All 80s kids know how lucky they were to grow up in that decade, and a big part of that were the cartoons that were made just for us. Rainbow-colored girls! Robots that turn into cars! Holographic pop stars! Muscled warriors who weirdly never used their swords to battle the bad guys! The 1980s were packed with iconic cartoons, and for Season 7 the Great Pop Culture Debate podcast wanted to determine the Best 80s Cartoon of all time!
We made a list of just about every major cartoon to air in America in the 1980s. Note that for our purposes, we only included shows with NEW episodes in the 1980s, not reruns. So those summer mornings watching old Hanna-Barbera cartoons on USA or after-school airings of 70s Scooby-Doo won’t count here; these had to be cartoons being produced in the 80s (we may do a 70s cartoon episode in the future). Our listeners picked their favorites, we ranked them popularity, added them to a bracket, and then argued about it and insulted each other, all for your amusement.
Join us as host Eric Rezsnyak and fellow 80s kids Brendan Hay, Derek Mekita, and Kate Racculia relive their misspent youths by discussing the very best cartoons from the 1980s. Which show will win? Listen now!
Want to listen to Part 1, where we debate the Top 32 down to the Sweet 16? Become a Patreon supporter for that exclusive content. It’s like a whole bonus episode!
The Round 2 match-ups are:
Match-Up 1: “DuckTales” (1) vs. “Alvin and the Chipmunks” (5)
Match-Up 2: “Chip ‘N’ Dale Rescue Rangers” (3) vs. “Adventures of the Gummi Bears” (2)
Match-Up 3: “She-Ra: Princess of Power” (1) vs. “Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats” (5)
Match-Up 4: “Thundercats” (3) vs. “Jem and the Holograms” (2)
Match-Up 5: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (1) vs. “Care Bears” (4)
Match-Up 6: “The Real Ghostbusters” (3) vs. “The Smurfs” (2)
Match-Up 7: “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” (1) vs. “Garfield & Friends” (4)
Match-Up 8: “The Transformers” (3) vs. “Muppet Babies” (2)
Want to play along at home?
Click here to download the listener bracket for this episode. See if your picks match up with ours!
Looking for more 80s content?
Check out these episodes from Great Pop Culture Debate:
Best One-Hit Wonder of the 70s/80s
Finally, if you’re looking for even more 80s cartoon content, check out our Top 10 List on the Best 80s Cartoon Villains.
Have a say in future episodes!
Finally, if you want to have a say in what episodes we tackle next, vote in our Topic Polls! And we would love to have you pick your faves in the polls currently open for your votes!
EPISODE CREDITS
HOST: Eric Rezsnyak
PRODUCER: Bob Erlenback
PANEL: Brendan Hay, Derek Mekita, Kate Racculia
EDITOR: Jeffery Perry