![]() Wild youths Wilykit and Wilykat are here too, street urchins who will obviously have a vital role to fulfill when the ThunderCats are driven from their den. The new Lion-O also has a loyal pet named Snarf, just like the old, although this one’s not nearly as annoying because he cannot talk (as of yet). (Tygra is the more natural choice to be king, but the throne is Lion-O’s by virtue of his lion bloodline’s majesty.) Cheetara exists in this age too, but now she is one of an order of clerics sworn to defend the royal bloodline. This generations’ Lion-O, a rambunctious youth fascinated by tales of tech, must step up out of the imposing shadow of his father and his more responsible brother, Tygra. The Cats are the unchallenged lords of Third Earth … until an act of treachery weakens their dynasty and lets Mumm-Ra and his minions enter their citadel to claim the Sword of Omens. Technology is all but gone - a distant memory and, some say, a myth. In the new series, those are times of legend, with Cats having conquered that wild world and defeated (but not destroyed) Mumm-Ra and the mutants. ![]() No mere reboot, the new ThunderCats takes place ages after the old series, in which the heroes fled their ravaged world of Thundera to settle on Third Earth, where they contended with vicious animal mutants and the ancient evil Mumm-Ra. And while it’s a world apart from the original in terms of animation with its strikingly anime look, the story owes much to the classic incarnation. Cartoon Network’s version of the 1980s animated series hit on Friday with a special one-hour premiere. For tweens who can handle this level of intensity, though, there are some decent takeaways in Lion-O's commitment to his own value system and the heroes' willingness to set aside their differences, rely on each other's strengths, and work as a team for the common goal of survival.Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Email There's no gore, but palpable danger lurks around every corner, and the villains are a pretty scary bunch. Parents' main concern with ThunderCats will be its violent content, since the combat scenes can get intense, and death by explosions, weapons, and hand-to-hand fighting occur on a regular basis. Good and evil, sibling rivalry, and personal responsibility are major themes in this high-adventure cartoon, which has the potential for cross-generational appeal. The story picks up approximately where the old series left off, taking a few small liberties with characterizations (Tygra is now Lion-O's adopted brother, and Snarf doesn't talk, for instance) to improve on the original, but sticking closely enough to its predecessor to maintain continuity. THUNDERCATS is a reimagining of the '80s cartoon of the same name, and now-adult fans with fond memories of the original will revel in how the new animation revives their favorite characters. Did the cats bring this on themselves? What kind of future is Lion-O fighting for? ![]() Younger kids will probably miss all of this, and just latch on to the cats as the obvious good guys but it really raises interesting questions for older kids. But he never seems to question his right to the throne when the time comes, though it is implied that he would be a more enlightened king if he still had a kingdom. Lion-O rebels against this when he saves two lizard prisoners from being lynched by the cat citizens of Thundera, and in his friendship with a dog who supplies him with ancient technological artifacts. The cats' religious order (of which Cheetara is a warrior/acolyte) supports and defends the king, and does not seem to question the existing order. There seem to be implications of a race/caste system underlying their society. Do the cats rule at the expense of other species? (The lizards, who become the recurring bad guys on the trail of our heroes, insist that they are fighting for their own liberation.) Also, the royal family are lions, so Lion-O inherits the crown instead of his adopted brother, who is a different species. For kids old enough to analyze these things, there is a lot to talk about in the backstory established in the pilot. ![]()
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