The Top 25 Animated Cartoons From The 80's

People who were kids in the 80’s often reminisce and declare the fact that there are no longer any good cartoons these days. They say this with a look of nostalgia always on their faces as they watch modern cartoons (often with the kids). The 1980’s was a period where animated cartoons were just beginning to gain popularity — the rise of the Saturday morning cartoon. And unlike today’s animated offering, they were filled with deep, rich content that parents were comfortable with. Not to say that the cartoons these days are not classics too. But people who came of age in the 80s will politely disagree.

Shows

The 80s was filled with ingenious content and captivating screenwriting when it came to animations. Here are some of the top animated cartoons from the 80s:

• Robotech: My favorite of them all. When Robotech came out on DVD, it was the first TV series I ever bought. With airplanes that turned into robots, giant battleships that flew through space, and young adults who were always in trouble when not remarkable pilots, so many clichés, portrayed perfectly!
• Gatchaman/G-Force/Guardians of Space: OK, flying through space in bird outfits with helmets? And lasers. Seriously? And a bit of transgenderism never hurt anyone. The liberal and progressive elements of these shows helped explain the world to a young kid growing up in the northern hills of Georgia. Gatchaman was one of my favorite such shows. And like with the rest of the shows we’ll talk about, there was an older character who’s the mentor for the team. So many great takeaways!
• Jem and the Holograms: Aired from 1985–1987, this was one of those cartoons that every kid loved. The soundtrack was fantastic, and it was a good primer for the future Misfits that many of us would grow to love. And Jem always helped everyone, including the young ladies that did terrible things to her in earlier episodes.
• Thundercats: “Thunder Thunder Thundercats Ho!” Everyone with a childhood in the 80s loved the Thundercats. This was simply one of those cartoons that you and your friends would argue for hours over who was the best character. The Thundercats fought evil and sought to protect the world from different villains. Everyone could connect with a character, whether it was Cheetara, Panthro, or the wise Tygra. But the coming of age of the leader of the Thundercats, Lion-O, was the main story, and everyone — and I mean everyone — wanted to be Lion-O! There was even a comedic sidekick, Snarf. My poor pets got to be standins for Snarf.
• Inspector Gadget: Who didn’t love the many gadgets and silly antics of Inspector Gadget? And how he seemed to always misstep into trouble, getting rescued by his niece Penny. We all felt like our parents got themselves in trouble and we had to correct their missteps just like Penny helped out her uncle. And flash forward 20 years, most every product that has made Apple great was pulled straight from the show. Just grab a cover for your iPad that looks like a book, an Apple Watch, and you too can take out The Claw!
• Transformers: Every kid loved the amazing robots that turned into cars, planes, and later microscopes and cassette decks. These big crime fighting robots transformed easily and spawned one of the most popular toy lines of all time. These days, it’s hard to imagine the early days of the Transformers, when there were barely a dozen characters. And when you watch the movies, it’s crazy to imagine how graphics have changed since those days!
• Voltron: Voltron was the classic “Good vs. Evil” cartoon that every kid in the 80s loved. With space villains that included Lotor and the evil witch Hagar, this was one of the few shows that actually got better during the reboot. The reboot featured more flat design of characters, a quicker script, and was more accessible for my daughter when we watched them on Netflix recently. It was still a bit unsettling, and there were still lots of fables. And while the evil witch Haggar was not in the reboot, her essence had been turned to Haggarium, which caused plenty of other characters to go bad. And yes, I still have my lions. But no, not all still have their legs… :-/
• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Skeletor and his minions were muscle-laden bad guys, with a clear cut dillineation between good and evil. My favorite part of this cartoon is The Sorceress, who helps He-man out in his most desperate of moments. She is wise, and provides extra power for our scantily clad characters, running around Eternia in their underoos. Yes, I believe I ran around the house in my underroos, banging on things with swords while watching this show as well!
• She-Ra: Princess of Power: Released to balance out her twin brother, He-Man. She-Ra was made for young women, had a cooler sword (The Sword of Protection), and my sister actually had the toy. Strong, but cunning. So I had to borrow my sisters She-Ra here and there… Best part of She-Ra, suddenly girls were rolling around with swords too. As it should be.
• The Smurfs: Oh, Smurfette! The Smurfs is one of those cartoons that was just loved by everyone in the 80s. You wouldn’t be shocked to see parents enjoying it just as much as their kids. These magical blue animated creatures lived in mushrooms in the forest and went about their fun daily antics. They also had to stop Gargamel, an evil wizard who wanted to enslave the little creatures, and his cat. To this day, I can’t say I fully trust cats...
• G.I. Joe: This cartoon started out as a mini-series but was changed to a full series due to massive popularity. As with many of these, G.I. Joe ended up a movie. And then another. And a comic book. And toys. And at the end of every episode, one of the Joes told us to be good to one another, looking right into your eyes. And there were females in the fray, fighting better than many of the males; before females were allowed to fight in the military. And the black ninja was a good guy; while the white ninja was a very, very bad guy. Did you dream of being Snake Eyes or Stormshadow?
• Dungeons and Dragons: Controversial because it was violent, but cool because there were magic items and dragons and hydras, OMGOMGOMG. The characters were transferred from the real world to a magical universe, aligned with the class of their characters from an actual D&D game, just like we dreamed was possible when playing, and was reinforced when we saw The Neverending Story. And a comic book. Sweet. But the show wasn’t controversial because it was violent. It was controversial because it was spells, and demons, and the whole devil worshiping fears that surrounded the Dungeons and Dragons game. Need proof? Watch Robotech.
• Galaxy High: Aliens. In high school. At a time when I thought high schoolers were totally boss. Before anyone said boss. But maybe when “far out” was OK to say?The thing that got me about this show later in life was that there was a restaurant in space. One that later reminded me of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
• The Mask: If you were a fan of crime fighters, the Mobile Armoured Strike Kommand (MASK) would definitely have kept you interested. The cartoon featured Bruce Sato, who was incredibly tech savvy and Buddy Hawkes, who was a great disguise specialists. Also on the tem were a martial arts expert, vehicle pilots and a weapons expert. The cartoon successfully gave its viewers a great deal of action.
• Tranzor Z: This is one of those cartoons that had a great storyline. You would get lost in the world of Tranzor Z, and its impeccable combat would have been sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. Tranzor Z was a super robot introduced to a little boy. The robot would help combat the beasts and evil creations of Dr Demon, his creator’s arch nemesis.
• Garbage Pail Kids: Snot, farts, garbage, stinky stuff, slimy stuff, all the awesome puns on names. No great life lessons here. But like all the great shows, the kids caused the concerned Christian parent groups of the day to totally freak out. Regrettably, I didn’t get to see it until later in life because, unlike the Canadians that created the Garbage Pail Kids, we U.S. kids didn’t get to see it ’cause it got banned. Another great reason to invade Canada!
• Dragon’s Lair: Because video games! Dirk the Daring protecting Princess Daphne. Good explanation of how choices impact outcomes, as a narrater explained how Dirk’s choices impacted the story. A unique, albeit quirky little show…
• The Legend of Zelda: Shows based on video games didn’t need as much of a plot as some shows. The same was true with Zelda. As with the game, chase Ganon across Hyrule on a romp collecting rupees, swords, and of course, hearts.
• Ghostbusters: After the popularity of the movie, there was a short-lived childrens cartoon for the Ghostbusters. Slimer, the guys, and Ecto. But funnier than the move. At least for a kid.
• The Centurions: Jack Kirby (yes, one of the guys behind Captain America, The X-Men, The Hulk, The Fantastic Four, and more) also brought us this little show. Two more words: Cyborgs and Hackers. Like G.I. Joe, but with moar science!
• Silverhawks: This show alwaysfeltlike a little bit of a knockoff of Gatchaman. But it wasn’t half bad. Also springing forth from a comic book, much like many others on this list, the space-bionic crazy characters were armor-clad and with lasers. Oh, and a little bluegrass.
• Galtar and the Golden Lance: Created as a reaction to He-Man, more mythical TV, complete with sorcerers and swords and lances and magical creatures. It wasn’t as good as Dungeons and Dragons or some of the other shows, but it was better than watching My Little Pony.
• Defenders of the Earth: Flash, The Phantom, and a bunch of totally forgettable characters. One of the few shows with racial diversity. And I think my favorite part of that was how characters of different backgrounds weren’t completely stereotyped, but were similar. Not a great show, by any stretch. But probably better than the live-action Flash of today (if only because they didn’t spend all their time talking about feelings).
• Star Wars: Droids and Star Wars: Ewoks: So much to say here. Should have been amazing. But it wasn’t. But they’re connected to Star Wars; so make the list!
• The Simpsons: OK, so we’re ending this list with a cartoon that changed not only graphics in cartoons (large outlines of graphics, bright colors, new types of voices, etc), but was the first to truly master the layering of adult themes into cartoons. And the first episode aired in December of 1989, making The Simpsons a great place to end this list!

Honorable Mention: All the Scooby shows, the Jetsons, Johnny Quest, Super Friends, Spider-Man (not on the list ’cause it was better in decades prior, Mighty Mouse, RoboCop, Godzilla, The Hulk, Pink Panther, Police Academy, Pac-Man, Little Rascals, Gumby, and Pole Position.

Conclusion

The 80s were filled with classic cartoons that left viewers at the edge of their seats. We had to wait a week between each episode, and we had to Classic battles of good vs evil filled with humour, these cartoons were simply amazing.