11 Iconic ’80s Cartoons and Their Toys — Which Came First?

If you were a kid in the 1980s, you probably remember Saturday mornings the same way: pouring a huge bowl of your favorite cereal, plopping down in front of the TV in your Underoos or character pajamas, and diving into a lineup of unforgettable cartoons. But have you ever wondered — did the toys inspire the shows, or did the cartoons make the toys famous?

From action-packed adventures to colorful animated classics, many of the most iconic ’80s cartoons were deeply connected to the toy aisle. In this list, we’re counting down our Top 11 favorite ’80s cartoons and toy lines to uncover which came first — the toy or the show — and how they became a defining part of every kid’s Saturday morning routine.