50 Fun Facts About 80s Cartoons

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983) was based on which company's toy line?

Its success in syndication persuaded other studios that half-hour 'cartoon commercials' could work, reshaping the whole market. Filmation made 130 episodes over two seasons.

What is the name of Prince Adam's cowardly pet tiger, who transforms into Battle Cat?

Alan Oppenheimer voiced both forms of the tiger as well as Skeletor and Man-At-Arms. Every episode ended with a 'moral of the story' to blunt criticism of toy-driven cartoons.

Which fortress is Skeletor's main goal, since He-Man draws his power from it?

Prince Adam raises the Sword of Power and invokes it by name to transform. Its Sorceress, voiced by Linda Gary, guards the secrets inside.

How many episodes did She-Ra: Princess of Power run for between 1985 and 1987?

Unlike He-Man, whose toys came first, She-Ra was created jointly by Filmation and Mattel, aimed at girls. Her early characters were designed by J. Michael Straczynski's team.

In The Transformers, how long had the robots lain entombed on Earth before waking in 1984?

They had left Cybertron looking for energy and crashed. Father-and-son humans Sparkplug and Spike Witwicky became the Autobots' allies.

Which Marvel editor-in-chief wrote the story concept that created the Autobots and Decepticons?

Hasbro had found the Diaclone and MicroChange toys at the 1983 Tokyo Toy Fair and asked Marvel to build a story around them, repeating the G.I. Joe formula.

Which Japanese studio was the main animator on the first two seasons of The Transformers?

They designed the transformation schemes and animation models. In season three the work was shared with the South Korean studio AKOM.

In The Transformers: The Movie (1986), Orson Welles voiced which planet-sized villain?

He recorded the part on October 5, 1985, and died five days later. Leonard Nimoy voiced Galvatron and Eric Idle played the Junkion leader Wreck-Gar.

Which company produced ThunderCats in 1985?

Better known for stop-motion Christmas specials, the studio had the animation done by Pacific Animation Corporation in Japan, later bought by Disney.

What is the name of the ThunderCats' legendary weapon, whose hilt holds the source of their power?

The Mutants of Plun-Darr spare the flagship of the fleeing Thunderian fleet only because they hope to capture it. Its Eye lets Lion-O see 'beyond sight'.

On which planet do the ThunderCats settle after fleeing their dying homeworld?

Damage from the Mutant attack made their original destination unreachable. Mumm-Ra was already waiting there.

In the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, Krang is a disembodied brain banished from where?

He funds most of Shredder's schemes and supplied the Technodrome.

In the 1987 TMNT cartoon, Splinter was originally a human ninja master by what name?

That is a big change from the Mirage comics, where Splinter was Yoshi's pet rat. Here the mutagen turned Yoshi into a rat because he was last touching sewer rats.

The Fred Wolf TMNT series was first shown in syndication as a five-part miniseries at what time of year?

Fred Wolf Films produced it, and the full run began in October 1988 and lasted until 1996, making it one of the decade's longest-lived cartoons.

DuckTales (1987) was based on Uncle Scrooge comics created by which cartoonist?

The show ran 100 episodes and most plots involve treasure hunts or villains after Scrooge's Number One Dime. Donald leaves the boys with Scrooge to join the Navy.

Which DuckTales pilot went on to become a main character in Darkwing Duck?

He is famous for crashing every aircraft he flies. DuckTales premiered in syndication in September 1987 and ended in November 1990.

Which Get Smart star voiced Inspector Gadget from 1983?

The show was DIC's first syndicated cartoon and the first animated series presented in stereo. Gadget survives thanks to luck, his niece and the family dog.

What is the name of Inspector Gadget's dog, who secretly saves him in disguise?

Gadget usually mistakes the disguised dog for a M.A.D. agent and chases him. Niece Penny does the actual detective work with her computer book.

On which US network did Hanna-Barbera's blue-skinned Peyo adaptation run from 1981 to 1989?

Network president Fred Silverman got the idea after buying his daughter Melissa a Smurf doll in Aspen. Peyo, the Belgian creator, supervised the stories.

How many episodes of Hanna-Barbera's Peyo adaptation aired between 1981 and 1989?

They contained 417 separate stories. The characters were originally called 'les Schtroumpfs' when Peyo created them in 1958.

In Jem, what is the real name of the record-company owner whose alter ego fronts the Holograms?

She runs Starlight Music, and the series was created by Christy Marx for the same Hasbro-Sunbow-Marvel team behind G.I. Joe and Transformers.

The first season of Voltron (1984) was adapted from which Japanese anime series?

Season two's 'Vehicle Team Voltron' came from an unrelated show, Dairugger XV. It was the top-rated syndicated kids' show for two years.

In Adventures of the Gummi Bears, what does gummiberry juice let the bears do?

Grammi makes it from a secret recipe; on humans it gives temporary super-strength but works only once a day. The show ran six seasons from 1985.

In which kingdom's forest do the Gummi Bears live in their secret home of Gummi Glen?

Their human friends are Princess Calla and the squire Cavin. The lavishly budgeted show set a new bar that rival studios had to match.

Why did the 1986 Ghostbusters cartoon have to add 'The Real' to its title?

Filmation had a 1975 live-action show and its own cartoon called Ghostbusters. In 1988 the show was retitled again, to Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters.

Muppet Babies grew out of a dream sequence in which 1984 film?

The film came out two months before the show premiered on CBS. Muppet Babies went on to win seven Daytime Emmys, four of them consecutive for Outstanding Animated Program.

Which trio of female characters did the 1983 Alvin and the Chipmunks series introduce?

Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor got their own caretaker, Miss Beatrice Miller, in 1986. The show ran on NBC until 1990.

In the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon (1983), how do the six kids get transported into the realm?

Dungeon Master gives each of them a magic item matching a D&D character class. The show ran 27 episodes on CBS with animation by Toei.

Where is the secret headquarters of Cosgrove Hall's mouse secret agent hidden?

He and Penfold take orders from Colonel K and fight Baron Silas Greenback. Nickelodeon picked up the show in 1984 and it became a US hit.

Count Duckula (1988) was a spin-off from which other Cosgrove Hall cartoon?

An earlier, villainous Duckula had been a recurring baddie there; the spin-off made him a vegetarian vampire. Nickelodeon co-produced it after its US success with the parent show.

Which horror legend voiced the warlock Van Ghoul in The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo (1985)?

The warlock helps the gang recapture the ghosts Shaggy and Scooby let out of the Chest of Demons. The unresolved 13th ghost was finally caught in a 2019 film.

Hanna-Barbera's Pac-Man (1982) holds what distinction in TV history?

It topped the Saturday-morning ratings in late 1982 and even inspired an arcade game, Pac-Land, in 1984.

In Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981), Firestar was created to replace which character over rights problems?

NBC wanted its own answer to ABC's Super Friends. Firestar was written as a mutant like Iceman, with similar powers to the Torch.

Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers premiered in March 1989 where, before going into syndication?

Created by Tad Stones and Alan Zaslove, it had a preview episode in August 1988. Gadget, Monterey Jack and Zipper round out the team.

The G.I. Joe cartoon began life in 1982 as a series of 30-second animated commercials promoting what?

Advertising rules were laxer for a comic than a toy, so Hasbro promoted the Marvel series and let it sell the figures. Ron Friedman wrote the mini-series that followed.

In My Little Pony 'n Friends (1986), the ponies live in which home in Ponyland?

It had been introduced in My Little Pony: The Movie three months earlier. The second half of each episode was a different Hasbro property, such as the Glo Friends or Potato Head Kids.

Which episode launched Matt Groening's family as a half-hour series on December 17, 1989?

The family had appeared as shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show since April 1987. 'Some Enchanted Evening' was produced first but held back until May 1990 because of animation problems.

The Simpson family got their start in 1987 as animated shorts on which programme?

Matt Groening sketched the family shortly before pitching to producer James L. Brooks. The spin-off became Fox's first show to crack the season's top 30.

Which farm-based strip shared the screen with the cat in Garfield and Friends (1988)?

Each episode had two Garfield segments and one Orson Pig segment. Lorenzo Music voiced Garfield, as he had since 1982's Here Comes Garfield.

Which legendary voice actor played Heathcliff in Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats (1984)?

He had voiced the cat in the earlier Ruby-Spears version too. Each DIC episode paired a Heathcliff story with one about Riff-Raff's Catillac Cats.

The Snorks (1984) came from the same Belgian merchandising machine as which other Hanna-Barbera hit?

Freddy Monnickendam of SEPP, who had brokered the earlier NBC deal with Peyo, developed the underwater show with artist Nic Broca. It ran on NBC until 1989.

In Denver, the Last Dinosaur (1988), where does Denver come from?

Jeremy, Mario, Shades and Wally free him. The show rode the dinosaur craze after The Land Before Time and faded before Jurassic Park revived it.

Which wrestling personality played Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! (1989)?

Danny Wells played Luigi. Friday episodes swapped the Mario cartoon for a Legend of Zelda segment famous for Link's 'Well, excuse me, Princess!'

In M.A.S.K. (1985), Matt Trakker's team battles which criminal organization?

V.E.N.O.M. stood for Vicious Evil Network Of Mayhem and was led by Matt's treacherous ex-partner Miles Mayhem.

Which escaped alien crime boss do the SilverHawks fight in the Limbo Galaxy?

Mon*Star transforms into an armour-plated monster with help from Limbo's Moonstar; the show was Rankin/Bass's space answer to ThunderCats.

On which desert planet is Filmation's space Western BraveStarr set?

The 23rd-century setting hosted one of the few American cartoons with a Native American protagonist, Marshal BraveStarr.

Which film director developed the 1989 Beetlejuice animated series?

Burton, who directed the 1988 film, also served as executive producer, and Danny Elfman rearranged his film theme for the show.

BraveStarr's villain Tex Hex was originally created for which other Filmation cartoon?

Lou Scheimer found the character so compelling that he pulled him from the Ghostbusters cast and asked for a science-fiction Western around him.

In Captain N: The Game Master, which villain leads the forces threatening Videoland?

Mother Brain operated from the floating fortress of Metroid, with Dr. Wily, King Hippo and the Eggplant Wizard as her minions.

In The Raccoons, what is the name of the greedy aardvark millionaire villain?

Cyril repeatedly tries to destroy the Evergreen Forest for profit, though over the series he softens into something of an antihero.