LOC 74- Top 50 Cartoons of the 80's

[Rainbow Dash]

The Muppet babies have not aged well at all. 

Honestly shocked Simpsons wasn't #1 and for all the anime that made the list, Gundam didn't make the list.

[Darth Geek]

Good pick for #1. I'm actually surprised Transformers wasn't #1, although I knew it would rank high.

By the way, you have the wrong poster for The Real Ghostbuster. It's the same one for Transformers.

[Quantum Vagina]

Good pick for #1. I'm actually surprised Transformers wasn't #1, although I knew it would rank high.

By the way, you have the wrong poster for The Real Ghostbuster. It's the same one for Transformers.

Liar. No one likes a liar.

[Pak-Man]

Quantum Vagina’s take - I feel like I’ve seen this before, but younger me didn’t like it. In all fairness, I wasn’t really into the Muppets until I got older, when I could appreciate how awesome they were. It also doesn’t help that I keep getting it mixed up in my head with that show where the Looney Toons were babies, and so I don’t know which one I actually enjoyed.

If you enjoyed it, it was probably Muppet Babies. I don't think it's possible to derive joy from Baby Looney Tunes.

The Simpsons didn't make my list because, as an '80s cartoon, it only really has  the Tracy Ulman shorts and "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" to claim. Now when we do the '90s toon list, you'll see some Simpsons. :^)

Wouldn't have called Ducktales at #1. It was a good cartoon, sure, but trumping Transformers and The Real Ghostbusters?

[Johnny Unusual]

#10 –Garfield and Friends

(87 Points) 6 of 13 Lists - Highest Ranking - #4 - goflyblind

I don't really care for it, but Lorenzo Music IS Garfield.

#8 –The Secret of NIMH

(95 Points) 6 of 13 Lists - Highest Ranking - #4 - ColeStratton, Rainbow Dash

I'm not a big Don Bluth fan.  I get sick of his brand of cutesiness and humour REAL fast.  But he sure can animate and this has probably the richest story of all of his works.  Solid stuff that's both dark, hopeful and exciting.

#7 –Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

(98 Points) 7 of 13 Lists - Highest Ranking - #5 - Pak-Man

Not so much of a Turtles fan anymore (I did rather like the 2000's series a bit) but I loved it when I was a kid and I think those characters had a lot more personality than the heroes of, say GI Joe (how boring was Duke.  Answer, very).

#6 –Inspector Gadget

(99 Points) 7 of 13 Lists - Highest Ranking - #2 - gojikranz

HOLY SHIT THAT POSTER IS AWESOME!  I loved Inspector Gadget.  Not all of the humour works for me, but this stayed on the list in a way that Joe, Thundercats and other shows I loved as a kid haven't.  One reason is that Don Adams is peerless as Gadget.  It has a solid formula and there's something perfect about the character and the structure.

According to the toy line, Inspector Gadget looked like this:



Go to hell, toy line.  Still better than Rupert Evertt, I guess.

#5 –Muppet Babies

(106 Points) 8 of 13 Lists - Highest Ranking - #1 - goflyblind

Ooh, I didn't put this on my list, but now I wish I did.  Again, the jokes probably don't hold up well, but I think the way it used film footage was really cool.  Of course, that's also why you will NEVER see it on DVD.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/_AYLjZso8T4" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/_AYLjZso8T4</a>

#4 –The Simpsons

(121 Points) 6 of 13 Lists - Highest Ranking - #1 - ColeStratton

This one feels like a cheat, unless you really like the Christmas special.  I think that and MAYBE one more episode aired (more like errored) in the 80's.  But if you really like that one (it is easily the best season one episode, though the episode with Albert Brooks comes close) then by all means.

#3 –Transformers

(134 Points) 8 of 13 Lists - Highest Ranking - #1 - Darth Geek

Transformers doesn't hold up for me as a show but those are some incredible toys and it had incredible intros.

#2 –The Real Ghostbusters

(137 Points) 8 of 13 Lists - Highest Ranking - #1 - Pak-Man, gojikranz

[img

http://I hear the story telling is pretty good on this show, outside of Slimer, but I haven't seen it in so long and it didn't stay with me aside from a few plots (that creepy one where the team all gets part of a ghost's face attached to their chests) to vote for it.

#1 –DuckTales

(142 Points) 8 of 13 Lists - Highest Ranking - #1 - Johnny Unusual

I won!  And, in a way, we all did.  Ducktales is an AMAZING kids show.  This show has it's flaws: I could use less Webby and Bubba and Gizmoduck joining the cast were big mistakes.  Don't get me wrong, I like Gizmoduck (go to hell, Bubba) but he really stole the show too often and overstayed his welcome.

But it has some great animation, great characters (Scrooge is so awesome) and fun, clever stories.  How great is it that an adventure show has an old man as the lead.  Alan Young was so perfect for this role, I hear only Scrooge in all of his roles.

It's also very 80's and yet isn't too dated.  I wouldn't go as far as to say that it has a "Gordon Gecko says Greed is Good" message but it all revolved around Scrooge's love of wealth and never shamed him for loving it, just for taking it too far at times.  And it occasionally told stories from the original comics, such as the Glittering Goldie story.

Warning, this gets creepy.  And then, hilarious!
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/NmpAx8Z5z40" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/NmpAx8Z5z40</a>

[Johnny Unusual]

Thanks so much for hosting this one Quantum Vagina.  It was a real treat.  And don't feel bad about the schedule.  I think it went really well and bought us some time for the Halloween one.

Also, can we agree that the 80's rocked the art of the opening.  There were some good ones in the 90's, but too many just used footage from the show and the opening almost always looked 10 times better than in the show.

[Pak-Man]

Best animated TV Show openings would make a pretty awesome list, actually.

[Johnny Unusual]

Too many to count, friend.

[Pak-Man]

My list:
1. The Real Ghostbusters
2. Transformers
3. The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley
4. Danger Mouse
5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
6. Garfield and Friends
7. Count Duckula
8. Captain N: The Gamemaster
9. Ducktales
10. Q*Bert
11. Donkey Kong
12. Alftales
13. Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea
14. Droids
15. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
16. Pac-Man
17. The Super Mario Bros. Super Show
18. Muppet Babies
19. Chip & Dale's Rescue Rangers
20. ALF
21. Ewoks
22. Jetsons
23. Fat Albert
24. Dragon's Lair
25. Thundercats

[Mrs. Dick Courier]

eh, I was wrong

And no She ra?  You male pigs!

[Darth Geek]

Quantum Vagina did a good job with the list.

Here's mine. Most all of them made it. I am surprised I am the only one that put Transformers at #1

1. Transformers
2. The Real Ghostbusters
3. The Secret of Nymh
4. Duck Tales
5. Wallace & Gromit: A Grand Day Out
6. Muppet Babies
7. Thundercats
8. Garfield and Friends
9. Inspector Gadget
10. Mickey's Christmas Carol
11. Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers
12. The Great Mouse Detective
13. Beetlejuice
14. The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show
15. The Brave Little Toaster
16. Dino-Riders
17. Spiderman and his Amazing Friends
18. Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids
19. G.I. Joe
20. Smurfs
21. Dungeons & Dragons

[Rainbow Dash]

My list.

1.  Laputa:  Castle in the Sky
2.  Who Framed Roger Rabbit
3.  The Simpsons
4.  My Neighbor Totoro
5.  The Secret of Nimh
6.  Nausicaa Of The Valley of the Wind
7.  Kiki's Delivery Service
8.  Grave of the Fireflies
9.  Ducktales
10.  Ranma 1/2
11.  Mobile Suit Gundam
12.  All Dogs Go To Heaven
13.  Transformers
14.  An American Tale
15.  The Last Unicorn
16.  Vampire Hunter D
17.  Kimagure Orange Road
18.  The Great Mouse Detective
19.  Mickey's Christmas Carol
20.  The Little Mermaid
21.  Maison Ikkoku
22.  Thundercats
23.  Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers
24.  Unico:  The Island of Magic
25.  Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!)

26.  The Brave Little Toaster (if you chose not to count Who Framed Roger Rabbit)

[Nunyerbiz]

Had I made a list, I don't know if DuckTales would have been at the top... But yea, it was a really good show. I was middle school / high school age during it's run, but watched it on a regular basis... Still remember getting into fights with my little sister when she wanted to flip to Kids Incorporated or some equally stupid shit.

A co-worker has a bunch of Real Ghostbusters episodes on DVD... and while I had no intention of revisiting 100+ episodes of the show, what I did watch held up well. The animation is pretty sketchy in places, but the voice cast was good and it had the same goofball charm I remembered loving as a kid... I even liked the Slimer-centric stuff.

Even as a kid, I thought the Transformers series was a mess... Although that was probably partly due to not seeing the movie at the time and being all confused when characters started disappearing... Starscream was always great fun, even if I always preferred Cobra Commander... But I was never too much into the toys. Maybe I was just lazy, but who the hell wanted to play with a damn 18 wheeler? And I had plenty of other toy cars and planes...  So they just always stayed in robot form... Fighting robots are cool, turning it into a tape deck was a corny gimmick... even when I was 10 years old. And you couldn't be remotely rough with them... no tossing them around the backyard after your pretend explosions like you could do with your GI Joes or Star Wars guys... I dunno, just never got the phenomenon. Of course I loaded up on them one x-mas, just so I wouldn't be the outcast, but they never really pulled me in.

[Johnny Unusual]

Mine was a little more oddball.

1. DuckTales
2. Touch
This is a criminally underseen series, but I understand why: it is a lot more low key than a lot of anime, especially sports and teen rom-com anime.  It focuses on a pair of twin brothers (Katsuya and Tatsuya), one of whom is the most popular kid in school and an ace on the baseball team and the other is lazy and womanizing.  They live next to a girl who they grew up with.  As the show goes on, we learn that Tatsuya actually has more potential but, like Mycroft Holmes, is just too lazy to persue.  Amazingly, the series shifts in a shocking way in a wordless, subtle episode that acts as an emotional gut punch.  It's a really impressive and underseen series.  It is 100 episodes long and ends with a really satisfying finale.  Just thinking about it makes me want to tear up.  Amazing cast and a great sports story.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/lOdGXe8F1H8" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/lOdGXe8F1H8</a>
3. A Grand Day Out
4. Dragonball (I know I'm in the minority, but I much prefer Dragonball to Dragonball Z.  It's faster, funnier and while the fights are a little less intense, they are more imaginative.)
5. Ranma 1/2
6. The Wizard of Oz
I mentioned this one before.  Great introduction to the world.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/aPy4_f5alKA" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/aPy4_f5alKA</a>
7. Galaxy Express 999
I talked about this one too.  It started in the 70's, but finished in the 80's.  It's about a future where spacecrafts can look like anything, even trains.  A boy  head on a space train to another world to get a robot body, so the boy can fulfill his mother's wish that he be immortal.  As the series continues, the character begins to see that immortality comes at a price and doesn't always lead to happiness.  Will he stick to his decision when he finally gets there.  And if he does... will he have a choice.
You can find the whole show for free on the site Crunchy Roll.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/Gq-b_iNrQaQ" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/Gq-b_iNrQaQ</a>
8. Glass Mask
Another anime, this one is strongest in it's first stories, then overstays its welcome a bit.  Still, it is a very fun and addictive melodrama.  A scarred, aging, bitter actress discovers a young girl in the Cinderella vein (re: asshole parents, poor as hell, kind and gentle) who ha the potential to become a great actress.  The character uses her wits and her acting ability to overcome adversity and a rival theatre company.  My favourite bit involved the main character dealing with all of her co-stars in a stage production of Snow White stranded in a van before the show.  Without her co-stars, our hero quickly plays the lead and turns it into a one woman show by pulling a Bob Newhart and letting her words and responses speak for what the other characters would be saying.  The comic getsa ridiculous at times since it is about characters strongly tied to method acting to the point that they'll electrocute or burn themselves to get into character.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1aopm_glass-no-kamen-opening_music
There was a later series, but it felt too preppy and polished rather than putting emphasis on the difficulty of the character acheiving her dream.

9. Count Duckula
10. Akira             
11. Robotech
12. Muppet Babies (Cool, I thought I forgot this)
13. The Secret of NIMH
14. The Brave Little Toaster
15. The Last Unicorn
16. Vampire Hunter D
17. Astro Boy
This had some good animation and interesting stories.  Atlas was a cool, tragic villain and I think Slippery is kind of a cool villain too (although looking him up, I can't find him.  Did I remember his name wrong?)
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/6O7qBbdZZYE" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/6O7qBbdZZYE</a>
18. The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin
19. Inspector Gadget
20. Chip & Dale’s Rescue Rangers
21. The Raccoons and the Lost Star
This is a weird one: before the Raccoons was a family drama type kids show, they made a TV movie where it is a Star Wars like adventure.  Weird.
22. The Raccoons
23. They Were Eleven
I don't remember how well this obscure anime film holds up, but I remember it being an interesting piece of hard sci-fi with a nice premise: 10 space cadets from all walks of life enter a space ship for a month long training mission... but when they get in there are 11.  And no one can seem to keep track of who was or wasn't with them to begin with...

[Tripe]

1   Grave of the Fireflies
2   My Neighbor Totoro
3   Laputa: Castle in the Sky
4   Kiki's Delivery Service
5   Danger Mouse
6   The Trap Door
7   James the Cat
8   Bananaman
9   Alias the Jester
10   Stoppit and Tidyup
11   The Flight of Dragons
12   Bod
13   Willo the Wisp
14   Count Duckula
15   Henry's Cat
16   The Real Ghostbusters
17   Moschops
18   Droids
19   Drak Pack
20   Spiderman and his Amazing Friends
21   Galaxy High
22   Dungeons & Dragons
23   The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo
24   Thundercats
25   Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

I think I highlighted all the ones that made it. TMNT is only on there for one character because I thought she was sexy even then.