For decades, two-dimensional animation was the only game in town.Computer-generated graphics (CGI)were in their experimental phase throughout the 1980s but exploded in the following decade. This was more about popular trends and the novelty of the medium because most of these early shows looked hideous given the primitive animation tools available to artists at the time.
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A few of these shows were so good that the viewers didn’t even notice the bad animation, which was primitive at the time anyway. For others that were just riding the popular wave, however, neither the animation nor the show overall has aged well.
7Max Steel (2000-2002)
Josh McGrath is just an average, everyday extreme sports star at the beginning ofMax Steel.He soon finds out, however, that his uncle’s humble snowboard, hang-gliding, and bungee-jumping supply store is a front for N-Tek, a counter-intelligence organization. Josh confronts a thief who turns out to be an agent, and the ensuing fight releases the Max Probes, which turns our protagonist into a virtual superhero.
Despite the animation, which is a prettygood example of basic CGIat the time and could be much worse, it’s a decent show with an interesting if not derivative premise.Max Steelhad enough of a fan base for a reboot in 2013 and 2016.
6Beast Machines: Transformers (1999-2000)
If the series had just been calledBeast Machines,without the tie-in to one of media’s oldest and most popular franchises, it might have fallen into an even deeper memory hole. The series was meant to be a continuation ofBeast Warswhich precedes this series chronologically and has better critical reception.
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The mostly negative response toBeast Machines: Transformersfocuses on changes tothe lore and charactersfrom the previous movies and shows, with little to say about the low-budget CGI. Looking back on it now, it’s an average show with less-than-average animation and not the best offering in theTransformerslibrary.
5ReBoot (1994-2001)
The history ofReBootis an interesting one that starts with a movie also famous for bad CGI,Tron.The lore of Mainframe, complete with games, guardian programs, and resident sprites is based largely on Disney’s notorious classic.
ReBootwas one of the first shows of its kind, and the storyline and characters were a hit with fans and critics, cleverly using the language of computers to reflect the unique setting. The over-arcing plot is also the story of the transition from stand-alone computing to online gaming from the computer’s point of view, which is unique, to say the least. At the time, nobody cared about the poor animation or even noticed it, and by the time the show ended it looked more than decent for the period.
4Monster By Mistake (1996-2003)
It’s a whimsical premise of a boy named Warren that turns into a monster every so often, but the ability is something that he can’t control, hence the title. The basic premise and storyline were charming enough, but the subject matter wasn’t as suited to the CGI style as a science fiction-themed show would have been.
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Given that the animation was poor even for the time, the show probably would have been improved with conventional animation. Other than the monster, nothing much exciting happens inMonster By Mistakeso it can’t compete with shows about big giant robots or computer sprites.
3The Adventures Of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2002-2006)
This series was based on the 2001 movie,Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius,which is better quality CGI but proportionally just as terrifying. James Isaac Neutron, also known as Jimmy, lives the normal life of a precocious child who also happens to have some impressive engineering skills.
2Donkey Kong Country (1997-2000)
It had already beena successful video game franchiseand had a lot of fun lore and popular characters, so it made sense to make a TV series.Donkey Kong Countrywas one of the earlier attempts at CGI using motion capture technology, and it looks awkward, to say the least. On the other hand, this seems to work for the aesthetic of the show, which is based on a series of much older games.
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The show could have just focused on the hijinks of Donkey Kong and his friends in the usual “one and done” sitcom-style episodes like regular television, but there’s an underlying premise about a magical item called the Crystal Coconut that Kong is responsible for guarding. It’s a detail that makes the story more interesting and gives the show staying power today.
1Butt-Ugly Martians (2001-2003)
Maybe the idea was to work the bad animation into the story, but it didn’t work. The premise behind the honestly titledButt-Ugly Martiansis that the supposed conquerors from Mars decide they like Earth too much to destroy it or enslave the population. As far as the plot goes, it’s not exactly riveting, following the main characters as they pretend to occupy Earth and hang out with their human friends.
There’s nowhere to go from there, and the show isn’t remembered fondly. Compared to other shows at the time, the animation is some of the worst, making some that were even older look better by comparison.
