80s Cartoons: Golden Age?

[Bacchus]

I would like to take issue with the general cultural history of animation television presented by “official” cultures like those who produce Wikipedia entries, etc. According to such histories, the 80s was a part of the "down period" after the Golden Age of mid-century and before the Renaissance of the 90s.

This narrative needs complicating.

A look at current Saturday morning television will tell us why. Whether it be Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Saturday mornings today look much like Saturday mornings in the 80s, except that in the 80s such shows were not derivative attempts to relive glory days. They were the glory days. But it’s not just Saturday morning broadcast television. A new He-Man series recently aired on Cartoon Network. The last few years have seen successful box-office movies like Garfield, Transformers, and Inspector Gadget. This year, we await the highly anticipated G.I. Joe movie. Moreover, a stroll through the toy isle of your local Target or Wal-Mart seems, for those of us who grew up in the 80s, a stroll down memory lane. From this perspective, the 80s era looks not like a calm before the storm of renewal, but instead the foundation of a cartoon culture through which we are still living.

[MacGyver]

Oh yeah- the '80s cartoons rule! Of course, that is what I grew up with and I think everyone attaches nostalgic value to their own childhood, whether it's from the '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s or even '90s nowadays.
In fact, I know some folks that identify more with the early to mid 90s as their childhood and wax nostalgic about Nick shows like Rocko's Modern Life, Doug and even stuff like Rugrats. (Some of those early '90s Nick shows are quite cool- particularly Doug - but I don't get into Rugrats, sorry. )
However, as far as I'm concerned the 1980s was a golden age for cartoons- there were lots of great dynasties that were formed, as well as some pretty outlandish and creative attempts, as well as shows that tapped on the current culture. (like Turbo Teen or Kidd Video or Lazer Tag Academy- some of my favorite '80s classics I grew up with.)
But it's that same old maxim I've heard that comes into play. Every 20 years or so, everything old becomes new again. Probably because the 20-something year olds that are now the programming directors at TV stations and such are reminiscing on their childhood and wanting to bring those shows and things back that they remember fondly.
You can see this trend through the 1970s as all of a sudden people recalled their youth in the 1950s and we had things like the 1973 movie "American Graffiti" that fondly recalled the '50s, as well as the hit 1974-1984 TV series "Happy Days".
In the 1980s, (and obviously every decade and time period still brings its own essence that is quintessentially and undelibly its own)- but anyway, the 1960s were reminisced through shows like "The Wonder Years" in particular, as well as "Family Ties"- though that show showcased the clash between the '60s and '80s values, etc.
In the 1990s, the 1970s became the subject of nostalgia through the rise of bell bottom jeans in fashion and shows like "That '70s Show" and movies like "Dazed and Confused" and so forth.
And thus, in the 2000s, the 1980s are definitely striking back! There are so many, many things from the 1980s that are all of a sudden new again- in both TV, movies and fashion. I mean, all of sudden kids have mohawks and wear jeans with huge holes in them that they either made themselves or had professionally done. Just today I saw some kids at the store with such fashionable jeans and I'm almost laughing to myself thinking- "You know that's like 20-something years old, right?" I mean- I don't care personally. As far as I'm concerned, ripped jeans have always been pretty cool- but then, I don't really care about fashion. Hair is hair and clothes are clothes. I don't care if it's in style or not. But it is amusing to me to see some things I remember from the '80s that are now considered the current retro-trend.
And of course, we have relaunches of things like Transformers, G.I. Joe and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. (Though to be fair, none of those ever really went away- they all had their own presence throughout the '90s to today through things like comics and other TV shows- anyone remember "G.I. Joe: Extreme" or "Transformers: Beast Wars" or "Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation"?)
But certainly- Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, and My Little Pony and He-Man- all of those had a resurgence of cartoons and straight-to-video movies and such. And other '80s classics become movies, like the aforementioned Inspector Gadget movies (the 2nd. one isn't as bad as I'd thought it might have been, by the way), Garfield (though technically he's been around since 1978 in the newspaper comics), Transformers, and now G.I. Joe!
And of course, the live action resurgence of the new Knight Rider TV show (which Pilot episode notwithstanding, isn't too terrible- though it'll never replace the David Hasselhoff and William Daniels original as far as I'm concerned)- and the recent Miami Vice movie, and if all goes to plan- we may soon see movie versions of The Equalizer, Magnum, P.I., The A-Team, The Greatest American Hero, and MacGyver!
(Just hope they will all utilize the original stars as much as possible- Tom Selleck still is Thomas Magnum as far as I'm concerned and Richard Dean Anderson is definitely MacGyver! We'll see what happens.)
Just as other '80s stars have made a comeback reprising their original starring roles- like Bruce Willis as John McClane in "Live Free or Die Hard" and Slyvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa in, well, "Rocky Balboa" (which was an awesome movie by the way! That was incredible for me to finally see a Rocky movie in theaters! ) and Sly as John J. Rambo in "Rambo" (and by the way, I've already heard talk that he's thinking of a 5th.!) and of course, Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (which was awesome! That was also really exciting for me to finally see an Indiana Jones movie in theaters! And yes- there is talks of a 5th. movie if the script is right! )
And the Star Wars movies made a comeback too with the prequels- though that's sort of its own franchise anyway.
But yeah, there's plenty of examples. The 1980s are back- I just hope some of my favorite '80s properties are handled well in their 2000s incarnations.

_________________
"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by me." - Jesus (John 14:6)

"You can do anything you want to do if you put your mind to it."- MacGyver

"Thunder...Thunder....Thunder...ThunderCats...HOOOO!!!!!!"- Lion-O

[ReComposed]

Thank you, Bacchus. I, too, am frustrated that so many of my favorite series are held in such disdain when, in spite of their occasional flaws, they had so many genuinely great episodes, characters, and ideas, and I'm so glad these properties are making comebacks.

[SharpFork]

[IceDragon]

[MacGyver]

Yes....and sadly, there isn't much I can do about it, even as one of the moderators, other than go through and delete such posts as I see them- sorry about that, guys.

_________________
"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by me." - Jesus (John 14:6)

"You can do anything you want to do if you put your mind to it."- MacGyver

"Thunder...Thunder....Thunder...ThunderCats...HOOOO!!!!!!"- Lion-O

[Vaporman87]

This is touched on a bit in an article by Hoju Koolander. The idea that 80's cartoons were a "down" period seems so odd, given that every toy on the market seemingly had a cartoon counterpart.

_________________
RetroDaze

[IceDragon]

[MacGyver]

Thanks, Ice Dragon. It's members like you that make coming to this forum to hang out worthwhile.

And yeah, bud- I can definitely put a turkey sandwich away for ya.

_________________
"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by me." - Jesus (John 14:6)

"You can do anything you want to do if you put your mind to it."- MacGyver

"Thunder...Thunder....Thunder...ThunderCats...HOOOO!!!!!!"- Lion-O

[Aurora]

I don't believe the 80's were a "down period" for cartoons. I can see the argument working for animated films, but not for animated series. Sure, cartoons varied widely in quality, but they did in other eras and still do. There are low-quality cartoons produced today, even. The 80's had quite a few developments in storytelling and some cartoons that stand up today.

Something which did experience a decline was the Saturday Morning toward the end of the 80's and into the 90's. For a perfect storm of causes that started in the 80's, Saturday morning cartoons began to decline in quantity and began to be pushed out of the schedule of network television. (I read a couple of months ago that this Fall was the first time no new cartoons premiered on network TV on Saturday mornings. End of an era. )

I'd be interested in seeing the specifics of the arguments presented by those who believe it was a "down period".

_________________
Aurora
80sCartoons.net

[thinice]

Myself, I can see the down period for late 1980's cartoons. From my experience of growing up watching all the late 1970's and early 1980's cartoons. Too many to list.

But by the late 1980's although I enjoyed shows like Popeye and Son, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Garfield and Friends, they weren't conforming with the grand scheme of my life. Viewed by my friends as childish reminders of days gone by. Cartoons became less and less popular.

Same thing happened with video games. My friends and I viewed the NES(1986-1994) as a kids toy and the Sega Genesis(1989-1995) was more grown-up. Most of us owned both and even a few had the Super Nintendo as well but playing on the Genesis was so much cooler.

I use the video games as an example as it ran parallel to how we all enjoyed cartoons just a few years before. Weekday and Saturday morning toons were a big part of growing up but when viewed as being to old they were quickly left behind. Most of my friends quit watching around 1985-86 when we were hitting middle school. Maybe the same thing happened for kids in the 1990's?

[IceDragon]

I was born on 1990, and to me -even when it kinda "hurts" to admit it- the 80's were a far superior decade in terms of animation. Not only most of the cartoons from that time were FAR more "friendly" towards the viewer (hey! it took me more than fifteen years to actually get Animaniacs!) but they were a lot more clean as well... not so much going on in the innuendo department. That's important to me, as I have seen many kids blatantly cursing because of South Park and stuff (even myself, but I eventually learned that wasn't cool).

Besides... there are not many cartoons from the nineties that you can pick up and watch again that easily, only the REALLY GOOD ONES (and God help you if have no nostalgia attached to them). I know I can watch Kissyfur anyday. So, there's that.

But on the other hand, there wasn't that much going on in the action department either. We would only be seeing true beatings and stuff in the early nineties, with Ren and Stimpy beating the daylight at everything in sight, Dexter (from Dexter's Lab) blowing up in the daily basis, and even the Powerpuff Girls reparting knuckle sandwiches all over Townsville. And don't even get me started on Johnny Bravo

Well, those were my two cents (darn it, I could have done a really short phone call ) Hope you enjoyed them.

_________________
Intelligent life is all around us!

[MacGyver]

Just for the record, I think the timeperiod that someone grew up in does affect their view. For '80s kids, it's easy to be swayed toward '80s cartoons as the best just for the nostalgia attached to that childhood time.
(And the same goes for the '50s, '60s, '70s, '90s and 2000s and other decades.)
Some of my favorite cartoons are from childhood in the '80s definitely- but I also enjoy cartoons from the '50s, '60s and '70s and a select few from the '90s, 2000s and today.
I definitely agree with ID regarding the amount of innuendo and foul language in cartoons today. (Not to mention sexual content, and just plain meanness, etc. in some cartoons. South Park, The Family Guy, The Simpsons, American Dad and similar shows all come to mind.)
True- they are marketed as being "adult" cartoons (though I don't know what's "adult" about engaging in vulgar behavior), but the sad thing is- kids see this stuff too and they certainly are affected in a negative way.
Sure- the creators have a right to air their shows and I'm not arguing for censorship, but rather self-censorship. This is exactly why I'm selective of what I watch as I seek to make sure all that I'm doing is honoring to God.
In general, I find older cartoons to be a lot cleaner and offer some more depth at times and some positive moral messages too. Most of them are just good, clean fun and I like that.

_________________
"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by me." - Jesus (John 14:6)

"You can do anything you want to do if you put your mind to it."- MacGyver

"Thunder...Thunder....Thunder...ThunderCats...HOOOO!!!!!!"- Lion-O