Now that anime has its own international genre, streaming services have gone global, and everything is subtitled,animated movies and TV showsare a mainstream medium that isn’t just for kids anymore. A few decades ago, however, cartoons were regulated to Saturday morning, after-school shows, or holiday specials, and as a result, there are some great vintage shows and movies that have fallen down the memory hole.
It was the 1980s when the public finally started to get a mix of domestic and international cartoons and the genre got some real traction in pop culture. There are several great cartoons from that halcyon decade that have all but been forgotten to time, and some of them are still readily available on that all-knowing entity that never forgets, the almighty internet.
Updated June 03, 2025, by Kristy Ambrose:Vintage cartoons,including the music and artistic style, are still making a comeback. A few streaming services are attracting viewers by putting these forgotten ’80s cartoons in their libraries and sometimes even updating them for modern audiences. This mean something as simple as a digital remaster, or something more complicated like a spin-off or a sequel. With this revival, there are a few more members to add to the list of cartoons from the 1980s.
13Danger Mouse (1981-1992)
Danger Mousewas a British series that was popular enough to have a spinoff,Count Duckula, and enjoyed a resurgence a few years ago with a reboot in 2015. It was a clever satire on the whole “posh British spy” concept that was also popular in live-action shows likeGet Smart,but it was a clever cartoon with lovable characters instead.
Danger Mousewas extremely popular in its time, which is partly why it had a successful comeback just a few years ago. The iconic mouse can also be found in comic books, video games, and all kinds of vintage pop-culture merchandise related to forgotten ’80s cartoons.
12Richie Rich (1980-1984)
There were so many Hanna-Barbara cartoonsfloating around back in the dayit was easy to lose track of them.Richie Richwas one of many productions that were often aired together, and kids saw it as part ofThe Futuristic World of Hanna Barbara,which also included shows likeScooby-Doo and Scrappy-DooandThe Little Rascals.
Despite his vast wealth, Richie was always portrayed as a likable character, and he and his friends have a variety of adventures that would include fighting master criminals and thwarting plots to the Rich family name. This forgotten cartoon series has a lot of jokes that only grown-ups would understand, like finding out that Richie’s mother was formerly a “Van Dough,” so it’s worth a rewatch.
11The Wuzzles (1985)
Anyone who has seenAvatar: The Last Airbenderremembers some of the oddly familiar crossover animals, like a bison that resembled a flying insect and other weird critters, like a platypus bear. It was always just a fan theory, but this might have been a callback to a forgotten 1980s Disney cartoon show calledThe Wuzzles.
Each Wuzzlewas two animals combined into oneand had clever names to match, like Bumblelion and Butterbear, but everything else on the Isle of Wuz had a similar nature. Their diet was made up mostly of “appleberries” and the characters could use a telephonograph to call each other. The show was popular, but it got lost in a market saturated with adorable animals at the time and was canceled after only 13 episodes.
10Willo The Wisp (1981)
Willo The Wispwas a BBC show that was designed to entertain both adults and children in the time between children’s after-school shows, which explains why it had a wider appeal and some smart, mature humor. It barely made it across the pond, and although a French dub made it to Canada at some point, it was a 1980s cartoon confined to relative obscurity.
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The characters were actually borrowed from educational cartoons used to promote the national energy interest, British Gas PLC, and were set in a real place, Doyley Woods, a location near the director’s home. The charming story and unique animation stayed in kids' memories, and the series was reprised for another season in 2005.
9The Raccoons (1985-1992)
One of the most Canadian things ever,The Raccoonswas produced by the CBC and was syndicated by Disney, and it looks like it could take place in Ontario’s cottage country. The unspecified Evergreen Forest that hosts this show is inhabited by Bert Raccoonand his various animal friends. The antagonist that often tried to ruin their fun, the greedy tree-feller and dam-builder Cyril Sneer, eventually evolved into more of an antihero as the series progressed. Another villain, an eagle named Milton Midas, eventually took his place.
The memory of The Raccoons endures partly because of the rockin' 80’s cartoon theme song and the enduring environmental message that still resonates with audiences.
8Jem and the Holograms (1985-1988)
Also known simply asJem,this show was about more than Jerrica Benton and her alter ego, the lead singer of The Holograms. This alone would have been enough to carry the show, but it also had an interesting science fiction twist with the holographic computer, Synergy.
The computer was built by Jem’s father, and Jem can sync it with her earrings to change her appearance and project realistic images around her. It would be years before the concept of a “virtuoid,” or an AI pop star, would become a real possibility, which makes this forgotten ’80s cartoon series even more fun in hindsight.
7Lucky Luke (1983–1984)
For those that are fans of vintage comics, or animated cartoons with an impressive historic pedigree, there’s Lucky Luke. The franchise includescomics, films, animation, and other media, and it all started with Belgian cartoonist Morris in 1946.
Morris passed away in 2001, but the comic book series he created still continues into the present under a variety of other writers. The animated series was originally in French, and although it’s available in various languages, it’s not well known outside of Europe.
6Muppet Babies (1984)
Part of the cute animal wave that took the animated TV series world by storm in the early 1980s,Muppet Babieswas a nice fit in a schedule that include shows likeCare Bears. The series followed the adventures of the baby versions of the most popular Muppets from other live-action properties, like The Muppet Show and Sesame Street.
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The 107 episodes that made up the show were produced by Marvel Productions and Jim Hensen Productions and were aired by CBS. Today Walt Disney owns the rights and made a reboot of the series in 2018.
5SilverHawks (1986)
A Rankin-Bass production as opposed to something from Disney or Hanna-Barbara,SilverHawkswas designed and intended to be an outer-space version of the wildly successfulThunderCats.There was alsoa Marvel comic book seriesthat was released the same time the show was running.
The series takes place in the galaxy of Limbo, which has a unique set of planets and a central white star. The main characters are essentially a galactic police force with bionic implants and metal suits that augment their powers. The show never reached the heights of popularity as its predecessor, but the mecha and science fiction themes stand up to the test of time.
4Dungeons & Dragons (1983–1985)
When it comes toDungeons & Dragonsadaptations, this is one of the best there is, although that’s not exactly a high bar. It was drawn by Toei Animation and produced by Marvel Productions and TSR, making it one of the early examples of a show that mixed Japanese animation with a western script and setting.
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The premise, of a group of friends who get sucked into their own RP module and have to play their way out, could have inspired all kinds of modern animated shows includingSword Art Onlineand even live-action movies like theJumanjifranchise. Too bad it’s a concept that TSR never thought to use for some reason.
