10 Classic Kids Shows You Didn’t Know Were On Streaming

Yeah, yeah, yeah… Joseph Gordon-Levitt is making a live action reboot of Fraggle Rock. However, you can revisit the original series anytime you want. Now, Fraggle Rock isn’t just for the rich kids with premium cable; it’s for anyone with a Hulu account. [Watch Fraggle Rock]

Nothing exemplifies the optimistic, technicolor promise of the 1980s quite like the Care Bears.  But don’t let their adorable, fluffy pastel exterior fool you — the Care Bears mean business! After all, who can resist the power of their secret weapon: The Care Bear Stare. You know, it’s that thing where they all team up and light shines from their belly symbols and you feel nothing but joy and love. Yeah, the Care Bears were totally hard core. [Watch Care Bears]

Legend (or Wikipedia) says that Shelley Duvall was deep into the mythos of “The Frog Prince” while working on the live action film adaptation of Popeye. She had a serious conversation with Robin Williams about his thoughts and feelings about the fairy tale, and was thus inspired to create Faerie Tale Theatre. The quirky series featured some of the greatest thespians and movie stars of the day in live action, low budget adaptations of classic fairy tales. Nostalgia aside, this series is worth a watch if only because it gave us one of the most delightfully bizarre videos on YouTube.  (Yes, that is Jeff Bridges. Even the Dude abides Faerie Tale Theatre.) [Watch Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre]

They just don’t make action cartoons like they used to. Back in the 1980s, a hero didn’t need to be dark or gritty. He could have flowing locks of yellow gold hair and his best friend could be a girl. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe feels like a totally 80s throwback now, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that it’s totally fun. [Watch He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]

There’s a good reason why the Wachowskis wanted to remake Speed Racer into a live action film: the original ’60s cartoon was really, really fun. While the movie has divided audiences — I’ve heard it dismissed as trash and lovingly defended as genius — there can be no debate about the animated series. The series features thrilling car chases and a slick mod spirit. [Watch Speed Racer]

Sure, it might seem weird that a moose and a flying squirrel were best friends. It’s probably even stranger that their nemeses were megalomaniac Russian spies. But if you stopped and tried to parse the logic of every children’s show, you would go mad. Just embrace the joy and revisit the fun of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends. [Watch Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends]

There’s a good reason why Netflix wants to reboot The Magic School Bus: the original books and television series were awesome. They were fun, kooky, inclusive, and intrepidly educational. The series crammed a ton of factual knowledge into a concept that only worked if you also had oodles of imagination.  [Watch The Magic School Bus]

Okay, you want something really “classic?” How about original animated Disney shorts? Some of which date back to the 1940s? These aren’t just the cartoons that you grew up on; your parents probably loved them, too. There’s no reason why you can’t keep the love alive for the next generation. Netflix has a series of Disney Animation Collections on tap, but we suggest you start with the first and watch Mickey, Daffy, and Goofy duke it out with a belligerent giant who lives atop a magic beanstalk. [Watch Disney Animation Collection: Vol 1: Mickey and the Beanstalk]

There are a lot of Power Rangers shows. There have been reboots and offshoots and even a fan-made short film that’s explicitly for adults only. But it all started somewhere. The original Power Rangers series, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is silly, bizarre, and incredibly cheesy. Still, it’s endlessly entertaining and streaming on Netflix. [Watch Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]

The best children’s shows teach moral lessons, inspire creativity, and impart knowledge. The greatest children’s show could do all that and make you feel like you had a warm and wonderful friend on the other side of the screen. For decades, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood lovingly taught kids about friendship, kindness, and how to be an inquisitive member of society. I know that I’m not the only adult out there who still feels like Mr. Rogers was a real-life friend and mentor. The good news is that the first seven seasons of the show are on Amazon Prime, so you can go back in time, and visit the old neighborhood from the comfort of your own home. [Watch Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood]

Like what you see? Follow Decider on Facebook and Twitter to join the conversation, and sign up for our email newsletters to be the first to know about streaming movies and TV news!