ThunderCats (1985 TV series)
ThunderCats | |
---|---|
Original release | |
Network | Syndication |
Release | September 9, 1985 September 29, 1989 | –
ThunderCats is a
The series was originally distributed by Rankin/Bass' then-parent company
It also aired on Cartoon Network as part of the Toonami block.
There were also several comic book series produced:
A film adaptation of the series was announced in June 2007; Aurelio Jaro was making a CGI-animated feature film of ThunderCats, based on a script written by Paul Sopocy. Jerry O'Flaherty, veteran video game art director, had signed on to direct. The film was planned to be produced by Spring Creek Productions. It was originally set for a summer 2010 release,[8] but the movie has since been put on hold.[9] Concept art for the film has also been leaked online.[10]
Production
The first season cost $15 million to make.[11] Stanley Weston oversaw the creation of the series.[12]
Plot
ThunderCats follows the adventures of the
When the ThunderCats awaken from their
Seasons
Season 1
The basic plot above holds strong for the first season of the show, and served as the basis for a vast array of stories that freely mixed elements of
The first half of Season 1 featured a gentle continuity, with early episodes following on from one another and establishing recurring concepts, although this became less common as the season transitioned into its second half, which comprised mostly incidental one-shot adventures. Tying the second half of season one together was the overarching five-part adventure written by series head writer Leonard Starr, "Lion-O's Annointment", in which an unarmed Lion-O faced off against first each of the other ThunderCats, and then Mumm-Ra, so he could truly earn his title as Lord of the ThunderCats. The five parts were:
- "Day One: The Trial Of Strength" – Lion-O had to out-do Panthro in a strength contest.
- "Day Two: The Trial Of Speed" – Lion-O had to beat Cheetara in a race.
- "Day Three: The Trial Of Cunning" – Lion-O had to outwit both of the "ThunderKittens", WilyKat and WilyKit, in an underground location.
- "Day Four: The Trial Of Mind-Power" – Lion-O was pitted against Tygra in a mind-based challenge.
- "Last Day: The Trial Of Evil" – Lion-O had to defeat Mumm-Ra. In his "Trial Of Evil", Lion-O discovered that Mumm-Ra was highly dependent on the sarcophagus inside which he had been mummified.
On all four days except the last, the Mutants tried to interfere with Lion-O's trials so that they could force the ThunderCats to remain leaderless. The other ThunderCats were each then forced to involve themselves in the conflict specifically to foil the Mutants's interferences—all while trying to avoid assisting Lion-O in his anointment trials.
Although intended to be viewed consecutively (as the adventures depicted occurred one day after the other), the five parts of the mini-series were erroneously aired (and released on DVD) with multiple other episodes between each instalment.
Season 2
When the series returned in 1987, it was revealed that the evil wizard Mumm-Ra had survived. "ThunderCats – Ho!" and its follow-up, "Mumm-Ra Lives!", set the pattern for the following three seasons, each of which began with a five-part mini-series—again written by Leonard Starr—that established the new characters and concepts that would go on to influence the rest of the season. In the case of "Mumm-Ra Lives!", these concepts included the debut of the villainous Lunataks, which became a third faction that existed for the rest of the series, and the new team of ThunderCats from ThunderCats – Ho! receiving their own headquarters and vehicles.
Season 3
The 1988 season began with the Peter Lawrence-scripted "ThunderCubs" which, though named for its plot about the ThunderCats being transformed into children, was principally about Mumm-Ra reconstructing Thundera in order to retrieve both the weapon that had originally destroyed it (the Sword of Plun-Darr) and the legendary Treasure of Thundera. In the course of the adventure, the treasure—containing the Book of Omens, a tome holding all the secrets of the ThunderCats, and many other mystical items—was scattered across the New Thundera, ushering in a new concept for the series: a season with an actual story arc. Continuity between episodes became tighter as the ThunderCats, Mutants, Lunataks and Mumm-Ra alternated their adventures between Third Earth and New Thundera, searching for the treasure and exploiting its powers. The season also featured the running theme of the Ancient Spirits of Evil having to take a more active hand in pushing Mumm-Ra into action, culminating in another unique feature of the season—an actual finale episode, "The Last Day", in which the Ancient Spirits of Evil give Mumm-Ra one last chance to destroy the ThunderCats by sunset. Besides demonstrating their threat by making Ma-Mutt disappear, the Ancient Spirits of Evil stated that Mumm-Ra's failure will also have the Mutants and the Lunataks removed from Third Earth as well. Ultimately, Mumm-Ra failed and the Ancient Spirits of Evil exiled him to the farthest corner of the Universe.
Season 4
In the opening miniseries, Peter Lawrence's "Return to Thundera!", the ThunderCats returned to New Thundera to rebuild their society, but before departing, they destroyed Mumm-Ra's pyramid. This enraged the Ancient Spirits of Evil to the point that they brought Mumm-Ra back and installed him within a new pyramid on New Thundera. The season proved to be quite divorced from what had gone before, with adventures consigned almost entirely to New Thundera, and most villainous opposition coming from either Mumm-Ra or assorted new villains. The Mutants, Lunataks, and Captain Cracker all returned for one episode each. However, in the series finale, several conclusions are reached:
- Mumm-Ra stands up to and successfully asserts himself over the Ancient Spirits of Evil.
- The mystery of the Book of Omens is at last solved.
- The tumultuous and terrifying environment of Thundera is at last rendered peaceful and pristine.
Cast
Despite its large cast of characters, ThunderCats featured a rather small circle of
1986's "Thundercats—Ho!" added Gerrianne Raphael to the cast as the voice of Pumyra, while 1987's "Mumm-Ra Lives!" saw the addition of Doug Preis as the voice of Alluro.
Voice actor | Regular Heroes | Regular Villains | Recurring characters |
Larry Kenney | Lion-O | Jackalman Tug-Mug |
Ratar-O Snarf Eggbert |
Earle Hyman | Panthro | Red-Eye Ancient Spirits of Evil |
N/A |
Earl Hammond | Jaga | Mumm-Ra Vultureman Amok |
Snarf Oswald Ro-Ber-Bill RoBear Berbils Snowman of Hook Mountain Hammerhand Captain Cracker |
Peter Newman | Tygra WilyKat Bengali |
Monkian | Hachiman |
Lynne Lipton | Cheetara WilyKit |
Luna | Willa Nayda Mandora the Evil Chaser |
Bob McFadden | Snarf Lynx-O Snarfer |
Slythe | Grune the Destroyer Driller Molemaster Quickpick Captain Shiner |
Gerrianne Raphael | Pumyra | Chilla | Jagara |
Doug Preis | n/a | Alluro | N/A |
DVD releases
Volumes
DVD name | Ep # | Region 1 release date | Region 2 release date | Additional information |
---|---|---|---|---|
Season 1, Volume 1 | 33 | August 9, 2005[15] | January 15, 2007 |
|
Season 1, Volume 2 | 32 | December 6, 2005[16] | August 13, 2007 |
|
Season 2, Volume 1 | 34 | April 18, 2006[17] | April 14, 2008 |
|
Season 2, Volume 2 | 31 | November 28, 2006[18] | June 2, 2008[19] |
|
Season 1, Part 1 | 13 | July 12, 2011 | ||
Season 2, Part 2 | 13 | March 24, 2012 | ||
The Complete Series | 130 | June 4, 2019[20] | "Feel the Magic, Hear the Roar: ThunderCats Fans Speak Out", ThunderCats Ho! The Making of a Pop Culture Phenomenon, The Rembrandts Music Video, The Music of Thundera, Bernie Hoffer – Live! |
Complete series
DVD name | Ep # | Region 1 release date | Region 2 release date | Additional information |
---|---|---|---|---|
Season 1 | 65 | TBA | 18 February 2008[21] | N/A |
Season 2 | 65 | TBA | 18 August 2008[22] | N/A |
Season 1 & 2 | 130 | TBA | 3 November 2008[23] | N/A |
Reception
In January 2009, IGN named ThunderCats as the 49th-best show in the Top 100 Best Animated TV Shows.[24]
Spinoffs
Film
On 16 November 1987, a VHS called 'Thundercats Ho!' was released in the UK by
In 2008–2009, Warner Bros. was in the process of creating a CGI animated film based on ThunderCats. It was rumored to be an original story expanding on the events of the first episode and the film's concept artwork (released in July 2009) contained the main character Lion-O and three locations. A two-minute test scene was filmed and presented to Warner Bros.; however, the movie has been put on indefinite hold, perhaps due to the critical and commercial failure of the 2008 movie Speed Racer (another Warner Bros. CGI project).
In March 2021, it was announced that Warner Bros. was once more actively developing a live-action ThunderCats film with Adam Wingard attached to direct the film, with a screenplay by Wingard and Simon Barrett, and Roy Lee and Dan Lin serving as producers.[25]
2011 series
A new ThunderCats animated series produced by Warner Bros. Animation began airing on Cartoon Network from July 2011.[26] Animation production was provided by Japanese animation studio Studio 4°C. Sam Register was the executive producer and was joined by Michael Jelenic and Ethan Spaulding as the producers for the series.[27] The show explained Lion-O's ascension to the Thunderean throne with a more original feel and darker style than the 1980s series. The new series made it clear in the very beginning, however, that they are not adhering to the original story line. In the original series the Thunder Cats leave Thundera, as the last of their race, to eventually arrive on the 3rd earth. In the new series the very first line states that the Thundereans are already on the 3rd earth. As the first few episodes progress the new writers seem to use Thundera but it isn't clear if they are referring to a planet or kingdom.[28] Former Lion-O voice actor Larry Kenney returned to play the role Lion-O's father Claudus in the opening two-part episode of the new series.[29]
In January 2011, a promotional poster featuring re-imagined designs for Lion-O, Cheetara, Panthro, and Tygra as well as design for the Sword of Omens and vehicles were shown at the London Toy Fair.[30] The series began airing on Cartoon Network on July 29, 2011 with an hour-long premiere,[31] while the UK premiere on Cartoon Network began on 10 September the same year.[32]
Despite an early positive response (with the animation in particular receiving heavy praise from critics), the series failed to make any real impact and viewing figures slowly declined after the first episode, with blame falling on a relatively dark and complicated storyline considering the show was aimed at 6-12 year olds. Merchandise struggled to sell, and as a result the show was cancelled after only one season.
ThunderCats Roar
In other media
Comic books
There were also several comic book series produced. A
Dynamite would partner with WB create a new Thundercats[36] comic with a spinoff Cheetos comic released in July 2024.[37]
Video games
Two video games based on the franchise exist: ThunderCats: The Lost Eye of Thundera, a 1987 side-scrolling video game; and ThunderCats, a 2012 Nintendo DS game based on the show's revival.
Merchandise
LJN did produce a few variant figures including the young Tygra version and the silver rat-eye daggers for Rataro. There are also a few slight color variations of Lion-O, such as red and orange-haired versions. The third series of figures from 1987 are harder to find along with the Tongue-A-Saurus and Astral Moat Monster. Driller and Stinger are the toughest figures to track down; Stinger's wings are very fragile, making it next to impossible to find a loose, complete figure.
An unproduced final series of figures would have included The Mad Bubbler, Red-Eye of the Lunataks, Ratilla, Cannon-Blaster and Quick-Jaws from the Bezerkers as well as the Feliner, Thunderstrike and Luna Tacker. Photos of these were featured in the 1987 LJN catalog.
In 1987,
Other ThunderCats merchandise of the 1980s included, among other items, a
In May 2009, Warner Brothers gave Hard Hero the rights to produce a line of collectible statues based on the ThunderCats characters.[39]
In 2011, Bandai released a new toylines, based on both the classic and the 2011 series.[40]
In February 2011, Mezco Toyz acquired the ThunderCats license to produce large scale rotocast figures based on the 1980s animated series.[41] Lion-O was the first announced figure in their toyline.
Jerry Macaluso, owner of Pop Culture Shock, collectible statue company, announced in March 2010 that he had acquired his "dream license". The company went on to produce premium format ThunderCats statues (1:4 scale, over 30 inches) of Lion-O and Mumm-Ra. Prototypes of Cheetara and Tygra were developed and displayed online and at
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 9781572307742. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
- ^ a b "Mike Germakian, a Father of the ThunderCats". Thundercatslair.org. September 29, 2008. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
- ^ "Those Thundercats just keep on coming back". Honolulu Observer. Archived from the original on December 1, 2006. Retrieved 2015-01-26.
- ^ Boyer, Peter J. (1986-02-03). "Toy-Based TV: Effects on Children Debated". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
- ^ Lippman, John (August 16, 1999). "Creating the Craze for Pokémon: Licensing Agent Bet on U.S. Kids". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
- ^ Millman, Nancy (July 29, 1986). "Burger King aims at kids' market in new campaign". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
- ^ Teresa, Salas (August 1, 1988). "Buyers, licensors: partners in profit; strong merchandising support considered vital to property's success. (toy industry) (Licensing Scope)". Playthings. Archived from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
- ^ Graser, Marc (June 5, 2007). "Warner purrs for ThunderCats". Variety. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
- ^ "WordPress › Error". thundercats.org.
- ^ "Concept Art For Warner Bros.' Thundercats". ThunderCats.Org.[dead link]
- Newspapers.com.
- The Wrap. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
- ISBN 978-1476665993.
- ^ "Thundercats Season One Volume Two". IGN. 2005-12-15. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
- ^ "Thundercats – Season 1, Volume 1". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on 2008-10-04. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
- ^ "Thundercats – Season 1, Volume 2". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on 2008-04-29. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
- ^ "Thundercats – Season 2, Volume 1". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on 2008-04-12. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
- ^ "Thundercats – Season 2, Volume 2". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on 2008-04-29. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
- ^ "ThunderCats Season Two Part Two Release Date". HMV. May 5, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-07.[dead link]
- ^ "ThunderCats (Original Series): The Complete Series (DVD)". Warner Bros. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
- amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
- amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
- amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
- ^ "49, ThunderCats". IGN. 2009-01-23. Archived from the original on 2009-01-21. Retrieved 2009-01-24.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (2021-03-29). "'Godzilla Vs. Kong' Director Adam Wingard To Helm 'ThunderCats' Movie For Warner Bros". Deadline. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
- ^ "ThunderCats 2011 series overview". ThunderCats.org. Retrieved 2015-09-12.[dead link]
- ^ Young, Paul (June 2, 2010). "New Thundercats Cartoon Series Coming Next Year…HO-O-O!". Screen Rant. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ^ "New 'Thundercats' Series Coming In 2011! First Image And Poster Arrive!". MTV.
- ^ "ThunderCatsFans.org :: The Classic Show - cast | interviews | dvds | episode guides | character appearances | scripts | morals | dictionary | image gallery". www.thundercatsfans.org.
- ^ Woerner, Meredith (January 25, 2011). "First Look at the Anime-style Thundercats". io9. Gawker Media. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
- ^ "ThunderCats – Free Online Videos and Downloads". Cartoon Network.[dead link]
- ^ "ThunderCats..." Facebook. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
- ^ "ThunderCats Marvel Comics". Retrieved 2015-09-11.[dead link]
- ^ UK Marvel Comics at ThunderCats.org; Accessed Sept 11, 2015
- ^ "ThunderCats revived by Wildstorm Comics". ThunderCats.org. Archived from the original on 2015-03-10. Retrieved 2015-09-11.
- ^ Comments, Rich Johnston | Last updated | (2023-10-12). "ThunderCats Get a New Series From Declan Shalvey & Drew Moss". bleedingcool.com. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
- ^ Comments, Rich Johnston | (2024-04-22). "ThunderCats Gets a Spinoff, Cheetara by Soo Lee and Domenico Carbone". bleedingcool.com. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
- ^ "Battle of the Fun Factories". Time. 1985-12-16. Archived from the original on April 24, 2011. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
- ^ "WordPress › Error". thundercats.org.
- ^ Roberts, Katie (4 June 2010). "Bandai signs Thundercats". ToyNews. Archived from the original on 9 August 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
- ^ Arrant, Chris (February 3, 2011). "Warner Bros. welcomes new 'Thundercats' series with licensed toys & products at 2011 Toyfair". Retrieved April 24, 2019.
- ^ "Pop Culture Shock ThunderCats statues". ThunderCats.Org. Retrieved 2015-09-12.