Fanboys all around fangasmed as the classic 80s series Thundercats after long last has returned to Television with an all new series. two nights ago, the new series had an hour long premier. Does it stand up to the original?
While some fans didn't care for this, I for one am loving the series' new anime-like style. Some claim they're just doing this to appeal to the new generation but think about it. what was the original Thundercats doing but simply trying to appeal to the He-Man audience of the time? I think the anime style compliments the characters and settings very well.
They've made Lion-o physically younger which again, I think works. Lion-O in the original series was good for not always doing the right thing. While physically an adult, he's supposed to be mentally young and inexperienced and this new design works for that.
The plot has changed a bit but still feels based on the original series. I don't wish to spoil anything but they remembered a lot of little things from the old series that really only fans of the show would know and made those little things work with the new plot.
Let's be honest. The voice acting in the original series was not high end acting. While the new series may not be perfect in its acting either, I feel for the most part it's greatly improved. Cladius; Lion-o's father was played by Larry Kenney. The orignal voice of Lion-O. This was very awesome to know and hear. It also did my child of the 80s heart good to hear that voice shout "Thundercats HO!" one last time.
I didn't recognize a lot of the new voices but I DID recognize Lex Luthor/Mr. Krabs as Grune the Destroyer and Terry McGuinness from Batman Beyond as Lion-O. Both of which play these roles well.
Oh, and for the first time ever, Wily Kit and Kat actually sound like children.
Another good point to mention; SNARF DOESN'T TALK! While I actually liked Snarf in the original series, his constant bickering got very annoying and I could see why some fans don't like him. I felt it was a good call to downplay Snarf more and not have him talk.
Is there anything negative I have to say about this? Well, Tygra seems like a bit of a douche in this but that could be simply the beginning of character development. This ins't a direct re-telling of the original series which may disappoint some fans. Plus, anyone who doesn't like the idea of all Thundarians not being the pristine example of good may not be happy with this. While the Thundercats are the good guys, it's not black and white "They bad, we good" here. At one point, Lion-O pleads with his father to let go some lizard men who were only arrested for stealing food from thundarians and the only reason they did this was because the Thundarians own all the best crops and keep them for themselves leaving all other species with nothing but scraps. So it's imply that there's some Government corruption going on in Thundera and those not keen on the idea may not care for it. I personally though think it's a fascinating new look on the series.
Over all, I think this is a fantastic revision of a classic series and a breath of fresh air for animation enthusiasts sick of the recent animation rut television has been in. It has an Avatar: The last airbender vibe that I think works for the series and I will be watching new episodes of this every friday at 8:30 from now on/
THUNDERCATS HO!
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