# ThunderCats (1985)

> Exiled Thundercats led by the young Lion-O defend their new home on Third Earth against the mutants and the ancient sorcerer Mumm-Ra.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/1880

## Facts

- Seasons: 4
- Episodes: 130
- Episode runtime: 22 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: animation, science fiction, fantasy, adventure
- Created by: Theodore Walter Wolf
- Network: Syndication
- Cast: Larry Kenney, Peter Newman, Earle Hyman, Lynne Lipton, Earl Hammond, Bob McFadden, Gerrianne Raphael, Doug Preis
- TMDB rating: 7.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088631/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: mild
- Tone: earnest, adventurous, colorful, hopeful, whimsical

## What critics say

Audiences rate the series positively as a classic animated action-fantasy for children, valued for its characters and adventurous spirit, though its ratings drift slightly lower in later seasons.

## Synopsis

ThunderCats (1985-1989) is a American first-run syndicated animated science fiction fantasy series created by Theodore Walter Wolf and produced by Rankin/Bass Productions and Lorimar Telepictures. The story follows Lion-O (voiced by Larry Kenney), the young new leader of a band of cat-like Thunderian refugees who survive the destruction of their homeworld and crash on a strange planet called Third Earth. Lion-O wields the Sword of Omens, and his greatest engine is the group's need to protect a fortress they have built among local allies from the mutants who destroyed their people and from Mumm-Ra, an immortal embodiment of evil who hunts them relentlessly. Across four seasons and 130 episodes of roughly 22 minutes each, the series is built from self-contained action adventures in which the heroes face new monsters, schemes and sorcery, while the larger struggle against the ancient enemy simmers in the background. Its tone is earnest, colorful and adventurous, with a sense of loss and displacement softened by camaraderie and courage. Its retro high technology and mystical pyramid imagery give it a distinctive flavor. Fans of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Voltron will find resonance in its sword and sorcery spirit and its space fantasy heroics.

## Shows like ThunderCats

- [Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light (1987)](https://ember.film/tv/32698)
- [SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron (1993)](https://ember.film/tv/557)
- [She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/68535)
- [Masters of the Universe: Revolution (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/151986)
- [ThunderCats (2011)](https://ember.film/tv/35078)
- [The Transformers (1984)](https://ember.film/tv/4056)
- [Voltron: Defender of the Universe (1984)](https://ember.film/tv/950)
- [Voltron: Legendary Defender (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/58649)
- [He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)](https://ember.film/tv/2887)
- [She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985)](https://ember.film/tv/13752)

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