In Praise of THUNDARR

A nice little surprise to see this linked article pop up in my newsfeed. The arrival of the series THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN onto Blu-ray seems to be the reason for it. It seems evident from reading the article that the writer didn’t live through the glorious era wherein THUNDARR enjoyed its original run—he doesn’t have the appreciation he should have for the cartoons that came out at that time, finding them derivative and bland. The former they may have been—FANGFACE owes quite a bit to SCOOBY-DOO, for example—but the latter they certainly were not. But he heaps lots of love on THUNDARR so we’ll cut him some slack.

My favorite character on THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN was always Ookla. Designed by legendary comicbook and cartoon artist Alex Toth, the hulking Ookla the Mok never spoke. He only growled. Yet his companions Thundarr and Princess Ariel understood him well enough. The trio of heroes often fought monsters, and my heart is always with the monsters, so it’s not surprising that I’d love Ookla the most; he was himself a monster.

I’ve wondered that no movie studio has appropriated this potential goldmine for big screen reinvention. A live-action THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN movie would be E-P-I-C. For that matter, so would a modern animated remake. I’d take either.

By The Evil Cheezman

WAYNE MILLER is the owner and creative director of EVIL CHEEZ PRODUCTIONS (www.evilcheezproductions.blogspot.com, www.facebook.com/evilcheezproductions), specializing in theatrical performances and haunted attractions. He has written, produced and directed (and occasionally acted in) over a dozen plays, most of them in the Horror and Crime genres. His first novel, THE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF, is available for purchase at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/734763 MORTUI VELOCES SUNT!

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