SUNDAY SEVEN: 80's CARTOONS

I thought we would go back in time for this one, back to my childhood. And back when Saturday morning cartoons were awesome. Seriously I woke up early on Saturdays.

She Ra: She lived in a pink castle, was the Princess of Power and to be honest was way cooler than any Disney heroine for me. Lets face it Adora rocked. She was brave, intelligent and her superpowers gave her the ability to communicate telepathically with animals kind of like Sheena which was a bonus for me. But now as I think about it as an adult, the bad guys weren't afraid to “hit a girl”. She didn't get special treatment, and she dished out as much as was thrown at her. In fact her friend Bow was always the damsel in distress archetype. Hated the toys though. Cartoon way better. 



Inspector Gadget: If you weren't a fan of Inspector Gadget it was about a clumsy detective who had a bunch of cyborg gadgets built into his body. He’s helped by his niece Penny (definitely the character I related to) and his dog Brain who was more intelligent than he was. The nemesis was Dr Claw and his cat MAD cat. The reason I loved this show is because Penny was awesome. She was the one who always foiled MAD’s schemes and half the time when she was in trouble she didn't need anyone to save her. Plus it was funny. And who could forget the PSAs after the episodes. “I’ll get you next time, Gadget. NEXT time.” Meow.


Jem and the Holograms: While Jem was truly, truly outrageous, I always wanted to be either Kimber (the romantic, sweet songwriter from the Holograms) or Stormer (the blue-haired, creative and kind of nice for a MIsfit songwriter for the Misfits). It was a great show full of music, holograms, fashion, and the occasional bout of violence. Hannah Montana totally stole the idea.

Care Bears: I loved the Care Bears. they were cute little teddy bears in fun colors who lived on top of the clouds and were all about their feelings. I watched the cartoons, had the plushies and even some of the books. As mushy as they are, the messages were good especially for a good growing up. And who could forget the Care Bear stare. Faced with a horrible obstacle: furballs unite and love saves the world. My favorites were Bedtime Bear, good for sweet dreams, Funshine Bear with her happy little sun on her belly and Wish Bear cause of the shooting star. I loved those cute little teddy bears.

 Snorks: Come along with the Snorks. Swim along with the Snorks. They were these cute little things that lived underwater and had snorkels on their heads. Sounds odd I know, but I loved them just like I loved most of the Hanna-Barbera cartoons of my childhood. Sure it was basically a Smurfs knockoff, but Snorkland was underwater thus satisfying my I want to be a mermaid craze brought on by watching Splash way too many times. I was kind of obsessed with all things underwater actually.

My Little Pony: Its funny how the ponies are now more popular than ever. Oh how I loved them during my childhood. And how could I not. As a girl growing up in the 80’s obsessions tended to be horses, unicorns, dolphins and well other things you could find in Lisa Frank artwork. I loved the pastel ponies with the hair I could brush, so naturally when the cartoon came along I was still in love. Even back then the cartoon was all about friendship and fun and lets face it being fantastic little ponies.

Voltron: I realize that the Voltron I grew up with was a butchered and dubbed hack job of anime, but I still loved it. Voltron was a giant robot formed by a team of humans in what was basically mechanized lions. Think Power Rangers but in the 80’s. And it still rocked. Voltron was Defender of the Universe, had a wicked sword and was just fun to watch. Of course as I got older and actually watched anime, I can see the many faults of the cartoon I watched as a child, but I still have fond memories.

Runners Up: There were so many great cartoons. Others I loved include Transformers, MASK, Thundercats, TMNT, Rescue Rangers, Rainbow Brite, Dungeons and Dragons, and The Shirt Tales.