15. Lilo and Stitch: The Series
Before “Liv and Maddie” and the god-awful “Shake It Up”, we had beautiful, animated classics like Lilo and Stitch.
And the crossovers this series had was WAY better than the forgotten “That’s So Suite Life of Hannah Montana” (sorry if I unlocked a not-so-happy memory there).
Lilo and Stitch meet Kim Possible.
The American Dragon.
The Proud Family.
And the freaking Recess cast!
(Still kind of bummed there was never a crossover with The Buzz on Maggie or Dave the Barbarian...)
While some would disagree, I think crossovers are only good if they’re CARTOONS. I don’t know one person who gushes about Raven Baxter meeting London Tipton. But I’ve seen a whole fandom getting excited when the topic of Lilo and Kim Possible working together is brought up. (And I think Marvel's overrated)
Do you remember when Disney Channel had those “Moving In” ads that involved both live-action AND animated characters coming to your door? I still remember when Jake Long, in his dragon form, greeted a pizza delivery boy. And then Stitch ate an entire box.
Yeah, I miss that Disney Channel too...
14. The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair
Scooby-Doo meets Batman and Robin! How more awesome of a crossover can you expect?
Yes, we’ve been cursed with straight-to-DVD sh*t like the gang meeting KISS or how they tried to establish the “Hanna-Barbera Cinematic Universe” with the SCOOB! movie (they did Captain Caveman DIRTY).
Although the crossover with John Cena was actually pretty cool. Probably because the meme is timeless. And Shag and Scooby were fanboying all over John.
But seeing Scooby-Doo buddy up with Batman will forever be a great 90s kid memory.
How awesome it was that they met again in “Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?”!
Shaggy and Scoob f*cking beat down The Joker and Penguin! And Shaggy wasn’t even in his ultimate form yet!
13. The Jimmy Timmy Power Hour
Back when Nickelodeon was awesome (before Spongebob became an overrated, mediocre cash cow that continuously spits on Stephen’s grave), we had such great shows like Jimmy Neutron and The Fairly Odd Parents.
Before Cosmo got pregnant with Poof and that b*tch Chloe f*cked the whole show over, Timmy had grand adventures in Jimmy Neutron’s world.
While nowhere close to genius, Timmy fit right into Retroville. Jimmy was obviously too good for the disaster that is Dimmsdale (because he’s a genius surrounded by idiots).
I was all for Timmy/Cindy. Because I hated the Jimmy/Cindy ship with the whole “fall in love with the person who kept making your life a living Hell” cliche (and you can fight me on this).
Hartman did attempt an ultimate crossover with ALL his cartoons: Danny Phantom meeting T.U.F.F. Puppy meeting Fairly Odd Parents Meeting Bunsen. But that one felt more like a hit-and-miss despite the wave of nostalgia seeing Danny, Sam, and Tucker (and Dudley and Kitty) again.
It would have been great to see Timmy and Jimmy hang out again. Because let’s be honest, Timmy’s friends and family are sh*t. And Jimmy has a wonderful support system despite the lack of brain cells. And we all know Hugh Neutron is a thousand times the better father Timmy’s dad could ever be.
If there was still a chance to revive Fairly Odd Parents (and Butch Hartman’s integrity), a Jimmy Timmy spin-off would be just the thing.
12. Hercules and the Arabian Night (Hercules and Aladdin)
If you grew up in the 90s, you remember how wonderful it was growing up with Disney Afternoon cartoons like Gargoyles and Ducktales.
And you were blessed with watching shows around the beloved classics Hercules and Aladdin.
How many of you just found out now they had a crossover? Yeah, mind-blowing, isn’t it?
Makes you wish there had been a crossover with the Gummi Bears and Ducktales (although the 2017 series SORT OF makes that happen).
Hercules and Aladdin were the best duo. Kind. Empathetic. Willing to risk themselves for others. Makes you especially wish they had actual interaction in House of Mouse.
Disney, do us a favor and give more focus on the Disney PRINCES.
11. Max’s Embarrassing Date (House of Mouse)
Sure, House of Mouse might have gotten pretty much characters from EVERY Disney movie of that time.
But no crossover was as needed as seeing Roxanne, from the beloved (yet not appreciated enough by the Disney corp) classic “A Goofy Movie”.
Let’s be honest. House of Mouse was not as great as some believed. In fact, it kind of hits the bottom of the list even compared to Disney’s Doug.
Reason #1: Wasted opportunity. Every episode could have been a “Character of the Week” from the variety of classics this show had been blessed with. But all we ended up with was cameos. I get that it’s ‘house of the mouse’, but just because he’s Disney’s money-making mascot does not mean we don’t want to see an episode centered on Cinderella or even Hades. Which is why House of Villains is a little better in comparison.
Reason #2: A HELL lot of mean-spiritedness and moments where you just stare at the TV and ask “Why did you do that, Mickey?”.
Out of all the characters who still retained their common sense, Max was the absolute best.
And that one episode featuring Roxanne reminded us hardcore Disney fans why we absolutely adore her.
And wondering where the hell is she.
Seriously, Disney, quit f*cking with us. Quit shoving Mickey and Minnie in our faces and start pumping out the Max and Roxanne merch!
10. Straight Out of Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets Courage the Cowardly Dog
Okay, yes, Scooby-Doo is an over-milked franchise and some of the spin-offs and movie specials they did were outrageous (I will never get over the one featuring KISS).
But Scooby meeting Courage was a crossover I never imagined. And I’m glad it happened.
If something as ridiculous as “Sam and Cat” could happen, I would not mind one bit for a crossover spin-off featuring Scoob and Courage.
Honestly, not only is this one of the FEW Scooby-Doo specials we appreciate. It brings back a beloved classic Cartoon Network show.
And also...this was Thea White’s final role as Muriel.
This makes the crossover much more special than it already is, don’t you think?
9. The Grim Adventures of the Kids Next Door
We’re all still thinking about how Ed, Edd, and Eddy made a cameo in the beginning, right?
Eddy: “If you’re looking for charity, call Kids Next Door! They’re cheap!”
Some fans say that was the best part of the entire special. And they’re right.
I have to admit, the entire KND, minus Numbuh 5, being stupid enough to fall for Mandy’s disguise as Numbuh 1 was a constant facepalm. The fact that Numbuh 362, the head of the entire organization, fell for her ruse was just jarring.
But seeing Numbuh 1 and Grim team up Gundam Wing style was amazing! That is one fighting sequence that could top even Inuyasha.
Fun fact: Numbuh 3 made a small appearance in “Billy and Mandy’s Big Boogey Adventure” as the temporary Grim Reaper.
8. Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law
You know exactly why this is on the list.
When Hanna-Barbera fell after airing the short-lived series Yo Yogi! in an attempt to “be cool with the kids”, Yogi and the gang never had a cartoon about them since.
Okay, so there was the movie where Yogi was voiced by one of the Ghostbusters. But that doesn’t really count (and the film sucked).
The best thing that could be done with the HB characters was throw them into an adult cartoon that was a parody of court case dramas like Law and Order.
And boy, did we love it.
Droopy getting plastic surgery.
Quickdraw McDraw acting like Clint Eastwood for “guitar control”.
Peter Potamus being a horny, sarcastic asshole who’s always asking if you “got that thing he sent ya”.
Oh, yeah, and Boo Boo being tried for terrorism.
If you didn’t grow up before the 90s, and saw the original Hanna-Barbera shows, you’d probably think it was cheesy at best. So many of these characters were either forgotten, ignored, or just never measured to Yogi, Huck, and Snagglepuss.
And the Adult Swim cartoon basically took all the sugar, sunshine, and rainbows of the classics and lined them up with sex, drugs, and guns.
The show was hilarious. Which is a lot more than what I could say for its spin-off Birdgirl.
7. Let’s Get Dangerous! (2017 Ducktales)
Sure, the original Darkwing Duck series did a crossover featuring Gizmoduck.
But the Ducktales reboot gave us long-time fans a REAL reunion. With the terror that flaps in the night.
When Jim Cummings’ character first got introduced in season 2, a lot of us were very hyped.
Because not only did we get the crossover we needed. We were relieved to see someone else could master Darkwing’s voice.
True, even after the reboot’s cancellation, we still can’t help mentioning how weird the triplets sounded with the voices of grown men. Nor could we stand just how much they contrast with their original counterparts (we’re all in agreement that ‘the blue one’ needs to f*ck off, right?).
But boy, oh, boy, did voice actor Chris Diamantopoulos really bring Darkwing to life! And FYI, Chris is the current voice of Mickey Mouse (and he sounds absolutely perfect!). Really carrying the torch for Jim!
Yes, there were other crossovers (some could have been executed a little better): Rescue Rangers, Tail Spin, Donald’s pals Panchito and Jose, that weird episode that parodied Quack Pack, etc.
But nothing was as powerful as the Darkwing Duck episode in season 3.
Because it brought back the Fearsome Four!
How many of us grew up watching the original Darkwing and getting excited over seeing Megavolt, Bushroot, Liquidator, and especially Quackjack?
Yeah, me too! I was fangirling as soon as I saw them in the promo!
The Ducktales reboot has done a lot of amazing things. But bringing back our beloved vigilante and his villain roster was the BEST thing.
6. The Phineas Ferb Effect (Phineas and Ferb/Milo Murphy’s Law)
You’re probably asking “What about when they met Iron Man and the other Marvel dudes?!”.
Yeah, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is overrated. Milo Murphy isn’t.
Marvel has the Red Skull? Big deal, PnF’s got Dr. Doofenshmirtz.
Come on, we were all cheering for the doc when he became a regular in Milo Murphy’s show. He finally moved on from his childhood trauma and found a real family!
5. The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones
The future meets the Stone Age. This was the crossover a lot of Hanna-Barbera fans wished for and were overjoyed to have.
While I was more into Yogi Bear crossovers, this truly did have a piece of my heart.
There should have been a spin-off where the Flinstones and the Jetsons visit each other often and get into all kinds of past/future shenanigans.
A lot better than that Flinstones crossover special that involved the WWE.
4. Members Only (The Powerpuff Girls)
This was as close to a Powerpuff Girls/Dexter’s Laboratory crossover episode as we would ever get.
Well, Dexter and Dee Dee weren’t in it. Major Glory and Valhallen from the show’s Justice Friends segments were in it (but no Krunk, damn it...).
Look, I really adore Major and Val, but they were sexist assholes in this episode. Which made it a lot more satisfying getting one-upped by kindergarteners.
Seeing them at the end dressed as fellow Powerpuff Girls will forever be a treasured Cartoon Network memory.
3. Crossover Nexus (OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes!)
Cartoon Network has greatly disappointed its fans ever since it got rid of Cartoon Cartoon Fridays, Cartoon Network City, and especially cancelled Chowder to make way for CN Real.
After CN Real’s obvious failure, the network seriously tried to do better.
Teen Titans Go! was NOT better. But then we got We Bare Bears, Steven Universe, Craig of the Creek, The Amazing World of Gumball, and especially Adventure Time.
While these shows did do well with the older audiences, CN just didn’t feel the same. It still lacked that wide-eyed wonder we all felt as kids whenever the Fridays theme played.
I can’t tell you how much nostalgie I felt hearing that theme again in Crossover Nexus.
Okay, I still think TTG and the Ben 10 reboot are crap. But this one episode was the exception. The ONLY exception.
While I am still pissed at the network for cancelling OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes! (and still pandering to Teen Titans Go), I’m so glad the show’s creator made us feel, in that very moment, like we were back in the 90s and early 2000s.
I still get chills hearing Robot Jones again after wondering whatever happened to him all these years.
I’d do anything to have this adventure again.
2. Jellystone!
1991 was the year Hanna-Barbera launched the infamous series Yo, Yogi!, which resulted in its downfall. And since then, the world had never received another show featuring Yogi, Boo Boo, and all our beloved HB characters (that are NOT Scooby-Doo).
Until this year, when Chowder/Harvey Beaks creator C.H. Greenblatt brought it all back.
And unlike most reboots, he brought our beloved characters back in the most amazing, hilarious way possible!
Yogi, Boo Boo, and Cindy Bear are the town’s medical staff.
El Kabong is a crime-fighter and a teacher.
Jabberjaw and Loopy de Loop work at Magilla Gorilla’s bow tie shop.
And Huckleberry Hound is the mayor.
With every GOOD reboot/revival, things like characters are done differently.
Like how most of the characters who were male in the classics are now women.
And before you come in and say “Jabberjaw is NOT a girl!”, “What’d they do to Augie?”, or “They ruined the Top Cat gang!”, let me ask you:
If you can’t even accept CARTOONS that have transitioned, what does that say about you when a friend or loved one says they’re trans too?
Are you going to reject them like how so many “nostalgic fans” rejected this show solely because of it?
Growing up, I didn’t know a lot about Hanna-Barbera cartoons besides Yogi Bear. I didn’t even know about the existence of characters like Squiddly Diddly or even Peter Potamus until a Google search back in 2017. And I can’t be the only one.
Even if we were huge fans of said characters, we’d STILL accept them no matter what their pronouns are.
Hell, when I watched a bit of Jabberjaw as a kid, I wasn’t really fond of it. And I found Jabberjaw SO annoying and unlikable.
Greenblatt not only gave us a female Jabberjaw, he gave us one that was actually sweet, funny, relatable, and oh-so precious.
In the original Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy cartoon, they were an adorable, wholesome father-son duo.
Now they’re an adorable, wholesome father-daughter duo.
Top Cat is a timeless classic that has been met with at least two awful movies in the past decade. But still has an adoring fandom that since the 90s.
Now that fandom is sort of split because Choo Choo, Brain, and Spook are now girls.
I didn’t grow up a lot with Top Cat compared to Yogi Bear. I thought the show was boring and I guess I didn’t really like the gang all that much.
While Top Cat is still the lovable scammer in the Jellystone series, they made him and his gang more of a family than just acquaintances. With three of the six now girls, the whole thing feels like a brother-sister dynamic. Which is why the Jellystone fandom is filled with love and appreciation for the reboot.
I love how Greenblatt ensures every HB character is noticed in this series. Some I didn’t even know about: Kwicky Koala, Glump from “Valley of the Dinosaurs”, Shazzan, or even Ruff and Reddy, who were apparently the first ever Hanna-Barbera cartoon.
As Stanislavski said, “There are no small parts, only small actors”.
Again, I did not grow up with the Hanna-Barbera universe. But I’m so happy I’m growing up with Greenblatt’s.
1. Say Uncle (Steven Universe and Uncle Grandpa)
Come at me because this crossover deserves way more credit than what it got when it first aired.
As a fan of Uncle Grandpa, the fandom is genuinely kind and open-minded.
Which is a lot more than what I can say for the Steven Universe fandom.
When I Googled “most toxic fandoms”, I found an article with Steven as the cover image.
As someone who has had experience with the toxicity of the brony community, I really hate how most SU fans try to suck the fun out of something like a crossover.
Let me tell you that if it wasn’t for this crossover, then I wouldn’t have even thought to give Steven Universe a watch. May not be my favorite show and there are still some things wrong with it. But some things I did enjoy and carried that with me to its series finale (there should have been more focus on Peridot and Lapis than Pearl and Amethyst).
Yes, not everyone enjoys Uncle Grandpa. But for the one moment this crossover gave, fans could have learned to like him.
Or learn not to be assholes when something (or someone) is different.
Neither of which was met. In fact, a lot of SU fans believed Rebecca Sugar was bullied into making this crossover episode.
Bull-f*cking-sh*t.
She and the creator of Uncle Grandpa are good friends who talked about making this happen. FOR FUN.
And for me, that was the BEST episode of Steven Universe (besides the one that introduced Stevonnie).
