Toppa Top 10: Ten Cartoons Based On Musicians

Words by Erin Hansen-McKnight/Jesse Serwer

Major Lazer fans everywhere are rejoicing today as the group’s long-awaited self-titled cartoon is being premiered on the FXX network at midnight tonight. The cartoon promises a strange (and maybe trippy) cast of characters that evoke the spirit of the group’s high energy and inventive visual aesthetics while paying homage to their favorite eighties cartoons.

The cast led by Jamaican superhero and rasta commando “Major Lazer”– voiced by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje of Oz and Lost fame– will feature a sorted bunch: rapper Riff Raff, Oscar winner JK Simmons, comedian Andy Samberg and Vampire Weekend frontman, Ezra Koenig, as a “vegan vampire.”

In the spirit of the cartoon’s release today, and as a recollection of our own childhood memories of Saturday morning cartoons, we compiled a list of the ten most unforgettable cartoons based on musicians.

Start the Ten Most Unforgettable Cartoons Based on Musicians here.

10. New Kids On the Block (1990)

Just about as cheesy as you would expect a cartoon from a popular boy band would be, the New Kids on the Block cartoon series lasted only one season. The show covered the typical teen topics while intermittently and unashamedly inserting concert footage as a marketing ploy to attract more mindlessly dedicated young girls with fluffy bangs.

9. The Osmonds (1972-73)

By the time the Osmond brothers’ cartoon series debuted in 1972 they had achieved international fame as pop sensations. On the heels of the already popularized Jackson 5ive cartoon series, The Osmonds show mimicked its iconic early 1970s style and piggy backed off Jackson 5ive on the Saturday morning lineup. Lasting only one season, the brothers dispersed to pursue solo careers before reconvening 1976 to jumpstart the successful Donny & Marie Show.

8. Trae Tha Truth (2012-2015)

Houston Rapper Trae Tha Truth released a humorously explicit cartoon entitled The Adventures of Trae Tha Truth in 2011 with cameos from big names like Rick Ross, actor Omar Epps and Trae’s very own Grand Hustle Records boss, T.I. Comedian Marlon Wayans signed the cartoon to WhatTheFunny.com in 2013 and continues to feature it. The most recent “420” episode enlists Snoop to celebrate with Trae and his squad at a marijuana dispensary.

7. The Archie Franchise (1969-1971)

The Archie comic book franchise had an enormous impact on the baby-boomers generation and was the source of the 1969 cartoon series The Archies (1969) and the subsequent Josie and the Pussycats (1970). While both cartoons were based off of the fictional characters of the Archie comic book series, The Archies cartoon created the popularized hit “Sugar, Sugar” and the actresses of Josie and the Pussycats manifested into an actual Motown-inspired band with a full length self-titled album release lead by Cathy Douglas, Cheryl Ladd and younger sister to the Motown legend Brenda Holloway, Patrice.

6. Hammerman (1991)

MC Hammer’s venture into the cartoon world was a heartwarming series about a man who loved to dance and help his community. The premise of the show centered around a man named Stanley, a regular guy, who transformed into a crime-fighting superhero named “Hammerman” by the power of magical dancing shoes.

5. Kid N Play (1990-91)

The short-lived Kid N Play cartoon no doubt painfully depicted the outrageous style of early nineties’ vests, extra flat tops and rat tails. But the show was a fun mash up of hip hop and dance with a positive message. Also, a young Martin Lawrence stars as DJ Wiz.

4. Class of 3000 (2006-2008)

Somehow the idea of Andre 3000 from OutKast walking out on a prospering musical career in which he’s won 27 Grammys and a Nobel Prize to return to Atlanta as a music teacher seems somewhat tangible. That’s the plot behind the Class of 3000, the series in which Andre “3000” Benjamin produced and starred in. The show’s producers experienced legal issues when a lawsuit was filed by a Boston postal worker claiming Andre 300 has stolen his idea. Despite the claim, Andre 3000’s musical performance as teacher Sunny Bridges, guiding his class through their musical development, makes this cartoon worth a listen.

3. Gorillaz 1997-Now

Virtual music group Gorillaz exists permanently in a cartoon realm as a series of cartoon characters. The English music group was originally created by Damon Albarn of Blur and cartoonist Jamie Hewlett in 1997 and continues to generate music today. Albarn and Hewlett have developed their own cartoon productions featuring the virtual band which consists of a series of fictional cartoon characters that go by the names of 2D, Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs and Noodle.

2. The Beatles (1965-69)

Reportedly loathed by the actual Beatles, this cartoon series was popularized at the height of “Beatlemania” in the 1960s. It was the first of its kind and the show paved a path to an onslaught of pop music based shows– both fictitious and non-fictitious– in the seventies.

1. The Jackson 5ive (1971-72)

Produced by Motown Records and featuring hits from the Jackson 5 era, The Jackson 5ive cartoon was iconically animated by Bob Blaser, who a few years prior had directed the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine film. While the cartoon was short lived and did not feature the actual voices of Tito, Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon or Michael, it did feature a colorful world of bell bottoms, classic Jackson tracks, and one quirky cameo from Diana Ross.