Thundarr the Barbarian: The Complete Series
review by Drusilla Blakey
Periodically Warner Bros dips into their archive to rerelease classic shows and movies. The latest to get the blu-ray treatment is the 1980 cult classic Thundarr the Barbarian: The Complete Series.
In the series, civilization is cast into ruin when a runaway planet speeds between the Earth and the Moon, unleashing cosmic destruction. Two thousand years later, Earth is reborn from the ashes with a savage landscape, strange creatures and a primitive sense of justice. But, one man fights to spread peace throughout the land: He is Thundarr the Barbarian, and you can own all 21 exciting adventures starring Thundarr and his companions Ookla the Mok and sorceress Princess Ariel. Using their strength, courage and wits, plus Thundarr’s magical Sunsword, they journey from village to village, liberating slaves and battling all kinds of beasts, mutants, wizards, thieves and robots. The future of Earth may be shrouded in darkness, but Thundarr the Barbarian bursts into action as a shining symbol of hope for humanity.
Thundarr the Barbarian is perhaps my favorite Saturday morning cartoon. Watching this show immediately takes me back to childhood! I remember sitting with my bowl of cereal watching this show with my brother. Just the first few seconds of the show's intro was enough to capture my imagination. A comet has flown by between earth and the moon and messed up the
atmosphere and thrown the planet into chaos. Now in the year 3994, Thundarr, along with his friends Ariel and Ookla, fight against evil and for the rights of the people. From that moment on I was swept away to another world.
Watching this new full release of all Thundarr episodes, I'm struck by how many episodes I haven't seen! (or maybe I just don't remember.) In my mind, I only remember there being like four episodes and one bad guy. I'm not sure why my child's mind thought there was so little to the story, so I am thrilled to now be able to watch the full run of the series!
I was mesmerized and completely lost track of time as I sat down to watch the first disk. It was like watching the show for the first time. Thundarr, although being our hero doesn't have much 'schooling', so we have to depend on Ariel the Sorcerer to explain things and places to us. As a child, that's obviously an important part of the show - the teaching! The other person on the team is Ookla, who is perhaps my favorite. He's a "Mok" which is a lion-human hybrid who doesn't really speak, he just smashes things which I always found funny and still do.
This new version on Blu-Ray has an amazingly clear picture and the colors are so vibrant. If you're a fan like me, you're going to enjoy this new release very much. The set also includes a small featurette and is just a lot of fun!
Grab your copy of Thundarr the Barbarian: The Complete Series available now on Blu-ray from Warner Bros Home Entertainment.