Top 10 Toy Lines of the 1980s
Dance-pop was on our radios, and this lot was in our playrooms! Join http://www.WatchMojo.com as we count down our picks for the top 10 toy-lines from the 1980s! For this list, we've looked at those toys that dominated the children's market in the 1980s. It doesn't matter if they existed before our decade, only that their main era of popularity was within it. This is part of a series of videos ranging from the 1960s to the 2000s.
Special thanks to our users Michael Chavez Avila, wolfwood0000, zendaddy621, John Nolan, 80sfreaka and Baboo Cane for submitting the idea on our Suggestions Page at WatchMojo.comsuggest.
Top 10 Toy Lines of the 1980s
Top 10 Toy Lines of All Time
Dance-pop was on our radios, and this lot was in our playrooms! Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 toy-lines from the 1980s! For this list, we’ve looked at those toys that dominated the children’s market in the 1980s. It doesn’t matter if they existed before our decade, only that their main era of popularity was within it. Finally, no games consoles, as that’s a list for another day! This is part of a series of videos ranging from the 1960s to the 2000s.
#10: Magic 8-Ball
Is this toy a popular one? Signs point to yes! Originally created in the 1950s, the Magic 8-Ball became a definite hit in the ‘80s! It was one of those toys that seemed to be present in almost every kid’s bedroom! Shaped and styled to resemble the 8-ball of a pool table, the wonder with this thing lay with its special window on the underside. Ask a yes/no question, turn the ball over, wait a few moments... And presto! This fortune-teller fascinated children as well as their parents! Will this toy ever go out of style? Don’t count on it!
#9: Strawberry Shortcake
Originally a greeting-card character, Strawberry Shortcake swapped 2D for 3 in the ‘80s with the advent of dolls, stickers, clothes and even her own animated series! A girly concoction of cakes and cuddliness, she and her friends were sweet treats in toy-form! They smelled good too(!) - as each doll was individually and appropriately scented to match her moniker. Shortcake was joined by fruity favorites such as Lemon Meringue and Blueberry Muffin - and they were all complimented by similarly sniff-able pets! This was one toy that really worked up our appetites!
#8: Jenga
A game for all ages, since gaining popularity in the ‘80s, Jenga has achieved an almost iconic status in toy-dom! First introduced in 1982, the premise is simple, but the practice... Is not! Few fun things have ever shredded nerves quite as much as Jenga does... When it’s your turn to play, your usually steady hand is shaking, your usually steady heart is beating! You hope for a loosely-fitted central piece, you invariably get one that feels as though it’s been super-glued in! Great tension, good times! But whatever you do: don’t topple the tower!
#7: My Little Pony
Top 10 Toy Lines of the 2000s
The ‘80s were a lot of things, but ‘dull’ wasn’t one of them! The decade’s pop culture was an explosion of color, and My Little Pony were the pretty pioneers of playtime! Brought to market in 1982, these toys weren’t cuddly, but they were collectible! Plastic figurines with fixable, fluorescent hair, and trademark “cutie marks” on their flanks, they looked good poking out of your backpack, or from the basket on your bike! With a catchy jingle and an all-encompassing merchandise machine, My Little Pony was inescapably exciting, and remains so even today!
#6: Mr. Potato Head
Top 10 Toy Lines of the 1990s
A classic component of any kid’s toy-box, Mr. Potato Head was the most fun thing ever to happen to vegetables! And in fact, at its introduction in 1952, the funny features were meant to decorate a real potato! The possibilities seemed endless! And rules were there to be broken! Sad eyes and happy mouth was the height of hilarity... A nose where an ear should be, and we were rolling on the floor with laughter! If you were lucky enough to get your hands on Mrs. Potato Head as well, girl eyes and a moustache was a must-do! This was literal plastic surgery!
#5: Care Bears
Another play-thing with pretty colors, the Care Bears are synonymous with the ‘80s, and everything that was cute about them! Setting a precedent for plush toys everywhere, they came in a variety of colors and with a selection of mid-sections! Multi-colored hearts, rainbows and weather-related imagery made up the ‘Tummy Symbol’, which gave every bear an individual duty and personality. The Care Bears copied Strawberry Shortcake’s success, trading greeting cards for gift-boxes for big and small screen success, but they’re childhood icons in their own right!
#4: G.I. Joe
Top 10 Toy Lines of the 1970s
Go Joe! At four, we merge the toy-line with the frontline! G.I. Joe was the world’s very first ‘action figure’ when he was initially created in the 1960s, and by the ‘80s he had taken over toy stores worldwide! In England, he was ‘Action Man’, and on both sides of the Atlantic he was awesome! Proving the point that boys will play with dolls if the marketing is right, Joe had clothing, weaponry, vehicles, and all sorts of accessories. He was like Barbie’s Ken, only way cooler, and with his own show! Joe’s a real American hero!
#3: Cabbage Patch Kids
As we have seen, kids went crazy for cuddly things in the ‘80s - but the Cabbage Patch Kids reigned supreme with their squishiness! A Cabbage Patch Kid made a real-life kid, cool! Brought to mass market in 1982, their heads may have been harder, but from the neck down these ragdolls were prime pillow-sharing material! And their plastic skulls actually added to their charm, giving them a more realistic, although sometimes kinda scary, look! These things were more than your toys, they were your friends! And today they’re one of history’s longest running doll brands!
#2: Transformers
Not only were Transformers a dream come true for plenty of children, they got the parental thumbs up as well! ‘Our son wants a toy robot, but he also wants a toy car... Why not give him both??’ Going on to inspire a popular TV show, comic books, video games and movies, these alien robots did exactly what their name implies! One second we were zooming through the city streets with our built-for-speed sports car, the next we were beating-up the baddies as a robot! ‘More than meets the eye,’ and more than our excitement could take as the Autobots battled the Decepticons! Before we pull our top pick out of the toy box, here are a few honorable mentions: - Koosh Ball also in 1990s - He-Man - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Speak & Spell - Micro Machines
#1: Rubik’s Cube
Few toys have achieved a cultural reputation to match our winner’s! The Rubik’s Cube is considered one of the best-selling toys of all time, and one of the symbols of the 20th century! Created by Hungarian Ernő Rubik in 1974, it’s a puzzle that just about anyone can play. As long as you understand basic colors, you can bemuse yourself with this contraption! The playroom, the coffee table, the back seat of the car or the top drawer of your desk at work - the Rubik’s Cube was everywhere! Part puzzle, part math problem, part structural challenge and part toy, this colorful cube is the kinda plaything that’ll make you see red…and green… and blue… Do you agree with our list? Which toy did we leave behind? For more memory-jogging top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
