TVSquad

Alright, so in keeping with today's theme of cartoons, I thought I'd throw in my two cents, but in all likelihood, considering how much everyone seems to disagree with just about everything I say, it'll end up being a cent and a half. So here we go, the five Greatest 80's cartoons. We all know that cartoons reached their pinnacle in the 1980's, sure there's been some highlights since then, but across the board I would have watched pretty much anything and tried my damnedest. Looking back, this seems to be where the obsession began.... my parents just sat me in front of the tv and left me all alone with Optimus, Scooby and Papa Smurf... *sniff* hold on, I need to go call my therapist. On with the show!

5)The Smurfs
Now, I'm not gonna do the normal jokes about Smurfette or why they were really blue, I just wanna reminisce. I think the Smurfs is probably one of my earliest memories, and it was always just such a comfortable show. Everything seemed fluffy, and I think even then, I was never really worried that anything bad could happen to them. That's probably why the anti-war campaign works so well, because it destroys that comfort you had when you were little. I was shocked to find out when "researching" this piece that The Smurfs was on for 9 years!! 1981-1990

4) GI Joe
This was more of my first foray into something "taboo". You see, GI Joe was a little too violent for my Mom, so I would have to get up extra early in the morning to catch it, or watch it at a friend's house. I had a whole cache of the toys (ok, only 3, and 2 of them were Storm Shadow) that I had hidden away, and would go across the streets to my friend Jared's who had pretty much every toy ever made and the movie! He was allowed to play Mortal Kombat too. Bastard.

3) Scooby-Doo
Now, I know, I know, this show isn't necessarily "from" the 80's but it was certainly replayed enough during the 80's to be on this list. There was something consoling in the fact that no real monsters existed, everything could be logically explained. Every bump in the night, every monster in your closet, if you thought hard enough about it, you could find a reason for it. I think that's where a lot of the later incarnation and the movies lost some of their magic, by making the monsters real. I still catch this on Sunday mornings sometimes and it holds up like crap, but I still crack up and enjoy every episode.

2) He-Man
The basic premise behind He-Man is I think why show's like Power Rangers and every other heroic cartoon show remain popular today: anyone can be a hero. He-Man was Prince Adam, just some ordinary runt, in fact he was pretty much a pussy running away from every form of confrontation he could, living his Paris Hilton-esque royalty life to it's fullest. That is, until he held that sword up and "By the power of Grayskull", the weakly Prince Adam became "the most powerful man in the universe", He-Man. There is not a more masculine name than that, and being the weakling that I was at that age, I can vividly remember picking up random things and making random statements for at least a week, trying to become... well, whoever I was going to become.

1) Transformers
For me, it doesn't get much better than this. I'm actually find it hard to write about this because I can't find the way to express my love and feelings for this show. I loved every instant of it, and this was the first time I felt "older". I remember being devastated during the movie, and honestly thinking that nothing was ever gonna be the same again. I loved the 3rd season even though most hate it. I buy at least 2 new Transformer toys a month. I watch the movie on DVD every couple of weeks. I have an Autobot tattoo. I own an original cel from the movie. This was my escape from being a chubby smart little kid and the teasing that came from that. This is as much a part of me and my childhood as sports are for others.

So there's my list. I have a lot of old cartoons to go watch right now. While I'm doing that, why don't you leave your five favorites here. Come on, there's tons to choose from. Voltron, Thundercats, Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, Silverhawks, Rainbow Brite, My Little Pony, Snorks. Let's see what you've got.

By the way, everyone should watch Foster's Home. Any show that has a "Frankie says relax joke" on it is tops in my book.