Updated on May 28, 2022
(An updated version of this post is available here.)
Yes, I suppose this was inevitable. After all those decade-by-decade posts, here’s one that names my choices for the top 10 TV cartoon theme songs of all time. The choices are drawn from each decade’s top 10 theme songs.
I limited my choices to Western animation, as I’m not as knowledgeable about anime.
For the top 10 theme songs by decade:
The top 10 TV cartoon theme songs
- Rocky and His Friends/The Bullwinkle Show
- The Flintstones
- Spider-Man (1960s series)
- Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?
- The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show
- DuckTales
- The Simpsons
- Batman: The Animated Series
- Animaniacs
- SpongeBob SquarePants
I’ve included the above songs in a YouTube playlist below. Note I just included “The Bullwinkle Show”‘s theme for the sake of brevity, though I did like “Rocky””s as well.
Honorable mentions
- Jonny Quest
- Yogi Bear
- George of the Jungle
- The Jetsons
- Josie and the Pussycats
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Tiny Toon Adventures
- Pinky and the Brain
- The Powerpuff Girls
- Garfield and Friends
What are your all-time favorite cartoon theme songs?
Image from “The Simpsons.” (Fox)
(Updated 3/11/17)