10 Dark Cartoon Theories That Will Ruin Your Childhood

From hidden clues in your favorite cartoon to the dark origins of lovable characters, these theories will make you see your favorite shows in a new, eerie light.

Cartoons are well made for kids, for the most part, but sometimes the writers take it too far and the kid’s cartoon turns out to be really scary and creepy, at least what we will see in the theories.

These aren’t your typical fan theories, these are sinister interpretations of the cartoon that have left viewers shocked and have sparked numerous debates.

Join us as we delve into these 10 unsettling cartoon theories that will ruin your childhood. Remember, not everything is as innocent as it seems.

10. Ed, Edd n Eddy – Afterlife

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This theory is actually wild. It claims the kids who live in the Cul-De-Sac are actually all dead and the neighborhood is some kind of afterlife.

Since all the kids are different ages they all died between 1900-2000 but because they all died in the Cul-De-Sac, they all stayed there. Think about it the show has no other kids, no parents, just the kids, and even they are weird.

They all look a bit sickly and they all have blue tongues or dead tongues. If we had to analyze, Rolf is farm-obsessed and tends to his animals so he probably died in the early 1900s.

Ed and Sarah were from the 50s because Sarah is controlling as hell and Ed is a dumbass who simply thrives on comics which were very popular at the time. Nazz is the 60s or 70s child as she’s carefree and a flirt you get the gist.

Kevin was a 90s kid because he’s a bully. He rides his bike as an escape and his dad was most likely controlling and abusive which is why in the afterlife he imagines his dad showering him with the fight.

9. Powerpuff Girls – Red, Blue, and Green

In the intro to “The Powerpuff Girls”, we’re told that these superhuman girls were created in a lab-made from sugar, spice, and everything nice – not to mention the all-important Chemical X, which bestowed them their superpowers.

However, behind the scenes, there was actually another source of inspiration and it came from a Disney classic! The three Powerpuff Girls each have distinctive personalities, booted with their own trademark colors – red, blue, and green.

And you know which other famous trio also share these same colors? No, not Alvin and the Chipmunks, the fairies from “Sleeping Beauty”. Yep, even the Powerpuff Girls’ personalities overlap with those of the fairies, there’s the sweet one, the energetic one, and the tough one.

Perhaps you could even theorize that the “Sleeping Beauty” fairies are the Powerpuff Girls grown up, after traveling through some kind of wacky MCU-logic time portal to the medieval times?

Stranger things happened in that show, I mean, their main adversary was a talking monkey for crying out loud! This cartoon has some other theories too. You will find them down below.

8. The Post-Apocalyptic Flintstones

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Based on the show you’d assume Bedrock was situated in the Stone Age. I mean why wouldn’t you? They’re called the FlintSTONES they live in bedROCK this is basically stone age propaganda.

Either way, this theory claims they actually live in a post-apocalyptic society. Think about it the show is basically based on the modern West, they reference technology, religion, and culture all the time. Stone Age people didn’t have that.

The theory goes on to say after many nuclear disasters, the entirety of Western civilization collapsed and so the generations after them recovered just enough to create a society based on what they remember.

7. Phineas and Ferb

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Phineas and Ferb was a cartoon that first aired on the Disney Channel in 2007, with the premise being two step-brothers who would embark on wild adventures and constructions each episode.

During the series, we’re never introduced to Phineas’s biological dad and while it’s not an important part of the plot, it has left fans wondering who the mystery man might be.

Phineas’s head is distinctly triangular if you look at both Phineas and Ferb, notice how they silhouettes reference their initials P and F.

And while Phineas’s triangular head is unique to him, there is one other character with a similarly shaped head: Dr Doofenshmirtz.

You know, the show’s villain who will stop at nothing to rule the tri-state area?

Of course, the initial resemblance might not be striking, but notice how they both not only have triangular heads but little hair sprouts from the top. Fans have even extended the theory to Candace, Phineas’s sister.

From her slouch and long neck to the fact that both she and Doofenshmirtz are lactose intolerant. But then again, an estimated 68% of the population also is. So, I guess for now Phineas and Candace’s remains a long-necked triangular mystery.

6. Scooby Doo – Recession

Either way from their slang, all the flowers on the Mystery Machine, and even the gang’s clothing, you can tell the show was set in the 60s. And the theory claims that it was set during one of the worst economic recessions ever.

And if you think about it long enough it actually makes a lot of sense. In the show everything is either falling apart or abandoned, hotels are empty, and theme parks are ruined.

Every villain they catch is actually someone who would normally be respected like a teacher or historian or scientist but they’ve just fallen on hard times and have turned to petty crime in this dark period of life.

And the gang? You’d think they were just hippies out looking for adventure but really they’re like in their late teens or early 20s not interested in getting proper jobs.

They move around all the time because there are no jobs available no matter where they go and they wear the same clothes every day. In conclusion, they are unemployed hobos who accept petrol and food to help those around them.

5. The Rugrats Affair

According to this theory, which I’m sure many of you have heard, most of the babies on the show aren’t real. They’re all figments of Angelica’s imagination since she has no friends.

That sounded really savage I didn’t mean it like that. She makes up these friends to make up for the fact her parents are too busy working to make time for her.

Angelica bases all her friends on the dead children of her parents’ friends. Tommy was stillborn which explains why Stu was always in the basement making toys.

Chuckie died with his mum which explains why Chaz is a nervous wreck 24/7 and Phil and Lil were actually aborted or their parents suffered a miscarriage.

So because Angelica didn’t know the baby’s gender she just created twins. What do guys think? Viable or crap?

4. Courage The Cowardly Dog – Delusion

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Well, who makes a kid’s show that creepy and dark? How on earth kids were even allowed to watch this show as a kid? From possession to demons and sadistic villains, this show is anything but kid-friendly.

But as a horror fan from the beginning of my childhood, this show was my favorite. Courage was definitely its own niche, and this theory claims Courage was actually Cerberus the hellhound.

Think about it his only goal in every episode is to protect Muriel and Eustace and his house in the middle of Nowhere. Their house is in the middle of a barren hellhole.

So Courage Cerberus stays in Hell which is Nowhere to protect mankind aka Muriel from the underworld which is characterized by all the villains he meets.

Le Quack represents Greed, Katz represents Hate, etc. And if you’re wondering where that leaves Eustace, he is Hades and he rules over and hates everything in Hell. I can totally see this theory being true and I wouldn’t even bat an eyelid or even be surprised.

3. Professor Utonium aka Samurai Jack

I can proudly say I think I’ve seen nearly all the Powerpuff Girls episodes and thankfully I tried to avoid Samurai Jack as much as possible. Why? Can we just acknowledge that Jack is literally Professor Utonium but with a man bun and a katana?

This theory claims that Jack and Professor Utonium are the same person and that during his final showdown with Aku, Jack and him launched into a time portal that Aku himself created.

By using all his dark power Aku gets turned into a liquid version of himself which translates to Chemical X in a new world and period that Jack aka Professor Utonium now lives in.

Jack/Utonium dedicates his life to studying Chemical X and eventually makes good use of Aku by creating the girls. He was evil but the girls combat that. It comes full circle.

2. SpongeBob SquarePants – Nuclear Theory

SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick Star, and everyone else in Bikini Bottom were mutated from nuclear testing at the Bikini Atoll, or at least, that’s how the fan theory goes.

A fan theory goes on to say that all the characters became mutated from nuclear testing in the 40s and 50s in real life. This happened in the same area that the bikini bottom is around.

SpongeBob SquarePants theories are nothing new, but the nuclear testing theory does have strong evidence to support it.

When Stephen Hillenburg was creating SpongeBob and Bikini Bottom, he did so to help teach families about the ocean and the history surrounding it.

Nuclear testing did happen around Bikini Atoll in real life, which means it could undoubtedly be related to SpongeBob. A Nickelodeon employee came forward to talk about this SpongeBob theory.

He only spoke anonymously and said that the highly popular bikini atoll theory is an unofficial canon functioning as well as accepted fanfic and finding casual mentions and discussions among his colleagues.

1. Billy and Mandy – All of Us are Dead

The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy was an interesting show for kids, I don’t know whose idea it was to base a whole cartoon off the thing that represents death but sure.

This theory is similar in the sense it assumes everyone living in Endsville is dead. The entire town is dead and Billy’s family is the most recently deceased since they just moved there. Hence they’re also the most disturbed by everything around them.

Grim reminds everyone that they are still awaiting judgment and reminds them of their sins, when he does go and collect souls he is not killing them he is actually escorting them to either Hell or Heaven.

In the episode Keeper of the Reaper, Billy’s family is just about to move out of Endsville and so Mandy and him start arguing over who’s going to keep Grim.

When really the argument is which side Grim serves, is it Hell which Mandy represents with her harshness and cruelty or is it Heaven which Billy represents with his innocence?

In the end, the fact Billy doesn’t leave means Grim serves both Heaven and Hell but Hell has more dominance over him and we can see that because Mandy is the one that always tells him what to do.

Phew! These cartoon theories were definitely shocking. So what are your favorite cartoon theories? If you have any other cartoon theories, feel free to comment.