The best part of the weekend growing up was rushing to the television and seeing what the cartoons were and where they would take me. 80s cartoons were innocent and all had a great message to live by. Good always triumphed over evil and I knew I would not hear any language that was inappropriate. There are many memorable cartoons of the 1980's.
Smurfs: Which Smurf did you identify with? Papa Smurf had his hands full when it came to the antics of all that was smurfing around in the 80s cartoon that turned everyone blue and wanting to collect all the figurines of their favourite characters. Each week there was an issue involving one of the Smurfs. It was solved with love while fighting off Gargamel in the process or his annoying cat.
G. I. Joe: Combat to arms, this all American hero set the waves into action when the plastic action figure came to life in his own 80s cartoon. Kids all over the country played with their dolls each Saturday morning while watching GI Joe save the world in one form or another in mortal combat with the enemy. Who knows how many young people joined the military with the thought of this figurine in the back of their minds.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: One of the huge hit cartoons of the 80s. Four turtles that ate pizza and lived in the sewer while learning wicked skills from their rat mentor; this is the premise of this iconic cartoon in the 80s that made its way onto backpacks and lunch boxes across the country. It sparked the desire to learn martial arts again and showed that teenagers could fight for justice too, even if they were turtles.
Thundercats: Cats as super heroes with a mythology theme. This is the premise of the popular show that felt like you were getting educated while watching it. It was an interesting twist to fighting old age crime and put cats on the map before the infamous Broadway musical. One of the more popular cartoons of the 80s.
Spiderman and His Amazing Friends: If you get bit by a spider in high school you then become part of a crime fighting group. With the help of his friends, Spiderman found a way to fight the bad guy each week in this popular 80s cartoon. He still however had time to pine over his wannabe girlfriend while taking great photos for the school paper.
Inspector Gadget: Don't you just wish you had the right tool for everything? This was not a problem for Inspector Gadget. Even though they did not always turn out to be useful he had them. It was fun to tune in each week and see what he would come up with next.
There are many other top 80s cartoons that come to mind such as Teddy Ruxpin, Strawberry Shortcake and He-Man Masters of the Universe. All were iconic and honest and you did not have to worry about what your kids were watching. Many of these 80s cartoons are still around at different second hand shops or online for you to view. Some stations even feature 80s cartoons on cable channels for you and your entire family to enjoy.