AnimeSalt: action and adventure cartoons, from X-Men, Superman: The Animated Series and Transformers: Prime to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Static Shock, He-Man and Jonny Quest, and where to watch them

How AnimeSalt looks

AnimeSalt keeps the dark, glowing look of the site it is named after. The page is a deep violet-black, like the sky just after sunset, and the accents shine in bright purple and pink. At the top, the wide AnimeSalt wordmark sits in the centre with a round play symbol, and a small menu button on the right opens the search box and the full list of links.

The first thing below the logo is a grid of dark, rounded tiles. On the original site these tiles let viewers choose a language, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and more, each with its name in its own script; on AnimeSalt they open the shelves, Superheroes, Robots and Transformers, Fantasy and myth and the rest, each with the number of titles it holds. A small line above the tiles shows the selected shelf in a glowing purple pill with a little red dot.

Next comes a centred heading underlined in purple, with a row of round, colourful badges below it. On the original site they were the logos of the children's channels; here they lead to the great universes of action cartoons, from DC and Marvel to the Transformers, Star Wars and the land of Eternia. Then come the charts: Most-Watched Series and Most-Watched Films, two rows of tall posters with large rank numbers outlined in purple, just as on the original site. The Fresh Drops row shows the newest titles, each poster with a small dark chip for its seasons and its episode count, and further rows open the shelves with a View More link.

At the very bottom of the screen sits a fixed dark tab bar with rounded top corners and small icons for Home, Series, Movies, Superheroes, Robots and the A to Z list, so the main shelves are always one tap away, on a phone as much as on a large screen. The colours, the tiles, the charts and the tab bar are drawn from a careful study of the original design, with the Work Sans typeface it used. The posters, stories and credits are new, and every part of the page works with a keyboard, a screen reader and a small phone screen.

Superheroes

Superhero cartoons are the heart of AnimeSalt, and the Superheroes shelf holds 43 titles from DC, Marvel and the independent heroes. The Superheroes help page offers a quick tour.

X-Men, first shown in 1992, is one of the most celebrated superhero cartoons ever made. It follows Professor Xavier's team of mutants, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Storm, Rogue, Gambit, Beast and the young Jubilee, as they protect a world that fears them, and its stirring theme music is famous around the world. Over five seasons and seventy-six episodes it adapted many of the most famous stories from the comics, and it remains a favourite with fans of every age. X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, a 1989 pilot, offers an earlier glimpse of the team with the young Kitty Pryde.

The 1990s were a golden age for Marvel on television. Fantastic Four follows the four explorers who gain their powers on a space flight, The Incredible Hulk follows Bruce Banner and the green giant inside him, Silver Surfer sends the cosmic wanderer across the stars in search of his lost home, and Spider-Man Unlimited takes Peter Parker to a strange Counter-Earth on the far side of the sun. The Spectacular Spider-Man, from 2008, is widely loved for its wit, its warmth and its careful portrait of Peter Parker as a teenager juggling school, family and his secret life.

Newer Marvel series are just as appealing. Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur follows Lunella Lafayette, a thirteen-year-old genius on New York's Lower East Side, and the ten-ton red tyrannosaurus she accidentally brings into the present; the series is bright, musical and full of heart. For younger children, Spidey and His Amazing Friends and Iron Man and His Awesome Friends turn the heroes into little friends who solve problems together, and Meet Iron Man and His Awesome Friends introduces the characters. The LEGO specials, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes - Black Panther: Trouble in Wakanda, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes - Guardians of the Galaxy: The Thanos Threat, LEGO Marvel Avengers: Climate Conundrum and LEGO Marvel Avengers: Strange Tails, are short, funny adventures built from the famous bricks. Thor: Tales of Asgard is a feature film about the young Thor and his brother Loki on their first great adventure.

DC's heroes have their own long tradition. Superman: The Animated Series, first shown in 1996, is one of the finest superhero series ever made, with clean, elegant designs, a superb voice cast and stories that treat Superman as both a hero and a decent, thoughtful man. Static Shock follows Virgil Hawkins, a teenager in the city of Dakota who gains electrical powers, and it won praise for its humour and its honest portrait of a young hero's life. Legion of Super Heroes sends a young Superman a thousand years into the future to join a team of teenage heroes, Green Lantern: The Animated Series follows Hal Jordan and his partner Kilowog through deep space, and Justice League Action packs Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and dozens of other heroes into short, energetic episodes. The DC heroes and Marvel heroes help pages list the highlights of each.

Batman appears in two very different series. The Batman, from 2004, follows a young Bruce Wayne in his early years as the protector of Gotham City, with a fresh look and a lively new take on his famous foes. Beware the Batman, from 2013, is a computer-animated series that pairs Batman with his butler Alfred and the swordswoman Katana, and it features less familiar villains from the comics. The Zeta Project follows a robot who decides to protect people instead of fighting them, and Superman, from 1988, is a bright Saturday-morning version of the Man of Steel. The short films Superman 75, Batman Beyond and Nightwing and Robin are tiny celebrations of the heroes, and DC Showcase: Blue Beetle, DC Showcase: Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth! and DC Showcase: Adam Strange bring lesser-known heroes to life. Thunder and Lightning and Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld are short series of shorts, and DC Metal Force is a new series about a contest between heroes and villains.

Some heroes were created especially for television. Captain Planet and the Planeteers, first shown in 1990, follows five young people from around the world who receive magic rings with the powers of Earth, Fire, Wind, Water and Heart; when they combine their powers, they summon Captain Planet to protect the environment. Generator Rex, from the creators of Ben 10, follows a teenager who can turn parts of his body into machines. Atomic Betty follows a girl who lives a double life as a galactic guardian, WordGirl follows a fifth-grader with super strength and a super vocabulary, and Stan Lee's Mighty 7 and Stan Lee's Superhero Kindergarten come from the imagination of the great comic-book writer. Max Steel: Forces of Nature, Max Steel: Bio Crisis and Max Steel Vs The Mutant Menace are action films about a teenage secret agent with extraordinary powers.

Some of the most exciting new heroes come from around the world. Supa Team 4 follows four teenage girls in Lusaka, Zambia, who are recruited by a retired spy to save the world, and it was made by the South African studio Triggerfish. Kitti Katz follows three teenage girls who turn into feline heroes, and Baahubali: The Lost Legends, made in India, tells the adventures of the young princes before the events of S. S. Rajamouli's famous films.

Transformers and robots

The Transformers began in 1984 as a line of toys from Hasbro, built on Japanese designs, and they have appeared in dozens of cartoons since. The Robots and Transformers shelf holds 18 titles, and the Transformers help page explains where to begin.

Transformers: Prime, from 2010, is a dramatic and beautifully animated series in which Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Arcee, Ratchet and Bulkhead protect the Earth with the help of three human children. Transformers: Animated, from 2007, is lighter and funnier, with the Autobots defending the city of Detroit, and Transformers: Robots In Disguise, from 2015, sends Bumblebee back to Earth to lead a new team. Transformers: Rescue Bots follows a team of friendly rescue robots on a peaceful island, a gentle introduction for younger children.

Beast Wars: Transformers, first shown in 1996, was one of the first fully computer-animated television series. The Maximals and the Predacons crash on a prehistoric planet and take the forms of animals, from a gorilla and a rhinoceros to a tyrannosaurus, and the series is admired for its rich characters and clever writing. Beast Machines: Transformers continues the story on the robots' home planet. Transformers: Titans Return, told here as a feature-length film, and Transformers: Power of the Primes belong to the Prime Wars trilogy.

Other robot heroes are just as memorable. Voltron: The Third Dimension returns to the five robot lions who combine into the giant defender Voltron, in a computer-animated sequel from 1998. ReBoot, first shown in 1994, was the first fully computer-animated half-hour television series; it takes place inside a computer system called Mainframe, where the guardian Bob protects its citizens from viruses. The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot, based on a comic by Frank Miller and Geof Darrow, pairs a giant robot with a young robot learning to be a hero, and Cubix: Robots for Everyone, made in Korea, follows a boy and his robot in a city where robots outnumber people. Robozuna follows a boy and his homemade robot in a great competition, and The Centurions, Bionic Six and M.A.S.K. are 1980s classics in which heroes join with machines and vehicles.

Fantasy and myth

Swords, sorcery and ancient legends have inspired some of the most beloved action cartoons. The Fantasy and myth shelf holds 32 titles, and the Fantasy and myth help page offers a selection.

She-Ra: Princess of Power, first shown in 1985, follows Adora, the twin sister of He-Man, who leads the Great Rebellion against the Horde on the planet Etheria with the help of her flying horse Swift Wind. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, the 2002 series, retells the story of Prince Adam and the land of Eternia with a fresh look and richer characters, and The New Adventures of He-Man, from 1990, sends the hero to a distant future. Together these series form one of the great fantasy sagas of television animation.

The Greek myths appear in two series for young viewers. Class of the Titans follows seven teenagers descended from the heroes of Greek legend, who must stop the god Cronus with the help of Zeus and Athena. Mythic Warriors retells the stories of Hercules, Perseus, Theseus and others in a series of complete episodes. Conan the Adventurer and Conan and the Young Warriors are family versions of the barbarian hero, and Highlander: The Animated Series follows a young immortal in a future world.

Newer fantasy series are rich and imaginative. Dragons: The Nine Realms, set many centuries after How to Train Your Dragon, follows a group of teenagers who discover dragons beneath the earth. Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts follows a cheerful girl who leaves her underground city for a surface world full of mutant animals; it is one of the most acclaimed cartoons of recent years, with wonderful music and a warm message about friendship. Niko and the Sword of Light follows a young hero with a magical sword, Jane and the Dragon follows a girl who trains to become a knight with a dragon as her best friend, and My Brother the Minotaur, from the Irish studio Cartoon Saloon, follows a minotaur raised by humans who dreams of his mythical past.

Many fantasy series come from famous stories. The NeverEnding Story continues Michael Ende's tale of Bastian and the land of Fantasia, Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz follows Dorothy as the new princess of Oz, and The Ultimate Book of Spells follows young students at a school of magic. Ewoks follows Wicket and his friends in the forests of Endor, Starla and the Jewel Riders and LEGO Elves: Secrets of Elvendale follow young guardians of magical kingdoms, and Unicorn Academy: Secrets Revealed follows the riders of a school for unicorns.

Dinosaurs and animal heroes

Dinosaurs and animals make wonderful action heroes, and the Dinosaurs and animal heroes shelf holds 26 titles. The Dinosaurs and animal heroes help page picks out a few.

Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous follows six teenagers stranded on Isla Nublar after the park's dinosaurs escape, and the film Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous: Hidden Adventure continues their story. Dinotrux, from DreamWorks, imagines a world of creatures that are half dinosaur and half construction truck, led by the friendly Ty Rux. Extreme Dinosaurs, Dino Squad and Armorsaurs give dinosaurs superpowers, and Denver, the Last Dinosaur follows a friendly dinosaur who hatches in modern Los Angeles and befriends a group of teenagers.

The animal heroes of the 1990s are among the most energetic of all. SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron follows two cat pilots who protect Megakat City in their homemade jet, and it remains a cult favourite. Street Sharks follows four brothers turned into half-shark heroes, Biker Mice from Mars follows three motorcycle-riding mice from Mars, Road Rovers follows a team of super-powered dogs, and Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series follows a team of hockey-playing ducks from another world. Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars! follows a green hare captain and his crew in space, and Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys follows a team of space-travelling apes.

TaleSpin, from Disney, is one of the great adventure series of the 1990s. It follows Baloo the bear, from The Jungle Book, as a cargo pilot in the city of Cape Suzette, with his young navigator Kit Cloudkicker and his boss Rebecca Cunningham, and it is full of air chases, sky pirates and gentle humour. Godzilla: The Series follows a team of scientists who study giant creatures with the help of the young Godzilla, Kong: The Animated Series brings back the great ape, and Free Willy and The Silver Brumby are adventures about a killer whale and a wild silver horse.

Space adventures

Space has always been a favourite setting for action cartoons, and the Space adventures shelf holds 14 titles. The Space adventures help page has a short selection.

The Star Wars universe has inspired several cartoons. Star Wars: Droids, first shown in 1985, follows R2-D2 and C-3PO on their travels with a series of new masters, years before the events of the films. Ewoks follows the forest dwellers of Endor, and Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures and Star Wars: Galaxy of Creatures are bright short series for younger fans.

Space westerns were a favourite of the 1980s. BraveStarr follows Marshal BraveStarr, who keeps the peace on the frontier planet New Texas with the strength of a bear, the eyes of a hawk, the ears of a wolf and the speed of a puma, and the film BraveStarr: The Legend tells how he came to New Texas. Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs follows a team of space marshals and their giant robot, and Wildfire follows a young princess and her magical horse. SilverHawks, from Rankin/Bass, follows a team of partly metal heroes who patrol a distant galaxy, and Starcom: The U.S. Space Force and Spiral Zone follow brave teams of space defenders. Flash Gordon, the 1996 series, sends the famous hero and his friends to the planet Mongo as teenagers, and Red Planet follows young colonists on Mars.

Two films round out the shelf. Robotech II: The Sentinels continues the famous science-fiction saga, and Thru the Moebius Strip is a computer-animated adventure about a boy who travels to an alien world to find his father.

Games and toys

Many action cartoons grew out of games and toys, and the best of them create whole worlds of their own. The Games and toys shelf holds 21 titles, and the Games and toys help page lists the highlights.

LEGO Ninjago: Dragons Rising begins a new chapter of the famous LEGO ninja saga, in which the realms of the world have merged and dragons have returned, and LEGO DREAMZzz follows children who join a secret agency of dream chasers. Hot Wheels Let's Race follows six young racers at a camp for the famous toy cars, and Skylanders Academy follows the heroes of the video game as they train to protect the Skylands.

Card games inspire their own adventures. Kaijudo: Clash of the Duel Masters follows a young duelist who can summon creatures from another world, Chaotic follows a boy whose card game opens a portal to a real world of creatures, and Di-Gata Defenders follows a team of young heroes who control magical stones. BeyWheelz and Kibaoh Klashers are short series about spinning tops and battling beetles, and Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie follows Yugi Muto and his friends in a feature-length duel across ancient Egypt.

Video games have given cartoons some of their funniest heroes. Captain N: The Game Master follows a teenager from Earth who is pulled into Videoland, where he teams up with the heroes of classic games such as Mega Man and Kid Icarus. Glitch Techs follows two teenagers who work as secret technicians, catching video-game monsters that escape into the real world. Double Dragon, Pokémon: Path to the Peak and Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos add martial arts and friendly competition.

Explorers and spies

Treasure maps, lost temples and secret missions are the stuff of great adventure, and the Explorers and spies shelf holds 25 titles. The Explorers and spies help page offers a few suggestions.

Jonny Quest is one of the great heroes of adventure animation. The New Adventures of Jonny Quest, from 1986, continues the original 1960s series, following Jonny, his scientist father, the bodyguard Race Bannon, their friend Hadji and the little dog Bandit around the world. The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, from 1996, makes the heroes teenagers and adds a computer-generated virtual world called QuestWorld, a remarkable idea for its time.

Other explorers travel to every corner of the world. The Mummy: The Animated Series follows young Alex O'Connell and his archaeologist parents as they protect a magical bracelet from an ancient mummy. The Legend of Tarzan, from Disney, continues the story of the 1999 film as Tarzan protects the jungle with Jane and his animal friends. The Deep follows the Nekton family, daring explorers who live aboard a submarine and discover the secrets of the ocean, and The New Adventures of Ocean Girl follows a girl with a special bond with the sea and its creatures. Jumanji, from 1996, sends two children into the jungle world of a magical board game, where each roll of the dice brings a new challenge.

Secret agents have their own exciting series. Spy Kids: Mission Critical follows Juni and Carmen Cortez at a spy academy, Fast & Furious Spy Racers follows teenage driver Tony Toretto and his friends as undercover racers, and Team Zenko Go follows a team of kids who perform secret good deeds for their town. Mary-Kate and Ashley in Action follows the famous twins as animated special agents, Action Man follows a hero of extreme sports and secret missions, and G.I. Joe: Renegades follows the famous team on the run as they uncover a villain's plans.

Masked heroes and legends complete the shelf. Zorro the Chronicles follows the young Diego de la Vega as he defends California with his sister and his horse, The New Adventures of Zorro from 1981 and The New Adventures of Zorro from 1997 bring the masked fox to two earlier generations, and Sherwood reimagines Robin Hood as a teenage hacker in the future. Matt Hatter Chronicles follows a schoolboy who discovers a hidden portal in his family's attic, Curses! follows a family whose father has been turned to stone by an ancient curse, and Rescue Heroes follows a team of brave rescuers who help people in danger around the world. Action Pack follows the kids of the Action Academy, and F.T.P.D. Fairy Tale Police Department solves cases in the land of fairy tales.

The 1980s

The 1980s were the golden age of Saturday-morning cartoons, and the 1980s shelf gathers 22 of them. The 1980s help page has a short guide.

The decade was shaped by toy companies and bold storytelling. She-Ra: Princess of Power and BraveStarr, both from the studio Filmation, carried a short moral lesson at the end of each episode. Jem follows Jerrica Benton, who uses a holographic computer to become the rock star Jem and leads her band, the Holograms, through music and adventure. M.A.S.K. follows a team of agents whose ordinary vehicles transform into machines of action, and The Centurions follows three heroes who combine with powerful armour.

SilverHawks, Bionic Six, Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs, Spiral Zone and Starcom: The U.S. Space Force took the action to the stars, and Wildfire and Denver, the Last Dinosaur offered gentler fantasy. Ewoks and Star Wars: Droids were the first Star Wars cartoons, and The New Adventures of Zorro and The New Adventures of Jonny Quest brought classic heroes to a new generation. Captain N: The Game Master, from 1989, was one of the first cartoons built entirely around video games.

The 1990s

The 1990s brought bolder colours, bigger theme songs and more ambitious stories, and the 1990s shelf is one of the largest on the site, with 43 titles. The 1990s help page offers a tour.

Superheroes dominated the decade, with X-Men, Superman: The Animated Series, Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, Silver Surfer and Spider-Man Unlimited. Animal heroes were everywhere, from SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron and Street Sharks to Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series and Road Rovers, and Captain Planet and the Planeteers and TaleSpin began the decade with two very different adventures.

The 1990s were also the decade when computer animation arrived on television. ReBoot and Beast Wars: Transformers, both from the Canadian studio Mainframe Entertainment, showed what the new technology could do, and Shadow Raiders followed in 1998. Adventure series such as The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Jumanji, Godzilla: The Series and The NeverEnding Story brought film and literature to the small screen.

The 2000s and today

The 2000s shelf gathers the series of a new century: Static Shock, The Zeta Project, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, The Batman, Legion of Super Heroes, The Spectacular Spider-Man and Transformers: Animated. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, from 2003, is especially loved: over 154 episodes it follows Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo with a darker, more adventurous tone than the 1987 series, closer to the original comics.

The 2010 onward shelf gathers the newest arrivals, from Transformers: Prime, Generator Rex and Green Lantern: The Animated Series to Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Supa Team 4, Dragons: The Nine Realms and My Brother the Minotaur. The Top rated shelf collects the titles that viewers rate most highly, and it is a fine place to begin.

Hindi, Tamil and Telugu

Many of the series on AnimeSalt were dubbed into Hindi, Tamil and Telugu for Indian children's channels, and for many families those voices are as famous as the heroes themselves. The Hindi, Tamil and Telugu tracks help page explains how to find them today.

The easiest way is to open the title page and press Watch now: JustWatch shows the services that carry the title in your country, and each service lists its own audio tracks and subtitles. X-Men, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Jumanji, Captain Planet and the Planeteers and the Transformers series were favourites on Indian television, and Baahubali: The Lost Legends was made in India from the start.

Older children often enjoy the English originals with subtitles, which is also a fine way to practise listening. The voice casts of many of these series include famous actors: Tim Daly, the voice of Superman, and Peter Cullen, the voice of Optimus Prime, are among the voices that fans recognise at once.

Films and shorts

AnimeSalt is mostly a guide to series, but the Movies shelf holds 18 films and shorts that are perfect for a family evening or a quick treat between episodes.

Thor: Tales of Asgard is a feature-length adventure about the young Thor, his brother Loki and the Warriors Three, who set out to find a legendary sword and learn what it truly means to be a hero. Mighty Ducks the Movie: The First Face-Off tells how the hockey-playing ducks first arrived on Earth, and BraveStarr: The Legend tells how Marshal BraveStarr came to the planet New Texas. Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie follows Yugi and his friends into a duel that reaches back to ancient Egypt, and Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous: Hidden Adventure reunites the young campers on their island.

The three Max Steel films, Max Steel: Forces of Nature, Max Steel: Bio Crisis and Max Steel Vs The Mutant Menace, follow the teenage agent on missions from polluted jungles to outer space. Stan Lee's Mighty 7 imagines the famous comic writer discovering a team of aliens with superpowers, and Transformers: Titans Return gathers a whole chapter of the Prime Wars story. Robotech II: The Sentinels and Thru the Moebius Strip are science-fiction adventures for older children.

The shorts are tiny celebrations of the heroes. Superman 75 and Batman Beyond were made for the seventy-fifth anniversaries of the two great DC heroes, and Nightwing and Robin lasts less than a minute. The DC Showcase shorts give lesser-known heroes their own moment in the spotlight, and each one is a complete story in a quarter of an hour.

Picks by age

Action cartoons range from gentle adventures for small children to complex stories for teenagers, and the Picks by age help page sums up a few choices.

For children up to six, the friendliest heroes are best. Spidey and His Amazing Friends, Iron Man and His Awesome Friends and Transformers: Rescue Bots have bright colours, short stories and kind lessons about teamwork, and Stan Lee's Superhero Kindergarten and Weird Waters add humour.

From seven to ten, children enjoy lively action and big laughs. Justice League Action, Dinotrux, LEGO Ninjago: Dragons Rising, Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Atomic Betty, WordGirl and Hot Wheels Let's Race suit this age well, and the classics TaleSpin and Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series are ideal for a family evening.

From eleven up, longer stories take over. Transformers: Prime, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Superman: The Animated Series, The Spectacular Spider-Man, X-Men and Dragons: The Nine Realms reward attention with rich characters and story arcs that build across a whole season. Grown-ups who loved these shows as children often enjoy them just as much today.

A perfect first week

If your family is new to classic action cartoons, here is a simple plan for a first week. On Monday, meet the mutant team in the first episodes of X-Men. On Tuesday, fly over Cape Suzette with Baloo in TaleSpin. On Wednesday, roll out with Optimus Prime in Transformers: Prime. On Thursday, join Adora in Etheria in She-Ra: Princess of Power. On Friday, watch Static Shock and follow Virgil through his first days as a hero. At the weekend, share Thor: Tales of Asgard as a family film and begin Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts with the older children.

A second week could follow a theme: superheroes one evening with Superman: The Animated Series, dinosaurs the next with Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, space on Wednesday with BraveStarr, explorers on Thursday with The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest and fantasy at the weekend with Dragons: The Nine Realms.

What makes a great action cartoon

The best action cartoons share a few qualities. They have heroes with clear values, such as courage, loyalty and kindness, and villains whose plans are exciting to watch being foiled. They have teams in which every member has a special skill, so that every child in the audience can find a favourite. They have memorable theme songs, bold designs that work on a small screen and stories that move quickly from one adventure to the next.

The greatest of them add something more. Superman: The Animated Series and X-Men treat their heroes as real people with doubts and families. Static Shock and Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur show young heroes from communities that had rarely appeared on screen. Captain Planet and the Planeteers and Dinotrux carry messages about protecting the environment and working together. Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts uses music and humour to tell a story about friendship across every kind of difference. These are cartoons that children remember for the rest of their lives.

The studios behind the action

Behind every series on AnimeSalt stands a studio of artists, writers, composers and voice actors, and a few names appear again and again. Knowing them is a fun way to find more cartoons in the same spirit.

Filmation, the Californian studio led by Lou Scheimer, made She-Ra: Princess of Power, BraveStarr and The New Adventures of Zorro, and it was famous for ending its episodes with a short lesson for young viewers. Hanna-Barbera, one of the great names of television animation, made SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Wildfire and Midnight Patrol: Adventures in the Dream Zone. Sunbow Productions made Jem, Conan the Adventurer and Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars!, and Rankin/Bass made SilverHawks.

Warner Bros. Animation made many of the DC series, including Superman: The Animated Series, Static Shock, The Zeta Project, The Batman and Justice League Action; its artists, led by Bruce Timm, gave the DC heroes a clean, elegant style that is still admired. In Canada, Mainframe Entertainment in Vancouver pioneered computer animation with ReBoot, Beast Wars: Transformers and Shadow Raiders, and Nelvana in Toronto made Ewoks, Star Wars: Droids, Rescue Heroes, Di-Gata Defenders and Jane and the Dragon. DiC made Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Street Sharks and Extreme Dinosaurs.

Today, DreamWorks Animation Television is one of the busiest makers of action cartoons, with Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Dinotrux, Dragons: The Nine Realms, Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, Fast & Furious Spy Racers, Curses! and Team Zenko Go. Disney Television Animation made TaleSpin, The Legend of Tarzan and Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, and Atomic Cartoons, also from Vancouver, made Atomic Betty and Spidey and His Amazing Friends. New voices come from around the world: Cartoon Saloon in Ireland made My Brother the Minotaur, Triggerfish in South Africa made Supa Team 4, and Indian studios worked on Baahubali: The Lost Legends.

The great teams

Action cartoons love a team, and some of the most memorable groups in animation appear on AnimeSalt. Each one shows that heroes are stronger together, and each gives children a range of personalities to admire.

The Planeteers of Captain Planet and the Planeteers come from five continents, and their rings only summon Captain Planet when they combine. The X-Men of X-Men are a family of outsiders who look after one another. The four brothers of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles each have their own colour, weapon and character, from the calm leader Leonardo to the cheerful Michelangelo. The young heroes of Supa Team 4 each bring a different talent, from science to music, and the friends of Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts learn to trust one another across their differences.

Other teams are just as lively. The Autobots of Transformers: Prime work alongside three human children, the crew of TaleSpin runs a small air-cargo company together, and the explorers of The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest are a true family. The hockey players of Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series, the dinosaur builders of Dinotrux and the young campers of Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous all discover that the best plans come from listening to every member of the group.

Finding a title

AnimeSalt offers several ways to find a title. The menu button at the top opens the search box, which finds titles as you type; the tab bar at the bottom opens the main shelves; and the A to Z list shows every title in alphabetical order, with the letters repeated in the Navigate A to Z strip on the home page. The Finding a title help page has more tips.

Some titles share a name with other versions, so the year on each page tells them apart: there are two series called The New Adventures of Zorro, from 1981 and 1997, and the Superman series from 1988 is quite different from Superman: The Animated Series from 1996. The home page shelf tiles and the Browse list show every shelf with the number of titles it holds, from the 167 titles of All titles to the smaller themed shelves.

My List

My List keeps the titles your family wants to watch. Add a series or film from its page, and it appears in the list that opens from the menu. The list lives in this browser, so it opens instantly, and it can be exported to a small file and imported on another device, such as the family television or a grandparent's tablet. The My List help page explains each step.

Many families keep more than one list: one for the summer holidays, one for the long Diwali or Eid weekend and one for rainy afternoons. Children enjoy choosing the next adventure themselves, and parents enjoy adding the cartoons they loved when they were young.

Why action cartoons matter

Action cartoons are often thought of as simple entertainment, but the best of them do much more. They teach children that courage means protecting others, that a team is stronger than any single hero and that even the most powerful character must choose to do the right thing. They spark imagination, too: many artists, writers and engineers say that their love of drawing, storytelling or building began with a robot, a superhero or a space ship they saw on television as children.

For families across South Asia, these cartoons are also shared memories. Parents who watched X-Men, Captain Planet and the Planeteers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles after school can now share them with their own children, and the conversations that follow, about favourite heroes, best episodes and theme songs, are part of the fun.

About AnimeSalt

AnimeSalt is an independent English guide. It hosts the pages, the stories and the shelves, and it sends you to the official services that carry each title through the Watch now button. The posters, credits and production details come from TMDB, and the help pages and this guide are written for AnimeSalt by its own editorial team. The About page explains what the site keeps in your browser and where its data comes from.

The catalogue grows with care, one family-friendly adventure at a time, and every title is chosen for its excitement, its heart and its welcome for viewers of every age. Happy watching, and enjoy the adventure.

Questions and answers

A few quick answers for parents and new viewers.

Questions