Now that the channel has shut down the music programs that made it famous and decided to focus on more reality TV, I’ve been binging on the MTV animations, which I believe are the blueprints for the adult cartoons we watch today. As a ’90s baby, MTV was once a part of my daily schedule. Like everyone else, the channel kept me up to date on the latest news, music, and pop culture.
It launched the careers of numerous artists and was a rite of passage for the musically gifted. As I entered my teenage years, I remember dreaming of attending MTV Spring Break or being a guest in the audience of TRL. It wasn’t till my college years that I got to indulge in the other gem of MTV, and that was their animations.
Daria
This animated “Beavis and Butt-head” spin-off follows Daria, a melancholic teenage girl who navigates high school with her airhead sister, Quinn, and Quirky best friend, Jane. It aired in 1997 and ended in 2002 with a film, “Daria (Is It College Yet?). It was one of MTV’s highest-rated programs at the time, and how couldn’t it have been?
Daria’s cool but pessimistic attitude embodied everything MTV represented. Not to mention the theme music, “You’re Standing On My Neck,” was written and performed by the all-female, alternative rock band, Splendora. In 2002, TV Guide ranked Daria #41 on its list of “50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time”.
Spy Groove
Sexy, smart, and easy to binge, Spy Groove aired in the year 2000 and ended in 2001. This series followed two spies (Agent 1 and Agent 2) who were sent on various missions by their badass boss, Helena Troy. Not only did this series give us fashion and music, but the biggest celebrities of the time were often name-dropped in the show or were guest characters. I mean, the creation of Agent 1 and Agent 2 was modeled after Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.
Celebrity Deathmatch
How this series had 6 seasons, I’ll honestly never know, but this adult stop-motion claymation was truly an MTV original. Caricatures of celebrities would battle it out in a professional wrestling arena, and those matches would often be gory. It poked fun at some of the celebrity beef/gossip of the time.
Like Michael Jordan vs. Dennis Rodman and Oprah vs. Rosie O’Donnell. It aired in 1988 and ended in 2002. There were talks of a reboot in 2015; however, MTV decided not to pick up the pilot series. A bummer since we have so much material for them to use today, and a couple of celebs that need to get their butt kicked. Even if it is only in the form of a cartoon.
Downtown
Authentic and maybe still relevant, Downtown aired in 1999 and gave a peek into the lives of acquaintances living in New York. They faced the everyday challenges that young generations living in a major city face today. The challenge is how to balance interpersonal relationships while also nurturing a relationship within oneself. It wouldn’t be an MTV animation without pop culture references.
Sailor Moon cosplayers, PlayStation mentions, hip hop playing in the background, you name it. What’s most refreshing, as we battle AI in present times, is the hand-drawn art form of the animation. The creators used photographs of real locations to create the scenery and set the mood for this grungy cartoon.
It’s sad to see MTV go, but I’m grateful for the legacy it left behind. Say what you want, but the originality, the music, the fashion, and the always-questioning the “what if?” of things that can be seen as themes throughout all of these classics helped define multiple generations.
