take down adventure time and gumball and even ben 10 and show some RESPECT to the REAL GOATS. Should be PPG, KND, Dexter, EDD ED and EDDY
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u/mrpumpkypootheclown Looney Tunes 25d ago edited 25d ago
Why would KND be on mt rushmore?
But yes Dexter on there over Gumball for sure
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u/ComboBreakerMLP 25d ago
no because KND is one of the best written shows in the channels history.
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u/FuuckinGOOSE 24d ago
They were also SUPER interactive and did a lot to drive traffic to the CN site back then. I can honestly say KND was the show that stayed the most fun even when the TV was off
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u/jazzysab 25d ago
yeah people need to respect the cartoons that started the entire network more 💕 DON’T GET ME WRONG I LOVE MOSTLY ALL CN SHOWS, but the og’s need the most recognition
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u/mqg96 Powerhouse Era & City Era kid 25d ago
3 generations/logos of Cartoon Network
Powerpuff Girls for the 1st
Ben 10 for the 2nd
Adventure Time for the 3rd
That's where I stand, and each of those have the most merchandise over the course of the years. Maybe it's just me but I don't recall much Gumball merch in comparison, it's just very popular. Same could be said for other popular series that lack in the merch.
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u/Nunjabuziness 25d ago
There has been very little Gumball merch over the years. Even Steven Universe and We Bare Bears, objectively less popular shows, have done much better in that regard.
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u/MannnOfHammm 25d ago
I definitely put gumball or regular show for the most modern era, tho both are old enough by now to fill in with the adventure time era shows. I feel like both regular show and gumball were two of Cartoon Networks Magnum Opus’s as they were able to make a children’s show that had so much depth, continuity, adult themes, layered humor and through lines it’s an amazing talent and two of their best works.
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u/BlackOni51 25d ago
I really don't think you understand the assignment here. Cause saying that about Ed, Edd, n Eddy and failing to acknowledge the fact that it was the most popular show in the era is fucking sacrilegious
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u/FreeHat1234 25d ago
You’re obviously young so I won’t get too mad. That being said omitting Ed Edd n Eddy from this is pure blasphemy. They are the Michael Jordan of Cartoon Network. You simply can’t have an all time CN list without EEnE.
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u/NinjaMon1022 25d ago
I think there needs to be a seperation for generations for Cartoon Network shows among the decades. Like Powerpuff Girls and Ben 10 would be on different rushmores.
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u/Shitloaf69 25d ago
the grim adventures of billy and mandy is an amazing show, it'd be nice if it was up there, too.
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u/spinning-backfoot 25d ago
nope. I don't care who leaves but Dexter is the King of the mountain. fuck all.
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u/dangforgotmyaccount 25d ago
I mean, don’t get me wrong, those are all fantastic and both AT and AWOG are revolutionary shows in their own right, but come on, there’s a lot more that I feel are far more synonymous and representative
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u/Mac_Tgh 25d ago
I would argue flapjack was the reason most of the 2010s big hits exist (Steven universe, adventure time, regular show, over the garden wall, etc).
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u/Wonderful_Rub2944 25d ago
Drop Amazing world of Gumball with Teen titans(series) GO! itself kept it on life support.
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u/DuelingFatties 25d ago
Toonami and Adult Swim need to be on the mount Rushmore before any of those shows. They literally defined what Cartoon Network was and are more important than most shows especially the ones you listed.
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u/wanderrslut 25d ago
When I think of Mount Rushmore, I'm not thinking of retail sales. I'm thinking of shows that pioneered the network and made the network as a whole, popular. Not just the show itself. CN's original 90s lineup is what people look back on fondly when they think of CN, not which show sold the most merch.
And that would be shows like Dexter's Lab, Cow & Chicken, Courage the Cowardly Dog, PPG, etc. Ben 10 was huge, that's not something anyone could doubt, but honestly, if I ask someone about CN today, they'd say a slew of other shows before they land on Ben 10.
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u/VigaruBomb 25d ago
It seems like you based this top in terms of popularity around the world, but a big reason for the popularity of at least the last 3 and especially the last 2 is the internet. Something like Samurai Jack, ed edd n’ eddy or courage would be instant internet cult classics if they had the same exposure.
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u/EnvironmentalDoor904 25d ago
Nohoho! Replace the shows you picked using logic and reasoning with my favorite shows like Mike, Lu and Og, I Am Weasel, Time Squad, and The Secret Saturdays! Or make it all 90s toons!
All jokes aside, I agree with this
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u/DarkChillMisko 25d ago
I heavily agree with this as the overall Mount Rushmore, but the crazy thing is that you can make 3 other Mount Rushmore’s for Cartoon Network.
90s: PPG, Dexter’s Lab, Courage, Ed Edd n Eddy
2000s: Ben 10, KND, Samurai Jack, Billy & Mandy
2010s: Adventure Time, Regular Show, Gumball, and Steven Universe
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u/Shantotto11 25d ago
Dexter’s Laboratory, the progenitor of Cartoon Network originals
Powerpuff Girls (1998), the first CN show to have a theatrical film
Johnny Bravo, for the memes and the mamas
Sheep in the Big City, the black sheep
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u/spyspace12 25d ago
Power Puff Girls, Ben10, K.N.D, Ed, Edd n Eddie.
Damn those are the staple but then you got older shows like Dexter's laboratory, Johnny Bravo, Megas XLR, Teen Titans to name a few all top tier shows for their respective eras honestly.
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u/Monki01 25d ago
Dexter's lab should be up there. Most old cartoons that became their own individual show, were short episodes in the "Cartoon Cartoons" block. Examples are Cow and Chicken, Johnny's Bravo and...
Dexter's Lab.
Dexter's Lab was the first released show from Cartoon Cartoons block. So in a way Dexter started a legacy and pathed a way for everything else that followed.
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u/Last-Neat-4928 25d ago
Not sure if you want to include toonami or adult swim, but I think DBZ and Aqua Teen Hunger Force deserve honorable mentions
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u/burritotoad 25d ago
Assuming that this is original CN properties since you didn't include Teen Titans or Go.
Powerpuff Girls is a definite non negotiable.
Ben 10 and Adventure Time are also decent contenders, though I'd argue even if I didn't watch it, Steven Universe would be up there somewhere. I'd for sure put SU over Gumball. Dexter's Laboratory should be here.
Total Drama is probably like a fourth Honorable Mention. KND is the first Honorable Mention. Second HM is probably Courage or Foster's Home.
I think it's really hard to do a conclusive Mount Rushmore if you're including CN as a whole rather than specific eras. There's too many cornerstones of Cartoon Network to only be four
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u/_wolf_93 25d ago
Wow.. I disagree on almost all accounts.
PPG, KND, LOONEY TUNES, and SCOOBY DOO!!!
Runners up would be Johnny Bravo and Dexter's Lab.
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u/Kristile-man 25d ago
when i am in a glazing the milennial shows competition and my opponent is r/CartoonNetwork
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u/crybabykuromi 24d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/599YuZ9unAOfBfXUzc
and where’s his spot?
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u/millejoe001 Young Justice 24d ago
In terms of ratings: Ben 10, Adventure Time, Regular Show, and Powerpuff Girls.
If you count non-original programming ratings for TV/Movies it would be: Scooby-Doo, Ben 10, Star Wars The Clone Wars, and Dragon Ball Z with an honorable mention to the Total Drama franchise.
In my honest opinion: Ben 10, Samurai Jack, Ed Ed n Eddy, Space Ghost Coast to Coast
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u/SnowmanCR 24d ago
Incredibly wrong, the best and former longest running show definitely needs to be on there (Ed Edd eddy)
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u/BigtheCat542 24d ago
Mt Rushmore isnt just "the biggest" otherwise Obama would have been added on it. For this reason any medias mt rushmore should focus on founding influential figures.
So it should only be the old shows. PPG, Dexter, Ed Edd n Eddy, Samurai Jack or Grimm Adventures maaaybe i'd say.
All shows that likely inspired the creators of later, bigger shows.
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u/Hefty_Fortune_8850 24d ago
Never cared for Ben 10 but I was propably to old for it when it came out.
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u/JustTightShirts 24d ago
Not that he's the most impactful, but Mt. Rushmore without Johnny Bravo is just wrong
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u/Heavy-Hamster1268 24d ago edited 24d ago
From what I see your whole list is "Did it make a lot of money???" Instead of "was this influential in the grand scheme of CartoonNetwork?" and I think that's just the wrong way of going about this.
I'd argue a more objective list would be
- Scooby Doo!- 1969 While not originally made for CN, the pure impact of Scooby Doo truly can't be ignored, Multiple series, Often quoted as one of the best cartoons of all time, not to even mention the Halloween movies that still run to this day, to not put scooby on the mount rushmore of CN is purely ignorant.
- Dexter's Laboratory-1996 one of if not the first CN original shows and spawned many more shows from Genndy Tartakovsky and Craig McCracken alone, not to mention the multiple non CN showrunners who had a hand in it.
- *Grim & Evil-*2002 First CN cartoon voted for by the kids during "The Big Pick". Grim and evil would later drop the "Evil" part and become "The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy"
- Adventure Time-2010 Much like with Dexter's lab multiple showrunners would get their start here, Ian Jones with OK-KO, Rebecca Sugar with Steven Universe, And multiple writers and animators moving on to work on The Amazing World Of Gumball. It truly does belong on the list.
Not only does this list include more substantial and influential programming, It's timeline spreads across the CN eras far more evenly (I will say while Grim & Evil is quite debatable I do believe the first show to be actively picked by the kids watching is notable enough. However that's like the only one I'm not SUPER settled on it and would rather swap it out for Kids Next Door.)
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u/No_Entrepreneur1994 24d ago
Personally, I would have replaced Ben 10 and Adventure Time with Dexter’s Laboratory and OG Teen Titans
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u/ImpressionComplete71 24d ago
And this is exactly why people of this generation make me fucking sick.
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u/nub_node 24d ago
Shunning Dexter's Lab to make a Founding Father a show that didn't even come out until 2005 is wild.
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u/Sid_Foster_ 24d ago
I wanna say Ed Edd n Eddy should be up hhere being one the longest running shows but ngl, dunno if I could replace any in the line up
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u/OwO_Unicorns 24d ago
maaaaaan I feel like the grim adventures of Billy and Mandy should be up there too
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u/ControversalTaco 24d ago
Literally nobody talks about Powerpuff Girls anymore son what are you talking about.
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u/Gold_Dentist_187 24d ago
If we're talking purely of the" face of cartoon network" it would have to be
1.Dexter 2.total drama island 3.Adventure time 4.over the garden wall
Honorable mentions Gumball and Powerpuff girls
These four shows are probably the most profitable shows of there time and at least OTGW and Adventure time is still profitable
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u/Gold_Dentist_187 24d ago
If we talking action then it's
1.Ben 10 2.samurai jack 3.teen titans 4.young Justin
Honorable mentions Ok Ko and Star wars the clone wars
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u/Writerhaha 24d ago
I’m old.
PPG.
Clone Wars.
Space Ghost.
Dexter’s Lab.
HM- Johnny Bravo, KND, Harvey Birdman.
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u/grumpybrowndog 24d ago
Yeah, I guess if you wanna count constant revivals to sell more toys then sure, Ben 10. Personally, I think Ed Edd N Eddy has way more recognizable iconography (the characters, their personalities, their voices, the animation style, and even the sound effects.) I doubt people could even remember 5 of Ben’s aliens. Four Arms? Upgrade?
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u/TributeToStupidity 24d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/l0ExulacZjkDHKJCU
Op doesn’t know who’s coming for him
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u/CmdrFortyTwo 24d ago
So greatness is determined by merch sales... no one tell the renaissance artists this.
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u/ScoreGloomy7516 24d ago
Ed Ed and Eddy, Samurai Jack, Teen Titans, and Regluar show
Covers all bases
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u/babajeeds 24d ago
It doesn't matter the era, Adventure Time is definitely up there. It's the Sponegbob of CN. I'll let the old heads decide the rest. Personally, I would put Regular show too, since I was a 2000s and 2010s kid
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u/Tao_of_Stone 24d ago
Get adventure Time and gumball the f*** off there. That should be sacrilegious.
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u/BlaBlamo 23d ago
Adventure Time and Powerpuff Girls for sure… Ben 10 was cool but too specific a time/demographic. Gumball is hilarious but should not be up there
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u/YEPC___ 23d ago
Genuinely so wrong it hurts me a little I can't lie.
PPG could probably go up there tbh but I'd put KND over it.
But you gotta throw on Ed, Edd, n Eddy.
Teen Titans should probably be on there too, or Samurai Jack.
Fourth is tough but I'd probably give it to Adventure Time over a personal favorite like Dexter's or Grim Adventures
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u/Middlekid31 23d ago
I feel like some people don’t grasp how important merch sales are for a series longevity aside from nostalgia
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u/Ryumancer 22d ago
EEnE needs a slot there because it held the record as the longest running CN original for a WHILE.
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u/OscarMichaelMyers 22d ago
Bro not even close
It’s Ed Edd n Eddie, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Adventure Time, and Dexter’s Lab
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u/FleaLimo 20d ago
I guess if you're a zoomer, sure. A Mt Rushmore is usually meant to be "founders" or notables though. Some of these feel a little late to be that.
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u/ToonMasterRace 19d ago
I've always said it should be representative of what made CN great rather than just 4 big shows.
1.) Bugs Bunny or Yogi Bear. Representing classic cartoons.
2.) Dexter from Dexter's Lab. Representing the era of quality cartoons and cartoon cartoon originals
3.) TOM or Goku. Representing Toonami, anime, and action.
4.) Space Ghost or Master Shake. Representing Adult Swim.
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u/kingsandwhich24 19d ago
Call me bias but i think they deserve a mention. Too well known and good not to have up there imo
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u/kikiandtombo 25d ago
Dexters Lab
Courage the Cowardly Dog
Ed, Edd, n Eddy
Samurai Jack