Happy Jones (1998-2002 animated series)

Happy Jones is a 1998 Canadian-American animated dramedy series directed by Peter Thompson. The series was based on a children's graphic novel trilogy by Japanese-Canadian artist Wataru "Ward" Sakamoto, who also served as creative consultant for the series and even wrote some episodes of the series.

The series was produced by Magic World Productions, Bohbot Kids Network and Columbia TriStar Television, and aired on Cartoon Network in the USA and YTV in Canada from September 1998 to June 2001.

Premise
The titular protagonist is a young boy who lives with his uncle, a professor who bred him to spread happiness to as many people in their (presumably) post-apocalyptic world as possible and learn how to become a great person. Happy Jones (hence his name) often goes on small adventures and finds himself making new friends, always learning from these adventures and thus shaping up his views as a person.

Reception
The series has received universal praise from viewers and critics since its premiere in 1998, praising the series for its mature and often realistically portrayed issues and themes many can relate to in many of the situations he faces, characters he meets and friends he makes, and also for portraying Happy Jones as a positive role model for children.

However, some episodes have received mixed to negative reviews, but the show has generally been considered one of the greatest animated TV series of the late 1990's and early 2000's. Its four-part series finale received one of the highest-ratings in the show's history and received glowing reviews from fans, and is considered one of the greatest "series finale" episodes of any TV series.