Last updated on June 28th, 2023
Animated cartoons sometimes set their series somewhere in the American Midwest. Non-Midwestern cartoon characters might also occasionally visit a specific locale in the Midwest, such as Indianapolis for the Indianapolis 500 auto race.
Here’s a list of animated cartoons set in or mentioning specific Midwest states. I’ll use Wikipedia and the US Census Bureau’s definition of the Midwest; sorry, Oklahoma.
I’m focused just on animated cartoons. This Book Riot (formerly Panels) list on all 50 US states covers the comic book/strip side of things well.
Illinois
The 1993 animated series “Biker Mice From Mars” (about, well, alien motorcycle-riding rodents) is set in Chicago.
The PBS series “Nature Cat” is set in a Chicago suburb. A few episodes show the gang visiting the city (Hal runs by “The Bean” art sculpture in one visit). Despite this, Nature Cat and his friends are sometimes seen visiting deserts and mountains.
Indiana
The animated series “Garfield and Friends” is presumably set in the Hoosier State. While it’s not really mentioned where Jon, Garfield, and Odie live, it’s heavily implied to be Muncie. In real life, series creator Jim Davis lives in Muncie. One Sunday “Garfield” comic strip shows Liz’s degree is from Purdue University, which does have a strong veterinarian medicine program.
An episode of “The Flintstones” has Fred and Barney drive to “Indianrockolis” to enter the city’s famous auto race. Indianrockolis is shown as within a few hours’ drive of Bedrock.
Iowa
The “Kim Possible” episode “Naked Genius” sees Kim and Ron visit a secret military research facility in Iowa.
The 2017 “Wacky Races” reboot reveals Peter Perfect is from a fictional town in Iowa.
Kansas
“Superman: The Animated Series” had a few episodes set in Smallville. Smallville’s been in Kansas since the 1986 John Byrne comic reboot. Before that, it varied between being in the Midwest or out east near Metropolis.
The Cartoon Network series “Courage the Cowardly Dog” is set in the fictional Kansas town of Nowhere. (Yes, as in “the middle of nowhere.”)
Michigan
TV shows set in Michigan include:
- “Transformers Animated,” set in a futuristic version of Detroit.
- “Motorcity,” a show set in another futuristic version of Detroit.
- “The Loud House,” set in the fictional town of Royal Woods.
A second season episode of “The Simpsons,” “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?,” takes place in Detroit. The family head there to visit Homer’s newly-discovered half-brother, Herb Powell. Herb’s the head of car company Powell Motors (until Homer disastrously ruins things).
Minnesota
Rocky the Flying Squirrel and Bullwinkle the Moose’s hometown is the fictional Frostbite Falls, Minnesota,a parody of the real-life town of International Falls, Minnesota. Frostbite Falls, like its real-life counterpart, is in Koochiching County.
Missouri
An episode of the early 90s “Back to the Future” animated series sees the Brown family and Marty go back in time to the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. Clara and an off-key Doc also sing the song “Meet Me in St. Louis.”
Nebraska
Wikipedia claims the short-lived Cartoon Network series “Sheep in the Big City” was set in Nebraska. I haven’t found anything else supporting or contradicting this. However, since I haven’t found any other cartoons set in Nebraska, “Sheep” gets to stay.
North Dakota
The fourth season “Fairly OddParents” episode “Mr. Right!” has Timmy tired of being wrong. He decides to wish he was always right about everything. When asked by Mr. Crocker how many US states there are, Timmy (being book-dumb) guesses “49.” Just as Crocker’s about to fail Timmy, news comes in that North and South Dakota have “resolved their differences.” The two states have combined to become “one big Dakota,” thus making 49 states.
Crocker suspects there’s no way the Dakotas could’ve resolved such differences without fighting. As usual, he declares this must be the work of fairy godparents.
Ohio
“The Fairly OddParents” episode “Farm Pit” sees the characters visit Cleveland. Here it’s in full “Mistake on the Lake” mode, as a run-down, crime-filled city. Wanda’s briefly arrested after unknowingly wandering into a crime scene. When released, she’s told to stay out of the crime scenes. Her response: “but they’re everywhere!”
Another “OddParents” episode (“Formula For Disaster“) mentions Cincinnati as being “Crocker-free since ’83.” Crocker earlier had stated (for unknown reasons) he can “never go back to Cincinnati.”
South Dakota
Mount Rushmore turns up quite frequently as a stock American landmark in cartoons.
Unusual for most media depictions, the 90s Warner Bros. edutainment series “Histeria!” focused on the construction of Mount Rushmore. Elmer Fudd and Loud Kiddington play the monument’s father-and-son designers for one sketch about its sculpting. That said, like most media portrayals, the series doesn’t mention the controversial aspects about Mount Rushmore’s construction.
Wisconsin
The animated series “Futurama” features Milwaukee in the episode “Love and Rocket.” It’s revealed that Milwaukee’s displaced Paris as the world’s most romantic city by the 31st century. (The city’s also the birthplace of “beer goggles.”) Impressively for Hollywood, the show’s creators actually portrayed Milwaukee’s skyline accurately (with “futuristic” elements thrown in), including the Milwaukee Art Museum, city hall, and US Bank building.
Image by Jürgen Polle from Pixabay
