I hope everyone had a good Christmas, if you celebrate it, or week, if you don't. Today, I'm wrapping up my series based on a decade long era of cartoons. So with little to no delay, let's jump into the cartoons of 1989.
Title: Beetlejuice
Air Date: September 1989 0 December 1991
Seasons: Four
Episodes: Ninety-Four
DVD Release: Yes
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!
Yes, the one and only, and based on the highly popular Tim Burton film, it's...Well...duh, Beetlejuice.
By 1989, my cartoon watching was pretty much done and over with. I was full on hooked to the Nintendo Entertainment System, and that got the majority of my television attention. In hindsight, I'm pretty bummed out that I missed such an iconic cartoon, so thank goodness it's available on DVD. This one was actually on my Christmas list for my girl, and though I'm writing this post in advance to the holiday, fingers are crossed it will be under the tree.
Title: The California Raisin Show
Air Date: September - December 1989
Seasons: One
Episodes: Thirteen
DVD Release: Yes
Man, The California Raisins were a massive success in the 80's and early 90's. Who know then a series of singing claymation raisins could take the world by such a storm?
Their success led to a short lived animated series in 1989. However, this was a traditionally animated series, featuring the Raisins, and of course, music.
This series has indeed been released on DVD, and it's quite a collection to get. The California Raisins Collection not only features all thirteen episodes of the series, but commercials and two additional claymation shorts.
Title: Camp Candy
Air Date: September 1989 - September 1992
Seasons: Three
Episodes: Forty
DVD Release: No
John Candy as a camp counselor at his own surname camp, starring John Candy himself? Yes please! Think Earnest Goes To Camp, and then extended over forty animated episodes. It was formulaic at its best, but in a good way.
Well, at least I think it was a good way. I mean, it did last for three seasons, all of which I missed completely. Sadly, I don't have the opportunity to catch up on this series, as it's never been released on DVD. Darn.
Title: Captain N: The Game Master
Air Date: September 1989 - October 1991
Seasons: Three
Episodes: Thirty-Four
DVD Release: Yes
For someone as big into Nintendo as I was, you would think this was a series I tuned into every week to get my fill of iconic NES characters in cartoon form. Whereas the truth of the matter is that this wasn't on my radar in the slightest. I don't think I even knew it existed until about a decade ago, if even.
The entire series has been released across a couple DVD sets. However, both are out of print, and very expensive. Fortunately for me, my girlfriend got me the first set a few years ago, and I was graced with the opportunity to place a very low starting bid on a listing about a year ago for the second series, that nobody else bid on, and I won. SCORE!
Title: Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers
Air Date: March 1989 - November 1990
Seasons: Three
Episodes: Sixty-Five
DVD Release: Sort Of
Though I may not have watched many cartoons in 1989, The Disney Afternoon was a block I rarely missed. Among the classics of DuckTales, Tale Spin, and The Adventures Of The Gummi Bears was Chip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers.
Unfortunately for people like me, who would love to have this entire series on DVD, Disney has only released two volumes which contain fifty-one of the sixty-five episodes. Why so few episodes were given the shaft is beyond me. While I would say that since the episodes that have been released came out too long ago for Disney to release the remaining episodes, they did eventually do this with DuckTales. So, fingers are still crossed.
Title: Dink, The Little Dinosaur
Air Date: September 1989 - November 1990
Seasons: Two
Episodes: Twenty-One
DVD Release: Yes
Full of positivity and friendship, Dink, The Little Dinosaur was a family friendly dinosaur series which rode the coattails of The Land Before Time. When it wasn't spreading a message of positivity, it was teaching children through educational segments.
Dink was released on DVD in full in 2017 through Warner Archive, and remains available now. If you're looking for a lighthearted series to add to your 80's collection, this one may very well be for you!
Title: G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (Series 2)
Air Date: January - September 1989 - January 1992
Seasons: Two
Episodes: Forty-Four
DVD Release: Yes
Technically a continuation of the original G.I. Joe series, the 1989 DIC Enterprises show is often considered its own iteration. While the show started out on a high note, it soon started to falter under corny dialog and over the top scenarios that simply couldn't sustain the weight that was G.I. Joe.
The entire second series was released across two volumes on DVD, and remains in print to this day. Because it's the least popular of the two series, these particular DVD"s don't tent to cost too much. Then again, neither do the first series discs.
Air Date: September - December 1989
Seasons: One
Episodes: Thirteen
DVD Release: No
The Karate Kid is one of my favorite franchises of the 80's. I dig the second film just as much as the first, and enjoy the closure that part three provides.
The cartoon abandons the stories and world established in the live action film in lieu of an action / adventure motif. While it sometimes falters to silliness, it manages to capture the characters well, which ultimately keeps it afloat.
Of all the 80's cartoons out there, this is one of my top five which has never been released on DVD, and it really stinks that it hasn't. This would be a day one purchase if it ever came to fruition.
Title: McGee And Me!
Air Date: June 1989 - June 1995
Seasons: One
Episodes: Twelve
DVD Release: Possibly
Part live action, part animation, all Christian programming. There weren't many religious shows that hit the airways in syndication, but McGee And Me stood toe to toe with them.
If you were a fan of this show, you'd probably be happy to find out that there are a ton of DVD releases for it. It's because of this that I can't figure out if the series has been released, or if this is a different iteration of the series. I'm still digging into this one for confirmation.
Title: Ring Raiders
Air Date: September - October 1989
Seasons: One
Episodes: Five
DVD Release: No
Based on the toy line created by Matchbox, Ring Raiders first started out as a two hour special, and developed into a short live five episode series. Tons of action, swarming aircraft, unique characters, all set to the background of a world on the brink of war in 1998, Ring Raiders definitely delivered on the excitement factor.
Sadly, the series has never been released on DVD, and there have been no announcements to do so. This one may end up being a forgotten treasure.
Title: Rude Dog And The Dweebs
Air Date: September - December 1989
Seasons: Thirteen
Episodes: One
DVD Release: No
Rude Dog and the Dweebs was a series I never watched. I knew about it, and vaguely remembered it leading up to this post, but overall, it wasn't for me. The character was initially used as the logo for a line of surf and skateboard related items by Sun Sportswear before they marketed the character into his own cartoon. It was a cat versus dog kind of show, all set across the backdrop of Beverly Hills, the perfect place to surf the beach or skate the boardwalks.
The show has never been released on DVD, but there is hope for those needing a home video fix. Select episodes have been released on VHS throughout the late 80's and 90's.
Title: The Simpsons
Air Date: December 1989 - Ongoing
Seasons: Thirty-Three and Counting
Episodes: Seven Hundred Twenty-Eight and Counting
DVD Release: Sort Of
The Simpsons was revolutionary when it hit airways in 1989. It was raw, edgy, and funny. It was how family's really acted, but television was afraid to portray it. The series broke the mold of traditional sitcoms, not only in its style, but also substance.
While it's long since run its course for me, it remains one of the most popular shows of all time, with no end seemingly in sight.
Only the first twenty seasons have been released on DVD, and with things going full on digital these days, there's no reason to believe that any further individual seasons will come out. However, I have no doubts that when the series finally comes to an end that some form of last hooray full release will hit shelves. Probably for about a thousand dollars when it's all said and done. But again, who knows when that will be.
Title: The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Air Date: September - December 1989
Seasons: One
Episodes: Fifty-Two
DVD Release: Sort Of
In 1989, Nintendo was king of the home consoles, and it only seemed natural to transfer this popularity from eight bit pixels to cartoon series. Featuring WWF superstar Captain Lou Albano as Mario, and Danny Wells as Luigi, the show offered a hybrid of live action segments intercut with cartoon shorts. This not only made the characters feel all the more real, but gave DIC Entertainment the opportunity to use popular actors, actresses, sports players, and pop music artists as guest stars.
If that wasn't enough to appeal, the show also incorporated segments of The Legend Of Zelda. Though these were strictly animated shorts.
Sadly, while you can get the cartoons on DVD, the most sought after Shout Factory releases are out of print. NCircle obtained the rights to release the show in 2012, but in doing so removed the the live action segments. Further, you have to buy the Super Mario Bros. and The Legend Of Zelda cartoons separately.
And on that note, we wrap up our look at cartoons of the 80's. I hope you've enjoyed this trip down memory lane. There's one more Retro Spin post coming tomorrow, but that will wrap up 2021 at The Toy Box.
This series of posts encompasses the following:
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
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I remember when the Simpsons first aired. Our college would shut down for 30 minutes on Thursday nights cause that's what everyone was watching.
ReplyDeleteThe Simpsons and Married...With Children were the last series that my family sat down together to watch. I don't know that my mom necessarily cared for them, but it was what we did.
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