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The following will take a look at some of the best-animated content from this time including normal cartoons, movies, and anime. Animation fans will not want to miss out on anything on the list and thankfully a lot of the material is still around to stream freely or through rental services. Some other works may need a more clever way to access them, but the Internet holds no secrets if animation fans dig deep enough.
.hack//Sign
.hack//Sign was part of a multimedia event in 2003 to promote both this anime and the video game, .hack//Infection Part 1. This was a year after both premiered in Japan. Both things examined different aspects of the universe and the game came with another anime, .hack//Liminality, which explored a third area.
Of the three starting series, .hack//Sign was the most melancholy of the bunch. It examined loneliness, depression, existentialism, and many other topics. These were odd subject matters for an anime about an MMO but it was interesting, to say the least.
The Animatrix
The Animatrix was released on DVD after The Matrix Reloaded and in-between The Matrix Revolutions’ launch. It featured several highly acclaimed Japanese directors and studios who each got to tell a story within this universe. There was a story about a detective discovering the conspiracy within the Matrix as well as one about a runner trying to keep their body alive while on the track. Enter the Matrix was also released around this time which was a video game that explored storylines that happened concurrently with The Matrix Reloaded. So, like the .hack series, The Matrix launched a multimedia event in 2003.
Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo is a classic Pixar movie with the premise in the title. Nemo is a young clownfish that gets separated from his father, Marlin. He is joined by a cavalcade of characters, most prominently Dory, in his search for Nemo.
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Dory was the MVP of the movie and would later get featured in the sequel movie, Finding Dory, in 2016. Finding Nemo may not be as funny as some of Pixar’s other animated masterpieces, but it will certainly tug at the old heartstrings especially viewers with children.
Lilo And Stitch: The Series
Lilo And Stitch: The Series followed in the tradition of many Disney animated features. The original film was released in 2002 before this series premiered a year later. The original movie was already a good setup for a show. Stitch’s fellow experiments escaped to Earth and he has to help Jumba and Pleakley get them back into containment before they mess up Hawaii. It was a monster of the week type of show similar to The X-Files but more kid-friendly.
Star Wars: Clone Wars
Star Wars: Clone Wars was created by Genndy Tartakovsky who was big at that time for completing Samurai Jack on Cartoon Network. That had to be why LucasArts approached him to direct a series of shorts that would air in-between other Cartoon Network shows.
Every episode was about five minutes long and mostly featured Jedis or clone troopers after Attack of the Clones. This would eventually lead to a longer special that would directly lead up to Revenge of the Sith’s opening. The animation style and wordless scenes made it more memorable than The Clone Wars CG series which came after it in 2008.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was the first reboot since the 80s cartoon finished. This was a grittier, more action-packed version of the cartoon. It even got some good action tie-in games. There was no blood or gore as it was still a cartoon for kids but it was less wacky than the pizza-loving turtles of the 80s.
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The team could use their weapons to fight, which happened sparingly in the original cartoon due to standards at the time. This 2003 cartoon lasted quite a few seasons before another reboot happened in 2012 when the show would go into CG territory just like The Clone Wars did.
Teen Titans
Teen Titans was a big deal at the time because it was following the new trend of American animation dipping into anime territory. The theme song was even performed by a Japanese band, Puffy AmiYumi, who recorded an English and a Japanese version of the song. The team consisted of Robin, Beast Boy, Starfire, Cyborg, and Raven.
One of their biggest villains was Slade who was voiced by Ron Perlman. It balanced itself with humor and serious action unlike the 2013 reboot show, Teen Titans Go, which is more about comedy.
The Venture Bros.
The Venture Bros. technically started in 2003 as that’s when the pilot aired. The series would not begin in seriousness until 2004, but 2003 is still a big year for the show. It was ahead of its time as a parody of comics and old Cartoon Network cartoons like Johnny Quest. It was one of Adult Swim’s longest-running shows despite the few seasons it had.
That’s because the creators, Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer, took their time in crafting every season, and Cartoon Network was seemingly on board until they canceled it in 2020. HBO did greenlight a movie, so hopefully, that too doesn’t get canceled.
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