7 Forgotten Cartoons That Were Based on R-Rated Movies

During the 1980s, a unique business model emerged in Hollywood. The surge in popularity of children’s cartoons created a demand for content, and networks and animation studios needed material for these shows. While many cartoons were simply created to sell toys—and vice versa—some surprising franchises also found their way to the small screen. Beyond hits like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and He-Man, other established brands unexpectedly became animated series.

Back in the 1980s, a new trend emerged where movies originally made for adults—and often rated R—were turned into animated series for kids on Saturday mornings. This wouldn’t have happened in the 1970s; you wouldn’t have seen cartoons based on gritty films like Shaft or Dirty Harry. The huge success of the original Star Wars really fueled this shift, as pop culture became increasingly focused on making money from existing properties. While not every show fits perfectly, these lesser-known animated series all started as adult-oriented movies.

7) Rambo: The Force of Freedom

I loved First Blood when it came out – it was a really powerful, gritty film about a Vietnam vet struggling with PTSD and feeling abandoned by his country. It felt so real. Of course, that movie kicked off this huge action franchise, but Rambo: First Blood Part II really shifted things. It went all-in on the action, and honestly, after that, it just felt inevitable that we’d see Rambo, with his massive gun and, let’s be real, his lack of shirt, get the animated treatment. It felt like a natural progression, even if it was a bit of a departure from the original’s tone.

The series didn’t just follow Rambo; it introduced a team of soldiers battling the terrorist group S.A.V.A.G.E. around the world. This allowed for more ambitious storylines, like enemies taking hostages inside the Statue of Liberty or attempting to steal the Liberty Bell, among other outlandish plots.

Despite only running for 65 episodes, the Rambo: The Force of Freedom cartoon spawned a whole line of action figures. And if the show wasn’t already heavily inspired by G.I. Joe, it also featured twin ninja characters – Black Dragon and White Dragon – fighting on opposite sides. It’s hard to believe anyone thought that was original!

6) Clerks: The Animated Series

The popularity of adapting R-rated movies into animated series didn’t end in the ’80s. Kevin Smith’s well-known indie comedy continued this trend in the 2000s. The show brought back the original voice actors and wasn’t meant to attract a young audience to a new series; instead, it allowed Smith to expand the stories and world he’d created for his dedicated fans.

What really sets Clerks: The Animated Series apart from other shows is that it’s surprisingly well-made. Even years later, and despite the characters reappearing in live-action, the animated series is still worth watching. It’s full of Kevin Smith’s signature humor and clever references to pop culture – the things that made him so popular in the first place. And, at just six episodes, it’s a quick watch.

5) Friday: The Animated Series

Although the Friday movie series seemed to finish with Friday After Next, an animated series, Friday: The Animated Series, briefly appeared five years later. Only eight episodes were ever made, and it quickly disappeared with little notice. It’s remarkably obscure – you won’t find any reviews online, and it only has around 200 ratings on IMDb, averaging 6.4/10. It’s a prime example of a show that’s been almost completely forgotten.

It’s easy to understand why this series didn’t last long. None of the original creators from the movies were involved in making it. The voice actors were different – even John DiMaggio, who voiced ‘Pops,’ wasn’t the original – and none of the episodes were written by the movie’s writers. Add to that a noticeably low-budget animation style, even for 2007, and it’s clear why the series wasn’t successful.

4) Police Academy: The Animated Series

Debuting only five months after the fifth Police Academy movie, the animated series unsurprisingly follows the typical path for 1980s cartoons based on adult-rated films. It features animated versions of the movie characters – voiced by a new cast – and adds talking police dogs. Each episode also includes a safety tip for young viewers, and the show had two seasons with a total of sixty-five episodes, plus, as you might expect, accompanying action figures.

3) RoboCop & 2) RoboCop: Alpha Commando

The unexpected success of films like RoboCop, known for its intense violence – even showing a character exploding after an accident – created a great opportunity for animation. An animated RoboCop series quickly followed, appearing just a year after the original movie. While the animated version heightened RoboCop’s speed and fighting skills, it also made significant changes to the story, including a romantic interest for RoboCop in Officer Anne Lewis and bringing back the previously killed villain, Clarence Boddicker.

Okay, so RoboCop has had a long life – the original show ended a decade ago, then we got a couple of movies and even a live-action TV series. But RoboCop: Alpha Commando, the animated series, was something else entirely. Forty episodes in, it barely resembled the gritty original film. Honestly, it really cemented the trend of taking violent movies and turning them into kid-friendly properties. They gave RoboCop all sorts of gadgets – think grappling hooks, buzzsaws, even his own helicopter! It was a far cry from the serious law enforcer we first met, and a pretty wild ride.

1) Toxic Crusaders

Turning an R-rated movie series into a show for kids is a challenge, and The Toxic Avenger faced particularly long odds. The cartoon, based on the film by Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman, still features the mutated hero Toxie, but now he leads a team of fellow mutants dedicated to protecting their town, Tromaville, New Jersey, from pollution. While the over-the-top violence of the original movie might seem fitting for a cartoon, this new series tones things down to appeal to a younger audience, making it quite different from its source material.

Unlike many other shows, Toxic Crusaders was created as a response to both Captain Planet – sharing its focus on environmental issues – and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, mirroring its success with merchandise despite only having 13 episodes. Similar to the original Troma film, Toxic Crusaders has gained a dedicated cult following and is arguably the most well-known series on this list.

2026-05-26 21:41