Take a look into my favorite childhood cartoons that my dad has mysteriously procured on DVD.

“TUTENSTEIN” (2003 – 2008)

If you’re thinking of the Egyptian boy pharaoh Tutankhamun, you are thinking correctly for this 20 year old cartoon. “Tutenstein” takes place 3,000 years after the death of Tutankhensetamun (King Tut for short) in a museum in New York City. 12-year-old Cleo and her cat Luxor accidentally revive the mummified remains of the former royal and are shocked to find that he’s terrifyingly harmless. The series follows their adventures in the modern and ancient world, where King Tut is shocked to find that he neither lives a life of luxury nor is worshiped by people in the current day.

I loved this show as a kid because I was fascinated by Ancient Egypt. It was perfect for the history nerd I was – and still am, to a certain extent. “Tutenstein” has won two Daytime Emmys for its first and third seasons. The cartoon is free to watch on YouTube and was announced for a reboot in October, 2022.

“TEEN TITANS” (2003 – 2006)

Not the reboot, which is a no “go,” in my opinion. The original “Teen Titans” series had a sort of pseudo-anime – think of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” – style of animation. Based off DC comics from the 1980s, the cartoon tells the adventures of a superhero group of five eccentric teenagers who live in a T-shaped building. The cartoon’s main focus is superhero-typical action, but also has plenty of comedy and heartfelt moments about struggling with different issues that arise being a teenage superhero.

With all the bright colors and cool character designs, “Teen Titans” was immediately one of my favorite cartoons. Plus, the theme song has absolutely no reason to go that hard in both the English and Japanese versions. I can still remember spelling out “Teen Titans” at the beginning of every episode and yelling Raven’s spell when she appeared on screen.

The series can be streamed on HBO Max

“INVADER ZIM” (2001 – 2006)

After decades, this strange cartoon is still up there with My Chemical Romance as a staple of overpriced Hot Topic merchandise. Zim, an alien with a somewhat annoying personality, is sent to conquer Earth and enslave the human race with the assistance of Gir, his OSHA violation of a robot companion.

The premise gets even more absurd when a paranoid paranormal investigator named Dib and his sister, who constantly gaslights him, Gaz, get added into the mix. Even with Dib constantly accusing Zim of being an alien, humanity proves to be moronic once again, thinking a green-skinned boy is just suffering from a medical condition and totally not trying to destroy their way of life.

Who can blame them though? The school they attend is called “Skool.”

“Invader Zim” always aired at night on Teen Nick; I remember watching it with a bowl of ice cream before I went to bed. The cast of characters, all having one syllable names, were fun to me as a kid but are now grating as an adult. The only character that will never tire me is Gir because the scene where he emptied out his fuel “to make room for the tuna” will always crack me up.