Here is a list of all of the 80s cartoons available on DVD in the US to date (updated 3/3/2010.)  Basically I'm putting this together for two reasons.  One, to keep a nice list of what's out there, and to provide a portal with which readers of this site can help support the Branded in the 80s project.  All of these images link to the title's respective Amazon.com product page, and a percentage of all purchases made via these links will go to supporting the site.  Win, win.

Some of these sets may not seem like they really fit here, but there is a reason.  Take the Punky Brewster sets for example; all fours volumes of the sitcom contain episodes from the short lived cartoon series (It's Punky Brewster) as well.  Also I've gone ahead and included some stuff from the 70s because it was in syndication when I was growing up (and thus felt much like they belonged in the decade) and anything that is out of print (like the Rhino releases of G.I. Joe, Transformers, Jem, and the Inhumanoids) just to keep the list as comprehensive as possible.  I'll be updating this as soon as anything is available via Amazon (or elsewhere for that matter), as well as replacing the out of print listings with any new ones that might pop up on the horizon.  I've also decided to throw on some kids shows like The Electric Company, Sesame Street, the Muppets, and Fraggle Rock because they fit in the same vein of programing. 

I'm certainly not the end all authority on whats out there on DVD; this list is purely based on my own research.  If you see anything that you feel should be included, drop me an e-mail (using the contact link to the left.)  Again, if you wish to help support the site and want to pick up some fun cartoons while you're at it, please use the below list as a portal to Amazon.  Thanks.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

If you see anything that you feel should be included, drop me an e-mail (using the contact link to the left.)

Anyway, one of the first things I stumbled upon while playing with my new DSL account was podcasts. I was turned on to Wil Wheaton's blog via some link or other and saw he was doing podcasts. What's a freaking podcast I asked the open air? So I downloaded it and realized it was just an mp3 file of him waxing intellectual. I was hooked. Sure I've been reading some pretty fun blogs, and adding his to the list was cool, but the podcast was great. For once, hearing inflection and sarcasm in a bolg, it was revolutionary to me (no matter how mundane it is to the mass amount of people already familiar with podcasts.)

So anyway, I wanted more and started the search for podcasts directories, which I found though it was tedious to download a bunch of stuff that I may or may not like. So my next step was iTunes, which IMHO had the most user-friendly interface for snaggin podcasts and listening to them at my leisure. Anyway, I got the bug and for some demented reason I wanted to do one of my own. I can't explain this. I'm not outgoing, and I hate the sound of my own voice, but it just seemed like it would be a fun project to put together. So being the nerd I am I bought the "For Dummies" book on podcasting, picked up a cheap mic and started worrying about what I'd do for intro music and stuff.

The first thing I wanted to tackle was the music. I really wanted to use a bunch of 80's cartoon and TV theme songs, out of print stuff that the ordinary music industry litigious obsessed exec wouldn't dream of suing over, but I couldn't get the stupid image of me in handcuffs being whipped by a member of the supreme court in a thong shouting about music rights out of my head. When I first started playing on the internet in '97 or so the first thing I did was use a free service to put up one of the stupidest, most eye-achingly, mind-numbingly ugly simple websites dedicated to my then obsession with Yoo Hoo and how they were planning to take over the world through colorblindness. (There used to be this printed message on the bottom flap of the packaging of a 6 pack of Yoo Hoo bottles that read "Destroy All Colors", so I assumed the world domination part.) Anyway, the website was only up for a few months with like a total of 3 visitors when I got a cease and desist type e-mail from one of the Yoo Hoo beverage execs, who admittedly found the website funny. So me being sued for using copyrighted music doesn't seem that out of place to me.

So while listening to Wil Wheaton's 'casts, he mentioned Apple's Garage Band software that lets you play with samples and loops to make your own music, which sounded great to me even though I know nothing about music. Problem is, I have a PC not a Mac. So I began the search for a Window's equivalent, and found it in Adobe Audition. I got sticker shock though and went back to the drawing board. Because I didn't want to pump a bunch of money into this hobby that might not pan out I decided to download the free audio editing software, Audacity and I began scouring the nets in search of free samples and loops, hoping to find enough to construct at least one crappy theme intro. And I did, here, and I hated it. Mostly because it was the best I could do with what I had, but it didn't reflect me in the least. So I broke down and bought a copy of Sony ACID XMC, and gave it another go.

I think I did something a little better, it's the current intro music to the podcast above, but I was happy with it. So now that I had the music conquered, I figured why keep doing research and figuring out the logistics and just go ahead and record a podcast and see what you can do with the mp3 file afterwards. So last night I did just that and as of this typing I've gone all headache-y trying to figure out how to narrowcast my stupid podcast. I had signed up for a free ourmedia account to host the actual files already, so now I needed a place to showcase them. My next thought was iTunes. Which I'm still considering, but they wanted an RSS feed.

Without going into a sixty-page rant on why I don't completely understand RSS and XML, I'll just say this bummed me out. So I figured I'd need to subscribe to a free blogging service that I can use to link to the media files and that will also possibly do an automatic RSS feed for me. So I came to blogger, except blogger doesn't generate RSS feeds. They play with atom and XML. So after goggling this problem I came across a nice site that explained how to convert your blogger feed to RSS via feedburner. It took awhile to figure out, but I thought I'd done it. Well, not so much. Turns out that the RSS just wasn't right for iTunes, in fact it was really really wrong. So then I tried using the RSS feed from the ourmedia site where I was hosting the podcast files.

This worked and it showed up in iTunes, but is was buggy and I didn't have clear access to changing the RSS code to make it iTunes friendly. So now I'm at libsyn.com and it appears to be the answer to all my questions while staying within a price structure that I'm comfortable with. So now it's on to iTunes, hopefully.

Click here to send me an email.

So what is Branded in the 80s and who is that goofy looking kid on that big wheel below (and why isn't he wearing any pants?)  Well, I'm that kid and it was Christmas morning so excitement trumped getting dressed properly.  My name is Shawn Robare and I've been thinking about writing a full on mission statement about this site for awhile as I think the title can be misleading, relying too much on an encrypted personal mantra. 

I was born in a country and on the crest of a decade that is easy to dismiss.   For the most part the 80s in America appear to exist in a hyper-reality filled with idiotic consumerism, over indulgence and some pretty bad music.  The decade was the nexus at which point pop culture and corporate branding, both at an apex, merged into one gargantuan beast that changed the direction of entertainment and the general perception for most of the planet.  The obvious path this leads to is one of retaliation, a sarcastic mix of adulation and self-loathing.  This sort of idea that's equal parts loving and mocking of something flawed is a hard one for me to swallow.   I get it and I can admit that it's sometimes funny, but I think it tends toward being too easy and usually a little bit callow.



I grew up and came of age in an environment that was equal parts depressing and amazing.  When I sat down and decided on a name for this project I wanted it to honestly reflect my passion and fondness for my childhood experience, and when I think about my childhood it brings to mind all of the corporate pop culture milestones I grew up with.  For me, nostalgia can be a pretty odd beast, especially when it comes to mining through the proverbial junkyard left in the wake of decades of pop culture.  This wasteland is a resource though; it's a veritable Rosetta stone that can help unlock the personal mysteries of my youth.

Little Orphan Orange Otter Pops mean so much more to me than frozen sticks of water, food coloring and high fructose corn syrup.  Looking at an Otter Pop is like looking through a window into a specific memory.  I'm sitting on a ground-mounted distribution transformer, you know, one of those hideously ugly drab-green cubic monstrosities that pepper the suburban landscape; the ones that you aren't supposed to sit on or play near.   My ass and thighs are burning through my thin Maui brand surf shorts, and I'm having a conversation about skateboarding with my best friend Peanut, discussing the viability of perfecting an ollie or attempting my first rail-slide that doesn't end with skinning my shins raw.   I'm letting my Otter Pop melt, breaking up the ice crystals with my teeth through the packaging to expedite the process as I always loved drinking them as a kid.  The ice hurt the fillings in my teeth if I ate them straight up.



This is what it means to be Branded in the 80s.   I hope that through a steady deconstruction of childhood pop culture I can discover more about who and what I am and how I fit into the world.   I mean, a healthy dose of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe had to have an effect on my good-natured morality.  But what does it mean in the context of the same cartoon series eschewing in a decade of intense action and adventure animation.  Isn't that sort of content supposed to have a negative effect on me as well, desensitizing me and teaching me it's okay to utilize violence to solve problems?   If you ask me I think this sort of thing is worth investigating.



So what kind of content are you going to find on this site?  Most everything is broken up into the various columns that you can find on the left sidebar...

Peel Here is a column where I wax nostalgic on my enormous sticker collection.  Because of the range in branding that stickers represent, the column leads to all sorts of discussion on 80s pop culture.


In the Cartoon Commentary! column I deconstruct specific episodes of the various cartoons I grew up with, as well as taking a microscopic approach to understanding the process of animation by exploring individual cels from my authentic collection of hand drawn & painted cartoon artwork.


Buried in DVDs is the section of the site I've set aside for dissecting the various films and television I love and love to hate.   I also use this column as an excuse to make upcoming release announcements for the various movies and shows I’m looking forward to on DVD.


Under the Vintage TV Guides of the 80s banner you'll find some page by page deconstructions of Fall Preview issues that were released during the late 70s and 80s.  It's a great resource for finding some old forgotten gems that have never seen syndication or release on home video.


I also have a very large digital collection of the Essential Hostess comic book ads from the 70s & 80s, complete with ad by ad commentary.


In 2010 I started a new column called Soda Pop Culture in which I'm going to try and take a look at America's favorite frosty carbonated beverages, as well as all of the weird drinks I loved growing up.  In addition to soda I've also covered a series of frozen drinks modeled after the Slurpee and Icee design.


For the past four years I've also taken part in the seasonal "Countdown to Halloween" blogging events.  Under the Halloween banner you'll be able to access the archives of my creepy contributions.


I also have a couple of 80s themed resources on Branded.   One is a collection of Saturday Morning cartoon ads that ran in comic books throughout the 70s and 80s.  The other is a comprehensive list of 80s cartoons available on DVD in the US and Canada.
  

In addition to the above columns I'm also involved in producing two podcasts:

This website began with the inception of the Branded in the 80s podcast where I remember what it was like to be a kid, featuring personal recollections and commentary on subjects ranging from fast food to toys.


Recently I also helped re-launch the Saturday Supercast, a podcast that serves as a love letter to animation of the 60s, 70s, and 80s.  With co-hosts Jerzy Drozd and Kevin Cross, I help deconstruct cartoons, taking them apart to see what works, what doesn't, and how they fit into the over medium.


You can find some examples of my drawings on my flickr page.

I also succumbed and created a silly facebook page, though for the life of me I don't know why.

I'm also on Twitter.

Hmmm, what else to write.  I know, I'll make one of those "things about me" lists that the bloggers seem to be so fond of...

I do all the cooking in my domestic domicile.

Ever since I drank a fifth of tequila in one sitting, even smelling it can make me puke.

I used to collect comic books.

I currently have more DVDs than dollars in my savings account, which stands to reason.

I love making lists.

I love updating the lists that I make.

I was born on the 7th day of the week, on the 17th day of the 7th month of the 77th year in the 20th century.

I provided some artwork for a DVD that you can rent on Netflix.

I've never been out of the country or visited the west coast.

I love me some Slurpees, but I'll accept most any frozen drink in it's place.

I can't stand the taste of cloves.

The only fight I was ever in was also with a kid named Shawn.

I used to carry a can of Spam around as a pet in high school until some retarded (not literally) chick stuck a knife in it.

I don't believe that they make horror movies like they used to.

I prefer practical effects over CGI in film any day.

After seeing the Phantom Menace in theaters 4 times I vowed never to pay to see another Star Wars prequel ever again, but I bought into the Episode III hype and I've hated myself a little ever since.

I suffer from an intense arachnophobia.

My favorite holiday is Halloween.

I have a strong belief that toys will suffocate if you keep them mint in box or mint on card condition.

I think Wolverine looks best in the orange and brown suit (or in the all black suit as Patch.)

I have issues staying focused on hobbies, usually completely dropping/selling off the previous one to fund the next one.

I enjoy being disturbed.

I think that Kill Bill Vol.1 and 2 is best viewed as one long movie, not two.

I adore calamari.

I'm semi-obsessed with cephalopods.

I suck at remembering birthdays.

I will wear clothes until they are practically falling off my body rather than buy new.

Anthony Bourdain is a personal hero of mine, though on the opposite end, so is Alton Brown.

Though I was born in Texas, and lived most of my life in the south, I feel like a northerner.

The first album I ever owned was a Best of the Beach Boys record.

I was a metal-head in elementary and middle school.

My favorite music is usually centered around punk rock, so either glam, rockabilly, new wave, hardcore or of the 80s underground.

I believe that hatchbacks make wonderful cars.

I really, really like 1971 Mach 1 Mustangs.

I'm a watcher and collector by nature, and my biggest fear of dying is not being able to see what happens next, or continue my accumulation of crap.

I try never to miss any Ween concert that comes through Atlanta.

I hate the sound of my voice on tape.

The spicier the food the better, both in terms of heat and interesting flavors.

I can use chopsticks to eat rice.

I hope to one day own at least one episode of ever TV show I've ever loved on DVD, which is a whole lot of TV shows.

I was naturally blonde until I was about 4, then my hair turned brown.

I used to have a reoccurring nightmare of a giant hotdog being forced through a barn.

I picked the lock on a hotel mini-bar once.

I haven't lived in a house in 18 years, since I was 15 in fact.

I love monsters, especially the Universal incarnations, and specifically the creature from the black lagoon and Frankenstein's monster.

I've exhibited my wares (self published magazine and this very website) at a comic convention which was one of the big things on my "To Do Before I Die" list.