Jun 7 2010 05:40 PM ET

'Voltron' returning to TV. What other toys deserve a comeback?

80s-cartoonsHey, kids of the 1980s, guess what? The defender of the universe — that’s right, Voltron — is coming back to the small screen, and to your local Toys “R” Us. Variety reports that rather than bring kid’s franchise Voltron to the big screen right away (à la Transformers and G.I. Joe), rights holders World Events Prods and Classic Media have decided to launch an animated Nicktoons series, as well as a Mattel toy line.

Seems to be the in vogue move these days — a ThunderCats series will air on Cartoon Network, while The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers will find a slot on Nickelodeon. (Since I was about two years too old for Power Rangers and never watched, can someone explain to me why the “Morphin” is without a “g”? Please, give me an answer that makes sense so I can scrap this off my pet peeve list!) It’s certainly a smart way to develop a built-in audience — if any studio were to transform existing TV show My Little Pony into a feature film when I was young, I probably would have picked up, oh, 30 tickets so I could watch it alongside the 29 ponies I played with in the bathtub. (Thanks to commenter Auriana for reminding me that there was, indeed, a My Little Pony movie. Not sure where my head was. Ponyland, perhaps?)

But my question is: Where does Rainbow Brite fit in all of this? Is Joel McHale the only person willing to bring her back to the small screen? (Just look at the longing look in her eye!) And what franchises would you like to see return to TV?

Related:
Sigourney Weaver joins ‘Abducted,’ ‘ThunderCats’ come to Cartoon Network
A Magic-8 Ball movie? Signs point to yes.

Comments (39 total) Add your comment
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  • Stephanie T.

    Ahem. None. The new Transformers was blah.

  • Charles

    yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!! i’m lookin (note: no g)forward to it! Nick is truly leading the way. Congrats.

  • Auriana

    There was a My Little Pony feature film, the My Little Pony Movie, which I remember going to see in theaters. It’s the one with the ooze stuff and introduces the flutter ponies.

    I’m not sure how I feel about a new Voltron cartoon. For starters, the original is the bastardization of an anime, Go-Lion. They dubbed it into English, took out any depictions of blood, death and violence for the most part, took out anything too “adult” in nature and messed with the story. The ONLY thing the American version did right was the music as the original soundtrack is pretty bad, though quite hilarious. I’m assuming any re-make would be American made and would probably differ in animation style (a shame). Plus, there was that awful computer animated Voltron series that aired awhile back. Still, as someone who still actively watches her Voltron/Go-Lion dvd collection, I’d at least check it out.

  • Madd

    If there is a Rainbow Brite show, Joel McHale and Lou must be in it.

  • DavidJ

    Actually Voltron already came back in the 90s as a computer animated series. Hopefully the new one will be better.

  • Josh

    Gay He-Man

    • two cents

      Didn’t they do this and name it Hercules? And Xena was a lesbian She-ra…

    • Quirky

      It’s that redundant?

  • bill

    star blazers, or the real ghostbusters

  • wendy23

    Gummi Bears

    • avenger

      That was the 90s. Hmph, your 80s kids license has officially been revoked lol

  • Kelly

    Jem, She’s truely, truely, truely outrageous.

    • Ali Mic

      YES!!! Jem & the Holograms rocked!

    • 24yanks

      Jem would be my pick too! Think of the movie merchandising too…I’m in for the Jem star earrings!

    • avenger

      OMG, great minds think alike! Thats the first thing I thought of too.

    • Dee

      I LOVED Jem. Loved her. Wanted to be her. She had pink hair! She sang in a band! All her friends had different coloured hair! She was awesome.

      • Kim

        I love love LOVED Jem! And yes the hair was the best!
        I had the dolls too!

  • jml

    i’m so psyched. loved the toys.

  • KC

    I’m still waiting for The Micronauts!

  • Mr Murk

    One 80′s property that’s overdue is definately He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe.

  • BG

    I really liked that live action Thundercats trailer. It looked hysterical! someone should make that.

  • BG

    Oh, 80s cartoons needing comebacks: Turbo Teen and Drac Pack. I loved those cartoons.

    • Cricket

      OMFG!! I thought I was the only one left in the world who remembers the Drac Pack! You are my new BFF!

      • Shamus N.

        I remember the Drac Pak too! I liked it when it was on!

  • J

    There already was a He Man remake in the early mid 00′s. It was pretty good, actually, but didn’t really take off. I’m super excited for the new Thundercats because it’s being animated by Studio 4C(though that probably doesn’t mean much to anyone hear. Just trust me when I say it’s a good thing.)

    • pastafarian

      not on board with Anime Thundercats.

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