Nothing beats rocking sneakers inspired by your favorite cartoon—honestly, it’s like wearing nostalgia on your feet. From grown men in Powerpuff Girls costumes to Homer Simpson Dunks selling for $19,842, cartoon kicks are turning childhood memories into pricey collector’s items. Here is a list of the 15 best cartoon Nike sneakers of all time.
1. Nike SB Dunk Low “Powerpuff Girls” Pack
These sneakers mark one of the rare occasions when fans begged Nike for a concept for so long that they couldn’t help but bring it to life. After what felt like ages of demand, the Nike SB Dunk Low “Powerpuff Girls” pack emerged in December 2023. The colourways of this pack are fully inspired by the three sisters. Find out more: Sneaker Fortress
2. Nike CJ81 Trainer Max “Megatron”
Although the “Megatron Rises” pack included three stunning sneakers, the Nike CJ81 Trainer Max was, without a doubt, the best of the bunch. These kicks are effortlessly cool. Plus, Johnson’s favourite Megatron quote, ‘Show no mercy,’ is printed under the midfoot strap, which is quite a nice touch.
3. Nike Air Trainer SC II “Megatron”
The “Megatron Rises” packs have brought forth some of the best cartoon Nike shoes from a toy line and sneaker manufacturer. However, you can easily see that the Nike Air Trainer SC II “Megatron” is the more wearable. This pair swaps it out for a reflective circuitry board pattern on the medial and lateral quarter panels but maintains the Decepticon iconography on the heel.
4. Air Jordan 1 Stash Utility “Prowler”
These were just a pair of sneakers that were seen for a couple of frames in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. However, the second that fans saw the Prowler’s sneakers, they simply had to have them. Being the talk of the town for weeks after the movie was released, Nike finally shared that the stunning Nike Air Jordan 1 Stash Utility “Prowler” was a pair made for friends and family.
5. SpongeBob SquarePants x Kyrie 5 “Patrick”
The pack is loved for many reasons, but Patrick’s bright pink pair is definitely a favourite. Much like the other pairs, it has a few more minor details that tie it to the beloved character. However, the winning feature of this pair is undoubtedly the vibrantly coloured upper.
6. SpongeBob SquarePants x Kyrie 5 “SpongeBob
Kyrie Irving, a massive fan of the popular animated series, ensured his collaboration did justice to the theme. We appreciate how the mesh cleverly reflects SpongeBob’s porous texture, producing a design that represents the beloved cartoon and is incredibly stylish.
7. Nike Zoom LeBron 6 “Stewie Griffin” PE
Although many have tried, no pair of sneakers has come close to capturing the iconic design of these Nike Zoom LeBron 6 “Stewie Griffin” player-exclusive sneakers. The LeBron 18 Low made one of the best attempts at bringing the player-exclusive colourway to general retail for fans. Still, it was never quite the same as this iconic pair.
8. Nike SB Dunk Low Pro “Bart Simpson”
As one of the coolest skater dudes of our childhood, we couldn’t think of a better character to be brought to life using the iconic skating silhouette than Bart Simpson. These cartoon Nike shoes give you just the right amount of Bart flair.
9. Nike Air Trainer III “Optimus Prime”
The design pays homage to one of our all-time favourite childhood characters, Optimus Prime. These silver, red, and blue sneakers certainly nod to the iconic character.
10. “Spider-Verse” Nike Air Max Plus 3
Innovative, ingeniously coloured, and perfect for any occasion, these high-tech sneakers look like they fell off the bottom end of a Spider-Man suit. They are about to turn you into a superhero.
11. Nike SB Dunk Low “Homer”
You can’t put together a collection of cartoon-inspired Nike sneakers without mention of the Homer Simpson SB Dunks. Sure, these kicks aren’t an official collaboration with the TV show (that honour seems to belong solely to adidas at the moment). But it’s still widely regarded as the perfect sneaker tribute to the doughnut-munching TV dad.
12. Gundam x Nike SB Dunk High
In 2021, Nike brought Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn to sneakerheads’ feet with two SB Dunk High colourways. Both the White/Red and Black/Gold pairs are customisable with removable Swooshes (done in Gundam style, of course) and stickers to spruce up the shoes. Honestly, Nike nailed the details on this design. It’s just like stepping into the suit yourself.
13. Verdy x Nike SB Dunk Low “Visty”
Who can resist Nike SB’s fuzzy Dunk Low collabs, especially when the inspiration is a cute pastel-coloured monster named Visty? Nike’s collaboration with artist Verdy on these pink, blue, green and yellow Dunks was one of the sneaker highlights of 2024. The shoe comes with cartoon drawings of the plushy character on the insoles and hang tag. Plus, these cartoon inspired sneakers are just really fun and different.
14. Air Jordan 7 “Marvin The Martian”
While Bugs Bunny kicked off Warner Bros.’ collaboration with Jordan Brand in the ’90s, Marvin the Martian also had a turn to take over a pair of Jordan sneakers. The black, red, and green Jordan 7 perfectly captures the cheeky Martian. And thankfully, he didn’t blow anything up in the process.
15. Nike SB Dunk High “Doraemon”
Nike treated Doraemon fans to an SB Dunk High inspired by the anime cat back in 2020. While this is yet another unofficial colourway for the skateboarding subsidiary, all fans really needed was the white, blue, and red palette to make the connection. They even added a hint of yellow to represent the bell around his neck! To learn more: Sneaker Fortress.
16. BraveStarr Jordan 3
Okay, fair enough, this one isn’t real. But they very well could be. That colorway is pretty easy for Jordan Brand to copy. As many may recall, BraveStarr was a powerhouse character equipped with incredible spiritual animal abilities, such as the eyes of the hawk, the strength of the bear, the speed of the puma, and the ears of the wolf, which he used to protect the planet of New Texas from various threats. Reflecting the character’s vibrant look, the “BraveStarr” Air Jordan 3 is a mosaic of orange, yellow, blue, and brown. We wish Jordan can make this one happen! See more images here.
17. The Mystery Machine Nike Dunk Low Sneakers
In the traditional @andu.c fashion, the colours of the inspiration have been carried over. However, the usual electric blue, bright greens, and yellows of the cartoon inspiration have been traded out for a slightly more muted look, one that succeeds in its attempt to make the sneakers look a little older and really feeds into the nostalgia that people will get from seeing these sneakers. The outsole of the sneakers is the darkest part of the sneakers, with a navy blue that represents the tires of the van that we all know and love, and that takes the Scooby Doo gang from mystery A to point B. Now, you might ask, why not black or grey? In many cartoons and animations, the shadows and shading will be done with dark blue instead of grey so that the saturation doesn’t ruin the rest of the look. I love that Andrew has chosen to go with blue on this one.
18. Stewie Griffin Air Jordan 1 Sneakers
The sneakers are inspired by different sections of Stewie’s iconic yellow and red outfit.
Starting from the base of the sneakers, several parts of the pair are white, starting with the outsole and midsole. Without being able to see a seam between the two, this offers a put-together look that is seamless and simple, offsetting the business of the rest of the sneakers. The Nike Swoosh logo on the medial side is also white, but with a cartoonish black outline around it to ensure it stands out from the rest of the shoe and against the white panelling that makes up the backdrop.
19. Kim Possible Nike Dunks
Kim Possible was one of those cartoons you couldn’t help but love. There weren’t really that many spy cartoons that had female protagonists, and many young girls were inspired by Kim Possible and the central trio from shows like Totally Spies. Kim Possible captured the hearts of kids worldwide from 2002 to 2007, leaving many heartbroken when it ended and wanting to keep the spirit and nostalgia of Kim Possible alive. Luckily, @dope_don_designs has us covered with these beautiful Kim Possible-inspired sneakers.
Starting from the bottom, we see that the outsole is a beautiful burnt orange, perfectly representing the female spy’s fiery hair colour. From there, the midsole appears to be a very light cream colour, possibly meant to emulate Kim’s skin. That same light-skinned colour appears on the perforated toe box and the quarter of the upper, shaded in a way that both brings to mind the animation style of the series as well as makes the mind think of camouflage.
20. “Fred Flintstone” Air Max 1
Saturday morning cartoons may not be a part of our routine anymore, but sneaker artist Javornie Brathwaite has definitely revived the nostalgia with his custom creation, the “Fred Flintstone” Air Max 1. Brathwaite transformed the head of the Flinstones household into what can only be described as a colourful and playful sneaker design. No tribute to Fred would be complete without reference to his signature orange and black attire so that’s where we get started.
First up, the character’s triangle covered tunic dresses the quarter panels, heel, and eyestays. His teal tie then accents the Swooshes, vamp, and laces. You’ll spot nods to his hair and skin colour on the shoe’s tongue, inner lining, and base, while the heel show off the name of the cartoon in the signature prehistoric font style.
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