The Top TV Theme Songs Of All Time: Animated Series

TVLine's ongoing review of TV's all-time greatest theme songs continues with this ultimate animated series breakdown. This week, we're revisiting some classic cartoons alongside some newer (and more adult-oriented) fare, so fans of all ages can relive their childhoods.

In this rundown, we've culled the best of the best from Warner Bros., Nickelodeon, the Disney Channel, Hanna-Barbera and more, serving up everything from Looney Tunes to Bob's Burgers. There are also some pizza-loving mutant turtles, a ghost-hunting team of detectives, a jungle-swinging Tarzan parody and more than one selection from Fox's Animation Domination lineup.

Before we dive into the best animated series themes, be sure to check out our previous Top TV Theme Song lists, spanning every decade from the '50s to today.

Top TV Theme Songs: 2000-2009 Edition

Top TV Theme Songs: 1990s Edition

Top TV Theme Songs: 1980s Edition

Top TV Theme Songs: 1970s Edition

Top TV Theme Songs: 1950s/'60s Edition

Review our selection of animated series theme songs below and vote for the very best/most effective ones in the Comments. (Or, click this link and vote!) 

Written in 1937 by Cliff Friend and Dave Franklin, "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" is the world famous theme for decades' worth of Looney Tunes cartoons. The song was produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons and used roughly from 1937 to 1969. Throughout this span, many variations were created, most of which can be heard in the video above. The accompanying Merrie Melodies shorts used an adaptation of "Merrily We Roll Along" as its main theme, and that particular track was written by the trio of Charles Tobias, Murray Mencher and Eddie Cantor. These tunes (and Tunes) are the perfect doses of nostalgia to help kick off our list.

Mighty Mouse's first foray into the world of TV was Mighty Mouse Playhouse, which delivered a catchy theme song titled, "Mighty Mouse Theme (Here I Come to Save the Day)," written by composers Marshall Barer and Philip Scheib. Later, Barer worked under the auspices of Golden Records, which commissioned him to write over 100 songs throughout his career. Who performed this particular song depends on who you ask. Early records credited the track to "The Terrytooners, Mitch Miller and Orchestra," but others claim a Golden Records group called The Sandpipers was behind it (and not the 1960s easy listening group of the same name best known for their "Guantanamera" cover). And of course, there's always Andy Kaufman's take.

Hoyt Curtin is the composer and producer responsible for "Meet the Flintstones" and much of the series' other music. The track was recorded with a 22-piece big band, with vocals provided by the Randy Van Horne Singers. The song wasn't added to the series until Season 3, but it became so popular that it later replaced the original instrumental theme for Seasons 1 and 2 once the show hit syndication. From 1960-1981, Curtin was the mind behind many other Hanna-Barbera theme songs including Top Cat, The Jetsons, Jonny Quest, Super Friends, Josie and the Pussycats, The Smurfs and The New Scooby-Doo Movies. His stock tunes were used as incidental music in many of the series listed above, and he also wrote the jingle heard underneath Hanna-Barbera's closing logo.

Sammy Lerner, a Romanian songwriter who wrote for many American and British plays and films, is the composer responsible for Popeye's original, generation-spanning theme song. And Popeye's series wasn't the only Max Fleischer cartoon Lerner worked on. He also co-wrote "Don't Take My Boo-oop-a-doop Away" with Sammy Timberg, which was, of course, written for the character Betty Boop.

Hanna-Barbera's go-to composer, Hoyt Curtin, wrote the theme for The Jetsons, which was re-recorded in the '80s using synthesized drums and synths typical of the era. In addition to his Hanna-Barbera credits (see The Flintstones entry above), Curtin provided tunes for movies like Mesa of Lost Women, Ed Wood's Jail Bait, Timber Tramps, C.H.O.M.P.S. and the so-bad-it's-good cult classic, Plan 9 from Outer Space.

Stan Worth and Sheldon Allman are the writers of this Jungle theme's pulsating percussion. The two men's partnership held up in the subsequent decade, as they continued creating music for a number of game shows including Let's Make a Deal, Masquerade Party and It Pays to be Ignorant. Also notable, Allman served as the titular horse's singing voice in the Mister Ed episodes "Mister Ed's Blues" and "Ed the Songwriter."

The original English Speed Racer theme song was performed by Danny Davis and the Nashville Brass. Davis was a country music band leader, trumpet player, vocalist and producer, and with his group the Nashville Brass, recorded 29 albums between 1968 and 1981. In his career as a producer, Davis worked with artists like Nina Simone, Waylon Jennings, Frank Yankovic and more. As for the Nashville Brass? They gave their final performance in 2005 when Davis was 80 years old. He sadly passed away just three years later.

The theme song "Spider-Man" was written by Bob Harris and Paul Francis Webster, the latter of whom was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972. Webster was nominated 16 times for the Best Original Song Academy Award, of which he won three: for Calamity Jane, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing and The Sandpiper. His other claims to fame include collaborating with jazz legend Duke Ellington on the song "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)," and writing lyrics for many of Shirley Temple's films.

"The Pink Panther Theme" was written by Henry Mancini, who was also a conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Over the course of his career he won four Academy Awards, a Golden Globe and 20 Grammy Awards, plus a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. The opening sequence for The Pink Panther Show was composed by Doug Goodwin, while William Lava and Walter Greene laid down tracks for the scores heard throughout, most of which were riffs off of Mancini's original tune.

Performed by George A. Robertson, Jr. (who took over for Larry Marks in 1970), the theme for the OG Scooby-Doo was written by David Mook and Ben Raleigh. The catchy tune has been covered by heaps of contemporary artists including Matthew Sweet for the album Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits; Third Eye Blind for the 1998 film Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island and the 2003 film Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico; Billy Ray Cyrus for Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost (1999); Jennifer Love Hewitt for Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders (2000); and the B-52's for Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (2001).

The Pussycats' self-titled theme was written (once again!) by Hoyt Curtin, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. The track was based on melodies that were formerly used as incidentals from past Hanna-Barbera cartoons starting with The Jetsons in 1962. In 1995, the song achieved new life when it was covered by Juliana Hatfield and Tanya Donelly for the 1995 tribute album Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, and again when the series was adapted into a live-action film in 2001.

Hanna-Barbera's powerhouse composer Hoyt Curtin wrote the theme for the first eight seasons of The Smurfs' run. While Clark Gassman and Tom Worrall took over composing duties come Season 9, we're partial to the series' earlier opening sequences, including the one above.

This absolute earworm — which also got play in the live-action 1999 movie starring Matthew Broderick — was written by Shuki Levi, a TV producer and composer known for writing music for Dragon Quest, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Eagle Riders and She-Ra: Princess of Power, among others. He and friend Haim Saban are the co-founders of Saban Entertainment, which produced, distributed and wrote music for countless animated programs beginning in 1980. Levi has plenty of other writing and directing credits to his name including Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and its off-shoots, Masked Rider and Big Bad Beetleborgs.

The original theme song (that's likely still on repeat in the minds of many thirty- and forty-somethings) was written by Ford Kinder (G.I. Joe, My Little Pony 'n Friends) and Anne Bryant (Jem, InHumanoids). The track uses many lines from the toy brand's rhyming slogans, and was eventually used as a bumper for many of the franchise's commercials going forward. While each subsequent season's theme received a significant upgrade, the melody and lyrics largely remained unchanged.

The theme music for Thundercats is credited to Bernard Hoffer, a composer whose credits also include TigerSharks, The Comic Strip and the TV-movie The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus. The lyrics were written by Jules Bass (the "Bass" of Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment), and a full featurette of the duo's work was included on the series' first DVD release. But because this is the internet, you can view that bonus goodie here.

"DuckTales" was written by series composers Ron Jones, Thomas Chase Jones, Steve Zuckerman and Steve Rucker, and performed by Jeff Pescetto. Pescetto is also known for singing the themes to Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers and Darkwing Duck, in addition to his writing and singing contributions to movies like Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Spaceballs. Ron Jones, on the other hand, lent his writing chops to series like The Smurfs, Family Guy, American Dad!, Star Trek: The Next Generation and more.

The "Turtle Power" heard above was composed by Dennis C. Brown and Chuck Lorre (of Big Bang Theory/Two and a Half Men fame), and performed by James Mandell (aka Miles Doppler). Since writing the Turtles theme, the two composers continued working together, with Brown, himself, winning six BMI TV Music Awards for Grace Under Fire and Dharma & Greg, two of Lorre's shows. Lorre took home four of the same award for Men in 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2009.

The series' world famous theme song was composed by the legendary Danny Elfman after creator Matt Groening commissioned him to write a retro-style piece. The Emmy-nominated "The Simpsons Theme" won the National Music Award for Favorite TV Theme in 2002, and was also the recipient of three BMI TV Music Awards. Elfman — who became known as the singer-songwriter for Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s — has four Academy Award nominations and two Emmy wins under his belt. In addition to his TV work, he's frequently collaborated with Tim Burton and Sam Raimi, having written scores for films like Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Alice in Wonderland, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2 and Oz the Great and Powerful.

This Duck's particularly catchy theme was created by Steve Nelson and Thom Sharp, and performed by Jeff Pescetto. Sharp is an Emmy Award-winning composer who snagged the prize for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for his work on Aladdin, the series. His other credits include Bonkers, Goof Troop, and movies like When Harry Met Sally and The Addam's Family. As for Nelson, his other hits include tracks for The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Webster.

Composer Richard Stone had a large hand in the Warner Bros. animation revival of the 1990s, having written music for Animaniacs (above), Tiny Toon Adventures, Taz-Mania, The Plucky Duck Show, Pinky and the Brain, Histeria!, The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries, Freakazoid! and Road Rovers. His work earned him seven Emmy Awards over the course of his career, which also included credits on films like Pretty in Pink, Cujo, Dolores Claiborne, Platoon, Witness and more.

This one is sure to get stuck in your brain, brain, brain, brain... The second Richard Stone piece to make our list, the Pinky and the Brain theme was performed by Jess Harnell, Dorian Harewood, Jim Cummings and Rob Paulsen. Warner Bros. fans know Harnell from Animaniacs, where he voiced Wakko Warner. The long-time voice actor also voiced Crash Bandicoot in the popular video game series. Harewood is an actor known for film and TV roles like Full Metal Jacket, House of Payne and the ABC miniseries Roots: The Next Generations. Cummings staked his claim voicing Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, and in the WB world, the Tasmanian Devil. Lastly, aside from being the voice of the titular Pinky, Paulsen also served as the voice of Yakko Warner.

Daria's fitting theme "You're Standing on My Neck" was written and performed by the New York City-based band Splendora. In addition, the alt-rockers created original themes for both of the series' movies (Is It Fall Yet? and Is It College Yet?). Despite not having an original score, elements from Splendora's theme were used for the show's various intros and outros, while contemporary pop songs were placed as incidentals. The outfit's one and only album, In the Grass, released in 1995.

South Park's ditty is performed by Primus, with lyrics sung by the band's lead singer, Les Claypool. The show's four main kids lend a hand with vocal duties — including Kenny's muffled lines, which are usually sexually explicit in nature and swapped out every few years or so. In the first four seasons, the theme has a folk rock instrumentation supported by plenty of bass and rhythmic drums. Electro funk took over in the latter episodes of Seasons 4 and 5, while bluegrass and banjo were worked in come Seasons 6-9.

The Griffins' main theme was written by two of series creator Seth MacFarlane's go-to guys: Walter Murphy and Ron Jones. Murphy has had a longtime partnership with MacFarlane, having composed music for his projects such as The Cleveland Show, American Dad! and Ted, the last of which scored him and MacFarlane an Oscar nod for "Everybody Needs a Best Friend." While Murphy's five-decade-spanning career also includes credits like The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Buffy, The A-Team and more, Jones has written music for series like  Star Trek: The Next Generation, DuckTales and The Fairly OddParents.

"Theme From Futurama" was composed by Christopher Tyng, whose other credits include The O.C., The Job, Knight Rider, Suits, High Incident and Rescue Me. Tubular bells help give the track its unique sound, in addition to a drum break that was sampled from the soul group The Winstons. The theme song was remixed a couple times throughout its run, including the Beastie Boys' fresh take for the Season 1 episode "Hell Is Other Robots."

Mark Harrison and Blaise Smith composed the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song, with lyrics written by Stephen Hillenburg and original series creative director Derek Drymon. As any SpongeBob diehard knows, the song is performed by Patrick Pinney, who voices Painty the Pirate and sings the theme in character. Many covers of the track exists, including this one by Avril Lavigne and another by the Violent Femmes.

Teen Titans' theme song writer Andy Sturmer has had quite the career. From 1989-1994, he was the main songwriter and co-founder of the alt-rock band Jellyfish, and released two studio albums under that moniker. Following the band's demise, he connected with Tamio Okuda, the writer and producer for the Japanese pop duo Puffy AmiYumi, and thus, the Titans' main theme was born. Sturmer went on to write themes for many other Cartoon Network series, such as Ben 10, Batman: The Brave and the Bold and the third season of The Batman. He also scored and wrote the theme for Disney's My Friends Tigger & Pooh. Like many other songs on this list, the Titans' theme has been the subject of many covers, including this rendition by the punk band Radkey.

The theme to Disney's Phineas and Ferb (originally titled "Today Is Gonna Be a Great Day") was written and performed by the pop-punk band Bowling for Soup. Show creators originally submitted a slower track for consideration, but the network decided to aim for a more upbeat jam, and thus, commissioned the rock banger you hear above. Bowling for Soup originally formed in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1994. To date, they've released 10 studio albums, including their most recent, Drunk Dynasty, in 2016.

"Bob's Burgers Theme" was composed by series creator, EP and writer Loren Bouchard, who also wrote the theme for some of his other shows like Home Movies and Central Park. The series is well known for its occasional musical numbers as well, which are written by Elegant Too, a duo consisting of Chris Maxwell and Phil Hernandez.

Ebita, ebita, ebita, that's all folks!

(Now vote for your favorites!)