Some great animated shows couldn't compete with other series for ratings, even though they were destined to be hits.

As colorful and fun as cartoons are, the animation industry can be unforgiving. Not all cartoons are destined to become timeless classics, and every beloved animated series only got to where they are now by leaving countless titles in the dust. Worse, some of these forgotten shows are either decent or even great.

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Sometimes, this was the result of bad timing, as these cartoons had the misfortune of fighting over ratings with a blockbuster series. Other times, the animated shows struggled to find a fanbase because of things like studio interference. If some cartoons were given better chances and fairer competition, they would've become hits.

Reality TV and teen entertainment were two of the biggest trends of the early 2000s, and 6Teen and Total Drama capitalized on these. Both cartoons were made by Teletoon. Although 6Teen aired earlier, it faded into the background as Total Drama dominated the ratings so much that it got spin-off shows.

Total Drama initially won the fandom thanks to its loud humor and references, but these severely aged the show as the years went by. 6Teen, in contrast, was initially dismissed for its laidback style, but it became the definitive time capsule of the 2000s for these same reasons later. If it were treated better by its networks, 6Teen would be more than a cult favorite today.

To people outside America, My Life as a Teenage Robot is a core part of their childhoods. Americans, meanwhile, would've been lucky if they caught Teenage Robot on TV because Nickelodeon seemed intent on burying it. Despite a strong premiere season, Teenage Robot was shuffled between bad time slots and allowed to languish under bigger shows.

Teenage Robot premiered alongside fellow young adult adventures like Danny Phantom and Avatar: The Last Airbender, but it wasn't given its time in the spotlight and was then canceled after three seasons. These days, Teenage Robot is looked back on fondly. Fans believe that it would've been a smash hit if Nickelodeon actually let it become one.

If Invader Zim's current reputation is anything to go by, it seems like it was always one of Nickelodeon's most reliable and popular cartoons. The truth, however, is that Invader Zim barely lasted two seasons, and the second season's last half never even made it to production. Invader Zim's ratings were bad compared to other Nicktoons.

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Invader Zim wasn't bad, but its brand of dark humor was too ahead of the curve. It didn't click with Nickelodeon viewers who, at the time, preferred more family-friendly comedies like The Fairly OddParents or SpongeBob SquarePants. Had Invader Zim aired in the 2010s, it would've found an audience and success almost immediately.

Before Sonic the Hedgehog returned to the spotlight with two financially successful live-action movies, he struggled with some of his franchise's lowest points. Sonic Boom came out during this rut, which was unfortunate because the show was actually funny. That being said, Sonic Boom's biggest problem wasn't its association with critically-maligned games.

Along with many other cartoons, Cartoon Network gave Sonic Boom a terrible early morning timeslot so that the primetime schedules could be saved for reruns of Teen Titans Go! If Sonic Boom was given the chance it deserved, it could've started Sonic's resurgence outside video games much earlier.

The '90s were some of The Simpsons' best years, and Fox wanted another blockbuster adult-oriented cartoon to coincide with it. Enter Futurama, which was made by some of The Simpsons' key creatives and aired in 1999. As good as Futurama's satire and characters were, it was always overshadowed by The Simpsons.

While it had decent ratings and a passionate fanbase, Futurama had to be saved from cancelation more than once. Worse, it never became as influential or successful as The Simpsons, which is still going strong even decades after its prime. Futurama would've fared better if it aired in the 2010s when adult cartoons enjoyed a massive resurgence.

From the moment they debuted in 1930, the Looney Tunes were one of the most popular animated comedic troupes of all time. Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and everybody else were known for their wacky sketches and classic shorts, which is why their sitcom The Looney Tunes Show didn't last long. However, it aged better than expected.

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Besides the fact that the Looney Tunes were passé in the 2010s, The Looney Tunes Show switched the traditional slapstick humor for dialogue-heavy jokes. What's more, The Amazing World of Gumball arguably picked up the Looney Tunes' torch. Given today's preference for dry animated comedies, The Looney Tunes Show was simply ahead of its time.

The "problem" with Batman: The Animated Series was that it was so good that it made all future Batman cartoons seem irrelevant to its most zealous fans. These impossibly high expectations and biases were what prevented The Batman from becoming the Dark Knight's entrance into the New Millennium.

The Batman premiered when superhero cartoons were at their peak and when American cartoons adopting anime sensibilities was the cool new trend. However, the show failed to click with audiences because it wasn't a part of the then-ongoing DCAU. Time vindicated The Batman, especially since succeeding Batman shows were even more polarizing.

Clerks: The Animated Series couldn't have come out at a better time for Kevin Smith. The cartoon based on his directorial debut was greenlit during the rush for adult cartoons, which took place when Smith's fame was at its peak. However, Who Wants to be a Millionaire? killed Clerks before it even aired.

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ABC initially wanted to have a cartoon block but after seeing Millionaire's runaway success, they scrapped their cartoon plans and forced Clerks onto the curb. Despite its criminally short run of six episodes, Clerks endured as one of the most revered cartoon cult classics of all time, but it could've been a bigger hit if it aired outside ABC.

To most, Tuca and Bertie was just the gender-flipped version of BoJack Horseman. But if BoJack was a serious and darkly funny drama, Tuca and Bertie was its own comedy about the ups and downs of young adulthood. Tuca and Bertie was well-received by critics and fans, but Netflix canceled it after just one season.

Tuca and Bertie's reception couldn't save it from low ratings and endless comparisons to BoJack Horseman, which led to Netflix's refusal to renew it. This would be one of Netflix's first of many controversial cancelations. Luckily, Tuca and Bertie was revived by Adult Swim, which gave the show a massive promotional campaign and renewed it for a third season.

By all accounts, Infinity Train wasn't just one of Cartoon Network's best original shows, but it was also one of the best cartoons of the decade. Despite its high praises and ratings, Infinity Train didn't become the pop culture juggernaut it deserved to be. This wasn't because of a more successful ratings rival, but because its producers arguably didn't want it to succeed.

Infinity Train's biggest competitions were Cartoon Network and HBO Max, which kept trying to control or omit certain characters and themes that the animators wanted to portray. Producers retaliated by not giving Infinity Train any advertisements, and later by canceling it and practically wiping it from existence following the Warner Bros. Discovery merge.

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CBR Staff Writer Angelo Delos Trinos' professional writing career may have only started a few years ago, but he's been writing and overthinking about anime, comics and movies for his whole life. He probably watched Neon Genesis Evangelion way too much, and he still misses video stores. Follow him at @AD3ofc on Twitter, or email him at delos3nos1992@gmail.com.

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