Cartoons were a staple for many individuals growing up in the 80s and 90s. Many of these cartoons are still around in some way, shape, or form because they were so beloved and told incredible stories. Some of these shows weren’t so lucky and were forgotten by the masses. A few of these forgotten shows were based on R-Rated movies. You might be asking “How did these show get past the censors?” You’ll soon see as long as a company can make a series of action figures from it, then a studio will find a way to get it on broadcast television.
1. Rambo: The Force of Freedom
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eliQEStzhu4[/embedyt]
The former green beret with flashbacks to his tour in Vietnam found a way on to Saturday morning. Take out the realist violence and introduce a global terrorist organization (S.A.V.A.G.E.) as the villain and you have a feasible G.I. Joe clone. Surprisingly, this show got a large run of 65 episodes, all in one season.
2. Toxic Crusader
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf2_g52p__Y[/embedyt]
The Toxic Avenger was infamous as a cult classic thanks to its violence and unique concept. How did they put something with these qualities on Saturday Morning? By turning it into a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles knock off and introducing more mutated characters like Nose-Zone and Major Disaster to fight a villain called Dr. Killemoff.
3. Police Academy: The Animated Series
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKGhvVeWHEo[/embedyt]
The raunchy 80s comedy which featured jokes about oral sex also got a cartoon makeover. By increasing the character’s more comical aspects and introducing a villain called the Kingpin (who looks a lot like another Kingpin, Marvel Comic fans are familiar with). The change resulted in a surprising amount of episodes which ran for two seasons.
4. Highlander: The Animated Series
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUlEamQJ-1g[/embedyt]
Animating a show based on immortals who defeat each other with decapitation doesn’t sound like it will work as a cartoon. It only succeeded by having the Highlander of the series, Quentin MacLeod find a new way to gain the powers of other immortals without head slicing. Instead through a process called “sharing” Quentin found a way to get the power of his new immortal buddies without any violence. Sounds pretty tame but it somehow found a way to get two seasons.
5. Robocop: The Animated Series/Robocop: Alpha Commando
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp4Sqn0eX_Q[/embedyt]
The hyper violent cyborg cop not only got an animated series, but two of them. The first was shown in 1988 and picked up where the first movie left off and had Robocop fighting against more robotic menaces from the OCP corporation. The second had Robocop awaken after being in hibernation for five years to fight a terrorist group called DARC. Sadly, neither of these series have enough of a following to get a DVD release in America.
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Which of these forgotten cartoon shows do you wish would get more attention? Are there a few more forgotten shows you’d like use to focus on?
