100 Fun Facts About 80s Cartoons

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

Mattel had passed on the Star Wars toy licence in 1976, balking at the $750,000 price, and spent years chasing a hit of its own. He-Man reached shops in 1982, and the cartoon followed a year later.

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

Cringer's fierce other half began as a money-saver: rather than pay for a new toy, the makers reused a tiger from their older Big Jim line. It was far too big for the figures, so it got a saddle and became He-Man's mount.

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

Castle Grayskull is the name Prince Adam calls on each time he raises his sword to transform. Its guardian, the Sorceress, is powerful only inside its walls; beyond them she can do little more than turn into a falcon.

Prince Adam's twin sister, raised by the enemy, leads a rebellion as which cartoon heroine?

She-Ra is Princess Adora, snatched as a baby by Hordak and brought up to be a Force Captain in his Horde. When her brother arrives with the magic sword meant for her, she learns the truth and changes sides.

In The Transformers, what wakes the robots in 1984 after four million years buried on Earth?

A volcanic eruption shakes the buried Ark and restarts its computer, Teletraan I, which sends out a probe and rebuilds the robots in the shape of the Earth machines it scans.

Voice actor Peter Cullen modelled which Autobot on his older brother, a Marine veteran of Vietnam?

Optimus Prime owes his calm to Larry Cullen, a Marine captain. Before the audition he advised Peter not to shout like a movie tough guy, because the truly strong are 'tough enough to be gentle'.

Which Japanese studio drew most of the first two seasons of The Transformers?

Toei Animation handled most of the first two seasons, designing the transformation schemes and animation models; in season three much of the work shifted to the South Korean studio AKOM.

Orson Welles voiced which planet-sized villain in the 1986 animated Transformers film?

Unicron was Orson Welles's final film role: he voiced the planet-eating robot five days before he died in October 1985, and his voice was so weak that it was altered with synthesizers.

Which company produced ThunderCats in 1985?

Rankin/Bass, best known for stop-motion holiday specials, recorded the voices and music in the United States, sent the tapes to Japan to be animated, then brought the film back for editing.

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

The Sword of Omens rests as a dagger and grows to full length when Lion-O calls on it. Held to his eyes with the words 'give me sight beyond sight', it shows him danger far away.

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

The ThunderCats settle on Third Earth after the Mutants of Plun-Darr cripple their flagship in flight; Jaga steers the survivors there, where the ever-living mummy Mumm-Ra already waits.

In the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, the bodiless alien warlord Krang was banished from where?

Dimension X is where Krang ruled until he was stripped of his body and banished to Earth. There Shredder built him a walking android suit in return for a base in Krang's rolling fortress, the Technodrome.

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

Hamato Yoshi, framed by rival Oroku Saki and exiled to the New York sewers, was mutated into the rat Splinter because he had been touching sewer rats; in the Mirage comics Splinter was instead Yoshi's pet rat.

When the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon reached British TV in 1990, which word replaced 'Ninja' in its title?

Hero was the BBC's safer choice during a British panic over ninja weapons. The word was also cut from the theme song and dialogue, and Michelangelo's nunchucks were edited out of the fights.

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

Carl Barks drew his duck stories without a byline, since Disney comics carried only Walt's name. Readers who noticed that some stories were far better than the rest called their unknown author 'the Good Duck Artist'.

Which DuckTales character went on to become the title character's sidekick in Darkwing Duck?

Launchpad McQuack, Scrooge's crash-prone pilot, talked his way into the job: he introduced himself as Darkwing's biggest fan, kept offering to be his sidekick and built him a jet, the Thunderquack.

Which comedy actor voiced the bumbling detective in the 1983 cartoon Inspector Gadget?

Don Adams was the third voice tried: two earlier actors were dropped from the pilot before producers turned to the man who had played Maxwell Smart, the bumbling Get Smart spy who helped inspire the character.

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

Brain is the dog who shadows Gadget in disguise; Gadget usually mistakes him for a M.A.D. agent and gives chase, while niece Penny does the real detective work with her computer book.

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

NBC president Fred Silverman ordered the series after buying his daughter a doll of the little blue characters. It became one of the few hits of his troubled time there and ran for nine seasons, long after he had gone.

Which cartoon bears began life in 1981 as paintings for greeting cards?

Care Bears were painted by Elena Kucharik for American Greetings cards, then became toys, TV specials and a 1985 film that out-earned Disney's far costlier The Black Cauldron.

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

Jerrica Benton inherited Starlight Music and a secret from her late father: Synergy, a computer he built that projects lifelike holograms. A touch of her star-shaped earrings turns her into Jem.

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

Beast King GoLion (1981) supplied the five robot lions of Voltron's first season, re-dubbed and re-edited by World Events Productions; season two's Vehicle Team came from the unrelated Armored Fleet Dairugger XV.

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

Bounce like rubber balls is what the juice does for bears. On humans it gives a brief burst of super-strength that works only once a day, which is why Duke Igthorn keeps trying to steal the recipe.

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

Dunwyn's forest hides the last Gummis for a reason: jealous humans drove the rest of their kind into exile long ago, and the kingdom now takes the bears for a fairy tale.

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

Filmation already owned the name, from a 1975 live-action comedy called The Ghost Busters. Columbia paid to borrow it for the film, then Filmation revived its show as a cartoon days before the film's own spin-off aired.

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

In The Muppets Take Manhattan (July 1984), Miss Piggy imagines the gang as babies in the 'I'm Gonna Always Love You' number; the CBS series premiered that September, mixing live-action film clips into the babies' daydreams.

In the 1983 series Alvin and the Chipmunks, which female chipmunk is Alvin's vain, bossy opposite number?

Brittany leads the Chipettes as Alvin leads his brothers, with Jeanette a match for Simon and Eleanor for Theodore. She seems to have grown out of Charlene, who sang a Grease duet with Alvin on a 1982 album.

In the 1983 Dungeons & Dragons cartoon, how are the six kids transported into the realm?

On a roller coaster: the ride is a Dungeons & Dragons attraction that drops the six into the realm, where Dungeon Master arms each of them. Forty years on, all six appeared in live action in the film Honor Among Thieves.

Where is the secret London headquarters of Penfold's eyepatched boss hidden?

Inside a pillar box on Baker Street, a red post box, sits the base of the eyepatched agent and his timid sidekick. The show's artist doodled Penfold before a meeting, then realised he had drawn his own brother.

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

Danger Mouse was the parent show: a villainous Count Duckula had been a recurring baddie there, and the 1988 spin-off recast him as a vegetarian vampire, co-produced with Nickelodeon after the original's US success.

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

Vincent Price voiced Vincent Van Ghoul, the warlock who helps the gang recapture the ghosts Shaggy and Scooby released from the Chest of Demons; the unresolved 13th ghost was finally caught in a 2019 direct-to-video film.

Which arcade hit became, in 1982, the first video game turned into a TV cartoon?

Pac-Man reached ABC a year before Donkey Kong and Frogger got cartoons of their own. The show gave him a wife, a baby and a dog, and Namco then built its 1984 arcade game Pac-Land around it.

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

The Human Torch was the first choice by most accounts, which differ on why he was dropped. Firestar, invented in his place, later crossed into Marvel's comics and joined the New Warriors and the Avengers.

In Disney's Rescue Rangers, who wears the leather jacket first designed for Kit Colby, an Indiana Jones-style mouse who was dropped?

Chip got the jacket, plus an Indiana Jones hat, after Disney's bosses loved the pitch but not its lead mouse. Out went Kit Colby, in came the studio's old chipmunk duo, and Dale was handed a Hawaiian shirt.

Which cartoon began in 1982 as 30-second animated commercials for a Marvel comic, sidestepping limits on animated toy ads?

G.I. Joe dodged a rule that toy commercials could show only a few seconds of animation. No such limit covered ads for comic books, so Hasbro paid for fully animated spots selling the comic, and the figures with it.

In the 1980s My Little Pony cartoons, which baby dragon lives with the ponies?

Spike began in the 1984 special Rescue at Midnight Castle as a hostage of the centaur Tirac, then stayed on with the ponies. A new Spike, based on him, returned in 2010 as a lead of Friendship Is Magic.

The Simpsons launched as a half-hour series in 1989 with what kind of episode?

A Christmas special, 'Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire', opened the series only because the intended premiere, 'Some Enchanted Evening', came back so poorly animated that it was held until the end of the season.

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

Matt Groening sketched the family in James L. Brooks's lobby before pitching, and the shorts debuted on The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987; the spin-off became Fox's first series to crack the season's top 30.

Which other Jim Davis comic strip had its own segments in Garfield and Friends (1988)?

U.S. Acres, about a pig named Orson and his barnyard friends, left newspapers in 1989, a year after the cartoon began. Its animated segments carried on until 1994, outliving the strip by five years.

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

Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny, had played the cat once before, in a 1980 series. Heathcliff is the older of the two orange comic-strip cats: his strip began in 1973, five years before Garfield's.

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

The Smurfs shared the same Belgian licensing agent: Freddy Monnickendam of SEPP, who had brokered the Peyo deal, developed the underwater Snorks with Belgian artist Nic Broca, and both shows aired on the same Saturday-morning network.

In Denver, the Last Dinosaur (1988), how does Denver arrive in the modern world?

He hatches from a fossil egg that four Los Angeles teenagers find in a pit by the La Brea Tar Pits. They name him after a bus advert for the city and hide him from a promoter who wants to cash in.

Which wrestling personality played Mario in the 1989 live-action and cartoon Super Mario Bros. show?

Captain Lou Albano, a wrestling manager famous for the rubber bands in his wild beard, shaved it off to become the plumber and unveiled the result on a live talk show. He also voiced Mario in the cartoons.

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

V.E.N.O.M., the Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem, began with a betrayal: Miles Mayhem was Matt Trakker's business partner until he killed Matt's brother Andy and stole the power masks that arm his gang.

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

Mon*Star, who broke out of the prison world Penal Planet 10, draws his power from Limbo's Moonstar: under its rays the mob boss swells into an armour-plated giant.

Filmation's BraveStarr keeps the peace on which planet?

New Texas is a desert mining world whose rare mineral Kerium draws outlaws. Its marshal, a Native American lawman, calls on the strength of a bear and the speed of a puma, with a cyborg horse as his deputy.

In the 1989 Beetlejuice cartoon, what is the ghost to Lydia?

Her best friend: the cartoon turned the film's villain into Lydia's pal, whom she calls by saying his name three times for trips to the Neitherworld. Tim Burton developed it, and Danny Elfman reworked his film theme.

Which 1980s tough guy coached a team of mystery-solving teen gymnasts in his own 1983 cartoon?

Mr. T appeared in person to open each episode and again to close it with a moral lesson. In between, his cartoon self toured the world with the gymnasts and Dozer, a bulldog with a mohawk to match his own.

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

Mother Brain, the jar-bound boss of Metroid, became a vain, bellowing diva in the cartoon, voiced by Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops. Dr. Wily, King Hippo and the Eggplant Wizard are merely her henchmen.

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

Cyril Sneer, the pink aardvark tycoon, repeatedly tries to exploit the Evergreen Forest for profit, though over the series he softens into something of an antihero; his gentler son Cedric is Bert Raccoon's friend.

Which Inspector Gadget villain, the head of M.A.D., is never shown except for his arms and his pet cat?

Dr. Claw and his cat are a send-up of the James Bond villain Blofeld, and the series never once reveals his face.

Which Decepticon leader in The Transformers cartoon changes into a Walther P38 pistol instead of a vehicle?

Megatron's first toy, sold in the US in 1984, was a detailed replica of the handgun, complete with a scope and silencer.

Which Ninja Turtles villain was voiced in the 1987 cartoon by James Avery of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?

Shredder was voiced by James Avery for seven seasons, overlapping with his years as the stern but loving Uncle Phil, Philip Banks.

Which green ghost, a nameless glutton in the 1984 film Ghostbusters, was first given his name by the 1986 cartoon?

Slimer was known on the film set only as the Onion Head ghost, because the puppet smelled so unpleasant.

Which Autobot scout was a Volkswagen Beetle in the 1984 cartoon but a Chevrolet Camaro in the 2007 live-action film?

Bumblebee was among the first Transformers toys sold in the US, one of a set of pocket-sized Autobot Mini-Cars.

Which 1980s toy craze starred in its own ABC Saturday-morning cartoon in 1983 as a flying magical creature?

Rubik's Cube became Rubik, who could come alive only when solved and was easily scrambled, sometimes by the family dog.

Which R-rated action film series was turned into a 1986 children's cartoon subtitled The Force of Freedom?

Rambo led a team against a terrorist army called S.A.V.A.G.E. for 65 episodes, although the book and films were made strictly for adults.

Which Ninja Turtles ally, a computer programmer in the comics, became a TV news reporter in the 1987 cartoon?

April O'Neil first appeared in issue 2 of the Mirage comic in 1984, and later versions have recast her as a warrior and even as a teenager.

Which WWF champion fronted Rock 'n' Wrestling, a 1985 CBS Saturday-morning cartoon that carried his name in its title?

Hulk Hogan and his fellow wrestlers appeared only in the live-action segments, because their travel schedules left actors to voice the cartoon versions.

Which sitcom mother from Leave It to Beaver voiced Nanny, seen only from the neck down, in Muppet Babies?

Barbara Billingsley, TV's June Cleaver, voiced the role from 1984 to 1991, and the framing was meant to show how a toddler sees an adult.

Which actor voiced both Garfield and Peter Venkman of The Real Ghostbusters on 1980s television?

Lorenzo Music played Venkman for two seasons, and the swap later ran in reverse when Bill Murray, the film's Venkman, voiced Garfield in two live-action movies.

Which actress, who arrived meaning to audition for Lisa, won the role of Bart Simpson for the 1987 shorts?

Nancy Cartwright found Bart the more interesting part, asked to read for him instead, and Matt Groening offered her the role on the spot.

Count Duckula is a vegetarian vampire because what was used instead of blood in his resurrection ritual?

Tomato ketchup was substituted by Nanny by accident during the once-a-century ritual, so this Count's favourite food is broccoli sandwiches, not blood.

On which planet of magic, ruled by King Randor and Queen Marlena, is Filmation's He-Man cartoon set?

Eternia is ruled by the parents of Prince Adam, whose secret identity as He-Man is all that stops Skeletor from conquering it.

In Filmation's He-Man, which floating magician from the backwards world of Trolla finds his spells keep misfiring?

Orko is a master magician back home, but on He-Man's planet his spells backfire, which supplies much of the cartoon's comedy.

Which demonic sorcerer recruits the Mutants to help him destroy the ThunderCats and seize the Eye of Thundera?

Mumm-Ra was the last opponent in a five-part story in which an unarmed Lion-O had to best each ThunderCat in turn to earn his title as their Lord.

Which Australian mouse is the muscle of Disney's Rescue Rangers?

Monterey Jack, voiced in the first season by Peter Cullen, is helpless whenever he sees or smells cheese, and travels with his longtime friend Zipper, a tiny housefly.

In DuckTales, which prized possession of Scrooge McDuck does the villain Magica De Spell keep trying to steal?

Number One Dime is the first coin Scrooge ever earned, on his tenth birthday in Scotland in Don Rosa's telling of his life.

Which star of the talking-horse sitcom Mister Ed went on to voice Scrooge McDuck in DuckTales?

Alan Young, who played the horse's owner Wilbur Post, voiced the miserly duck for more than 40 years, beginning with a 1974 record album.

Which voice actor, the original Fred of Scooby-Doo in 1969, also played Baby Kermit and Baby Beaker in Muppet Babies?

Frank Welker stayed with Fred for decades, and in 2002 he took over as the voice of the Great Dane himself as well.

In Jem, which rival band led by the petulant rich girl Pizzazz keeps trying to upstage the Holograms?

The Misfits, no relation to the real punk band, also include the no-nonsense guitarist Roxy and the kind-hearted keytar player Stormer.

Which one-horned evil wizard is the main enemy of the six friends in the 1983 Dungeons & Dragons cartoon?

Venger is hinted to be Dungeon Master's own son, which an unproduced final episode would have confirmed while redeeming him.

Robotech (1985) was stitched together from three unrelated Japanese anime; which 1982 series supplied its first saga?

Macross alone was too short, because weekday syndication then demanded at least 65 episodes, so two more series were spliced on to reach 85.

Which Tonka line of transforming robots, led by Leader-1, got its own Hanna-Barbera cartoon in 1984?

GoBots reached cinemas too: their film Battle of the Rock Lords opened in March 1986, about four months ahead of their bigger rivals' movie.

On which home planet, before it exploded, is the 1987 prequel ALF: The Animated Series set?

Melmac is where ALF still goes by his birth name, Gordon Shumway, because the nickname was only given to him after he reached Earth.

Which Nintendo adventure game became the cartoon shown each Friday on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show?

The Legend of Zelda ran as a serial in the slot that the plumbers' own cartoon filled on the other four weekdays.

In Saturday Supercade's Donkey Kong cartoons, the ape is on the run after escaping from where?

A circus is what he fled, with Mario and Pauline giving chase, and the comedian Soupy Sales supplied the ape's voice.

In the cartoon Turbo Teen, what does teenager Brett Matthews turn into whenever he gets too hot?

A sports car is what he was driving when he crashed into a secret government lab, where a molecular beam fused the two; extreme cold turns him back.

Which comic-book legend, co-creator of the Fantastic Four, designed most of the villains in Thundarr the Barbarian?

Jack Kirby took over because Alex Toth, who had designed the three heroes, was unavailable to keep working on the show.

Which 1980s toy, sold with a cassette deck built into its back, got its own 65-episode syndicated cartoon?

Teddy Ruxpin's cartoon broke with habit by telling one long serialized story, with some plots lifted straight from the toy's own book-and-tape sets.

Which Hanna-Barbera cartoon family ran just 24 prime-time episodes from 1962 before returning with new ones in 1985?

The Jetsons lived on in reruns for two decades on the strength of that single season, until new episodes were made for syndication from 1985 to 1987.

Which furry natives of the forest moon in Return of the Jedi got an ABC Saturday-morning cartoon in 1985?

Ewoks first shared an hour with a sister series called Droids, then carried on alone under the title The All-New Ewoks.

Which claymation advertising mascots went from 1980s TV commercials to a CBS special and then a 1989 cartoon?

California Raisins got the series as a follow-up to Meet the Raisins!, a claymation special shown in 1988, and it lasted 13 episodes.

Which comedy film star voiced a cartoon version of himself running a summer camp in a 1989 series?

John Candy also sang the theme tune of Camp Candy himself, as a duet with the songwriter Harry Nilsson.

Which animator quit Disney on his 42nd birthday in 1979 and went on to direct An American Tail?

Don Bluth took eleven fellow Disney animators with him, and his new studio went on to make The Secret of NIMH and the arcade game Dragon's Lair.

In The Land Before Time (1988), the orphaned Littlefoot is a young dinosaur of which kind?

Apatosaurus was the choice for Littlefoot, whose mother dies shielding him from a Tyrannosaurus before he sets out to find the Great Valley.

Which 1985 Disney series starred creatures that were each half one animal and half another, such as Bumblelion?

The Wuzzles grew from an idea pitched by Michael Eisner for Disney's new television animation studio, and it was one of the studio's first two shows.

Which toy company was behind My Little Pony, Inhumanoids and The Transformers, all turned into 1980s cartoons?

Hasbro worked with Sunbow Productions and Marvel Productions, the same team behind several of its other toy-based series.

In Defenders of the Earth, Flash Gordon, the Phantom and Mandrake unite against which tyrant of planet Mongo?

Ming the Merciless has exhausted his own planet's natural resources and wants Earth's, and each of the heroes fights him alongside a son or daughter.

Which cartoon based on Topps trading cards was made for CBS in 1987 but never aired in the United States?

Garbage Pail Kids was pulled amid complaints that it ridiculed the disabled, glorified violence and was really a program-length advert for the cards.

Which Welsh cartoon star was brought to life by the cosmic dust of Spotty, a visiting alien from the Planet Spot?

SuperTed began as stories Mike Young wrote to help his son overcome a fear of the dark, and the series was later bought by the US Disney Channel.

Which future director of Home Alone created Galaxy High, a cartoon about two Earth teens at an intergalactic school?

Chris Columbus was then an up-and-coming screenwriter fresh from Gremlins and The Goonies, and CBS persuaded him to develop the show under his name.

In the 1986 animated Transformers film, which Star Trek actor voiced the new Decepticon leader Galvatron?

Leonard Nimoy joined a cast that also featured Eric Idle, Judd Nelson, Robert Stack and Scatman Crothers.

Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds retold which French novelist's 1844 adventure with a cast of dogs?

Alexandre Dumas's story was animated in Japan for a Spanish studio, and not every character is a dog: Milady, for one, is a cat.

Which Decepticon communications officer changes into a cassette deck whose tapes are his robot minions?

Soundwave began as a Japanese toy called Cassette Man, and his head design became the basis of the Decepticon logo.

In the 1987 Ninja Turtles cartoon, what is the name of Krang's giant mobile battle fortress?

Technodrome was built with the help of Von Drakus, whom Krang banished to Earth as soon as he had taken command of it.

In Rainbow Brite, the Hallmark franchise introduced in 1984, what is the name of the heroine's horse?

Starlite travels with her alongside a furry sprite named Twink, and the cartoon began the same year Hallmark licensed the dolls to a toy maker.

In The World of David the Gnome, what kind of animal is Swift, who carries David wherever he needs to go?

A fox was the family's mount of choice: Swift is the cub of Nimble, who carried David before him.

Which niece of Inspector Gadget secretly conducts his investigations and keeps him out of harm's way?

Penny regularly thwarts M.A.D.'s plans despite her young age, while her uncle never realises that he is being helped.

The Raccoons, the cartoon set in the Evergreen Forest, was created and produced in which country?

Canada's public broadcaster helped Kevin Gillis create the franchise, which began with three television specials before the series arrived in 1985.