Thanksgiving is drawing closer, and the end of 2021 is just on the horizon. But today, we're not looking at the future. Nope. Once again we're headed to the past!
1984 was a year of classic cartoons that would go on to shape an era of kids. Among them are some of my all time favorites that not only were important to me back then, but also to this very day!
Air Date: September 1984 - December 1985
Seasons: Two
Episodes: Sixty-Five
DVD Release: Yes
Challenge Of The GoBots may have been usurped by the far more popular series featuring everyone's favorite Autobots and Decepticons. It was often times considered "the poor kid's Transformers", but you have to give the show its properly deserved credit for helping pave the way for those robots in disguise.
In retrospect, it's a difficult series for me to watch as an adult. It's the moving mouths and other facial features that really takes me out of each episode. Well, that and the relatively silly story lines. It's by no means perfect.
As part of their manufacture on demand format, Hanna-Barbera / Warner Bros. released the entire series on three separate DVD sets.
Air Date: September - December 1984
Seasons: One
Episodes: Thirteen
DVD Release: Yes
Take everything you loved about the 1983 classic laserdisc arcade game, take out the elements where you have to do everything yourself through trial and error, and you get the amazing Don Bluth's Dragon's Lair animated series. This show was one of my all time favorites as a kid, and I was super stoked when I found out it was coming to DVD via Hanna-Barbera's manufacture on demand series.
I loved how each episode showcased the trial and error elements of the game, showing segments where the narrator would say, "If Dirk had chosen 'x', this would have happened," before ultimately showing the audience the correct choice.
Air Date: September 1984 - December 1986
Seasons: Two
Episodes: Eighty-Six
DVD Release: Yes
Heathcliff, also known as Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats, was my era of introduction to the famous orange cat. I spent hours watching this show throughout my childhood, both when it first aired, and again when it went into syndicated re-runs. It remains one of my all-time favorites of the era...Well, among so many others.
Each segmented episode contained one story based strictly on Heathcliff, and the other focusing on the Catillac Cats. A unique aspect of this series was that in January of 1986, several segments were compiled together, and released as Heathcliff: The Movie. Considering it's essentially a greatest hits of episodes readily available on DVD as the complete series, it's odd that the movie on DVD costs twice as much as the full series.
The complete series was released on DVD in 2019, making it one of the relatively newer 80's cartoon releases to be packaged for home video enthusiasts.
Title: Kidd Video
Air Date: September 1984 - December 1985
Seasons: Two
Episodes: Twenty-Six
DVD Release: No
Both my sister and I loved this show when it aired. So much so that I bought the Israel (only) released album, which contained all the songs the faux group recorded for the series. Each animated episode featured a music video at the end, and while the first season contained songs by the band, the second utilized more popular tracks of the era from established artists. Additionally, each episode was edited with segments of music videos cut within it.
This obviously leads to a lot of licensing and legality issues for any form of resurgance in the series. It really sucks that cartoons which feature music, either original or from other artists, will never see the light of day on DVD. Kidd Video is another one of those shows that despite fans desperately wanting it to be available, isn't going to happen. Sadly, if you want to enjoy these on a legal format, you'll have to settle for the six VHS tapes released in the 80's. However, each contains one lone episode.
Air Date: September - December 1984
Seasons: One
Episodes: Thirteen
DVD Release: Yes
I must have slept through this one. I'd never heard of the Mighty Orbots until working on this post. More giant Japanese robots, inspired by the look, tone and feel of many Japanese animated series, containing robots which combined to create larger robots. Despite being the small or larger versions, they're all called Mighty Orbots, making it a bit confusing when referring to both.
Obviously, I've never seen this one. However, it is available on DVD. If found on a whim while out and about, I would probably pick this one up to add to my collection. However, actively seeking it out is not on my agenda.
Air Date: September 1984 - November 1991
Seasons: Eight
Episodes: One Hundred Seven
DVD Release: No
Muppet Babies was a classic cartoon, and one I watched for years and years. The voice acting was superb, the segments entertaining, and overall just a great time to sit down and enjoy.
What I liked most about this series was the imagination behind each episode. Be it movie parodies, or all new adventures, the writers were constantly keeping things fresh and unique.
While several episodes have seen releases on VHS, it nowhere nicks the surface of the entire series, which sadly doesn't appear will ever see the light of day on DVD due to licensing and legality issues. What a major bummer.
Title: The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries
Air Date: September - December 1984
Seasons: Two
Episodes: Twenty-Six
DVD Release: No
Technically, this is season two of The New Scooby And Scrappy-Doo Show. This second season changed the name to The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries, and comprises of thirteen of the total twenty-six episodes in the entire series.
Fred and Velma returned to the show after being absent from the world of Scooby-Doo for four years. It was an awesome reunion of the original gang, and dun to see them all back in action together.
Unfortunately, while some episodes have been compiled onto DVD, there appear to be no current plans to release the series as a whole.
Air Date: September 1984 - February 1985
Seasons: Unknown
Episodes: Twenty-Six
DVD Release: No
Though the Pink Panther was featured in the show, the main focal point of the series were his teenage son, Pinky, and toddler brother, Panky. Though it didn't resonate with me as a child, the innuendo of their main "adversaries" The Howl Angels, is all to clear as an adult.
To date, the show remains unreleased on DVD, or any home video format for that matter. It's unclear if this is a result of any rights issues, or simply a matter of general disinterest of the series.
Air Date: September - December 1984
Seasons: One
Episodes: Thirteen
DVD Release: Sort Of
The theme song to this show is the most memorable to me. It's pretty freaking amazing, and may be the best part of the entire show. At least to me.
The series focused on the Darrett family who worked as government crime fighters who worked under the alias of a traveling stunt driver show. While it shares the title of the classic video game, and is obviously intended to be a tie in, overall, it's unrelated to the otherwise generic racing game.
The series was released in its entirety in the UK on DVD. However, to date, it has not been released directly in the USA. Now, with that said, it is still available, though very expensive. Mill Creek released a three DVD pack in 2012 that featured ten of the thirteen episodes, along with ten episodes of COPS, and ten episodes of Jayce And The Wheeled Warriors. Later that year, they released a ten DVD set which featured over one hundred various cartoon episodes. Among them were the final three episodes from the series. The downside to this is that the initial DVD set is out of print, and can cost over $100.00. While the second set is still available, it can cost upwards of $40.00. That's a lot of money to complete a single thirteen episode series.
Air Date: June 1984 - July 1986
Seasons: Two
Episodes: Thirteen
DVD Release: Yes
Rainbow Brite is one of the examples of what made 80's cartoons so great, and why so many people making entertainment media today have things all wrong. While Rainbow Brite featured a main cast of characters that were primarily female, both boys and girls tuned in to catch every episode. Why? Because the series delivered good stories, and fun entertainment for children. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. That's all it takes. It's why as adults, many male's still watch this, She-Ra, Jem, and so many other properties that would be considered, "for girls". Vice versa, many girls watched shows like Transformers, G.I. Joe and He-Man. Again, it wasn't about gender. It was about whether or not the series was good.
Alright, let me get off my soap box.
While you can purchase the entire series on DVD, it is long out of print, and quite expensive. It's also a little difficult to find.
Air Date: September 1984 - May 1989
Seasons: Four
Episodes: Sixty-Five
DVD Release: Yes
They're the underwater creatures often considered the counterpart to Smurfs, and released by the same company, Hanna-Barbera. The show followed the colorful plankton of Snorkland, featuring family friendly shows about friendship, lying, growing up, and your other typical fair of Saturday morning cartoon themes. It by no means stretched any boundaries, but it did manage to be entertaining.
Hanna-Barbera's manufacture on demand series ensured that the entire series was released on DVD. However, it's not contained in one package. You'll need to buy the complete season one, the complete season two, and the combined / complete seasons three and four.
Air Date: September - October 1984
Seasons: One
Episodes: Eight
DVD Release: Yes
Though Super Friends had been on the air since the seventies, it continued to transition between various incarnations of the show. 1984's installment saw the title changed once again to Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show, and is noteworthy for being a correlation and tie in to the Kenner toy line.
Unlike the various DVD releases of this show, which will have you chasing down numerous titles, varying names and all around confusion, this series was released in its entirety on its own self titled DVD set.
Air Date: September 1984 - November 1987
Seasons: Four
Episodes: Ninety-Eight
DVD Release: Yes
Try as I might, I could never get into the Transformers. Not as a kid, not as an adult. While I watched to series throughout its various seasons in the 80's, I never asked my parents for any of the toys, or in general, cared much about it. For me, it was a cartoon to spend thirty minutes with, and nothing more.
Even when the movie hit theaters, it went seemingly by without me so much as taking notice. In fact, I didn't even see it until getting it on VHS in the 90's. Still, I get the excitement behind it. I feel the same way about Masters of the Universe and G.I. Joe, so I'm not about to dumb down anyone's personal fandom. It's an iconic series of the 80's, and I respect that.
All four seasons, including the cult classic Japanese Head Masters series have been released on DVD numerous times by various companies. Best of all, with each release, they get cheaper and cheaper. Bottom line, they're readily available.
Air Date: September 1984 - August 1985
Seasons: One
Episodes: Thirteen
DVD Release: No
Turbo-Teen is a guilty pleasure from my past. I don't know what it was about teenager Brett Matthews being able to transformer into a red convertible after an accident that fused their molecules together, but I dig it.
The main premise of the show revolved around Brett and Dr. Chase attempting to find a way to reverse the boy's condition. Though this never got resolved in the show. Occasionally, a subplot would weave into the show, where the unseen Dark Rider would seek to get his hands on Brett, and in turn learn how to harness his secret "power".
A DVD release has never happened, but really needs to. It's long overdue.
Air Date: September - October 1984
Seasons: One
Episodes: Seven
DVD Release: No
Think MTV for kids, featuring animated segments, as well as live action interviews and music videos. That's essentially Wolf Rock TV in a nutshell. Unfortunately, with many people simply opting to tune into MTV, it was a short lived series.
The obvious issue as to why this series will never see the light of day on DVD boils down to the celebrity interviews and music videos. Without them, the show is pretty hollow, in terms of the animated segments. However, I would probably still pick this one up even if it were edited down to just those. I think it would be a unique item to have in one's collection.
Air Date: November 1984 - November 1985
Seasons: Two
Episodes: Seventy-Two
DVD Release: Yes
Though I had a giant Voltron toy...briefly...as a kid, I never really watched the television series. I may have caught one or two episodes here and there, but it was never intentional. I just couldn't get into it. Any Japanese styled cartoons for that matter.
Which is interesting that, because I bought the entire series on DVD, which included not only the follow up series featuring the car Voltron, but also the movie, The Fleet Of Doom. I think this is being driven by how I'm seeing some of these come to DVD, go out of print, and explode in price. I'd rather buy it now while it's affordable, and decide later if I want to give it another opportunity.
I hope you enjoyed this look at the cartoons of 1984. Hopefully you saw some classics that you enjoyed as a kid. We'll be jumping into 1985 next Monday.
This series of posts encompasses the following:
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.
There was a Dragon's Lair cartoon. No way!
ReplyDeleteI am genuinely concerned about your 80's street cred.
DeleteTurboteen needs a dvd. Unlike most unreleased series, its not even findable online. I think 5 eps have been found and thats it. (Tigersharks is another "lost" series for now.)
ReplyDeleteDay one buy for me if it ever came out. Tiger Sharks too.
Delete