Anime Joker: the cartoons and anime India grew up with, and where to watch them

Cartoons on Indian television

Cartoons arrived on Indian television in a big way in the 1990s, when satellite channels brought round-the-clock animation into millions of homes. Cartoon Network launched in India in 1995 and soon began dubbing its shows into Hindi, and later into Tamil and Telugu, so that children could watch Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo, Johnny Bravo and Dexter's Laboratory in their own languages. In the 2000s, new children's channels such as Pogo, Hungama and Nickelodeon India added Japanese anime to the mix, and Shin-chan, Doraemon, Ninja Hattori and Kiteretsu became household names.

Dubbing was the secret of their success. Indian voice artists gave the characters new personalities, local jokes and catchy phrases, and many children only learned later that Shin-chan and Doraemon came from Japan. At the same time, Indian studios grew rapidly. In 2008, Green Gold Animation of Hyderabad launched Chhota Bheem on Pogo, and it became one of the most watched children's shows in the country. Motu Patlu, Little Singham, Little Krishna and Mighty Raju followed, and Indian animation found its own voice.

Anime Joker gathers the favourites of all those years in one place, so parents can share their childhood cartoons with their own children and grown-ups can revisit the shows they loved. The shelves mix Indian and international titles, and the title pages list the languages each title is available in on official services.

The Anime Joker design

Anime Joker follows the look of the archived animejoker.com home page of January 2026, a WordPress site built on the popular TOROFILM theme. The page is a deep purple-black, and the wordmark shows the words Anime and Joker in bright blue with a thick red outline, around a small jester's face. At the top of the home page, a large version of the wordmark sits above a wide, rounded search box with a white border, inviting you to type the name of any cartoon.

Below it, a featured slider presents a handful of favourites, each with a backdrop, a TMDB score, the year, a few lines of the story and a cyan Watch now button. Then comes a two-column block, just as on the reference. The wide column holds a Series grid and a Movies grid of posters, each with the TMDB score in cyan, the year and, for movies, a small FHD badge; pointing at a poster reveals a View serie or View movie button. The narrow sidebar holds Latest Episodes, a grid of stills with black badges such as 2x13 that show the season and episode, and a compact list of Movies.

Section headings are bold white with a thin purple rule and a rounded View more link, and the shelves, the help pages and this guide follow in the same style. The accent colours come straight from the reference theme: cyan for links, buttons and scores, and purple for highlights.

How to use Anime Joker

The quickest way in is the big search box at the top of the home page. It understands English titles and original titles, so you can type Chhota Bheem, छोटा भीम or クレヨンしんちゃん and land on the right page. For series, you can add a season and an episode, as in Loonatics Unleashed S2E3, to go straight to a single episode.

The featured slider, the Series and Movies grids and the Latest Episodes sidebar offer more doors, and the shelves below gather titles by character, by country and by channel. The Browse page lists every title from A to Z, and each shelf page lists everything in its collection, most popular first.

Every title page gives the story, the year, the running time or the number of episodes, the studio and the voice cast. Series pages list every episode with its original air date. At the top of each page, the Watch now button asks for your country and then opens JustWatch, which lists the subscription services, rental shops and free services that carry the title where you live. The Add to My List button saves a title in your browser for later.

Chhota Bheem

Chhota Bheem is the biggest star of Indian animation. Created by Rajiv Chilaka and made by Green Gold Animation in Hyderabad, the series first aired on Pogo in 2008. Bheem is a brave, strong and kind-hearted boy who lives in the kingdom of Dholakpur and gains his extraordinary strength from laddoos. With his friends Chutki, Raju and the monkey Jaggu, and his playful rivals Kalia, Dholu and Bholu, he protects the kingdom and its king, Indraverma, from demons, bandits and wicked magicians.

The success of the series led to a long run of television films and cinema releases, many of which take Bheem far from home. In Chhota Bheem: Master of Shaolin, a monk asks Bheem to help reclaim a temple, and he must master Shaolin kung fu to succeed. Chhota Bheem: Journey to Petra sends him to an annual sports competition, and Chhota Bheem and the Shinobi Secret takes him to Japan. Chhota Bheem in the Incan Adventure, Chhota Bheem: The Crown of Valhalla and Chhota Bheem's Russian Adventures continue the world tour, while Chhota Bheem: Krishna vs Zimbara brings him together with Little Krishna.

Recent films such as Chhota Bheem: The Great War of the Great Devil, Chhota Bheem aur Malongh ka Raaz and Chhota Bheem Shakti Astra Ki Khoj keep the adventures coming. Little Bheem is a gentle spin-off about Bheem as a toddler, and several new Chhota Bheem series have followed in recent years. Bheem's popularity has made him a symbol of Indian animation, and his films are a lovely introduction for young children.

Motu Patlu

Motu Patlu is the other giant of Indian children's television. The characters were created in the 1960s by Kripa Shankar Bhardwaj for the children's magazine Lotpot, and in 2012 the Mumbai studio Cosmos-Maya brought them to Nickelodeon India. Motu is a big, cheerful man who loves samosas, and Patlu is his thin, clever friend who always has a plan. They live in the town of Furfuri Nagar, where their neighbours include the inventor Dr. Jhatka, the vain police inspector Chingum and the bumbling gangster John the Don.

The Motu Patlu films take the friends to every corner of the world and beyond. Motu Patlu: Mission Moon and Motu Patlu the Superheroes – Super Villains from Mars go to space, Motu Patlu in Octopus World goes under the sea, and Motu Patlu Dino Invasion brings dinosaurs to Furfuri Nagar. Motu Patlu: Khazaane Ki Race is a treasure hunt, Motu Patlu Kung Fu Kings Returns and Motu Patlu in Dragon's World are martial-arts adventures, and Motu Patlu Dangerous Road Trip in Switzerland is a comic journey through the Alps. The films are full of slapstick, silly inventions and big-hearted friendship.

Little Singham, Mighty Raju and more Indian heroes

The Bheem and friends shelf gathers the heroes of Indian children's television. Little Singham, made by Reliance Animation and first shown on Discovery Kids in 2018, is a pint-sized police officer inspired by the popular Bollywood action films of the director Rohit Shetty. He fights crime in the town of Mirchi Nagar with a big voice and a bigger heart. In Little Singham in London, he visits the city to meet the queen and finds himself hunting for the stolen Kohinoor diamond, and Little Singham: Mahabali, Little Singham Bandarpur Mein Hu Ha Hu and Little Singham aur Kaal ka Mahajaal continue his adventures. Little Singham in Multiverse takes him to new worlds.

Mighty Raju, another Green Gold creation, is a four-year-old with super strength, gained when his mother accidentally took an experimental compound before he was born. Mighty Raju: The Movie tells his origin story, and a sequel sends him to Brazil. Shiva: Journey to Plunotaria follows a young superhero from another popular Nickelodeon series, and the animated Taarak Mehta Kka Chhota Chashmah brings the neighbours of Gokuldham Society, from one of India's longest-running sitcoms, into cartoon form.

The Indian cartoons shelf also holds a handful of animated short films from independent Indian animators, such as One, Many, and Unity, a 1974 film about the strength of unity, The Legend of Arana, a tiny folk tale from Kerala, and Dishkyaaon!!!, a lively mix of digital and traditional animation from Karnataka. O' Faby, made in 1993, was the first Malayalam film to combine live action and animation, the story of a boy and his animated friend.

Mythology

The Mythology shelf gathers animated films about the gods and heroes of Indian legend. These stories are told to Indian children by their grandparents, and animation brings them to life with colour, music and adventure.

Krishna is the most popular hero of the shelf. Little Krishna - The Darling of Vrindavan, Little Krishna - The Legendary Warrior and Little Krishna - The Wondrous Feats come from the series Little Krishna, made in 2009 by Big Animation with detailed computer animation, and they follow the young god as he protects Vrindavan from the demons sent by the wicked king Kamsa. Krishna - Makhan Chor shows the infant Krishna growing up in Gokul, famous for stealing butter, and Krishna in Vrindavan and Krishna Balram: Kalvakra continue his adventures with his brother Balram.

The Ramayana inspires Sons of Ram, which follows Luv and Kush, the twin sons of Rama and Sita, and Mahayoddha Rama, a 3D film that retells the epic from the point of view of the ten-headed Ravana, with his heads providing plenty of comedy. Tales of Siva 1 and Tales of Siva 2 present stories of Lord Shiva as told by a grandmother to her grandchildren, and Ghatothkach - Master of Magic, directed by the veteran film-maker Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, is a musical about the magical forest prince from the Mahabharata and his elephant friend Gajju.

The shelf also holds The World of Goopi and Bagha, a musical adventure based on the beloved Bengali characters of Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury and Satyajit Ray, two wise fools who are given magical gifts of music, and Chaar Sahibzaade: Rise of Banda Singh Bahadur, a Punjabi historical epic about one of the great warriors of Sikh history.

Crayon Shin-chan

The Shin-chan shelf follows the most mischievous five-year-old in animation. Created by the manga artist Yoshito Usui in 1990, Shinnosuke Nohara lives with his parents Misae and Hiroshi, his baby sister Himawari and his dog Shiro in the town of Kasukabe, near Tokyo. He loves the television hero Action Kamen, teases grown-ups, dances a silly bottom dance and says exactly what he thinks, to the despair of his mother and the delight of millions of viewers.

When the Hindi dub arrived on Hungama TV in 2006, Shin-chan became a phenomenon in India, so popular that the dub was later softened to suit parents' wishes. The Crayon Shin-chan films, released in Japan every spring since 1993, are bigger adventures in which Shin-chan and his family save the day. Crayon Shin-chan: Unkokusai's Ambition sends Shin-chan back in time to stop a villain from changing history, Crayon Shin-chan: Blitzkrieg! Pig's Hoof's Secret Mission makes him a secret agent, and Crayon Shin-chan: Roar! Kasukabe Animal Kingdom finds his parents turned into animals.

The shelf also holds Crayon Shin-chan: Fierceness That Invites Storm! The Battle of the Warring States, a moving time-travel story set in feudal Japan, Crayon Shin-chan: Fierceness That Invites Storm! Yakiniku Road of Honor, a comic chase for a barbecue dinner, Crayon Shin-chan: Fierceness That Invites Storm! The Kasukabe Boys of the Evening Sun, Crayon Shin-chan: The Legend Called: Dance! Amigo! and the recent Crayon Shin-chan the Movie: Super Hot! The Spicy Kasukabe Dancers, which sends Shin-chan and his friends to India itself.

A short history of Indian animation

Indian animation has a longer history than many people realise. In the 1950s, the government's Films Division set up a cartoon unit in Mumbai, where animators trained by a Disney veteran made educational and public-service films. One of the best known is One, Many, and Unity, a short film of 1974 that uses a simple story about a bundle of sticks to teach the strength of unity. It was shown for years on the national broadcaster Doordarshan, and many Indians still remember its song.

Ram Mohan, often called the father of Indian animation, worked at Films Division and later founded his own studio, training a generation of animators. In the 1990s and 2000s, Indian studios in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata grew rapidly by working on international productions, and they gradually began to create their own characters. The success of animated mythology films in the mid-2000s, and then of Chhota Bheem on television, proved that Indian audiences loved Indian heroes.

Today India is one of the world's great centres of animation, with studios producing series for global streaming services as well as for Indian channels. Characters such as Chhota Bheem, Motu Patlu and Little Singham are household names, sold as toys, books and school bags, and their films appear in cinemas and on streaming services around the world. Anime Joker follows that story through the titles on its shelves.

The channels that shaped a generation

For children growing up in India in the 1990s and 2000s, the choice of cartoon channel said a lot about them. Cartoon Network brought the American classics and its own original series, from Scooby-Doo and Tom and Jerry to The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo and Ben 10. Pogo, launched in 2004, mixed international cartoons with new Indian shows and became the first home of Chhota Bheem.

Hungama TV, also launched in 2004, became famous for its Japanese anime: Shin-chan, Doraemon, Kiteretsu and Hagemaru were all hits on the channel, dubbed with lively Hindi voices. Nickelodeon India brought Ninja Hattori, Motu Patlu and Shiva, and Discovery Kids became the home of Little Singham. Each channel had its own personality, its own jingles and its own after-school schedule, and many adults can still hum the theme tunes.

The rise of streaming has changed how children watch cartoons, but the favourites remain the same. Many of the series on Anime Joker are now available on demand, and parents can share the cartoons of their own childhood with their children at any time of day.

Voices and catchphrases

Part of the magic of Indian cartoon dubs is the voice acting. Indian voice artists often gave characters a completely new personality, with local jokes, regional accents and catchphrases that became part of everyday speech. Shin-chan's Hindi voice made him cheekier than ever, Doraemon's gentle Hindi voice made him a friend to millions, and Nobita's cries for help became a running joke in schoolyards across the country.

Indian characters have catchphrases of their own. Motu's love of samosas, Patlu's clever plans, Little Singham's booming call to action and Chhota Bheem's cheerful courage are known to every child who watches Indian television. Many of these voices belong to a small group of talented artists who have voiced dozens of characters over the years, and they are celebrities in their own right.

Festivals and seasons

Indian children often watch special cartoon films during school holidays and festivals, and the collection is arranged to make that easy. The Mythology shelf is perfect for Janmashtami, when Krishna's birth is celebrated, and for Diwali and Dussehra, when the story of Rama is told. The Christmas specials of Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, the Powerpuff Girls, the Pink Panther and Sonic are lovely for the winter holidays, and the summer holidays are the time for long film marathons of Chhota Bheem, Motu Patlu and Shin-chan.

Many families have their own traditions, such as watching a new Chhota Bheem film every summer or a Scooby-Doo mystery every Halloween. Anime Joker is built to help you keep those traditions and to start new ones, with every title a single search away.

Doraemon

The Doraemon shelf follows the blue robot cat from the 22nd century. Created in 1969 by Fujiko F. Fujio, Doraemon travels back in time to help Nobita Nobi, a kind but lazy and clumsy schoolboy, with a four-dimensional pocket full of futuristic gadgets: the Anywhere Door, the Take-copter, the Time Machine and hundreds more. Nobita's friends Shizuka, the bully Gian and the rich boy Suneo complete the gang, and their everyday adventures teach gentle lessons about friendship, honesty and hard work.

Doraemon became one of the most loved cartoons in India when the Hindi dub arrived in the 2000s, and it remains a favourite today. The shelf holds the long-running Doraemon series of 1979 and the short-lived first series of 1973, along with Doraemon: Nobita and the Future Notes and a set of spin-off films starring Doraemon's little sister Dorami and the Doraemons, a team of robot cats from around the world. Dorami-chan: Wow, The Kid Gang of Bandits, Dorami & Doraemons: Robot School's Seven Mysteries and The☆Doraemons: Goal! Goal! Goal!! are short, colourful adventures perfect for young children.

Anime favourites

The Anime favourites shelf gathers the other Japanese series that Indian children loved. Many come from the same creators as Doraemon: Fujiko Fujio, the partnership of Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko, who created a whole universe of friendly heroes.

Ninja Hattori, created by Fujiko A. Fujio, is a young ninja from Iga who comes to live with an ordinary Tokyo schoolboy, Kenichi, along with his little brother Shinzo and his ninja dog Shishimaru. The Hindi dub on Nickelodeon made him a star in India, and in 2013 an Indian studio co-produced a new series, making Hattori a true Indo-Japanese hero. The shelf holds the early films Ninja Hattori: Picture Diary and Hattori and the War of the Little Ninja Villages.

Perman, created by Fujiko F. Fujio, is an ordinary boy who receives a helmet, cape and badge from an alien called Birdman and becomes a superhero. Perman: The Birdman Has Arrived!! tells his origin, and Pa-Pa-Pa the Movie: Perman and Pa-Pa-Pa the Movie: Perman: Tako de Pon! Ashi wa Pon! are later adventures. Hamtaro, the brave little hamster, stars in Hamtaro: Adventures in Ham-Ham Land, Hamtaro: The Captive Princess, Hamtaro: Miracle in Aurora Valley and Hamtaro: Fairy Tale.

The shelf also holds Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Darkness and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate!, two specials in a world where only Pokémon live, the Digimon films Hurricane Touchdown and Digimon Tamers: Runaway Locomon, KochiKame Final: Kankichi Ryotsu's Last Day, Chibi Maruko-chan: The Fantastic Notebook and Powerpuff Girls Z, a Japanese reimagining of the Powerpuff Girls. Battle-game fans will find BeyWarriors: Cyborg, Bakugan and Baku Tech! Bakugan.

Scooby-Doo

The Scooby-Doo shelf is one of the largest in the collection. Created by Hanna-Barbera in 1969, Scooby-Doo is a talking Great Dane who solves mysteries with four teenage friends: the leader Fred, the fashionable Daphne, the clever Velma and his best friend, the always hungry Shaggy. Together, as Mystery Inc., they drive the Mystery Machine from one haunted house to the next, and at the end of each case the ghost or monster is unmasked as an ordinary villain in disguise.

Scooby-Doo was a staple of Cartoon Network in India, and the shelf follows him through every era. The New Scooby-Doo Movies of 1972 brought guest stars into the mysteries, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo introduced Scooby's brave little nephew, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo sent the gang after thirteen escaped spirits, and A Pup Named Scooby-Doo showed the friends as children. Later series include Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!, Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! and Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?, in which famous guest stars join the gang for each episode.

The feature films are among the best-loved in the collection. Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island of 1998 reunites the gang on a haunted bayou island, with real monsters for the first time, and it remains a fan favourite. Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase traps the friends inside a video game, Scooby-Doo! and the Loch Ness Monster takes them to Scotland and Aloha Scooby-Doo! to Hawaii. Scooby-Doo! Return to Zombie Island revisits the famous bayou, and the crossover films Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Scooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too! team the gang with superheroes.

Tom and Jerry

The Tom and Jerry shelf follows the world's most famous cat and mouse. Created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera at MGM in 1940, Tom and Jerry won seven Academy Awards for their wordless slapstick shorts, and for generations of Indian children they were the first cartoon they ever saw, a daily fixture on television in every language.

The shelf gathers their films and later series. Tom and Jerry: The Movie of 1992 gave them voices and a story about helping an orphan girl escape a greedy guardian. The direct-to-video films take them everywhere: to Oz in Tom and Jerry & The Wizard of Oz and Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz, to the chocolate factory in Tom and Jerry: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, to Sherwood Forest in Tom and Jerry: Robin Hood and His Merry Mouse, to the Wild West in Tom and Jerry Cowboy Up! and to the world of spies in Tom and Jerry: Spy Quest. Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring, Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry and Tom and Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers are other favourites.

The series include The Tom and Jerry Show of 1975, Tom & Jerry Kids Show, Tom and Jerry Tales, The Tom and Jerry Show of 2014 and Tom and Jerry in New York, each with its own style but the same endless chase.

Looney Tunes

The Looney Tunes shelf gathers Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, Sylvester, the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote. Created at Warner Bros. from the 1930s, the Looney Tunes are among the greatest comic characters in animation, and they were a favourite on Indian cartoon channels.

The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie and The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie collect classic shorts with new linking scenes, and Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales retells famous fairy tales. Looney Tunes: Back in Action mixes the characters with live actors in a globe-trotting spy comedy, Tweety's High Flying Adventure sends Tweety around the world, and King Tweety makes the little canary a king. The series Baby Looney Tunes, The Looney Tunes Show, New Looney Tunes, Loonatics Unleashed and Bugs Bunny Builders show the characters in new settings, and the Christmas specials Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol and Bah, Humduck!: A Looney Tunes Christmas make lovely holiday viewing.

Cartoon Network classics

The Cartoon Network classics shelf gathers the original series that made Cartoon Network famous in the late 1990s and 2000s. For many Indian children, these were the shows that defined after-school television, often watched in Hindi with memorable local voices.

The Powerpuff Girls, created by Craig McCracken, follows three super-powered little sisters, Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup, created by Professor Utonium from sugar, spice, everything nice and an accidental dash of Chemical X. They protect the city of Townsville from the evil monkey Mojo Jojo and a gallery of villains. The Powerpuff Girls Movie tells how they were born and how they won the city's trust, The Powerpuff Girls: 'Twas the Fight Before Christmas is a festive special, and The Powerpuff Girls of 2016 brought them back for a new generation.

Genndy Tartakovsky's Dexter is a boy genius with a secret laboratory and a sister, Dee Dee, who keeps getting into it. In Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip, Dexter travels through time to discover how he will one day save the future. Johnny Bravo, created by Van Partible, is a muscle-bound, quiff-haired would-be ladies' man who always gets things wrong, and Johnny Bravo Goes to Bollywood is a special treat for Indian viewers: Johnny travels to Mumbai to revive his career in Hindi cinema, with songs, dances and cameos from the film industry.

Ben 10, created by the team Man of Action, follows Ben Tennyson, a boy who finds the Omnitrix, an alien watch that lets him turn into ten different alien heroes. The shelf holds the 2016 series Ben 10 and its films Ben 10,010 and Ben Gen 10, along with Ben 10 / Generator Rex: Heroes United. Two series of Richie Rich, the richest boy in the world, round out the shelf.

More classics

The More classics shelf gathers other cartoons that Indian children have loved. Popeye the Sailor, created by E. C. Segar in 1929 and brought to animation by the Fleischer studio, gains his strength from spinach, a lesson that parents everywhere have used ever since. The shelf holds Popeye the Sailor, The All-New Popeye Hour, Popeye and Son and the computer-animated Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy.

The Pink Panther, the cool and silent cat who first appeared in the opening titles of the 1963 comedy film, stars in The All New Pink Panther Show, Pink Panther and Sons, The Pink Panther of 1993 and Pink Panther and Pals, and in the Christmas special A Pink Christmas. Sonic the Hedgehog, the speedy blue hero of the video games, appears in Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Underground, Sonic Boom and Sonic Prime.

Oggy and the Cockroaches: The Movie brings the French series to the big screen. Oggy, a lazy blue cat, battles three cockroaches, Joey, Dee Dee and Marky, who invade his home, and the wordless slapstick of the series made it a huge success on Indian television. The film follows the eternal rivals through history, from prehistoric times to the future.

Routes through the collection

For young children, start with the Indian favourites: a Chhota Bheem film such as Chhota Bheem: Master of Shaolin, a Motu Patlu adventure and a Little Krishna film, then add Doraemon, Hamtaro and Tom and Jerry. For older children, try the Shin-chan films, the Scooby-Doo mysteries, the Powerpuff Girls and Ben 10. For a family film night, choose Tom and Jerry: The Movie, Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, The Powerpuff Girls Movie or Oggy and the Cockroaches: The Movie.

For grown-ups looking back on their own childhood, the classic series are the place to go: The New Scooby-Doo Movies, The All New Pink Panther Show, Popeye the Sailor, Tom & Jerry Kids Show and the first Doraemon series. For a bit of Bollywood fun, Johnny Bravo Goes to Bollywood is the perfect pick.

For mythology and festivals, the Mythology shelf is perfect around Janmashtami, Diwali and Dussehra, when the stories of Krishna and Rama are told in homes across India. For a laugh, follow Motu and Patlu through their films, or pick a Shin-chan movie at random.

Cartoons for families

Almost every title on Anime Joker was made for children and families. The Indian series and films carry gentle lessons about friendship, courage, honesty and respect for elders, often wrapped in slapstick and songs, and the mythology films introduce children to the great stories of Indian culture. The Japanese and American favourites are full of warmth and humour that parents enjoy too.

A few titles, such as the Shin-chan films and some Scooby-Doo mysteries, have cheeky humour or mild spooky scenes that suit children a little older. The title pages give the running time and the story, and the official services show an age rating for each title in your country.

Languages and dubs

Dubbing is at the heart of how India watches cartoons. Most of the series and films on Anime Joker have been dubbed into Hindi, and many into Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali and Marathi as well, often with voice artists who became famous in their own right. Shin-chan's Hindi voice and Doraemon's Hindi catchphrases are known to millions of children.

Official services offer different languages in different countries, and the Watch now button shows which services carry each title where you live. On many services, you can switch the audio and subtitles in the player menu. The Languages and dubs guide explains how, and the Finding a title guide explains searching by original title and by episode.

Watching today

Most of the titles on Anime Joker are available on official services in India and around the world. Children's channels and streaming services carry the Indian series and many of the international favourites, digital shops rent and sell the movies, and several studios post full episodes on their official video channels. The Watch now button shows where each title is available in your country, with labels for subscription, rental, purchase and free viewing.

Availability changes from country to country and from month to month, which is why Watch now asks for your country first. JustWatch then lists every official option in one place, so you can pick the one that suits you.

How the collection is chosen

Every title on Anime Joker was chosen by hand. The editors began with Indian animation and the franchises that became favourites on Indian television, looked them up in The Movie Database, and read the story of each candidate. Live-action films, grown-up comedies and titles made for older audiences were set aside, so the collection stays focused on cartoons and anime for children and families.

Posters, stories and production details come from The Movie Database, and the collection is refreshed as new titles appear. The About page explains more about the site and what it keeps in your browser.

Through the eras

The Before 1990 shelf gathers the oldest titles in the collection: the classic Scooby-Doo series of the 1970s and 1980s, the Pink Panther and Popeye series, the Looney Tunes compilation films, the early Ninja Hattori and Perman films and the first Doraemon series. These are the cartoons that parents and grandparents may remember from Doordarshan and early satellite television, and they still make children laugh today.

The 1990 to 2009 shelf covers the golden years of the cartoon channels, when Cartoon Network, Pogo and Hungama were at their height. Here are The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, the Scooby-Doo films of the late 1990s and 2000s, the Tom and Jerry films, the Shin-chan films that Hungama made famous, the Doraemon specials, Hamtaro, Digimon and the first Indian hits, including Little Krishna and Mighty Raju.

The Since 2010 shelf follows the boom of Indian animation, with the Chhota Bheem and Motu Patlu films, Little Singham and the new mythology films, alongside the later Scooby-Doo, Tom and Jerry and Looney Tunes titles, Ben 10, Sonic Boom, Sonic Prime and the recent Shin-chan films.

Learning with cartoons

Cartoons have always been more than entertainment in India. Many children picked up their first words of English, Hindi or another language from dubbed cartoons, and parents often use a favourite show to help a child learn a new language by switching the audio. The Indian series in particular carry clear lessons about honesty, courage, teamwork and respect, and the mythology films introduce children to the stories behind the country's festivals.

The Japanese favourites have their own gentle lessons. Doraemon teaches that shortcuts and gadgets are fun but hard work pays off in the end, Ninja Hattori shows the value of discipline and loyalty, and Hamtaro celebrates friendship among the smallest creatures. Even the wildest American cartoons, from Tom and Jerry to the Powerpuff Girls, are really about family, friendship and doing the right thing.

Tips for a cartoon marathon

A cartoon marathon is one of the joys of the school holidays. Pick a theme, such as a single hero, a single channel or a single decade, and line up three or four titles. Mix a feature film with a few episodes of a series, and let each child choose one title. The Latest Episodes sidebar on the home page and the season lists on each series page make it easy to pick up where you left off.

For a nostalgic evening, grown-ups might pick one classic from each channel they grew up with: a Tom and Jerry film, a Shin-chan movie, a Powerpuff Girls episode and a Chhota Bheem adventure. My List keeps track of everything you want to watch, and it stays in your browser for next time.

Cartoons for grown-ups who grew up with them

Many visitors to Anime Joker are adults looking for the cartoons of their own childhood. Revisiting a favourite series years later is a special pleasure: the jokes that went over your head as a child suddenly make sense, the theme tunes bring back memories of school afternoons, and the characters feel like old friends. The classic Scooby-Doo series, the Pink Panther, Popeye and the first Doraemon episodes are especially good for this kind of nostalgic viewing.

Grown-ups also enjoy discovering the stories behind the cartoons they loved: that Tom and Jerry won seven Academy Awards, that Shin-chan's films are some of the most admired family films in Japan, that Johnny Bravo once went to Bollywood, or that Chhota Bheem was made by a small studio in Hyderabad that grew into one of the largest in the country. The title pages list the studios, directors and voice casts, so every favourite comes with a little history.

Sharing these cartoons with the next generation is perhaps the best part. Children today often enjoy the same shows their parents loved, and watching together is a lovely way to spend an evening. Anime Joker keeps all of them a single search away.

Studios to know

A few studios stand behind most of the Indian titles in the collection. Green Gold Animation, founded in Hyderabad in 2001 by Rajiv Chilaka, created Chhota Bheem and Mighty Raju and became one of the largest animation studios in India. Cosmos-Maya, based in Mumbai, brought Motu Patlu to television and has since produced many more series for Indian and international channels. Reliance Animation made Little Singham and co-produced new Ninja Hattori episodes, and Big Animation made the Little Krishna series with an ambitious computer-animated look.

Among the international studios, Hanna-Barbera made Scooby-Doo, Tom and Jerry's television series and many classic cartoons, Warner Bros. Animation made the Looney Tunes films and series, Cartoon Network Studios made The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory and Johnny Bravo, and Shin-Ei Animation in Tokyo made Crayon Shin-chan, Doraemon and Ninja Hattori. The title pages list the studio of every title, so you can follow a favourite studio through the collection.

All the shelves

The full list of shelves lives on the collections page. Everything holds every title, Series gathers the television series and Movies gathers the films and specials. The themed shelves are Indian cartoons, Mythology, Bheem and friends, Shin-chan, Doraemon, Anime favourites, Scooby-Doo, Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunes, Cartoon Network classics and More classics. The era shelves are Before 1990, 1990 to 2009 and Since 2010, and Top rated lists the titles with the highest audience scores.

The help pages

Short help pages answer everyday questions. The how to watch guide walks through the steps from a title to the screen. Indian cartoons on Anime Joker, Shin-chan and Doraemon, Cartoon Network classics, Mythology on Anime Joker and Scooby-Doo on Anime Joker suggest first titles on the main shelves.

For practical questions, Languages and dubs covers Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and English audio, Finding a title covers search, My List covers saving titles and Apps and devices covers phones, tablets and televisions. Free cartoons explains legal ways to watch at zero cost, Where Anime Joker titles stream describes the official services behind the guide and Streaming safely offers a short checklist. The official Anime Joker site describes how to recognise Anime Joker, and Is Anime Joker working? offers quick fixes when a page misbehaves.

Questions