Thundercats

ThunderCats is an American animated television series developed by Rankin/Bass and distributed by Lorimar-Telepictures in 1983 based on the characters created by Tobin "Ted" Wolf. The animation was provided by Topcraft, a Japanese group who would later go on to form Studio Ghibli. more...

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Season 1 was shown in 1985 (65 episodes), followed by a TV movie entitled ThunderCats - HO! in 1986. Seasons 2, 3, and 4 followed a new format of 20 episodes each, starting with a five-part story. They aired from 1987 to 1988, 1988 to 1989, and 1989 to 1990, respectively.

On March 17, 1997, ThunderCats was the first series seen on Cartoon Network's new action-animation afternoon block, Toonami. The series would depart and return in various timeslots including Saturday mornings and late night marathons until 2002. A game was even created for Cartoon Network's official web site that allows visitors to play as Lion-O and rescue fellow ThunderCats while venturing Mumm-Ra's tomb.

There were also several comic-book series produced: Marvel Comics' version, 1985 to 1988; and two series by Wildstorm, an imprint of DC Comics, beginning in 2003. The Wildstorm-produced comics were created to tie-in with a wide range of merchandising which pre-dated the show. Items of clothing featuring the ThunderCats logo have enjoyed a resurgence in recent years.

Overview

ThunderCats offered a long-running battle between good (the ThunderCats) and evil (the Mutants/Mumm-Ra), set in a milieu that combined high technology and hand-to-hand combat. The ThunderCats are humanoids with distinct feline appearances, while the Mutants are a rag-tag group of uglies, all of them a form of anthropomorphism.

Throughout most of the series, the action is set on a planet called "Third Earth" (i.e., the third age of Earth). It is unclear whether this is meant to be our future Earth or an alternate reality version of the planet. However, both visual and verbal references to ancient Egyptian culture during the series seem to indicate that the planet is a future version of our Earth.

Both the ThunderCats and the Mutants are non-natives. The ThunderCats fled their home planet, Thundera, as it was being destroyed by the Sword of Plun-Darr's magic; and the Mutants from the planet Plun-Darr pursued them, seemingly annihilating all ships and their occupants (the entire remaining population of Thundera) except for the flagship, which contained the Sword Of Omens, an artifact the Plun-Darrs desired. They fail to fight the now combat-ready ThunderCats and are driven back. They decide to travel to the nearest system with a hospitable planet. They enter cryopods, except for one who stays back to pilot the ship during the long trip. The ThunderCats bring to Third Earth their code of Truth, Justice, Honor, Loyalty, which threatens the evil dominion of Mumm-Ra, an ancient devil priest of First Earth.

The Mutants and Mumm-Ra seek to possess the magic Eye of Thundera, the source of the ThunderCats' power, embedded in the hilt of the mystic Sword of Omens. The battle for ownership of the Eye fuels the conflict between the ThunderCats and their enemies at first; but eventually, the Mutants and Mumm-Ra want nothing more than to retake Third Earth in the name of evil and do away with the ThunderCats entirely.

Read more at Wikipedia.org