Dragonfruit Roar

Whoops, guess I'm weighing in on the whole Thundercats Roar situation.

In short: I hate it.

In long: I never saw the original, and I don't watch many cartoons full stop, but it's such a blatant insult to the original that I'm practically seething. What people are (not entirely accurately) calling the "CalArts" style has been so oversaturated in the last few years. But here's the thing: Adventure Time, Gumball, Gravity Falls and all them shared the same discipline of artstyle, but they still looked distinct and had their own identities. This hot garbo looks like the most generic take on the "CalArts" style that you could imagine. And it doesn't even look appealing! Because as oversaturated as it is, the style can (and frequently does) look pretty nice! But just looking at that thing that's supposed to be Lion-O... why are his eyes so dead? Why is his hair jelly? Why does he have the proportions of a miniature fridge? Why is his sword a lollipop? And incidentally, what's with the complete 180 on the tone?? Wasn't it a serious action/adventure kind of story before? Why would they change it to be like all the other zany-humour-smooth-characters-with-round-eyes-and-bean-mouths cartoons out there today? Seriously, as soon as the teaser starts and he starts talking in that voice, then the dramatic music is someone going "doodeledoodeledoo"... No, I'm not saying that cartoons have never been bland and samey (q.v. 1985 Thundercats looking like a cheap cartoon from 1985), I'm saying this is a complete disgrace to the intent of the original, especially considering the guy literally opens with talking about how much he loves the original.

So what's with this here drawing? Well, you may be aware that I'm working on a cartoon concept for my final college project. It owes a lot to MLP:FiM, but I'm aiming for something a little different. More specifically, I want something a little more grounded, a little more dramatic, that has plenty of levity, to be sure, but focuses on the characters. And I'm using cute little fruit-dragon hybrids. Yes, clearly two concepts that just belong together. The original intention was that it could be an affectionate parody of the classic 80s cartoons made to sell toys, but it kind of became its own thing. And I knew for a FACT that it would never get accepted for actual TV because I'm not actively trying to appeal to a certain age group with the what-kids-are-probably-into-these-days zany humour mentioned above. But then, as if to drive the point home, Thundercats Roar happens. Or that's what they're saying, anyway. I wouldn't be that surprised if they went back to the drawing board, honestly. Seriously, it might be amazing. It might be the best cartoon of the decade. They might have incredible writing. They might even fix up the artstyle to look less bland and cookie-cutter. But it wouldn't matter anyway. The damage has been done.

Oof, that was an adrenaline rush. It's not often I get angry at something other than an incompetent Let's Player (naming no names). I can't believe I took time out of my actual project for this.

EDIT: As some kind of antidote to this eyesore, I guess, here's how he's actually supposed to look: