The new Thundercats had extremely large shoes to fill. The original show is beloved by those who grew up in the 80’s, and there are more good episodes than bad, especially when compared to other shows from the era. But, unlike many of the more popular shows from the 80’s, Thundercats has lied dormant in a sea of legal red tape and false starts.
The first two episodes of the new Thundercats cartoon has premiered. It had something for fans old and new, and set up a potentially epic story for the first season. But, was it worth the wait? Was it as good as the trailers and clips led us to believe?
Click the headline of the story for the Thundercats.ws review of the Thundercats Premiere. The Episode(s)
Thundercats opens on the kingdom of Thundera. It is a peaceful kingdom, ruled by King Claudus, who is preparing his son, Lion-O, to take the thrown. Lion-O is fascinated by tales of legends and “technology”, something the Thundercats refuse to acknowledge exists. Lion-O is seen as a dreamer…An immature and lesser talented ‘Cat compared to his adopted brother, Tygra. With Tygra being the adopted son, he is unable to take the throne. Throughout the early part of the episode, we get some character development time, showing that Lion-O, while a dreamer, is a compassionate young leader, who is willing to see the other side of things, which are ignored by most of his race.
And this is really the crux of the premiere. While young Lion-O is seen by many as foolish, his compassion and willingness to be open minded allow him to show glimpses of being a great leader, as well as a cunning warrior. Lion-O shows a willingness to defend the weak, as shown when he pleads for the pardon of two captured Lizard Men. When the warrior and general, Grune, returns from a long journey, bearing a large stone gift and the sad news of Panthro’s death, long-time fans can taste the betrayal that is sure to come. But the episode takes its time to build up the relationships between Claudus, Grune and the two princes.
And, just as everything seems to be setting the stage for further drama, the Lizard Men attack. As Claudus and his army prepare to defend their kingdom, the trap is sprung. Grune reveals his betrayal as Slithe and an army of lizards emerge from the stone gift… their own personal Trojan Horse. The lizards then use technology to, giant mech suits, missiles, bombs to lay waste to the kingdom of Thundera. Grune wants the Sword of Omens and is willing to trade the, still alive, Panthro for it.
This sets up the final battle and reveal. I don’t want to spoil it here, but the last 10-12 minutes are filled with death, the introduction of Mumm-Ra and the set-up for the remainder of the season.
Review
Put simply, this is one of the best cartoon premieres I’ve seen in a long, long time. The animation is stunning. Thundercats displays as sense of consistency and quality normally present in feature animated films. The one ding in the animated armor is the out of place 3D rendered mech suits. Understand the choice, but the high quality of the animation against average 3D models just didn’t fit together.
Voice acting was, for the most part, fantastic. There were a few instances where characters sounded like they were reciting lines from paper, but it wasn’t often. Will Friedle’s take on Lion-O is fantastic. Plus the use of Larry Kenney as King Claudus was an inspired bit of casting when announced. as the episode played out, Kenney’s presence was spine tingling. Add to that the rest of the cast nailing their parts, and you have a show where the characters will pull you in, instead of taking you out of the show.
The story is superbly told. It’s dark, it takes its time and doesn’t pander. The writers knew their Thundercats lore, and took what worked in the classic show, tweaked and removed stuff that didn’t fit and molded this into something that pays homage to the original, while establishing a much larger story.
Bottom Line
Couldn’t ask for anything more. This show is off to an amazing start and I cannot wait to see what comes next. Bravo WB and Cartoon Network, you have yourselves a winner. If you are even remotely interested, you need to be watching this show.
Score: 9 out of 10
Tony B Lazy Addendum
Score: 10 out of 10. Couldn’t ask for more from a modern retelling of a property I grew up with.
- Thundercats 2011 Review
Reminder - Thundercats Airs Tonight
Use this as the official discussion thread for episode 1 and 2 of Thundercats (2011/Modern) - The Sword of Omens and Ancient Spirits of Evil.
Feel free to talk back and forth before, during and after the episode!
Only 2 hours and change to go!
Will it be uploaded here like Transformers Prime and G.I. Joe Renegades is on sister sites?
We cannot officially offer the episodes for download. Though, we may be a bit lenient with direct download links.
I can't wait. Bring it!
I didn't see it at Comic Con, and have stayed mostly spoiler free. So looking forward to it with a fresh palette.
Too bad CN isn't available in HD on FIOS. They have theHub, DisneyXD, and other kids in HD, but no CN? FAIL! Put that network/operator BS in the garbage, charge, then pay, fair rates, and gimmie some HD CN!
20 something year wait for NEW Tcats.....yeah I am watching tonight!
I don't believe I've been quite this excited for a new cartoon...ever. Thundercats was my first obsession, and thus will always have a special place in my heart. Transformers could permanently end today, and while I'd be upset, it would ultimately just free-up some more space for Thundercats, lol.
Exciting times! Hope the show will rock!
I'm stoked man! What time tonight is it? I saw a countdown clock on CN this morning. It's exciting to see it offered up to a new generation of kids. I think it's going to be a big hit.
i seriously can't wait for the show to air, man we have waited 20 years just to get a new glimpse of another THUNDERCATS! I really hope its good, from all the trailers and the interviews i've seen of the show it seems they are really doing this justice to the original series!
THUNDERCATS ARE BACK HO!
Edit: Since this is the official discussion for the first two episodes, I'll add some more to this post.
I've probably said this several times by now, but I've never been this excited for a new cartoon. It's just too bad they didn't utilize the time before or after the premier to show some original Thundercats episodes. Saw part of one episode this past Sunday morning, but since I hadn't been expecting them to show any, I had missed what would have been a nice opportunity to watch a fair few episodes. Oh well, I've been watching them online and plan on getting them on DVD.
Anyways, back to the new show. This is going to be great. In fact, the next several years should be pretty great.
I didn't see it at Comic Con, and have stayed mostly spoiler free. So looking forward to it with a fresh palette.
Too bad CN isn't available in HD on FIOS. They have theHub, DisneyXD, and other kids in HD, but no CN? FAIL! Put that network/operator BS in the garbage, charge, then pay, fair rates, and gimmie some HD CN!
I cannot wait.... its gonna be EPIC
Watching now! Im on a delay because I got stuck doing a target run with girl. So far so good. "Games" about to start.
DAMN!!!!!! When Lion O finally did the cry it gave me chill bumps!!!
That was pretty bad ass, if I must say. Definitely met and exceeded my expectations.
That was flat awesome! I got chills too. Anybody that complains about that is stupid...even got Claudius (Larry) giving us a thundercats ho! Come on...how could it be any better!
God that was great. Now i want to watch the episodes over again. I hope that CN puts the show on its website for repeat viewing. I absolutely love the new art direction and 4C studios. I grew up watching the old thunder cats and i gotta say its so much cooler in the anime style. I cant wait for next friday. HO!
My 7 year old son LOVED it! I'm gonna watch again on CN west
At 11. Wow! I can't get over how good it was, the first 15 minutes were intellectually deeper than the entirety of the OG cartoon.
Still not done but DAMN. Thundera has fallen! All that leading up to that was bad ass. 10 mins left bbl!
...even got Claudius (Larry) giving us a thundercats ho!
That was cool, i was so excited!
wahhhhhh the whole time i was crying so hard i have no idea what went on! why did claudius and jaga have to die??
I was VERY impressed with what I saw. Excellent animation, great voice acting all around, and the artistic design of the world was just awesome.
They "de-sucked" Snarf and made him VERY enjoyable without being an annoying "nanny" to Lion-O. Writing was excellent all around from portraying the Thundercat society as being bloated and corrupt, to the presence of technology, to the the Thundercats being actual, you know, CHARACTERS.
The series has all the strengths of the 2002 Masters of the Universe cartoon with a stronger script/story, superior animation, and given the lack of any half decent fantasy series on the market, I think Cartoon Network has me invested in the long run.
I really hope that this series finds some good legs among kids, it would be a tragedy to see such a quality series not be successful.
Did anyone else see Lynx O in the tower? So awesome! I could have watched 12 hours of that!
i haven't seen it yet, *would be nice if people used spoiler alerts!* LOL! but yea, i assume they had to die, so LionO can be king!
I'm sort of speechless, in a good way. I'm just glad I'll be able to enjoy those first two episodes as often as I want, as I videotaped it. Sort of nostalgic in that sense, but I didn't have any blank DVD's on-hand (didn't think to tape it till about fifteen minutes before it started). Guess I was lucky to have a couple blank VHS tapes lying around. Won't be the perfect reviewing experience, but it'll do till it comes out on DVD. Can't wait to see the new toys on store shelves/pegs.
Probably sounds crazy but I was choking up...i was like what's wrong with me...then I realized after all these years just what a simple cartoon could mean to a child and how everyday when I got home from school and nobody else was around...they were always there for me...everyday. Now I get to be there with my son with thundercats! I am totally stoked! He loved it, thanks to everyone who made this happen.
Excellent show. Very epic feel to the story.Can't wait for the new episode next week.
I really hope this series succeeds. they been trying to make a movie for Thunder Cats since 2005. Its recently been put on hold...guess they want to see what happens with the new series first. I will be buying this and supporting the creators to make sure it stays around for a while!
Hot damn this series is going to be stella, I love it already and I have only watched two episodes, I think this is going to be the next big thing, so hold on and strap in and I can't wait for the other episodes it gives me something to look forward to on a Friday night again, however CN don't screw this up please let a good thing remain a good thing.
I'm with you! Me too. I want them to finish this the way they intend to. I think it's gonna be huge...
Done. Pure awesome.
The ending with Lion O getting his King on was a nice touch, setting up the Mumm-Ra / Lion-O feud for the eps ahead.
I don't remember from the first series, but was Mumm-Ra always allergic to the sun like that, vampire style?
Oh my god that was amazing! I can't find a single flaw with what happened! I mean, Will Friedle was a great Lion-O, and getting Larry to give one last Thundercats Ho was epic. Honestly, all the voices were great. The art was fantastic! So detailed, and beautiful animation. The writing was amazing, it combined the stuff that worked from the old show, removed the uber-silly, and made it epic (clearly someone learned from AtLA). As for characters, Tygra actually has a personality! Cheetara is amazing! Lynx-O got a cameo! The Kittens have a purpose and are funny! And Snarf is precious!! I'm a guy and I want a plushie Snarf now! I love the villains, especially how they handled Mumm-Ra. We didn't get to see the Big Guy, but I love the vulnerability to sunlight. I don't think we'll get the 'scared of his own reflection' this go-around.
I honestly hope this thing gets good ratings and continues for many more seasons.
I don't remember from the first series, but was Mumm-Ra always allergic to the sun like that, vampire style?
Thundercats Premiere Review
Awesome, loved it and cannot wait to see the next episode.
I don't remember from the first series, but was Mumm-Ra always allergic to the sun like that, vampire style?
Wow
Wow
Wow
Loved it
My only complaint is that I wish they held out with Claudus and Jaga longer. I would have liked to have seen deeper character development as we didn't get to see that in the original series.
Either way
TWO THUMBS UP!
Well, that was excellent!
I'm incredibly pleased, and I cannot wait to see more! The rest of my family that watched have the same opinion.
The writing was very strong, and the animation was simply beautiful! I especially liked the color pallette; both the color tones, and the shading added to the atmosphere of each scene!
The voice-acting was also very strong! Will Friedle did an excellent job as Lion-O, and I loved Corey Burton's performace as Jaga.
Snarf was adorable!
Some small spoiler-laden commentary: (Warning, I can't seem to get the spoiler code to work, so, spoilers below!)
[spoiler] I can't believe they showed Lynx-O! I notice that he's already blind; I wonder if we'll recieve a back-story on that?
Since they showed us Lynx-O, I wonder where Ben-Gali and Pumyra are? I can't wait to find out!
Mumm-Ra was very menacing; I loved how they made his eyes glow; I do wish that Mumm-Ra had cackled maniacally, though.
I loved Larry Kenny's performance as King Claudis! I do wonder if he'll be in further episode, perhaps in flashback form.
A good lizard has much story-telling potential....
The plot twist with Mumm-Ra's entrance was fantastic, and took all of us by surprise; my grandmother in particular could not stop talking about it!
[\spoiler]
END SPOILERS
Thundercats 2011 is easily the strongest relaunch out of any classic series I've seen so far.
All in all, the series is off to a fantastic start. I truly hope they can keep up this level of quality. If they can, I think Thundercat fans everywhere will be in for a spectacular adventure!
He would shrivel back to Mum-Ra the Mummy upon seeing his reflection but the sunlight had no ill effects on him.