# The best cartoons of the 1980s

Saturday mornings in the 80s: Transformers, DuckTales, the Turtles and He-Man, ordered from SlashFilm, Collider and Ranker's fan vote.

- 1070 votes · 15 items
- Dec 27, 2025 · Mitchell Lewis
- https://even.best/en/l/3740/the-best-cartoons-of-the-1980s

## Top 15

1. **The Transformers (1984-1987)** (107 · ▲116 ▼9) — Autobots versus Decepticons; number one in Ranker's fan vote.
2. **DuckTales (1987-1990)** (85 · ▲92 ▼7) — Scrooge McDuck and his nephews; four Daytime Emmy nominations.
3. **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987-1996)** (72 · ▲82 ▼10) — Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo.
4. **He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983-1985)** (67 · ▲77 ▼10) — Prince Adam and the power of Grayskull.
5. **She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985-1987)** (57 · ▲66 ▼9) — One of the first female-led action cartoons.
6. **ThunderCats (1985-1989)** (56 · ▲65 ▼9) — Lion-O and the Sword of Omens.
7. **The Smurfs (1981-1989)** (52 · ▲65 ▼13) — Hanna-Barbera's little blue villagers.
8. **G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1983-1986)** (40 · ▲52 ▼12) — The Joes against Cobra.
9. **Inspector Gadget (1983-1986)** (37 · ▲49 ▼12) — A bumbling cyborg detective and his niece Penny.
10. **Jem (1985-1988)** (35 · ▲46 ▼11) — A record-company owner and her rock-star alter ego.
11. **Adventures of the Gummi Bears (1985-1991)** (30 · ▲41 ▼11) — Disney's first big TV cartoon series.
12. **Muppet Babies (1984-1991)** (25 · ▲37 ▼12) — The Muppets as toddlers.
13. **Alvin and the Chipmunks (1983-1990)** (24 · ▲34 ▼10) — The singing chipmunks return.
14. **Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (1989-1990)** (22 · ▲42 ▼20) — Chip and Dale run a detective agency.
15. **The Real Ghostbusters (1986-1991)** (19 · ▲35 ▼16) — The animated continuation of Ghostbusters.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.