Thundercats

Thundercats was originally conceived in 1983 but didn't hit the screens until 1985/86, it fittingly became a cult TV hit, it was faster paced and sleeker than He-Man and fairs slightly better in retrospective, spawning a tonne of merchandising like it's counterpart. An update or film version have been arguably long overdue.

There's no talking Snarf in the latest version but the major difference with the Thundercats 2011 is the setting, there's no 3rd earth, it's Thundera, that is in a Planet of the Apes sort way with flashbacks throughout. There's glimpses of Star Wars, Stargate and other sci-fi, but it borrows from the best. The characters dynamics, look and their relationships have been slightly tweaked. The mains given a more mature edge that allows exploration of conflicting divergences. Those familiar with the original will recognise new incarnations of reworked sub characters usually the antagonists.

Thundercats 2011 is reminiscent of He-man more so than its 1985 predecessor due to Thundera's Eternia-like feel and borrows from plenty from the recent Lord of the Rings trilogy especially in look during battle scenes including the civilians going underground. That aside, the animation, stories and dialogue are extremely entertaining and there are plenty of nods to the original series. It also includes a cameo from the original Lion-o voice actor Larry Kenney.

However, don't be mistaken it is different and not in a bad way, strikingly the episodes are very emotionally charged even more so than the original series. There are a few main characters that are omitted in the first fistful of episodes but that's not to say then may not grace the screen in later outings.

To really enjoy Thundercats 2011 most will have to put aside the cartoon they fell in love with. This is a darker distinctly styled incarnation yet thankfully it stays true to the original spirit of the Thundercats.

To be honest, I did not like the series, at all. the good thing about the original series, was, to my point of view, how different it looked from other series. Hair, costumes, voices, they were independent of each other, you did not see the same clothing on Thundercats that what you saw on galaxy rangers or dungeons and dragons or voltron.

For example, in the new series, all of the clothing used by the characters, is something that could be used today, same for the hair and verbal expressions. They are supposed to be different, they come from another planet!! The original series may have been cheesy, but I think the teachings they gave to us kids back then, were valuable ones, that in today's world, you just don't see anymore. They barely had violence, and they sure didn't have blood or something that could cause little kids to freak out.

I much rather watch re-runs of the original series.

I remember seeing the original series whilst young and young enough to have a memory of everyone having the thundercats bag, the lunch boxes, the toy swords and if it was more fun to watch then He-Man. Thundercats was big and whilst not new in regards to formula it was a different take on the series given it barely included any humans (with exception to Mumm-Ra who i think was human) with striking character designs and a cool sword chant Thundercats was a shining example of a cartoon made marketable.

Looking at Thundercats (185) via youtube and DVD's you see how dated it has become, the writing unbearable sometimes but still the masculine design of Lion-O, Mumm-Ra and the ancient spirits of evil servant 'Pyron' Both have good designs that could be tuned into any show today.

Nonetheless the idea to make a remake was based on the idea that at the core there was a lot the original show could have offered still and this is what the remake does. It goes further much further into detail.

Thundera is now a Kingdom but the cats have lost the moral good to become more muddled, there is genuine rivalry, even dislike between lion-O and Tygra, Lion-O's father prides on posture and is essentially all pride. Other characters have been polished up quite well including the Lizards who are now a race with a strong background.

And cheetah, er wow, she's not bad looking (I'm I confessing to furry here?!)

The voice acting is strong as is the flow of animation. The show reinvents itself whilst being clever with its source material, the writing is very good also.

This series has a great start and will surely have a great run as well. I can see kids who were my age when I first saw the original series be taken in by this as well.

All together now. THUNDERCATS! HO!

To be honest , I never watched the original thundercats except for a couple of episodes . and I thought it was corny - and that silly idea wouldn't work nowdays . but I gave it a shot , and this remake not only topped all my expectations . it became one of my favorite animated shows of all time . (up there with TMNT (2003) The Jackie Chan adventures , and even Avatar : The last airbender . just to name some)

it's really in line with them in terms of quality and charm . not only that , but it even easily beats most of the real "anime" out there . and I think this combo of American writing and voice acting with Asian artstyle and animation is just proved as a great choice again .

So , lets break this show down :

Artstyle - some may disagree with me but as an artist myself I find it very beautiful , it's colorful and easy on the eye . but it's detailed enough to be taken seriously . the designs have a modern touch to them and fit the fantasy environment well . and the characters have a lot more ...well , character than the original ones - who looked like your cardboard superheroes.

Animation - every episode so far was animated without laziness , with fluid character movement in every degree possible . and amazing action scenes . the quality is as good as something you would expect from a movie . and I just hope the animators realize they put that as a standard for the show and will never get lazy .

Story - Although I'm yet sure to where this show is heading at , so far the plot lines were good . every episode was pretty epic , and even the fillers were pretty good (the main problem with most "anime") they dealed with serious conflicts . there was a good amount of character development , background stories , and relationships building . and the dialogue was believable - as in , they feel like real people that you can connect with . the only problem I can think of is that every episode is so packed with things that it's sometimes rushed , and has some "holes" in the sequence of things so it could fit into this short time .

Music - the music is fantastic , other than not having a theme song (which kinda sucks).

but thats no biggy at all , the show is entertaining to watch to both old and young and it saddens me how people who can't let go of their nostalgia give this excellent show a bad name and drive it to cancellation. I hope that it will live up to it's planned amount of episodes because I just can't wait to the next one - CN got themselves an addict :)

A lot of cartoons we loved and watched in the 80's had one thing in common. They were all designed to sell toys. Seriously GI Joe, Transformers, Thundercats, Silverhawks, He-Man, they were all 22 minute commercials for the toy line. But they had some basic charm to them and let's face it, it wasn't like we had the most discerning taste back then. I managed to track down a couple copies of them and let me tell you they don't hold up like they used to.

But then something happened in the earlier part of this decade and these old favorites were revived and given new life. Some were really well done and others were obvious cash grabs. This one however I liked and I was kinda bummed that it only got one season.

The show is darker, a lot more adult and thank Jaga they changed Snarf into a pet and not a constant whine machine. If there's one thing I seriously hated about the original was Snarf.

There are elements of the late 2000's / early 2010's in the production. A bigger focus on action, some deeper story elements and actual character development. In a sense it took what made the reboot of the Masters of the Universe popular and removed a lot of the childish elements that had plagued it during it's original run.

It's not perfect by any means but it focused on trying to tell a good story instead of just selling toys.