While adult animation has been gaining steam in recent years, there was a time when, far and away, cartoons were only aimed at younger audiences. Despite this fact, many adult-oriented live-action movies found their way into the animation world with cartoons aimed at kids. Even horror franchises like Aliens and Predator received toy lines aimed at youngsters, proving some stories could appeal to all ages. When it comes to cartoons from the past, here are seven R-rated movies that ventured into the animation world that probably shouldn’t have.
Robocop might look like a superhero, but the movie’s runtime features some of the most gruesome kills in any movie to come out of Hollywood. Released in 1987, the original movie was a commentary on capitalism and violence, and it certainly wasn’t aimed at younger viewers. Despite this fact, this didn’t stop Robocop: The Animated Series from hitting the airwaves one year after the movie’s release. Only having twelve episodes to its name, the cartoon didn’t bring down the franchise overall, but the animated series isn’t routinely thought of as high as the films that helped spawn it.
It’s almost hard to believe that Swamp Thing could be a series that could appeal to kids if you’ve been a reader of the comics these past decades. Numerous comic book runs have shown the dark side of the DC Universe via Alec Holland, with the protector of “The Green” focusing on horror stories. In 1991, a five-episode animated series attempted to do the impossible in introducing kids to Swamp Thing, and unsurprisingly, it didn’t work. Alec would return to the world of animation in the DC animated universe, but this entry is one that fans have forgotten.
Robocop and Swamp Thing at least had the benefit of having futuristic and supernatural elements to help sell them as children’s icons, but John Rambo couldn’t say the same. In 1986, Rambo: The Force of Freedom saw the Sylver Stallone character acting as though he was a part of G.I. Joe as he led a team of soldiers and kids against evil. Considering that the original 1982 followed a Vietnam veteran who was struggling with the horrors of war, creating a kids’ cartoon based on the character seemed amazingly against the grain. Of the many entries on our list, Force of Freedom feels like the most bizarre.
The Toxic Avenger was a movie that helped put Troma Entertainment on the map, introducing the superhero known as Toxie to the world. During his misadventures, blood and gore flew across the screen, giving the titular character several sequels and a recent remake. Released in 1991, The Toxic Crusaders takes the character from the movie, gives him goofy sidekicks, and takes away the gruesome violence and rampant mature material. With thirteen episodes to its name, this iteration of the Troma heroes even saw a recent video game released, though it was unable to capitalize on what made the original property work so well.
The original Police Academy film was a hard R comedy that you wouldn’t expect to ever see be made into a cartoon, but its sequels helped to make this animated series a reality. With the various follow-ups focusing on far more family-friendly adventures, it makes sense that an animated series would eventually arrive, even if it wasn’t able to live up to its source material. Surprisingly enough, this cartoon is one of the longer entries on our list, as it received two seasons with around sixty-five episodes to its name.
For a series that specifically focuses on various characters lobbing off one another’s heads for power, Highlander, as a kids’ cartoon, doesn’t feel like a good match. Released in 1994, the animated series goes to some wild places by focusing on the future of the world in the 27th century, rather than focusing on the past or the present like the live-action film. Highlander: The Animated Series did have two seasons to its name, but never managed to hit the heights of the original movie and was kneecapped by not being able to wade into territory its source material did.
Long before Arnold Schwarzenneger took on the role of Conan the Barbarian, the Cimmerian had partaken in bloody adventures ever since he first debuted in print all the way back in 1932. In 1992, Conan the Adventurer debuted and created a far more kid-friendly version of the character, becoming so popular that it even received a sequel in Conan And The Young Warriors. Rather than ever burying his sword into opponents, the animated series gave the barabarian a magical “star metal” that banished his foes to another dimension.
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