Product Details

• Actors: Emmanuelle Chriqui, Clancy Brown, Will Friedle, Dee Bradley Baker, Kevin Michael Richardson
• Writers: Todd Casey, Brandon Easton
• Producers: Sam Register, Michael Jelenic, Ethan Spaulding
• Format: Animated, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Cartoon Network
• DVD Release Date: October 18, 2011
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B005G7WGLS
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,864 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Produced by Rankin-Bass, the original ThunderCats (1985) was one of the toy-based sword-and-sorcery programs created for syndication in the mid to late '80s: the era of He-Man and She-Ra. For the new version, the characters have been redesigned--to match a new line of toys. Once again, the story takes place on the "Third Earth," a planet inhabited by creatures who resemble human-animal chimeras. The feline ThunderCats rule the Kingdom of Thunderra at the expense of other species until their old enemy, the living mummy Mumm-Ra, attacks with an army of lizard-men and a lot of high-tech weaponry. King Claudus is killed, leaving Prince Lion-O the enchanted Sword of Omens. Lion-O must find the Book of Omens and reclaim his kingdom, with the help of his brother Tygra, loyal general Panthro, the obnoxious kids Wilykit and Wilykat, and Cheetara (whose eye-spots make her look something like Annie Lennox). Despite the addition of the poorly integrated CG effects and mecha, ThunderCats feels hopelessly dated. The character development is minimal, and the voice actors deliver all the dialogue in hammy tones. When Lion-O draws his sword and intones, "ThunderCats, Ho!" the impression is more camp than heroic. Despite the many battle scenes and duels, there's not much sense of a narrative thrust. Lion-O and company wander around Third Earth, learning occasional Life Lessons, but there's no sense of much being at stake, let alone a kingdom. The tanks, robots, and arms Mumm-Ra's minions deploy are too obviously available at local toy stores. At a time when Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Bleach, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and Gurren Lagann have offered new visions of what a fantasy-adventure can be, ThunderCats feels as passé as an Archies 45. (Not rated; suitable for ages 8 and older: minor violence) --Charles Solomon

(1. Omens Part One, 2. Omens Part Two, 3. Ramlak Rising, 4. Song of the Petalars, 5. Old Friends, 6. Journey to the Tower of the Omens, 7. Legacy, 8. The Duelist and the Drifter)

Product Description

A betrayal. A reluctant leader. A journey like no other. A roaring return for a mighty menagerie of animation icons. The Thundercats are back in an all-new animated series that purrs with sensational stories starring favorite characters. The exciting first eight episodes roar into action with the evil Mumm-Ra’s attack on the city of Thundera that destroys the cat civilization, leaving only a band of survivors – Tygra, Panthro, Snarf, Cheetara, Wily Kit and Wily Kat – and young prince Lion-O, the surviving ruler of his people. As the threats of Mumm-Ra ring in their ears, these determined cats know what they must do: find the Book of Omens, which holds the key to their future. Using his powerful Sword of Omens to achieve “sight beyond sight,” Lion-O guides his friends across the lands, facing vicious foes and making new allies. Prowl with the Thundercats through their all-new adventure series to the legendary temple that conceals their ancient secrets!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Modern Fantasy September 17, 2011

By P.J. Grodim

Format:DVD

This show is extremely well done.Lets pretend there was no original series for a moment.On its own this is an awesome fantasy.The world is very detailed and the animation is fluid.The voice acting is spot on and each character maintains their own personality.Unavoidable cliches aside; this is how modern cartoons should be made.The color scheme is vibrant and pays homage to the 80s(neon pinks,blues,greens,etc). It borrows just enough from anime without ripping anything off directly and adds a nice fresh feel to it.In a slew of mediocre cartoons this is a welcomed surprise.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is how you do a reboot....! October 20, 2011

By David Blount

Format:DVD

Thunder---Thunder---Thunder----THUNDERCATS HOOOOOOOOOO!!!! I bought this DVD a few days ago and I have to say I love the reboot to an old classic TV show. In this reboot Lion-O is a prince to a colony of cat-like people when one day an act of good will back fires and the city of Thundara get's destoryed by an army of Lizardmen. Now Lion-O, Tigra, Cheetara, Wily-Kit & Kat and Panthro must travel Third Earth to find the Book of Omens. The art work is top notch and all the episodes (which I saw on Cartoon Network) have great stories and action in them. This DVD comes with the first 8 episodes on two disk.
Disk one has:
Omens 1.
Omens 2.
Ramlak Rising.
Song of the Petalars (This one is really a nice and touching episode).

Disk 2:
Old Friends.
Journey to the Tower of Omens.
Legacy.
The Duelist and the Drifter.

This really is a great reboot to an old classic show that I grew up with. Also what's cool the voice of the original Lion-O from the old series plays as Lion-O's father in the episodes Omens 1 & 2. Honestly if you love Thundercats---give this new show a shot.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars You gotta close that screen door - Thundercats are loose November 3, 2011

By H. Bala TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Not that THUNDERCATS required a reboot, but here it is anyway, and it turns out to be the good sauce. This new version reimagines the characters some but, with the exception of Tygra, the relationship dynamics are pretty familiar. On Third Earth, the Kingdom of Thundera is regarded as the most powerful and the most fecund, this realm lorded over by the mighty Thundercats, to the envy of the other sentient beasts who must resort to fighting over scraps. "Ruling with a just heart and razor claw..." Such is the hubris of the cats that they're caught ill-prepared when the Lizard army invades, bringing to bear its salvaged hi-tech weaponry and a deep-seated coveting for what the cats have. In this battle, the Thunderan King, Claudus, falls and his unprepared heir, Lion-O, must take up the crown. Even though everyone believes that Lion-O's older, stronger, more clever brother, Tygra, is more suited to rule. The only hope now lies in unearthing the long lost mystical Book of Omens. Can the unproven new lord lead the few remaining Thundercats on a quest across perilous uncharted lands, with the frightful Mumm-Ra the Ever-Living, conjurer of foul ancient sorcery, and his bestial minions only whiskers away in pursuit?

And that is the set-up for this revamping.

First off, as someone who'd always found the original Snarf so vexing, I'm ecstatic that this new Snarf is rendered without speech. And I love the visual design on the new Wilykit and Wilykat and happy to see that they remain the same mercurial young tricksters. The early episodes take great pains to reintroduce each of the cast and how he or she fits into the new dynamics. Several of the core characters meet each other for the first time. Wilykat and Wilykit are street savvy urchins out to merrily grift their way thru life, that is, until the Thunderan Empire falls. They quickly latch onto Lion-O and his entourage. Cheetara, super-speed and staff in hand, pulls Lion-O's fat out of the fire and you can't blame Lion-O for harboring an instant crush. Panthro we don't meet until the closing moments of the fourth episode, and he's an older and more hard-bitten warrior than what we're used to. Lion-O's old wise adviser Jaga starts out with a more active role. And Tygra, we already know. Tygra is also this smug jerk at times. Episodes frequently touch on his and Lion-O's ongoing sibling rivalry and how Tygra seems to be juuuust that smidge superior to Lion-O.

THUNDERCATS SEASON ONE, BOOK ONE is obviously not the entire season of this reboot, but it does contain the first eight episodes, and I won't dis that. Narrative continuity is well served here as half the episodes included deal directly with constructing the Thundercats mythos. The two-part debut, "Omens," establishes Thundera and its eventual demise as a kingdom and Lion-O's ascension to the throne. "Old Friends," as seen mostly thru Panthro's eyes, recounts his rise in rank from grunt to trusted officer in King Claudus's army. "Journey to the Tower of Omens" finds Lion-O and his party finally locating the Book of Omens except that they must successfully navigate a series of death traps to get to it. In "Legacy" the Book of Omens entraps Lion-O into experiencing Thundera's very early days.

But those don't fall into my two most favorite episodes in this collection. Instead it's the surprisingly emotional "Song of the Petalars," in which our travelers befriend tiny plant pixies on their pilgrimage home and whose ephemeral lives span the breadth of one day. And "The Duelist and the Drifter," in which Lion-O while seeking supplies wanders into a bladesman's town where everyone engages in sword duels. The titular characters in this episode are pretty awesome, especially the (literally) Drifter. Meanwhile, "Ramlak Rising" offers the irony of fish-men crewing a ship navigating thru a sea of sand, fish-men with a craving for tasty Thundercat flesh.

I would never say that the 1980s series wasn't imaginative. It was very imaginative; it presented a compelling overarching story. Except that those individual episodes sometimes came off as very shallow stuff, written perfunctorily. This new series applies a richer, more latticed form of storytelling. It injects more depth and more character work. It feels more nuanced. The animation is tight with a clear anime influence, and they've stepped up the action sequences. The only thing I'm missing, really, is the ridiculously catchy original theme song. And, sorry, I still prefer how the original Cheetara looked. If I were to do a Top Five of sexiest animated female characters, Cheetara would easily make it. And if you're jonesing for Lion-O's awesome battle cry as he channels the Sword of Omens - "Thunder... Thunder... Thundercats! Ho!" - rest assured, bro, that's still there, even if the delivery's a bit different.

This two-disc DVD set coughs up a hairball with its absolute lack of bonus features. That's not exactly demonstrating sight beyond sight.