Bravestarr was a weekday afternoon western sci-fi cartoon about a mystical sheriff on a distant mining planet. In typical Filmation fashion, this detailed animation series featured hero Marshall Bravestarr [Pat Fraley], resembling a Native American law man who could channel spirit energy to invoke the strength of a bear, speed of a puma, hearing of a wolf, and the eyes of a hawk. Sent to the planet of New Texas, a mining world rich in a rare crystal called Kerium, Bravestarr fends off waves of outlaws led by the zombie-like mutant Tex Hex [Charles Adler] and his cronies, the Carrion Bunch, a gang of the Stampede organization, from harming the peaceful Prairie People. Tex's henchmen included the mutant Outlaw Skuzz, Sandstorm - a half-reptile who could conjure up sandstorms with his breath, Dingo Dan - a mechanical coyote, Thunderstick - a robot with a gun-arm, and Vipra - another half-reptile. Tex Hex received orders from Stampede, leader of his organization, who resembled a bull skeleton.

Bravestarr's closest friend, 30-30 [Ed Gilbert], is a horse-like creature of the Equestroid race and can morph his body to become half human, half horse. Beyond his great strength, he also possesses a thunder-emitting rifle which he named "Sara Jane." He is also accompanied by the beautiful Judge J.B. [Susan Blu], who uses an electronic gavel for a weapon. Shaman served as Bravestarr's spiritual counselar.

Bravestarr financially failed after one season, due to the fact that Mattel's toy series was released before the cartoon, and before the target public had ever heard of the characters. Essentially, the show's demise was due to poor marketing and bad timing. Bravestarr was also the last animation series produced by Filmation.

Bravestarr episodes ended with a short 30-second lesson or "moral" to the story, which was a common occurrence in Filmation cartoons. These lessons were introduced by one of the main characters (in this case, either Bravestarr or J.B.), ran key points of the episode over, while speaking a narration about an important lesson for children to learn. Most of these lessons included the character Handlebar; a green-skinned bartender with an orange musdache who served Bravestarr and 30-30 a drink called "sweetwater."