LOC 74- Top 50 Cartoons of the 80's

[Quantum Vagina]

TOP 50 CARTOONS OF THE 80's

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Participants were asked to send a list of their 25 Favorite Animated Shows/Movies that were at least in part produced from January 1st, 1980 to December 31st, 1989. 13 ballots were received with 148 unique entries, and those ranked on a point system allowing 25 points for a #1 choice, 24 for a #2, and all the way down to 1 point for #25. The points were added up, and what follows are the selections.

Tiebreakers work like such: If two entries have equal pointage, the entry that appeared on the most lists ranks higher. If those entries appeared on the same amount of lists, then the entry ranked higher on the individual list got the higher spot. An entry that was someone's #4 beats another person's #6, for example. If there was still a tie, then the one with more top votes got the bump. (2 #3 votes beat out 1 #3 vote) And then if the entry was still tied, alphabetical order reigned supreme. Since there was a tie at the bottom of the list, the top 53 choices were represented, with only the one of them making it.

Without further ado, enjoy the top 50 Toy Commercials Cartoons of the ‘80s!

[Quantum Vagina]

The Didn’t Quite Make Its –Urotsukidoji

(23 Points) 1 of 13 Lists - Highest Ranking - #3 – McDonald’s

What did the tentacle say to the school girl?

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/la8wB1onNog" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/la8wB1onNog</a>

Release Date:  1987


Just the plagarism
Urotsukidōji was created by Toshio Maeda in 1986 and was a huge departure from his earlier works in that it mixed erotica with humor and the supernatural. He was commissioned to do the series for Manga Erotopia, a pornographic manga magazine published by Wani Magazine that deals mostly with avant garde stories. Maeda was picked because of his artistic style which paid incredible attention to detail and for his ability to tell rather good stories with complex plots, unlike most erotic manga artists at the time.

Although the manga would grow a cult following, it was the anime which became notorious. Hideki Takayama took great artistic liberties with the Urotsukidōji story, mixing elements of horror, violence, and sadistic scenes of rape not present in the original work. Maeda himself stated in an issue of Playboy Japan that he found the anime to be repugnant, cruel and sadistic, yet brilliant, he also said he admires Takayama's take on his vision.

The anime series is most famous for being the first in the tentacle rape genre, though only one scene in the first OAV actually contains any tentacle rape. Tentacle rape was not present in the Urotsukidōji manga but was featured in a series that he would publish years later called Demon Beast Invasion. Takayama was incredibly influenced by this work of Maeda's but thought that the Urotsukidōji story was stronger.

In an interview as to why Hideki Takayama chose to tell such a violent and sadistic story he said "There is nothing that arouses a stronger response in human beings than either sex or violence. A mixture of the two is very powerful indeed." Today Urotsukidōji, as well as its later sequels, are infamous, not just in Japan, but in the rest of the world as well. According to The Erotic Anime Movie Guide, it is the most recognized adult anime in the world.

Quantum Vagina’s take - It takes more to get me into something than sex and violence, Takayama. There’s gotta be some love in there. Consentacles>Tentacle Rape any day of the week. Also, I know I said I’d watch an episode if I hadn’t seen it before, but… nah… Not for this...

[Quantum Vagina]

The Didn’t Quite Make Its –The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimly

(23 Points) 1 of 13 Lists - Highest Ranking - #3 – Pak-Man

A crossbreed of Gilbert Gottfried and Alfalfa

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/U5VsIkoyAR4" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/U5VsIkoyAR4</a>

Release Date:  1988

Just the plagarism
The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley is a 1988 animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera starring Martin Short's Ed Grimley as well as other characters and actors from Second City's SCTV. Only one season of 13 episodes was produced. Despite the short run, the show is the only Saturday morning animated adaptation of both an SCTV character and a Saturday Night Live character.

Episodes featured Ed Grimley in adventures, which start out as mundane, but turn very surreal and cartoonish, interspersed with science lessons from The Amazing Gustav Brothers, Roger and Emil, and a live-action segment with a "scary story" presented as a show-within-a-show by Grimley's favorite television host, SCTV's Count Floyd (played by SCTV cast member Joe Flaherty). Grimley's fellow cartoon characters included Grimley's landlord Leo Freebus (voiced by Jonathan Winters), Leo's wife Deidre (Andrea Martin), his ditzy, amateur actress neighbor Ms. Malone (voiced by Catherine O'Hara; a female character by the name of Ms. Malone did appear on an SNL version of an Ed Grimley sketch on the season ten episode hosted by Alex Karras, but Ms. Malone was played by that episode's musical guest Tina Turner), and her little brother, Wendell.

Guest stars on the show included Christopher Guest and SCTV alumni Eugene Levy and Dave Thomas. The show also featured the voices of René Auberjonois, Kenneth Mars, and Arte Johnson from Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In.

While not renewed for a second season, the show was seen in reruns in 1996 on Cartoon Network's unnamed pre-Adult Swim-era late-night programming block, which consisted of such shows as Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, reruns of Looney Tunes cartoon shorts, and repeats of old Hanna-Barbera shows from the 1960s and '70s. Hanna-Barbera sponsored an "Ed Grimley Look-A-Like Contest" midway through the first season, which was won by 10-year-old Matt Mitchell from Des Moines, Iowa.

Quantum Vagina’s take - I tried finding an episode, but Youtube is sorely lacking in it. I managed to find a 3 minute clip where Ed gets sucked up into a tornado in a parody of the Wizard of Oz, and what I saw was pretty funny. Animation is pretty goofy, but it suits the character, so I think it works.

[Quantum Vagina]

The Didn’t Quite Make Its –The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation

(23 Points) 1 of 13 Lists - Highest Ranking - #3 – Mrs. Dick Courier

Why weren’t they called Care-acters?

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZEI2pGSlNsw" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/ZEI2pGSlNsw</a>

Release Date:  1986

Just the plagarism
Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation is a 1986 children's animated film produced by LBS Communications, Inc. and Canadian animation studio Nelvana. The third animated feature from Nelvana, it was directed by Dale Schott, written by Peter Sauder and produced by Nelvana's three founders (Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith). It starred the voices of Alyson Court, Cree Summer, Maxine Miller and Hadley Kay.

In the second film based on the Care Bears franchise, a character called The Great Wishing Star (voiced by Chris Wiggins) tells the origins of the Care Bears, and the story of their first Caring Mission. True Heart Bear and Noble Heart Horse lead the other Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins, as they come to the aid of Christy, a young camper who is tempted by an evil shape-shifting figure named Dark Heart. The film marked the first appearance of the Care Bear Cubs, who also had their own line of toys.

Care Bears Movie II was Nelvana's third animated feature film, after 1983's Rock & Rule and The Care Bears Movie. It marked the directorial debut of Dale Schott, a Nelvana staff member who served as assistant director on the first Care Bears Movie, as well as the Nelvana/Lucasfilm TV series Ewoks. Several other crewmembers from the first film returned to the fold; Nelvana's founders (Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith) served as producers, while Peter Sauder wrote the screenplay and Charles Bonifacio handled animation duties. Jack Chojnacki, the co-president of American Greetings' licensing division Those Characters from Cleveland, served once again as an executive producer.[7] A roster of Toronto voice actors—among them Cree Summer, Sunny Besen Thrasher, Dan Hennessey and Hadley Kay—appeared in this follow-up. Mickey Rooney and Georgia Engel, who appeared in the first film, did not return.

Upon its release in March 1986, A New Generation gained mostly negative critical attention; some of its key elements received comparisons to the German legend Faust and J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan. The film grossed only US$8.5 million in North America, about a third of what the previous instalment earned, and over US$12 million worldwide.A third film starring the title characters, The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland, was released in 1987.

Quantum Vagina’s take - The Care Bears were pretty cool. I haven’t watched the movie yet, but I will this afternoon, and I’ll update this little tidbit accordingly.

[Quantum Vagina]

I'm going to take a little break and eat. I literally rolled out of bed and started copy pasting things. More when we come back.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/HGBCC6ZfNKo" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/HGBCC6ZfNKo</a>

[Darth Geek]

The Didn’t Quite Make Its –The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimly

(23 Points) 1 of 13 Lists - Highest Ranking - #3 – Pak-Man

A crossbreed of Gilbert Gottfried and Alfalfa

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/U5VsIkoyAR4" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/U5VsIkoyAR4</a>

Release Date:  1988

Just the plagarism
The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley is a 1988 animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera starring Martin Short's Ed Grimley as well as other characters and actors from Second City's SCTV. Only one season of 13 episodes was produced. Despite the short run, the show is the only Saturday morning animated adaptation of both an SCTV character and a Saturday Night Live character.

Episodes featured Ed Grimley in adventures, which start out as mundane, but turn very surreal and cartoonish, interspersed with science lessons from The Amazing Gustav Brothers, Roger and Emil, and a live-action segment with a "scary story" presented as a show-within-a-show by Grimley's favorite television host, SCTV's Count Floyd (played by SCTV cast member Joe Flaherty). Grimley's fellow cartoon characters included Grimley's landlord Leo Freebus (voiced by Jonathan Winters), Leo's wife Deidre (Andrea Martin), his ditzy, amateur actress neighbor Ms. Malone (voiced by Catherine O'Hara; a female character by the name of Ms. Malone did appear on an SNL version of an Ed Grimley sketch on the season ten episode hosted by Alex Karras, but Ms. Malone was played by that episode's musical guest Tina Turner), and her little brother, Wendell.

Guest stars on the show included Christopher Guest and SCTV alumni Eugene Levy and Dave Thomas. The show also featured the voices of René Auberjonois, Kenneth Mars, and Arte Johnson from Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In.

While not renewed for a second season, the show was seen in reruns in 1996 on Cartoon Network's unnamed pre-Adult Swim-era late-night programming block, which consisted of such shows as Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, reruns of Looney Tunes cartoon shorts, and repeats of old Hanna-Barbera shows from the 1960s and '70s. Hanna-Barbera sponsored an "Ed Grimley Look-A-Like Contest" midway through the first season, which was won by 10-year-old Matt Mitchell from Des Moines, Iowa.

Quantum Vagina’s take - I tried finding an episode, but Youtube is sorely lacking in it. I managed to find a 3 minute clip where Ed gets sucked up into a tornado in a parody of the Wizard of Oz, and what I saw was pretty funny. Animation is pretty goofy, but it suits the character, so I think it works.

I remeber hearing about this show, but don't think I ever caught it back in the day. I like the Ed Grimley character, and waaay back then Martin Short was hilarious. But the real reason I want to catch up with it now is I had no idea it had Count Floyd, in live action no less. I loved the Count Floyd segments on SCTV!

[Quantum Vagina]

#50 –Babar

(23 Points) 1 of 13 Lists - Highest Ranking - #3 – goflyblind

Ele-fantastic!

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/2LUHCa_jnHE" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/2LUHCa_jnHE</a>

Release Date:  1989

Just the plagarism
Babar is a Canadian/French/Japanese animated television series produced in Quebec, Canada by Nelvana Limited and The Clifford Ross Company. It premiered in 1989 on CBC and HBO, subsequently was rerun on HBO Family and Qubo.The series is based on Jean de Brunhoff's original Babar books, and was Nelvana's first international co-production. The series' 78 episodes have been broadcast in 30 languages in over 150 countries. Episodes of Babar currently air on Ion Television and Qubo.

While the French author Laurent de Brunhoff pronounces the name Babar as "BUH-bar", the TV series in its first five seasons pronounces the name as "BAB-bar".

In 2010, a computer-animated sequel series spin-off of Babar titled Babar and the Adventures of Badou was launched. The new series focuses on a majority of new characters.

Based on the books by Jean de Brunhoff and Laurent de Brunhoff, the plot focuses on the story of Babar as it is told by him to his children. Babar is a young elephant who undergoes many challenges and adventures. However, Babar always finds the strength to rise above difficulty and search out every cloud's silver lining. Babar is crowned king of the elephants, plans and builds Celesteville, and becomes a father himself. And he learns the greatest lesson of all: "despite life's challenges, great things are possible if one never gets discouraged".

As a young boy, Babar witnesses the slaughter of his mother by a hunter and flees from the Great Forest to the city, where he is cared for by a kind Old Lady. Babar learns the workings of the world and returns to elephant land full of ideas for progress in his land. The elephant elders see that Babar has become wise beyond his years and crown him as the New King of elephant land.

Quantum Vagina’s take - I was actually able to find an episode of this! The one I watched is “The Land of Mysterious Water”, and it was pretty good. I was amazed that, no matter how dirty or torn the clothing should have been, it was always pristine. I guess being King of the Elephants gives you some nice perks. Also, screw the monkey.

[Pak-Man]

Ed Grimley is totally worth tracking down. It reran for a while in Cartoon Network's early days, and it holds up really well to my adult(ish) tastes. Maybe even fares a little bit better.

[Darth Geek]

Ed Grimley is totally worth tracking down. It reran for a while in Cartoon Network's early days, and it holds up really well to my adult(ish) tastes. Maybe even fares a little bit better.

Does Netflix have it?

[Pak-Man]

I don't think so. The only way to see it now that I know of is to pick up the slightly overpriced set on Amazon or Warner Direct.

[Quantum Vagina]

#49 –The Raccoons

(23 Points) 2 of 13 Lists - Highest Ranking - #5 – goflyblind

I have an idea: noses at 90 degree angles!

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/BiVOLvhvsyo" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/BiVOLvhvsyo</a>

Release Date:  1985

Just the plagarism
The Raccoons is a Canadian animated television series which was originally broadcast from 1985 to 1991 with three preceding television specials from its inception in 1980 and one direct to video special in 1984. The franchise was created by Kevin Gillis with the co-operation of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

The series revolves around Bert Raccoon and married couple Ralph and Melissa Raccoon, who Bert is a friend and roommate of. The series mostly involved the trio's efforts against the industrialist forces of greedy aardvark millionaire Cyril Sneer, who usually tries to destroy the forest for a quick buck. However, the Raccoons would always save their forest from Cyril's schemes, with help from their forest friends including Schaeffer, a gentle sheepdog, Cedric, Cyril's college graduate son, and Sophia Tutu, Cedric's girlfriend. But, as the show progressed, Cyril became more of a sympathetic character, eventually becoming an anti-hero.
Lessons featured in the show mainly included environmentalism, but also included other lessons, including friendship, and teamwork.

The Raccoons franchise was originally conceived by Kevin Gillis in the 1970s, while appearing in shows like Celebrity Cooks, and Yes You Can. The initial idea for the show was created by Gillis and columnist Gary Dunford (they drew their inspiration for Ralph Raccoon from a dilemma that happened at a cottage in Ottawa). Dunford backed out, but Gillis took his idea to Ottawa lawyer Sheldon S. Wiseman, who saw a potential in Gillis' idea and put together a large group - animators, musicians, and writers, to create the first special to star the characters known as The Christmas Raccoons. Production on the special began in 1979 and completed in 1980, and the special was shown on the December of that same year on CBC Television. It was also shown in countries around the world, including the United States and the United Kingdom. The special was a huge hit and resulted in two sequel specials The Raccoons on Ice and The Raccoons and the Lost Star and a direct-to-video special, The Raccoons: Let's Dance!. In 1981, United States TV networks CBS NBC and ABC approached Sheldon Wiseman about producing a 13 episode Raccoons TV series.[5] In 1984, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and The Disney Channel began funding on the TV series, which cost about $4.5 million to make.

The Raccoons was well received by critics. The New York Times, in its review for their second TV special, said "the Raccoons are an adorable lot, supported nicely by an attractive production." Variety praised the third special, The Raccoons and the Lost Star, calling it "a rollicking good adventure filled with space-age animation, high-tech gadgetry, lilting tunes, a lovable sheepdog, and the delightful Raccoons team."

The show was nominated for many awards, including a Gemini Award for Best Sound and Best Writing, and won the Gemini for Best Animated Series.

Quantum Vagina’s take - I can’t decide if I find this annoying or enjoyable. I watched the episode “Trouble Shooter”, which was pretty… odd. It involved Bert helping young Bentley come to terms with the fact that being a fugitive because you changed your mark in math was a stupid thing to do. I also got to see computers as viewed through the eyes of 80’s children, which is always a hoot.

[Quantum Vagina]

#48 –G-Force

(24 Points) 1 of 13 Lists - Highest Ranking - #2 – McDonald's

Thanks Aggie, you may have saved my life with that yoyo!

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/e2jjCMgGOYw" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/e2jjCMgGOYw</a>

Release Date:  1986

Just the plagarism
G-Force: Guardians of Space (1986) is the second American animated television adaptation of the Japanese anime series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman (1972), following Sandy Frank Entertainment's initial 1978 effort Battle of the Planets and preceding ADV Films recent 2005 attempt, known as just Gatchaman. With G-Force, Sandy Frank Entertainment collaborated with Turner Broadcasting to create a newer, more faithful translation of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman for a new audience, and such a translation was made possible with the relaxed television standards of the 1980s, a luxury that the more Star Wars-themed Battle of the Planets did not enjoy.

With Battle of the Planets having run its course and still holding the domestic rights to the first Gatchaman series, Sandy Frank continued to market BotP wherever they could while seeking ways to continue making use of their license. Interest came from the part of Turner Broadcasting (who was the last to air BotP on a wide scale on their TBS network) in creating a newer, more faithful adaptation of Gatchaman, which would be easier to accomplish with the newly relaxed television standards of the Reagan era-1980s. (Themes such as violence, death and destruction in cartoons were heavily edited, if not cracked down on during the 1970s, which is why Battle of the Planets was so sanitized compared to the original Gatchaman.) Turner executives believed that the series still had potential, and in turn acquired the rights from Sandy Frank to begin work on what would come to be known as G-Force (the same title given to the collective group of protagonists in Battle of the Planets, which in turn would be used for the same purpose on the new version).

To develop this project, Turner enlisted the help of Fred Ladd, a pioneer in the field of translating and distributing Japanese animation in the U.S (with famous works such as Astro Boy, Gigantor & Kimba the White Lion, under his belt) to produce the adaptation. Ladd had previously been offered to produce Battle of the Planets by Sandy Frank himself a few years before, but passed on the offer due to location conflicts; Ladd was working out of New York City at the time, while BotP was being produced in California. Ladd, through his production company "Sparklin' Entertainment", put together two "test" pilot episodes chosen by Turner, and sent them in for approval. Within days, Ladd and his company were given the greenlight to produce the adaptation, and work on "G-Force" began in the fall of 1986. Despite it being handled by Turner & Fred Ladd, Sandy Frank ultimately held the copyrights to the show (along with international distribution rights), while Turner, through its subsidiary Turner Program Services, and King Features Entertainment (a subsidiary of Hearst Corporation) held limited distribution and syndication rights.

Quantum Vagina’s take - Hooty4Life

[Quantum Vagina]

#47 –Here Comes Garfield

(24 Points) 1 of 13 Lists - Highest Ranking - #2 – Mrs. Dick Courier

I prefered Here Comes Garfield Without Garfield

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/cttTPWocWpc" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/cttTPWocWpc</a>

Release Date:  1982

Just the plagarism
Here Comes Garfield is a half-hour animated television special based on the Garfield comic strip. It featured Lorenzo Music as the voice of Garfield. The special was first broadcast October 25, 1982 on CBS. It has been released on both VHS and DVD home video.

Garfield and Odie are outside harassing a neighbor's dog when the owner, Hubert, calls the pound to capture Odie. When the dogcatcher arrives, Garfield flees, but Odie is too stupid to run away and is captured. Garfield decides to go home, but when he attempt to warn Jon about Odie, Jon thinks that Garfield is just suffering fleas and Garfield gives up telling Jon, but realizes how boring life is without Odie around, so that night, Garfield decides to rescue Odie. However, the dogcatcher captures Garfield and later throws him into the pound and learns from a cellmate that Odie is going to be put to sleep in the morning.

During the night, Garfield remembers through his flashbacks of the all good times that he and Odie had playing together and how sad his life would be without him. The next day, the dogcatcher takes Odie down the hall to be euthanized. Meanwhile, a girl arrives at the pound for a pet and chooses Garfield. Garfield realizes that his plan to escape with this and when the cell opens, Garfield runs out the door instead of the girl. The girl just watches in shock as the rest of the dogs escape the way Garfield did. Garfield leads the dogs on a stampede towards the dogcatcher carrying Odie. Garfield and the dogs eventually rescue Odie and breaks down the pound door, with the knocked-out dogcatcher on it. As the dogs run home, Garfield and Odie knock down the front door while Jon is attempting to fix it after Garfield and Odie knocked it down from the beginning. In the end, Jon bets that Garfield and Odie did something wrong in the night while he was worried about them, and Garfield and Odie agree.

The animation for this first Garfield special and the second one, Garfield on the Town, came from the famous Peanuts cartoon team of Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson, giving them a look similar to the Peanuts cartoons. All future specials and the popular Garfield and Friends TV series were animated by Film Roman studios. Also, Jon was voiced by Sandy Kenyon, which his voice would later be taken by Thom Huge.

Quantum Vagina’s take - Unfortunately, I couldn’t watch this one, as Youtube appears to be missing it. Judging from the plot, though, it’s better than recent incarnations of Garfield, by a lot. A LOT.

[Quantum Vagina]

That'll be it for today; I'll post 7 each day, until the last 2, when I'll post 8 and then the top 10 on the final day. That works out to be a week, FYI.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to wash the 80's out of my eyes for a while.

[Johnny Unusual]

Dang.  My number 2 is probably not going to make it (though it's possible, though unlikely that QV voted for it)  It wouldn't bother me so much, but it was just by a hair.  But I really couldn't add any more to my list.  I barely like the stuff at the bottom.

EDIT: The Raccoons isn't really all that good, for the most part, but it wasn't JUST nostalgia that landed it on my list.  It's funny, there aren't a lot of Nelvana shows I really like (American's, take a look at the weakest series on the Cartoon Network and there's a good chance it's a Canadian import from Nelvana), but I like some of the characters.  Bert Raccoon is a little too annoying for me, but I really like Schaeffer the dog (there's just something gentle about him I responded too as a kid).  I also liked the three pig henchmen, the good looking animation (I can't fault them for holding back on that, at least in the early days) and the Lisa Loughheed ending theme, which is a staple of the Canadian childhood experience.  Lisa Loughheed might have been a low rent Cyndi Lauper wannabe, but that's a pretty cool theme for an essentially low stakes kids show.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/80CD_Ez4jXc" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/80CD_Ez4jXc</a>

Since it was a Canadian staple, I was praying for a longshot appearance in the Scott Pilgrim movie, but no luck.

Babar didn't make that list, and I didn't like it that much, but I really like that opening animation.  It sets the mood really well and is a nice mix of animation and music.

I had the last 5 minutes of Here Comes Garfield on VHS and was always dissappointed not to have the whole thing.  Nostalgia doesn't save those specials for me, but I certainly understand the appeal.  Lorenzo Music's lazy easy-going voice is perfect for Garfield and the music that Lou Rawls sings is great.