ThunderCats was an American animated television series developed and produced by Rankin/Bass Productions, debuting in 1983 based on the characters created by Tobin "Ted" Wolf. The animation was provided by Pacific Animation Corporation, the working name for a collective of Japanese studios prominently including Topcraft, a group who would later go on to form Studio Ghibli. Season 1 of the show aired in 1985 (65 episodes), followed by a TV movie entitled ThunderCats - HO! in 1986. Seasons 2, 3, and 4 followed a new format of twenty episodes each, starting with a five-part story; these aired from 1987 to 1988, 1988 to 1989, and 1989 to 1990, respectively.

Set against a backdrop juxtaposing science-fiction and fantasy elements, the ThunderCats series tells a good-versus-evil tale of mythic proportions, featuring an equal mix of high-technology and magic, hand-to-hand combat, and a central core of championed values. Its anthropomorphic heroes, the ThunderCats, are pitted against a rag-tag assortment of villains and a demonic wizard named Mumm-Ra on a planet known as Third Earth.

The story begins with the destruction of the ThunderCats original home, the distant planet of Thundera. Forced to flee from the dying world, The ThunderCats and their fellow Thunderians board a fleet of starships to escape just as the planet blew itself apart. Aboard the fleet’s flagship, a team of several ThunderCat nobles are gathered to escort and protect the sole heir to the ThunderCats’ leadership: the young Lion-O, a boy of twelve years. They also hope to safeguard the Eye of Thundera, the source of the ThunderCats' power, embedded in the hilt of the mystic Sword of Omens. Among these nobles is the mystical warrior and sage known as Jaga the Wise. Together, he and the nobles lead the fleet away from the dying planet in a mass exodus, hoping to find a safe haven.

The flagship crashes on the new planet called Third Earth. The fractured vessel spills its contents across the landscape, but fortunately, the ThunderCats survive. Lion-O and his nursemaid Snarf are the first to emerge from their suspension capsules, and realize that Lion-O has aged somewhat while in suspension. They are shortly confronted by the Mutants, who have been searching for the ship all this time and demand the Eye of Thundera. Lion-O uses the Sword to awaken the other ThunderCats, routing the villains and driving them back in their spaceship.

In later episodes, Mumm-Ra magically reconstructs the planet Thundera in order to gain the Sword of Plun-Darr (once held by Rattila of Plun-Darr) which was the original cause of Thundera’s demise. He also works to locate the Treasure of Thundera, which harbors the ThunderCats' secrets. In these episodes, the ThunderCats' adventures alternate between New Thundera and Third Earth.

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