There aren’t many movie adaptations of kids’ shows that have held up, and many have even been forgotten. However, with so many kids’ shows being expanded into movie series, especially in the 90s, some of them improved in every way, whether it’s the animation, the grander narrative, or the higher stakes.
Though not every movie ups the production scale, instead opting for a more feature-length episode that’s thrown into multiplexes, the animators and producers behind these movies clearly tried hard to give fans a theatrical and more cinematic experience of their favorite shows.
Doug’s 1st Movie (1999)
Doug is one of the more surprising shows to earn a movie, as there was nothing particularly special about the show and it wasn’t overly popular.
The movie might not have had a very theatrical plot, as it felt like a really long episode of the show stretched thin, but the animation was massively improved over the show and the voice acting is incredible too. However, with it ironically being named Doug’s 1st Movie, we’re still waiting on the follow up 20 years later.
Recess: School’s Out (2001)
With Recess being one of the ultimate 90s morning cartoons, as it features some of the coolest school kids and turns the playground into a whole world of its own, it really resonated with its audience.
But the movie took TJ and company outside of the school and introduced aliens, the FBI, and even ninjas. The movie is a tepid version of the classic series, but it does feature some great flashback scenes with Miss Finster.
Inspector Gadget (1999)
Being first released in 1983, Inspector Gadget is one of the oldest shows on the list, and it surprisingly wouldn’t get a movie until 16 years later, with a live-action adaptation starring Matthew Broderick.
The movie is extremely faithful to the source material, but that doesn’t necessarily pay off, as being about a strange cyborg police detective, it’s such a cartoonish premise that doesn’t translate to live-action very well. However, it’s one of those movies that are just so bad that it’s good.
Hey Arnold!: The Movie (2002)
In the late 90s and early 2000s, there was nothing kids wanted to see more than that football-shaped head stretched across the big screen, and that’s exactly what they got.
The weird world of Hey Arnold! was the second Nickelodeon series to get the theatrical treatment after Rugrats, and learning from the mistakes they made with that franchise, Hey Arnold: The Movie is a film that was rather tastefully approached, as it carries over the best parts of the series while still making it feel cinematic.
Pokémon: The First Movie (1998)
With there being more than 1000 episodes, Pokémon is the most successful anime TV show ever and it’s no wonder that it spawned not one, but literally tens of movies since its inception.
Though the best Pokémon movie according to IMDb may have only been released last year, as Detective Pikachu performed outstandingly well, it all began with Pokémon: The First Movie. The movie introduced Mew and Mew Two, and it was one of the biggest movie events of 1998.
Rugrats In Paris: The Movie (2000)
With so many plotlines way ahead of its time, it was only a matter of time until Rugrats took to the big screen with a narrative with even more depth. Between twins struggling to form their own identity and the boys struggling with gender stereotypes, Rugrats took a lot of risks, but The Rugrats Movie didn’t exactly deliver the goods.
However, the second movie in the series, Rugrats In Paris, reaches the same level as the show and hits on an emotional level, as Chas meets Kiri, the first relationship he’s had since the passing of Chuckie’s mother.
Goosebumps (2015)
Though the movie is based on the R.L. Stine book series of the same name, it owes just as much of its success to the incredible TV show. Between the character models and the use of special effects, the movie is clearly influenced by the Goosebumps show.
However, the movie, unfortunately, forgoes the TV show’s incredible theme tune, which is one of the things the show does better than the movie.
The Transformers: The Movie (1986)
Though Bumblebee put the Transformers series back on track, before the epic, live-action CGI fest fronted by Michael Bay, there was a much subtler Transformers movie, which was based on the cartoon.
Surprisingly, the movie features the very final film role of Orson Welles, as he plays Unicron, but the movie houses a whole slew of other big-name actors too, including Leonard Nimoy and Eric Idle. The movie wasn’t well-received upon release, but it has since become somewhat of a nostalgia trip.
Mr. Bean (1997)
Made up of hilarious skits based around a grown man who lacks every bit of common sense, Mr. Bean was a show for kids that adults could enjoy too. The movie saw the British character cross the pond and move in with an American family in Hollywood.
It first seemed a little off, as Mr. Bean never spoke in the TV series and there was never any kind of narrative, but the movie ended up working extremely well, and it even spawned a sequel, Mr. Bean’s Holiday.
Batman: Mask Of Phantasm (1993)
Being a show so dark that the animators literally drew on black paper, Batman: The Animated Series is beloved for its adult themes and narratives with much more depth than any other kids’ show, and it translates over to the movie too.
Batman: Mask of Phantasm is one of the most underrated animated movies ever made, but it would be nothing without the animated series it’s based on. The movie was actually originally planned to be direct-to-DVD but was moved to a theatrical release last minute. And though it totally underperformed at the box office, it has since seen become a cult classic.
