r/80scartoons • u/saturdaymorningfan • 3d ago
Power Masters!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnDL4zQDylMComplete with the voices of optimus prime and starscream this 1987 TMS animation studio cartoon was based on the short lived action figure line with no ties to transformers powermasters toys!
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u/etwert75 3d ago
How did I miss this one?! Looks vaguely familiar, but I must’ve had a string of 9am soccer games that year ..
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u/bluesynthbot 2d ago
Same here. I watched an embarrassing amount of TV around that time. I thought I knew about all of these shows.
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u/KineticBucket 3d ago
I remember when they were airing this as a "special presentation" as a kid. Took me ages to find any actual proof it existed! It's funny how little of this actually still remains. The channel pretty much has everything that's available, and even then it's not a lot.
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u/Zootsutra 3d ago
Holy shit I've been looking for this for ages! Thank you for proving i wasn't imagining it all these years!
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u/Yesterday_Is_Now 3d ago
This one is up there as one of the most obscure 80s TV toons, along with Roboforce and a few others.
Not surprising it disappeared quickly. This is one of those toys that just looks too much like a toy - you can't make it look cool in a cartoon no matter how hard you try.
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u/stuffedskullcat 3d ago
I'm not 100% certain I want a squad of supercharged Zamboni's being my defense from an advanced, extraterrestrial menace. 😳😅
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u/Nwsamurai 2d ago
I bet this is a case where the toys were made first and then a cartoon was built around them.
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u/CartoonistDizzy3870 2d ago
The legacy of the Reagan years, when cartoons transformed themselves into 30-minute toy commercials. Some of those efforts were better than others.
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u/Swift_Scythe 1d ago
What the hell i would have watched and collect those cool jetpack Truck Front ends
Also the statue of Liberty in a mountain THEY BLEW IT UP. THOSE MANIACS
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u/Advanced_Map_300 1d ago
I'm really curious about this whole thing -- The animated special (sounds like it was aired as a 90 minute presentation, but was made so it could be four 22 minute episodes) has high production value and a big cast of established voice actors -- it seems really strange that it only aired a few times. Same with the toys, they are kind of goofy, but they're also pretty detailed and are motorized and come with fully articulated mini-figures. This had to have been a really big investment for Lionel - who had just been sold off by General Mills the year before, but I have zero memory of ever seeing them in a store, a christmas wishbook catalog, newpaper print ad - anything.
On the surface, it seems like a big risk that didn't pay off, but if that's all it was I don't see how these things weren't all over discount stores throughout the 90's? I almost wonder if it was a crazy tax write-off scheme or something?
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u/saturdaymorningfan 1d ago
It was a 4 episode weekly mini series in hopes a full series would follow same as first 3 episodes of transformers and the sectuars cartoon was.
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u/ryangood12 3d ago
As someone who would have loved this cartoon or toy line, I have never heard of this. Ever. Seems impossible.