5 More 1980s Animated Gems You Loved But Forgot
The 80s turned Saturday mornings into a franchise factory, unleashing Transformers, Thundercats, and G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero—cartoons that still command screens, shelves, and imaginations.
The 80s were stacked with cartoon heavy-hitters. Transformers, Thundercats, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, DuckTales — and if you were deep in the toy aisle, Dino-Riders and M.A.S.K. were basically religion. But beyond the usual icons, there are a few gems that deserve way more love than they get. Here are five that still hold up, each for their own weird, wonderful reasons.
SilverHawks
Rankin/Bass struck gold with Thundercats, then tried a spacefaring riff on that energy with SilverHawks. Yes, the DNA is similar — alien races, flashy tech, big bads — but this one lives in the cosmos, and the battles lean into fast, flight-heavy action that gives it a distinct vibe.
The team lineup is peak 80s: Quicksilver, Steelheart, Steelwill, The Copper Kidd, and Bluegrass — a guitar-slinging cowboy pilot who is exactly as awesome as that sounds. The bummer: it only lasted a single season. The upside: it graduated to cult favorite status, and if you skipped it, it’s absolutely worth a dive.
The World of David the Gnome
Not everything in the decade was lasers and mechs. In 1985, this gentle, beautifully animated series adapted the children’s books The Secret Book of Gnomes into cozy, low-stakes adventures. David, his wife Lisa, and their fox Swift spend their days helping forest friends and protecting the ancient trees — which, in a great little bit of lore, are also their ancestors.
Tom Bosley’s voice work is a big part of why it clicks; he opens episodes with narration that sets a warm, whimsical tone. There’s action here and there, but the show’s superpower is its sweetness. If you missed it, it’s a perfect comfort watch.
Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs
This one wears its 80s style like a badge. Here’s the twist that makes retro TV nerds perk up: it was built by editing and reworking footage from the anime Star Musketeer Bismarck after WEP bought the English-language rights — the same company that handled the English version of Voltron.
The setup: in a future where humans have colonized planets across the universe, the Star Sheriffs protect settlers from the Outriders. The show delivers loud, catchy music and gloriously over-the-top battles — jets, cavalry on space horses, and giant mechs, often in the same episode. It never hit Voltron-level success, but it’s a blast and the storytelling holds together better than you’d expect.
Danger Mouse
A British secret agent who happens to be a mouse, his jittery sidekick Penfold, and a steady stream of dry jokes — that’s the sauce. The show is basically a love letter to spy movies filtered through a very cheeky lens, from the witty narration to the mid-battle banter.
The character bench is fantastic: arch-villain Baron Silas Greenback with his fluff-ball pet Nero, the eternally exasperated Colonel K, Professor Heinrich Von Squawkencluck, and J.J. Quark. Also, Danger Mouse’s car rules. It’s stylish, silly, and still funny.
Ulysses 31
The standout for me. U.S. viewers only got half a season of this one, which is wild given how ambitious it is: it takes Homer’s Odyssey and hurls it into deep space, with Ulysses trying to get home while a very cranky Zeus keeps throwing cosmic obstacles in his way.
It looks great — meticulous character designs, bold color, and battles that feel big and kinetic. The stories aren’t afraid to go a little heavier either, and characters don’t always do the predictable thing. It’s not flawless, but it deserved way more attention than it got. If you want a confident, stylish sci-fi myth remix, this hits the spot.