Thundercats

THUNDERCATS
Made by: Rankin/Bass
Shown on: BBC1
Years shown: 1985

With its 80s electric guitar-driven theme music, Thundercats was yet another rubbishy cartoon with massive merchandising appeal (people were always having the action figures confiscated at my school.) The cats in question were feline-human crime fighters, who lived on the planet of Thundera, until it was destroyed and they had to escape to the Third Earth. Lion-o was the archetypal egotistical leader, who brandished a Sword of Omens and gave the odd trademark cry of “Thundercats, Ho!”. His second in command was Tygra, whose weapon was a Bolo whip, and who could become invisible at will (strictly for the benefit of the group, of course.) Cheetara was the token glamorous female, with a pretty useless bow-staff, and then there was Panthro, the eldest of the Thundercats, who had to make do with a quote-unquote ‘fighting stick’. For sickeningly-cute factor, there were Wily-Kit and Wily-Kat, the bratty kids; and for the wildly irritating factor, we had Snarf, Lion-o’s former nursemaid, who won’t leave him alone.

One thing that can be said for the shameful display which was Thundercats was that the baddies were genuinely quite scary. The chief antagonist was the terrifying Mumm-ra, a mummy who looked perpetually angry that someone had awaken him from his eternal slumber, and who would shake his bandages when riled. He employed a choice selection of willing mutants, including Slithe, Mankian, Jackalman, Vultureman and Rataro, but why is it that these cronies never have a brain-cell between them, and can be outwitted by a bunch of overgrown cats?

SQUARE EYES RATING 2/10