• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

What were the best animated shows of the 1980's?

C

crackhead_bob

Member
Seriously, what animated shows from the 1980's hold up well today that was not attached to a merchandise, movie, or toyline? I recently had the chance to check out the old Tom and Jerry cartoons from the 1940's and 50's, and damn do they hold up to this day! By contrast, everything I enjoyed back in the 1980's was crap, if I'm being brutally honest. Going at it from an animation snob's point of view, what's probably the benchmark of 1980's television animation? The only thing I can look to in the 1980's would be The Little Mermaid, Secret of Nihm, American Tale, ect., but those are feature films, whereas one could make the argument that Batman the Animated Series and the Simpsons were as much pop culture cornerstones on the 90's as The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast.

So were there truly any pure animated television gems of the 1980's? I really can't think of any strong examples, and yes, we all have our favorite guilty pleasures, but do they hold up today on their own merits, like Roadrunner vs. Coyote, or are they too tethered to marketing that they come off as cash ins, like G.I.Joe, Ducktales, and Masters of the Universe?

Edit: Does anyone feel that Reboot had enough innovation going for it to be place it among the elites, or am I being too nostalgic? I could still see myself giving BTAS the nod even if I weren't a fan of the series, much as a non-wrestling fan would probably know who Hulk Hogan was and what he meant to prowrestling in the 1980's.
 
UberTag

UberTag

Member
Objectively good cartoons from the 1980s that aren't simply looked back with fondness through nostalgia goggles? I'm not sure those exist.
That said, a lot of what we enjoyed in the 1990s would not have come about had crap like the Snorks not laid the groundwork for what was to follow.

They DID, however, have some amazing opening themes.
 
C

crackhead_bob

Member
Yes. It's tied in with an already existing property. It's a product of its time. I know a lot of people have fond memories of the show, but I just don't think it's transcendent on the level of a Simpsons, or even BTAS, with its unique noir style art deco.
 
C

crackhead_bob

Member
UberTag said:
Objectively good cartoons from the 1980s that aren't simply looked back with fondness through nostalgia goggles? I'm not sure those exist.
That said, a lot of what we enjoyed in the 1990s would not have come about had crap like the Snorks not laid the groundwork for what was to follow.

They DID, however, have some amazing opening themes.
Click to expand...

1980's most certainly had catchy opening themes. For some odd reason, I always found the opening theme of Visionaries to be epic.

If not the 1980's, what would you consider the more important cartoons from the 1990's? Would Beavis and Butthead(with or without the music videos) and South Park count? And does a show like Bojack Horseman have the potential to be a timeless classic, or will it too be a product of its time, like a Transformers or Thundercats? I'm talking 20 years going forward. Some things become instant classics like Wall-E. I really think people will be talking about that film 20 years from now the same way people talk about Cinderella and Bambi.

Edit: Drinking too much coffee. If objectively good cartoons from the 1980's are hard to cite, what were the more important ones that at the very least got the ball rolling so that we could eventually get quality programs beginning in the 1990's and up to today?
 
R

retroman

Member
XTeeSWXSWho-Remembers-The-Trap-Door-1063571.jpg


The Trap Door was a lovely claymation series. I rewatched it recently, and I think it's still entertaining for all ages.
 
C

Caddywompus

Member
I enjoyed Dinosaucers and Dink the Dinosaur really anything with Dinosaurs I watched.

In the 80's if you had any amount of success you had merchandise and a toyline, it shouldn't be held against the show for being popular.
 
C

crackhead_bob

Member
Caddywompus said:
I enjoyed Dinosaucers and Dink the Dinosaur really anything with Dinosaurs I watched.

In the 80's if you had any amount of success you had merchandise and a toyline, it shouldn't be held against the show for being popular.
Click to expand...

I think Wallace and Gromit was an exceptionally well done show, but I can't recall if that show began in the 1980's or not.
 
C

crackhead_bob

Member
UberTag said:
According to WikiPedia, the series dates back to 2002. The first short - A Grand Day Out - was from 1989, however.
Click to expand...

Well, that shorts I have seen were very good, and I feel it has that intangible "it" factor that gives it the timeless feel that many of the classics have. Again, this has nothing to do with personal tastes either.
 
bunbun777

bunbun777

Member
Well Smurfs were pretty big.

Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears, My Little Pony.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Garfield and Friends, Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends.

Of course the big ones for me: G.I.Joe, He-man, Transformers, Thundercats, Voltron.

Camp Candy, the real Ghostbusters, Inspector Gadget, Jem, Captain N: game master, Thundarr.

And I guess Dragon ball and the Simpsons.

But they were all merchandised...
 
A

Anth0ny

Member
dragon ball was all 80s and it stills holds up today. absolute masterpiece.


dbz also started airing in 89. simpsons too.
 
UberTag

UberTag

Member
Master_Of_Illusion said:
Does anime count here though?
Click to expand...
Why wouldn't it count? They're animated shows.
I gave some thought towards mentioning the original Patlabor OVAs as well... if only 'cause they laid the foundation for two amazing movies.

Anth0ny said:
dbz also started airing in 89. simpsons too.
Click to expand...
If you disregard the Ullman shorts and Butterfinger commercials, only one episode of The Simpsons aired in 1989.
Seems disingenuous to make an argument that it's a show of the 1980s even if its roots clearly lie there.
 
SonicMegaDrive

SonicMegaDrive

Member
Not counting Japanese shows, the ones that hold up the best are:

The Real Ghostbusters
Garfield and Friends
DuckTales
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo
Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures
Muppet Babies (yes, really.)

Those shows had smart writing that didn't treat kids like idiots and had acceptable standards of animation that still hold up today. Unfortunately, they were the exception and not the rule as most cartoons from that period were done on the cheap and had terrible, cliched writing that recycled the same basic moralistic story elements over and over and over.

I would have included Tiny Toon Adventures but that didn't air until 1990.
 
UberTag

UberTag

Member
SonicMegaDrive said:
Garfield and Friends
Click to expand...
This is the one North American series I gave some serious thought to mentioning. Its humor is timeless.
A lot of the gags get recycled so all of the episodes blur together eventually but it holds up just fine today.

Also, even though it doesn't get held up to the same nostalgia standard as DuckTales, there are some one-off episodes from Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears that I would consider to be first-rate. The quality is sort of all over the map. Most of Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers aired in the 1980s as well.

1988 seems to be the turning point for a lot of these high water mark shows to materialize.
 
P

PdotMichael

Banned
UberTag said:
Objectively good cartoons from the 1980s that aren't simply looked back with fondness through nostalgia goggles?
Click to expand...

The entire Once Upon a Time... franchise.

Then you can add the Japanese World Masterpiece Theater franchise which were animation adaptation of Western youth novels.
 
C

crackhead_bob

Member
Master_Of_Illusion said:
Does anime count here though?
Click to expand...

If it's part of a continuum of influence, then yes, I suppose. Pickings are slim, given the decade we're talking about. I personally can't think of a lot of examples of shows from the 1980's that have aged well to the extend that I would go out and buy the boxed set of the entire series for a friend or family member. I could do that with a Tom and Jerry boxset, or a Simpsons Season 1-8. Much of what I grew up with, such as G.I.Joe and Transformers are too much products of their own time that don't really measure up to animated features of that era. Today, you have Bojack Horseman and Rick and Morty which feels every bit as sophisticated as a Lego Batman or Toy Story 3, even if their budgets dwarf these larger productions.
 
A

Anth0ny

Member
UberTag said:
If you disregard the Ullman shorts and Butterfinger commercials, only one episode of The Simpsons aired in 1989.
Seems disingenuous to make an argument that it's a show of the 1980s even if its roots clearly lie there.
Click to expand...

I GUESS you're right
 
C

Caddywompus

Member
David the Gnome fits your qualifications too

Mighty Mouse

Danger Mouse (though I never saw that)

Does the "And Friends" half of Garfield count?

Disney's Gummy Bears
 
S

Sgt. Kabukiman

Banned
DragonBall, Saint Seiya, Sherlock Holmes (the Miyazaki one), Cobra. Those were huge back then in a lot of countries even though I don't know if they made it to the US.
Edit: forgot about Gundam and The Mysterious Cities of Gold.

shaneskim said:
https://youtu.be/Ev1aBt-_Zs4

Ulysses 31

Amazing tune
Futuristic art
Intro to Greek mythology
Dat beard

Edit - had no idea there was a toy range until I looked sit up just now.
Click to expand...

And this.
 
SonicMegaDrive

SonicMegaDrive

Member
UberTag said:
This is the one North American series I gave some serious thought to mentioning. Its humor is timeless.
A lot of the gags get recycled so all of the episodes blur together eventually but it holds up just fine today.

Also, even though it doesn't get held up to the same nostalgia standard as DuckTales, there are some one-off episodes from Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears that I would consider to be first-rate. The quality is sort of all over the map. Most of Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers aired in the 1980s as well.

1988 seems to be the turning point for a lot of these high water mark shows to materialize.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the Disney stuff holds up very well. Gummi Bears and Rescue Rangers do skew very young, but they're exceptional kids shows. Even by today's standards. I think Disney was the turning point with WB following close behind.

There were marked improvements in animation and story quality in the early '80s with certain DiC shows like 'Inspector Gadget' and 'Ulysses' due to the fact that they were outsourced to Japan. They hold up alright but not to the same extent as the later Disney stuff, of course.
 
C

crackhead_bob

Member
Caddywompus said:
David the Gnome fits your qualifications too

Mighty Mouse

Danger Mouse (though I never saw that)

Does the "And Friends" half of Garfield count?

Disney's Gummy Bears
Click to expand...

Yeah, that was a weird show. Wasn't it? Used to catch it on Nickelodeon back in the day? Was that Japanese or German? Canadian, perhaps?
 
D

DeaconKnowledge

Member
SonicMegaDrive said:
Yeah, the Disney stuff holds up very well. Gummi Bears and Rescue Rangers do skew very young, but they're exceptional kids shows. Even by today's standards. I think Disney was the turning point with WB following close behind.

There were marked improvements in animation and story quality in the early '80s with certain DiC shows like 'Inspector Gadget' and 'Ulysses' due to the fact that they were outsourced to Japan. They hold up alright but not to the same extent as the later Disney stuff, of course.
Click to expand...

Inspector Gadget does NOT hold up. At all.

It was the same one note driven to the ground, and not in a cute Get Smart way.
 
SonicMegaDrive

SonicMegaDrive

Member
crackhead_bob said:
Yeah, that was a weird show. Wasn't it? Used to catch it on Nickelodeon back in the day? Was that Japanese or German? Canadian, perhaps?
Click to expand...

David the Gnome was Spanish animation. It's a bit sloppy, but it's unique. David the Gnome manages to hold up well because it's a show that tries to teach children good morals without talking down to them.
 
C

crackhead_bob

Member
SonicMegaDrive said:
David the Gnome was Spanish animation. It's a bit sloppy, but it's unique. David the Gnome manages to hold up well because it's a show that tries to teach children good morals without talking down to them.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I never found that show to be offensive. 1980's seemed to be the decade of post episode PSA's. I remember a He-Man PSA where Ram Man explains to viewers that smashing their heads into solid objects is not safe to do. Youtube probably has that PSA hidden somewhere, but I don't feel like hunting for it.
 
C

Caddywompus

Member
crackhead_bob said:
Yeah, I never found that show to be offensive. 1980's seemed to be the decade of post episode PSA's. I remember a He-Man PSA where Ram Man explains to viewers that smashing their heads into solid objects is not safe to do. Youtube probably has that PSA hidden somewhere, but I don't feel like hunting for it.
Click to expand...

Ah, man I miss PSA's. Modern shows could use more of those but which shows could you really tact on to the end now?

Those PSA's clearly had a positive influence on you otherwise you wouldn't be able to create this thread if you smashed your head into solid objects as a kid.
 
F

FairFriend

Member
crackhead_bob said:
If it's part of a continuum of influence, then yes, I suppose.
Click to expand...

What do you mean by that? If anime do count, there are countless shows to chose from. My obvious choice would be Rose of Versailles (although MyAnimeList tells me that it aired in fall 1979).

Another one would be Maison Ikkoku.
 
TheRedSnifit

TheRedSnifit

Member
crackhead_bob said:
Yeah, I never found that show to be offensive. 1980's seemed to be the decade of post episode PSA's. I remember a He-Man PSA where Ram Man explains to viewers that smashing their heads into solid objects is not safe to do. Youtube probably has that PSA hidden somewhere, but I don't feel like hunting for it.
Click to expand...

giphy.gif
 
C

crackhead_bob

Member
FairFriend said:
What do you mean by that? If anime do count, there are countless shows to chose from. My obvious choice would be Rose of Versailles (although MyAnimeList tells me that it aired in fall 1979).

Another one would be Maison Ikkoku.
Click to expand...

I'm not familiar with anime, so I'm basically saying anything goes. On American cartoons in the 1980's, I find myself struggling to find shows that have managed to earn the same mythical status as shows from earlier and later decades. To me, it just seemed like American cartoons from the 1970's and 80's came off the assembly line. Hanna Barbara's dominance during this period didn't produce much quality output that endures today.
 
F

FairFriend

Member
crackhead_bob said:
I'm not familiar with anime, so I'm basically saying anything goes. On American cartoons in the 1980's, I find myself struggling to find shows that have managed to earn the same mythical status as shows from earlier and later decades. To me, it just seemed like American cartoons from the 1970's and 80's came off the assembly line. Hanna Barbara's dominance during this period didn't produce much quality output that endures today.
Click to expand...

Ah, now I get it. Well, the aforementioned Rose of Versailles has been very influential. Well into the 90's shows like Revolutionary Girl Utena were still tracking clues from it.
 
C

crackhead_bob

Member
FairFriend said:
Ah, now I get it. Well, the aforementioned Rose of Versailles has been very influential. Well into the 90's shows like Revolutionary Girl Utena were still tracking clues from it.
Click to expand...

Since pickings were slim in the 1980's, what crappy shows helped pave the way for more better executed programs in later years -- either as a genuine evolution within any given genre, or as parodies, such as what would later come to fruition in adult swim. G.I.Joe come off as campy today, but are there any positive successors today who have managed to move past their limitation to the next level?
 
F

FairFriend

Member
crackhead_bob said:
Since pickings were slim in the 1980's, what crappy shows helped pave the way for more better executed programs in later years -- either as a genuine evolution within any given genre, or as parodies, such as what would later come to fruition in adult swim. G.I.Joe come off as campy today, but are there any positive successors today who have managed to move past their limitation to the next level?
Click to expand...

I would argue that the situation for anime is the exact opposite, by saying which I mean that many shows of the 80's are considered to be among the best that have ever been produced. Anyway, having seen a lot of those Hanna Barbera cartoons too I understand where you are coming from, although I must say that here in Italy anime were much more popular, especially in the 80's, hence my, perhaps, skewed view.
 
SonicMegaDrive

SonicMegaDrive

Member
FairFriend said:
I would argue that the situation for anime is the exact opposite, by saying which I mean that many shows of the 80's are considered to be among the best that have ever been produced. Anyway, having seen a lot of those Hanna Barbera cartoons too I understand where you are coming from, although I must say that here in Italy anime were much more popular, especially in the 80's, hence my, perhaps, skewed view.
Click to expand...

I agree. Personally, I find many of the Japanese shows produced in the '80s more easy to digest than even the stuff being made today.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Lara Croft Crowned Most Iconic Video Games Character of All Time, According to BAFTA Poll
2 3 4 5
208
7K
ResurrectedContrarian replied
  • Locked
Gamingbolt interview with Cobra Kai 2 Director: I think in general [The] Series S should hold up for a good while.
21
1K
Eddie-Griffin replied
PlayStation 3 Games That Desperately Need a PS5 Remaster/Remake
Opinion Platform 2
68
2K
Hoppa replied
Coming to Xbox Game Pass: Party Animals, Gotham Knights, Payday 3 , and More
25
2K
poppabk replied
Xbox partners with popular South American kids Show '31 minutes' launching ad for Xbox Series S. Voiced by star Juan Carlos, already selling out.
27
2K
jigglet replied
Top Bottom