Thundercats 2011! Best new animation show?

It's off to a good start, though it's a odd mix of elements at times. It looks gorgeous, though- almost feature film quality at times. I like the take on the characters- Tigra in particular has a much stronger purpose than in the original show. Jaga has a different role to play (so far) than his Obi-Wan Kenobi ghost role in the original. Cheetara's cleric angle could be good too, and I like the kittens so far as well. Snarf also doesn't talk, which is another plus.

The more epic serial structure, like a fantasy story mixed with a post-Troy concept, works very well too- though I miss the cryo-aging angle for Lion-O, having everything take place on the same planet gives greater motivation to the lizards, cats and Mumm-ra (who, in the original series, kinda just seemed like he was ****ing with people because they were on his lawn).

At the same time, there's plenty for original series fans to enjoy here- from new characters that would fit right in with the 80's series (like the pirate fish people) to the very nice nod of having Lion-O's father being voiced by the original Lion-O voice actor (works as both a cameo and a meta-nod in a "previous Lord of the ThunderCats" way).

However, so far I'm not sold on the new voice for Mumm-ra, as it has more of a Starscream quality to it than the more gravelly original. I also don't like the redesign of Slythe- while he's recognizable, the slight changes make him look like more of a mixture of Kraid and the Creature From the Black Lagoon.

(It's a small thing, but since the original Slythe has always represented my (canonicly incorrect) mental picture of Saba, it bugs me more. )


The series also has some weird quirks. They didn't try in any way, shape or form, to disguise the blatant Moby Dick story of the 2nd episode; and the 3rd episode's leaf people felt like they were from an abandoned Miyazaki film (building up to a flashback montage consisting of almost all of a character's limited screentime, which amusingly kinda defeats the purpose of an emotional highlights flashback like that ). The random end of that episode (prior to the rescue) felt odd too.

Still, really dig the look, the structure and the story, so far. Here's hoping it keeps it up and pays off.

ThunderCats- HOOOOOOOOO!!!