Did you know, once upon a time the Sylvester Stallone-starring, ultra violent Rambo movie series was responsible for inspiring a children’s cartoon? Yep, it’s true and it’s also something which is frankly bizarre when you consider just how brutal the movies are.
But Rambo isn’t alone – in fact there are many adult-orientated movie franchises out there which have been turned into kid’s cartoons. Some so unexpected, you might worry if young viewers stumbled across the source material.
Wondering what they are? Well, this post takes a look at eight of the most notable, including the aforementioned Rambo ‘toon.
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RoboCop (1988)
First up is probably the most bizarre cartoon on this list: The short-lived ’80s animated series, RoboCop! Why bizarre? Because of just how violent and adult-orientated the original film was!
If you’ve some how missed 1987’s RoboCop, the film is a fantastic yet brutal science-fiction action movie from director Paul Verhoeven (the same director behind Basic Instinct and Showgirls). RoboCop told the tale of a police officer violently killed in the line of duty and then revived as a cyborg law enforcement officer.
What follows is lots of death, destruction, blood, gore, swearing, and well, scenes of an adult nature. RoboCop is awesome, but it’s not for youngsters.
So, how was RoboCop transformed into a cartoon? Simple really, things were toned down considerably.
The sci-fi elements were cranked up, bullets were replaced with laser beams, and swear words became a strict no-no. Marvel Productions and Orion Pictures Corporation were behind the 12-episode series, which came and went rather quickly.
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Rambo: The Force of Freedom (1986)
Next up, and produced by Ruby-Spears Enterprises, is Rambo: The Force of Freedom! This show was based on the first two Rambo movies, as well as David Morrell’s book, First Blood – Rambo: The Freedom Force.
So, how did this cartoon handle all of the violence from the films? Simple, all the blood and guts was removed to make this kid-friendly.
And surprisingly, it worked! The show ran for 65 episodes and included the voice talents of Neil Ross, Frank Welker, Peter Cullen, Alan Oppenheimer and James Avery.
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Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (1990 – 1991)
Written and directed by John DeBello, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes was a 1978 low-budget comedy horror which spoofed the disaster and monster movie genres with a story about mutated killer tomatoes. The sequel – Return of the Killer Tomatoes (1988) – was more of the same, only with a slightly more adult edge and an early appearance from George Clooney.
So which movie was an animated series based on? Yep, you guessed it, the more inappropriate of the two!
Retaining the name from the first movie, but borrowing plot points and characters from the second film, the animated Attack of the Killer Tomatoes show hit TV screens in September 1990, once again courtesy of Marvel Productions. The show ran for two seasons and well, was pretty fun actually.
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Little Shop (1991)
Once again we can thank Marvel Productions for this one – an animated series based on The Little Shop of Horrors movies. Simply known as Little Shop, the cartoon ran for one season lasting 13 episodes and focused on the adventures of Seymour and his meat-eating plant, now known as Junior (the plant is known as Audrey Junior & Audrey II in the two Little Shop movies).
Although Junior still liked to eat meat in the kids cartoon, the series side-stepped the man-eating characteristics of the plant and toned down some of the plant’s sass in order to make the material acceptable for a young demographic. The result was a rather bland show that was pretty forgettable at the time and barely remembered now.
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Police Academy: The Series (1988 – 1989)
What do you do with a slightly saucy comedy about police officers? You turn it into an animated series of course!
Comprising 65 episodes, Police Academy: The Series was a cartoon continuation of the Police Academy movies and featured characters such as Sweetchuck, Hooks, Hightower, and Jones. The series was broadcast between 1988 and 1989, ran for two seasons, and was even accompanied by a toy line.
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Toxic Crusaders (1991)
Perhaps the most unusual movie-to-kids cartoon conversion of them all has to go to this one: Toxic Crusaders, an animated show about a group of hideously deformed creatures of superhuman size and strength. The show was based on the cult film, The Toxic Avenger (1984), which is loaded with violence and bad language and is most certainly not for kids!
The extreme violence of the movie was of course jettisoned, however the gross-out appeal of lead character, Toxie was ramped up to eleven in order to bring kids on board. A bunch of supporting characters were then tossed into the mix and a great toy line was added to make this 13-episode series a decent one.
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Tales from the Cryptkeeper (1993 – 1999)
Based on HBO’s bloody horror series Tales from the Crypt, Tales from the Cryptkeeper was an animated children’s show offering up a watered-down variation of the bloodcurdling parent show. Tales from the Cryptkeeper took a considerably less macabre tone than the material that spawned it, but was popular enough to run for 39 episode spread out across three seasons.
John Kassir, the voice of the Crypt Keeper in the live-action show reprised voice-over duties for this animated offering. Not bad. Not bad at all.
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Swamp Thing (1991)
And finally Swamp Thing, the DC/Vertigo character and star of two live-action movies and two live-action TV shows was also turned into an animated series. A very short animated series, lasting just five episodes.
The adult themes of the movies were once again removed, while the gross-out aspects of the characters were increased. Did kids love it? Probably not, but when did that ever matter when it came to kids cartoons of the early ‘90s? Either way, it came and it went.
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Thanks for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this post about adult-orientated movies turned into kids cartoons. For more posts, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
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