ThunderCats (1985 TV series)

ThunderCats is an American animated science fantasy television series produced by Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment and Leisure Concepts. It debuted in 1985, based on the characters created by Tobin Wolf. The series, for which Leonard Starr was the head writer, follows the adventures of a group of catlike humanoid aliens. The animation for the episodes was provided by the Japanese studio Pacific Animation Corporation, with Masaki Iizuka as production manager. The studio was acquired in 1989 to form Walt Disney Animation Japan. Season 1 of the show aired in 1985, consisting of 65 episodes. Seasons 2, 3, and 4 each contained twenty episodes, starting with a five-part story.

The series was originally distributed by Rankin/Bass' then-parent company Telepictures Corporation, which would merged with Lorimar Productions in 1986. In 1989, Lorimar-Telepictures was purchased by and folded into Warner Bros., whose television syndication arm assumed distribution of the show; Warner Bros. had the rights to the series (and all Lorimar-Telepictures programming) from that point on. Leisure Concepts, which helped co-develop the show, acted as a licensing agent for the series.

It also aired on Cartoon Network as part of the Toonami block.

There were also several comic book series produced: Marvel Comics' version, 1985 to 1988; and five series by Wildstorm, an imprint of DC Comics, beginning in 2003.

A film adaptation of the series was announced in June 2007; Aurelio Jaro was making an animated feature film of ThunderCats, based on a script written by Paul Sopocy. Jerry O'Flaherty, veteran video game art director, had signed on to direct. The film was planned to be produced by Spring Creek Productions. It was originally set for a summer 2010 release, but the movie has since been put on hold. Concept art for the film has also been leaked online.

The music for the series, including the theme tune, was written by Swiss-born Bernard Hoffer. Craig Snyder played the electric guitar.