First, I have a bit of a confession — as much as I loved cartoons growing up, I never got into ThunderCats. I was born the year it premiered and was only four by the time it ended, so except for maybe catching bits of episodes on Toonami, I just didn’t get much exposure to the show. That doesn’t mean I’m completely ignorant of it, since ThunderCats is a big part of both pop culture and the internet. I know Lion-O is the leader, Panthro is a bad ass, Cheetara is bad ass and a chick and Snarf is either awesome or annoying as hell, depending on which fan you’re talking to. Since previewing the hour-long premiere (coming to Cartoon Network on July 29th), I’ve also done some light research on the old show, just to get a feel for how much they changed. If I make an error in the ThunderCats lore, feel free to let me know in the comments, but please be kind … I’m still learning the ways of Thundera.
The premiere is really two episodes (“The Sword of Omens” and “Ancient Spirits of Evil”), but I wouldn’t have been able to tell without looking it up. There wasn’t really a good halfway cliffhanger, so I’m not sure where they’re going to cut it when the episodes go into syndication. We first meet Prince Lion-O (who looks like he’s in his late teens, early 20s) in the scummier streets of the city, wanting to learn more about his people … it’s very Princess Jasmine in Aladdin. Lion-O is played by Will Friedle, best known for Boy Meets World and Kim Possible. … I’ll get to the voice actor choices in a bit.
Lion-O gets into some trouble with locals after he stops them from beating up a lizard creature, only to have a mysterious stranger come and save his butt. Who could this possibly be? Why, Cheetara! And while she seems to be the only adult female in the show and has a more revealing outfit in the reboot, Cheetara is not a token female character. In every scene she’s in, she’s kicking major butt. More than that, except for some very light flirting from Tygra, Cheetara is treated the same as any of her male counterparts by the main characters. I really want to see more female characters, but I’m looking forward to seeing more of her character in the later episodes.
Much of the two episodes revolve around a couple things: for one, King Claudus questions Lion-O’s future role as leader of their people. He actually would rather Tygra become king. They refer to Lion-O and Tygra as brothers, which I don’t think they are in the original series. Considering the younger Lion-O is in line to be king, this might be simply a non-official title instead of an actual blood connection. Either way, Claudus and the newly returned General Grune both don’t have much faith in Lion-O.
Their apprehension comes from the fact that Lion-O is obsessed with the legends of technology, which the rest of Thundera has dismissed as simply myth. This seems backward to me, since usually in these sorts of stories the dreaming prince researches ancient magic while his elders assure him that magic is simply part of fairy tales. Of course, not only does technology exist, but Mumm-Ra and the sinister lizard people have it and are retaliating.
It might come off as a weird analogy, but the treatment of the lizard people after they were defeated by Lion-O’s ancestors reminds me a whole lot of Germany after WWI. Basically, the cats treat them like vermin, sometimes even slaves, and it only helps fuel the fire for them to gather forces and attack. It probably does sound silly coming from a cartoon, but the pilot episodes do raise some big questions for Lion-O — if you attack a people who haven’t attacked you in years, where is the line between defending your country and oppressing another? Are you any better than your enemy and when should you use compassion?
Some of the other characters are there, although they don’t have as much screen time. The twin kids have a short storyline, although they haven’t met up with Lion-O and his team yet. Panthro has very little screen time — he’s assumed to be dead at the beginning, but come on. He’s not only on the promotional material, but he’s one of the most popular characters. Of course he’s not dead! And we do see Snarf … but he doesn’t talk. I’m sure fans will be divided on this one, but I like the non-talking Snarf. It does put into question what is considered a sentient being on this planet, but perhaps I’m thinking too much into this.
Let’s get into the voice actors. I mentioned Will Friedle before as Lion-O. I was very skeptical of this casting — while I don’t know much about the original show, I do know Lion-O’s voice was assertive and strong. Friedle’s voice sounds much younger and less confident. Still, that’s part of featuring a younger Lion-O. It’s not that he’s bad, but he is different. Larry Kenney, the original voice of the character, shows up to play King Claudus and while his voice has aged, it’s easy to compare with Friedle’s. Towards the end of the episode, when the situation became more serious, Lion-O’s voice started to have more of a weight to it, so I’m holding my judgment until I watch more episodes. Tygra and Cheetara (Matthew Mercer and Emmanuelle Chriqui) are both strong voice actors, with Mercer showing just a little more personality. Again, Panthro didn’t get as much screen time but is voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson, whose deep voice is perfect for the character.
All in all, the episodes were good. The first twenty minutes or so were the slowest, but the animation by Studio 4°C is strong, especially when you get into the action scenes. I found myself sad when the second episode finished on a cliffhanger … it felt like it was just getting started, to be honest. I’m looking forward to the third episode so I find out what happens next. Easily the coolest parts of the episode were seeing the characters use their special powers, which are consistent with the old show. Still, diehard fans of the show might be annoyed at the straying from canon. If you go in with a grain of salt, I think you’re going to really enjoy the show.
Clacked by Katie Schenkel 
on Jul 04, 2011 @ 13:00 EST5EDT
I really hope this is good. All the other 80’s cartoon reboots are terrible!