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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally on DVD after a 15 year absence from TV, 9 Feb 2007
Finally, after about a 15 year absence from our TV screens, one of the 80's most iconic cartoon series, Thundercats returns in a six disc DVD boxset. If you were a child of the 80's then it would have been pretty hard to miss this extremely popular saturday morning cartoon. Being a child in the 80's myself I remember that saturday morning was the only morning I wanted to get out of bed so early (whereas the rest of the week who wants to get up for school, hey?) I remember rushing downstairs to put the TV on and watch cartoons while eating my breakfast. Yes those were the good old days when you had zero cares (well except for if Lion-o would defeat Mumm-Ra, the kids would get home in Dungeons and Dragons or if Scrooge McDuck would find the treasure in Ducktales!)
The Thundercats series had a pretty impressive run on TV with various repeat showings as part of Childrens BBC after school and weekend repeats on Going Live! (so like I said above) it would have been hard to miss. When seeing cartoons series would loved as a kid, I see many people sad to see how dated their favourite shows look. Some state that certain cartoons just have not stood the test of time and look out of place set against the more modern shows. However I'd strongly recommend you revisit the Thundercats cartoon series has non of this applies here. It has often been stated by many that the Thundercats series was ahead of it's time in production as well the visual look and animation style used. The anime influence in the Thundercats animation is partly due to the series being animated Taiwan by some of the most skilled animators in the industry. So the look and feel of this cartoon is certainly still relevant in todays society and is indeed a cartoon series that young children could easily enjoy.
As for adults wanting to enjoy and relive something from their childhood, from back when they were in a place free of problems and worry you face as an adult, I definately recommend picking this up. If anything this makes fantastic hangover TV for sunday morning/afternoon after a saturday night out drinking! I definately recommend you try it!
The set boasts a total of 33 episodes from the first series, presented in original broadcast order. This ordering creates certain problems continuity wise sadly. The first instance of this is the episodes Pumm-Ra and Trouble With Time. In Trouble With Time at the very start Lion-o is being impatient and takes the Thundertank for a joy ride before his first driving lesson, but in Pumm-Ra which is placed before this on the DVD set, Lion-o is already compently driving the Thundertank. The ordering also effects the continuity between the episodes Lord of the Snows and Space Beneath the Sands as well. In Spaceship Beneath the Sands the mutants regain access to their spaceship enabling them to salvage equipment from it (like the Thundercats did with theirs) to aide them in battle. This is obviously how they managed to call their mutant armies in, as well as Vultureman from Planet Plundarr. However in the episode Lord of the Snows which is placed before this on the DVD set, Vultureman makes his debut in his Flying Machine! I believe these are the only 2 instances in this set where continuity suffers from the choice of the episodes being presented in broadcast order, rather than production order.
Now let's take a little look at the best episodes from this set and ones I reccommend you definately check out if you have little time to watch the whole set.....
Exodus and The Unholy Alliance
These episodes are a must seeing as these started the series off! We are introduced to the Thundercat nobles just as their home planet, Thundera is destroyed. The Thundercats are looking for a new home while being pursued by their mortal enemies, the Mutants of Planet Plundarr. The Mutants are in pursuit of the Eye of Thundera, which they believe holds magnificent powers they want to use for evil. The Thundercats crash land on Third Earth, where an ancient evil dwells and his awakened by the arrivial of the Eye of Thundera!
These episodes were an excellent pilot and very enjoyable. It's worth noting here that the version of Exodus presented in this boxset is the 'TV' edit version. An extended version of Exodus exists containing extra scenes such as Tygra stating he always thought the Eye of Thundera was a legend or myth, as well as a very emotional Wilykit reluctantly agreeing with Jaga that he should sacrafice himself to pilot the ship to Third Earth to save the Thundercats. Unfortunately it's unlikely this version will be released on DVD anytime soon, but it was released in the late 1980's on VHS video. So if you want to check it out, it's certainly worth looking for it on places like Ebay. As for The Unholy Alliance, the version presented on the DVD is the full uncut version as far as I'm aware. Both episodes get a 9/10.
Pumm-Ra
After their failed seperate attempts in the pilot, this is the first time the Mutants and Mumm-Ra form a plan together to steal the Sword of Omens. From this episode we see that they do not trust each other, but realise if they are to thwart the Thundercats they must work together. This episode is interesting to see how clever Mumm-Ra really is playing on the Thundercats vulnerability after losing their countrymen when Thundera was destroyed that it would be very likely they would jump at the chance of accepting a Thunderian into their home. This is also the first time all the Thundercats meet Mumm-Ra face to face and discover he has been a resident on Third Earth for five thousand years! I'm giving this a 8/10.
Trouble With Time
In this episode we discover how important Thundrillium is to the Thundercats, which is their fuel to power their home and vehicles. This is also our introduction to the Warrior Maidens (in particular Queen Willa and her sister Nayda) We also see how value Cheetara is the Thundercats and how dangerous Third Earth can be! Definately a great episode and gets an 8/10.
The Garden of Delights
This episode has to been one of the most strange and fasinating episodes of the entire series! It is very surreal and I think you will really enjoy this episode for it's weirdness. In this episode Tygra gets addicted to a strange fruit given to him by Silky, a strange plant creature who dwells in the Garden of Delights. However Silky is not exactly what she seems! Seeing Tygra high on this fruit (a metaphor for drugs) certainly has a very big moral inside this episode in the fact not to accept food or anything else from strangers and most important not to use drugs. The fruit in this episode is like LSD as Tygra sees things that are not there, thinks he is flying and has a feeling of utter Euphoria. Even if your an old cynic and don't want morals pushed down your throat, still be sure to check this episode out as it is very interesting at best! In my opinion this is the 2nd best episode of the entire boxset and gets a 10/10.
The Ghost Warrior
In this episode we are introduced to a strange being named Grune The Destroyer who turns out to be a very old friend of Jaga's as well as something more! Here we learn more about what happened on Thundera during Jaga's time there. In this episode Jaga states one of the most wise words of wisdom from the whole series "Better an honest enemy, than a false friend" Even though we are talking about a line from a cartoon series here, I believe this holds true in real life and it is indeed better to know that someone is against you rather than them pretend to be on your side while back stabbing you at the same time. I think this scenario is excellently put across in this episode and I'm giving it a 8/10.
Lord of the Snows
In my opinion some of the best episodes feature the Mutants as they are my favourite villians of the series. I've given this episode a nod seeing as Vultureman makes his debut in this episode. We are also introduced to Snowman of Hook Mountain. The episode is cool enough (afterall it features the Mutants) but aside from Lion-o and Snarf, the other Thundercats feature very little in this episode, which is why I'm giving it a 7/10.
The Spaceship Beneath the Sands
I feel this is quite an important episode to see as like I'd mentioned above, the Mutants retrieve the spaceship and the equipment contained within it. This is certainly a turning point in the series seeing as now the Mutants have technology to match (maybe even rival) that of the Thundercats it steps things up a little bit. It also explains how the three Mutant leaders managed to call it Vultureman, their Simian, Jackalmen and Reptillian armies as well as Ratar-o in a 2-part story found later in this DVD set. Definately a cool episode, so it gets 9/10.
The Fireballs of Plundarr
This is a great episode if your a fan of Tygra, as he features heavily in this and this is also the second time out for Queen Willa of the Warrior Maidens. It's also an excellent follow up to The Spaceship Beneath the Sands as we see what the Mutants have managed to create from parts of their spaceship. I'm giving it 8/10.
Mongor
Very cool episode that doesn't feature the Mutants at all. If you know the LJN toyline from the 80's, then you might have the Mongor action figure as a kid. As this is the only episode to ever feature Mongor it's definately worth checking out (especially if you have that old action figure tucked away in the loft!) Gets a 7/10.
Return to Thundera
This is a good follow up episode to The Time Capsule. We see that Lion-o is still very inquisitive and unfortunately gets transported back in time to Thundera the day before it was destroyed. It's an excellent episode for Lion-o's...
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Feel the magic, hear the roar, 6 April 2007
Nostalgia can be a dangerous thing, it can ruin lives. I look at all my childhood figurines - Thundercats, Star Wars, MASK, Action Force, He-Man, etc. - and I now realise how awfully cynical such things were. I was told for many years by peers that Thundercats was one such example of something no longer being any good, and I believed that to be true, not bothering to trawl through ebay for pirate DVDs. But now I've taken the plunge and bought this DVD, and all I have to say to those who have lost faith is... THUNDER... THUNDER... THUNDER... THUNDERCATS - HOOOOOOOOOOO!
Yes, much to the relief of my brain's serotonin levels, Thundercats still has it. Maybe Lion-O is a little too earnest, and maybe Tygra is still an old bore, and maybe the comedy sidekick character Snarf doesn't actually make any sense in the Thundercats universe when you think about it, but the rest is still glorious. Panthro is still a nunchuck-wielding badass (and should be played by Ving Rhames if that proposed live action movie ever turns to reality), Mumm-Ra is still an awesome nemesis, and the Jerry Springfield-style morality speech at the end of each episode goes to show this was a cartoon with a heart. The variety in each episode is also commendable. There's none of that cynical plot/scenario rehashing to be found here, the series revolves around a core narrative.
The artwork is still highly impressive, in a way ahead of its time, pre-dating the West's love affair with anime, but the transfers on this package aren't as good as I'm sure they could have been. Similarly, the lack of bonus material is disappointing. And of course, the biggest downer is that this isn't the entire series and we still have the masterpieces of Lion-O's Anointment Trials to come in subsequent box sets. But overall, it's one trip down Memory Lane that won't end up with a mugging.
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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Blast from the past, 13 Dec 2006
The Thundercats were a huge phenomenon during the 80s and early 90s and still hold its cult status today. While the animation leaves much to be desired by todays standards, the over the top voices and inventive ideas more than make up for it.
During the opening episodes we see the new life of the Thundercats begin and through the series we see more and more excellent characters, both good and evil, develop and influence the future of the series.
It is clear throughout that Lion-O is a boy trapped in a man's body and this is shown well through the trouble he gets in; he more than makes up for this when he ends up saving everyone.
Even today there are still debates about the Thundercats - namely is Third Earth really our own Planet Earth in the future?
Whatever you think of the Thundercats you have to admit that the best line of the series still holds power today. So for all kids and adults alike...
Thundercats...Ho!!!!!!
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