4 Great 1980s Cartoons That Every 90s Kid Missed Out On But Still Need to Watch

I realize that I am going to sound old when I say this, but kids these days do not know what they missed out on when it comes to the glory that was Saturday morning cartoons. While the traditional block of animated Saturday morning programming ended back in 2014 when The CW (of all networks) phased out their animation block, the institution had slowly been disappearing since 1992 when NBC started replacing their lineup with teen programming. But for a while, Saturday morning cartoons was where it was at and 80s kids were particularly blessed — we had some of the best cartoons ever to enjoy while our parents tried to sleep in. Sure, 90s kids got some good ones, too but it’s those early 80s offerings that were peak.

Here are four such 1980s cartoons. While I’m not saying that some 90s kids didn’t get a chance to see them — syndication was a thing and depending on where you lived, some of these might have shown up for you much later than their original runs — what I am saying is that these either debuted early enough in the 1980s or ran for such short periods of time that it’s mostly just a group of 80s kids who got to bask in their glory — but even today they’re so good that we want the 90s kids to check them out. And okay, everyone else can come along, too.

4) Care Bears

Care Bears wasn’t just a television series; it was a whole franchise. The multi-colored bears that featured different emotions and personalities started out as art for greeting cards in 1981, then became wildly popular plushies, got animated television specials in 1983 and 984, and then got their own animated television series, aptly called Care Bears starting in 1985. The original series, which came from DIC Enterprises is the specific series I’m talking about here, though two additional series would follow it from 1986 to 1988 as produced by Toronto’s Nelvana studio. It’s a reboot, it’s fine. We’re talking about DIC Care Bears here. That series ran for 11 episodes in syndication. It followed the adorable bears and their Cousins (other, non-bear animals) who live in the cloud kingdom called Care-a-Lot as they come to Earth to help kids learn about emotions and help them solve problems. The series had some pretty interesting villains, too. Professor Coldheart and his sidekick Frostbite were notable, as was Auntie Freeze. The show is adorable and surprisingly ahead of its time in terms of teaching children emotional intelligence.

That said, the DIC series isn’t without controversy. The series sparked a lot of debate and discussion about the way cartoons pushed products onto children, with some seeing the cartoon as little more than a program length commercial designed to push kids to want their parents to buy the Care Bears toys. The situation was part of what would ultimately prompt the FCC to review the limits around children’s advertising, a legacy that continues to this day.

3) SilverHawks

When we talk about great 1980s cartoons, we often talk about ThunderCats but may I interest you in another Rankin/Bass Productions carton that I can really only describe as ThunderCats but in space? Debuting in syndication in 1986 for just one season of 65 episodes, SilverHawks is exactly that: a space-set ThunderCats. It’s set in the 29th century in the Limbo Galaxy and follows the SilverHawks, a group of “partly metal, partly real” heroes recruited by bionic space enforcer Commander Stargazer to fight evil, escaped alien crime boss MonStar. MonStar, who transforms into this wild armor-plated thing and has a mob with the likes of characters called Buzz-Saw, Mumbo-Jumbo, Windhammer, Yes-Man, Mo-Lec-U-Lar, Poker-Face, Hardware, and Melodia. The heroes are equally interesting. You have Quicksilver and his bird friend Tally-Hawk, Steelheart and Steelwill who are twins, a country singing guy named Bluegrass, and a kid who speaks only in computer tones called The Copper Kidd.

Does it sound crazy? Yes. But it’s awesome, and the best part is looking to see what the villain designs will be each episode. Even though the series had just the one season, it also got action figures, other merch, and at one point even had its own Marvel Comics comic book series. The MCU could never.

2) Adventures of the Gummi Bears

Of all the series on this list, this is the one that 90s kids might have actually had a chance to see for three key reasons. The first is its length. Adventures of the Gummi Bears debuted in 1985 and would ultimately run for six total seasons. The second is that five of those seasons were on major broadcast networks — NBC first and then ABC, and the third is that the series was produced by Walt Disney Television Animation (which is how it ended up in syndication as part of The Disney Afternoon for its final year). All of that said, Gummi Bears still feels pretty niche and like something mostly 80s kids remember, which is a shame because it’s genuinely a delight.

The series is, as the name might suggest, loosely inspired by gummy bear candy, but it gives it all a unique high fantasy twist. The series follows the lives of six mystical Gummi Bears in a medieval fantasy world filled with magic. They also have human friends and the series generally follows them all around as they deal with evildoers and take on real problems. The series also included stories that would occasionally span two shorter episodes, which was a nice touch for a kid’s cartoon. The best part of the series, however, might be its theme song. I dare you. not to sing along.

1) Dungeons & Dragons

There is no reality in which this cartoon wouldn’t make this list. Released in 1983, the 3 season, 27-episode Dungeons & Dragons animated series is one of the best cartoons of any era and remains absolutely legendary to this day. As the name of the cartoon might suggest, it’s based on the tabletop role playing game and follows a group of six friends who end up transported in to the game, literally. They end up in the actual realm of Dungeons & Dragons when take a magical dark ride on a roller coaster at an amusement park. Their adventure? They have to find their way home, but they don’t do it alone. They have a Dungeon Master to guide them. It won’t be easy, though as they also have to fight an evil wizard.

The show is great for a lot of reasons. First, if you’ve ever played Dungeons & Dragons, the show really is the game come to life in animation. But more than that, it’s got incredible animation that has held its own over the years and still looks great decades later. It also is a little more mature than what you might expect from Saturday morning fare. It’s just so good and it’s a show that many 80s kids loved — but it is one that everyone should have the chance to watch and enjoy.

What 1980s animated series do you think 90s kids need to check out because they were before their time? Let us know — I’d love to hear your thoughts.