When cartoons become prevalent, it makes sense for studios behind them to capitalize on the show's success via merchandising with big-ticket items like toys and action figures. However, in the '80s and early '90s, a cavalcade of cartoons was created to advertise an existing or upcoming toy line.
This strategy created a winning formula companies followed for many years and helped launch some of the most successful and iconic franchises of the time. Some adults may be surprised to discover that some of their favorite Saturday morning cartoons from childhood were designed to sell products.
Updated by Matthew Z. Wood on 11/19/2022: CBR is constantly updating its articles to make them more informative and more entertaining. For example, links to animated introductions enhance articles like this one. While including staples of the subgenre like GI Joe and Transformers is important, it's also worthwhile to bring more obscure examples like MASK and Rubik The Amazing Cube to readers' attention.
17 The Care Bears Started Out As Plush Dolls
Care Bears was a popular '80s cartoon that followed the adventures of the multicolored bears with pictures on their stomachs conveying each bear's personality. While the show was a huge success that launched three feature films and the spin-off animated series Care Bears & Cousins, the first Care Bears cartoon was created to promote the line of plush toys.
Elena Kucharik first created the Care Bears in 1981 as a line of greeting cards for American Greetings. Two years later, the Care Bears plush toys were released. In 1985 the Care Bears cartoon premiered and lasted for four seasons (1985 - 1988). History repeated itself in 2015 when toy company Just Play released a new line of Care Bears toys and collectibles that coincided with the Netflix series Care Bears & Cousins.
16 Jayce & The Wheeled Warriors Put Characters First
While the animated introduction puts its vehicles front and center, Jayce & The Wheeled Warriors was the rare show that barely pushed its product. The Wheeled Warriors were the toys in stores but Jayce and his incredible crew were the animated stars.
Jayce & The Wheeled Warriors was notable both for its banging theme song and the fact that its heroes seemed to come from across the multiverse. Space hero Jayce and Han Solo equivalent Herc Stormsailer were clearly from the same reality, but fantasy wizard Gillian and plant-girl Flora almost felt like characters from other shows. However, strong writing and acting made the series work. Weirdly, there were never any action figures produced for the show, just the Wheeled Warriors and their evil counterparts, the Monsterminds.
15 Hello Kitty Is One Of The World's Biggest Brands
Originating from Japan, Hello Kitty is still one of the world's largest franchises. This adorable Japanese fictional character has grown into an international brand and multimedia franchise that includes clothing, toys, video games, anime series, music albums, and countless other product lines and media productions.
Before Hello Kitty became the massive brand that it is today, it was introduced in its first English TV series, Hello Kitty and Friends. The goal of the show was to tap into a new American market and sell more merchandise. It’s safe to say they succeeded, Hello Kitty is the second highest-grossing media franchise of all time, with over $80 billion dollars made.
14 G.I. Joe Made Treated Soldiers Like Superheroes
Hasbro's line of G.I. Joe action figures has been around since 1964. Still, in the early '80s, the famous toy company rebranded the military-themed toy line with new vehicles, characters, an intricate background story, and a new nemesis, Cobra.
Based on the line of Hasbro action figures, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero debuted in 1983. Hasbro initially intended for the Marvel Productions animation to be 30-second commercials to promote the new toy line and comics. The popularity of these commercials led to A 5-part miniseries and then the full-length series in 1985.
13 MASK Was Better Than It Should Have Been
MASK's toys felt like a mash-up of GI Joe and Transformers, and its animated series had the clear job of pushing its products. As a result, the creative team probably didn't have to work hard to make this series work, but they seemed to take that as a challenge.
MASK embraced its identity as a GI Joe knock-off, with its team of military specialists battling VENOM but it actually went out of its way to create memorable characters like Matt Tracker and Miles Mayhem. More recently, Hasbro has embraced the series, making VENOM a subsidiary of Cobra.
12 Rainbow Brite Was Short-Lived
Like the Care Bears and even Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite started out as a line of greeting cards. The Hallmark-owned property was licensed as an animated series in 1984 and Mattel came along for the ride, introducing a line of dolls and related merch.
The series was aimed at younger girls and culminated in the Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer animated film from Warner Brothers. A sweet show with relatively minor magical threats, Rainbow Brite still has its fans but it didn't have the deep impact other toy franchises did. Its original series only lasted for eight episodes.
11 Rambo: The Force For Freedom Definitely Wasn't GI Joe
Debuting in 1985, when GI Joe was at its peak, Coleco's Rambo and the Force of Freedom toy line preceded the 1986 Ruby-Spears animated series of the same name. Adapting a famously violent, adult-oriented film franchise for kids was a weirdly common move during this era but this series' crass commercialism was more obvious than most. Not surprisingly, Sylvester Stallone didn't show up for this series, but it produced a more-than-respectable 65 episodes in its single season.
The Force of Freedom toys featured not only John Rambo but the extremely specialized military characters who formed his unit, including Colonel Trautman and the familiar-looking ivory-clad ninja, White Dragon. The jingoistic toy line also included the Skyfire Assault Copter and a baffling .50 Caliber Machine Gun toy. You know, for kids.
10 Hot Wheels Started It All
Inventor Elliot Handler saw his son playing with a Matchbox car in 1968 and decided to directly compete with them. The result was the Hot Wheels line of toy cars. A year later, an animated series of the same name began airing on Saturday mornings on ABC. The series focused on the racing exploits of a high school student, Jack "Rabbit" Wheeler, the leader of the Hot Wheels Racing Club.
Hot Wheels was the very first animated series created solely to advertise a product. It was heavily criticized by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for being a thirty-minute commercial for the toys. The FCC even ordered television stations to log part of the show's airings as advertising time. Predating Star Wars by almost a decade, Hot Wheels paved the way for commercialism in media.
9 He-Man Became A Low-Budget Icon
In 1981 Mattel released their Masters of the Universe toy line, which featured characters from the planet Eternia and the ongoing conflict between He-Man, a.k.a Prince Adam, and Skeletor. A minicomics series was created to accompany the toy line. Then, in 1983, Mattel teamed up with Filmation to make the animated series for their medieval/sci-fi toy line, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
The popularity of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe spawned a full-fledged franchise that includes video games, comics, role-playing games, and various TV specials and spin-offs. In addition, in 2021, Kevin Smith produced a sequel series, Masters of the Universe: Revelation, for Netflix that explored unresolved plots from the original series.
8 Each Generation Of My Little Pony Feels Different
When Hasbro first launched their My Little Pony toy line in1981, it was labeled My Pretty Pony and wasn't an immediate success. A year later, Hasbro rebranded the line, making the toys colorful and giving each pony a name and personality. The rebranding turned things around and soon the toy company decided to cash in on the toy's popularity. In 1986, My Little Pony: The Movie was released.
This led to the creation of the TV series My Little Pony 'n Friends soon after, following a girl's adventures in Pony Land alongside the titular equine heroes. The toys have changed over the years and so have the animations. In the '90s My Little Pony Tales only ran for a single season. However, most famously, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and its many spin-offs and successors were pop culture phenomenons.
7 Alienators: Evolution Continues Was A Show No One Asked For
Nothing feels more cynical than shoehorning a toy line onto a film that was aimed at adults. 2001's sci-fi comedy Evolution was neither a hit nor a miss in theaters but its raunchy comedy didn't even feel appropriate for teenagers, much less children. Alienators: Evolution Continues ignored that fact and slapped a Real Ghostbusters skin over this animated sequel series.
Turning the film's generic scientists into alien-fighting heroes with special Genus-busting weapons tied in transparently with Bandai's toy collection. This included action figures, toy weapons, Day-Glo motorcycles and even Gassie, Slimer's non-union equivalent. Never afraid to chase a dollar, the show even inspired a Game Boy Advance that same year.
6 The Street Sharks Were The Anti-Turtles
While Eastman & Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles started out as an indie comic, the Street Sharks were clearly created to capitalize on TMNT's popularity, albeit a decade late. With catchphrases like "Jawsome!," an investigative sidekick named Lena Mack, and an overstated hatred for pizza, the extremely '90s team lasted for three seasons.
Despite its cosmetic similarities to TMNT, the show's plot felt more like a riff on Power Rangers. When the villain transformed a group of radical teens into shark-human hybrids he didn't realize he was creating his greatest foes. Based on a lone of Mattel action figures, Street Sharks ran from 1994 to 1997 but never really caught on.
5 Thundercats Felt Like Anime For An American Audience
Thundercats is gained a cult following that lives on nearly 40 years after its release. The action figure toy line from LJN features humanoid feline aliens including Lion-O, Cheetara, Panthro, and Snarf. The Rankin-Bass-produced animated series was initially slated for release in 1983.
However, Thundercats wouldn't premiere until 1985, followed by the launch of the Thundercats action figures. A fairly standard sci-fi/fantasy pastiche, the Thundercats faced off against the lazily named Mutants and the undead Mumm-Ra after they crash-landed on Third Earth. The toys included action figures and vehicles, following Star Wars' example from a decade earlier.
4 Rubik The Amazing Cube Surprised Everyone
Perhaps the least personable toy of its generation, the Rubik's Cube was still the most famous puzzle box this side of the Hellraiser franchise. The toy was popular on its own and turning the faceless cube into a personality was an unexpected move from the Ideal Toy Corporation.
Rubik The Amazing Cube's first move was giving the toy a cute face and unpredictable magical powers, as well as a weakness to having its sides scrambled. To its credit, the series had a Hispanic vibe and even featured music from Menudo. However, its bizarre premise and basic characters and stories probably didn't sell many puzzle toys.
3 The TMNT Are Still Icons
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was one of the most popular cartoons in the late '80s, featuring the most famous mutant reptiles in all of pop culture. The sewer-dwelling ninja boys, trained by a rat to defend the world from the Shredder have had multiple animated series and live-action film franchises and are still popular kids' icons today.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles began as comics created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird in 1984 and already had a cult following. However, the comics had mature overtones, and while Playmate Toys had the toy line set to go, they felt that a more kid-friendly cartoon would be the best way to advertise the TMNT toy line. The funny premise and poppy theme song sold the show and the toys immediately, becoming an international hit.
2 Challenge Of The GoBots Came First
The GoBots always had a strange problem. Tonka's original toy line came out in 1983, a year before Transformers debuted, but the cheaper toys and simpler designs always felt like knock-offs compared to Transformers' sturdy first generation.
The Challenge of The GoBots animated series faced a similar problem. It premiered in the US on September 8, 1984, roughly a week before Hasbro's Transformers series. However, its cheaper animation and lower stakes storytelling paled in comparison to its competition's epic feel. The GoBots toys and franchise have always lived in their most popular imitator's shadow.
1 Transformers Is One Of The World's Largest Franchises
Transformers started as a line of toys from Japan and is now an international pop culture staple. In 1984 Hasbro bought the distribution rights from Japanese toy company Takara for their Diaclone and Microman toys, which Hasbro rebranded as Transformers for the western market.
To help sell the new line of transforming action figures, Hasbro created the animated series Transformers based on the toy line. The series chronicled the conflicts between warring robot aliens, the Autobots, and the Decepticons. The Transformers franchise includes comic books, video games, and a live-action movie series directed by Michael Bay.