Help me remember the name of this 80's cartoon

[HeroOfPellinor]

Now that my first child is on the way I have to start thinking about what kinds of toys and cartoons to expose them to. I look at weekday afternoon and saturday morning cartoons and all at once get a headache and nausea. These are some stupid ass cartoons. It all started with that Power Ranger BS and has gone downhill from there.

That's when I decided that I had no choice but to gather up cartoons from my childhood, the 80's, and make sure my kid was exposed to the same quality cartoonage I got exposed to.

I've found out the name of all the old cool cartoons I used to watch except this one where the guys wore these backpack things and slide down wires. In the cartoon the wires used to shoot out of either end of the backpack and the guys would slide down them to get where they were going. It was not the best cartoon of the era by a long shot, but it's one that I at least remember so I want to find out the name.

From 1980-1989 I was 4-14, so I saw pretty much everything.

So post if you remember the name of that cartoon. Or, if you are having trouble remembering the names of any cool 80's cartoons, mention them here and I may be able to help you out since I've been researching this off an on for months.

 

[Willoughbyva]

I don't think I have ever seen that cartoon. Then again we went a long time without a tv. All I can remember from back then is Hong Kong fuewy (sp) and the one with the sand buggy car Speedy or something lke that.

Will

 

[Evadman]

try here?

 

[Nocturnal]

i know what youre talking about as i have those toys. i dont recall what theyre called but im going to keep an eye on this thread to find out. man i miss those cartoons. cartoons these days have gone to crap.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Evadman, I actually already looked there and that's why I'm so curious now cause that site didn't even have it and it had several I was looking for.

 

[dakata24]

dont really know what cartoon you're talking about.. thanks for the link evadman..

anyone watch bionic six.. looks like it only lasted 1 season, but i loved that cartoon..

edit: lol. thanks for the 2nd link too.. haha. danger mouse.. that was a great cartoon as well..

 

[Evadman]

One more....

Maybe ask about it Here?

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Found it! They're called "Sky Commanders." They were on the list afterall. Thanks.

 

[777php]

Anyone remember the Centurions?

Centurions

I remember having their toys as a child.

I also really really liked M.A.S.K.

I had the gas station/secret fortress toy. Brings back memories.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

I remember Centurians. Each of them had a weapon that actually fired. They were big in comparison to other toys.

I've begun collecting the toys and the cartoons. My kid is gonna have a pretty expensive toy collection, but it's worth it to give him a healthy childhood free of puffy yellow cats that fly and shoot fireballs out of their mouth and giggle frequently while going nonsensical places for reasons nobody ever explains.

Hmm....what if I have a girl?

 

[Evadman]

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
Found it! They're called "Sky Commanders." They were on the list afterall. Thanks.

Glad to hear it. I searched for backpacks, but came up empty. I love you and all, but no way was I going to go through all those one by one to dind yours

 

[dakata24]

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
Found it! They're called "Sky Commanders." They were on the list afterall. Thanks.

dont remember sky commanders. but i do remember M.A.S.K. and centurions.. i'm sure i must have watched it though. there were so many good cartoons back then.. it was hard to keep track of..

 

[Ramsnake]

Centurions Excellent Cartoon....Sky Commanders Theme Pretty Good.

 

[GoodToGo]

Sky Commanders used to rock! Too bad cartoons suck now-a-days

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

MASK was great too. I was like 8 or 9 when those came out and they really sparked my imagination. I actually drew up some plans, in color, for some new MASK vehicles and sent them to Mattel or whoever made them. A few weeks later I actually got a reply from the President of Mattel explaining, in a very adult way, that they love getting ideas from kids, but that, understandably, they couldn't possibly take a hard look at every submission they got. It was typed, but the guy signed it. They were crazy plans too...one of them was a mountain range that turned into a giant robot or something with mountains for legs and arms and a little mountain for a head.

What toy out now would inspire a kid like that? Pokeman? I think not?

 

[UglyCasanova]

The quality has vanished. In the old cartoons, they were drawn "cartoony" but retained a level of realism as well. The backgrounds were drawn accurately and the characters were all proportional. Now, everything looks like a long Flash animation. Look at Dexter's Lab, powerpuff girls, and Samuari Jack. All 3 are popular cartoons, and all 3 are drawn in a way that I would almost describe as abstract.

I draw a lot (especially anime style, and detailed mechanical things), so i tend to notice techniques that the animators use. If you compare Japanese anime with American cartoons, you will notice that the Japanese put waaaaaaaaaay more detail into their drawings. Because of this their shows have lower FPS than American cartoons so the animation isn't as smooth, but to me it looks better. There is more depth and feeling in their animation. This reminds me of the old cartoons such as the smurfs or David the Knome.

Almost all American cartoons have a cartoon feel to them. I suppose it is because we as a nation unfortunately tend to view cartoons and animation as being childish. We think that animation is a thing for kids, and they will grow out of it. Until we break this line of though I don't think we can ever recapture what made our old cartoons so great. Now they are so obnoxious that it hurts to watch. Everything has to be PC as well as sell, and unfortunately as we have all seen quality does not sell.

 

[dakata24]

anyone remember a cartoon that was like transformers, but instead of automobiles transforming, rocks/boulders transformed into robots, rock people, or something..

 

[slicksilver]

Originally posted by: dakata24
anyone remember a cartoon that was like transformers, but instead of automobiles transforming, rocks/boulders transformed into robots, rock people, or something..

I think you are talking about GOBOTS..........leader one, turbo, scooter, Cycle, Crasher etc.

Raj

 

[dcdomain]

AHHHHH!!!!

SKY COMMANDERS

OMG I've been asking that SAME question FOREVER! I even posted about that in this forum once or twice before. OMG OMG OMG FINALLY!!!

SWEEEEEEEET...

 

[Platypus]

Can't beat the animated cartoon called "C.O.P.S." That show was so awesome, it was like futuristic cops or something.

 

[Chadder007]

Good lord...I remember watching half this whole list of cartoons, all new ones aren't worth spit man!. I just watch Dragonball Z now.

Edit: Oh man...did anyone watch Ghostbusters cartoon? Not the "Real" Ghostbusters but this one....
Ghostbusters

 

[Jzero]

I probably still have some sky commanders figs at my parents' house. They were so much fun. We could make my basement look like a veritable spiderweb of colored cables.
I don't remember the cartoon much, but for the action figures, the cables definitely wpun around a thing they wore on their wrist and attached to their back, not so much a backpack...

 

[monk3y]

Originally posted by: 777php
Anyone remember the Centurions?

Centurions

I remember having their toys as a child.

Definately an awesome cartoon. I visited India two months ago and they still show it on their cartoon network.

 

[wfbberzerker]

hong kong fooey... number one super guy....