Top 80s Cartoon Rip-Offs

What I think really made these knock-off cartoons truly magical was when they added some silly new plot point. For instance, imagine a room of writers deciding that what Punk Brewster really needed was a small brown furry friend who someone got lost from his magical community that lived under a rainbow, and now with a little Punky power and 22 minutes of hijinks, maybe he can find his way back home.

It's hard to imagine why someone would want to take an R-rated action hero like Rambo and turn it into a family-friendly cartoon, but back in the 80s it seemed perfectly reasonable. Sure, kids love secret organizations that fight neo-nazis. Why not? That seems perfectly appropriate for children!

As a child playing Q-Bert, bouncing around from square to square trying to avoid snakes and other creatures, I always wondered ... what is Q-Bert's origin story? How did he get here? Thank goodness a cartoon was made to answer these questions.

Really, someone looked at a multi-colored cube and thought that it might be a good idea to make a cartoon out of an inanimate object?

Before there was Hogan Knows Best, there was this fine piece of animation featuring such lovable characters as the Iron Sheik and Captain Lou Albano.

This hit film was made into a cartoon, but of course with a couple of important changes. Now Michael J. Fox's character had an entire family of werewolves, even his grandpa! But I guess that's to be expected when you live in Wolverton. Subtle!

Not only is this inappropriate, but it also encourages bad spelling.

I pity the fool who didn't watch the Mr. T cartoon!

Considering how many jokes from the movies were about boobs, this seems highly inappropriate for kids.

Why not have a cartoon featuring a cat eating alien from Melmac?

Based on a short scene from Muppets Take Manhattan this cartoon was popular for a number of years and featured the infamous green and white stockinged legs of Nanny.