List of children's animated television series of the 1980s explained

This is a list of children's animated television series (including internet television series); that is, animated programs originally targeted towards audiences aged 12 and under in mind.^[1] ^[2] ^[3]

This list does not include Japanese, Chinese, or Korean series, as children's animation is much more common in these regions.

1980s

United States

Title	Genre	Seasons/episodes	Show creator(s)	Original release	Network	Studio	Age rating	Technique
The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show	• Variety • Comedy	1 season, 15 episodes		September 6, 1980 – December 13, 1980			TV-G	Traditional
Super Friends		3 seasons, 22 episodes		September 13, 1980 – 1982			TV-Y7	Traditional
The Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour	Adventure			September 6, 1980 – December 13, 1980				Traditional
The Lone Ranger		2 seasons, 28 episodes		September 13, 1980 – January 30, 1982				Traditional
Heathcliff		2 seasons, 26 episodes		October 4, 1980 – September 18, 1982		• Ruby-Spears Productions • McNaught Syndicate • United Features Syndicate (season 2)	TV-Y	Traditional
Thundarr the Barbarian		2 seasons, 21 episodes		October 4, 1980 – October 31, 1981			TV-Y7	Traditional
Richie Rich	Animation	4 seasons, 41 episodes		November 8, 1980 – September 1, 1984			TV-G	Traditional
Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo		3 seasons, 33 episodes		November 8, 1980 – December 18, 1982			TV-G	Traditional
The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang		2 seasons, 24 episodes		November 8, 1980 – November 28, 1981				Traditional
The Flintstone Comedy Show	• Animation • Comedy	2 seasons, 18 episodes		November 22, 1980 – October 24, 1981			TV-G	Traditional
Blackstar		13 episodes		September 12, 1981 – December 5, 1981				Traditional
Goldie Gold and Action Jack		13 episodes		September 12, 1981 – December 5, 1981			TV-Y7	Traditional
Space Stars	• Animation • Adventure • Fantasy • Science fiction • Comedy-drama	11 episodes		September 12, 1981 – September 11, 1982				Traditional
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends		3 seasons, 24 episodes		September 12, 1981 – November 5, 1983			TV-Y7	Traditional
The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam!		12 episodes		September 12, 1981 – September 11, 1982				Traditional
The New Adventures of Zorro		1 season, 13 episodes	• William Hanna • Joseph Barbera • Johnston McCulley (characters)	September 12, 1981 – December 5, 1981				Traditional
Trollkins	• Fantasy • Comedy	13 episodes		September 12, 1981 – September 4, 1982			TV-G	Traditional
Laverne & Shirley		2 seasons, 21 episodes		October 10, 1981 – November 13, 1982				Traditional
Gilligan's Planet		1 season, 13 episodes		September 18, 1982 – December 11, 1982				Traditional
Meatballs & Spaghetti	Animation	1 season, 25 episodes		September 18, 1982 – March 5, 1983				Traditional
Pandamonium	• Adventure • Fantasy	13 episodes		September 18, 1982 – December 11, 1982				Traditional
Shirt Tales	• Fantasy • Comedy • Adventure	2 seasons, 23 episodes	Janet Elizabeth Manco (original characters)	September 18, 1982 – November 19, 1983			TV-Y7	Traditional
The Flintstone Funnies	• Animation • Comedy	1 season, 45 episodes		September 18, 1982 – September 8, 1984			TV-G	Traditional
The Gary Coleman Show	Comedy	13 episodes		September 18, 1982 – December 11, 1982			TV-G	Traditional
The Incredible Hulk		1 season, 13 episodes		September 18, 1982 – October 8, 1983			TV-Y7	Traditional
Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour		1 season, 27 episodes		September 25, 1982 – September 3, 1983			TV-G	Traditional
Pac-Man	• Adventure • Comedy	2 seasons, 44 episodes		September 25, 1982 – November 5, 1983			TV-G	Traditional
The Little Rascals	• Animation • Comedy	22 episodes		September 25, 1982 – December 2, 1983			TV-Y	Traditional
The Puppy's Further Adventures		2 seasons, 21 episodes		September 25, 1982 – November 10, 1984		• Ruby-Spears Enterprises • Hanna-Barbera Productions (season 1)	TV-Y	Traditional
The Scooby & Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour	• Animation • Comedy • Adventure • Action	13 episodes		September 25, 1982 – December 18, 1982			TV-G	Traditional
The Dukes	• Action • Family • Comedy	2 seasons, 20 episodes		February 5, 1983 – October 29, 1983				Traditional
Good Morning, Mickey!		1 season, 83 episodes		April 18, 1983 – November 28, 1992				Traditional
Donald Duck Presents		2 seasons		September 1, 1983 – November 1, 1985				Traditional
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe		2 seasons, 130 episodes	Michael Halperin	September 5, 1983 – November 21, 1985		• Filmation Associates • Mattel	TV-Y7	Traditional
Monchhichis	• Animation • Comedy • Fantasy • Adventure	13 episodes		September 10, 1983 – December 24, 1983			TV-Y	Traditional
Rubik, the Amazing Cube		1 season, 13 episodes		September 10, 1983 – December 10, 1983				Traditional
The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show		2 seasons, 26 episodes		September 10, 1983 – December 1, 1984			TV-G	Traditional
Alvin and the Chipmunks	• Comedy-drama • Musical • Sitcom • Adventure	8 seasons, 102 episodes		September 17, 1983 – December 1, 1990		• Bagdasarian Productions • Ruby-Spears Enterprises (1983–1987, seasons 1–5) • Murakami-Wolf-Swenson (1988, season 6) • DIC Enterprises (1988–1990, seasons 6–8)	TV-G	Traditional
Dungeons & Dragons	• Action • Adventure • Fantasy	3 seasons, 27 episodes	• Kevin Paul Coates • Dennis Marks • Takashi	September 17, 1983 – December 7, 1985			TV-Y7	Traditional
Mister T		3 seasons, 30 episodes		September 17, 1983 – October 19, 1985			TV-Y7	Traditional
Saturday Supercade	Animation	2 seasons, 27 episodes		September 17, 1983 – December 1, 1984			TV-G	Traditional
The Biskitts	• Adventure • Fantasy • Comedy	13 episodes		September 17, 1983 – September 8, 1984			TV-Y	Traditional
The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show	• Animation • Comedy	2 seasons, 18 episodes		September 17, 1983 – October 12, 1985		Lee Mendelson/Bill Melendez Productions	TV-Y	Traditional
Dragon's Lair		1 season, 13 episodes		September 8, 1984 – December 1, 1984			TV-Y7	Traditional
Pink Panther and Sons		16 episodes		September 8, 1984 – February 26, 1985	• NBC (1984–1985) • ABC (1986)		TV-Y	Traditional
		8 episodes	• E. Nelson Bridwell • Carmine Infantino • Julius Schwartz (consultants)	September 8, 1984 – August 31, 1985				Traditional
Wolf Rock TV		1 season, 7 episodes		September 8, 1984 – October 20, 1984				Traditional
Muppet Babies		8 seasons, 107 episodes		September 15, 1984 – November 2, 1991			TV-Y	Traditional
Pole Position		1 season, 13 episodes		September 15, 1984 – December 8, 1984			TV-Y7	Traditional
Turbo Teen	• Cartoon series • Children's television series • Superheroes • Adventure	1 season, 13 episodes		September 15, 1984 – August 31, 1985			TV-Y7	Traditional
The Transformers		4 seasons, 98 episodes		September 17, 1984 – November 11, 1987		• Sunbow Productions • Marvel Productions • Toei Animation (seasons 1–3) • AKOM (seasons 2–4)	TV-Y7	Traditional
The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo		2 seasons, 26 episodes		September 7, 1985 – December 7, 1985			TV-G	Traditional
		8 episodes	• E. Nelson Bridwell • Carmine Infantino • Julius Schwartz (consultants)	September 7, 1985 – September 6, 1986				Traditional
ThunderCats	• Action/Adventure • Sword and planet	4 seasons, 130 episodes		September 9, 1985 – September 29, 1989	Syndication	• Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment • Leisure Concepts (Project Development) • Topcraft (season 1) • Pacific Animation Corporation (seasons 2–4)		Traditional
Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears		6 seasons, 65 episodes		September 14, 1985 – February 22, 1991	• NBC (1985–1989) • ABC (1989–1990) • Syndicated (1990–1991)		TV-Y	Traditional
Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling		2 seasons, 26 episodes		September 14, 1985 – October 18, 1986		• DIC Animation City • World Wrestling Federation • Saban Productions (1985 special episode only) • Columbia Pictures Television (1985 special episode only)	TV-Y7	Traditional
It's Punky Brewster		2 seasons, 26 episodes		September 14, 1985 – December 6, 1986			TV-Y	Traditional
The Wuzzles		1 season, 13 episodes		September 14, 1985 – December 7, 1985			TV-Y	Traditional
The Flintstone Kids	• Animation • Comedy	2 seasons, 34 episodes		September 6, 1986 – May 21, 1988			TV-Y	Traditional
Foofur	• Animation • Slice of life • Comedy	2 seasons, 26 episodes	Phil Mendez	September 13, 1986 – February 18, 1988			TV-Y	Traditional
Kissyfur	Animation	2 seasons, 26 episodes	Phil Mendez	September 13, 1986 – August 25, 1990		• NBC Productions • DIC Animation City • Saban Entertainment (1988)	TV-Y	Traditional
Lazer Tag Academy	Animation	13 episodes		September 13, 1986 – December 6, 1986				Traditional
Pound Puppies	• Comedy • Adventure	2 seasons, 26 episodes		September 13, 1986 – December 19, 1987			TV-Y	Traditional
Teen Wolf	• Adventure • Animation	2 seasons, 21 episodes		September 13. 1986 – November 7, 1987		• Southern Star Productions • Hanna-Barbera Australia • Clubhouse Pictures (season 1) • Atlantic/Kushner-Locke (season 2)	TV-Y7	Traditional
The Real Ghostbusters		7 seasons, 140 episodes		September 13, 1986 – October 5, 1991			TV-Y7	Traditional
Wildfire		13 episodes		September 13, 1986 – December 13, 1986				Traditional
My Little Pony		2 seasons, 65 episodes		September 15, 1986 – September 25, 1987			TV-Y	Traditional
Dennis the Menace		2 seasons, 78 episodes		September 22, 1986 – March 26, 1988	• Syndication (1986–1987) • CBS (1988)	• DIC Animation City • Crawleys Animation (Season 2 only)	TV-G	Traditional
		1 season, 13 episodes		September 12, 1987 – December 5, 1987			TV-Y	Traditional
The New Archies		1 season, 13 episodes		September 12, 1987 – December 5, 1987			TV-Y	Traditional
DuckTales	• Action/Adventure • Comedy	4 seasons, 100 episodes		September 18, 1987 – November 28, 1990			TV-G	Traditional
	• Action • Adventure • Comedy	2 seasons, 19 episodes		September 19, 1987 – October 22, 1988			TV-Y7	Traditional
Popeye and Son	• Sitcom • Comedy	13 episodes		September 19, 1987 – December 12, 1987			TV-Y	Traditional
Little Clowns of Happytown	Children	1 season, 18 episodes		September 26, 1987 – July 16, 1988			TV-Y	Traditional
		2 seasons, 26 episodes		September 26, 1987 – January 7, 1989			TV-Y	Traditional
Little Wizards		1 season, 18 episodes		September 26, 1987 – 1988				Traditional
HBO Storybook Musicals		1 season, 18 episodes		November 18, 1987 – December 8, 1993				Traditional
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	• Action-adventure • Martial arts • Superhero • Comedy (seasons 1–7) • Drama (seasons 8–10)	10 seasons, 193 episodes		December 14, 1987 – November 2, 1996	• Syndication (1987–90) CBS (1990–96)		TV-Y7	Traditional
Gumby Adventures		1 season, 99 episodes		January 2, 1988 – December 31, 1988			TV-G	Stop-motion
The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh		4 seasons, 50 episodes		January 17, 1988 – October 26, 1991	• The Disney Channel (January 17 – April 10, 1988) • ABC (November 12, 1988 – October 26, 1991)		TV-Y	Traditional
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo		4 seasons, 27 episodes		September 10, 1988 – August 17, 1991			TV-G	Traditional
ALF Tales		2 seasons, 21 episodes		September 10, 1988 – December 9, 1989			TV-Y	Traditional
The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley		1 season, 13 episodes		September 10, 1988 – December 3, 1988			TV-Y7	Traditional
The New Adventures of Beany and Cecil	Animation	1 season, 5 episodes		September 10, 1988 – October 29, 1988				Traditional
Garfield and Friends	Comedy	7 seasons, 121 episodes		September 17, 1988 – December 10, 1994		• Film Roman Productions • United Media Productions (Seasons 1–6)	TV-G	Traditional
The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy	• Children • Adventure • Fantasy	13 episodes		17 September 1988 – 1 September 1990				Traditional
Superman		1 season, 13 episodes		September 17, 1988 – December 10, 1988				Traditional
	• Action • Adventure • Comedy	3 seasons, 34 episodes		September 9, 1989 – October 26, 1991		• DIC Animation City • Saban Entertainment (season 1 only)	TV-Y7	Traditional
The Karate Kid		1 season, 13 episodes		September 9, 1989 – December 16, 1989			TV-Y7	Traditional
Dink, the Little Dinosaur		2 seasons, 21 episodes		September 16, 1989 – November 3, 1990			TV-Y	Traditional
Rude Dog and the Dweebs		1 season, 13 episodes		16 September 1989 – 16 December 1989		• Marvel Productions • New World Television • Just for Kids • Sun Sportswear	TV-Y	Traditional
The California Raisin Show		1 season, 13 episodes		September 16, 1989 – December 9, 1989				Traditional

United Kingdom

Title	Genre	Seasons/episodes	Show creator(s)	Original release	Network	Studio	Technique
Postman Pat		8 seasons, 184 episodes		• Original series: 16 September 1981 – 20 March 2006 • Special Delivery Service: 29 September 2008 – 29 March 2017	• BBC One (1981–2002) • BBC Two (2008–2014) • CBeebies (2002–2017) • CBBC (1985–2008) • Qubo (2008–2015) • PBS Kids (1999–2006) • Nick Jr. Channel (2018 – present) • Tiny Pop (2016 – present)	• Woodland Animations (1981–1996) • Entertainment Rights (2003–2008) • Cosgrove Hall Films (2003–2008) • Classic Media (2013) • Mackinnon and Saunders (2013–2017) • DreamWorks Classic Productions (2015–2017)	Stop-motion
Thomas & Friends		24 seasons, 578 episodes		9 October 1984 – present	• ITV/ITV1 (Series 1–3) • Direct-to-video (Series 4–5) • Nick Jr. Channel (Series 6–11) • Channel 5 (Series 9-present)	• Clearwater Features (1984–1986) • Britt Allcroft Ltd./Britt Allcroft (Thomas) Ltd. (1984–1986) • The Britt Allcroft Company/Gullane Entertainment (1991–2002) • HIT Entertainment (2003–2016) • Mattel Creations (2017–present)	Stop-motion (Seasons 1–12)/CGI (Seasons 12-present)

Co-productions

Title	Genre	Seasons/episodes	Show creator(s)	Original release	Network	Studio	Technique
Drak Pack	Adventure	16 episodes		September 6, 1980 – December 20, 1980			Traditional
The Kwicky Koala Show	• Animation • Comedy	16 episodes		September 12, 1981 – September 11, 1982			Traditional
The Smurfs	• Adventure • Fantasy • Comedy	9 seasons, 256 episodes		September 12, 1981 – December 2, 1989		• Hanna-Barbera Productions • SEPP International S.A. (season 1–7) • Lafig S.A. (Season 8–9)	Traditional
The Littles		3 seasons, 29 episodes	• John Peterson • Jim Schumann	September 10, 1983 – November 2, 1985	• United States: ABC • France: Canal+ (Season 1), TF1 (Seasons 2–3)		Traditional
Inspector Gadget	• Science fiction • Comedy	2 seasons, 85 episodes		September 12, 1983 – February 1, 1986		• DIC Audiovisuel • Cuckoo's Nest Studios • LBS • Nelvana (season 1) • Field Communications (season 1) • TMS (season 1)	Traditional
The Get Along Gang		13 episodes		May 6, 1984 – December 8, 1984	• Nickelodeon (pilot) • CBS (TV series)	• DIC Audiovisuel • Nelvana (pilot episode)	Traditional
Mighty Orbots		13 episodes	Barry Glasser	September 8, 1984 – December 15, 1984			Traditional
Snorks	• Adventure • Fantasy • Comedy • Sci-fi	4 seasons, 65 episodes		September 15, 1984 – May 13, 1989	• NBC (1982, 1984–1986) • Syndication (1987–1989)		Traditional
		1 season, 13 episodes		September 7, 1985 – June 7, 1986			Traditional
Ewoks		2 seasons, 26 episodes		September 9, 1985 – September 29, 1989			Traditional
My Pet Monster		1 season, 13 episodes		September 12, 1987 – December 19, 1987			Traditional
The Berenstain Bears	• Children's series • Comedy	2 seasons, 52 episodes		September 14, 1985 – September 5, 1987			Traditional
Care Bears		4 seasons, 60 episodes		September 14, 1985 – December 25, 1988	• DIC series: Syndication • Nelvana series: Global Television Network (Canada) ABC (United States)	• Atkinson Film-Arts (1983 and 1984 pilot/specials) • DIC Audiovisuel (1985) • Nelvana (1986–1988)	Traditional
Galaxy High		13 episodes		September 13, 1986 – December 6, 1986			Traditional
Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater	• Comedy • Family • Adventure • Fantasy	1 season, 13 episodes		September 19, 1987 – December 12, 1987			Traditional
Beetlejuice		4 seasons, 94 episodes		September 9, 1989 – December 6, 1991		• Nelvana Limited • The Geffen Film Company • Warner Bros. Television • Tim Burton Inc.	Traditional
Camp Candy		3 seasons, 40 episodes	• Joel Andryc • Ellen Levy • Phil Harnage	September 9, 1989 – Fall 1992	• NBC (1989–90) • Syndication (1991–1992)		Traditional

Notes and References

Web site: List of cartoon TV shows from the 1980s . 2024-08-25 . 80stoons.com.
Web site: The Most Unforgettable '80s Cartoons . 2024-08-25 . Ranker . en.
Web site: Alvarado . Aryanna . 2024-06-08 . 10 Saturday Morning Cartoons From The 1980s That Every Kid Was Obsessed With . 2024-08-25 . ScreenRant . en.