Early CGI TV Animation That Aged Like a Wig Made of Chow Mein
The pioneers, the brave experiments, and the shows that look like a screensaver had a bad dream.
Every art form has an awkward phase. Painting had cave walls. Movies had silent films. TV animation had the late '90s, when computers were finally fast enough to make a cartoon and not quite fast enough to make it look good.
I love these shows. Somebody had to go first, and going first is messy. But love means honesty, so today we honor the pioneers and lovingly roast their textures.
10. ReBoot (1994)
What it got right: ReBoot is often called the first fully computer-animated half-hour TV series. It came from Mainframe Entertainment in Vancouver, and it had real lore: a whole world living inside a computer, years before that idea was everywhere.
What aged badly: Characters move like action figures being walked across a table. Faces have about three expressions. Backgrounds are emptier than a mall at 6 a.m.
Verdict: A brave, weird pioneer. Respect.
9. Beast Wars: Transformers (1996)
What it got right: Also from Mainframe. Beast Wars gave the Transformers a smart reboot with real character arcs. A lot of fans still call it the best Transformers show.
What aged badly: Everything looks shiny, like it was polished with butter. The lip-sync was a suggestion, not a rule.
Verdict: Great writing in a plastic shell.
8. Rolie Polie Olie (1998)
What it got right: Based on William Joyce's designs, it had a charming, round-everything world that little kids loved.
What aged badly: Everything looks like an inflatable pool toy. Not bad, just very bouncy.
Verdict: Adorable. Slightly squeaky.
7. VeggieTales (1993)
What it got right: Talking vegetables were a genius workaround. Early computers struggled with arms, legs and hair, so the creators made characters with none of those. That's not lazy. That's clever problem-solving.
What aged badly: Early episodes take place in a mostly empty void. The vegetables hop around like they're waiting for the rest of the set to load.
Verdict: A smart answer to a technical limit. Every animator should study that choice.
6. Donkey Kong Country (1997)
What it got right: It took a beloved video game and tried to bring it to TV with full CGI.
What aged badly: Characters move like they need a nap and a stretch. And it was secretly a musical. Nobody warned us.
Verdict: Surprising in every way.
5. Zoboomafoo (1999)
What it got right: The Kratt brothers and a real lemur teaching kids about animals. Pure joy.
What aged badly: The talking Zoboomafoo was actually a puppet, not CGI, and that puppet stared directly into my soul. Its eyes have seen things.
Verdict: Educational gold with one haunted puppet.
4. Max Steel (2000)
What it got right: A high-tech spy show for kids who loved gadgets.
What aged badly: Skin looks like candle wax and hair looks like a helmet.
Verdict: Cool concept, uncanny faces.
3. Butt-Ugly Martians (2001)
What it got right: The name. You cannot forget that name.
What aged badly: It looks like it was rendered in a spreadsheet program.
Verdict: A title that wrote checks the animation couldn't cash.
2. Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2002)
What it got right: Fast, funny writing and "Brain blast!" The movie version was even nominated for the very first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
What aged badly: Jimmy's hair is one solid, unmoving swirl, and everyone looks like clay under office lights.
Verdict: Aged better than most because the writing still holds up.
1. Miraculous Ladybug's early look (2012)
What it got right: Before it became a worldwide CGI hit, Miraculous was first pitched with a 2D anime-style promo. The team switched to CGI and found their look.
What aged badly: Nothing aged badly here, which is the point. This one belongs on the list as the happy ending: proof that a studio can try, change direction and win.
Verdict: The comeback story.
What we learn from the awkward years
Early CGI teams worked with tiny budgets, slow computers and no rulebook. The smartest ones designed around their limits. VeggieTales skipped limbs. ReBoot set its story inside a computer, so the plastic look made sense. Good design starts with what your tools can actually do.
Your turn
Which early CGI show lives in your memory, for better or worse? Tell me in the comments.
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