Odd note on the Galaxy Rangers.
The animators slipped one past the censors as a gag.
In at least 2 episodes, a character in a crowd/background scene appears. She is dressed as a Dom, & is smoking with a holder.
I guess the editors weren’t paying attention that day. 
I’m far past my mid-20s, but I always preferred “Instruments of Destruction” and I cheered their deaths (even though I liked Brawn and Ironhide) because I was so tired of all the shooting and no one getting hurt. I shed a tear for Starscream’s death, because he was my favorite Decepticon.
GI Joe predates the series by decades. I was playing with GI Joes long before there was a Cobra. That’s part of its lasting power. All those other shows were nothing but toy-line ties ins where they threw lots at the consumer to see which would stick.
I never watched The Real Ghostbusters.
Oh, don’t worry, I know G.I. Joe toys have been around since 1964. (I’m a collector and sometime dealer.) But G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, the 3 3/4" action figures where they introduced Cobra as the villains, have been around since 1982.
… If I see another cock-eyed trumped-up bad-attitude cartoon character, I will destroy the world! :mad:
As someone who has Transformers: The Movie, the season 1 and season 2 Transformers DVD boxed sets, and various bootleg VHS videotapes of the Japanese-only Transformers shows, and got front-row seating for Stan Bush/Vince DiCola at BotCon '97, I have to respectfully disagree. 
But that’s part of the whole appeal of those shows – they’re the video equivalent of eating Froot Loops washed down with chocolate milk for breakfast, after all. It’s colorful, unadulterated, black-and-white morality plays, with more than a touch of over-the-top silliness.
Transformers was especially noted for the latter, given that it was targeted at a younger audience than its sibling G.I. Joe was, but – as Big Bad Voodoo Lou noted – they weren’t completely dumbing down to the audience, either. Joe’s “A Nice Little Town Called Springfield” still sends shivers down my spine, and I don’t know a Transformers cartoon fan who can’t recall Beachcomber’s irony-laced last line in “The Golden Lagoon.”
Granted, they weren’t the best-written animated shows ever produced for TV (all bow down before Batman: The Animated Series!), but “raped and murdered” is a bit much.
Hey, if y’all want to spin off a thread on Marvel’s 80s cartoons, I’ll be there. Just don’t spoil Transformers: The Movie for my son, since he still hasn’t seen it yet. 
And back to the heavily-hijacked OP…
Can you imagine anyone wanting to make a plush toy for Buzz Bunny? Me neither.
I’m gonna have to disagree with you there. The First Golden age was the post WWII WB cartoons. Nothing can touch those with a ten foot science pole. Currently, we are just at the end of a Silver Age, if you will. The Silver Age had it’s peak three or four years ago. Some of the cartoons you mentioned are only in syndication, like Futurama, Simpsons is WAAAAAAY past it’s prime and has been for four or five years (and even five years ago it was nowhere near what it was in seasons 3-8.) No, I think the Silver Age was back in the 95-2002 range. Here are my reasons:
Gargoyles
Aladdin the Series
Beast Wars
Reboot
Futurama
Batman: TAS
Batman Beyond
Decent Simpsons episodes
Yes, the 40s and 50s were definitely the golden age of cartoons. IMO, nothing has ever surpassed the early WB, Tex Avery, and Max Fleischer cartoons. And I suspect nothing ever will. The Simpsons was great because of the humor, and Batman and the like are great because of the animation, but none of those examples combine the two effectively. The only ones that even come close to getting both humor and decent animation that I can think of off the top of my head are Ren & Stimpy, The Tick, and Venture Bros. But even those don’t equal the attention to detail that you see in the early WB cartoons.
And I’m still waiting to see Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarves!
I think you can see streaming video of that on-line. I’m sorry I don’t have a link handy, but I remember seeing it before.
But, the Looney Tunes were left unchanged in TT. OTTOMH, I can’t remember the LTs appearing in any Animaniacs episodes. Loonatics OTOH, has changed Bugs into this demonic anime thing.
But it’s not Bugs.
First of all: TE-LE-VISION. We’re in the golden age of TELEVISION animation. WB cartoons (and I don’t even agree that the post WWII were the best, unless you include the WWII era ones) were theatrical, and thus aren’t included. It’s not even fair to include them if you wanted to - they were made for theaters, and had big, theatrical budgets that television animation isn’t granted. Second, you just listed the Silver Age. Now (and until recently) we have:
Power Puff Girls
Invader Zim
Dexter’s Laboratory
Venture Brothers
Spongebob Squarepants
Fairly Oddparents
South Park
Drawn Together
…okay, most of those shows are over, but I’d still give them a more recent status than 95-2002. I’d say the Golden Age includes your list and is continuing now. It looks like more and more animated shows are on the horizon due to the popularity of the shows mentioned.
Yes, they say ‘It’s his descendent in the 28th century’. However, this is clearly just an attempt to pacify us purists. Bugs, and the rest, certainly pop up in enough time periods in the classic cartoons. OTTOMH, Bugs surrounded by knights in armor- sometime in the 1500s, Bugs involved in the American Revolution-late 1700’s, Bugs in the wild west-mid to late 1800’s.
So why are supposed to accept that this abomination is descended from Bugs, rather than a hideous attempt to ‘update’ Bugs?
He looks completely different and has a different name.
He looks like a special guest villain on “Batman Beyond.”
Good question. They can split it up and take turns.
They were showing G.I. Joe at night on Cartoon Network awhile back. I think you’re missing what’s so great about it: it’s hilarious. Seriously funny, from the sound effects ripped from Star Wars to the silly characterization to the teaching kids lessons part.
It had a different theme song than the one I remember though. The one it had when I was a kid was “GOT TO GET TOUGH! GO JOE!!!”
Is that so? Damn those television people, trying to corrupt our children by encouraging interracial relationships!
I forgot about Reboot. That was a great show!
…
I never really liked Bugs Bunny. Well, I actually did when I was really young, but I stopped liking him when I was about ten. He really was a jerk.
I liked Daffy Duck. Especially the earlier Daffy Duck stuff when he was crazier. Sure, he was a jerk too, but they didn’t pretend he wasn’t.
Not Pitch Black and the Seven Big Honkies?
Maybe because those were one-offs, and couldn’t support a series?
Dandy!
G.I. Joe and Transformers both went through a few different theme songs, usually with each new season, when the opening sequences were changed to include images of the newest characters you could buy!