Thundarr the Barbarian

Did You Know?

• All episodes of season 1 were directed by Rudy Larriva and produced by Jerry Eisenberg; season 2 episodes were directed by Rudy Larriva and John Kimball.
• The series was rebroadcast on Cartoon Network from October 1992 through October 1996.
• Action figures of the three main characters were released by Toynami in 2003, and a board game was released by Milton Bradley Company in 1982.

Plot

The series is set around 3994 in a post-apocalyptic wasteland where Earth is divided into kingdoms and territories, most ruled by wizards. Ruins often feature recognizable U.S. landmarks such as New York City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Seattle, the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Denver, Atlanta, Boston, San Antonio and its Alamo, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Cape Canaveral, and the Grand Canyon. Some episodes take place outside the U.S., including Mexico and London. The Moon was broken in two by a runaway planet passing between Earth and the Moon in 1994, causing radical climate and geographic changes. By the time of the series, Earth has settled into a new balance, reborn as a world of savagery, super-science, and sorcery far more chaotic than Old Earth. The hero Thundarr, a muscular barbarian, travels with Princess Ariel, a sorceress, and Ookla the Mok, a humanoid ape-like creature, fighting injustice. Their main adversaries are evil wizards who combine magic with reanimating technologies from the pre-catastrophe world. Other enemies include the Brotherhood of Night (werewolves), the cosmic Stalker from The Stars, and various mutants. Intelligent humanoid-animal races include rat-like Groundlings, crocodile-like Carocs, and talking hawk-like and pig-like mutants. New animals include fire-shooting whales, a giant green snake with a grizzly bear's head, and mutated dragonflies and rabbits. Thundarr wields the Sunsword, a hilt that projects a blade-like energy beam when activated, which can cut nearly anything, deflect energy and magical attacks, and disrupt spells. The sword is magically linked to Thundarr so only he can use it, though this link can be disrupted.

Characters

Thundarr, a barbarian voiced by Robert Ridgely, was originally a slave of the wizard Sabian. Princess Ariel freed him and gave him the Sunsword, which he uses against evil wizards and villains. Because Thundarr and his companion Ookla know little about the world, they depend on Ariel for guidance. Ookla the Mok, voiced by Henry Corden, is a feline humanoid with cat-like eyes, pointed ears, and a thick mane. He and Thundarr were enslaved in Sabian’s court before Ariel helped them escape. As a Mok, Ookla is very strong and often tears up wreckage to club enemies; he sometimes uses a longbow that fires paralyzing arrows. He tends to rush into attacks and is easily angered by annoyances or threats. Moks live in their own territory under a king and fear and hate water. Princess Ariel, voiced by Nellie Bellflower, is a powerful sorceress. Her magic includes creating light constructs like archways and bridges, exploding spheres, levitating objects, and summoning nets or shields. She can also produce energy blasts, blinding light, and reanimate machines. If her wrists are bound, she cannot use her magic and becomes vulnerable to capture.

Production

The series was created by comic book writer Steve Gerber. While developing the show, Gerber had not decided on a name for the wookiee-like character the network insisted be added. Walking past the UCLA campus with friend Martin Pasko, Pasko suggested the name Oo-clah. Pasko later became a story editor for the second season and was one of several writers from comics, including Roy Thomas, to contribute. Other writers included Buzz Dixon and Mark Jones. Comic book artist Jack Kirby worked on production design, and main characters were designed by Alex Toth. Twenty-one half-hour episodes were produced by Ruby-Spears Productions and aired from October 1980 to October 1981 on ABC. Despite decent ratings, the show was cancelled because ABC wanted room for Laverne & Shirley in the Army. Reruns aired on NBC's Saturday morning lineup in 1983.

Home media releases

The debut episode was released on DVD as part of Warner Home Video's Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1980s compilation on May 4, 2010. On September 28, 2010, Warner Archive released Thundarr the Barbarian: The Complete Series on DVD in region 1 as a Manufacture-on-Demand release through Warner's online store and Amazon.com. The set is branded under the Hanna-Barbera Classics Collection. On April 6, 2021, Warner Archive also released the complete series on Blu-ray.