Watching Thundercats as an adult, part one
Unlike my adult rewatching of Voltron, I do not have high expectations of Thundercats. While I found it entertaining as a kid, it was never my favorite. That being said, this entry may still be a solid argument for not looking too closely at the media from your childhood.
It might also be a solid argument for not allowing me to watch stuff like this by myself. With no one to join me in playing Peanut Gallery, I instead took notes and am now inflicting my observations on you. If you're not familiar with the Thundercats, you should probably skip this journal entry entirely.
Episode 1
Sweet mother of slash fiction, Cheetara is naked! They're all naked! But especially Cheetara! I forgot about the nakedness in the first episode.
Proof that this was a half-hour long toy commercial #1: the animators drew in hip/leg seams on all the characters. While unavoidable on the toy, these make no sense at all on animated characters.
Why was there a soccer ball in that box of random junk?
Wilykat and Wilykit got screwed in the aging department. Before they enter stasis, they're ostensibly the same age as Lion-o. But after the journey in stasis, Lion-o is fully grown and they're still kids.
It's never established why the Mutants want the Eye of Thundera. Then again, I don't think it's ever established why the bad guys are collectively called Mutants. They're humanoid animals. The Thundercats are humanoid animals. I suspect that "mutant" is some sort of racial slur on the part of the 'Cats.
They named him "Snarf" because no parent would buy their kids a toy named "Little Bitch." Much like Jar-Jar Binks, Snarf could be deleted from the cartoon and nothing significant would change. Half of the characters, given obvious opportunities, don't even respond to Snarf.
Episode 2
Proof that this was a half-hour long toy commercial #2: the Claw Shield comes from nowhere. Lion-o puts it on his thigh, it glows around the seam, and voila! it's stuck there. I guess that's less gross than it would be if it more closely resembled the toy. Lion-o would have a big hole in his thigh and the Claw Shield would have a conveniently-sized peg on its underside.
Mumm-ra says that Third Earth was once First Earth. I guess there's some sort of Earth-ranking system out there, and this one just ain't what it used to be.
How can Mumm-ra pronounce his own name? He's got no lips!
Ah, the Eye of Thundera: long-range surveillance device, impartial judge of morality, and portable Bat Signal. Is there anything it can't do?
Sure, the Eye has amazing powers, but if you drip a little tar over it, it's useless. Getting a little tar on the Eye is like dropping your cell phone in the toilet.
Lion-o just uttered the phrase, "Have at you, varlet!" Though it's never explained in the series, Errol Flynn movies were popular back on Thundera.
Episode 3
Proof that this was a half-hour long toy commercial #3: Panthro's first priority upon waking from his stasis pod is building the Thundertank. The Thundertank has a name before it has been built, even. I'm guessing that Panthro was one hell of a project manager back on Thundera.
The Robear Burbles have mushroom-based architecture and only one visible female in the tribe. I'm pretty sure that these Ewok-looking cyborgs were constructed by Handy Smurf.
I absolutely love that the first Robear Burble's name we learn is Robear Bill. It makes me think that the original script for this episode may have also included introductions to Robear Bob and Robear Steve.
The large, troll-like race of natives they encounter are called Giantors. I want to mock this lazy naming choice, but honestly, if I'm going to give the series a pass for naming nearly all of its protagonists by taking a feline name and changing or adding the last syllable, I probably shouldn't give them crap for Giantors. Still "Giantors" sounds particularly silly.
It might also be a solid argument for not allowing me to watch stuff like this by myself. With no one to join me in playing Peanut Gallery, I instead took notes and am now inflicting my observations on you. If you're not familiar with the Thundercats, you should probably skip this journal entry entirely.
Episode 1
Sweet mother of slash fiction, Cheetara is naked! They're all naked! But especially Cheetara! I forgot about the nakedness in the first episode.
Proof that this was a half-hour long toy commercial #1: the animators drew in hip/leg seams on all the characters. While unavoidable on the toy, these make no sense at all on animated characters.
Why was there a soccer ball in that box of random junk?
Wilykat and Wilykit got screwed in the aging department. Before they enter stasis, they're ostensibly the same age as Lion-o. But after the journey in stasis, Lion-o is fully grown and they're still kids.
It's never established why the Mutants want the Eye of Thundera. Then again, I don't think it's ever established why the bad guys are collectively called Mutants. They're humanoid animals. The Thundercats are humanoid animals. I suspect that "mutant" is some sort of racial slur on the part of the 'Cats.
They named him "Snarf" because no parent would buy their kids a toy named "Little Bitch." Much like Jar-Jar Binks, Snarf could be deleted from the cartoon and nothing significant would change. Half of the characters, given obvious opportunities, don't even respond to Snarf.
Episode 2
Proof that this was a half-hour long toy commercial #2: the Claw Shield comes from nowhere. Lion-o puts it on his thigh, it glows around the seam, and voila! it's stuck there. I guess that's less gross than it would be if it more closely resembled the toy. Lion-o would have a big hole in his thigh and the Claw Shield would have a conveniently-sized peg on its underside.
Mumm-ra says that Third Earth was once First Earth. I guess there's some sort of Earth-ranking system out there, and this one just ain't what it used to be.
How can Mumm-ra pronounce his own name? He's got no lips!
Ah, the Eye of Thundera: long-range surveillance device, impartial judge of morality, and portable Bat Signal. Is there anything it can't do?
Sure, the Eye has amazing powers, but if you drip a little tar over it, it's useless. Getting a little tar on the Eye is like dropping your cell phone in the toilet.
Lion-o just uttered the phrase, "Have at you, varlet!" Though it's never explained in the series, Errol Flynn movies were popular back on Thundera.
Episode 3
Proof that this was a half-hour long toy commercial #3: Panthro's first priority upon waking from his stasis pod is building the Thundertank. The Thundertank has a name before it has been built, even. I'm guessing that Panthro was one hell of a project manager back on Thundera.
The Robear Burbles have mushroom-based architecture and only one visible female in the tribe. I'm pretty sure that these Ewok-looking cyborgs were constructed by Handy Smurf.
I absolutely love that the first Robear Burble's name we learn is Robear Bill. It makes me think that the original script for this episode may have also included introductions to Robear Bob and Robear Steve.
The large, troll-like race of natives they encounter are called Giantors. I want to mock this lazy naming choice, but honestly, if I'm going to give the series a pass for naming nearly all of its protagonists by taking a feline name and changing or adding the last syllable, I probably shouldn't give them crap for Giantors. Still "Giantors" sounds particularly silly.