When Great TV Shows (and Movies) Spawned Awful Animated Spinoffs (And We Had to Suffer Through Them)

When Great TV Shows (and Movies) Spawned Awful Animated Spinoffs (And We Had to Suffer Through Them)

We’ve all seen a great live-action show or movie only to find out that some evil executive decided to milk the brand dry with a cheap animated spinoff. These monstrosities are never good, never necessary, and always painful to watch.

Some of these cartoon adaptations had no business existing. Others were so disconnected from the source material they may as well have been different franchises. And some? They just looked like someone ran out of money halfway through animating them.

So today, we’re roasting the worst animated spinoffs of great TV shows and movies.

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10. The Real Ghostbusters (1986-1991) – AKA “Why Does Egon Have a Blonde Mullet?”

The Crime:

• A cartoon based on the legendary 1984 Ghostbusters movie.

• Instead of animating the actors’ likenesses, they made Egon blonde, Ray chubby, and everyone slightly off-brand.

• Slimer became the main character for some reason.

Why It’s a Disaster:

• They couldn’t get Bill Murray’s face right. (Peter Venkman looked like someone doing fan art of Bill Murray.)

• Egon got a random swooping blonde mullet.

• Slimer became an annoying comic relief sidekick.

Verdict: Not the worst show, but also… not really the Ghostbusters we wanted.

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9. Extreme Ghostbusters (1997) – AKA “Ghostbusters, But X-TREME!!!”

The Crime:

• A gritty, “cool” 90s reboot where Egon trains a new generation of Ghostbusters.

• The animation was solid, but the show itself felt way too serious for a Ghostbusters cartoon.

• Also, they replaced the original cast with “hip” younger Ghostbusters.

Why It’s a Disaster:

• Tried too hard to be edgy and “adult.”

• No one wanted Ghostbusters to be serious.

• It ignored the fun spirit of the original franchise.

Verdict: What if Ghostbusters was written by people who thought “X-treme” was a personality trait?

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8. Men in Black: The Animated Series (1997-2001) – AKA “MIB, But Animated and Super Grim”

The Crime:

• Instead of being a fun buddy-cop alien comedy, it became a dark, serious sci-fi cartoon.

• They killed off Agent K in the first episode.

• It took itself WAY too seriously.

Why It’s a Disaster:

• No Will Smith jokes. No Men in Black should exist without Will Smith cracking jokes.

• More conspiracy thriller than fun sci-fi comedy.

• The animation was mid-90s Fox Kids garbage.

Verdict: All the fun of Men in Black got sucked into a black hole.

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7. Rambo: The Force of Freedom (1986) – AKA “Let’s Turn an R-Rated War Film into a Kids’ Cartoon”

The Crime:

• The original Rambo was an ultra-violent war movie. So naturally, they made a Saturday morning cartoon where Rambo fights bad guys with no blood or bullets.

• Rambo became a G.I. Joe knockoff.

• They removed everything dark and political from the movies.

Why It’s a Disaster:

• No guns—just laser beams. Rambo fighting with laser beams. Let that sink in.

• Turned Rambo into a hero for kids despite the fact that he was originally a PTSD-ridden soldier.

• Basically a bad G.I. Joe ripoff with the Rambo brand slapped on.

Verdict: The most baffling kids’ cartoon adaptation ever made.

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6. Highlander: The Animated Series (1994-1996) – AKA “There Can Be Only One… and It Shouldn’t Be This Show”

The Crime:

• A Highlander cartoon… for children. Because kids love violent movies about immortal sword-wielding warriors decapitating each other!

• Decapitations? Gone. Instead, Highlanders just absorbed each other’s knowledge through a “quickening.”

• It was set in a post-apocalyptic future for no reason.

Why It’s a Disaster:

• A Highlander story without beheadings is like a Mortal Kombat game without fatalities.

• The writing was bland and the animation was mediocre.

• A Highlander show where no one can die is literally pointless.

Verdict: There can be only one, and this isn’t it.

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5. RoboCop: The Animated Series (1988) – AKA “RoboCop, But Make It Safe for Kids”

The Crime:

• Took one of the most violent, satirical, dystopian movies ever and turned it into a kids’ cartoon with no blood, no social commentary, and no edge.

• Replaced bullets with laser guns.

• Turned RoboCop into a moral lesson machine.

Why It’s a Disaster:

• You can’t take a movie about police corruption, capitalism, and brutal violence and make it G-rated.

• RoboCop fights generic cartoon villains instead of corrupt corporations.

• The animation is as stiff as RoboCop himself.

Verdict: I’d buy THAT for a dollar. But not this.

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4. Mister T (1983-1985) – AKA “Mr. T, But for Kids!”

The Crime:

• A cartoon starring Mr. T as a gymnastics coach who solves mysteries with his team of teenage athletes.

• No fighting, no punching, no action—just gymnastics and life lessons.

• They gave Mr. T a dog… WITH A MOHAWK.

Why It’s a Disaster:

• No one asked for Mr. T to be a gymnastics coach.

• His iconic toughness was completely removed.

• The dog with a mohawk. I cannot stress this enough.

Verdict: Pity the fool who thought this was a good idea.

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3. The Karate Kid: The Animated Series (1989) – AKA “Karate Kid, But Indiana Jones?”

The Crime:

• Instead of a Karate Kid story, they turned it into a globe-trotting adventure where Daniel and Mr. Miyagi search for a magic shrine.

• Fighting is almost nonexistent.

• It’s basically Indiana Jones with less action.

Why It’s a Disaster:

• Daniel and Miyagi spend most of their time running from bad guys.

• Has nothing to do with The Karate Kid movies.

• Magic artifacts? Really?

Verdict: Sweep the leg, sweep this show off the air.

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2. The Dukes (1983) – AKA “The Dukes of Hazzard, But Make It Wacky Races”

The Crime:

• Instead of being about rednecks running from the cops, the cartoon version turned it into a worldwide car race.

• The General Lee races across different countries for no reason.

• Boss Hogg cheats in every episode.

Why It’s a Disaster:

• The Dukes are now basically NASCAR drivers.

• The animation looks like it was done in a hurry.

• Confederate flag? Still on the car. Yikes.

Verdict: How did we go from moonshiners outrunning cops to an international road trip?

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Final Thoughts: STOP DOING THIS.

These animated cash-grabs should have never existed. They weren’t faithful, necessary, or even remotely well-animated.

Now, argue with me in the comments. What’s the worst animated spinoff of a great show or movie? And if you love unhinged animation takes, check out my YouTube channel before they turn Breaking Bad into a Saturday morning cartoon.