AfterElton Fantasy Casting: With "G.I. Joe" in theaters, help us cast these other 80's animated classics

With G.I. Joe gunning its way into theaters, we thought we'd do a little creative casting for a few other classic cartoons from the 80's. I know you're thinking "wait a minute ... haven't we done this before?" Yes, we've already done fantasy casting for the upcoming big-screen adventures of He-Man and Jonny Quest, but there are plenty of other 80's cartoons begging for the live-action treatment.

Take a look at four animated classics and our ideas for perfect casting, and submit your own ideas ... and remember, this is fantasy casting, so feel free to go as "outside the box" as you want!

Jem

Like many gay boys I had to keep my love for the mid-80's Jem a secret, lest I arouse ... suspicions. Jem was a pop singer who kept her real identity secret from her fans (yes, Hannah Montana is a total rip-off), while trying to avoid being upstaged by jealous rivals The Misfits (a girl group, not to be confused with the horror punk band). Her tour manager is named Rio, and he dances on the sand, just like that river twisting through a dusty land. He also has no idea that his girlfriend Jerrica is Jem's alter ego. He's kinda dumb.

Lady GaGa, The Donnas, Jared Padalecki

Let's face it, Lady GaGa is probably the closest we're going to get to a pop-singing cartoon character, and The Donnas would make perfect foils for Jem and her band The Holograms. Why Jared Padalecki? Well ... he's hot.

Thundercats

Thundercats was a show about a bunch of ... Thundercats, led by Lion-O, a red-headed, muscular hunk who wielded the legendary "Sword of Omens". He was also known for hocking up gross fur balls and spraying behind the TV (oh wait, that's my cat).

Carrot Top

Yes, I'm serious.

She-Ra

Princess Adora was the twin sister of Prince Adam (He-Man), and like her obviously gay brother, had a dual identity. As Princess of Power She-Ra, she fought the forces of evil while always maintaining runway glamor.

RuPaul, Candis Cayne

She-Ra needs to be blonde and regal and able to kick-ass, which both RuPaul and Candis Cayne would have no problem with, and can you imagine what Ru could do with a line like "my beloved steed?"

Thundarr The Barbarian

By far my favorite early-80's hero, Thundarr was a mono-syllabic muscle-hunk with a heart of gold, who traveled the land doing good deeds with his "fabulous sun sword" (which was so not a light saber) and his faithful companions Ookla the Mok (who was so not a Chewbacca rip-off) and magical Princess Ariel.

Nick Adams, Gerard Butler

I think Broadway hunk-a-dunk Nick Adams would be perfect as the young, open-hearted hero, with Gerard Butler (who I'm totally not obsessed with lately) as his grizzled, hairy companion. You may be asking "what about Princess Ariel". Unfortunately, in my version, Princess Blocker is out of the picture, having suffered a tragic demise after falling into a bottomless pit. This frees up Thundarr and Ookla to ... further ... their relationship. I see them having many sweaty adventures ... perhaps in 3-D.

What do you think? What would your fantasy casting choices be, and is there another animated series from the 80's you'd love to see in live-action on the big screen?