Thundercats 2011 - The Small Screen Spot

Thundercats 2011 - The Small Screen Spot

There have been a few attempts, throughout the years, to bring back Thundercats. Movie form, live action show, CGI, animation, etc. Thankfully it was animation that won out. And thankfully competent people were behind it's creation.


The new Thundercats series premiered on Cartoon Network with and hour long "movie". And right off the back this was not the same Thundercats from the 80's. We meet a younger Lion-O (both physically and mentally) with a smaller Snarf who doesn't speak. Tigra is now his older brother and there father is king. Chetara is a priest along with Jaga. Panthro is a general of the kings army sent on a special mission with Grune. We also meet younger versions of Wily Kit and Wily Kat. So quite obviously this is a very different Thundercats.


The new series holds onto the feel of the original while making it better and developing and deepening the story and history of the Thundercats universe. Each episode shows us more and more of what could have been.

Like for instance in "Legacy" episode we learn that the cats of this universe sided with Mum-Ra in his search of the crystal that will be part of The Sword of Omens. We also learn in this episode why the other animal races (jackals, lizards, gorillas, Tigersharks, birds, etc) hate the cats. They enslaved them with Mum-Ra. Also the red crystal that is part of the Sword Of Omens is not the only one there are more that became lost.

This episode alone helped to enrich this universe so much. Plus it was nice seeing a cameo of Mon-Star from Silverhawks and some Tigersharks. The funny thing is that is raises some questions becasue the way Mon-Star is drawn he looks like one of the cats. So here is hoping we get some more Thundercats/Silverhawks crossover.


The other episodes that aired so far have been so great to watch. I love looking around and seeing things from the original show. Like in the premiere we see a broken Berbil Bear hand. And in another we see Driller. Slithe and his lizard men still work for Mum-Ra. Lynx-O was shown in the first episode. Can't wait to see who else pops up.


Speaking of Mum-Ra. I am happy to see such a great cartoon villain from my childhood back and looking more evil. His normal mummy form looks familiar to the original but his ever living form is bulkier and more dangerous looking. His arms are longer and clawed and he has bat wings now. Menacing and dangerous.

Mum-Ra is also a heavy technology user this time around. Using mechs to attack the cat city and his pyramid, according to the the "Legacy" episode, is a giant spaceship. While everyone else on the planet, especially the Thundercats were tech free.

So overall the new Thundercats cartoon is a hit and I recommend it to anyone. Fans of the original should check it out as well. Especially to get the richer history and story. Oh and Snarf is not annoying anymore but is downright cute and hilarious in the new series. The newest episode The Duelist and the Drifter we see Snarf grab a stick and make believe he is sward fighting like a maniac. It was so damn funny.