Blow the dust off your Sword of Omens, gather up your invisibility bolas, and get a muzzle for that squawking annoyance called Snarf because in 2011 the Thundercats will be on the move. You could even say that they’ll be on the loose. When news broke over the summer that classic 80s cartoon Thundercats was being reimagined for Cartoon Network the internet was confused, excited, and a little worried.
Producer Michael Jelenic spoke with MTV’s Splash Page to give them some more details on the upcoming reboot. The biggest news is that they’re removing the multiple planet origin storyline for something simpler. So does this mean that the show will take place on Thundera, or is Third Earth still the location of choice?
Making the character animation and design new and up to date is fine, but the offhand comment by Jelenic about this potentially monumental change is worrisome. Is Lion-O still going to be a kid in a grown up’s body, or will he just be a seasoned veteran of fighting wars as Thunderean nobility? What of Mumm-Ra and the mutants from Plun-Darr? These are important questions. Relatively speaking. OK, it's a cartoon, but it's our damn cartoon. Those of us who lived through childhood in the 80s have an attachment to our shows. I guarantee that if anyone but Peter Cullen voiced Optimus Prime in the Transformers films there would have been an uproar. With lots of sputtering geeks crying and yelling while waiting in line to see the movie.
Rest assured, though, that our eponymous heroes will all be represented as Jelenic did confirm Panthro, Cheetara, and Tygra will be in the new show. No word on what factions or groups will be there from the outset. Or if the extra Thunderean survivors introduced throughout the original series will be a part of the Cartoon Network reboot.
