Cartoon Theme Songs
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50 free Cartoon Theme Songs trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
A cartoon theme song has under a minute to explain the premise, introduce the cast and lodge itself in your head for life. The best ones did all three, and many were written in a hurry by people who went on to much bigger things. This quiz is about the stories behind those openings: the composers and studio musicians who wrote them, the pop stars, rock bands and voice actors who sang them, the older melodies they borrowed from, and the covers that carried them into the charts. It runs from theatrical shorts and Saturday-morning staples through the cable boom of the 1990s to adult animation and streaming-era series. It is written for anyone who can still hum the opening of a favourite childhood show, and for quiz hosts planning a cartoon or music round. Every answer comes with a short explanation, so you can play straight through or print the questions for a group.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which future sitcom creator co-wrote the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme on a 48-hour deadline?
Chuck Lorre
Chuck Lorre and composer Dennis C. Brown had $2,000 and two days to record it, long before Lorre created Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory.
Q 02Which Nickelodeon cartoon's theme song is led by a pirate in an oil painting with real human lips?
SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants opens with Painty the Pirate, voiced by Patrick Pinney, while creator Stephen Hillenburg's own mouth is superimposed on the painting.
Q 03Which rock and roll pioneer sang the theme song of the 1990s cartoon The Magic School Bus?
Little Richard
Little Richard belted out Ride on the Magic School Bus, and Lin-Manuel Miranda took over the theme when the series returned on Netflix in 2017.
Q 04Which film composer wrote The Simpsons theme in 1989 and sang its three opening notes with two friends?
Danny Elfman
Danny Elfman has called it the most popular piece of his career; he pitched creator Matt Groening something retro after seeing a rough cut of the opening sequence.
Q 05Which children's animated series had its theme song become the UK Christmas number one of 2000?
Bob the Builder
Bob the Builder beat Westlife to the top with Can We Fix It?, sung by voice actor Neil Morrissey, and the single went on to sell over a million copies in the UK.
Q 06Which reggae star's band performed Believe in Yourself, the theme song of the PBS cartoon Arthur?
Ziggy Marley
Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers recorded the reggae theme, and Chance the Rapper reworked it in 2014 as Wonderful Everyday: Arthur.
Q 07Which cartoon superhero's theme song did Andy Kaufman lip-sync on the first Saturday Night Live?
Mighty Mouse
Mighty Mouse's theme spun on a record player while Kaufman stood perfectly still, springing to life only to mime the hero's single boastful line.
Q 08Which R&B singer recorded Call Me, Beep Me, the theme song of Disney Channel's Kim Possible?
Christina Milian
Christina Milian was already working for Disney Channel when the studio asked her to sing it, and she credits the song with helping her own recording career.
Q 09Which alternative rock band, fronted by bassist Les Claypool, performs the theme song of South Park?
Primus
Primus first recorded a slower, 40-second version; Trey Parker and Matt Stone sped it up and had Les Claypool re-record his vocals to fit the opening.
Q 10The 1937 song The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down became the opening theme of which cartoon series?
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes adopted the tune with the 1937 short Rover's Rival and kept it until 1969, with Porky Pig stuttering his sign-off over it at the end of each cartoon.
Q 11Which jazz pianist wrote Linus and Lucy, the piano theme of the animated Peanuts television specials?
Vince Guaraldi
Vince Guaraldi first released it on a 1964 album, but it found its audience a year later on the soundtrack of A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Q 12Which Hanna-Barbera cartoon opened with the instrumental Rise and Shine before its sung theme arrived?
The Flintstones
The Flintstones switched to its sung theme early in season three, recorded with a 22-piece big band and the Randy Van Horne Singers.
Q 13Which Canadian pop-punk band performed the title theme of the cartoon revival What's New, Scooby-Doo?
Simple Plan
Q 21Which New York punk band covered the 1967 Spider-Man cartoon theme for a 1995 tribute album?
Ramones
Ramones cut it for Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, a set of alternative acts covering old cartoon themes, and a second take landed on their album Adios Amigos.
Q 22Which member of Aerosmith wrote and performed the guitar theme of the 1994 Spider-Man animated series?
Joe Perry
Joe Perry landed the job after meeting producer Avi Arad on a flight and telling him he would love to write the theme for a Spider-Man show.
Q 23Which Japanese pop act performed the Teen Titans theme song in both English and Japanese versions?
Puffy AmiYumi
Simple Plan also turned up as cartoon versions of themselves, solving a mystery in the episode Simple Plan and the Invisible Madman.
Q 14Which Texas pop-punk band performs Today Is Gonna Be a Great Day, the Phineas and Ferb opening theme?
Bowling for Soup
Bowling for Soup's theme was nominated for an Emmy in 2008, one of four Emmy nominations the show's music collected.
Q 15Which 1987 Disney cartoon has a theme song that earned songwriter Mark Mueller just over $1,250?
DuckTales
DuckTales got its theme from a pop songwriter with Jeff Pescetto on vocals, and Vanity Fair later called it history's catchiest single minute of music.
Q 16Which new wave musician, a co-founder of Devo, composed the theme song of Nickelodeon's Rugrats?
Mark Mothersbaugh
Mark Mothersbaugh wrote the theme and scored the series with a small team that included his brother and Devo bandmate Bob.
Q 17Which new wave band from Athens, Georgia sang the Rocko's Modern Life theme from season two onward?
The B-52's
The B-52's got the job because the network wanted a band slightly older kids could identify with, and their version ran until the series ended.
Q 18Which singer performed The Proud Family theme song backed by her older sister's group, Destiny's Child?
Solange
Solange and Beyoncé's group share the credit on the theme, which sits on the soundtrack album beside India.Arie and classic soul from Aretha Franklin.
Q 19Which composer wrote the saxophone theme that The Pink Panther cartoons took from a 1963 film comedy?
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini's jazz piece features Plas Johnson's tenor saxophone solo and won three Grammy Awards after missing out on the Oscar for best score.
Q 20Which instrument accompanies creator Pendleton Ward's vocal on the opening theme of Adventure Time?
Ukulele
Ukulele backs the song, and Ward sang in a higher register to match its range on a recording that was only meant to be a temporary track.
Puffy AmiYumi then got a Cartoon Network series of their own in 2004, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, from Teen Titans producer Sam Register.
Q 24Which Hanna-Barbera musical director composed the themes for The Jetsons, Top Cat and Jonny Quest?
Hoyt Curtin
Hoyt Curtin was the studio's main musical director from its first series in 1957, and also wrote the themes for Yogi Bear, Space Ghost and The Smurfs.
Q 25Which future Charlie's Angels star sang as Melody in Hanna-Barbera's Josie and the Pussycats?
Cheryl Ladd
Cheryl Ladd was billed as Cherie Moor and was picked from more than 500 finalists to be one of the three singing voices of the cartoon band.
Q 26Which actor, later The Shining's Dick Hallorann, voiced Hong Kong Phooey and sang the theme song?
Scatman Crothers
Scatman Crothers sang the opening himself, and the band Sublime covered his theme on a 1995 album of cartoon songs.
Q 27Which composer's In the Hall of the Mountain King inspired the melody of the Inspector Gadget theme?
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg's piece from Peer Gynt was the model for composer Shuki Levy, whose bumbling-detective theme became recognised around the world.
Q 28Which cartoon character's theme song was composed by Sammy Lerner for a 1933 Fleischer Studios short?
Popeye
Popeye's theme is often introduced by The Sailor's Hornpipe, a much older dance tune, and has stayed with the character ever since that first short.
Q 29Which punk rock trio covered The Simpsons theme and released it as a single for The Simpsons Movie?
Green Day
Green Day's cover is an instrumental, only the third the band had ever taped, and the trio play it at a Lake Springfield concert at the start of the film.
Q 30Which Disney Channel pop act re-recorded the theme of American Dragon: Jake Long for season two?
Jonas Brothers
Jonas Brothers took over from the band Mavin, who had performed the theme song, The Chosen One, throughout the first season.