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Not to mention, last weeks episode of Thundercats had cameos by Monstar (from Silverhawks) and Mako from Tigersharks (they even referred to the species as Tigersharks!)
We need those guys to be made, too!
Despite its rocky start, the “Thundercats” cartoon is winning me over with surprisingly strong plotting, atmosphere, and use of the property’s potential. (It’s got a long way to go in terms of character, however.)
By comparison, I tried to like the MotU 200X cartoon, and never did. I hated the color pallette, which really drained the life from the largely-terrific 4H figures. The writing felt like an unhealthy compromise between modern cartoons and the hokey elements of the Filmation orginal. I felt like there was a ton of wasted potential.
Sure, I’d be interested in another cartoon using something closer to the sensibilities Mattel has employed with the MotU Classics line, drawing on the best of the property’s appearances on TV, mini-comics, etc. Given that the 200X relaunch flamed out, though, I’m not sure Cartoon Network would even try the property again. And while Mattel put out some terrific (impossible-to-find) figures, I definitely prefer the classics line.
I was never a fan of the original Thundercats but gave the new show a shot anyway. Now I try not to miss an episode. Unfortunately the toys look like toys; glossy, plastic versions of the main characters with absolutely no effort to hide every ugly point of articulation. That seems to be Bandai’s specialty.
As for MOTU… it’s gonna take one hell of a He-Man feature film to get me interested in this kid-friendly, homo-erotic property. It was never my cup of tea and probably never will be.
I loved the Thundercats cartoon in the 80s more than the Masters cartoon, but I liked the Masters toys way better.
We collected 200x Masters heavily, and watched the show religiously; but I’m glad that ship has sailed. MOTUC is what I wanted my toys to look like in 200x.
My kid and I have seen every Thundercats episode (old and new). The kid likes the new show, but I can’t get into it. The old shows, corny and simplistic as they were, are more iconic. The new show will be a flash in the pan, just like 200x Masters. Fun ride while it lasts, but no staying power.
The voice work from the 80s is so much more iconic, for almost all the cartoons which have been revamped in the last decade. Sometimes the old work is so strong it influences the performances of the actors performing the voices on the updates.
And I really hate to say this, sculpts aside, the new Thundercats figures are better toys. We owned and played with almost all the 200x Masters, and we are gaining fast on our new T-cats collection. The Thundercats are more better toys; however, the Masters are better “characters”. By that, I mean, their personalities are more fun for play, compared to the new Thundercats.
Where that is not true, is the Thundercats Classics. Goodness, they are great toys and wonderful characters. We are having so much fun with them.
You know how I know the T-cat Classics are better toys than MOTUC (notice I did not say better sculpts or collectibles)? I can’t hardly put them down or stop posing them. My MOTUC get posed rarely, and put on a shelf until play time. And when I pull them down for play they just remain static until they go back up, because they are a pain to repose and get to stay on the display. Becasue of QC, MOTUC is no fun to play with in the traditional sense.
I’ll give another example. Even though my Classics Lion-O has a loose ankle, his balance is so good he can still handle some extreme one-legged poses without falling over.
I never thought I would rate Bandai America over Mattel, but I am.
That said, I still think the 4H are the best American toy guys in the business. Mattel owes their success in our demographic mostly to them.
being a fan of the original motu line but always thinking the cartoon was a little cheesy plus the last motu cartoon fizzled out without completing the current story line. really am fine with out motu following thudner cats lead and returning to cartoons even though the cartoon would be another way mattel can sell the figures but think thunder cats cartoon has filled that void nicely till it spins off into a new silverhawks one though tiger sharks returning again would be nice.
I find it ironic that Bandai is trying the exact same approach that Mattel attempted almost 10 years earlier. Hopefully, Bandai will have better success than Mattel did. Mattel and Cartoon Network dropped the ball on 200X terribly with a lack of marketing, horrible case ratios filled with endless bad variants and no commercial hype for upcoming episodes.
Not to mention, last weeks episode of Thundercats had cameos by Monstar (from Silverhawks) and Mako from Tigersharks (they even referred to the species as Tigersharks!)
We need those guys to be made, too!
Honestly? No.
Despite its rocky start, the “Thundercats” cartoon is winning me over with surprisingly strong plotting, atmosphere, and use of the property’s potential. (It’s got a long way to go in terms of character, however.)
By comparison, I tried to like the MotU 200X cartoon, and never did. I hated the color pallette, which really drained the life from the largely-terrific 4H figures. The writing felt like an unhealthy compromise between modern cartoons and the hokey elements of the Filmation orginal. I felt like there was a ton of wasted potential.
Sure, I’d be interested in another cartoon using something closer to the sensibilities Mattel has employed with the MotU Classics line, drawing on the best of the property’s appearances on TV, mini-comics, etc. Given that the 200X relaunch flamed out, though, I’m not sure Cartoon Network would even try the property again. And while Mattel put out some terrific (impossible-to-find) figures, I definitely prefer the classics line.
I was never a fan of the original Thundercats but gave the new show a shot anyway. Now I try not to miss an episode. Unfortunately the toys look like toys; glossy, plastic versions of the main characters with absolutely no effort to hide every ugly point of articulation. That seems to be Bandai’s specialty.
As for MOTU… it’s gonna take one hell of a He-Man feature film to get me interested in this kid-friendly, homo-erotic property. It was never my cup of tea and probably never will be.
Not really.
I loved the Thundercats cartoon in the 80s more than the Masters cartoon, but I liked the Masters toys way better.
We collected 200x Masters heavily, and watched the show religiously; but I’m glad that ship has sailed. MOTUC is what I wanted my toys to look like in 200x.
My kid and I have seen every Thundercats episode (old and new). The kid likes the new show, but I can’t get into it. The old shows, corny and simplistic as they were, are more iconic. The new show will be a flash in the pan, just like 200x Masters. Fun ride while it lasts, but no staying power.
The voice work from the 80s is so much more iconic, for almost all the cartoons which have been revamped in the last decade. Sometimes the old work is so strong it influences the performances of the actors performing the voices on the updates.
And I really hate to say this, sculpts aside, the new Thundercats figures are better toys. We owned and played with almost all the 200x Masters, and we are gaining fast on our new T-cats collection. The Thundercats are more better toys; however, the Masters are better “characters”. By that, I mean, their personalities are more fun for play, compared to the new Thundercats.
Where that is not true, is the Thundercats Classics. Goodness, they are great toys and wonderful characters. We are having so much fun with them.
You know how I know the T-cat Classics are better toys than MOTUC (notice I did not say better sculpts or collectibles)? I can’t hardly put them down or stop posing them. My MOTUC get posed rarely, and put on a shelf until play time. And when I pull them down for play they just remain static until they go back up, because they are a pain to repose and get to stay on the display. Becasue of QC, MOTUC is no fun to play with in the traditional sense.
I’ll give another example. Even though my Classics Lion-O has a loose ankle, his balance is so good he can still handle some extreme one-legged poses without falling over.
I never thought I would rate Bandai America over Mattel, but I am.
That said, I still think the 4H are the best American toy guys in the business. Mattel owes their success in our demographic mostly to them.
being a fan of the original motu line but always thinking the cartoon was a little cheesy plus the last motu cartoon fizzled out without completing the current story line. really am fine with out motu following thudner cats lead and returning to cartoons even though the cartoon would be another way mattel can sell the figures but think thunder cats cartoon has filled that void nicely till it spins off into a new silverhawks one though tiger sharks returning again would be nice.
Definitely.
I find it ironic that Bandai is trying the exact same approach that Mattel attempted almost 10 years earlier. Hopefully, Bandai will have better success than Mattel did. Mattel and Cartoon Network dropped the ball on 200X terribly with a lack of marketing, horrible case ratios filled with endless bad variants and no commercial hype for upcoming episodes.