The 1980s as a kid was probably one of the best eras to grow up in, lets face it if you are lucky enought to be over the age of 35, you had access to all the best Cartoons and toys. Here is a look back at all the things we loved as kids. See how many you remember. and comment below if I have left anything out... I will include it in part 2.
HE-MAN & She-RA
You could not have escaped this cartoon as a kid it was on every channel and the Mattel toy company cashed in big time on the popularity of the show with everything from tooth brush holders to action figures and playsets
Toy advert 1983 Mattel
Above the Cartoon Intro to both He-man and She-ra " I HAVE THE POWERRRR"
One property that dominated in the 1980s from the incredible Success of movies, was of course Star Wars.
A little know toy company at the time, called Kenner obtained the licence to produce the toys and they sold in the tens of millions all across the world.
These toys are now very collectable and can sell for thousands in good condtion, not bad for a action figure that sold for an average of $3.00 back in the day.
Check your attics ;0)
Kenner action figures from the 1980s
It seems like they really knew what they were doing - every cartoon episode was a 30 minute toy advertisement back then.
Here is a look at a few cartoons that had their own toy lines back in the day
The real Ghostbusters 1986
Cartoon Intro:
Toy Line Kenner 1987
Transformers 1984
Cartoon Intro:
Toy line 1985
GI JOE 1983
GI JOE a real American Hero Intro:
This property had one of the largest toy line ever with literally hundreds of action figures and vehicles spanning over twenty years and are still being made today.
USS FLAGG 1984: The largest play set ever made and today it is worth mint in box, over $3000 in the collectors market
Cartoons attached to toy lines were really a winning formula that made billions for the toy companys throughout the 1980s. There really are so many cartoons from that time its hard to get to them all.
Below is a few screen shots of the ones I remembered and loved.
Duck tales 1987
Gummy Bears 1985
The Racoons 1985
Spiderman and his Amazing Friends 1981
Thunder cats 1985
The Theme song is so good I had to include it :O)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1988
M.A.S.K 1985
Inspector Gadget 1983
Captain Planet 1989
Im sure there are lots more great cartoons that didn't make the list (because they never made it across the Atlantic!!)
One thing that the 1980s was not renowned for was its computer technology. but its was the decade that gave birth to the computer game and this really took off in the 90s.
Home Computer 1984 IBM
You certainly wouldn't be writing many Steemit posts on this bad boy...
However as i've said this was the dawn of the age of computer games with popular games such as Pac Man, Donkey Kong and Space Invaders hitting arcades in early 80s
Eventually you were able to play these games at home and not just in the arcade with the introduction of first game console the ATARI
The games where block cartidges which where inserted into the console.. some examples below.
The success of this type of platform lead to the next generation of gaming in the early 90s - the most popular that we remember was the Sega Mega Drive and the Nintedo 64
Who can forget Sonic the hedgehog and Mario brothers Game play below:
There was an explosion of game consoles in the late 80s and early 90s.... here is a look at just a few.
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So thats its for part 1.
I hope you enjoyed this little trip back in time and don't forget to leave me a comment.. The 80s really was the best decade..
My childhood pretty much spanned the entire 80's and I have so many fond memories of the decade. Nothing will ever be like it, especially for kids. Our toys were robots that turned into guns, soldiers and absurdly-muscular heroes. By the 90's everything turned cartoony and neon-colored. We had Ninja Turtles and Transformers G1. They had Power Rangers and Transfomers Beast Wars. Though the superhero cartoons did rule the 90's.
I truly miss the 1980's and will be sharing my favorite parts of it with my very young daughters so they at least have a strong appreciation for it. I'm going to start showing Jem to my 3-year-old daughter!
I totally agree we had the best stuff back then.. I plan to do a series of posts on 80s pop culture, not sure if there are many people interested in this topic .. but what the hell.
Thanks for your comment ..