A NEW ThunderCats cartoon in 2011!

[RedPiggy]

And then there's A New Leaf from Dinosaurs, who just flat out mocked the whole PSA thing ... ONLY to do a serious drug episode later. Weird ....

 

[CensoredAlso]

You heard of the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command episode that was basically an anti-drug PSA? And it got banned FOR being about drugs in the first place. Talk about your stupid.

That is pretty bizarre, have those people never heard of PSAs? Not like it's a new phenomenon!

"Everyone throws back their heads and laughs at someone's stupid behavior" ending

Yeah that's another thing, that Thundercats episode I mentioned ends with the standard laughing and everyone saying "It's OK, you weren't responsible." But when you think about it, in real life, that's not something you would say to an addict because it is in part still their fault. And considering Tygra has YET ANOTHER drug addiction episode next season, it seems like the message didn't quite get through!

My personaly favorite anti-drug episode of anything was Bravestarr. Now, I got this "Best of" set cheap, and I was thrilled to see that episode was on there (I heard of it before), and I was ready to laugh at the thing, thinking it would be campy. HOWEVER, it was very dark, it showed characters completely out of their gourde

Wow that does sound pretty hard core. Yeah old cartoons do have a reputation for being campy and corny (and often which good reason!), but they also pushed the limits in ways unheard of today.

and it was only mentioned in passing for NO reason, and Scooby basically just uttered "Rugs? Rrryuck!" That's NOT how you do it.

Well I'm sure plenty of kids were turned off from drugs because Scooby Doo said they were "rucky." Hey, you never know!

 

[Drtooth]

Wow that does sound pretty hard core. Yeah old cartoons do have a reputation for being campy and corny (and often which good reason!), but they also pushed the limits in ways unheard of today.

Lemme tell ya something about Bravestarr... anything the internet says about Chuck Norris, you can say about 30-30, Bravestarr's robotic transforming horse. He-man is totally campy, sometimes has a serious moment here or there, but on the whole, you just can't take it seriously. Plus, he's clearly the model of that guy from Action League Now that's "super naked." But Bravestarr did some heavy stuff, even the bad guy, Tex Hex, had a real level of depth to him. The recurring theme was that he used to be this nice guy who let greed for some rare space metal turn him into a monster, and specifically a slave to a greater evil.

 

[GonzoLeaper]

My personaly favorite anti-drug episode of anything was Bravestarr. Now, I got this "Best of" set cheap, and I was thrilled to see that episode was on there (I heard of it before), and I was ready to laugh at the thing, thinking it would be campy. HOWEVER, it was very dark, it showed characters completely out of their gourde, acting completely, frighteningly erratic, and spoiler, instead of the happy "Aw shucks, I'll just give up and become a good little twerp the rest of my life" ending, the kid DIES. It was very powerful and realistic for a show that's a sci-fi western. I can't say it wasn't preachy, but it didn't beat around the bush and have the "Everyone throws back their heads and laughs at someone's stupid behavior" ending (Cough cough He-Man)... though, I will say, I've yet to see an episode like that. Really, that was Filmation's best action series for avoiding the 1980's laugh at everything endings.

I also have the "Best Of" Bravestarr DVD set (one of these days I might buy the whole series- I just don't want to spend the money on it right now). And yes- Bravestarr rules! This was one of my favorite cartoons as a kid- and yes, Bravestarr definitely got serious messages across and always maintained a high code of virtue. And that anti-drugs episode is indeed quite powerful.
You get a lot of good messages from Bravestarr- and it was a great action-packed scifi/western. And I agree- 30/30 is pretty comparable to Chuck Norris in the tough guy claims.
Nice to find another fan of a '80s classic. Eyes of the hawk, ears of the wolf, strength of the bear, speed of the puma! Bravestarr!

 

[CensoredAlso]

Wow, I may have to check out Bravestarr at some point, don't know how I missed it!

Hehe, regarding Thundercats, this may look like an "end of the episode" PSA moment, but believe it or not this actually took place right in the middle of the episode. Indeed, the very next line is "Lion-O, look out!" Lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqkltb9l9qI&feature=related

Btw, is it just me or do the Thundercats always seem to be doing their...best...Captain...Kirk...imPERsonAtions? lol

 

[Drtooth]

Wow, I may have to check out Bravestarr at some point, don't know how I missed it!

It's up on hulu, that's when I started watching it. And there's supposedly a new complete series set and 20 episode volumes coming out sometime soon.

 

[GonzoLeaper]

Wow- I'm kinda surprised you didn't see this one as a kid, Dr.Tooth - I grew up watching Bravestarr as a child. But then, there are a number of other '80s cartoons I somehow missed as well when I was a kid and have only later discovered on the Internet in recent years. But definitely- it's a great one. It's also Filmation's last cartoon series before they shut down operations.

 

[Drtooth]

I was about 4 when it came out, so I just missed it.

 

[GonzoLeaper]

Well, yeah- can't really help that. I'm about the same age, but maybe I just saw it in reruns or something. Oh well- still cool to discover great cartoons again later on.

 

[Xerus]

I heard from Facebook that Kevin Michael Richardson will be doing the voice of Panthro in the new Thundercats cartoon.

And also, I heard that Larry Kenney who was the original voice of Lion-O will be voicing Lion-O's father in this new series.