The 1980s was a wonderful time to be a kid. The world had just started to realize that metal toys and lunch boxes may be dangerous for youngsters but hadn't quite figured out what to do about it. Cellphones wouldn't become common for another twenty years, which meant that whenever a kid left the house, they were gone from the world, able to explore the universe around them for hours of unwatched fun.

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But best of all was the cartoons. After school and weekend mornings were made for animated adventures of anthropomorphic animals, superheroes, and rock stars, each one carefully crafted to sell more toys. And while these shows may not have aged as well as some would like, there's no doubt that the concepts for each one are still strong.

10 G.I. Joe: Battling Terrorism With An Older Audience

GI Joe a Real American Hero

A military group of outsiders brought together to fight a terrorist organization called Cobra, G.I. Joe was one of the biggest cartoons and toylines of the 1980s, but the interest in them faded as the decade wore on. Today, GI Joe is relegated to comics after two attempts to bring the franchise back with live actions movies that didn't work out, but a group of cool fighters from around the world working together to battle terrorism could be ready for a big return in the right animated hands. A new G.I. Joe animated series made for adults could be just what the franchise needs.

9 The Smurfs: With Over A Hundred Different Smurfs To Feature

smurfs

Based on the celebrated Belgian comic by the artist Peyo, The Smurfs followed the adventures of a village of small blue beings - just three apples tall - who lived in mushrooms and had a great number of lesson teaching adventures as they faced off against the evil wizard Gargamel and his cat Azrael.

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Over the years, more than a hundred Smurfs were introduced in the original cartoon and the shows that spun off it. Each Smurf, of course, got their own toy as well. In some ways, The Smurfs was the precursor to Pokémon, and while they would likely never reach the heights of Pikachu and his pals, Smurfs could be ready to make a comeback.

8 Inspector Gadget: Family-Friendly Reboot

Inspector Gadet alongside his niece Penny and dog, Brain.

With the success of the DuckTales revival, it seems like now is a good time for other classic cartoons that can be enjoyed by fans of any age to make a return to the screen, and Inspector Gadget fits the mold. Inspector Gadget is a cyborg filled with endless gadgets and tasked with taking down the evil Dr. Claw and his organization M.A.D. but the problem is, the good Inspector is rather clueless at his job. Luckily, his young niece Penny is a genius who makes sure that her uncle gets the job done. The generational aspect of the series could work well with adults who grew up with Inspector Gadget and now have kids of their own.

7 Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends: Could Be Centered Around Miles Morales & His Friends

spider-man and his amazing friends

Superheroes are more popular than ever, and Spider-Man is one of the biggest around. In the 1980s, fans of the Wall-Crawler could only dream of seeing their favorite hero in live-action while reading the comics and watching the cartoon Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.

In the show, Spider-Man and his two roommates Iceman and Firestar spend their days going to college and their nights fighting evil. The same fun but basic concept would work just as well today as it did then. Plus, a new series could be centered on Miles Morales, with Peter Parker showing up from time to time with advice.

6 Beetlejuice: Unique Visuals With A Spooky Twist

Beetlejuice cartoon

Based on the Tim Burton film, Beetlejuice was a cartoon that reveled in the weird. Picking up after the events of the movie, the Beetlejuice animated series saw the disgusting ghost spending his time with the teenaged Lidia as they caused chaos in the ghost world.

The animated style of Beetlejuice was unlike anything else on in the 1980s and would still grab eyes today. With long but fruitless talks about a sequel to the movie seemingly coming to an end, the best place to get more of the Ghost with the Most may be in the form of a new animated series.

5 Jem: Kid-Friendly & Won't Play Into Gender Norms

Jem and the Holograms

The cartoons of the 1980s were mainly centered on tough guys with cool weapons for boys or cute animals for girls, but Jem wasn't about to play that game. The series, about record company owner Jerrica Benton and her alter-ego Jem, lead singer of Jem and the Holograms, mixed sci-fi adventures with romance stories, creating a show that every kid loved to watch. And the music was pretty good too!

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While a live-action movie of Jem failed at the box office in 2015, that doesn't mean the whole concept should be tossed out. The recent revival and success of She-Ra on Netflix shows that a series like Jem is ready for a new tour.

4 The Centurions: Touches On Relevant Issues Of Today

Netflix-Centurions

With designs by comic icons Jack Kirby and Gil Kane, The Centurions showed kids a near-future Earth where a madman called Doc Terror is trying to turn all of humanity into his slaves. The only thing that keeps the people safe from Doc Terror is the Centurions, a group of men who use exo-frame suits to take on all forms of evil.

The Centurions touched on themes that are more relevant today than they were in the 1980s, including the fusion of humans and technology and how pollution is destroying the planet. These aspects, plus the overall coolness of cyborgs fighting evil scientists, make The Centurions just as awesome today as they were in 1986.

3 Dino-Riders: Great Combination Of Dinosaurs & Technology

Dino-Riders

Everyone loves dinosaurs, and everyone would love to ride around on dinosaurs. That's what made Dino-Riders such a great concept in 1988. The series, which was made specifically to help sell a toyline, told the story of the Valorians, a race of superhumans who battle the Rulon Alliance, a union of evil aliens. When a group of Valorians and Rulon Alliance members get sent back in time, they find themselves on pre-historic Earth with dinosaurs. Cool future tech mixed with dinosaurs is a guaranteed good time no matter the decade.

2 Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light: Magic In A Post-Apocalyptic Future

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light

Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light told the story of the planet Prysmos, a futuristic society that found itself on the verge of collapse when all technology stopped working after the three suns of the planet aligned and created a massive EMP pulse. Without technology to rely on, the people of Prysmos return to the magic of old to survive.

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To protect the people from the evil Darkling Lords, the Spectral Knights are formed. Each side is powered by unique animal totems affixed to their armor chest plates that, when activated, transform the wearer into that animal. Magic in a post-apocalyptic future world is always fun to watch.

legend of zelda animated series

With the recent success of a Castlevania animated series on Netflix, now is a good time to look at other classic video games with a large mythology to explore. The Legend of Zelda, which had a short-lived cartoon in 1989, could be a perfect fit. The Zelda games continue to be critical and commercial successes, and with decades of fans looking for more ways to learn the history of Hyrule, an animated series could be the best way to go about it.

Fantasy stories are enjoying a revival thanks in part to shows like Game of Thrones and The Witcher, and while a Zelda series shouldn't be as adult-centered as those series, it has the rich mythology that made the others successful.

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