Top 10 Kids Shows From The 1990s That Would Make Awesome Movies

Last Updated on August 3, 2021

POWER RANGERS hits theaters today and moves the remake train from the realm of 80s television (TRANSFORMERS, G.I. JOE) into the 1990s. There were a lot of great series for kids in the last decade of the 20th century, many of which are prime for big screen adaptations. Here is our ranking of the ten television shows from the 1990s that could make for some stellar cinematic fun. You may disagree with some of these picks, so let us know in the talk backs below if you think you have any better suggestions.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS CARMEN SANDIEGO?

Every child of the 90s grew up playing this video game during computer lab at school, but it was the PBS game show with the memorable acapella cover song that really stood out. There has long been a Carmen Sandiego film in development but it has never made it past the planning stages. Base it off the video game or the show, I don’t care. This is a story that would be embraced and loved by an entire generation of kids.

ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?

An anthology series with a consistent setup featuring a group of friends who called themselves the Midnight Society as they told scary tales to one another. Unlike most anthology shows, the setup plot of this show could be the story for a big screen adaptation. Like I said before, there is not nearly enough kid friendly horror out there.

DARKWING DUCK

Ducktales is coming back to Disney Channel soon but I always preferred this superhero series. Blending elements of Batman and The Shadow, Darkwing Duck was a fun adventure that took Disney in a direction it rarely went in. Kept alive in comic books and fan fiction, Darkwing Duck would be an awesome big screen adventure that could even stand the jump from traditional 2D animation to all CGI.

GARGOYLES

Disney’s animated series hit the airwaves right around the same time as the critically lauded BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES. Like that DC show, Gargoyles was a complex serial story that was a lot darker than most family cartoons. While it only lasted three years, the deep mythology and stellar voice acting has kept this show alive in the hearts of fans. It would definitely require a lot of CGI, but a movie version of this story would be something to see.

LEGENDS OF THE HIDDEN TEMPLE

This Nickelodeon fan favorite game show recently made a return to television in the form of a TV movie that converted the obstacle course competition show into an adventure. There are not nearly enough INDIANA JONES movies and we may never get a sequel to THE GOONIES, but a family friendly adventure in an ancient Mayan temple sounds like the type of movie I would want to see.

EXTREME GHOSTBUSTERS

Ivan Reitman has claimed that there is an animated GHOSTBUSTERS film in development. I think basing it on this sequel to THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS cartoon could be a good jumping off point. Set in a world where the original Ghostbusters have gone their separate ways, Egon mentors a new team of supernatural crimefighters. While Harold Ramis has sadly passed away, this same plot could be adapted for Dan Aykroyd or Bill Murray to play that mentor to a new team of young characters.

REBOOT

ReBoot was the first fully CGI animated television show and has not aged well. Still, the idea of living beings inhabiting the inside of a computer mainframe is a conceit that has made it’s way to everything from THE MATRIX to WRECK-IT RALPH. I would love to see a movie version of this show get a budget on par with TRON LEGACY and give us another computerized world to explore.

TALES FROM THE CRYPTKEEPER

HBO’s pulp horror anthology got a sanitized kids adaptation in the form of this Saturday morning cartoon that introduced a younger generation to the core of EC Comics and scary stories. While GOOSEBUMPS has already made the jump to the silver screen, the Cryptkeeper could be a prime character for either a horror anthology for kids or an original story along the lines of BEETLEJUICE.

GHOSTWRITER

An educational series that taught reading and writing to kids, Ghostwriter was a unique show that blended an invisible main character with a team of kid detectives. The mysteries were always basic and simple but the idea of kids working with a ghost to solve crimes is something that could fuel any number of movie plots from horror to comedy.

ANIMORPHS

Inspired by a young adult book series of the same name, Animorphs follows a group of teenagers who are bestowed powers by an alien that allows them to transform into wild animals. Anyone who remembers the 90s knows that morphing was all the rage. While POWER RANGERS puts the characters into superheroesque suits, the actual transformation into animals would make for a cool special effect if done well.

Source: JoBlo.com

About the Author

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Alex Maidy has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. A Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and a member of Chicago Indie Critics, Alex has been JoBlo.com's primary TV critic and ran columns including Top Ten and The UnPopular Opinion. When not riling up fans with his hot takes, Alex is an avid reader and aspiring novelist.