11. The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show

The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show deserves an honored spot in the annals of American animation history for being the first animated series to purposely appeal to both adults and children. Kids love the wacky characters and crazy situations, while adults picked up on the additional layer of comedy just for them, in puns and topical references.

Actually two separate series (it premiered in 1959 on ABC as Rocky and His Friends and changed titles to The Bullwinkle Show when it moved to NBC in 1961), The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show consisted of rather limited, choppy animation, but more than made up for that with memorable characters and clever humor. Aside from Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle J. Moose, other classic characters introduced on the series include Boris Badenov, Natasha Fatale, Dudley Do-Right, Mr. Peabody and Sherman. Rocky and Bullwinkle also introduced many children to humorous takes on famous fairy tales, fables, nursery rhymes and poems in the segments "Fractured Fairy Tales," "Aesop & Son," and "Bullwinkle's Corner."