80s Cartoons You Loved but Forgot About

These forgotten 80s cartoons deserve to be rediscovered. For this list, we’ll be ranking the most underseen, underrated or otherwise lesser-known examples of ‘80s animated awesomeness. Our countdown includes "Dungeons & Dragons," "Muppet Babies," "RoboCop," and more! What’s YOUR favorite dark horse cartoon from the ‘80s? Let us know in the comments!
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#80s #Cartoons #Animation #Forgotten #Nostalgia

[@WatchMojo]

What’s YOUR favorite dark horse cartoon from the ‘80s? Let us know in the comments! For more content like this, click here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYrZmqatfa15grM Don't forget to play our Live Trivia games at 3pm and 8pm EST for a chance to win cash! The faster you answer, the more points you get!: www.watchmojo.com/play

[@mauricesmithjr4050]

Inspector gadget

[@randomreviews4278]

1:20 to 1:25 when did that happen in the movie

[@tarryteeth]

The new scooby doo mysteries(1984)

[@umergulmuhammad9756]

Please Do This Top 10 Old Cartoon Shows that Kids of Today should Watch: 10) Rugrats & All Grown Up 9) Danger Mouse 8) Jumanji Animated Series 7) Time Squad 6) Sonic X 5) Goof Troop 4) Ed Edd n Eddy 3) Danny Phantom 2) Kim Possible 1) Phineas and Ferb

[@umergulmuhammad9756]

Do this If you rewrite Naruto, Naruto Shippuden & Boruto Naruto Next Generation What changes would you do? If you need ideas I would gladly provide you many ideas

[@Goldtiger142003]

Centurions was AMAZING. Loved watching it every day. It had such an interesting premise, excellent characters, and great visuals. There were many shows from the era that were just as exciting, but Centurions was not given the same love. This show has lived rent free in my head ever since I was a child.

[@nicksullivan4994]

As a 90’s Kid, I Loved watching Muppet Babies on Nickelodeon!❤️📺🎶👍🏻

[@jimb.7523]

Same! Hopefully it'll appear on Disney+.

[@dryceraidfanficksyoutube]

Saw the old Muppet Babies on the now-defunct WIN TV........

[@IAmMightyMike]

I'm a 90s kid but when you'd stay home sick they'd sometimes throw 80s cartoons in less favorable time slots. But to me, it was a gold mime of secret bonus cartoons.

[@saiberunato]

My faves are Galaxy Rangers, Bionic Six, Visionaries, Might Orbots, Silverhawks, and Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors. All lasted one season. And largely forgotten except by the devoted fans who are now all middle-aged 😢

[@Optimu5Cryme]

Yes...to all of those!!

[@Suisai13]

Galaxy Rangers and Might Orbots are top 3 all-time animated series for me. Neither made the list, LOL. Don't know what basic folks put this one together.

[@alfredcordova7951]

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Lights was very memorable to me as a kid here in the Philippines. I got hooked with the opening theme, and the origins story of its pilot episode introduced me to how origins stories should be made.

[@mikeburnette2190]

Fun fact, Jem and the Holograms was kind of instrumental for anime to start coming to America, since most of the characters had different colors for their hair.

[@jimb.7523]

That's truly, truly, TRULY outrageous!

[@mikeburnette2190]

Thanks, and it is truly truly outrageous, with that being one of my fav cartoons to watch.@@jimb.7523

[@Halcyon4799]

Yeah cause Battle of the Planets, it's redo G-Force, StarBlazers, Tranzor Z, Voltron ... I could go on but it's dinner time had nothing to do with anime coming to America. Okay last one Robotech

[@kryw10]

@@Halcyon4799You said everything I came to say. Battle of the Planets had me running home from school. Never looked back.

[@Jessykosis]

Danger Mouse and Count Duckula are top tier

[@franklingoodwin]

"Ducky-boos" Loved both of these as a kid. Both voiced by David Jason

[@tarryteeth]

The wind in the willows, Postman Pat, and Thomas the tank engine & friends were released in the 80s too

[@Jessykosis]

@@franklingoodwin He was amazing as DM, but he stole my heart as Duckula. Great in Only Foold and Horses too but for me nothing beats the Count!

[@dreamguardian8320]

I for one enjoyed Count Duckula more than Danger Mouse.

[@kingeatking]

Both were brilliant 👌

[@RespectTheLogos3]

Many Brits remember Danger Mouse. It was one of the 80s most popular cartoons.

[@monsoon1234567890]

Pirates of Darkwater could be on this list. I loved the treasure hunt for the 13 artifacts. Gave the show continuity and a story, as opposed to the typical cartoon trope where things just reset for the next episode.

[@dashkataey1740]

Wasn't Pirates a 90's show?

[@monsoon1234567890]

@@dashkataey1740 You're right, it was '91. It all blends together

[@jimb.7523]

@@monsoon1234567890 I can't imagine WM not doing a sequel list for 90s cartoons.

[@gadzilla6664]

Loved that show.

[@Shadowmyst1]

Inhumanoids, Bionic Six, Cybersix, Double Dragon, King Arthur and the Knights of Justice, Visionaries, The Phantom are some other cartoons that could have been missed.

[@jesseowenvillamor6348]

Some of those that you mentioned are in the 90s

[@Toledotourbillion]

Heaven is the joy of watching Saturday morning cartoons in your pyjamas, before responsibilities were a thing.

[@Trialwolf]

Loved the Raccoons, honestly it did a great job at approaching subjects in a realistic manner and treated them with a decent level of respect (the episode involving adoption was really well done). Another surprising thing is that characters evolved during the series run, Cyril Sneer as the main villain softened as the show went on as he tried to understand his son and he even actually learned from mistakes stepped in to help at the end of the series.

[@dreamguardian8320]

I remember watching some episodes of the Raccoons as a kid. One of my favorites was the movie The Raccoons and the Lost Star.

[@jasminejohnston6393]

Best part: the show was made in Canada!

[@mikeawesome9212]

​@@jasminejohnston6393I actually just watched it the other day on a Canadian channel. I forget what channel it was but they still show episodes 4 times a day.

[@ShaneJoshua1980]

The Racoons was brilliant it was on a TV show called going live in the 80s.

[@ShaneJoshua1980]

Shuki Levy is the master of a theme tune.

[@hdj3456]

As a kid, I had the Centurion and Mask action figure toys. I remember watching most of these cartoons as a kid.

[@tomaturtle7790]

I honestly didn't know Ronin Warriors was an 80's show. I caught it on TV back in the summer of 1995. It's been one of my favorite Animes for years.

[@leo11lim]

Takeshi>Matt

[@thecunninlynguist]

I don't think it played in the states till the 90s. I have the same experience as you

[@earlstanley1282]

It aired in the US in 1995. The property as an anime was in the late 80's. WatchMojo incorrectly added this entry.

[@dreamguardian8320]

I remember watching it a lot of Toonami.

[@ryothewildfire]

For Ronin fans you can find them on the old KZbin.

[@user-qq4ii3xl4k]

Danger Mouse and Robocop are amazing. They are so nostalgic

[@Toledotourbillion]

You can make more lists of other 80's cartoons WatchMojo and the audience would come.

[@thebalderthor4884]

I remember most of these! What nostalgia!

[@Juggtacula]

BraveStarr and COPS deserved a spot on this list.

[@vivianne417]

I LOVE Danger Mouse! I never missed an episode of that SHOW. Oh, you missed so many. There were the crystal Warriors, I believe skeleton Warriors(?), Transformers Beast Wars (which was the only Transformers that I liked and I'm happy to have seen action figures from Beast Wars in Walmart the other day . I think it was called something a little different though but they were the same characters) and my all-time favorite that disappeared out of nowhere the Pirates of Dark Water. I kind of knew that one was going to go away because it was way too sophisticated and grown up for Saturday morning. I still use one of their swear words quite often LOL

[@torturedparadox]

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors was great. Wouldn't be mad at a remake, so long as J. Michael Straczynski is helming it.

[@jamesmoss3424]

I remember all the 80's cartoon shows when I was a kid. 😀👍

[@humbaba2762]

I watched all of the Dungeons & Dragons episodes a few months ago. It's still enjoyable and great.

[@dreamguardian8320]

Too bad it never got the series finale, but I did watch of comic like video of it on KZbin.

[@kally0208]

Am I the only one that remembers or loved The Smoggies? As an 83 🇨🇦 baby, this was such a trip down memory lane, especially Racoons

[@dreamguardian8320]

I remember the Smoggies, I use to watch lots of episodes of it as a kid.

[@jasminejohnston6393]

I’m a 93🇨🇦 baby myself and I still remember Treehouse!

[@mikeburnette2190]

Most of these I remember watching when I was a kid in the 80s-90s, with quite a few of these entries getting more runs during later times, with Centurions and Ronin Warriors airing on Cartoon Network.

[@michaelesclavon5734]

Can't believe The World of David the Gnome wasn't on this list. Best cartoon of the 80s.

[@dreamguardian8320]

I agree, a very magical and touching show that was. I even use to watch the TV special of it lots of times as kid.

[@PinkBoardProducts]

I was going to say it too. That was my favorite show as a boy, that and the li’l bits

[@dreamguardian8320]

@@PinkBoardProducts I remember the Li'l Bits.

[@sifilore9462]

I'm a 90's kid and #8, 7, 3, and Silverhawks were on the Boomarang channel then, with other 60's, 70's, and 80's classical shows like Wacky Races, Thundercats and G-Force. Now only a few states in the U.S. have that channel instead of the whole country. # 2 was on Toonami during the late 90's. As Silverhawks teaches Astronomy, He-Man with morals, Centurions taught us physics in the ending lessons. At least that's what I thought it was.

[@alejandrovivas8567]

If anybody forgot about this cartoons they DIDN'T lived the 80's...

[@celticpoet21]

The muppet babies animated series was one of my favorites as a kid!

[@michaelmonthey5974]

The original Muppet Babies were a childhood staple of mine. Why it never got a new lease on life on Disney + is ridiculous.

[@tonygreene37]

Take me back in time right now!

[@TallSilhouette]

I only saw a handful of episodes of Centurions and Ronin Warriors when I was little but they permanently etched themselves in my memory. Great to see them both here.

[@lukeswan7776]

It must have been fun being a voice actor in the 80's

[@frayhua9716]

Both Frank Welker and Peter Cullen voices are everywhere in the decade in Disney,Hanna-Barbera,Rudy-Spears,Filmation and DIC.

[@mikeburnette2190]

Number 9 wasn't around for long since one of the main cast actors Bill Scott passed away, which played into the other Disney show, however that was quickly taken care of with someone else filling the role.

[@anthonysimsjr6651]

Ronin Warriors was in Toonami line up along with Sailor Moon, DBZ, Tenchi Muyo and Yu Yu Hakushio.

[@dreamguardian8320]

That's right. I remember.

[@theupliftchannel]

Nobody forgot Muppet Babies! That show was absolutely awesome. Lol also I had.Wuzzles stuffed toys. I vividly remember my BumbleLion stuffy. Anyone remember The Little’s?

[@Kmation]

I never forgot any of these. In fact, I can sing some of the theme songs. 😂

[@sashi138]

As a long time ( 40+ years) RPG'er... Seeing Dungeons & Dragons on saturday mornings was well worth getting up EARLY!! there were so many fabulously imaginative toons on, it's truly sad that in many cases, modern day animation seems to have ( in SOME ways ) lost it's flavor, as Saturday Mornings just aren't the same without em to wake up to! and among my utmost favorite.. Dinosaucers SO needed a bit more love.. SO MUCH more! As for the number one spot... I am PROUD to own the DVD set of Dangermouse, the original series.. hilariously funny and I agree, Count Duckula was also massively fun giggles and guffaws!!

[@Derlei]

The 80's were the golden age of cartoons

[@kershabeaver3312]

Some of my favorite cartoons came out in the 80s. He-man she-ra jem transformers gi joe and others

[@dreamguardian8320]

Indeed, I was lucky to be born during the 80's.

[@manueltapia1859]

Yes, were my childhood!!! Today millenials don't now what a great cartoon is 😅

[@manueltapia1859]

​@@dreamguardian8320me too I was born in 1982

[@dreamguardian8320]

@@manueltapia1859 1983 for me.

[@HarshPTHESNAKEFIST]

A few more underrated 80s classics not mentioned here. 1. Spiral Zone 2. Skysurfer Strike Force 3. Galaxy Rangers

[@phillipshrader5726]

Inhumanoids, Rock Lords, Thundar the Barbarian, Space Ghost, Thunderhawks, Voltron Defender of the Universe, The Snorks, Danger Mouse, Transformers, and Secret Squirrel made up my childhood Saturday mornings.

[@SulliMike23]

I remember watching a good number of these shows!

[@Miguelmaturen]

Should have added The adventures of the galaxy Rangers... Best intro song ever

[@user-em6ie2be7x]

Anyone who watched Disney in the summer during the early 90's remembers The Raccoons, Care Bears, & The Brave little Toaster.

[@mikeburnette2190]

I remember watching most of these when I was a kid.

[@dryceraidfanficksyoutube]

TV 6 aired the '88 Robocop animated series, in the early 2000s. They did it seamlessly right after the live-action version, making me think that the animated series picked up where the latter left off.......

[@franklingoodwin]

I didn't get forget the these exited. Most of them were part of the my childhood because I'm old AF 😂 And nobody forgot Muppet Babies existed. I certainly didn't forget Danger Mouse (I'm British)

[@SheriffOutlaw]

Aww I miss these shows! ❤

[@dreamguardian8320]

Don't we all.

[@manueltapia1859]

All of us who are 80s kids miss those cartoons. I'm from 1982 by the way

[@dreamguardian8320]

@@manueltapia1859 I'm from 1983.

[@shaunmale6566]

I wasn't born in the 80s but I did watch the Robocop animated series as a kid on DVD and I really did enjoy it. Makes me wish I was born in the 80s lol.

[@mikeburnette2190]

Muppet Babies actually went on to air on Nick inthe 90s.

[@ShaunStephens777]

I want them all on DVD

[@tmoore4075]

Loved RoboCop and had a bunch of Mask toys. I will never forget that stuff.

[@mikeburnette2190]

Despite my pick not on the list, I was a huge Jem and the Holograms fan, because it started paving the way for anime over here, and Riot was voiced by the same person who voiced Mikey in the 1987 Ninja Turtles cartoon.

[@Suisai13]

Wuzzles must have been expensive for the studio and missing revenue from the actual toys to have just one season. One of the most consistently animated 2D series I've seen.

[@NewCreationRedeemed]

Loved Wuzzles, Muppet Babies, The Raccoons, Count Duckula, and Dinosaucers! Can’t believe y’all didn’t include Dino-Riders or Mysterious Cities of Gold…

[@huntermyers3551]

All of the dark horse cartoons from the 80s are my favorite

[@user-em6ie2be7x]

I remember Danger Mouse & Robocop they came on at 6am on Cartoon Invasion.

[@hopp17]

Loved the Muppet Babies, Dinosaucers, & Danger Mouse. I believe my Aunt rented Danger Mouse vhs tapes from the library, so I could watch them again.

[@nicholepautz928]

Truly disappointed that you didn’t include Shirt Tales or The Littles (which has the most amazing title song ever!)

[@deltamovieshd9255]

What about Ulysses!?! There's so many to mention missing from this list, but a good reminder of Saturday morning tv back in the day.

[@franklingoodwin]

Was hoping for someone to mentioned Ulysses 31 and its epic theme tune

[@Animeguy300]

Ronin Warriors is awesome in cartoon and hopefully will become a movie one day

[@dreamguardian8320]

That would be cool, as long as it's 2D animated, and not live action.

[@4JBrewer]

I remember my favorite line from an episode of Danger Mouse - "It's the planet with the little pink rocks and the shops that close early on Thursdays!"

[@Retrodude1985]

I remember watching The Raccoons (I’m Canadian) I’ve also watched Denver the last dinosaur, Fables of the green forest and Count Duckula.

[@jmr2408]

I don't know whether to curse you or praise you for putting "Run with Us" back into my head.

[@thecunninlynguist]

Did Ronin Warriors actually play in the 80s in the states? I only knew of Ronin Warriors when it played here in the early-mid 90's. It was on channel 12/44 in the Bay Area. Surprised you didn't have the Rambo cartoon on here. Always wished we got an Alien or Terminator 90s toon...but alas.

[@cjamatucci2554]

I loved Centurions and Silverhawks. I don't remember Dino-saucers, but was all about Dino-Riders. A little sad that Go-Bots didn't make it, though. There was another cartoon that I only vaguely remember, but the toys had these hologram stickers on them. I had a few of those as well. Edit - Google comes to the rescue. It was called Visionaries. Doesn't look like it was a cartoon, but those were some scary action figures! 😂

[@niyiosilaja]

You forgot Denver the last dinosaur, Beverly Hills Teens and Dennis the menace!

[@ratedtriplex]

Anybody remember these: Bionic Six, Spiral Zone, COPS, Turbo Teen, Laser Tag, Visionaries, Thundar the Barbarian, Marshal Bravestar, Captain N the Game Master, the Gobots, Pac-Man, Q-bert, The Littles, Denver the Last Dinosaur, James Bond Jr.

[@canal_zero]

Dungeons & Dragons is far from being forgotten, at least in Brazil. Last year we had a car tv ad with the characters in live action. It was a blast!

[@kingroyale7110]

I’m a 80’s baby and This almost brought a tear to my eye ❤

[@ericsaunders2485]

Mask and Dino riders, danger mouse the rare saw because they started early on Saturday. Either sleep in or get up way too early on Saturday….lmao😂

[@matthewpowell2429]

I love the song Run With Us from the Raccoons, though I haven't seen the series yet. Muppet babies I'm familiar with but haven't yet seen. I didn't know Robocop had an animated series. I knew about the MASK Series, but haven't been able to watch it. I love Star Wars Droids! I haven't watched it, but I have heard of Danger Mouse.

[@Auberon99]

I remember watching The Go-Bots, Transformers, GI Joe and He-Man Oh and the Snorks.... Now I have the Snorks opening stuck in my head....

[@mongoose1618]

Centurions was one of the best ! Jake Rockwell's "Wild Weasel" (The Motorcycle) mod was my favourite!

[@TW2Vlog]

MASK and The Centurions were my shows. RONIN WARRIORS WAS MY FIRST ANIME!!!! I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!

[@jacobdrolet4262]

Amazing video watch mojo of 80ths cartoon gems that people forgot about love too,fantastic job.

[@Viking_302]

How many of these are available for streaming OR... on KZbin??

[@anthonysimsjr6651]

Centurions was in Cartoon Network on weekdays in the Afternoon.

[@crazymus_pride]

My Disappointment Is Immeasurable And My Day Is Ruined that you didn't mention SPORT BILLY

[@CrimsonNineTail]

Late 80s baby, early 90s kid. I remember seeing most of these through early 90s Cartoon Network, or syndication/re-released in the mid to late 90s. Everything else, was in the in between.

[@tigardgirl2007]

i really miss my childhood gown up in the 80s 😢 the 80s had the best cartoons tv shows and more for the kids in the 80s big time

[@nickyannenasution9225]

hey there's one jem and the hologram,brave star,g.i joe,smurfs,head cliff,teenage mutant ninja turtles

[@richardcavner2095]

Can’t believe referenced Droids without including Ewoks.

[@marjoriejohnston4905]

I love the Wuzzles! At least the books and plushes. Didn't know there was a cartoon. Muppet Babies was from the 80s? I remember watching it late 90s/early 2000s

[@mikeburnette2190]

Muppets and Muppet Babies also aired on Nick during the early 90s.

[@user-hz4bk3ii2w]

I like my favorite dark horse cartoon or cartoons from the 80s on TV or on Hulu or on the DVDs or on Disney Plus like Muppet Babies and The Wuzzles

[@mikeawesome9212]

The Raccoons still comes on in Canada which actually surprised me when I saw it a few days ago.

[@newmallenium]

The existence of the RoboCop animated series, along with other Saturday morning cartoons based on adult properties like Darkstalkers and Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm always perplexed me. If your product was never intended for children, why make an animated series that's clearly geared towards them? Even Spawn knew to make his animated series adult-oriented.

[@andreihb]

Loved Dungeons & Dragons. It always bums me out that it never had its last episode animated. About 4 years ago I saw this video that led me to believe in a live action adaptation, but ended up being a tv ad for a car.

[@crazieanimefan1]

I watched Wuzzles, Silverhawks and Muppet Babies, yet I also liked Care Bears, Hello Kitty's Furry Tail Theater, The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Ewoks, Alf, Heathcliff...the list goes on and on.

[@Ironmanruies]

The theme song from mask. It's just amazing

[@andyzib]

For some reason I vaguely remember one line from the Wuzzles … “the superset, duperest roller-skis!” 1985 ya’ll. Roller-skis existed before the Wuzzles, but these days they are actually “mainstream” for cross country ski enthusiasts.

[@kingmoneywgwi5502]

If you do a 2000s after 90s Dinosaur King is a great pick

[@ryanward652]

I watched Muppet Babies when I was a kid

[@virginiahiggins27]

I loved The Racoons! I grew up in Kelowna BC, Canada!

[@yadielenielbellecolon982]

Thank For the Video 🙊🤯🥰😍😁💗💐🌟🥇🏆

[@donovandelaney3171]

I didn’t know these shows existed.

[@vion3009]

I've NEVER forgotten Muppet Babies, M.A.S.K, Danger Mouse, or Ronin Warriors ...and never will

[@CDeezntz]

Let's never forget Denver The Last Dinosaur,, my brother and i loved that show....

[@MrSberg1000]

Honorable Mention: Kidd Video. I was going to say Captain N but I thought Kidd Video deserved the mention more.