DBF-New-Vintage-Headerv4

The Top 50 Best Ever Cartoons from the 80s’

The Top 50 Cartoon’s of the 80s

Never has there been a better decade for cartoons (or animated shows, if you want to sound more grown-up), than the 1980s. Not only did we see an unrivalled output of shows, with the surge in Japanese animation taking hold and influencing some of the best ideas. There has never been a better era for amazing opening credits, with awesome tunes! So here is our top 50 cartoons from the 80s.

50 – The Care Bears

1986 – 1988  |  4  Seasons  |  49 Eps

The Care Bears live in a faraway place up in the clouds called Care-a-Lot. They travel around the world on Missions in Caring, whilst evil villains such as Professor Coldheart and Lord No Heart, try to thwart their plans.
play-icon
49 – Alvin & the Chipmunks

1983 – 1990  |  8  Seasons  |  102 Eps

Three chipmunk brothers, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. The trio have been adopted by and are living with Dave (human). Each show finds the boys getting into trouble and new and unusual situations.
play-icon
48 – The Incredible Hulk

1982 – 1983  |  1  Season  |  13 Eps

The series ran for 13 episodes on NBC in 1982, part of a combined hour with Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. Unlike the previous live-action The Incredible Hulk television series from Universal in the 1970s, this series was based upon the Hulk comic-books and was able to portray the more fantastical elements of the comics as sticking to his true name and origin as well as featuring the return of the original characters in his life all of which the live-action series refused to show.
play-icon
47 – She-Ra: Princess of Power
1985 – 1987  |  2  Seasons  |  93 Eps
Created in 1985 as a spin-off to the very popular cartoon He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, this show aimed at young girls quickly became one of Filmation’s biggest hits. “I am Adora, He-Man’s twin sister, and defender of the Crystal Castle. Fabulous secrets were revealed to me the day I held aloft my sword and said, ‘For the Honor of Grayskull…’
play-icon
46 – Bananaman
1983 – 1986  |  3  Seasons  |  40 Eps
Stupid, but well-meaning and super-strong super-hero, Bananaman gets his strength from eating bananas. Before he eats a banana, Bananaman is a young boy called Eric who is keen to keep his alter-ego a secret. His best friend is a crow who brings bananas to Eric (or Bananaman) when they are needed for extra strength. Bananaman is always ready to fight the baddies.
play-icon
45 – SuperTed
1983 – 1986  |  3  Seasons  |  36 Eps

SuperTed was a teddy bear found to be defective in the toy factory where he was made, and then disposed of into an old storeroom. A Spotty man found him there and brought him to life with his “cosmic dust”. He was later taken to Mother Nature and given magical powers that enabled him to fight evil. This evil invariably takes the form of Texas Pete (an evil cowboy, the antagonist of the series) and his gang; Bulk (an overweight, bumbling fool) and Skeleton (an undead, outrageously camp, cowardly skeleton with pink slippers).

play-icon
44 – Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo
1979 – 1983  |  4  Seasons  |  62 Eps
The original thirty-minute version of Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (Scrappy-Doo being Scooby’s nephew) constitutes the fourth incarnation of the Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon Scooby-Doo. It premiered on September 22, 1979 and ran for one season on ABC as a half-hour program. A total of sixteen episodes were produced. It was the last Hanna-Barbera cartoon series to use the studio’s laugh track.
play-icon
43 – Rainbow Brite
1984 – 1985  |  1  Season  |  13 Eps
The story of a young girl who tries her best to bring beauty and happiness to the Earth. She wears a magic belt known as the Color Belt which is activated by a handful of Star Sprinkles brings forth a powerful rainbow. She is assisted by her faithful talking horse Starlite, ‘the most magnificent horse in the entire universe’ and her personal sprite Twink. She lives with the Color Kids in the wonderful Rainbowland. But not everything is always peaceful, they occasionally get opposition from Murky Dismal and Lurky from the gloomy Pits.
play-icon
42 – Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures
1987 – 1988  |  2  Seasons  |  19 Eps
It is a revival of the Mighty Mouse cartoon character. It aired on CBS on Saturday mornings from fall 1987 through the 1988–89 season. It was briefly rerun on Saturday mornings on Fox Kids in November 1992. It was created by Ralph Bakshi.
play-icon
41 – BraveStarr

1987 – 1988  |  1  Season  |  65 Eps

BraveStarr is an American Space Western animated television series. The original episodes aired from September 1987 to February 1988 in syndication. It was created simultaneously with a collection of action figures. BraveStarr was the last animated series produced by Filmation and Group W Productions to be broadcast. Bravo!,
play-icon
40 – The Get Along Gang
1984 – 1986  |  1  Season  |  14 Eps

Originally a group of 12 characters created for a series of greeting cards, The success of the greeting card line led to a Saturday morning television series, which aired on CBS for 13 episodes in the 1984-1985 season.

The Get Along Gang are a group of twelve pre-adolescent anthropomorphic animal characters in the fictional town of Green Meadow, who form a club that meets in an abandoned caboose and who have various adventures whose upbeat stories intended to show the importance of teamwork and friendship.

play-icon
39 – Jayce And The Wheeled Warriors
1985 – 1986  |  1  Season  |  65 Eps

The show featured two duelling forces. The heroes are humans called the Lightning League who drive white and silver vehicles with assorted weaponry led by a teenager named Jayce. The villains are organic plant-based creatures called the Monster Minds who travel via large green organic vines, which can grow in and across interstellar space, and sprout seeds that grow rapidly into further Monster Minds. They are led by the very first of the Monster Minds, Saw Boss.

The show had an ongoing plot which was left unresolved, with no series finale either.

play-icon
38 – Dino-Riders
1988  |  1  Season  |  14 Eps

Dino-Riders was primarily a promotional show to launch a new Tyco toy line.Only fourteen episodes were produced, three of which were produced on VHS for the United States. The show aired in the U.S. as part of the Marvel Action Universe programming block.

The series focuses on the battle between the heroic Valorians and the evil Rulon Alliance on prehistoric Earth. The Valorians were a superhuman race, while the Rulons comprised several breeds of humanoids (ants, crocodiles, snakes, and sharks were the most common). Both races came from the future but were transported back in time to the age of dinosaurs. Once on Earth, the Valorians befriended dinosaurs, while the Rulons brainwashed them.

play-icon
37 – Inspector Gadget
1983 – 1986  |  2  Seasons  |  86 Eps

The series stars the voice of Don Adams as the titular character, and first premiered on September 12, 1983. It is the first cartoon show to be syndicated by DIC, who specifically created the series to help expand into the North American market, and the first animated series to be presented in stereo sound.

The show revolves around the adventures of a clumsy, dim-witted detective named Inspector Gadget—a cyborg human with various bionic gadgets built into his body—who is sent on missions to thwart plans by his nemesis Dr. Claw, the leader of an evil organization known as “M.A.D.”, unknowingly being assisted by his niece Penny and their dog, Brain.

play-icon
36 – Batfink

1966 – 1967  |  1  Season  |  100 Eps

Batfink is an American animated television series, consisting of five-minute shorts, that first aired in April 1966. The 100-episode series was quickly created by Hal Seeger, starting in 1966, to send up the popular Batman and Green Hornet television series, which had premiered the same year. Batfink was heavily sindicated and was aired heavily through the 80s.

Batfink is a bat superhero with metal wings. With the help of his aide, Karate, he fights crime in his city, usually against his recurring villain, Hugo A-Go-Go.

play-icon
35 – Super Friends
1980 – 1983  |  3  Seasons  |  66 Eps

Super Friends is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 1980 to 1983 on ABC. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and is based on the Justice League and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics.

It was the fifth incarnation of the Super Friends series following Super Friends (1973), The All-New Super Friends Hour (1977), Challenge of the Super Friends (1978) and The World’s Greatest Super Friends (1979).

These new adventures featured appearances by the core group of the five classic Super Friends (Aquaman, Batman, Robin, Superman and Wonder Woman) along with Zan, Jayna & Gleek.

play-icon
34 – Hong Kong Phooey
1974 – 1975  |  1  Season  |  16 Eps

Hong Kong Phooey is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and originally broadcast on ABC. It was rerun heavily during the 80s.

The main character, Hong Kong Phooey, is the clownishly clumsy secret identity of Penrod “Penry” Pooch, working at a police station as a “mild-mannered” janitor under the glare of Sergeant Flint, nicknamed “Sarge”.

play-icon
More Great Articles:
The 20 Greatest Movie Shocks
They made you jump. They made you wince. They made...
The Life of Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen, The King of Cool, a movie star that...
The Making of The Godfather Part 2
As one of the best films ever, we take a look at how...
the big films coming in 2023
We take a look at some of most anticipated movies coming...
The Amazing Life of Richard Pryor
He grew up in a brothel, He was addicted to drugs,...