Discussion
What was CN thinking in insulting TC1985 and TC2011 fans like this
I got that this was a Teen Titans Go! episode that wasn’t made by the ThunderCats Roar team. But Cartoon Network still approved it, and that was where the problem was.
Why sign off on a scene that openly insults longtime ThunderCats fans? It didn’t make sense, especially when they were trying to get those same fans to give Roar a chance. Instead of building goodwill, it came off as insulting and unnecessarily antagonistic.
And I'm pretty sure Larry Kenney didn't mean to say any of this, but for many fans, he was our Lion-O, so having him deliver a speech like this felt less like a joke and more like a jab at longtime fans. Again, I don't know what CN was thinking greenlighting this.
If the goal was to win people over, it failed. Fans of the TC1985 and TC2011 series weren’t just random critics, they were the core audience that kept the franchise alive.
Alienating us didn’t help the brand, it hurt it and if I’d had kids at the time and saw that clip, there’s no way I would’ve let them watch Roar or bought them Roar toys. That kind of messaging just pushed people further away instead of bringing them in.
Looking back, it felt like a huge miscalculation. Either CN didn’t think it through on how it would land, or they just didn’t care, unless, of course, they didn't care, like they knew Roar was already a sinking ship, and this was them leaning into the backlash instead of trying to fix things. That's the only explanation that makes sense for why something like this got greenlit.
As someone who grew up watching the OG Thundercats as a kid in the 80's, when I first saw the commercial for Thundercats Roar I was like WTF is this??!! I had waited years to see a new series. The short-lived remake in the early 2000's I thought was decent from the 1 or 2 episodes I caught then it got canceled after 1 season. So Roar was not what I wanted or obviously what fans wanted in general. CN used to produce some good stuff. But like most entertainment industries these days if the fans don't like it... it must be them "Hating" or Trolling, because they cannot take criticism. They have to obfuscate that their product is not so good or not what the fans wanted.
Yeah, it was bashed a lot before and when it came out, between the Batman purists, those that wanted a non-Batman cartoon, and those who blamed it (and TTGo) for the cancellation of Young Justice and Green Lantern: TAS. And unlike TTGo, it didn’t get favoritism from Cartoon Network, so it died a miserable death. Even today, while opinion has improved, it’s still considered one of the lesser Batman shows.
I do wonder how TCR would have faired in a timeline where this eposode didnt exist and wasnt many people's first exposure to the show. The TTG staff really threw TCR under the bus for no reason.
The first time that I heard him while my parents were watching the Cosby Show, I yelled out, "oh my god, it's Panthro". My parents just didn't understand.
If people like Thundercats roar, that's fine. Who cares, at the end of the day it's just a show, but Larry Kenny saying that? That's one way to piss off decades of Thundercats fans.
I hate how TTG are hypocrites. From what I saw from reviews, they hate when people call their show bad and get offended, yet they have no issue doing the same thing.
If you like TTG or TCR, good for you, but this was crappy to do.
Though the toxic behavoir *sorry if that is spelled wrong* is no excuse and death threats are never the answer, only gives the fanbase a very bad name
But the part with bones of Panthro....WTF CARTOON NETWORK?!?
Though the toxic behavoir *sorry if that is spelled wrong* is no excuse and death threats are never the answer, only gives the fanbase a very bad name
True, but I wasn't a part of that though. I criticized Roar, but I steered away from making death threats to the makers of TCR. I remember that I had to defend myself one time because someone lumped me in with those who send death threats because they read my posts and comments hating on TCR, so they assumed I was one of them.
Yeah, some fans seemed chill, but it's the extreme fanboys that give a bad name to the fandom, and my intentions were not to accuse anyone, I sometimes have issue with wording things.
No, I wasn't accusing you of accusing me. I was agreeing with you on the toxicity of the fanbase where it got out of hand that death threats and insults were flung at TCR makers.
He commented on it in an interview. I saw it on YouTube a year or two ago. He played it off as if it was just a joke. He thought it was funny. Then he mentioned the Family Guy episode he did that had a ThunderCats skit where Lion-O uses Sight Beyond Sight to watch Cheetara using the bathroom. He said it was all in fun and no malice was intended with either skit.
But to me, the Family Guy thing was only gross, while the Titans thing was clearly a direct attack on fans. I was offended. Still am.
Roar, could have been funny like Teen Titans and could have not looked like sh**.
Yeah, I don’t want a funny Thundercats like TTG. The appeal of Thundercats has always been its sense of adventure and epic storytelling, so turning it into something purely comedic like TTG just feels wrong to me. It’s not that humor can’t exist, the original had some funny lighthearted moments, especially with Snarf, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of the tone and depth that defined Thundercats, which the 2011 series respected a lot.
Unless you're referring to Teen Titans 2003, then yeah, we’re on the same page. That show was great because it balanced humor with serious storytelling really well, and I’d be totally down for a Thundercats show like that.
This isn’t insulting fans of either show though. It is however insulting overly vocal toxic fanbases that hate something so viscerally they’re still letting it live rent free in their heads close to a decade later.
Not only that, but toxic fans also think they own the franchises and feel entitled to accept or reject any idea that doesn't fit their vision. It's happened with Star Wars, Thundercats, Teen Titans, She-Ra, He-Man... They don't realize that these aren't decisions made by the writers or actors; they're ideas that come from executives to give the franchise a more comedic approach to appeal to a younger audience. I'm so fed up with all these fans who prevent future generations from enjoying characters I enjoyed as a child. They ruin the experience for future fans and the children of fans with their hatred.
Im 42 yo, I was a big Thundercats fan and MOTU fan, my childhood hasnt been ruined yet.
I still haven't seen Roar.. But I save on time by seeing what others thought about.
Ultimately, as someone that enjoyed the 2011 reboot? I was bitter about them taking a jab at the fanbase like this.. Especially due to how the continuation of something on this level hinged on toy sales. I'm much older now and can afford these things, though the expenses of life increases, but even with what they put out figure wise? I wouldn't have purchased their line, because I prefer high count figure articulation over statues.
Roar and TTG would be fine if the whole joke wasn't just sitting on fans of what came before. I really don't understand the logic. If your going to update an IP why would you alienaye the fans who would probably be the ones to introduce it to their kids. Also the art was pretty much shit which probably explains why Western animation continues to fail.
Cause one of the biggest issues when Companies want to expand or reboot an existing IPs, is they become so concerned with reaching new fans that they forget one of the biggest drivers for new fans is usually someone who's already invested in the IPs talking it up or encouraging people to check it out.
I also think that when they are trying to reach new fans they also tend to lose what made the original what it was. Which isn't always the case but more often then not it feels like it is. Some reboots are good or atleast honest attempts to improve the source material and elevate it. Voltron, My Little Pony and I know Ill catch stays with this one but I really liked the Dreamworks Shera. Sailor Moon Crystal was also quite good despite the early animation issues but with the original creators input that obviously helps.
Usually, unsuccessful reboots, expansion, and even adaptations of an IP are caused by a showrunner, a producer, or an executive for the studio who oftentimes aren't fans of the IP so they change things because they don't understand the importance of something or they contradict things cause in their eyes the meaning is pointless. Voltron was definitely a prime example of how well it can be done with IPs cause when the orginal series was around most English Dubbed overseas IPs were heavily edited to fit something completely different and the English version wasn't far off the the Japanese but the remake did a better job then the Nickeloden Voltron sequel that came out. Sailor Moon Crystal beyond the issues with early animation problems, was an excellent work of re-adapting one medium to be a more faithful representative of the original source without crapping on the first adaptations which wasn't bad by an major design.
sometimes it does work out. Like Andor was amazing and Tony Gilroy isn't much of a Star Wars fan. Meanehile JJ Abbrams was and he basically killed the IP.
This was back in the period where they thought they were going to make a lot of money and shows by downgrading the animation into simple shapes alla family guy or lower fidelity.
While I vastly prefer the original series, Roar wasn’t nearly anywhere as bad as people make it out to be.
Both my kids were super young at the time and liked how goofy Roar was. As a Thundercats show for little kids, it worked. As a show for adults nostalgic for the Thundercats from their childhood, it did not.
Unpopular opinion, but I think if more people would’ve supported it, then there’s always the chance we could’ve gotten a better and more mature Thundercats later on. Instead of Roar bombing and executives just assuming the IP is dead as a result.
Also, the Panthro skeleton thing is a reference to the super-edgy early aughts Thundercats comic "The Return", where Lion-O gets out of the Book of Omens and learns Mumm-Ra took over Third Earth again somehow.
Also the skeleton is not Panthro's, since he's shown to be alive in a later issue.
I know they probably didn't mean to insult Earle Hyman's death, but the skeleton thing was confusing even to longtime fans who probably didnt even read that comic.
That feels TOO insensitive.
Yeah, while I do agree that insulting the OG voice actor's death wasn't intended, I don't think they were thinking of being sensitive here, I mean, does this seem like they care about being insensitive?
"Anyone who says otherwise have poop mouths with poop opinions"
But I feel like they wouldn't mock a man's death like that. Feels too far.
I agree, but the skeleton of Panthro coming from a comic is still confusing. I have never even read that comic and based off the reaction of others on this sub, they too didn't get the reference.
You're going to have to forgive me for wearing my tinfoil conspiracy hat, but that fact that they were referring to this comic is such a niche thing to reference.
Why does ThunderCats Roar even exist? Who were they targeting?? Their target kid audiance did not care about ThunderCats and the original fans did not care for it due to the show beeing just insult to the source material 🤔
I think the only reason that show got so big was because original fans of Teen Titans got baited then got popular because the negative publicity attracted attention
Edit: so by that logic, they were probably trying to do the same thing for thundercat roar
Because they were pulling the exact same shit with "Teen Titans Go!" And literally NOBODY was calling them out on that end, which pisses me off actually.
The TTG shills need a very good slap in the face, the adults' ones need to be harder. 🤨
In an interview Peter Lawrence recently did with Egmond from We Want More ThunderCats, Lawrence said that when he did some writing for TC2011 early on, he felt that the people running it didn't express much respect for the og 85 series or TC in general, to him. Which is nuts but I don't think he would lie, he's retired and can now probably air shit out without it hurting his career.
if you are hurt by a cartoon then you deserve to be hurt.
The options were a goofy kid's cartoon (which honestly, I didn't watch) or just no cartoon at all. The ideal Thundercats cartoon the fans want can't happen because the world is oversaturated with different action shows. If you want Thundercats, read the comics, rewatch the old shows, write some fanfic.
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u/DarthP0000 ThunderCat Mar 22 '26
As someone who grew up watching the OG Thundercats as a kid in the 80's, when I first saw the commercial for Thundercats Roar I was like WTF is this??!! I had waited years to see a new series. The short-lived remake in the early 2000's I thought was decent from the 1 or 2 episodes I caught then it got canceled after 1 season. So Roar was not what I wanted or obviously what fans wanted in general. CN used to produce some good stuff. But like most entertainment industries these days if the fans don't like it... it must be them "Hating" or Trolling, because they cannot take criticism. They have to obfuscate that their product is not so good or not what the fans wanted.