The Best 80s Cartoon Intros

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I’m a child of the 80s and our cartoons really were the best.

I have collated together some of the best 80s cartoon themes into one place to save you having to trawl through YouTube. Get your nostalgia fix right here and relive your childhood!

If I have missed any, please leave me a comment below and I’ll add it to this blog. Make sure you share with your friends who could do with a trip down memory lane.

I’ve also added links to where you can buy the DVD/Blu-Rays from. In the interest of being fair, I’ve used find-dvd to search for the cheapest prices in the UK.

I’m starting with my favourite cartoon intro. The show itself wasn’t amazing, but this theme kept me watching week in, week out. Classic DVD boxset can be found here.

The long awaited sequel to MCOG was released last month. You can hear the new theme tune here and buy the DVD from here.

Next is my favourite cartoon of all time; gutted it was cancelled before the end. There is a script for the final episode where the big reveal is that Venger is Dungeon Master’s father… Copy Star Wars much? Anyway, if you want to read it, here is the link. You can buy the DVD box-set from here.



Toy companies quickly cottoned on that they could make cartoons to sell their toys. Lots of these cartoons flooded the airways but the Prince of them all was He-Man. There are plenty of DVDs for He-Man, here is the first one you’ll need.



Followed soon after by his estranged sister She-Ra! Get season one here!



Hasbro also wanted to get the girl’s toys out there and so they came up with 80s punk chic Jem. The DVD box set has never been released in the UK, but you can get a US import. It’s very expensive though.



I also found this, every intro to the Transformers cartoons from 1984 to 2012. It lasts about twenty minutes, but is still fun. There are two decades of Transformers cartoons to catch up on, so best you start at the beginning.



Disney also had their fair share of cartoons with some awesome theme songs, starting with Ducktails. Here is the second collection DVD. (I couldn’t find the first.)



Chip and Dale also got their own show – Rescue Rangers. Series one is here.



And not forgetting The Gummi Bears. Really surprised to find there isn’t a UK DVD release of this show. Again you can pick up the US import as long as you have a multi-region player of course!



From the UK, a small (now defunct) production company called Cosgrove Hall made two cartoons of note, both using the voice talents of David Jason. Danger Mouse was loved by kids of all ages. First season here.



As was Count Duckula. (I actually preferred this to DM!) First season here.



We also had SuperTed, the amazing teddy bear that came to life and fought evil. It sounds naff – but he was a pretty cool bear! In 2004 I actually interviewed Victor Spinetti, the voice behind Texas Pete. As such an 80s geek, this became the main focus of our conversation more than Barbara Windsor who I was meant to be talking about. Anyway, the DVD of all thirteen episodes is here.



And the address everyone remembers: 29 Acacia Road. The ultimate Bananaman collection is here.



From Canada came a show that got me out of bed early every Saturday morning – The Raccoons. This is actually my second favourite 80s theme, it’s brilliant. I also own this box-set.



The Raccoons also had an excellent end theme too.



Thundercats has the scariest villain of them all: Mumm-ra. See him in all his gruesome detail here.




Dogtanian has one of the longest intros and is one of the worst animated of all the 80s cartoons. It was still a good show though. Find out for yourself here.



And the show that sent a great message to kids everywhere. Was the ever shown outside of the UK? DVD here.



Family Ness was the enjoyable, short cartoon with the monsters of Lock Ness. The complete first season is here.



I didn’t add this next one because I didn’t see the show. I was only two years old when it started. Adding this DVD to my list!



And I don’t remember Ulysses 31 at all. DVD here.



Or Battle of the Planets! The DVD looks to be out of print but you can get a copy of it. The ludicrously expensive DVD of season one is here.



M.A.S.K always felt like a Transformers rip off to me and so I didn’t watch it. The intro is pretty cool though. First season here.



Here’s another show I never watched and I can’t find a DVD of the show either. If you know of one, please let me know and I’ll add the link.



The Smurfs started in 1981 and more recently had two 3D movie releases. The DVD for the original series is here.



Ten days after I started this blog and I’ve only just remembered the Muppet Babies… I used to love this show! I can’t find a DVD of the show anyway which really sucks, as I would love to see this again.

I was talking to a friend over the weekend about this blog and the Care Bears came up. I hadn’t included the Care Bears!! Although after seeing this intro for the first time in twenty years, I know why. What a boring song!

And how could I forget the Turtles? (They’re really hip!)

In the UK, they were called Hero Turtles instead of Ninja. I guess someone in British TV land thought calling them ninjas was too much for us to handle… go figure! Amazingly I found the first whole episode on YouTube! The DVD is here.

Have I missed anything?

Please leave your comments below, tell me if you want something added and let us all know what your favourite 80s cartoons were.

#TerryGee