Ralph, Burt, and Melissa Raccoon standing together
The 1980s saw many major changes to the entertainment industry. One of the biggest shakeups was when President Ronald Reagan deregulated advertising in children's cartoons, resulting in a new wave of cartoons that could best be called half-hour commercials.
This helped accelerate the rise of toy-driven franchises such as The Transformers, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and G.I. Joe. Among these juggernauts of popular culture were numerous other television shows that have since faded from public knowledge. However, with how varied and imaginative 1980s cartoons could be, there are more than a few that are worth revisiting. 10 'Dino-Riders' The Valorians are a peaceful, human-like alien species whose homeworld has been conquered by beast-like aliens called Rulons. One Valorian, Questar , leads a group to escape the Rulons using experimental time-traveling technology, which sends them and a group of Rulons led by Krulos back to prehistoric Earth. Thus, the war continues in this new environment, and both sides, through friendship or enslavement, use dinosaurs to augment their forces. Dino-Riders is simultaneously stupid and badass, which is what makes the cheesy '80s show so enjoyable. It knows exactly what it is and goes all in on its premise, giving us a good versus evil plot augmented with dinosaurs mounted with giant lasers. Despite a successful toy line, the show sadly only ran for 14 episodes, but in today's era of binge-watching, that can be cleared pretty quickly. 9 'Blackstar' John Blackstar is an astronaut who gets sucked into a black hole and, rather than die, is transported to the planet Sagar in another universe. There, he learns that the planet is ruled by a tyrannical Overlord who seeks to combine two magical swords into a powerful weapon called the Powerstar. John acquires one of the weapons, the Starsword, and joins the rebellion to overthrow the Overlord and maybe find a way home. Blackstar was one of Filmation's earliest shows, and in many ways can be looked at as a precursor to He-Man. Still, there's plenty to enjoy in its 13 episodes, such as its pulp sci-fi plot and the various creatures and magic that bring Sagar to life. The main cast are also pretty well-rounded: John is a good combination of physical and mental abilities, while his allies include a dragon-horse mount named Warlock, a shapeshifter named Klone , and Mara , an enchantress. 8 'SilverHawks' Mon*Star is the leader of a galaxy-spanning crime syndicate that terrorizes the Limbo galaxy. To stop him, a team of specialized police officers is assembled and given cybernetic enhancements to become"part metal, part real." Named the SilverHawks, and led by the officer who originally apprehended Mon*Star, Commander Stargazer , the team travel from planet to planet, restoring order and working to bring down Mon*Star's criminal empire. SilverHawks was produced by Rankin/Bass, known for their holiday specials and the popular Thundercats cartoon, and while not as iconic as those other accomplishments, there's plenty to enjoy about the show. The idea of superhero galactic police officers is one that lends itself to a lot of ideas, from galaxy-destroying superweapons to evil clones of the SilverHawks and mundane apprehension and transportation of criminals. It also helps that the characters are fun and memorable in their own ways, such as Bluegrass , the only flightless member of the team, who makes up for this with his piloting skills and cowboy persona. 7 'Bravestarr' The planet of New Texas is rich in a mineral called Kerium, which can be used for interstellar travel. This results in an influx of settlers who come to mine the valuable mineral, but they are plagued by outlaws like the Broncosaur Stampede and his Carrion Bunch gang, led by the wicked Tex Hex . Fortunately, New Texas has a hero in the form of Marshal Bravestarr , who can call upon spirit animals to give him the strength of a bear, the speed of a puma, the eyes of a hawk, and the ears of a wolf. Bravestarr was the final show released by Filmation, and what a way to send off such an influential legacy. This show is a good one for them to go out on because it highlights their strengths as a company: the characters have cool designs, and the world is a good mix of science-fiction concepts with cheesy cartoon writing. The best example is Bravestarr's horse and partner, Thirty/Thirty , who can stand upright and fight the bad guys with his Kerium-powered gun, which he affectionately calls Sara Jane.Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Ten questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you'd actually make it out of alive. 💊The Matrix 🔥Mad Max 🌧️Blade Runner 🏜️Dune 🚀Star Wars TEST YOUR SURVIVAL → QUESTION 1 / 10INSTINCT 01 You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one. APull on every thread until I understand the system — then figure out how to break it. BStop asking questions and start stockpiling — food, fuel, weapons. Questions don't keep you alive. CKeep my head down, observe carefully, and trust no one until I know who's pulling the strings. DStudy the patterns. Every system has a rhythm — learn it, and you learn how to survive it. EFind the people fighting back and join them. You can't fix a broken galaxy alone. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 2 / 10RESOURCE 02 In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires. AKnowledge. If you understand the system, you don't need resources — you can generate them. BFuel. Everything else — movement, power, escape — runs on it. CTrust. In a world of fakes and informants, a truly reliable ally is rarer than any commodity. DWater. And after water, information — the two things empires are truly built on. EShips and credits. The galaxy is big — you survive it by being able to move through it freely. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 3 / 10THREAT 03 What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you're honest about what you're actually afraid of. AThat reality itself is a lie — that everything I experience has been constructed to keep me compliant. BA raid. No warning, no mercy — just the roar of engines and then nothing left. CBeing identified. Once someone with power decides you're a problem, you're already out of time. DBeing outmanoeuvred — losing a political game I didn't even know I was playing. EThe Empire tightening its grip until there's nowhere left to run. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 4 / 10SKILL 04 Which of these comes most naturally to you? Your strongest skill is your best survival asset — use it accordingly. AHacking, pattern recognition, finding the exploit in any system — digital or human. BMechanical skill — I can strip an engine, rig a weapon, or fix anything with whatever's around. CReading people — knowing when someone's lying, hiding something, or about to run. DDiscipline and endurance — mental and physical. I outlast things rather than overpower them. EPiloting, navigation, knowing how to get from A to B when every route is dangerous. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 5 / 10AUTHORITY 05 How do you deal with authority you don't trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything. ASubvert it from the inside — learn its rules well enough to weaponise them against it. BIgnore it and stay out of its reach. The further from any power structure, the better. CAppear to comply while doing exactly what I need to do. Visibility is the enemy. DManoeuvre within it carefully. You can't beat a system you refuse to understand. EResist openly when I have to. Some things are worth the risk of being seen. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 6 / 10ENVIRONMENT 06 Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn't just tactical — it's physical, psychological, and very much about where you are. AUnderground bunkers and server rooms — cramped, artificial, but with access to everything that matters. BOpen wasteland — brutal sun, no shelter, constant movement. At least the threat is honest. CA dense, rain-soaked city where you can disappear into the crowd and nobody asks questions. DMerciless desert — extreme heat, no water, and something enormous living beneath the sand. EThe fringe — backwater planets and busy spaceports where the Empire's attention rarely reaches. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 7 / 10ALLIANCE 07 Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are. AA tight crew of believers who've seen behind the curtain and have nothing left to lose. BOne or two people I'd trust with my life. Any more than that and someone talks. CNobody, ideally. Alliances are liabilities. I work alone unless I have no choice. DA community bound by shared hardship and mutual survival — people who need each other to last. EA ragtag team with wildly different skills and total commitment when it counts. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 8 / 10TRUTH 08 A comfortable lie or a devastating truth — which can you actually live with? Some worlds offer one. Some offer the other. Very few offer both. AThe truth, no matter the cost. I'd rather live in a brutal reality than a beautiful cage. BNeither — truth and lies are luxuries. What matters is surviving the next hour. CI've learned to live with ambiguity. Some truths don't have clean answers. DThe truth — but deployed strategically. Knowing something others don't is power. EThe truth. Even when it means confronting something in yourself you'd rather leave buried. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 9 / 10MORALITY 09 Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they're actually made of. AI won't harm the innocent — even the ones who'd report me without hesitation. BI do what I have to to protect the people I've chosen. Everything else is negotiable. CThe line shifts depending on who's asking and what's at stake. DI draw a long-term line — nothing that compromises my people's future, even if it'd help now. ESome lines, once crossed, can't be uncrossed. I know which ones they are. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 10 / 10PURPOSE 10 What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another. AWaking others up — dismantling the illusion so no one else has to live inside it. BFinding somewhere — or someone — worth protecting. A reason to keep moving. CAnswers. Understanding what I am, what any of this means, before time runs out. DLegacy — shaping the future in a way that outlasts me by generations. EFreedom — for myself, for others, for every world still living under someone else's boot. REVEAL MY WORLD → Your Fate Has Been Calculated You'd Survive In… Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. Read all five — your result is the one that resonates most deeply. YOUR WORLD The Matrix You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You're a systems thinker who can't help but notice the seams in things, the places where the official version doesn't quite line up. In the Matrix, that instinct is the difference between life and permanent digital sedation. You'd find the Resistance, or it would find you. The machines built an airtight prison. You'd be the one probing the walls for the door. YOUR WORLD Mad Max The wasteland doesn't reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That's you. You don't need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon. You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it. You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider. YOUR WORLD Blade Runner You'd survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely. You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer. In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional. You're not a hero. But you're not lost, either. In Blade Runner's world, that distinction is everything. YOUR WORLD Dune Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards. Patience, discipline, pattern recognition, political awareness, and an understanding that the long game matters more than any single victory. Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You'd learn its logic, earn its respect, and perhaps, in time, reshape it entirely. YOUR WORLD Star Wars The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn't have it any other way. You're someone who finds meaning in being part of something larger than yourself. You'd gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire's grip can be broken. Whatever you are, you fight. And in Star Wars, that willingness is what makes the difference. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 6 'Bionic Six' Jack Bennett is a test pilot who is given bionic enhancements by genius roboticist Professor Amadeus Sharp , allowing him to fight against the plans of the evil Doctor Scarab . One day, while vacationing in the Himalayas, Jack and his family are caught in an avalanche that exposes them to radiation, and though Jack is fine, the others fall into comas. Sharp theorizes that Jack's bionic enhancements protected him from the radiation, so he augments the rest of the family, who join Jack in his heroism. Bionic Six is what you get when you combine the superhero family dynamic of The Fantastic Four with the sci-fi premise of The Six Million Dollar Man. Each member of the Bennett family is given their own unique enhancement, ensuring that they can work together as an effective team that complements each other, while their varied personalities also lead to realistic conversations when hanging out as a family. The show was animated by TMS Entertainment, the same company behind Akira, so it goes without saying that the animation is gorgeous and highly detailed. 5 'Thundarr the Barbarian' In the year 1994, a passing celestial object shatters the moon and sets off a chain of events that destroys human civilization. 2000 years later, the survivors now live in a post-apocalyptic world, inhabited by mutants and ruled over by wizards who combine science and sorcery. Amidst this chaos travels three heroes; Thundarr the Barbarian , the wheeler of the Sunsword; Ookla the Mok , a powerful feline-like mutant; and Princess Ariel , a powerful sorceress. Thundarr the Barbarian can best be described as Conan the Barbarian meets Star Wars, and is as glorious as it sounds. Along with playing into beloved sci-fi and sword and sorcery tropes, the show had pretty strong writing that led to engaging episodes, solid action sequences, and inventive character designs courtesy of comic book legends Jack Kirby and Alex Toth. Sadly, the show was prematurely canceled, so the network could push the less violent Laverne & Shirley in the Army, but what we got is sure to entertain anyone looking for a good sword and sorcery adventure. 4 'The Mysterious Cities of Gold' Esteban is an orphaned Spanish boy who possesses a moon-shaped amulet and the ability to summon the sun. He joins a morally dubious navigator named Mendoza on an expedition to the New World to seek out the Seven Cities of Gold, though Esteban hopes to find his missing father. Along the way, they are joined by Zia , an Inca girl who was kidnapped and taken back to Spain, and Tao , the last member of an ancient civilization. The Mysterious Cities of Gold combines South American history with intriguing mystery and science fiction elements, resulting in a one-of-a-kind adventure show. You feel like you're exploring new lands alongside the characters, and get a sense of accomplishment when more and more pieces of the puzzle are revealed. Each episode also had a short segment that went into more detail about some of the topics explored, which ensures that the kids get their mandatory bit of educational value in this essential animated show. 3 'The World of David the Gnome' David is a 399-year-old forest gnome doctor who has made it his life's mission to help any animal, gnome, or human in need. Aided by his loving wife Lisa , and his fox friend, Swift , he travels the world to help the sick and injured, solve personal problems where he can, and thwart the plans of Hollar , a wicked troll. In between his adventures, David loves to educate humans about the secret lives of gnomes. Subscribe for deeper dives into 1980s cartoon gems Dive back into '80s cartoon nostalgia by subscribing to the newsletter for curated deep dives, forgotten-series spotlights, character profiles, and behind-the-scenes context on classic animated shows and similar pop-culture highlights. Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. The World of David the Gnome is one of those shows that managed to combine mandatory educational material with clever writing and inventive scenarios. David's lessons about gnome culture foster a relationship between him and the viewer and make gnomes feel like a living, breathing culture in a fantastical world, while the adventures draw from mythology and fairy tales to make challenging but lighthearted obstacles for our heroes to overcome. The show also never talked down to kids and knew when to take itself seriously, as best seen in its finale, one of the saddest episodes of any children's cartoon. 2 'Ulysses 31' Having successfully negotiated peace on the planet Troy, Ulysses is ready to get back to his home on Earth. However, he accidentally offends the Gods of the Olympus galaxy when he saves his son, Telemachus , and two blue-skinned aliens, from being sacrificed to a robotic cyclops. Now trapped in the Olympus galaxy, and with his crew frozen in suspended animation, Ulysses must pilot his ship, The Odysseus, from planet to planet until he can find the Kingdom of Hades, where he can hopefully save his crew and get back to Earth. Ulysses 31 is a stellar example of how to take a famous mythological tale and give it a new spin. Each episode features a creative blending of mythology and sci-fi concepts, brought to life with gorgeous animation courtesy of French and Japanese studios. The writing is where the show really shines, capturing the atmosphere and pathos of a Greek tragedy, which makes you empathize more with the characters and admire how, no matter how much the gods torment him, Ulysses remains committed to his quest to get home. 1 'The Raccoons' Burt Racoon is an impulsive yet big-hearted raccoon living with other anthropomorphic animals in the Evergreen Forest. Most days, he can be found going on adventures with his friends: married couple Ralph and Melissa Raccoon , level-headed sheepdog Schaeffer , and neurotic aardvark Cedric Sneer . However, the forest is often threatened by Cedric's father, Cyril Sneer , a millionaire who is always looking for ways to make a buck and won't hesitate to exploit the land and people around him to do so. The Raccoons is one of those shows that is surprisingly more mature and nuanced than it initially seems. The stories covered a wide range of topics, from standard messages for kids like protecting the environment and not smoking, to more complex ones like gambling addictions and adoptions. The characters all grew and changed over the course of the show, with the best example being Cyril, who goes from being a standard greedy villain to a complex antihero shaped by his upbringing.Powered by Expand Collapse
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