20 80s Cartoons That Got Their Own Movies

Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor

Aug 5, 2025 1:00 PM EDT

Movie franchises are all the rage nowadays. From the Marvel movies, to Batman, to Transformers and many more, you can barley throw a rock in the comic world without hitting something that has been brought to life through movie magic. But back in the 80s things were a little different. Movie budgets certainly did not have the vast wealth they do today, nor did they have the technology to animate on computers.

But what they did have was a keen enthusiasm for cartoons, and apparently a deep founded love of turning those cartoons into movies. Which is how we find ourselves here today, about to embark on a journey of movie magic, some of which might have completely passed you by when you were growing up (not gonna lie, a lot of these look like they went straight to VHS, they weren't found in a cereal box).

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Now, this is most certainly an interesting one. To now know, with 100% certainty, that the Transformers franchise the Shia LaBeouf headed up was actually a rehash of a classic 80s cartoon movie. Try telling that to the kids today. You’ll probably get laughed out the room.
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Ok, why did they make so many Care Bear movies? What stories were there left to tell about a group of magical bears of different colors going around and doing semi-magical things? Ok, that actually sounds pretty interesting. Sign us up for the Care Bear movie marathon.
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