After a VERY busy week, I finally got a chance to watch my DVR and witness 20 years of yearning. That’s right – the NEW THUNDERCATS cartoon! I have always loved that show and still have a lot of episodes on tapes, which I watch occasionally. Before I left for my trip, I actually binged and watched the Exodus episode (1st episode) and the Anointment Trial shows. Sure I am a cartoon addict, but could I remember all the special nuances of the show? Favorite things I was reminded of: I love Cheetara and think my love of her influenced my love of telepathic characters, and I love Tygra’s theme song.
Matt and I were watching the show, but then my mom happened to stop by. I actually got a kick out of it since she used to tape all of my shows for me.
I was happily impressed with this new installment. In this adaptation, the original Thundercats are the ancestors of the new Thundercats show. They live on Third Earth, and they are in charge of keeping the peace on the planet. The Mutants have not all shown up yet (only Slithe), but the lizards look to be mostly enslaved or at least oppressed. The series uses all the main characters from before (of course) and have fun little instances with others. Right now I can’t remember what happened at the end of the original cartoon (other than them starting a new colony on New Thundera), so I might have to go back and watch. The show is predictable, (well, I am a 29-year-old watching a CARTOON so I better be able to see a Trojan Horse allusion by now) but pretty cool! The cats have been ruling for a long time, and they do not believe that the mutants are smart enough to overthrow them. Also, they believe that technology is obsolete, but they are in search of the Book of Omens, which has all of the Thundercats secrets.
Who is who now?
LION-O, Lord of the Thundercats
Lion-O is the son of Claudus, and portrayed as a young adult. Note to all nerds: Claudus is voiced by the Larry Kenney, the original Lion-O voice. Lion-O is irresponsible and young, but he is the only one who believes in the existence of technology and the threat of Mumm-ra. (Yes, hearing a character say technology over and over is kind of funny). He kept flirting with Cheetara, and that is just weird. He also is the true son of Claudus, but Tygra is his brother. Huh? I’m still unsure about that.
JAGA, Head of the Clerics
Jaga is the head of the Cleric’s, which are the watchers of the Sword of Omens and Claw shield. Apparently, they are the strongest warriors. As per the original cartoon, Jaga sacrifices himself to save the Thundercats. In this installment, he kind of goes out like Gandalf the Grey in LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring, so I was a wee bit disappointed that he didn’t shout, “YOU SHALL NOT PASS!” ok, I’m a nerd. I know.
TYGRA
Tygra is the adopted son of Claudus (unless he is a Liger and we just don’t know yet) and is the eldest of the two “sons.” He is powerful, snarky, and cocky. Personally, I don’t like the new direction of Tygra. In the original, he was the eldest after Jaga and full of good advice. In this series, he keeps harrassing Lion-O and is kind of annoying. Also, I always wanted a Tygra + Cheetara love fest. I might get to see that in this edition since Cheetara flirts with both brothers. I still don’t understand why Tygra and Lion-O are brothers, but I guess I’ll have to wait and see. Out of the two, Tygra was the most loved, and others wanted him to rule because of this.
CHEETARA
Cheetara is as usual, awesome and a major warrior. She is the lone survivor of Jaga’s clerics, so you know she’s going to be amazing as the series continues. At the beginning of the show, she bails Lion-O out of a jam. We haven’t yet seen any of her other abilities like “sixth sense” or telepathy. I am really hoping that the series producers don’t make her the “weak female” since that was the only thing I didn’t like of the original. Cheetara had more powers than anyone, but because of that, she would always got super tired. She’s a cheetah for crying out loud! Cheetahs never look tired to me. (Ok that is a lie. Most of them sleep when I go to the zoo).
PANTHRO
Panthro has an interesting appearance in the first show. I don’t want to ruin it, but it is a good twist! I don’t really like his outfit at all though. He kind of looks like a buffed up Sebastian Shaw from the X-men comics with those ridiculous sideburns/chops on his head. As I mentioned, nobody really knows how Panthro will pan out, so I shouldn’t criticize it yet. I do miss the original Panthro voice. It has to be hard to create the voice of the ULTIMATE WARRIOR and still make him lovable and passionate.
WILYKAT & WILYKIT
WilyKat and WilyKit are street urchins, so they are not part of the Thundercats yet. I have a feeling they will be a big part of the show in helping Lion-O finding more technology. As of right now, they are stealing money from people and trying to find the lost City of Eldora (aka El Dorado I’m sure).
Things I LOVED:
- The art looks great!
- Cheetara is still a total badass. Of course.
- GRUNE!!!! Major awesome points right there! Some of my favorite episodes include the duels between Grune and Jaga. Grune is a saber tooth tiger and in this series is a lauded General.
- Lynx-O appearance as a lookout. That’s kind of funny since he is blind. Great Easter egg though!
Things I Didn’t Like:
- Snarf can’t talk. Boo. I love Snarf. I just want someone to call him Osbert.
- Mumm-ra’s voice is not scary. It doesn’t resonate. Poor casting. It might get better, but right now the voice sounds like a cross between an angry chipmunk and drug addict. Needs to be scary people! We haven’t seen the fully powered version yet either.
Otherwise, I am pretty excited to continue watching. Matt never liked the original, but he agreed that this was pretty good and fun to watch.
Now the real fun begins! Searching for the new toys! (Seriously, I have a sickness)
Make sure you check in to The Cartoon Network Friday Nights at 8:30 EST for new episodes! Meanwhile, don’t call me on Friday nights. I’ll be… busy. 
Ok, so my recollection of plot points from the original Thundercats is more or less nonexistant. Am I reading you right that this new version is like a sequel to the old one? The new Thundercats are descended from the old Thundercats?
Anyhow, it sounds fun! We don’t have cable, but hopefully they’ll come to Netflix eventually or something.
It is kind of like a sequel per se, but I’m not really sure. I remember with the first series, a new planet was somehow made, and all of the Thundercats eventually left Third Earth for New Thundera. (Not 100% positive though).
Yes, they are descendents and just happen to wear more modern clothes.
The technology thing is kind of weird too. The Thundercats always had fun toys since Panthro would make them out of their space ship, but the mutants always had bizarre robots and things too.
I’m still wondering how Tygra was an adopted son. I’m sure it will be on Netflix. I know there are a lot of clips on YouTube.
And I do remember the “Book of Omens” being the final episode of the original series. The new series has Panthro looking for the Book of Omens.
the old thundercats are not ancestors to the new thundercats. its just a different version of the thundercat story. giving the characters more depth. like the ultimates in marvel universe, same characters just different stories. Mumm-ra does have a weird voice but hes much more bad ass now. also i enjoy the social issues with the animals. anyway, glad others enjoy the series as much as i do.
Yup Manny, you are right. At first I thought they were ancestors, but I guess not. I’m still a bit squeeved out that Cheetara kind of flirts with Lion-O and Tygra when before they were all asexual.
I hated the episode with the flowers dying after 2 hours. That was really the only bad one. I watch every Friday night like a geek!
[...] Jennifer’s Loveshack loves the new series and had this to say in her review: “The art looks great! Cheetara is still a total badass. Of course. GRUNE!!!! Major awesome points right there! Some of my favorite episodes include the duels between Grune and Jaga. Grune is a saber tooth tiger and in this series is a lauded General. Lynx-O appearance as a lookout, that’s kind of funny since he is blind.” You can read her review here. [...]