Description:  "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" cartoon typically refers to a 1992 animated short or the 1993 TV series based on the nursery rhyme, featuring a spider named Itsy who befriends a girl named Leslie. They are opposed by a music teacher and her cat, and the cartoon-parodying Exterminator, who tries to eliminate Itsy with increasingly over-the-top, armed weapons. Less complex versions of the cartoon exist for younger audiences, like those from CoComelon and Super Simple, which more closely follow the original rhyme's theme of perseverance and don't feature the villainous exterminator plotline.

For older audiences: The 1992 animated short film, which was later expanded into a TV series, is a parody of action films like The Terminator. Itsy Bitsy Spider is a young, country spider who befriends a city girl, Leslie McGroarty. Their friendship is threatened by the girl's music teacher and her cat, and more aggressively by a heavily armed android Exterminator, who escalates his attempts to kill the spider from poison to explosives. The plot is a comedic take on the nursery rhyme, with the spider and girl escaping the Exterminator and the house.

For younger audiences: These versions are often animated and directly illustrate the nursery rhyme. The theme is the spider's perseverance, as it climbs, gets washed down the spout, but then tries again after the sun dries the rain. Some versions may include the spider going on other gentle adventures beyond the water spout.