Have you ever had the name of something on the tip of your tongue, but you just can’t spit it out? We’ve all been there, whether it be in casual conversation with friends or when you’re trying to make a really important point... you sputter right at the critical moment and the momentum is lost. Often, that thing you’re trying to recall is steeped in nostalgia. Maybe it was deeply impactful to you when you were young, but lacked a memorable name. Maybe you never even knew its name, but experienced it in passing or when you were over at a friend’s house.
If you grew up in the ‘80s, or simply have a love for the decade, there’s a good chance a lot of your tip of the tongue moments have to do with cartoons. Who can blame you? There were so many! After all, the names of a lot of ‘80s cartoons boil down to acronyms and toy lines. A lot of them bleed together, too. Shows like M.A.S.K. aped a lot of their premise from G.I. Joe, while there were more Transformers knockoffs than you can feasibly shake a stick at. A cartoon like Ghostbusters is doubly confusing, because it shares its name with the Ghostbusters film franchise, but has nothing to do with it.
Don’t worry, though. There will always be those half-remembered things on the tip of your tongue, but here’s a list of some of the most oft-forgot ‘80s cartoons to sharpen that memory.
27 Working Overtime, Fighting Crime
Cartoons in the ‘80s were all about teams and covert task forces defending the world from great and sinister evils. M.A.S.K., which stands for Mobile Armored Strike Kommand, was the epitome of that premise. The show followed the M.A.S.K. team, helmed by Matt Trakker, as they led an army of transforming vehicles and super weapons into battle against V.E.N.O.M., the Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem. Yeah, acronyms were a thing.
V.E.N.O.M. largely concerned itself with obtaining vast quantities of wealth through nefarious means, though sometimes they were up for the occasional counterfeiting and kidnapping, too. The M.A.S.K. and V.E.N.O.M. teams also had some choice ‘80s cartoon character names in their rosters: Nash Gorey, Maximus Mayhem, Alex Sector and Nevada Rushmore being just a few.
26 Look Around You, There Are Many Things To See
The ‘80s weren’t solely about teams of covert government forces rallying to destroy evil, though. There were a few very chill shows tucked in between the transforming monster trucks and space Westerns. The World of David the Gnome was one of those shows. The show started off as a Spanish animated series, but was eventually localized for English-speaking audiences.
The show follows a 399-year-old gnome named David, who, like most gnomes in the series, lives a simple life in the forest, fixing the things humans break and tending to his family. The show establishes that there are all kinds of gnomes–ones that live in forests, gardens and even a few in Siberia. The gnomes’ main antagonists are Trolls, stupid creatures who cause mischief but turn to stone when exposed to sunlight.
25 We Are A Family
Bionic Six follows Jack Bennett, a test pilot who becomes a scientist’s guinea pig for human bionic enhancement, thus allowing him to become a crimefighting field agent. Jack’s family is buried in an avalanche by an alien ship, which exposes them to what pretty much amounts to space radiation. However, Jack is unaffected by the radiation because of his biotics. Thus, he and the scientist install biotics into his family, saving their lives and turning them into a crimefighting super team.
It’s kind of a weird premise for a kid’s show. The Bionic Six’s main villain was Doctor Scarab, who wants nothing more than to live forever. Which kind of brings to light the show’s themes of longevity and superhuman feats through scientific meddling. But Doctor Scarab also had a monocle that worked like a Dragon Ball Z scouter, so it can’t be all bad.
24 To Preserve The Past And Save The Future
Lazer Tag Academy takes place in a far-flung future where the eponymous laser-based recreational activity is a major sport. One of that sport’s champions, Jamie Jaren, is sent back in time to defend her ancestors from a criminal (also from the future) who woke from suspended animation after his spaceship gets hijacked.
That criminal, Draxon Drear, travels back in time to destroy Jamie’s ancestors because they would go on to create the Starlyte gun and Starsensor, which were the (very real) Lazer Tag products Jamie used to compete in her future Lazer Tag tournaments. Of course, like any good piece of machinery from the future, the gun and sensor would be used to wreak havoc, you guessed it, in the wrong hands. Sadly, we’re still waiting for a Lazer Tag vest that lets us time travel.
23 Your Destiny Will Lead You Wherever People Need You
Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs started life as a moderately successful anime in Japan, but was purchased by World Events Productions, the same company that spearheaded the English version of Voltron. Like Voltron, the English-language version of Saber Rider had its story and characters completely rewritten to become a wholly new show.
Saber Rider sticks pretty close to its Western roots. The show is set in a distant future when humanity has colonized the stars, creating a massive expanse called the New Frontier. Of course, nothing is easy on the New Frontier. Raiders and aliens are always a threat–you know, like the real Wild West. Cavalry Command exists to keep the New Frontier’s settlers safe. Because Saber Rider started off as an anime, both Cavalry Command and the nefarious Outrider faction have starships that turn into cool fighting robots.
22 Friends Together, Friends Forever
Star Wars is all the rage these days. The film franchise was revitalized in 2015 with J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and now the follow-up, Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, is due out this year. There’s a certain something missing in all of these revivals, though, and that’s Ewoks, the furry, forest-dwelling creatures that first appeared in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in 1983.
As it turns out, Ewoks got their due elsewhere in the aptly-titled Star Wars: Ewoks cartoon that debuted a mere two years after Return of the Jedi screened. The series followed the exploits of an Ewok named Wicket W. Warrick, who first appeared in Return of the Jedi. The Ewoks all spoke English in the cartoon, and their primary concern was staying away from Morag the Tulgah Witch and the rival Dulok species.
21 Just Close Your Eyes And Make Believe
The ‘70s might have been all about The Muppets, but the ‘80s were seemingly dominated by the Muppet Babies, especially for kids growing up at the time. The show imagined a kid-friendly version of the Muppets, showing their nursery-bound exploits while under the care of the ever-absent Nanny.
The show’s main focus was imagination, with the babies constantly trying to right minor wrongs using their own creativity. In one episode, Nanny’s newspaper is ruined, so the babies make their own to replace it–and that was just the beginning. The show starred baby versions of some of the most famous Muppets around, like Miss Piggy, Kermit the Frog, Rowlf the Dog and Animal.
Naturally, being Muppets, sometimes their imaginations ran away with them, and they would only make matters worse. Each episode ended with a cheery note on the value of friendship, though.
20 Protecting The World From The Shadow Of Evil And Doom
Mighty Orbots is another animated series that started out as an anime. The series is thought to be a response to the popularity of Transformers, as much of the action takes place from the perspective of pilots who fight for freedom and justice from the seats of lumbering spacefaring robots.
The series takes place in the 23rd century, when Earth has allied with numerous alien species to achieve galactic peace. An evil organization, SHADOW, wants nothing to do with that, though, and instead is determined to rule the galaxy through brute force.
The Orbots ended with a very definitive finale: the SHADOW homeworld was straight-up destroyed. This is pretty unusual for an animated series, as most are more concerned with setting up a second season than telling a compact story.
19 Ain't No One Like You In This Place
ALF was already a pretty weird show, so it stands to reason that the animated series is just as strange. For anyone who doesn’t remember (or has successfully forgotten), ALF was a sitcom that starred an ensemble cast saddled with a crash-landed alien mooch (in the form of a puppet). ALF: The Animated Series acts as a prequel to the events of the sitcom.
The show imagines Alf living an idyllic life on his homeworld, Melmac. The term “ALF,” which is an acronym for Alien Life Form, is never used in the show. Instead, the lead character is referred to by his real name: Gordon. The ALF lore goes deep, apparently. Ostensibly a comedy, the humor in the animated series was derived from “Gordon” and his alien friends doing weird alien... things and acting as if they were completely normal.
18 Let's Go, Ghostbusters!
You’re probably thinking: There’s no way I could have forgotten the name of a Ghostbusters television show... right? Well, don’t feel bad if this one fell off your radar because it’s not even attached to the Ghostbusters movies. Ghostbusters is based off a 1975 live-action show called The Ghost Busters.
The animated series kicks off with the sons of the original Ghost Busters getting right back into the family business. They’ve also got a talking gorilla on staff. Anyway, Jake Kong Jr. (not a gorilla) and Eddie Spencer Jr. (also not a gorilla) run Ghost Command, an organization devoted to ridding the world of Prime Evil, a very bad ghost wizard.
Prime Evil will spew more ghost henchmen into the living world occasionally, and Ghost Command will have to clean up the mess. A talking telephone relates the moral of each episode.
17 Battling Against Genghis Rex
Can’t go wrong with a show called Dinosaucers, right? Seems like a match made in heaven for a rad ‘80s cartoon: dinosaurs and aliens. Well, that’s all actually incredibly true. Dinosaucers is an extremely bizarre show, and that’s what makes it great.
The titular Dinosaucers are actually a group of evil-fighting anthropomorphic dinosaucers who have been teamed with the Secret Scouts, humans who also have an interest in defeating the terrifying Tyrannos group. Here’s where it gets good. Having been anthropomorphized, each Dinosaucer kind of looks like a person, but they’ve all got a button they can press to essentially devolve into the primal version of their respective species.
Sadly, dinosaurs devolving played a very small part in the short-lived series, which makes some sense. The evil Tyrannos didn’t have the technology, which would have made for some pretty one-sided fights.
16 Have Some Fun With The Snorks
The Snorks are basically underwater Smurfs. The little creatures lived happily in the sea until the captain of a Royal Navyship of the Spanish Armada ended up in the briny deep after his boat was attacked by pirates. Thus began a long, weird relationship between human and Snork. The captain owed his life to the Snorks, and promised to write down his encounter after he made it back to dry land.
The strange little premise lead the show an impressive six-season run, during which dozens of Snorks were introduced to audiences. The series doesn’t hold the same kind of cultural cache as the Smurfs, but it’s the perfect distillation of a television show you can kind of remember from all those years ago… something about… Snirks? Snarks? I think it was... Snorks.? That can't be right.
15 I'm In Trouble Again...
If you were having trouble remembering the name of Star Wars: Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO, that’s likely because the name is just one really long sentence; the series was usually shortened to Star Wars: Droids.
Star Wars: Droids is yet another Star Wars series that attempts to fill in the timeline between the beginning and end of the original trilogy. The show focuses on the lives of the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO, who find themselves going up against gangsters, pirates and even the Empire itself.
The series had something of a star-studded appeal: Anthony Daniels, who voices C-3PO in the Star Wars films, also voiced the character in the animated series. The show was lightly related to Star Wars: Ewoks, but there were no crossovers.
14 This Is The Story Of An Ordinary Teddy Bear
SuperTed has a story so weird it’s cute. The show starts off with the creation of a teddy bear, Chris Barry, who is deemed defective by the factory that creates him. Chris is subsequently shuffled off into a storeroom to be forgotten. That is until that classic ‘80s animated series McGuffin–an alien!–shows up and takes pity on poor Chris, sprinkling him with cosmic dust and bringing the teddy bear to life.
Naturally, the alien, Spotty, brings Chris to Mother Nature, who turns the now-sentient teddy into a superhero. Chris and Spotty spend their time traversing Earth and beyond, righting wrongs and thwarting evil. The series was created by Mike Young, who used the show to help his son overcome his fear of the dark. Hopefully the superhero teddy bear did its job.
13 He Won't Bite Beast Or Man
The ‘80s and ‘90s were all about turning ducks into heroes and villains. Count Duckula is just one in a long line of shows that includes Darkwing Duck, DuckTales and Quack Pack. Count Duckula takes a darker turn than those shows… until it doesn’t.
The deep Count Duckula lore states that there have, in fact, been many Count Duckulas, each one more vicious than the last. Some were sorcerers, knights or even Egyptologists, but all were blood-thirsty duck vampires–until the latest Count Duckula incarnation. The new Count Duckula is a vegetarian without the penchant for violence. This severely weirds out his loyal followers.
Count Duckula spends most of his time attempting to worm his way into show business rather than hunt down the sweet, sweet blood of the living.
12 It's Gonna Be Rockin'
Kidd Video is one of those series that asked what would happen if you, an everyday normal kid, could go inside the cartoons, rather than just watching them. As it turns out, Kidd Video seemed to think that if you did so you would be spending most of your time as a freedom fighter, fighting off the likes of the villainous Master Blaster and liberating the downtrodden.
The show starts with some completely normal live-action kids getting pulled into a television and turned into cartoons while they’re at band practice. Kidd Video sticks with the music theme. Everything in the cartoon world has an MTV tinge. Music interludes are common, and Master Blaster himself is even portrayed as a corrupt music executive. The Kidd Video band even played out each episode with a live-action music video. Man, the ‘80s were too good for us.
11 When He Eats A Banana, An Amazing Transformation Occurs
You don’t have to remember this television show to know exactly what it is. Bananaman is an animated series based off a British comic book that was actually a parody of superheroes. A few things were changed for the television adaptation, but the premise remained the same. A young boy is capable of becoming a superhero whenever he eats a banana.
In terms of parody, a clear line can be drawn between the show and the DC Comics character Shazam, also known as Captain Marvel, a young boy who becomes the powerful superhero Shazam when he utters the word “Shazam,” which is actually an acronym for Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury.
Bananaman could eat numerous bananas for a strength boost, but if he ate too many in one sitting he was rendered obese.
10 Here Come The Puppies
Like so many cartoons from the ‘80s (and today), Pound Puppies is a series designed to sell toys. The plush stuffed dog toys debuted in 1984 and rapidly rose in popularity. In 1985, Hanna-Barbera created an animated special that followed Violet, a dog who was dognapped and subsequently returned to her owners by a group of pound puppies.
The 1986 animated television show retained much of the same cast, though Violet did not appear again. Instead, the show focused on the relationship between Holly, a girl with the power to speak to dogs, and the pound puppies. The show was rebooted in 2010 and focused on the efforts of the pound puppies to connect dogs with new owners.
The original Pound Puppies ran for two seasons, but became All New Pound Puppies when Season 2 debuted. Several of the puppies’ backgrounds and mannerisms were overhauled as a result.
9 Kevin, I Thought I Told You To Clean Up Your Room!
Nintendo hasn’t got behind movie or television adaptations of their games in a good long while, but back in the ‘80s (and even the ‘90s) the company was a little less protective of their properties. Captain N: The Game Master is a pretty good example of how far they were willing to go.
The series focused on Kevin Keene, a teenager who is transported into Videoland, a video game-themed world that is being threatened by the Mother Brain. Kevin is fated to become the Captain N, who is effectively the savior of Videoland.
Kevin meets all kinds of video game characters along the way, like Simon Belmont, Mega Man and Kid Icarus. Together, they do battle with Mother Brain, one of the central antagonists in the Metroid series, and attempt to save Videoland.
8 Who Puts The Future In Their Hands?
Robotix is a pretty forgettable show, largely because it was snuffed out just as it began. The show never had its own proper screen time, but rather it was relegated to fifteen six-minute shorts that aired alongside other cartoons. Some of those cartoons, like Jem and the Holograms, would go on to become a full-fledged series, but that wasn’t the case with Robotix. The series was cancelled after its first season.
There might have been a reason for that. Robotix was a Transformers clone based on a Milton Bradley toy. The series followed a team of humans who get caught in the crossfire of a long-standing war between the altruistic Protectons and the evil Terrakors. Sound familiar? The shorts were eventually compiled into a “movie” and released in 2003.