Today, watching cartoons is easy as pie. You will just have to take out your iPad or turn on your Smart TV, open Netflix and watch whatever cartoon you want to watch. In most cases, you wouldn’t even have to wait a week to watch another episode. A whole season is uploaded for you to binge watch and re-watch anytime of any day.
But back in the 80’s, watching cartoons was like a reward for the hard week you spent in school. If you want to watch cartoons, you have to wake up early every Saturday and you have to sit and wait in front of the TV to catch your favorite toons. And you will have to wait until the next Saturday to watch the next episode. Sounds hard, right? But it gave the children a sense of excitement every week, to wake up early even if it’s a weekend. Plus it’s a good bonding activity with your siblings.
Are you missing the good old days? Don’t worry because we are here to give you a list of the Best Cartoons of the 80s, get ready because we’ll give you a trip down to memory lane.
1. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe first aired in September 1983 and lasted until 1985. It had a total of two seasons with 65 episodes each. Commonly referred as He-Man, it tells the story of a young Prince Adam in the planet of Eternia. Whenever Prince Adam grasps the Sword of Power and says “By The Power of Grayskull!” he acquires super magical powers and transforms into the most powerful man in the universe, He-Man. He must defend the land of Eternia from the villain named Skeletor.
2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
This cartoon series became an instant hit ever since its first airing on October 1, 1987. This cartoon follows the story of four turtles who were transformed into humanoids by a mysterious slime. They we’re trained to be ninjas by a human martial arts master named Hamato Yoshi who was later turned into a humanoid rat by the same slime that transformed the turtles and together, they save the world from evil. The cartoon series is one of the most popular animated series. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had different merchandise such as breakfast cereals, lunch boxes and plush toys.
3. ThunderCats
ThunderCats was first released in 1985. This animated series tells the adventures of catlike humanoid aliens from the fallen planet of Thundera. During their pursuit with a band of mutants, one of their escape ships were destroyed resulting to the death of most of the Thunderans. Only a small group of them remained and they were forced to set course for the nearest planet. Together, the Thundercats need to fight off the Mutants and Mumm-Ra who is after their lives and the Eye of Thundera. ThunderCats became so popular that it had several comic book series, clothing merchandise and DVD boxsets.
4. The Real Ghostbusters
This cartoon was a spin-off of the 1984 movie ‘Ghostbusters.” It aired through September 13, 1986 to October 5, 1991. It continues the adventures of the Ghostbusters and their mascot Slimer that chases and captures spirits that lurk in New York City and other places in the world. They are also joined by their secretary named Jane and their accountant, Louis.
5. G.I Joe: A Real American Hero
This animated TV series aired thirty minutes per episode during 1985 to 1986. This series was based on the Marvel comic series and Hasbro’s toyline. It follows the story of G.I Joe, Dukem Snake Eyes, Stalker and Scarlett in their battle against the Cobra and his plans of mass destruction. The series became so popular that it had a video game adaptation and several animated and live action films.
6. Voltron
Voltron is about a team of space explorers that pilots a super robot named Voltron. It aired through September 10, 1984 to November 18, 1985. The series follows the adventure of five pilots and their lion robots that can be combined to form a giant robot named Voltron. They are in charge of protecting the planet named Arus against the evil forces of King Zarkon and Prince Lotor of the Planet Doom.
7. She-Ra: Princess of Power
She-Ra is a spin-off of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. It particularly aimed at young females as their audience. It tells the adventures of Princess Adora, Prince Adam’s sister, while she leads a group named Great Rebellion in the battle to free Etheria from the villains Hordak and the Evil Horde. Just like her brother, she also has a sword which is called the Sword of Protection, that gives her super powers and turns her into She-Ra.
8. M.A.S.K
M.A.S.K or also known as Mobile Armored Strike Kommand, is an animated series based on action figures with the same name. It is about a special task force group that operates transforming armored vehicles in a battle against the criminal group called V.E.N.O.M or Vicious Evil Network Of Mayhem, who’s goal is to obtain money through criminal acts such as extortion, kidnapping, counterfeiting and robbery. The animated series first season had a total of 65 episodes.
9. The Legend of Zelda
This animated series is based on a Japanese video game of the same name. The Legend of Zelda is about the story of Link and Princess Zelda in the quest to protect the kingdom of Hyrule against the evil wizard named Ganon. It had its debut on September 8, 1989 and it finished with a total of thirteen episodes on December 1, 1989.
10. Snorks
Produced by Hanna-Barbera, this American-Belgian animated television series first aired on September 15, 1984 and lasted until may 13, 1989. Snorks was the sister cartoon of another Hanna-Barbera animated series which is The Smurfs. It follows the story of small, colorful creatures called the Snorks. They live in under the sea in a land called Snorkland, which explains the snorkels above their heads. The Snorks are just like their sister show, The Smurfs. They just live underwater.
These are some of the best cartoons of the 1980’s. We hope these cartoons reminded you of the good old days and that time when you’re excited to wake up on a Saturday morning just to catch up on a new episode of He-Man.