Generation X had MTV, the first channel of its kind to play music videos 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Generation Z has a multitude of streaming platforms and grew up on YouTube. But Millennials, or Generation Y, had Nickelodeon. The shows our parents and grandparents watched were re-imagined for kids. Whether it was the sketch comedy shows like All That or The Amanda Show being a kid-friendly Saturday Night Live, or Figure It Out, the guessing game show that was like Jeopardy with Nickelodeon stars being slimed, the height of TV viewing was in the 90s on Nickelodeon.
The crossover between Gen X and Y is their love for Saturday morning cartoons. In the early morning, we’d wake up just to watch our favorite cartoons. Or after school, we’d finish our homework early to catch the latest episode of Real Angry Beavers or CatDog. Even SpongeBob SquarePants was a Millennial favorite.
But these cartoons and TV shows of the past have some dark and twisted theories behind them. Some theories have origins in the opening sequence, like CatDog. Other theories are because of subtext within the show, like Hey Arnold! Regardless of the dark or twisted theory’s origin, one thing is clear among the 90s favorites: Nickelodeon keeps each new generation intrigued. Here's a breakdown of the unexpectedly dark theories behind some of Nickelodeon's 90s cartoons.
11 Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
Ickis, Oblina, and Krumm are monster children who attend school to learn how to scare humans. While fans have drawn similarities between Aaahh!!! Real Monsters and the Pixar film, Monsters Inc, the themes within the show are particularly dark. As SyFy points out, the show has references to films like A Clockwork Orange and Beetlejuice. The show’s harmful stereotypes are explained by Geek Girl Authority, making this show seem impractical for children to watch. Yet the dark theme of Aaahh!!! Real Monsters is more philosophical in nature: the monster's survival is based on human fear, hence why Ickis, Oblina, and Krumm attend school to learn to be scary.
10 The Angry Beavers
The Angry Beavers centers on Norbert and Daggett, who are beaver brothers that choose to live as bachelors in the forest. They live in an AI-powered dam, and while they have forest enemies, a few elements in the show point to a more nefarious theory. First, their dam is electronically advanced, more than any other home in the forest. A few times in the show, a cameraman or microphone is in the scene. Finally, the brothers’ main nemesis is Scientist #1, who is constantly catching and releasing the beavers. All these elements point to the beavers being scientific experiments that are being documented for environmental purposes.
9 SpongeBob SquarePants
A show that reaches multiple generations is SpongeBob SquarePants. One theory suggests that the characters represent the seven deadly sins, or drugs and psychedelics. There are even references to drug-use in the show. Yet, two theories are rather dark and disturbing. One of these dark theories suggests that Bikini Bottom is the result of a nuclear explosion and is based on the real-life nuclear testing site Bikini Atoll, according to Burke Museum. The darkest theory about SpongeBob SquarePants is that SpongeBob actually died in Season 4.
8 Doug
Possibly one of the more disturbing theories about a Nickelodeon show is about Doug, so proceed with caution. Doug withdraws from family and friends through hallucinations that he is Quail Man, an alter ego of his who protects his friends. This alter ego may be the biggest tie to the dark theory. Mr. Dink, one of Doug’s neighbors, is thought to be a pedophile who targets Doug. It’s possible that Doug’s withdrawing behavior, like daydreaming or having an alter ego who’s protective, can also be manifestations of coping with abuse.
7 CatDog
CatDog is about a cat and dog that share one body and live in a house with a rat for a roommate. The dark theories behind the show are actually reminiscent of two other Nickelodeon shows. First, CatDog is possibly the result of nuclear experiments of explosions, similar to SpongeBob SquarePants' home of Bikini Bottom. The second dark theory behind CatDog is that they are also science experiments being followed and studied by humans, like Norbert and Daggett in The Angry Beavers. Except the humans in CatDog are disguised as animals.
6 Are You Afraid of the Dark?
One of the scariest paranormal kid shows was Are You Afraid of the Dark?. Each week, the Midnight Society, a group of teenagers, met in the woods at night and told a scary story to their friends. Paranormal shows like Are You Afraid of the Dark or The Twilight Zone often have a similar fan theory that they are ghosts and therefore dead. The Midnight Society is rarely in the stories they’re telling and many of the stories they tell are about teenagers. Most people, when recalling a story, will talk about their involvement or include people of various ages in their retelling.
5 The Ren and Stimpy Show
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In The Ren and Stimpy Show, a Chihuahua named Ren and a cat named Stimpy spends their days pretending to be astronauts, cowboys, or other kinds of explorers through daydreams the audience can see. Much like the disturbing theory behind Doug, The Angry Beavers, and CatDog, it’s possible that Ren and Stimpy are victims of animal abuse. While we can know the signs of abuse in children, knowing the signs of animal abuse are just as important, especially when adopting a rescue.
4 The Wild Thornberrys
Eliza is a young teenage girl whose parents are explorers. During an adventure by herself, she is gifted with the ability to talk to animals. As much as people like the Doctor Doolittle franchise, fans believe that The Wild Thornberrys is far from a sweet girl who can communicate with animals. The main theory revolves around Eliza’s ability to speak to animals. It’s theorized that Eliza takes acid, a psychedelic that opens the mind, which leads her to believe that she is communicating with animals.
3 Hey Arnold!
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Like SpongeBob SquarePants, Hey Arnold! has many dark theories. For example, it's theorized that the Stoop Kid is a lookout for a drug operation. Some fans believe Arnold’s grandparents are his real parents, and because of his head shape, he is bullied. Therefore, his friends are either imaginary or he daydreams about being friends with the kids who bully him at school. While it’s clear that Helga’s mother is an alcoholic and her father is a bully, it’s also possible that Helga daydreams about everyone at school, including Arnold.
2 Rocko’s Modern Life
Compared to other dark theories, the underlying themes of Rocko’s Modern Life are sexual in nature. Rocko was a pioneer in many ways. He lived alone with his dog, had a rich life, and worked from home, although his career was as a sex phone operator. He even has a game night with friends where they play a board game called “Spank the Monkey.” The show is filled to the brim with sexual innuendos, the aforementioned ones being just the tip of the iceberg.
1 Rugrats
While Tommy’s Grandpa once had a porn film ready to watch once Tommy went to bed, that pales in comparison to the dark theory of Rugrats. Tommy and his friends, Phil, Lil, and Chuckie, get into all sorts of trouble for a bunch of babies. However, Tommy’s cousin, Angelica, is the only child of her parents who are super busy. The theory is that Angelica imagines the babies are real, meaning none of them exist at all. Chuckie, for example, died in a car accident with his mom. Phil and Lil were one baby that miscarried. And her supposed cousin Tommy died soon after he was born.