Thundarr the Barbarian: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Thundarr the Barbarian: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Eep Opp Ork Ookla!

The two-season Ruby-Spears venture Thundarr the Barbarian originally ran on ABC Saturday mornings from 1980-81, with reruns shown a couple of years later on NBC. My age bracket puts me in the latter category but I still have some pretty solid memories of this one: after all, what kid wouldn't be attracted to a post-apocalyptic series about savagery, super-science, and sorcery? Warner Archive's terrific new three-disc package serves up all 21 episodes of the show -- looking and sounding great, of course -- that classic animation fans are sure to enjoy. Suck it, He-Man!

• Season One (13 episodes)

• Secret of the Black Pearl - Venturing to the village of "Manhat", Thundarr (voiced by Robert Ridgely) and his friends Princess Ariel (Nellie Bellflower) and Ookla (Henry Corden) escort a man whose magical pearl can protect Manhat from Gemini and the Groundlings, a race of hideous rat people.
• Harvest of Doom - Traveling south to Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, Thundarr and company find a train carrying poisonous Death Flowers and fight with the crocodile-like Carocs to stop it. It also features the debut of swamp urchin Tye (Nancy McKeon), who returns for Season 2's "Last Train to Doomsday".
• Mindok the Mind Menace - This early standout episode, taking place at Florida's Cape Canaveral, features the dastardly wizard Mindok (prolific voice acting legend Alan Oppenheimer) and the quest to rebuild his new body with the help of cryogenically frozen 20th century scientists.
• Raiders of the Abyss - Returning to the ruins of New York City, Thundarr and his crew fight another evil wizard, Morag (Alan Oppenheimer, natch), who plans to kidnap villagers on an abandoned cruise ship.
• Treasure of the Moks - Ookla's lion-like race, the Moks, faces off against plundering Captain Kordon, Queen of the River Pirates, with our three heroes lending a hand to protect a hidden treasure.
• Attack of the Amazon Women - Another standout, this adventure takes place near South Dakota's Mount Rushmore, where amphibious Amazons need protection from an evil half-human, half-shark wizard queen named Styria (Julie McWhirter, a prominent voice actor during the 1970s and 80s).
• The Brotherhood of Night - A tribe of werewolves and their leader Zevon (Keye Luke) hope to add evil wizard Infernus to their pack in this adventure set in Wahsington D.C. -- not London, unfortunately.
• Challenge of the Wizards - Thundarr, Princess Ariel, and Ookla are forced to choose sides when a group of four different magic-users -- including the wizard Sholow -- face off to win the Helmet of Power.
• Valley of the Man Apes - Heading west to San Fernando Valley, California, our heroes encounter a group of Man-Apes and their fearsome leader, Simius (Hal Smith, The Andy Griffith Show), who use discarded robotic parts from an abandoned movie studio's prop department to terrorize nearby villagers.
• Stalker from the Stars - What time is it? It's alien vampire time when a mysterious spaceship lands near amusement park ruins in Denver, CO, and its lone inhabitant captures Princess Ariel.
• Portal Into Time - Yet another evil wizard, Crom (William Woodson, Super Friends) spreads terror -- this time, he's harassing inhabitants of the Alamo in San Antonio. During their attempts to help, Thundarr and company are thrown backwards in time to 20th century Earth and witness life before the apocalypse.
• Battle of the Barbarians - Yep, it's an evil wizard: power-hungry Kublai (Keye Luke) threatens the residents of San Francisco's Chinatown in a bid to acquire the Golden Scepter of the Yantzee.
• Den of the Sleeping Demon - A runaway wizard's slave named Judag plans to awaken a sleeping demon who will grant him near-unlimited power -- that is, unless Thundarr and company can stop him.

• Season Two (8 episodes)

• Wizard Wars - Guess what? More friggin' wizards. This time it's Skullus and his small army, who capture villagers living near an abandoned oil refinery in St. Louis in an attempt to thwart his nemesis.
• Fortress of Fear - Thundarr, Princess Ariel, and Ookla are captured by robotic soldiers while helping a runaway slave, and their dastardly leader Lord Argoth wants lovely Ariel for his very own.
• Island of the Body Snatchers - One of only a few overseas adventures, this trip to "The Mystery Zone" near London finds our trio doing battle with the cursed witch Circi (Janet Waldo), who uses Princess Ariel for a little body-swapping trick... which might just break her long-standing affliction.
• City of Evil - This fan-favorite episode features evil wizard Sarott, who discovers a shrunken City of Thieves whose ruler promises Sarott an army if he uses the Gauntlet of Power to enlarge it.
• Last Train to Doomsday - Another fan favorite, this one finds Thundarr and company in hot pursuit of the mummy-like Janus... who turns out to be none other than Gemini, last appearing in series opener "Secret of the Black Pearl". Also returning is Tye from episode #2, likewise in a different form.
• Master of the Stolen Sunsword - Thundarr's in deep trouble once quasi-wizard Yando strips his beloved Sunsword of its power... and then steals it for good measure, before power can be restored.
• Trial by Terror - Thundarr's old pal Thorac is accused of theft and sentenced to death for his crimes, so it's up to our heroes to prove Thorac's innocence... and hopefully find the real culprit, too.
• Prophecy of Peril - The show's unwitting series finale, which aired on Halloween 1981, sends our heroes off as they do battle with... evil wizard Vashtarr (Michael "Cochise" Ansara), who has stolen the precious Crystal of Prophecy. Once the crystal is accidentally destroyed, it reveals the names of three warriors with the power to stop him... and it's not Thundarr, Princess Ariel, and Ookla. Finally, a plot twist!

Thundarr the Barbarian: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner Archive isn't just reliably great for classic movie transfers -- their animations releases are easily as good and show off the studio's purist-friendly approach to cartoons that don't end up a waxy, grain-scrubbed mess. Much like their previous packages including The Jetsons and Jonny Quest, the image here is beautifully rendered and showcases the series' varied locations which span more than a dozen post- apocalyptic sites across America and, in at least four cases, foreign countries or parts unknown. The series' bleak backdrops are contrasted nicely by the vivid costumes and character designs by comic/animation legends Alex Toth and Jack Kirby, showcasing the series' unique aesthetic with perfect clarity. Black levels and line-work are extremely stable and the compression on all three discs is equally good, far outpacing the DVD complete series set released by Warner Bros. back in 2010. No other transfer-related issues, such as combing or jagged edges, could be spotted along the way either. All things considered, it's a flawless effort that makes this low-budget series shine like new: Thundarr looks as good now as it did back then... in your mind.

As usual, Warner Archive also uploaded a few short videos showing off the new transfer, including the opening credits (paired with the intro to premiere episode "Secret of the Black Pearl"), another HD clip (from Season 2's "Last Train to Doomsday"), and of course the closing credits (paired with the end of Season 2's "City of Doom").

Thundarr the Barbarian: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As usual, material shot on film can sparkle like new with the right touch, but one-channel audio is rarely as impressive in comparison. Case in point: Thundarr's action-packed episodes have a predictably narrow sound field that lacks the strong dynamic range and heft of more modern productions... but within the confines of its era and source material, it sounds just fine. Maybe even better than the original broadcasts, if only because today's typical bookshelf speakers are likely much more robust than whatever was built into your all-wood console display back in the 80s. Simply put, this is Thundarr as it ought to be and nothing more: dialogue is relatively crisp, the house sound effects are just fine, and the theme song still kicks ass. Although part of me wonders what a faux-stereo or attempted surround remix would sound like, my brain eventually won out and I'm glad Warner Archive kept the original mix intact.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during all 21 episodes, but not the bonus featurette.

Thundarr the Barbarian: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This three-disc package ships in a standard-width hinged keepcase with blurry retro cover art and no inserts, although episode names are at least printed on each disc. The lone bonus feature is found on Disc 3.

• Lords of Light: The Story of Thundarr the Barbarian (18:22) - Going in, I thought for sure this mid-length retrospective featurette was produced for (and included on) Warner Bros.' 2010 complete series DVD package... but nope, it was actually exclusive to the studio's Saturday Morning Cartoons: The 1980s Collection, Volume 1 DVD set, which also included the Thundarr series premiere "Secret of the Black Pearl" and was released later that year. So while it's not technically all-new and doesn't dig especially deep either, it provides a nice surface-level overview of the series' development and production that fans will enjoy checking out. If nothing else, its standard-def episode clips will at least make you appreciate the new 1080p transfers even more.

Thundarr the Barbarian: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Saturday morning cult favorite Thundarr the Barbarian helped fuel that era's odd fascination with wizards and warriors, even paving the way for more popular fare like He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. (Hell, it even pre-dated Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan.) It's no masterpiece of animation or storytelling but the setting is terrific and the action is fun and light, with just the right amount of cheesy comic relief mixed in for good measure. As usual, Warner Archive's Blu-ray package is a flawless effort from a visual perspective, capturing the series' low-budget aesthetic while also making sure all the edges are polished. Bonus points for digging up the retrospective featurette, too. Not surprisingly, it's an easy recommendation for Thundarr fans, but newcomers might want to stream a couple episodes first.