2012 TMNT Classics and New Series Toy Thread

[Dr_SLUMP]

I don't think thundercats as a brand is as popular as geeks and nerds make it out to be. the cartoon and toyline (original) came and went and none of it REALLY became household names. it was remembered fondly but i think quickly abandoned. now that's not to say it has ZERO fanbase, it has one for sure, but it didn't make the same impact as he-man, transformers gi joe star wars etc. it's in a b class I think.

TMNT was HUGE and it's easy to revisit it, MOTU was huge and while it's easy to revisit, it's got the burden of have Mattel for it's parent.

Well, that's not the case in Europe. In therms of 80s shows, I would say that ThunderCats is easily the most popular franchise in the UK, France, Sweden and Greece. I'll have to get a bit off-topic here, but I need to express my thoughts about what really went on with the ThunderCats.

I believe that the problem with ThunderCats has to do with who has been handling it throughout the years. Rankin-Bass, being a young children's TV special producer company, had nothing to do with action shows. The show was more like a one-off, if not a finale for them (excluding spin-offs SilverHawks and TigerSharks). Also, instead of being a toy-driven show, it was purely a fresh idea that was followed shortly after by a toy line.

Additionally, the toy line was produced by an independent, smaller scale manufacturer (LJN). While Hasbro, Mattel and Playmates went on and "milked" their lines, LJN was more of an obscure company that became most known for its awful home video games rather than their wonderful toys, before closing down altogether in the early 90s.

The rights for both the animated show and toys have been in limbo until WB bought them in the early 2000s. Until then, no incarnations of any kind, neither any licensed merchandise had been produced for a long time, leaving the franchise lost in time, while all the others that you mentioned never really ceased to exist, due to their mainstream corporation nature and right holders.