Where’s My ThunderCats Movie?

#TalkNerdyToMeLover’s Awesome Applesauce: Charles Quevedo

I was cleaning out some stuff out of my room today and found a box of comics that I hadn’t seen for a while.  I opened the box and dug through it, finding 4 original “ThunderCats” comic book issues.  Back in the 80’s, “ThunderCats” was my favorite cartoon (“Voltron”, “G.I. Joe”, “Transformers”, and “He-Man” being my other favorites) to watch on Saturday mornings.  Just finding these comics brought back memories.  I hadn’t thought about them in many years.

I decided to hop on the Internet and do some research on them.  I was amazed to discover that in 2007, a “ThunderCats” animated movie was announced to be in the works (originally scheduled for a 2010 release), but recently has been put on hold.

For those of you who don’t know who the “ThunderCats” were, they were the ultimate in awesomeness for children in the 80’s.  Here’s the plot:

 A team of cat-like humanoid aliens, ThunderCats (a sort of Thunderarean royal family), from the planet, “Thundera”, are forced to flee their dying homeworld.  The fleet is attacked is attacked by the Thunderean’s enemies, The Mutants of Plun-Darr, who destroy all the starships in the “ThunderFleet”, but spare the flagship hoping to capture the legendary mystic Sword of Omens they believeis onboard.  The sword holds the Eye of Thundera, the source the Thundercat’s power, which is embedded in the hilt.  Though the Mutants damage the flagship, the power of the Eye drives them back.  The flagship is piloted to the safety of the world of “Third Earth” by the elder, Jaga.  The ship contains Lion-O, the young Lord of the “ThunderCats” (as well as the rest “ThunderCats”: Panthro, Cheetara, Tygra, Wilykit and Wilykat, and Snarf).

When the ThunderCats awake from their suspended animation on Third Earth, Lion-O discovers that his suspension capsule has only slowed his aging, and he is now a child in the body of a man.  They also discover that Jaga had died in the process of the decades-long journey.  Together, the ThunderCats, and the friendly natives of Third Earth construct the “Cat’s Lair” (their new home and headquarters).  Before long, the Mutants have tracked them down to Third Earth.  The intrusion of these two alien species upon the world does not go unnoticed, however — the demonic, mummified sorcerer, Mumm-Ra, recruits the Mutants to aid him in his campaign to acquire the Eye of Thundera and destroy the ThunderCats so that his evil might continue to sway over Third Earth.

I’ve been waiting for a “ThunderCats” movie to come out for years.  I’m disappointed that it hasn’t been made yet.  Hollywood is notorious for announcing film projects, then shelving them years later.  I really DON’T care about a “ThunderCats” animated movie, but if Hollywood ever gets around to making a “ThunderCats” live-action movie in the future (whenever that may be), I have a few suggestions for the film makers :

*DON’T make it too cartoonish (look at what happened to “Speed Racer”).

*Leave out “Snarf”!  It was the most annoying character and was NEVER necessary since it was a talking pet-like creature.

*DON’T give any of the characters Special F/X make-up (doing so would pretty much make it look like a “Cats” musical).  Instead, use the 3-D CGI “image-based facial performance capture” technology (that acquires the actors to wear some special headgears already equipped with cameras) they used for James Cameron‘s “Avatar” movie.  Using that technology for a “ThunderCats” movie would be kick-ass!  By using this kind of technology, would it still be “live-action”?

*Have actor, Vin Diesel, voice “Panthro”.  His deep voice would be perfect for that character!

*Modernize the theme song with synthesizer and electric guitar.

By the way, I’m giving away FREE those 4 “ThunderCats” comic books (issues #2, #3, #5, and #6) that I found among my stuff today.  They are in NEAR MINT condition (placed in plastic sleeves with cardboard backings), hardly even read.  They are from STAR Comics and dated 1986. 

If you would like them, please e-mail me.  First person that writes me about them gets these comics.  Write me at: [email protected]

Follow Charles on Twitter: @FuglyCharlie