10 Best Animated Shows Streaming On Paramount Plus

With a robust and growing library, Paramount+ is one of the best streaming services for TV shows around. But more than just its prestige live-action fare, the platform has an impressive selection of animated television programming available as well. From licensed established properties to streaming exclusives, Paramount+ has curated quite the selection of animated content perfect for a binge. We're highlighting our personal favorites, from longtime classics to newer hits to check out.

Whether it's irreverent comedies that continue to push the envelope or family-friendly fare, Paramount+ has an animated show for everyone. Some of these series are shows that we grew up with while others are much more recent releases that keep bringing animation forward. Regardless of their respective tone or nostalgia factor, these are just great cartoons to throw on and enjoy. These are the 10 best animated shows streaming on Paramount+, each well worth binging in their entirety.

There is no shortage of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles content streaming on Paramount+, including the original 1987 animated series. The show takes the gritty comic book by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird and repurposes it into considerably more family-friendly fare. But beyond the catchy theme song and the titular characters' penchant for pizza parties, the broader superhero premise is still present. The show catapulted the franchise into a multimedia phenomenon, complete with tie-in video games and a whole wave of merchandising.

If you were a kid in the late '80s and early '90s, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" was an absolute must-watch cartoon. The interplay between the main cast remains the show's appealing core, along with a whole host of supervillains. Running for 10 seasons, the series inspired countless copycats, including "Street Sharks" and "SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron." But through it all, the 1987 series is still the best Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated show and towers above its line of pastiche titles.

To be clear, only first three seasons of the 1987 "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" are currently available to stream on Paramount+, but these episodes showcase the series' emphatic start.

Nickelodeon's programming has a prominent presence on Paramount+ which, of course, extends to its line of animated shows. One of the most beloved Nicktoons from the '90s is "Rugrats," which debuted on the basic cable channel in 1991. The original iteration of the show ran for nine seasons as it chronicled the imaginative adventures of its toddler-centric cast. The show has been revived and adapted for the big screen, but we still find ourselves coming back to the original '90s series.

While the 2021 "Rugrats" reboot was purged from Paramount+ along with several other children's shows in 2024, the classic series is still available on the platform. While the later shows in the Nickelodeon franchise have their own appeal, really, the 1991 show is the one that we care about the most. The first several seasons especially introduced a likeable ensemble cast and a slyer sense of humor than subsequent takes on the characters. The definitive '90s Nicktoon, "Rugrats" helped the cable channel prove it could produce its own enduring animated programming.

All nine seasons of the classic series are currently available to stream on Paramount+.

The unlikely voice of a generation, "Beavis and Butt-Head" is the show that put prolific animator and filmmaker Mike Judge on the map. The MTV series revolves around two teenage slackers living in suburban Texas, both voiced by Judge himself, as they attend high school and work dead-end jobs. Reflecting the "Mystery Science Theater 3000" era when it was born, the show often involves the pair providing their own commentary to music videos that they watch. The series returned in 2022 to Paramount+, it became one of the best TV show revivals ever made, updating the pair for a new generation without compromising their bone-headed appeal.

"Beavis and Butt-Head" very easily could've been a show relegated to the '90s and its specific charm from the decade. But Judge created a series that subtly evolved with the times with even its title characters growing in their own way. As the show progresses, Beavis and Butt-Head become less mean-spirited figures but they remain utter doofuses, foiled by their own ineptitude. It's those qualities that make the pair so enduringly funny and oddly endearing in their own way as they've carved their own space in pop culture history.

Likely because of music licensing, there is an admittedly inconsistent number of episodes currently available to stream from the classic series. Fortunately, all of the revival series is available on the platform.

A spinoff of "Beavis and Butt-Head," "Daria" explores '90s suburban malaise in a very different way than its predecessor. The titular protagonist Daria Morgendorffer (Tracy Grandstaff) moves from Texas to a nondescript suburban community while continuing to progress through high school. Much of the show's humor comes from Daria's pointed and cynical observations about the world around her, though she does steadily grow over the series' five-season run. Compared to the colorful "Clueless," "Daria" offers a much more monotone coming-of-age take on the '90s through its disaffected cast.

"Daria" is one of the best TV spinoff series and perfectly accessible if you have never seen an episode of "Beavis and Butt-Head." Compared to the deliberately dim-witted Beavis and Butt-Head, Daria was incisively intelligent, if beholden to her omnipresent cynicism. But that makes those moments where Daria visibly emerges from her carefully curated persona all the more intriguing. Intuitively knowing when to wrap things up rather than dragging things out and overstaying its welcome, "Daria" is one of the best original series to come out of MTV.

All five seasons of "Daria" are currently available on Paramount+.

Back in 1997, a controversial cartoon made from construction paper changed television history when "South Park" premiered on Comedy Central. Set in a titular small town in Colorado, the show has consistently pushed the envelope of what's permissible on television, maintaining that shock quality nearly 30 years later. Told primarily from the perspective of a group of preadolescents, the show constantly skewers the absurdities cropping up in politics and culture. Because of its production schedule, the show is able to pivot to relatively recent topics quickly, including name changes mirroring the political landscape.

While definitely not for everyone, "South Park" has been a television institution for decades for a good reason. As eyebrow-raising as the stories get, the show is always incredibly topical and sharp in its comedic observations. The show has also never been above unleashing a wave of scatological humor and even the occasional number. With over two dozen seasons and a growing number of specials, "South Park" has become an unlikely vanguard for speaking truth to power in animated form.

While most of "South Park" is available to stream on Paramount+, a handful of banned "South Park" episodes are not on the platform.

Among the longest-running shows on American television is "SpongeBob SquarePants," which has run steadily on Nickelodeon since 1999. For over 25 years, audiences have watched SpongeBob (Tom Kenny) flipping burgers at the Krusty Krab and getting into all sorts of good-natured mischief. Filled out by the colorful cast living under the sea at Bikini Bottom, the humor alternates between all-age friendly slapstick to the cartoon telling the occasional inappropriate joke. More than anything, the cartoon has become something of an ongoing institution that doesn't seem to be slowing down any time soon.

Given how much of a presence "SpongeBob SquarePants" has been on our television landscape for decades, it's easy to forget just how good it is. Kenny and the rest of the voice cast have grown into their roles so naturally that they carry their fan-favorite roles effortlessly. These dynamics help inform the stories and its gags from fast food shifts to SpongeBob's disastrous efforts to get his boating license. As soon as that Hawaiian music kicks in, everyone knows they're in for a good time with "SpongeBob SquarePants" and we're always eager to return to Bikini Bottom.

All 15 seasons of "SpongeBob SquarePants" are available to stream on Paramount+.

While Nickelodeon was producing edgy animated series as early as "Ren and Stimpy," "Invader Zim" took things to a darker level. Created by Jhonen Vasquez, the show is named for an extraterrestrial fiend, voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz, who arrives on Earth to conquer it and subjugate humanity. Zim's schemes are usually foiled by his inept robotic companion GIR (Rosearik Rikki Simons) and his human classmate Dib Membrane (Andy Berman). As Zim tries to blend in with a local school as a child while he concocts his next plot, the show leans into garish social satire.

With its darker color palettes and cruder character designs, there was nothing else like "Invader Zim" on American television at the time. The sense of humor had a clear bite, but characters like GIR kept things decidedly wacky and from being too edgy. Horvitz, a Nickelodeon voiceover veteran at that point, is at his most manic playing Zim, keeping things chaotically evil, but not without being endearing in his own way. Certainly not everyone's cup of tea, what "Invader Zim" does, it does very well as a thematic counterpoint to what Cartoon Network was doing on Adult Swim.

Both seasons of "Invader Zim" are available to stream on Paramount+.

While Netflix may have the live-action remake, Paramount+ has the original animated version of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" on its platform. Premiering in 2005, the show is set in a fantasy realm revolving around the elements, including fire, water, and earth. The prophesied Avatar, Aang (Zach Tyler Eisen), who can control all the elements telekinetically, sets out to stop the Fire Kingdom's war on the other nations. The show combines elements of East Asian culture and philosophy, along with wuxia martial arts, to combine a sweeping saga that grows more epic as it advances.

Running until 2008, "Avatar: The Last Airbender" is a fantasy show without a single bad season, continuing to knock it out of the park as it grows more ambitious. A lot of that effective storytelling comes from immaculately developed character arcs, not just from the initial heroic figures but also antagonistic figures like Prince Zuko (Dante Basco). This gives a real emotional depth to all the elemental action while raising the stakes every step of the way. If you were let down by the live-action adaptation, revisit the best episodes of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" on Paramount+ to remember why this tale is so good.

All three seasons of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" are available to stream on Paramount+.

Of course, there is more to "The Last Airbender" franchise than its original animated series and live-action adaptations. The sequel series "The Legend of Korra" is on par with its predecessor in terms of fantasy storytelling quality. Set decades after the events of "Avatar," the 2012 series follows the latest reincarnation of the Avatar, Korra (Janet Varney). While fantasy and martial arts mysticism are still prominent elements, the aesthetics now reflect a more steampunk industrial setting in line with the early 20th century.

"The Legend of Korra" is, at once, a rewarding sequel to "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and an accessible standalone fantasy story. While there are plenty of callbacks to the previous animated show, there is enough of a self-contained narrative at play that it can be thoroughly enjoyed without it. This is informed by the show bringing its own set of engrossing character arcs and magical action to the forefront, with Varney doing particularly excellent work as the titular protagonist. With its distinct setting and cast of characters, "The Legend of Korra" puts a fresh twist on its familiar premise.

All four seasons of "The Legend of Korra" are available to stream on Paramount+.

The "Star Trek" franchise has seen a resurgence on "Paramount+," buoyed by live-action series like "Discovery" and "Strange New Worlds." But the animated side of the franchise has seen several recent hits too, with the best of the bunch being the 2020 series "Star Trek: Lower Decks." A comedy series set shortly after the events of "The Next Generation," the show follows a Starfleet service vessel, the USS Cerritos. Tasked with the menial jobs around the United Federation, the Cerritos often finds itself on missions of galactic importance.

While "Star Trek: Lower Decks" gently pokes fun at the many tropes and nuances of the franchise, these gags always come from a place of love for "Star Trek." This is reinforced by a sheer multitude of Easter eggs and allusions to the entire franchise's history across the show's five-season run. But beyond its countless callbacks, the series crafts its own engrossing story and introduces a memorable cast of characters to the iconic property. One of the best sci-fi cartoons of all time, "Lower Decks" got better with every passing season to deliver a truly underrated "Star Trek" series.

All five seasons of "Star Trek: Lower Decks" are available on Paramount+.