ThunderCats (1985 TV series)
American animated television series / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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ThunderCats is a science fantasy animated television series produced by Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment and Leisure Concepts.[1] It debuted in 1985, based on the characters created by Ted "Tobin" Wolf.[3] The series, for which Leonard Starr was the head writer, follows the adventures of a group of catlike humanoid aliens. The animation for the episodes was provided by the Japanese studio Pacific Animation Corporation, with Masaki Iizuka as production manager. The studio was acquired in 1989 to form Walt Disney Animation Japan. Season 1 of the show aired in 1985, consisting of 65 episodes. Seasons 2, 3, and 4 each contained twenty episodes, starting with a five-part story.
ThunderCats | |
---|---|
Genre | Action/Adventure Sword and planet Superhero |
Created by | Ted "Tobin" Wolf |
Developed by | Leonard Starr |
Written by | Leonard Starr Stephen Perry |
Directed by | Katsuhito Akiyama Arthur Rankin, Jr. Jules Bass |
Voices of | Larry Kenney Earle Hyman Earl Hammond Lynne Lipton Bob McFadden Peter Newman Doug Preis Gerrianne Raphael |
Opening theme | "ThunderCats" |
Composer | Bernard Hoffer |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of seasons | 4 |
No. of episodes | 130 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers | Arthur Rankin, Jr. Jules Bass |
Producers | Lee Dannacher (supervising) Masaki Iizuka (in charge) Tony Giovanniello Matthew Malach Connie Long Heather Winters |
Animators | Topcraft (season 1) Pacific Animation Corporation (seasons 2ā4) |
Running time | 22 minutes |
Production companies | Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment Leisure Concepts (project development)[1][2] |
Original release | |
Network | Syndication |
Release | September 9, 1985 (1985-09-09) ā September 29, 1989 (1989-09-29) |
The series was originally distributed by Rankin/Bass' then-parent company Telepictures Corporation, which would later merge with Lorimar Productions in 1986.[4] In 1989, Lorimar-Telepictures was purchased by and folded into Warner Bros., whose television syndication arm would eventually assume distribution of the show; Warner Bros. had the rights to the series (and all Lorimar-Telepictures programming) from that point on. Leisure Concepts which helped co-develop[1][2] the show acted as a licensing agent for the series.[1][5][6][7]
It also aired on Cartoon Network as part of the Toonami block.
There were also several comic book series produced: Marvel Comics' version (currently owned by Warner Bros. rival Disney), 1985 to 1988; and five series by Wildstorm, an imprint of DC Comics (Warner Bros.' corporate sibling), beginning in 2003. Items of clothing featuring the ThunderCats logo and DVD box sets of the original series have enjoyed a resurgence in recent years as nostalgia for the former children's favorite has grown.
A film adaptation of the series was announced in June 2007; Aurelio Jaro was making a CGI-animated feature film of ThunderCats, based on a script written by Paul Sopocy. Jerry O'Flaherty, veteran video game art director, had signed on to direct. The film was planned to be produced by Spring Creek Productions. It was originally set for a summer 2010 release,[8] but the movie has since been put on hold.[9] Concept art for the film has also been leaked online.[10]