The 1980s was an era when cartoons became a deliberate vessel for selling toys – and a few of the biggest and most popular kids’s franchises emerged as a result.
Major franchises born out of the 1980s include He-Man and Masters of the Universe, Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which boast equally impressive toy lines.
It was marketing genius, creating worlds and fictional characters and concurrently releasing cartoons and toys to double-dip in the registers. Studio executives love it, parents hate it.
The likes of Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles also jumped into the 1990s and both are still popular franchises today, with live-action and CGI films dazzling new generations.
So, obviously, it made sense that this trend would continue into the 1990s. But while there are some that work 90s toys that will emerge from a successful cartoon franchise, there are some brave companies that will try to launch the toy first.
Many of these attempts are outright scams of Transformers of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, does anyone remember GoBots, for example?
However, some of the toys that spawned these television shows and cartoons would become popular culture hits in their own right and lots of of them are still remembered and loved today.
Here are the most memorable 1990s toys that would ultimately spawn their own television shows or cartoons:
Street shark
While the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles may have been the team that started it all, they definitely weren’t the only game in town for a long time. After their success, dozens of other companies tried to capitalize on the craze with their own teams of teenage anthropomorphic superheroes. Among the most blatant scams is Mattel’s Street Sharks.
Despite the well-made figures and popular cartoons, Street Sharks never managed to capture the public’s imagination in the same way Ninja Turtles did.
In part, this is as a result of an absence of originality; in an already overcrowded market, Street Shark does not offer anything new or thrilling. As a result, they quickly faded into obscurity, leaving only happy memories for those who played with them as kids.
Stone Protector
Protector of the Rock is a short-lived cartoon series produced by ACE Entertainment in an try to capitalize on the success of Ninja Turtles. The series follows the adventures of five magic stones that can transform into humanoid warriors.
Despite its premise, the show was plagued by lackluster animation and poor writing. As a result, it failed to capture the imagination of its target market and was canceled after only 13 episodes. Despite this, the Rock Protector toy remains a popular collector’s item amongst nostalgia fans.
Mighty Max
Mighty Max is a toy line and companion cartoon series that aired in the early 1990s. The toy was initially designed as Polly Pocket boy versionwith a compact that opens to disclose a playset with a small figure.
However, the Mighty Max line quickly became popular in its own right, largely as a result of the cartoon series’ innovative storytelling.
The show follows the adventures of Max, a young boy who finds himself flitting from one monster-filled adventure to the next. Even although the monsters are all the time much bigger than Max, he uses his wits and courage to defeat them time and time again.
The show was a hit amongst kids, who loved following Max’s thrilling adventures. Thanks to its popularity, Mighty Max remains a fondly remembered childhood favourite today.
Skeleton Soldier
Skeleton Warriors never stood an opportunity. The show faced some stiff competition in the early ’90s, and it just could not keep up. It’s a disgrace too, because the show is really pretty good. The premise is unique, the characters are engaging, and the action sequences are well done.
It’s a disgrace that more people do not give it an opportunity. Hopefully, one day, someone will rediscover this hidden gem and provide it the attention it deserves. Until then, it remains one of the forgotten 90s TV shows.
Max Steel
Max Steel has been a popular character for over 20 years, appearing in numerous forms of media. She first appeared as an action figure from Mattel in 1997, and four years later she was given her own animated TV series. The series spanned three seasons and featured direct-to-video films. In 2013, the TV series was rebooted by Disney, but only lasted one season. In 2016, Max Steel made the jump into live action with the film of the same name. However, the film was not received well by fans or critics.
