THE 80's & 90's : The Golden Age of Cartoons

[Sawyer]

I'm an old-ass mofo, but I agree that the 80s and 90s were the best.

The cartoons I liked as a little kid during the 70s are pretty much unwatchable now due to the poor animation and simplistic storylines.

There are a few exceptions however:

Johnny Quest
Star Blazers (AKA: Space Battleship Yamato)
Battle of the Planets (AKA: G-Force/ Gatchaman)
Force Five (various giant robot series)

Note that those last 3 were all Japanese anime.

Jonny Quest was, IMO, the best pre-80's/90's action-adventure cartoon. :up;

 

[Jake Cassidy]

Animaniacs

Fin.

Greatest cartoon ever. t:

 

[Thundarr]

Another one of my favorites.

Hulk Hogan's Rock & Wrestling

I loved the little comedy sketches the wrestlers would star in between stories. One had Bobby "The Brain" Heenan selling hot dogs for $0.50 each. Mean Gene buys one and takes a bite only to find it's covered in hot sauce and jalapeno peppers. He asks for a bottle of water, which Heenan sells him for $10. Another had Andre The Giant meeting a guy fishing at the lake. Andre says "I can show you an easier way to do that." The fisherman says "Sure". Then Andre yells "I WANT SOME FISH!" And a fish jumps out of the lake into Andre's hands. And that's just the live action sketches. The cartoons themselves were awsome too.

 

[jdogg willie]

There was a cartoon featuring Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, and Bo Jackson, together. I forgot the name, but I think all three did their own voices.

Oh, Dungeons & Dragons pawns all. C'mon four kids ride a Dungeons & Dragons roller coaster and gets transported to a supernaturalistic medevil time

 

[3dman27]

There was a cartoon featuring Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, and Bo Jackson, together. I forgot the name, but I think all three did their own voices.

PROSTARS was the series name

 

[superhero]

does any one rmber the mc hammercartoon? i can't think of the name.i just rember wish kid with the kid who play in home alone. he did the voice. does any one rember bettle jucie, james bond jr and centurnie? they were like team. they had these suits that truned into vechiles like airplane or boat . didthey make batttle toads cartoon? i rember the game. i know they made earth worm jim and men in black cartoon. does any onerember weres wado cartoon? it was great cartoon.

 

[Sawyer]

Beetlejuice was a great cartoon. I also loved the 90s Addams Family cartoon.

 

[Kane52630]

i finally found a site where they show all the tv shows from the 90's and 80's for free
now watching Spiderman TAS

 

[3dman27]

does any one rmber the mc hammercartoon? i can't think of the name.i just rember wish kid with the kid who play in home alone. he did the voice. does any one rember bettle jucie, james bond jr and centurnie? they were like team. they had these suits that truned into vechiles like airplane or boat . didthey make batttle toads cartoon? i rember the game. i know they made earth worm jim and men in black cartoon. does any onerember weres wado cartoon? it was great cartoon.

i think HAMMER MAN was the cartoons name

 

[Thundarr]

Oh, Dungeons & Dragons pawns all. C'mon four kids ride a Dungeons & Dragons roller coaster and gets transported to a supernaturalistic medevil time

It was six kids, not four.

Hank The Ranger

Eric The Cavalier

Diana The Acrobat

Presto The Wizard

Sheila The Thief

Bobby The Barbarian

 

[Thundarr]

I used to like Turbo Teen. I remember being upset that they cancelled it without ever revealing who the guy in the monster truck was.

Mighty Orbots was also a favorite of mine.

Being a big fan of the Star Wars movies, I also enjoyed Droids and Ewoks.

At the time that they were on, I really enjoyed Mork & Mindy, Lavern & Shirley and Fonzy & The Happy Days Gang. But now that I know that Thundarr The Barbarian was cancelled to make room for these shows, I don't like them anymore.

 

[Wheels]

i finally found a site where they show all the tv shows from the 90's and 80's for free
now watching Spiderman TAS

Link please.

 

[Thundarr]

Link please.

^^^ I second this motion ^^^!

 

[NWBEARCATFAN]

Silverhawks
Thundercats
Robotech
Transformers
Voltron
Captain N The Game Master
Star Wars Droids
M.A.S.K.
Visionairies
Go Bots (Yes I liked Leader One)
Batman TAS
TMNT
Spiderman AHAF
TIH
G.I. Joe
Photon (If you don't remember think lazer tag)

 

[mastermindjcg]

Okay, first of all, I find the thread title misleading, 80's and 90's the golden age? Exsqueeze me??? Baking powder??? Even if this was to imply that it was a golden age for Television cartoons, you'd still be way way way off, junior. I dig the 80's and 90's toons, myself. I grew up on them, BUT, I also grew up on the cartoons that preceded them which are the genuine Golden Age toons, Looney Toons, Flintstones, Jetsons, Rocky and Bullwinkle, for Chrissakes! If you're gonna idolize the ink and paint legends, show a little respect for all of them, not just the ones that were during your time.

-so sayeth the mastermind-

 

[bullets]

^ Those mentioned were great cartoons

 

[Ratcrawler]

I think the biggest difference between cartoons then and now is that the best cartoons used to be on network tv whereas now they're all on cable.

I think for the most part though, todays cartoons are on par with those we grew up with in the 80s & 90s. In some cases even better. Aged cynicism & nostalgia are really the only things saying otherwise. The same way people over 50 claim music's gone downhill since the Beatles, 20 somethings ***** and moan about cartoons not being as good.

You know what I do miss though? Cartoon sPinoffs from live action movies. Free Willy, Men in Black, Godzilla. Damn, I miss Godzilla the series. Say what you will about the movie, but a cartoon about globe-trotting scientists studying monsters with a giant fire breathing reptile bodyguard was one of the best things to come on Saturday mornings. It was also surprisingly adult-oriented.

 

[8wid]

I think for the most part though, todays cartoons are on par with those we grew up with in the 80s & 90s. In some cases even better. Aged cynicism & nostalgia are really the only things saying otherwise. The same way people over 50 claim music's gone downhill since the Beatles, 20 somethings ***** and moan about cartoons not being as good.

I disagree, there has been a movement since the early 2000s by many studios to remove most of the animated content from cable channels. The primetime networks have increased, but others have almost purged their lineups of cartoons. Even more the cartoons today now have weaker storytelling than their predecessors did. It depresses me that content like NickToons are nearly extinct, and channels like Cartoon Network are being as marketing tools for other genres of entertainment completely unrelated to the channel. I've written this before, networks are in decline because they are keeping towards their original theme for cheap entertainment that created the network. For example, when's the last time you heard anything on Nickelodeon hint that it was still "the first for kid's network?" So much is about what sells merchandise now.

 

[Thundarr]

You know what I do miss though? Cartoon sPinoffs from live action movies. Free Willy, Men in Black, Godzilla. Damn, I miss Godzilla the series. Say what you will about the movie, but a cartoon about globe-trotting scientists studying monsters with a giant fire breathing reptile bodyguard was one of the best things to come on Saturday mornings. It was also surprisingly adult-oriented.

I agree with you in some aspects. What's New Scooby Doo is better than Scooby Doo, Where Are You? JLA is better than Superfriends. The 1990s Amazing Spiderman TAS is better than Spiderman & His Amazing Friends. On the other hand, Batman TAS and Batman Beyond, are better than The Batman and Batman: The Brave & The Bold cartoons that are on TV now. The 1990s Amazing Spiderman cartoon is better than the one that's on TV right now.

I too miss the cartoons that are based on movies though. Which Godzilla cartoon are you referring to? The one from the 80s based on the original Japanese monster movie? Or are you talking about the one based on that Matthew Broderick piece of crap?

 

[3dman27]

The 1990s Amazing Spiderman cartoon is better than the one that's on TV right now.

thats affirmative

 

[ObakeTora]

80's
mighty ****ing Orbots
Robotech
Heathcliff
Captain N
Kid Video
Smurfs
Garfield
The Littles
Ulysses/Rainbow/Popples
G.I. Joe
Transformers
Rock n' Wrestling
Belle & Sebastian
Cities of Gold
Galaxy Rangers
Tetsujin 28 1980

90's
Street Fighter
Mortal Kombat
Pokemon (1st, 2nd season only)
Captain Simmion and the Space Monkeys
Batman
X-men
Gargolyes
Bobby's World
Life with Louie
Spiderman

 

[Ace of Knaves]

Anyone remember the Earthworm Jim cartoon? Epic viewing right there.