10 Nostalgic Cartoons That Are Ideal For The Holiday Season

Dec. 18, 2024, 4:10 p.m.

Movies

10 Nostalgic Cartoons That Are Ideal For The Holiday Season

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The holidays can often be a very nostalgic time for people, and nothing brings back floods of childhood memories quite like old cartoons. For people of all ages, rewatching TV shows from their childhoods can unlock old memories of holidays gone by. Cartoons seem particularly well-suited to this, for whatever reason, so animated shows from 20 or 30 years ago are always great for Christmas viewing.

Plenty of old animated shows had Christmas specials or other holiday episodes at some point, and there were some running themes. Referring back to an older generation of Christmas animation, a lot of these cartoons use poetry and music, even if this is completely unusual for the show in question. These are just a couple of quirks which can make Christmas episodes stand out from animated shows, and this gives them a powerful nostalgia factor.

10 Animaniacs - "'Twas The Day Before Christmas"

Season 1, Episode 50

Before the Animaniacs revival, the show delivered just two seasons of irreverent, fast-paced cartoon humor. The segments in each episode vary wildly in length, with some taking up an entire episode and others lasting a minute or less. "'Twas the Day Before Christmas" is under five minutes long, but it tells a full story about Ralph T. Guard squeezing into a Santa suit to deliver presents to Yakko, Wakko and Dot up in the Warner Bros. water tower.

Within just a few short minutes, the segment shows glimpses of many of the best Animaniacs characters.

"'Twas the Day Before Christmas" follows the meter of Clement Clarke Moore's famous Christmas poem, and the rewrite draws a lot of punch lines out of the intentionally clunky rhyming. Within just a few short minutes, the special shows glimpses of many of the best Animaniacs characters from other regular segments, including The Hip Hippos, Rita and Runt, and Pinky and the Brain, of course. It's a short but sweet reminder of the erratic humor of a great animated sketch show.

9 SpongeBob SquarePants - "Christmas Who?"

Season 2, Episode 8

"Christmas Who?" tells the story of the first Christmas in Bikini Bottom, when SpongeBob learns about the land-based tradition from Sandy. There have been a few Christmas episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants over the years, including a new special in 2024, but "Christmas Who?" still ranks as one of the best, and it's probably the most nostalgic too. "Christmas Who?" stands out because of the first live-action appearance of Tom Kenny's Patchy the Pirate, who introduces the story.

"Christmas Who?" stands out because of the first live-action appearance of Tom Kenny's Patchy the Pirate, who introduces the story.

SpongeBob whips the entire town into a frenzy when he promises them that Santa Claus will arrive and give them all gifts, but the residents of Bikini Bottom stay up all night singing for no reason. "Christmas Who?" is a great Squidward episode, not only for the way that his grinch-like facade crumbles when he starts to feel sorry for SpongeBob, but also for the bizarre ending, in which a live-action Santa waves to him from his sleigh. This is the kind of joke that's probably even funnier for older audiences.

8 Hey Arnold! - "Arnold's Christmas"

Season 1, Episode 11

"Arnold's Christmas" is twice as long as most other episodes of Hey Arnold, which gives it the feeling of a true Christmas special. It's also more emotionally resonant than the show's ordinary fare. Hey Arnold gets deep at times, but "Arnold's Christmas" takes things to a new level by delving into Mr. Hyunh's tragic past in Vietnam. Arnold and Gerald go on a last-minute shopping trip across town so that they can find his long-lost daughter.

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"Arnold's Christmas" balances out this heavy story about fleeing a warzone and emigrating alone to a foreign land with a subplot about Helga trying to find Arnold the perfect present that will make him fall in love with her. This all comes together in the end, creating a tearjerker of a finale that cements the episode as a Christmas classic. It was groundbreaking at the time for its depiction of the Vietnam War from a Vietnamese perspective, and it's still a powerful episode that shows what Hey Arnold is capable of.

7 Invader Zim - "The Most Horrible X-mas Ever"

Season 2, Episode 1

Invader Zim is one of the best Nickelodeon cartoons, even though it was sadly canceled before the end of its second season. Its unusual animation, humor and boundary-pushing content made it stand out from anything else on children's TV at the time, and it has become a strange cult classic. "The Most Horrible X-mas Ever" may take place at Christmas, but it doesn't compromise on Invader Zim's unique approach. It isn't a typical warm-and-fuzzy Christmas special.

"The Most Horrible X-mas Ever" may take place at Christmas, but it doesn't compromise on Invader Zim's unique approach.

Just like with many of the best Invader Zim episodes, "The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever" shows that humans are weirder than any aliens, as humanity's love of Christmas quickly devolves into a rabid, self-destructive cult. Zim impersonates Santa to enslave humanity, but his plan backfires, as it always does. It's a great episode on its own merits, and the Christmas setting means that it can be watched every holiday season. It's easy to find new jokes crammed in on every rewatch.

6 Danny Phantom - "The Fright Before Christmas"

Season 2, Episode 10

After a brief introduction, almost the entirety of "The Fright Before Christmas" is spoken in rhyme to mimic the poem that the title takes its name from. It's an unusual Danny Phantom episode in that regard, but the Christmas special still offers a lot of what the show does best. There's plenty of supernatural action and a lot of fun humor. Danny finds himself trapped in a Christmas poem written by an evil writer who can control the world around him.

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The unmistakable voice of BoJack Horseman, Will Arnett, makes a fun guest appearance as the Ghost Writer in "The Fright Before Christmas". The episode also features most of the great villains from Danny Phantom, such as Skulker, Ember McLain and Box Ghost, all of whom share an annual truce on Christmas. There's a brief battle royale among these villains, but they quickly turn their attention toward Ghost Writer and save Christmas. It's a fun change of pace to see these characters in a different light.

5 The Grim Adventures Of Billy & Mandy - "Billy & Mandy Save Christmas"

Season 4, Episode 14

In keeping with the show's macabre style, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy delivered one of the most unusual Christmas episodes of all time. The two-part special "Billy and Mandy Save Christmas" features a vampire Santa Claus. Its dark story would make more sense as a Halloween special in some ways, but this is just what The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy is all about.

Gilbert Gottfried exercises his glorious comedic screeching as Santa, and he is joined by Carol Kane and Malcolm McDowell.

"Billy and Mandy Save Christmas" features a surprisingly impressive cast of guest stars. Gilbert Gottfried exercises his glorious comedic screeching as Santa, and he is joined by Carol Kane and Malcolm McDowell. They help make "Billy and Mandy Save Christmas" a double episode to remember. It's a Christmas special that manages to indulge in a little cheer amidst the spooky horror and deadpan comedy of Mandy.

4 Codename Kids Next Door - "Operation N.A.U.G.H.T.Y."

Season 5, Episode 2

Codename Kids Next Door often pokes fun at the espionage genre, but "Operation N.A.U.G.H.T.Y." also has time for a superhero parody, as Santa's elves team up to save Christmas while looking like the X-Men. As is so often the case, the villains of the episode are the Delightful Children From Down the Lane, the evil counterparts of the Kids Next Door who seem to share a malevolent hivemind.

Codename Kids Next Door often pokes fun at the espionage genre, but "Operation N.A.U.G.H.T.Y." also has time for a superhero parody.

Amid the festive action and mind-scrambling mayhem of the main plot, "Operation N.A.U.G.H.T.Y." follows Wally and Kuki's mutual crush, as the two Kids Next Door agents finally get together. This ensures that the bumper Christmas special leaves its mark on the show, but it's mostly remembered for Santa and his Elfa Squad fighting agains the Delightful Children From Down the Lane.

3 Darkwing Duck - "It's A Wonderful Leaf"

Season 1, Episode 41

"It's a Wonderful Leaf" focuses on Bushroot, one of Darkwing Duck's goofiest and most fun villains. Bushroot cooks up a plan to manipulate Christmas trees into ruining the holiday by stealing gifts, making children cry and generally causing a nuisance. It's the kind of relatively low-stakes plan that Bushroot usually masterminds, and the kind of plan that sends Darkwing Duck into his most dysfunctional and incompetent state.

Although there's plenty of action and a healthy dose of slapstick, the episode ends with a heartwarming festive message.

Bushroot's green feathers give him the ideal grinch look that suits the plot. He leads Darkwing Duck and Launchpad McQuack in a chase across town, although the duo are saddled by Gosalyn and Honker, until the chase culminates in a fight with an army of enormous anthropomorphic Christmas trees. Although there's plenty of action and a healthy dose of slapstick, the episode ends with a heartwarming festive message that suits the title.

2 Kim Possible - "A Very Possible Christmas"

Season 2, Episode 16

Kim Possible is one of Disney's best animated shows ever, and its high-tech spy spoofing has taken on a delightful retrofuturist charm over the years, which only adds to the nostalgic quality. "A Very Possible Christmas" includes all the show's best supporting characters, as Dr. Drakken hatches another half-baked scheme to take over the world while Kim is enjoying Christmas Eve with her family.

"A Very Possible Christmas" has plenty of Kim Possible's fast-paced action.

When Ron goes after Dr. Drakken alone, his gift of a stress-free Christmas for Kim and her family quickly backfires. "A Very Possible Christmas" has plenty of Kim Possible's fast-paced action, including a rocket-powered snowboard chase, a fistfight on board a spaceship and a fight with a giant anaconda in the Amazon rainforest, but it balances this out with the hilarious bromance between Ron and Dr. Drakken, one of the show's funniest running gags.

1 The Powerpuff Girls - "'Twas The Fight Before Christmas"

Season 5, Episode 4

The Powerpuff Girls is still one of Cartoon Network's best shows, and there have often been calls for a reboot, not to mention the scrapped live-action show from just a few years ago. The show has no shortage of iconic bad guys, from Mojo Jojo to HIM, and Princess Morbucks is the villain of the day in "'Twas the Fight Before Christmas," as she plans to steal Christmas and once again insert herself as the fourth Powerpuff Girl.

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One of the most memorable episodes of The Powerpuff Girls is "Stuck Up, Up and Away," which introduces Princess as a spoiled brat who tries to buy her way into having superpowers. "'Twas the Fight Before Christmas" echoes a few of the same ideas, but it's a much longer episode with a lot more going for it. Princess actually gets her superpowers this time, and it makes for some delightful fight scenes.