Avatar: The Last Airbender is a cartoon that I watch in the morning while I have breakfast with my 9 year-old daughter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar:_The_Last_AirbenderIt is the best modern cartoon I've ever seen, and is, IMHO, the equal of
Astroboy (for ethical grounding and action),
Mysterious Cities of Gold (for the travelling and meeting new people), or
Robotech (for awesome fight sequences)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imho#IMhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroboyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysterious_Cities_of_Goldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robotech_(TV_series)
Why? Verisimilitude.
My soapbox for fantasy is internal consistency. Avatar treats its magic as if it is real, and, as in Harry Potter, the techniques the children learn are used by the adults around them.
The quirk that makes Avatar more palatable is that it's a martial arts show, where specific styles are used and expanded upon for characters from different regions.
(POST UNFINISHED, will complete soon :)