Public-domain horror has given us killer Pooh bear, murderous childhood icons, like Steamboat Willie-era Mickey, and a graveyard’s worth of “sure, why not?” premises. Some are fun, some are… choices.

The cartoons of the 1980s were a wild mixture of commercialism and fantasy. While it’s easy to see the marketing masquerading now, there’s just something about cartoons with transforming robots, ninja ...