#Thundercats intro theme series
#Thundercats intro theme tv

These touches werenвЂ™t put in because they were mandated by a committee of people in suits вЂ“ they were drawn and painted because the artists wanted to create something cool-looking. The riot of colour that splashes across the screen as WilyKat throws one of his tiny explosive charges directly at our faces. Only then can you start to see some of the stunning moments that only appear on the screen for a fraction of a second: the look of panic on a mutantвЂ™s face as it passes by the camera in extreme close-up. If you donвЂ™t believe me, head to YouTube and watch the opening again at the slowest possible speed. A level of care and pure love has gone into this 70-second scene that only becomes clear when you start to look at individual frames. In its own way, IвЂ™d argue that it does вЂ“ and for two reasons. Really? Does it really stack up against the best of Disney, Studio Ghibli, Winsor McCay, the Fleischer brothers, Bob Godfrey, Ralph Bakshi, Don Bluth, Chuck Jones or Sylvain Chomet?вЂќ вЂњOne of the best pieces of animation ever produced. With talent behind that working behind the scenes, it becomes clear that the ThunderCats opening sequence is something more than disposable kiddie-fodder. The intro also featured the requisite anthemic theme-tune, this one written by Bernard Hoffer.ДЄnother animator on the intro was Tsuguyuki Kubo, who came up with ThunderCatsвЂ character designs and would later go on to become animation director on Naruto and Bleach.

#Thundercats intro theme series

And, like rival series He-Man, ThunderCats was a collision of sci-fi and fantasy вЂ“ a good-versus-evil battle between the agile heroes (Lion-O, Cheetara, Panthro, Tygra and so on) and the Mutants of Plundarr.

#Thundercats intro theme tv

Like just about every animated TV show from the time, ThunderCatsвЂ opening sequence provided a shop window for the next 20 minutes or so.

The 1982 animated film The Last Unicorn may have featured an American story and a western voice cast, but it was drawn and painted by Topcraft, the studio that animated Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind with director Hayao Miyazaki that same year. ThunderCats was created by Tobin Wolf and Leonard Starr, while its animation was handled by Rankin/Bass Productions вЂ“ a company which often collaborated with Japanese animators when making its numerous TV shows and features. Lesser-known US series The Centurions was animated by TokyoвЂ™s Sunrise Inc. The original 1984 Transformers series, for example, was brought to life by Toei, a studio which had already animated such domestic hits as Devilman and Mazinger by the middle of the 80s. ThunderCats first aired in 1985, a period where it was common for American childrenвЂ™s shows to have at least some of their animation farmed out to Japan.