16 Old-School Lunchboxes That Were All The Rage In The '80s

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For those of us who grew up in the 1980s, there are countless pop culture references and old-school snacks that evoke a feeling of nostalgia for childhood. What better way to combine the two than with our super-cool 1980s lunchboxes? 

From the classic metal Aladdin brand lunchboxes in the early 1980s to the plastic Thermos brand lunchbox and vacuum flask duos of the late '80s, carrying a lunchbox with your favorite movie, television show, or line of toys was an easy way to share a bit of your personality where everyone was bound to see it. Everyone had their favorite, but we found 16 of the most popular lunchboxes of the decade to take you on a stroll down memory lane.

When the movie "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" was released in 1982, it was an immediate box office and critical success. The popular yellow-rimmed lunchbox depicts Elliott and E.T. forming their special connection with the touch of their fingers. If nostalgia is tugging at your wallet, you can always buy one used on many online resale sites. Just make sure you pack some Reese's Pieces in there.

Barbie is timeless, but she became especially iconic in the 1980s. Barbie's surge in popularity at this time is partly the result of attempts to diversify the brand, with the first official Black Barbie released in 1980. While there were various styles of Barbie lunchboxes, the pink plastic lunchbox released by Thermos in 1988 was beloved. 

"The Dukes of Hazzard" television show ran for seven seasons from 1979 to 1985, making it a franchise ripe for lunchbox immortalization. There were many different styles of lunchboxes featuring "The Dukes of Hazzard" in the '80s, but almost all of them depicted Bo, Luke, and Daisy Duke with the iconic car, the General Lee, in one form or another. One poster on a Reddit thread dedicated to old-school lunchboxes notes, "I had the Dukes of Hazzard[;] my mom wanted to buy me the Knight Rider one[,] but I just wanted my Dukes" (via Reddit).

Barbie wasn't the only doll on the street (and lunchboxes) in the '80s. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe debuted as Mattel toys in 1982. The animated television show based on the line of dolls — excuse us, action figures — was released a year later in 1983. Given that the franchise started with tangible merchandise, it's no surprise Mattel pushed the lunchboxes and other gear throughout the '80s.

Despite getting their start in a 1984 comic book series, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles didn't reach the peak of their popularity until the 1987 animated series brought them into many more households, leading to toys, movies, and, yes, lunchboxes. Unlike most of the lunchboxes of the '80s, the original TMNT lunchboxes were soft-sided cloth lunchboxes that debuted in 1988. 

These were evidently not as popular as Thermos and Mirage (the lunchbox maker and studio, respectively) had hoped, so in 1989, the soft-sided zipper lunchboxes were scrapped in favor of the flip-lid plastic lunchboxes kids of the '80s had come to love.

While whipping up and transporting a homemade strawberry shortcake in your lunchbox might be difficult (if delicious), kids of the '80s know there's a better way to take strawberry shortcake for lunch: on the lunchbox. The character Strawberry Shortcake got her start on American Greetings cards in the 1970s, but by the 1980s, an entire line of related characters had emerged, along with animated television specials, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade floats, and plenty of toys and merchandise, including lunchboxes.

"Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back" premiered in 1980 and is considered one of the greatest sequels of all time. Three years later, "Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi" premiered, cementing the "Star Wars" trilogy as the merchandise powerhouse of the 1980s, and making it seem like just about everyone had a lunchbox featuring either "The Empire Strikes Back" or "Return of the Jedi."

You never forget the first one that breaks your heart, and for many kids of the '80s, the 1981 movie "The Fox and the Hound" was that early heartbreak. For all of its emotional depth and lessons about friendships and social pressures, it's also just an adorable movie. Accordingly, the metal lunchboxes of many kids from the '80s (especially younger ones) were adorned with a playful image of the titular Tod and Copper.

If we had a nickel for every brand that started on greeting cards and made its way to toys, television, and lunchboxes, we'd have two nickels. But it's weird that it happened twice. Like Strawberry Shortcake, the Care Bears were an American Greetings creation that became hugely popular, spawning a whole franchise. While the greeting cards were introduced in 1981, the Care Bears debuted as plush bears and on lunchboxes in 1983, followed by two television specials, a dedicated television series, and several movies.

As if the Care Bears having their own franchise wasn't enough, along came the Care Bear Cousins. The Care Bear Cousins are similarly colorful non-bear animals that were introduced as a Care Bears spinoff line. While the cousins appeared in television specials, they really hit their stride when they appeared in "The Care Bears Movie" in 1985. That's also the same year they started appearing on lunchboxes as stars in their own right. 

Puppets were a big deal in the 1980s, and even more so if they were Jim Henson works, so "Fraggle Rock" was a visual delight for kids. Like seemingly every television franchise of the '80s, the Fraggles graced all kinds of merchandise, including toys, plushes, clothes, and, beginning in 1984, lunchboxes. "Fraggle Rock" continued its run until 1987, giving '80s kids plenty of time to bask in the glory of those lunchboxes. 

The Peanuts gang has been around for a long time — the comic strip debuted in 1950! So what made the franchise surge in popularity so much that it appeared on lunch boxes three decades later? Merchandise and tie-ins. Snoopy in particular was a popular choice for t-shirts, toys, stuffed animals, and just about anything else you could imagine. With several memorable "Peanuts" food scenes across the show and specials, it was only natural that in the heyday of character lunchboxes, '80s kids would also carry a Peanuts lunchbox. 

While some franchises that were popular in the '80s still have a large following today, you may not have any idea what M.A.S.K. is if you weren't of the time. The animated show was based on the action figures of the Mobile Armored Strike Kommand (M.A.S.K.), and while it only lasted two seasons in 1985 and 1986, it was very popular. Not only did it spawn even more action figures, but also video games, comics, and lunchboxes! 

While today's kids (and adults) may be all about finding a Labubu, arguably the first toy craze in the United States happened in 1983 with the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls. While it's hard to pinpoint exactly what makes a toy the must-have of the season, something about the dolls led to what news reports at the time referred to as violent riots. 

Luckily, if you couldn't get your hands on a doll, at least you could carry your lunch in a Cabbage Patch Kids lunchbox with a matching thermos, since Roger Schlaifer had licensed the brand worldwide, and the dolls were highly marketable. Even Sour Patch Kids, modeled into their iconic shape after the success of Cabbage Patch Kids, was a junk food that reigned supreme in the mid-'80s.

"The Transformers" is one of the few major franchises from the '80s that is still going strong. Yet another animated series based on a line of toys, the original show ran from 1984 to 1987. On the heels of its success, "The Transformers: The Movie" was released in 1986, followed by a slew of additional "Transformers" series throughout the remainder of the 1980s (and into the 1990s and 2000s). 

Given the long-lasting appeal of the franchise, we're not surprised that many social media users wax nostalgic about their "Transformers" lunchbox from the '80s when given the opportunity. We're just surprised the lunchbox didn't turn into something else.

In the late 1980s, the Alien Life Form known as ALF was everywhere — on our TVs, in our stuffed animal collections, and on our lunchboxes. The television show "ALF" ran from 1986 to 1990 and centered around the titular alien, who was hiding with a family in the suburbs after a crash landing on Earth. Cute and a bit strange at the same time, ALF was often sarcastic, got into a lot of trouble, and chased the family's cat in an (unsuccessful) attempt to eat it. 

Nostalgic Facebook and Reddit users alike once had lunchboxes plastered with images of the ever-hungry, hairy alien surrounded by food. It was a fitting theme for a lunchbox, which is probably part of what made it so popular.