Thundercats (2011)

I liked it.  It's a lot like the He-Man reboot from a few years back, but hopefully able to last longer (though considering the cancellation of Sym-Bionic Titan, and the mysterious removal of Young Justice from the schedule, it's increasingly looking like Cartoon Network just doesn't know what to do with action cartoons any more).  The racial elements, and the more heavily implied post-apocalyptic ideas (high technology as myth) are completely new to this version.  I even liked Wily Kit and Wily Kat.  Making them thieving street urchins (for now, anyway), instead of the annoying tag-alongs they were in the original is almost as good an idea as making Snarf not talk.

And Clancy Brown just can't do VO for good guys, can he?  Put him in live action, it can go either way.  Voicing a cartoon character?  Bad guy.  Every time.

So...wait...is Panthro really dead or is he gonna show up later on. He was my favorite from the original and if he gets nothing more than an offscreen death that's kinda weak.

Overall I liked it. However even thought it was an hour it felt rushed. Probably could have used another 30 minutes.

I found Snarf actually more annoying if that's even possible.

Also nice to see the animators kept in the tradition of the original and drew Cheetara with a huge rack...and I mean that in a sarcastic way.

They've certainly gone the 'American manga' look with the design aesthetic haven't they.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul755 

So...wait...is Panthro really dead or is he gonna show up later on. He was my favorite from the original and if he gets nothing more than an offscreen death that's kinda weak.

Gotta figure with Clawdus and Jaga dead and Grunn doing a heel turn, Panthro will show up before too long as the "mentor"/"wise old man" of the group.  Which is a nice attempt to give him a bit more character (similar to making the otherwise bland Tygra Liono's brother).

I'm genuinely curious about what they're going to do with Panthro.  He was the mechanical genius who built all the vehicles and stuff in the original show (I HATE MY BRAIN FOR REMEMBERING THESE THINGS), but in this one he logically can't be.  Unless they pull a Lexington in Gargoyles and just make him technologically savant for no good reason.

(I missed the reboot, but will surely check it out.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeventyOne 
 (similar to making the otherwise bland Tygra Liono's brother).

How is that possible? One's a tiger, the other a lion. And Tygra's older, so wouldn't he be the heir? (EDIT: Ah, adopted)

And the visual style reminds me of Naruto from the footage I've seen.

Snarf got the Pokemon (or "anime animal sidekick") treatment huh?

I want to hurt this thread so bad.

Shhh. Some of us manchildren are napping in here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Merriweather 

I want to hurt this thread so bad.

In my defense, I felt guilty DVRing it...but it really did turn out better than at least half of the man-child-friendly tentpole movies I saw this Summer.

No, no, you're right...I have no excuse.

I was pleasantly surprised by this.

I recently rewatched the old show and was on the floor, rolling with laughter, at how deeply stupid nearly every episode was. The voice acting in particular is ridiculous--it seemed like they had the same two 50-year-olds voicing everyone, including Wileykit and Wileykat, and they're both awful. The episode with the Russian snow-queen who sing-songs all her lines a la Werner Kemplerer, in particular, is comedy gold. I also enjoyed the walking acid flashbacks that are the Robear Berbils. They tried to combine R2-R2 and the Ewoks to get something super-cute, and instead the result was a hate crime against sanity.

Oh, and there's an episode that suggests that no one in the entire GALAXY in this far-flung future has ever heard of soap. Seriously.

I'll agree: the original series is ridiculous. Every episode is 20 minutes long, but only contains about five minutes of actual material, so all the characters talk... like... Duke Fleed...

There's virtually no redeeming qualities, besides nostalgia. But it was my favorite show as a kid, and I still have a huge soft spot for it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by D.T. 
There's virtually no redeeming qualities, besides nostalgia. But it was my favorite show as a kid, and I still have a huge soft spot for it.

Same here. I experienced the same thing when I watched an episode of "The Real Ghostbusters" it was another one of my favs growing up (I wasn't a big GI Joe or Transformers kid) and it was just awful. So yeah, I'll give both old and new a pass.

as for the new Thundercats...Panthro AND the Thunder Tank all in one 2 minute stretch...FUCK YEAH.
 

I thought the plot involving the flower/elf people was surprisingly heady sci fi for a kids' cartoon.  If it had been a Star Trek plot, would probably still be a fan favorite episode.  And yeah, the introduction of Panthro was spot-on.

Dug the Grune/Panthro backstory. Although Lion-O seemed to win him over pretty easy.

I think its due to the fact Panthro sees that this kid is comming into his own

There's a 'blink and you'll miss it' SilverHawks reference in the most recent episode that made me laugh.  

I'm enjoying this reboot way more than I should and I kind of hate myself for it.

I know what you mean. I'm borderline embarrassed, but fuck it -- this show is quality, and I'm digging it.

And that Mon-Starr cameo was good. The show is definitely being handled by fans who watched the original series as kids.

And don't forget the more on the nose tigersharks reference.  I admit I had an inner squeal when I saw those references. 

Also, what kind of cat was Leo's lady supposed to be?

This show is definitely very "color coordinated"

Going on purely that she was grey/blue, I would say a panther. But they also like to use the species as a root in all their names, so check the credits. If PanthrO is a male panther, then she was might be named PanthrA.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fafhrd 

There's a 'blink and you'll miss it' SilverHawks reference in the most recent episode that made me laugh.  

 

I'm enjoying this reboot way more than I should and I kind of hate myself for it.

YES!! I'M NOT CRAZY.

Sad to say, I'm kind of digging this show too.

I like it too! It's got great animation, voice acting, and the storytelling's pretty damn good too.

It's certainly light-years better than the old show.

Kind of sick of the filler episodes already.

Hey guys, remember Slyyythe and the rad Lizard commandos? And Mumm-ra? Let's have more of that, please.

Panthro losing his arms was unexpected. But Cheetara going for Tygra was so telegraphed.

This is a surprisingly solid show.

Hey, isn't there already a thread for furries?

Agree the stretchy arms were a bit much, but otherwise another solid episode, even if it was just "filler" mythology-wise.  JackylMan comes off as an homage to Mark Hamil's Joker (if you're going to steal, steal from the best), while MonkeyMan's introduction was surprisingly dark...capital punishment and psuedo-cannabalism in a Saturday morning cartoon.  It's not Justified on Mad Men, but a solid little cartoon doing its own thing.