"ThunderCats Roar" News & Discussion Thread

[harry580]

i think the show as controversial from the day the show was announced

 

[NeoplanDan]

i think the show as controversial from the day the show was announced

"Controversial", as of fans that rooted against the reboot. This is nothing new compared to other reboots that fans from the original series, are against it.

Sent from my LM-X420 using Tapatalk

 

[Checkerboard]

Kinda sad to see it go as well, it was fun, but it did end up with more episodes than I thought which would make for two seasons easily if split, so...

 

[Fone Bone]

ThunderCat Roar! "Mandora's Law"

Wilykit wants to be like Mandora when she grows up.

Brutemen, huh? Just as useless as on the old show.

Ironically, despite the ThunderCats being defeated, so is Mumm-Ra. It's very weird that in failing to stop their Little Bads, Tygra accidentally took out their Big Bad. I loved that bit.

Fun. ****.

ThunderCats Roar! "Thunder Road"

The Thundertank and Fistpounder are from the old show, but Mumm-Ra didn't used to have a vehicle. It looks a lot like the Munsters' car.

I like that Tygra and Mumm-Ra's bromance is a thing, but here they hint there is a sexual undercurrent to it as well.

All right, but nothing special. ***.

ThunderCats Roar! "Corporate Buyout"

I didn't understand the premise at first. Why does Cheetara have a company? I had totally forgot it was set up in an earlier episode, so I was confused for most of it. *.

ThunderCats Roar! "Hachiman"

I loved Hachiman as a kid, because he was a rare actual human from a culture that was recognizable to me. Upon seeing his episodes again as an adult, I realize how utterly racist the character's portrayal actually was, which didn't make me feel great in hindsight. Peter Newman's performance was absolutely ugly. It also made me understand why 2011 didn't touch him with a ten foot pole.

The actual solution? Don't do the racist stuff! The character is cooler without it. Staples! That was easy!

Strong opinion: The original ThunderCats cartoon was way more boring than the SilverHawks cartoon, even if you factor in the Copper Kid's dull science lessons at the end. Every time I watch the SilverHawks show now I wonder exactly how much LSD the producers must have been on when they were creating the characters.

I love how the Copper Kid's voice is a dial-up modem here. To be fair, it only sounds slightly more obnoxious than his real voice actually did.

Fun stuff especially because the episode gave me a cool Hachiman I could love without feeling bad about it years later. ****1/2.

ThunderCats Roar! "Schnorp"

During the first two seasons of Teen Titans Go!, I made a rule when reviewing the episodes. I was not able to stick to this rule as the series progressed, but I'm going to apply it to this show, and hope for the best. The rule was pretty simple:

If Teen Titans Go! produced an episode that took absolutely NO advantage of the DC Comics or superhero premise, and the exact same plot could be done on Regular Show or Gumball, I used to give the episode zero stars on general principle. Once half the episodes turned into that, it was no longer feasable, but it might work for this show because it is far nerdier to the core premise than TTG often is.

But this was by definition a "Regular Show" episode that wasted the characters and the premise. I'm giving it a zero and hoping I won't have to do this a ton more times. 0.

ThunderCats Roar! "Berb-Cules"

I like it.

The ending was just great on every level. First off, the animation on this show is dynamite. It's shameful that this parody's action sequences are better boarded and animated than 2011. But I'm coming to believe 2011 was a terrible show altogether. It doesn't actually shock me.

The second thing is the idea that they will have one evil Berbil left over and it will probably never come up. Which really makes me wish there had been a season 2.

I also enjoyed the Berbils clarifying to Panthro that they should simply do what they had been doing all along, and calling Panthro wise when he affirms that. I think that was some actual robot shade being thrown right there. And being robots means they can pull the deadpan thing off.

Vultron has already been taken. Good joke.

Fun stuff. ****.

ThunderCats Roar! "Pumm-Ra"

I thought the ending was very funny (Tygra is even more put-upon then usual, and I love what an easy fix the solution turned out to be) but I was disappointed. Just because this version of Pumm-Ra is all wrong, and done as a punchline.

Let me be candid: The Pumm-Ra episode of the Rankin-Bass cartoon ain't all that great. But Pumm-Ra definitely had a toyetic design. In fact Super 7 is coming out with an action figure of him later this year. He's not one of the more memorable villains or from one of the best episodes. But he made SOME sort of impression. I think his portrayal here is about as off as this show's version of the Warrior Maidens. Seeing as Pumm-Ra on both this show and the old one simply amount to one-episode fake-outs, it's less of a sin than the Warrior Maidens. But it's still annoying.

The episode did a funny joke and a smart, true joke. The funny joke was upon Pumm-Ra declaring his intention to consume a live mouse Cheetara quietly saying, "You're weird..." in a disturbed and concerned voice. Her actress' delivery of that line was absolutely sublime and comedy gold.

The second joke I loved was the Ancient Spirits of Evil being mad that Mumm-Ra always name-drops them in his schemes, and winds up beefing his missions, thereby making them look bad to total strangers. I especially love that in a show based entirely on merchandise, that the Ultimate Evils recognize the value of Brand Recognition better than anyone else. That tickles me so.

But outside of that, and a ending that was funny because it was stupid and rushed, I was disappointed. **1/2.

ThunderCats Roar! "King Of The Machines"

I love Barbastella. The kiss she gives Panthro at the end of the episode was very sweet.

First LGBT relationship in the ThunderCats franchise.

I wasn't wowed with Panthro's fight with the rat swarm at the end. The animation was a bit choppy and the rats ill-defined as a budget short-cut. The show has done much better climaxes in the past.

Pretty good otherwise though. ***1/2.

ThunderCats Roar! "Sword Heist"

I was hoping Quickpick would appear in this episode based on the premise.

Lion-S vs Mandora is a rematch I want to see. A shame there will be no season two.

Good. ***1/2.

ThunderCats Roar! "Claudus"

Bombshell! Lion-S is Lion-O's sister! Oh, snap!

I like Cheetara calling Claudus a dink. He totally is.

I repeat: I wish there was a Season 2. ***1/2.

ThunderCats Roar! "Telethon"

This is this show's version of Cheetara’s Sixth Sense, although the implications are far more sinister.

I love that the Mutants performed in the telethon and that Mumm-Ra was in the audience.

Hachiman also appeared and the Snowman cameoed.

The animation in the mindscape was trippy.

I like that they made fun of the unresolved ending.

Cute. ***1/2.

ThunderCats Roar! "Mall-Ra"

I like the ThunderCats decided they weren't going to hang out at the same mall Mumm-Ra does.

I like that the little Mumm-Ras Mumm-Ra creates out of his body consider him their dad.

Mumm-Ra trying to convince himself to take the win was funny.

Speaking of which, I loved the Ancient Spirit of Evil asking his friends if there was another evil Mummy Wizard they could work with. It was funny because it was still using that weird, echoing singsong voice.

Funny stuff. ****.

ThunderCats Roar! "Eclipsorr"

The Feliner! I always regret they never made a toy of that when I was a kid.

Eclipsorr is an amusing cross between a PR flack, a CEO, and tech support. A Bill Lumburgh sort of deal. His language and speaking style are all designed to be soothing and frustrating at the exact same time.

I love that Panthro hasn’t forgot Barbastella.

Like the cameos of the Berserkers.

Cool episode! And it has a Dyson Sphere! ****.

ThunderCats Roar! "Wizz-Ra"

Grune foreshadowing in the book.

I think for Tygra’s rant, the terrible character designs worked against the show. That was some ugly animation right there.

I didn’t love it. **.

ThunderCats Roar! "ThunderDogs"

Ma-Mutt! What they should have done is have the ThunderCats name him Ravage, and Mumm-Ra rename him Ma-Mutt. Fans of the toyline would get it.

Driller and Warrior Maiden cameos. But the hillbilly Balkans were not funny at all.

Mumm-Ra and the Ancient Spirits of Evil keep showing their antipathy for each other.

The Golrokrok from the old show had the weirdest name.

Pretty funny and cute. ****.

ThunderCats Roar! "Mini Mongor"

Mongor was the character on the old show who scared me the most. It was the creepy goat voice, the glowing eyes, and the scythe that did it. Seriously freaked me out.

I like Wilykit calling him a drag.

I like Wilykat realizing he didn’t have “a thing”.

Panthro picked a poor time for personal growth.

Man, this show is getting to everything! I wish 2011 had been this thorough, but it’s almost like that show didn’t even like the property. The producers of Roar seem to actually be fans. ****1/2.

ThunderCats Roar! "Swampy Johnny"

I remember the Terators from the original series.

The episode was a bit silly but I like a little silly. ***.

ThunderCats Roar! "Tygra's Garden"

It’s interesting. Mind Control is the bogus excuse Tygra always uses for his friendship with Mumm-Ra. So when Mumm-Ra actually mind controls him into dating and marrying him using mind control for real, I like that none of the other ThunderCats believe that is the case. There is in fact an actual argument to be made that Mumm-Ra and Tygra are really the Starcrossed Romance of the series.

The Garden Of Delights was a very creepy episode of the original series, and this parody doesn’t exactly do it justice. But the ending was pretty great. I can’t deny that. ***1/2.

ThunderCats Roar! "The Space Beam"

That ending was unnecessarily mean. Plus, they blew up the Lunatacs before the ThunderCats even got a chance to fight them! But seeing Luna and Illuro (and Amok’s horns) means that pretty much Lynx-O, Pumyra, and Bengali are the only major original things Roar never got around to. The show’s nerdiness puts 2011 to shame. I often felt 2011 wasn’t even ABOUT the ThunderCats premise. This is far closer in tone to the original show.

How can I say that? Because 2011 took itself too seriously. This is a parody of the original show. But have you ever watched the original show? It’s practically a parody of itself. Which makes this show’s tone closer to the original than 2011 is. You can argue that 2011 is a better show. I won’t agree, but I’ll respect the argument. But I don’t seriously believe it’s possible to argue 2011 was a more FAITHFUL show. It was a quest show made by producers unable to sell their idea itself, so they piggybacked on the ThunderCats brand to tell a story entirely outside of what the premise was supposed to be about. The old show was simply weird heroes fighting weird villains. And that’s what this show is too. I don’t think this show is perfect. I wouldn’t even go so far as to say I love it. But I think it’s a far worthier entry into this specific franchise than 2011 ever was. 2011 was invested in creating its own world. Roar plays with the world Rankin Bass already created. And I enjoy it far more for that.

But this specific episode was something I had mixed feelings towards. ***.

ThunderCats Roar! "Plundsmas"

So this was apparently aired out of order. The episode where Mandora puts Santa in prison has still yet to air. But I’m glad they aired it immediately following the last episode.

There is fall-out here to Plun-Darr being destroyed. The Mutants are actually depressed about it. Slithe refuses to believe anything good (or rather bad) is still possible for them. It’s not just forgotten the next episode as if it were a cheap joke (which the end of the last episode annoyingly treated it as). And I love Slithe turning into the reformed Grinch at the end.

I have a weird note: I had never EVER heard of Krampus as a kid and now he’s like in everything. This show, Grimm, American Dad!, he even had a movie based on him. This is apparently a longstanding Christmas myth. How is it these projects are the first I ever heard of him? Kramporg is a pretty good take, I must say. Even if he obviously won’t be able to actually grant the Mutants’ wish to destroy the ThunderCats.

I needed that. ****1/2.

ThunderCats Roar! "Killing Time"

I loved it.

This says that as annoying as they are, the ThunderCats are clearly a net positive to Earth.

We should have seen Lynx-O, Bengali, and Pumyra in the future. It would have been our only chance to get to them.

I like that the show remembered its time travel rules and kept an extra Mumm-Ra double lying around at the end. I also love Ma-Mutt using the Ancient Spirits as a litter box. Does Mumm-Ra even know how dogs work?

SO much fun. *****.

ThunderCats Roar! "Grune"

If that’s not my favorite episode, it’s up there.

Grune is the GOOD guy, and Jaga and Claudus were the bad guys! What a provocative and unexpected message! Equally impressive and shocking is him and the ThunderCats making peace and becoming friends at the end. If the last incarnation can turn Pumyra evil for a lame reason, I think Roar can turn Grune good for a decent one.

Laser-bagels. Love it.

Honestly, how great was that? *****.

ThunderCats Roar! "The First Thundsgiving"

When Wilykit thought the giant bird eats the eggs I thought she was stupid. When it turned out she was right, I thought the show was clever instead.

I liked Panthro telling the story of the Aqua-hornets to Cheetara.

Tygra being happy at the end of the episode was nice. Poor guy is usually put-upon.

Decent but not amazing. ***.

 

[Light Lucario]

A part of me is kind of surprised that this show is seemingly being cancelled so fast. I also would have expected a reboot of a nostalgic property to also last at least two seasons, especially when they did make that TTG crossover episode awhile ago. But at the same time, I really don't think that this show got much promotion after it premiered or a lot of airtime on the Cartoon Network schedule. Granted, it might be too hard for me to judge those aspects when I primarily watch Cartoon Network On Demand, but I still see their live schedule from time to time and I haven't seen much of ThunderCats Roar there for quite awhile.

I wasn't really into the series, but I do feel bad for the people involved. A lot of them sounded excited for the reboot at the beginning and a lot of hate for it went too far. I can understand not liking the series or the notion of another comedy reboot, but some people harassed the production crew, which is just not okay. Hopefully the production crew will be able to work on new projects.

 

[SweetShop209]

Series co-creator Marly Halpern Graser also co-created Yabba Dabba Dinosaurs, which also had a mixed reception and was also canned after 1 season. With these two shows and Right Now Kapow (which he also co-created and also lasted one season), I feel really bad for him.

 

[Jonwo]

The Thundercats franchise can't seem to do well in modern times given how this series and the 2011 series were cancelled after one season.

I imagine the next attempt will be either a CGI reboot or a live action film.

 

[Fone Bone]

ThunderCats Roar! "Mandora Saves Christmas"

Underwhelming series finale.

ThunderCats Ho Ho Ho! They pretty much had to do it.

"U mind-controlled my heart" pretty much states once and for all that Tygra and Mumm-Ra are a couple.

This was not an appropriate series finale, but frankly, I don't think the show should have been canceled to begin with. It looks like we really AREN'T getting what we want for Christmas. Thanks a lot, Mandora. Also Obama, (but that one goes without saying.) ***.

 

[Vuxovich]

Now that the ThunderCats Roar is over, I hope we can hope about the return of the 2011 ThunderCats show. How about that?

 

[Tacomaster]

Nope. Nuh-uh. Never gonna happen.

 

[Vuxovich]

Nope. Nuh-uh. Never gonna happen.

Not so sure! Why do you think the 2011 ThunderCats reboot will not return?

 

[Tacomaster]

It's been literally YEARS since it even aired last, and the fact that Thundercats Roar exists at all means they're planning a different direction for the franchise.

 

[ShadowBeast]

It's been literally YEARS since it even aired last, and the fact that Thundercats Roar exists at all means they're planning a different direction for the franchise.

Plus with the direction the creator had intended for the show, Thundercats 2011 is better off not continuing.

 

[Vuxovich]

Thundercats 2011 is better off not continuing.

Why?! Is ThunderCats 2011 non-canon or non-fanon to the entire ThunderCats franchise?

 

[ShadowBeast]

Why?! Is ThunderCats 2011 non-canon or non-fanon to the entire ThunderCats franchise?

No, I'm referring to what the creator of the series had planned for the series after season 1. Pumyra turning into a monster bug and the constant time-skips that were planned.

 

[MegasMilo379]

Super bummed that Roar ended after its first (and now only) season, but I very much enjoyed it while it aired. Thank goodness for my DVR though;
I would've missed an episode when it was new.

 

[J.T. Drago]

Not gonna lie, I can't remember a whole bunch about TC2011 other than some bits and bobs. Felt like it was going in the direction of Avatar and Korra in terms of tone, but much more serious.

To be brutally honest, with the way the fandom reacted to Roar, harrassing and threatening the staff and those who support it (Courtright's Twitter is still in protection mode), scaring animators, disrespecting artists who drew in the "CalArts style," sowing fear of reboots being drawn in said "style," among other things, reviving 2011 would be rewarding them for their behavior and Roar being cancelled is already a pretty big reward to them, I'm sure. I don't think even the Teen Titans fandom got this bad when it came to TTG. Could be wrong though. I'm not gonna deny there are people who criticized Roar in a much more mature manner, but it was drowned out by the outrage, unfortunately.

Also if the Teen Titans Roar episode is any indication, what with the episode being written by one of the developers of TC2011, safe to say Warner Brothers were not happy about the fandom's behavior as well.

Considering 2011 (serious) and Roar (comical) didn't last more than a season it'll probably be another long time till we see Thundercats come back. Unless someone pulls a Lego and does another cheap knockoff. At least with Roar, you can tell the staff were having fun with the series and I feel really bad for them.

And this might not be a factor into anything, but apparently Studio 4C, the ones that animated TC2011 had a lawsuit filed against them earlier this year for labor abuse and not paying their employees for working overtime.

 

[Corwin Haught]

ThunderCats Roar

February 22 - December 5, 2020

 

[Vuxovich]

Considering 2011 (serious) and Roar (comical) didn't last more than a season it'll probably be another long time till we see Thundercats come back. Unless someone pulls a Lego and does another cheap knockoff. At least with Roar, you can tell the staff were having fun with the series and I feel really bad for them.

I am more inclined that the Legends of Chima was not created as a substitute to the 2011 ThunderCats reboot. The 2011 ThunderCats reboot was canceled either because somebody was so busy with The Legend of Korra, because of Studio 4°C's restructuring or because of the changes done to the Japanese animation industry system. How about that and what do you think?

No, I'm referring to what the creator of the series had planned for the series after season 1. Pumyra turning into a monster bug and the constant time-skips that were planned.

Had the 2011 ThunderCats reboot continued, Snarf's voice actress would have been replaced. How about that and what do you think?

 

[ShadowBeast]

Had the 2011 ThunderCats reboot continued, Snarf's voice actress would have been replaced. How about that and what do you think?

Why would Snarf's voice actress be replaced?