Reboots are very tricky. On one hand (or paw), what's the point in them if you're just going to do a beat for beat remake of the original? On the other hand, there are essential elements that you simply don't mess with. Getting that balance just right is the key to successfully relaunching a brand or franchise.
Cartoon Network's 2011 reboot is a pretty bold enterprise, radically re-imagining many elements of the Thundercats mythology, changing their personalities and interpersonal relationships, and completely dropping many of the original series' iconic elements. The result, sadly, is a series that feels the need to cut off its nose to spite its face.
The changes here simply don't work. While the new mythology feels like it was thought out more thoroughly beforehand than the original, it's often too cluttered and convoluted for its own good. The characterizations also don't work. For dramatic purposes I understand the need to introduce some conflict amongst the previously "Kumbaya" Thundercats, but what should've lasted a few episodes was dragged out, resulting in characters that just aren't very likable.
Artistically, the anime-influenced animation is handsome and effective, but the new character designs lack the iconic punch of the originals. The same goes with the music. The score is serviceable, but generic, lacking the instantly recognizable leitmotif of Bernard Hoffer's original.
In the end, Thundercats 2.0 just never comes together. It's clear that a lot of time and effort went into it, but the result is a sum less than the total of its parts.
Cartoon Network's 2011 reboot is a pretty bold enterprise, radically re-imagining many elements of the Thundercats mythology, changing their personalities and interpersonal relationships, and completely dropping many of the original series' iconic elements. The result, sadly, is a series that feels the need to cut off its nose to spite its face.
The changes here simply don't work. While the new mythology feels like it was thought out more thoroughly beforehand than the original, it's often too cluttered and convoluted for its own good. The characterizations also don't work. For dramatic purposes I understand the need to introduce some conflict amongst the previously "Kumbaya" Thundercats, but what should've lasted a few episodes was dragged out, resulting in characters that just aren't very likable.
Artistically, the anime-influenced animation is handsome and effective, but the new character designs lack the iconic punch of the originals. The same goes with the music. The score is serviceable, but generic, lacking the instantly recognizable leitmotif of Bernard Hoffer's original.
In the end, Thundercats 2.0 just never comes together. It's clear that a lot of time and effort went into it, but the result is a sum less than the total of its parts.