ThunderCats
This is it, folks. He-Man, the turtles, GI Joe, and the Transformers have all made their return to the small screen with varying degrees of success. How long could it be before Thundera’s own made the return? Well, it’s happened, and it happened in a big way. Back in April we brought you a look at the teaser for the show, which debuted at WonderCon. It gave us a glimpse at the far-more-fleshed-out kind of show we’d be getting, but there were many missing puzzle pieces. The wait is over, and all of the pieces are finally in place. Well, maybe not all of them…
This new series takes place on Third Earth with a race of felimorphs living in the fortified city of Thundera. While some will suggest that this is a brand new take on the ThunderCats, an alternate reality of sorts, I’d argue that this is absolutely taking place in the far flung future of the show we all once knew and loved. References are made to the ‘Cats ancestors, who tamed the wilds of Third Earth (then there’s the Ro-Bear Berbil hand that Lion-O finds in the Thunderan pawn shop… ). Sure, all of the old characters are back, but I’m guessing these are actually descendants of the originals, or reincarnations, or some such like that.
We’re fans, and more specifically many of us are fanboys, so let’s get to it… what’s not to like? No… really. What’s not to like!? I’m sure some people will bitch about Snarf’s de-evolution into an adorable little house cat, but frankly, he’s already 1000% less annoying than the old nursemaid. Some may question… umm… no, you know what? I think that’s about the only thing not to like.
Transformers: Prime is a pale shadow of the ’80s classic. GI Joe: Renegades honors its predecessor well enough, but goes a little over the top at times. But ThunderCats? There’s a reason they didn’t need to give this show a subtitle. Whil paying homage to the original in all the right ways, this new show elevates what the old one was and brings so much more to the screen than the classic ever did – and we’re only two episodes in! Here, we see Thunderan life. We see the nature of our principal characters before they become the team of heroes we know them as. We get to see Claudis and Jaga and Grune – in battle, no less! And let me just say this; Jaga kicks ASS!!! And let me not forget the Thunderkittens as street urchins! Everything about this show is better, and even the new character designs FEEL right once you start watching.
And then there’s the voice cast: Batman Beyond himself, Will Friedle, as Lion-O? The one and only Lex Luthor, Clancy Brown, as Grune? And the original Lion-O, Larry Kenney, as the voice of the great Lord Claudis? BRILLIANT!
This morning, I got up and sat down with a bowl of Cocoa Puffs and watched ThunderCats. There is no rating I can give this show that could possibly encompass the overwhelming joy I felt. ThunderCats is perfection; I urge you to watch.
Oh, and by the way – twice during this show I felt my heart race and chills run down my spine with excitement and anticipation. ::slow clap::
While I absolutely loved this show as well, I am of the camp that it’s an alternate timeline/reality to the original show for one reason. The cat’s lack of (and apparent lack of understanding of) technology. While you could explain it away with it being set far (faaaar) into the future, the cat’s had so much tech in their own camp in the original that I doubt it would have been totally lost. Cat’s Lair alone, even if it were reconstructed in a new location, should have had some of the tech of the original. I would love to be proven wrong on this and have the new cats find the remnants of the original’s first camp, that would be epic.
The nods back to the original (the Berbil arm, Larry Kenny doing the Thundercats Ho! chant, even Lion-O’s first real turn with the Sword of Omens used the same poses as the original cartoon) made my heart swell. I’m curious as to just how much of the original (in terms of tertiary characters) they’ll use and what they’ll trim (please, God, leave out Mandora the evil chaser, or if she is used, redo the hell out of her), but I really hope that Hammerhand and his Berzerkers show up this season.
Were I to rate this with a number system, it would be 1 out of 1 fully extended Sword of Omens.
I think it is totally in the original storyline (far in the future) they say the rumors of tech as almost a Leagend. (that says its really far in the Furture) hey never explained yet how a Group of 10 or more became a full city, so i think with what information the show has given and hinted at so far, to think is an alternate timeline/reality is less likely then it being the original storyline.
Lion-O’s first time out with the sword was the first time I got the chills and felt my heart swell and race. The second time was when they aped Cheetara’s running scene from the old opening sequence as she helped Lion-O fight off the mob.
As JuggaloJohn says, there WAS tech on this Third Earth. That much HAS been established. You’re looking at a post-WWIII Earth scenario, where the generations who know HOW to produce and use technology don’t have the resources to do so and are flatly more concerned with survival. By the time there’s the opportunity to rebuild things like an Internet, the people who remember its existence will be long gone and it will be nothing but a rumor. But every once in a while, someone will find a Furby and scratch their head.
Just in response to the tech thing…remember that the Berbils helped the ‘Cats build Cats’ Lair with -their- technology, not Thunderan. The ‘Cats landed on Third Earth literally with what technology survived the crash of their ship, and only one Thundercat who seemed to know anything about fixing any of it (Panthro). I doubt that Lynx-O and the others brought a ton of stuff with them, as (if I recall) they were ALL leaving a dying planet in something of a hurry.
If, for some reason, the ‘Cats were forced to move after some catastrophic battle on Third Earth, they might not have possessed the skills required to replicate the tech they were used to, and fell into a more primitive existence.
I hold fervent hope that in a future episode they find the remnants of Cats’ Lair, or as Dave suggested, Lynx-O’s Tower of Omens.
I never watched the original series growing up. It was a little before my time. So, I have no comparisons to make. All I can say is that I really, REALLY enjoyed the new series. I look forward to seeing more.
I love Will Friedle, so it’s awesome that he’s voicing Lion-O. And having Clancy Brown in the cast is always a plus.
loved it loved it loved it! The only thing I’m disappointed is that it’s a little to violent for Gabe. I didn’t think they’d have people getting stabbed and killed and stuff. A little too intense for a three year old, and I made the mistake of telling him about it and making him excited. I watched it without him to check it out and there is just no way. Maybe when he’s six lol.
On a side not, Transformers Prime is leaps and bounds better than the shit filled original cartoon. Which, as it turns out if you aren’t just pretending everything from your childhood is great, sucks ass.
Nothing about Transformers: Prime captured my imagination when I tried watching it. I know the old cartoon was hokey and whatnot by today’s standards, but it drew me in whereas the current incarnation did not.
The original ThunderCats, on the other hand, is borderline unwatchable, and the new show is nigh-perfect. I’d put it directly on par with GI Joe: Resolute. I wish, more than anything, that Resolute had been a premier episode and not a stand alone movie. I truly believe if they’d committed to a season right off the bat, that show would still be on the air.
the review was dead on jason.
Well Jason, I didn’t watch it on Sat morning, more in the evening while scarfing down Portillos, still I’m with ya on loving this series and being the fanboy that I am, I loved the voice casting. Two thumbs up in my opinion, and I laughed my ass off when I saw the “Sleeping Snarf gets a rude awaking scene.”. I’m still chuckling over it….
I recorded it Friday and got around to watching it yesterday and I have to say I was pleasantly suprised and impressed by what I saw. I had never considered that this could be in the far flung future that would be pretty cool. I hope the real Panthro shows up next episode it would be great to see him. Hopefully Cartoon Network keeps this on the air for some time. As far as the original series is concerned I found myself watching all five episodes of Lion-O’s Annointment last weekend and still enjoyed it since those were my favorite episodes, it really brought back memories.
Well… it looks like it’s been cancelled. Don’t like that? There’s a petition to sign here:
http://www.change.org/petitions/warner-bros-animation-keep-the-new-thundercats-on-for-another-season
That may or may not change anything, but making our voices heard can’t hurt, right? If we could at least get a direct-to-dvd movie to wrap up the story, I’d be satisfied.
The show wasn’t perfect. Some episodes felt like filler, sure. But it was great. It moved me on more than one occasion and it really continued the level of excitement and enjoyment straight forward from the first two episodes.
If it is truly gone, it shall certainly be missed.