User Reviews

The first season of this cartoon contained painfully bad animation and rather weak story lines and a terrible opening with a cheesy theme song. The characters looked too stiff, especially the Thing, and my 2 favorite guest characters looked awful; Doctor Doom looked badly out of proportion, and the Silver Surfer looked like a walking piece of melted wax. Fourtunately after the series was (miraculously) renewed for a second season Marvel switched to new animation studio and the show was vastly improved, the animation was cool and looked similar to the X-Men cartoon, the characters looked better, the story lines were mostly adapted from the original Lee/Kirby run on the comic with great faithfulness and there were tons of cameos and guest roles from various marvel heroes and villains, including the Silver Surfer who looked awesome, plus it had a great opening that showed classic moments from the comic brought to animated life. If you get the DVDs than take my advice; skip the first season and go straight to the beginning of the second season unless you want to laugh at the bad animation.

This 1990s animated series of "Fantastic Four" is never going to be mentioned in the same breath as the "Spiderman" or "X Men" shows from the same decade. The overall quality of the above series is a bit uneven. The first season of "Fantastic Four" has some weak episodes with the Puppet Master villain. I've never been convinced that he has been a particularly effective adversary and this is shown here. Ben Grimm/The Thing is my favourite member of the Fantastic Four, he's quite funny as well as being tough. The later episodes are much better, especially when Doctor Doom is in them. He was always going to be the top villain to the Fantastic Four and he doesn't let the side down. I reckon this series could have lasted another season.

The first season (or episodes 1-13 if you're watching on Disney+) is really quite poor. This is apparent fairly immediately too as you're hit by a dreadful disco opening theme. The animation isn't terrible but it's not good either, villains especially look bad, most notably Dr Doom and the muscle-bound Silver Surfer (serving a poor Galactus). Unlike the other Marvel cartoons there is no depth to any storylines, they're quick, easy, and very conveniently finished by having Mr Fantastic just saying something about science and you're done. It's a kids cartoon that can only be enjoyed by kids. It's super camp as well, in one episode Johnny Storm even has a musical number for no reason.

5/10

The second season has far better animation, dialogue and plots. It gets a lot more interesting as in the last few episodes there are a lot of crossovers with other characters from the Marvel universe. Perhaps with it being the same release years as other cartoons then plots could have interlinked instead of being repeated though (mostly with Silver Surfer). It's still far from perfect, especially with one of the last episodes just being a very lazy clipshow, but majorly improved.

7/10.

The first season of this show kind of sucked. Weak animation, herky jerky lines of dialogue, an obnoxious opening theme and lame plots. The second season was a big improvement, sporting better animation, a better opening theme and what not. Well, the pilot found the Fantastic Four on a talk show discussing how they became the elastic Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards), the Invisible Woman (Susan Storm-Richards), the Human Torch (Johnny Storm; actually an ode to an earlier character that appeared during the 2nd World War era) and the rock hard Thing (Ben Grimm). During the first season they were regularly pestered by an obnoxious land lady with a cute dog, met the Sub-Mariner/Namor (who had a thing for the Invisible Woman), the Silver Surfer who in turn helped them fight his master Galactus, the Skrulls, creatures from alternate dimensions, Dr. Doom, and many others. The 2nd Season introduced the Inhumans (I think that's what they were called), one of whom, Crystal (voice of super model Kathy Ireland) Human Torch fell in love with, but was separated from because of a funky force field dome that would eventually suffocate their native city of Avalon, so a frequent topic during this season was cracking the dome before everyone inside died (the dome was later shattered by the city's leader Black Bolt, who had quite a voice). The Silver Surfer made a return for this season's finale in conjunction with Dr. Doom, along with Galactus, meanwhile some very big guest stars included Daredevil in the season premiere, the Incredible Hulk (who also guest starred on Iron Man in that series' 2nd season), and Thor God of Thunder (voice of John Rhys Davies, who we all know for Sallah in the Indiana Jones films and the dwarf Ghimli in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, who played this part again for a guest spot on "The Incredible Hulk). Note that the first two guest stars, Daredevil and Hulk, have gotten a crack at feature films while the Fantastic Four and Thor still haven't.

The voice actors were pretty good (Chuck McCann, voice of the Thing/Ben Grimm, also voiced one of the Beagle Boys on Disney's Duck Tails and was the voice of the soldier Leatherneck on "GI Joe") and they did what they could with the occasionally bad dialogue they had during the first year. But like I said, the 2nd year was a big improvement. It's a shame it got canceled, but what do you expect when it aired AHEAD of X-Men and Spider-Man on Saturday mornings instead of along with them?

This show aired as part of the "Marvel Action Hour" which aired at 7:00 AM on Saturday mornings between 1994-1996 in conjunction with an Iron Man cartoon. Iron Man similarly had a bad first season and a superior second. Both sets of stars later made guest spots on "Spider-Man".

The first season, particularly the initial episodes, are real rough in animation, writing, and acting, but it picks up as it goes along. The Silver Surfer episodes are good and the second season is a vast improvement.

I loved loved loved this show! Such a beautiful animation, the nostalgic, light-hearted & cute one! Adored all the stories and characters, so great honestly!

Ah! the corny chorus of the 1994 Fantastic Four Theme song. To the untrained ear of a five year old, it is a catchy upbeat little piece that brings a quaint smile. But listening to it years later, that smile is one of bemused disgust; an uncomfortable smile to hold back the disbelief that one ever considered this "cool" back in his younger days.

"Lame" could not even begin to describe the first season of the 90s Fantastic Four animated series. First you had the low quality animation courtesy of a Taiwanese Animation studio. Weird poses, a mediocre frame rate; a few fluid shots here and there could not make up for the generally dismal quality. It looked like something 15 years behind the times. Art-wise, the designs lacked detail, the colors used were bright and cheery and characters continually went "off model" ending up looking silly.

On the bright side, the voice cast to an impeccable job of becoming their characters. Particularly noteworthy is Chuck McCann whose pitch perfect Brooklyn accent captures the spirit of the ever lovin blue eyed Thing, Ben Grimm. For comic books fans, The stories within the series were faithful recreations of the classic 60s fantastic four comic tales by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. However the execution of those great stories was nothing short of terrible. Silly dialog and Random humor was added particularly in the form of the FF4's new landlady who was continually trying to evict them. That coupled with unforgettable (for all the wrong reasons) moments like a rapping Ben Grimm, The great Galactus hungrily licking his lips and Stan Lee himself pausing the show to break the fourth wall, all of it adds to the utter silliness of the first season.

Season 2 in 1995 to 1996 saw a vast improvement in the overall quality. The most obvious change was in the animation. A higher level of detail, darker colors and more consistent artwork complemented the smooth animation work courtesy of a new Production studio. The writing also takes a darker turn, adapting stories from the 1980s Fantastic 4 comic book run. Gone is the humor, replaced now by more mature narratives and actual human drama. Aside from the various foes the FF4 must face, their greatest conflict comes within themselves and among each other. Reed's inner guilt, Ben's ongoing quest for acceptance, Sue's feelings of inadequacy, even Johnny's broken heart, all of them very real themes that people can relate to. There were episodes that did get a little angsty but no more angsty than those Japanese anime saturating the internet nowadays.

Owing to the vast differences in quality in the respective seasons, the rating above reflects the averaged rating between the two.

Season 1 = 2/10

Season 2 = 8/10

Average = 5/10

Casual viewers should just sit through season two but long time fans of the comic books could check out both seasons and see their favorite stories faithfully translated into animation.

This show is another under the radar gem, this is based on another of Marvel's best-selling series at the time. The "Fantastic Four" series was one of the very first comic book series I've read when I was about seven years old, it really blew me away just a group of people that had superpowers and were a family; I still read and collect it to this day. When I saw there was going to be an animated show of this series in my secondary era the 90's I was just ecstatic, and it was the perfect time as Marvel's other franchises "X-Men" and "Spider Man" had animated shows made and turned out to be big hits so it would make sense their would be more animated based shows from that company. The "Fantastic Four" has had a couple more animated series adaptations but this series to me is my favorite one (for now anyway).

It's true the only real bad thing for me about the show may seen a tad uneven. The first season of the show, I honestly thought was ok, but I do agree wasn't the strongest start. But same can be said about a lot of first season for most popular TV shows, it's the common case of getting off on the wrong foot. However, the second season was a big exception and I felt really did elevate things in all areas (including animation quality), so at least by the second step it gained traction.

The animation in the show I thought was very good as it was true to the comic book animation from the 80 and 90's run of the series which was cool as I was a kid from both the 80's and 90's era which was where I started reading the series. The music in the show was good, the show had two theme songs, the first theme song not so great though listenable if you are curious. But it was the theme song from the second season that was truly great and one of my favorite theme songs of all time in my book, it's just a song that just sings out fantastic action, adventure, and family.

The storylines are good as most of them are based on some of the early Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, 80's and 90's run, but also a few original stories on their own. I like that the shows had a few story arcs and even some development as the season progressed which gave the show a sense of continuity, story and character development which I thought was cool and wasn't common at the time for both animated and live action shows. Action is also really good well-choreographed as we see each of the four, we see use there superpowers and all do their part working as a team.

Characters are all true to their comic book counterparts and voice acted well both heroes and villains. Really like the chemistry with all the "Fantastic Four" characters you really felt there was a family dynamic going on along with duo dynamics. But also have an amount of depth and emotion which at times make you forget your even watching an animated character but an actual person. Two of my favorite characters of course are Johnny Storm/Human Torch and Ben Grimm/The Thing. Those two are like a lot of those duo dynamics you've seen throughout the years like Raphael and Michalangelo from "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" or even B.A. Barbados and Murdock from "The A Team"; it's always fun seeing two different people clash but yet work well together.

Johnny Storm/Human Torch is still the overactive hotheaded daredevil that isn't afraid of taking risks and can dish out the wise cracks and charisma as fast and as hot as he can emit the flames he produces. Though he can be a little cocky and egotistical as much as Ben Tenison from "Ben 10 Alien Force" but like him in a harmless sense and most of the time he does it because he doesn't want to hide who he is. Fortunately, Johnny doesn't let himself get self-absorbed as deep down he really does care about other people which is why he's always willing to take whatever risks come his way to protect them.

Ben Grimm/ The Thing is still a person that is strong in not just body but heart. His character is sympathetic as he is the one that looks inhuman as he's practically a Golem. I really like how he has sort of this rough blue collar like charisma, he has a bit of a streak of anger as he gets rilled up easy but mainly because he doesn't take crap from anyone nor will he let his friends and family take crap. But what makes him endearing is his humanity, despite looking like a monster he's not in fact he's the most human. He constantly must go though some adjustment blues as he's trying to live life the best way, he can from the cards he's been dealt. But also, that he's willing to do the right thing as he uses his rock solid form and super strength to provide the family along with the innocent the muscle in their time of need.

Even like that in a few episode certain familiar Marvel figures crossed over, which I thought was cool as it was a way on introducing more of the Marvelverse. But also seeing them I thought some of them would be the next ones to get their own animated show. Sadly, this only happened to one of them "The Hulk" whom got one sometime after "Fantastic Four" ended and was actually really good and a story for another time.

I'd love to see another "Fantastic Four" animated series, may 'be once that upcoming live action revival for the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) finally gets off the ground it might happen; make sure animation quality is true to the comic series and up to par but also make sure you have a really good voice cast that fit the roles. And if all possible see if we can get some of the other Marvel characters to have animated shows of their own like "Thor" and "Ghost Rider" they haven't had one in years; the animated show department of Marvel needs new blood.

The 1994 "Fantastic Four" is a fantastic good time.

Rating: 3 stars

The animation, the script and the story all just feel very clunky and clumsy in their execution has its ok moments but largely very difficult to watch.

This Fantastic Four cartoon was part of the Marvel Action Hour along with Iron Man. At first, the animation and dialogue was pretty bad and they had annoying supporting characters, but the series remained true to the comics. The story lines they took from the comics were done very well, like episodes involving the Silver Surfer. When the second season began, animation vastly improved and the series became more serious. Too bad it was the last for the show.

"Fantastic Four" is such an awesome cartoon, with great voice acting and a nostalgic 90's feel to it. The animation is well done, and the title song is great.

Man this show is great. The theme song is hilarious but good at the same time it is a compelling song telling you about how they got there powers. This show is great at story telling and the animation helps the story telling greatly. I really love how they add a bit of older comedy to hook the teen audience with most teens attracting to the teens attack first ask questions later persona. I don't want to give anything else away so go watch yourself and enjoy.

This series (which was based on the Marvel comic of the same name) initially ran for two seasons in syndication as one half of a weekly show called The Marvel Action Hour (the other half was Iron Man). Perhaps The Fantastic Four was a rare case on a series that actually improved later on. The first season was lacking in various areas. The animation was stiff and appeared to be lacking with the textures (they looked very bright and rough to put it in other words). Somehow, there was at times a feeling that the stories were boarding towards camp. What stands out the most about the first season of The Fantastic Four is the theme song. Although the theme song was catchy, it was also really cheesy and sounded more like a jingle than anything else. Throughout the series, certain annoying factors tended to surface whether it was the theme from the first season or some fairly irritating supporting characters. When the second season came along, several improvements were made. The animation was better, a stronger theme song was put into place, and the episodes felt more action packed.

A cool, short and well developed show.

Its about 4 people. A smart guy, a block head, an immature kid and a girl going to space and gaining powers thereafter they fight bad guys like Doom, Galactus and the Mole people.

Fantastic Four overall was a great show a lot of characters guested and they were awesome. It's a fast-paced show but its still good.

What can be learned? How to work together as a team.

Verdict: Fantastic show.

Story: 4 individuals go to space and an accident happens where they all get powers. They then go to war vs Dr. Doom and other foes.

Production: Really good. Animation was fine. Voice work was near perfect. Stories were engaging and they also included other heroes like the Mighty THOR in their superheroing adventure.

Highlight: The story and witnessing various unqiue abilities.

Main intelligence: 9

Should you watch this show?: Yes. It was a very fun show. A near perfect show. If you're a Marvel geek or a F4 fanboy then you should watch and enjoy this art.

The first season was one of the worst cartoons I'd ever seen in my life; the second season was one of the best.

The first season had bad animation, bad character designs, unbelievably stupid dialogue, bad stories, and a general disregard for the source material. As an example they had both the Thing and the Human Torch rapping (!) And not even in the same episode!!!

All of this I attribute to one Ron Friedman, who treated this show as though he had lost a bet. Numerous examples of his incompetence abound in this series and both the show and fans of the Fantastic Four comic suffered for it.

The second season was a godsend. The animation, while still similar to 1st season, had improved, mostly in the character designs, and the stories and dialogue had improved a thousandfold. I attribute the success of this season to Tom Tataranowicz (taking over for the mercifully s#it-canned Friedman). The producers (I assume Tataranowicz was behind this) made the smart move of adapting scripts directly from the old comics and, in some cases, even improving upon them! It was a real pleasure seeing Jack Kirby's vision finally done justice.

It's such a shame that the big stories (the Galactus trilogy, for instance) had already been butchered by Friedman and friends. It's also a shame that the later success of the show couldn't help it into a third season. But, hey, at least we got cool FF toys out of the deal!

This is a good cartoon adap of the F4 and manages quite easily at times to capture the flavour of the classic F4 tales from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. By the time of the second season at least, it had matured into a fine Superhero animated series, that while not being able to evoke the magic of the original run of comics, or even the 1967 Hannah Barbera cartoon, is a good representation of the Fantastic Four. The only problem i have really is that the style of humour is too screwball to swallow. The producers clearly set out to make this series a comedy, and this shows in the representations of the characters, which are very cheesy to say the least. But aswell as that the humour misses the mark almost all of the time in the first series because it is trying to be too clever. The irony of this is that the original comics were cleverly funny. Still, by the time of the scond season the problems had been ironed out. The storylines had become stronger, and the representations of Mr Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch and the ever lovin' blue eyed Thing, had become simply fantastic. This is a good series, every episode is packed with action, good animation, a good theme tune and capable villains each week, from Dr.Doom, The Kree Skrulls, Galactus and the anti hero Sub-Mariner. It can hold it's head up as being a good representation of the F4, and at the very least is far superior to the the 1979 Animated series, and even the underrated 1994 movie.

I have very fond memories of watching this show when it first aired in the early 90's and while it is defiantly not the best animated show I have ever seen it is far and wide better then the previous Fantastic Four cartoons. I did not catch this show often enough just when I was really starting to get into it it was gone. Still I remember Stan Lee opened every show and that was just awesome. I still wish cartoon network or someone would reair this show if not that then at least release it on DVD. I mean it was great you got a half hour with the fantastic four and a half hour with iron man. Not to mention the awesome guest stars that would pop up. I remember in one episode of the fantastic four the Hulk popped up and was fighting the ting almost the entire episode ,just classic. later on Thor showed up and so did the Silver Sufer if I remember right. Also there was a cool inhumans episode. If you see it on the air its defiantly worth watching

This show was unwatchable in its first season, absolutely horrendous and another fine example of why Marvel should just stick to comics! If you look at any real success that Marvel has had outside of comics (Blade-Wesley Snipes) has almost nothing to do with Marvel's direct involvement with the projects. Marvel has continually treated their characters like bastard children, giving them to any idiot with a paycheck to use them as they will (Only Disney has treated their characters more shoddily!) The second season was what the first season should have been if anybody at Marvel had given a damn!!! It was much improved over the first season and was at least a more serious attempt at trying to catch the flavor of a comic book series which was hands down the most innovative, creative, and adventure-filled read of its time!

And I have no idea why Comics legend Stan Lee hosted this series. It ruins the characters with cornball dialogue, poor animation and horrendous plots. And worse Dr. Doom, the greatest comic book villain ever, doesn't excite me in the least. Even without H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot this is hands down the worst version of the Fantastic Four I've ever seen. Of course I might change my mind if I see the never released FF movie made in '93 by Roger Corman. If you want good FF action pick up The Essential Fantastic Four trade paper back at your local comic store for some classic Fantastic Four stories.

The Fantastic Four are probably the most exciting superhero group in comics history. I have seen all their cartoon series and whilst this isn't the best it is still entertaining.

The animation is superb and the stories great. In this series the Fantastic Four only dealt with heavyweights such as Galactus (the guy who eats planets for breakfast,lunch and supper), the dangerous Dr. Doom and the devastating Super Skrull.

The theme tune was good as well. This, along with Iron Man, was one of the better mid-90's Marvel cartoons.

forgive the title i really like this show i think it is great and is a true master peace in a sense of it keeps a real good nod to the comics i liked almost all of the episodes they were good story's if your a first time viewer i suggest the second session, i know it sounds odd but it is a lot more close to the comics. the characters are very close to the comics and look really cool. Dr. doom is also a great part of the show he is really close to character. their are so many great parts to this show it rocks so like i said this show is really awesome and should be givin a shot so check it out(if their is ever a chance) 9 out of 10 really awesome