The 80s is sometimes considered one of the best decades in entertainment. Some of the greatest horror, action, sci-fi, and animated films were conceived during the 80s and it defined several of our childhoods. Living alongside these movies were Saturday Morning cartoons. A majority of these cartoons were created for the sole purpose of selling toys to kids but that didn’t stop them from being excellent. One of these cartoons was the Thundercats; a superhero-esque series about a pack of anthropomorphic cat creatures who were at war with monsters, mutants, and ancient demonic gods. The show spawned toys, comics, even an animated movie. However, as time ticked by, Thundercats faded away.
That is until 2011 when Warner Brothers teamed up with Studio 4◦C to reboot the franchise. At first, a lot of the fans were skeptical and who could blame them? The world have been bombarded with remakes and reboots for the past 6 years. Some are good, but even more are bad. So what hope did the new Thundercats have?
Surprisingly, the new Thundercats did rather well. While it sadly did not get renewed for a sequel, the new series did a lot of things right. This list is dedicated to this short-lived but fantastic reboot. So without further ado, let’s go over Thundercats (2011): What They Did Right!
That is until 2011 when Warner Brothers teamed up with Studio 4◦C to reboot the franchise. At first, a lot of the fans were skeptical and who could blame them? The world have been bombarded with remakes and reboots for the past 6 years. Some are good, but even more are bad. So what hope did the new Thundercats have?
Surprisingly, the new Thundercats did rather well. While it sadly did not get renewed for a sequel, the new series did a lot of things right. This list is dedicated to this short-lived but fantastic reboot. So without further ado, let’s go over Thundercats (2011): What They Did Right!
1: The Redesign
While there is nothing really wrong with the original Thundercats, it is one of those cartoons that just did not age well. The very bright colors combined with the eccentric, over-muscular design of all the characters give the show a rather cheesy look. Furthermore, the characters themselves don’t really resemble cats except for Cheetara. They all look like colorful humanoids with fluffy hair.
The 2011 series fixed several of these designs. The color scheme contains more earthy hues thus giving the show a more realistic setting. Furthermore the characters themselves have a more feline appearance – from their teeth to their ears, to the tufts of fur that you see across their bodies. The biggest improvements come from Wily Kit and Kat who no longer look like orange kids with bright red afros. While some may complain that the new series has an Anime-appearance to it, most people forget that the original series was also done in Japan. Mind blowing, isn’t it?
The 2011 series fixed several of these designs. The color scheme contains more earthy hues thus giving the show a more realistic setting. Furthermore the characters themselves have a more feline appearance – from their teeth to their ears, to the tufts of fur that you see across their bodies. The biggest improvements come from Wily Kit and Kat who no longer look like orange kids with bright red afros. While some may complain that the new series has an Anime-appearance to it, most people forget that the original series was also done in Japan. Mind blowing, isn’t it?
2: Mature Themes
The original show touched upon several mature themes including life, death, spirituality, betrayal, murder, and enslavement. These themes are thankfully present in the 2011 version as well. We see characters die (there is an aerial battle where we actually see characters get blown up along with their ships ala Star Wars), deal with their own mortality and morality (Watching Kit and Kat come to terms with the difference between stealing to survive and stealing for profit), and very complex emotions. One of the bigger themes of the show revolves around Tygra's relationship with Lion-O but that will be touched upon later down the list. The fact of the matter is that In a world where
television shows are under constant scrutiny for things that could be
considered offensive or insensitive, it is almost refreshing to see that
Thundercatssticks to its roots while adding to it.
3. Alternate Origins
The actual origin of the Thundercats was basically the feline equivalent of Superman’s origin story. With their planet dying, several ships carrying the Thundarian cats scatted across the universe. Lion-O’s ship ends up crash landing on 3rd Earth where they start a new life. To complicate matters, Lion-O’s sleep pod malfunctions so he continues to physically age while still maintaining the mentality of a teenager. What results is a teen in a steroid-fused god-like body. (Talk about hitting puberty at full force!).
The current series on the other hand changes the history almost completely. Lion-O is no longer a teenager in an adult body; he’s a teenager period. Tygra is no longer Lion-O’s advisor but his adopted brother. This adds a major plot twist in the series as now Tygra and Lion-O are rivals – Tygra feeling that Lion-O has taken everything that Tygra feels he deserves.
Furthermore, Thundara is a city kingdom, not a planet. Finally, 3rd Earth was populated because of Mum-Ra’s forces.In the 2011 story, Mum-Ra scoured the galaxy while looking for spirit stones. Helping him are the Cats and the Lizards. Enslaved under Mum-Ra’s heels are all the animal species (Dog, Elephant, Bird, etc). After the Cats rebel, Mum-Ra’s ship crashes on 3RD Earth and the survivors end up repopulating the planet.
These changes in the characters’ origins help add more dynamic tension to their relationships. We are also able to explore more of their backgrounds as the episodes move on. I believe the changes to Tygra really add a depth to the character that was lacking in the original series.
The current series on the other hand changes the history almost completely. Lion-O is no longer a teenager in an adult body; he’s a teenager period. Tygra is no longer Lion-O’s advisor but his adopted brother. This adds a major plot twist in the series as now Tygra and Lion-O are rivals – Tygra feeling that Lion-O has taken everything that Tygra feels he deserves.
Furthermore, Thundara is a city kingdom, not a planet. Finally, 3rd Earth was populated because of Mum-Ra’s forces.In the 2011 story, Mum-Ra scoured the galaxy while looking for spirit stones. Helping him are the Cats and the Lizards. Enslaved under Mum-Ra’s heels are all the animal species (Dog, Elephant, Bird, etc). After the Cats rebel, Mum-Ra’s ship crashes on 3RD Earth and the survivors end up repopulating the planet.
These changes in the characters’ origins help add more dynamic tension to their relationships. We are also able to explore more of their backgrounds as the episodes move on. I believe the changes to Tygra really add a depth to the character that was lacking in the original series.
4: Insanity and Cruelty
One of the greatest things that the 2011 series did was how they handled the inclusion of two off the original series’ villains. It wasn’t until a little past halfway through the first (and only) season where we are introduced to Monkian (Addicus in this series) and Jackalman (Kaynar). In the original series, these two generals were called by their species name and they weren’t really all that well developed. They were just typical Saturday Morning Cartoon fodder.
However both characters were given complete overhauls for the 2011 series. Addicus was transformed into a very intelligent psychopath who preyed on other species. He was very articulate and a master in hand-to-hand combat. Kaynar on the other hand because a deranged lunatic who heard voices within his head. Kaynar was a sadist; joining Mum-Ra only for the excuse to torture Thundercats and he took a sick pleasure in “playing” with the dogs that imprisoned him.
Both of these changes provide a serious threat to the Thundercats. These are not Bebop and Rocksteady that the Cats are dealing with, but ruthless killers that Mum-Ra describes as “Responsible for Acts that even I find distasteful!”
Wow.
However both characters were given complete overhauls for the 2011 series. Addicus was transformed into a very intelligent psychopath who preyed on other species. He was very articulate and a master in hand-to-hand combat. Kaynar on the other hand because a deranged lunatic who heard voices within his head. Kaynar was a sadist; joining Mum-Ra only for the excuse to torture Thundercats and he took a sick pleasure in “playing” with the dogs that imprisoned him.
Both of these changes provide a serious threat to the Thundercats. These are not Bebop and Rocksteady that the Cats are dealing with, but ruthless killers that Mum-Ra describes as “Responsible for Acts that even I find distasteful!”
Wow.
5: Throwbacks to the Original
The original series provided us with several memorable moments. The classic "Sword of Omens, give me sight beyond sight" and the infamous "Thundercats HO!" are things that you'd expect the new series to utilize but the throwbacks to the original series doesn't end there. The original series involved several different planets to serve as origins for the differing species and characters. Considering that the new series revolves strictly around Third Earth and none of the neighboring planets, it could easily be assumed that these locations would no longer exist. That isn't the case at all. To make up for the lack of space travel, the creators of this series instead created several different continents and cities to represent those missing planets. Both Thundara and Plun-Darr are now represented as kingdoms or natural landmarks which help tie in regions from the original.
Along with locations, several of the originals' species reappear albeit with some tweaks. The Berbils, lizards, dogs (from the comics), and even the avians from the original series all return in one form or another. Each have been given great upgrades to their origins and their overall design that really helps flesh out the 2011 series; making 3rd Earth that much more interesting.
Along with locations, several of the originals' species reappear albeit with some tweaks. The Berbils, lizards, dogs (from the comics), and even the avians from the original series all return in one form or another. Each have been given great upgrades to their origins and their overall design that really helps flesh out the 2011 series; making 3rd Earth that much more interesting.
6: Snarf
Finalizing this list is probably the greatest improvement over the original series. Snarf, the whiny, high-pitched cat-like caretaker of Lion-O may be considered a classic character but like He-Man's cowardly lion, he just hasn't aged well. Snarf's constant use of saying "Snarf, Snarf!" in between words and sentences makes him sound more like a Pokemon than a sentient creature. Fortunately the 2011 version gave Snarf not only a visual make-over, but a personality make-over as well.
The 2011 Snarf is a very intelligent, albeit feral, creature who is more of a pet than a caretaker (He was Lion-O's caretaker while Lion-O was still a kitten but he evolved more towards a pet as Lion-O grew older). He is also a lot less of a coward than his 1985 counterpart and without the ability to talk, we are spared the constant "Snarf, SNARF!" (though he does say it on occasion while mewing, it is more cute that irritating). Not to mention that he is so damn adorable and there are several moments throughout the series that he rivals Ein (Cowboy Bebop) for cutest pet side-kick in an animated series.
The 2011 Snarf is a very intelligent, albeit feral, creature who is more of a pet than a caretaker (He was Lion-O's caretaker while Lion-O was still a kitten but he evolved more towards a pet as Lion-O grew older). He is also a lot less of a coward than his 1985 counterpart and without the ability to talk, we are spared the constant "Snarf, SNARF!" (though he does say it on occasion while mewing, it is more cute that irritating). Not to mention that he is so damn adorable and there are several moments throughout the series that he rivals Ein (Cowboy Bebop) for cutest pet side-kick in an animated series.
Have you seen the 2011 Thundercats yet? If so, make sure to leave a comment below! We'd love to hear your opinion of this entertaining reboot!