Monday, August 5, 2013

Thundarr the Barbarian's ARIEL!

Princess Ariel - Hanna-Barbera's Thundarr the Barbarian - Toynami 2003
 
Thundarr the Barbarian is easily one of the coolest cartoons I've ever seen.  The setting is a post-apocalyptic Earth in the year 3994 AD where a runaway comet nearly collided with the planet but instead broke the moon in half and drastically altered the climate and geography of Earth.  The civilization that emerged in later millenia was steeped in sorcery, hyperscience, mutations, and barbarism.  The show began in 1980 and ran two seasons with 21 total episodes.  A standard episode consists of Thundarr, Ariel, and Ookla the Mok arriving on horseback to a recognizable human landmark (NYC, Mt. Rushmore, Seattle, etc) where they help resolve some form of injustice (a'la the A-Team).  It combined so many different facets from so many different properties that it was hard not to enjoy it.  Princess Ariel is a Sorceress with a mysterious past (mostly just because it was never explained).  She talks a lot of her stepfather's library where she learned about magic and the history of Earth.  Because of this, she leads the educational tone of the show (in historical geography at least).  Let's check out this gorgeous figure below.




















Ariel came with two energy accessories.  Both of which are 2-part and can snap together over her hands.


 





 
 
 
 
I think the sculpt by Shin Tanabe is amazing.  Sometimes simplicity is best, and when paying homage to a classic animated character, that is definitely the case.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
Here are a bunch of screen grabs from the cartoon.
 
 
 



 
 


 
 



 
 
 
Time for some Group and Comparison Shots!
 
 




 
 
Cheers!
 
 
 

2 comments:

  1. i Love this Ariel. I have about three Ariels (mermaid, Darkchylde and this one), which makes me laugh as is my name and im a guy (it means lion of god in hebrew, not lioness). My other favorite of this era is The Herculoids set which is awesome.

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    Replies
    1. I know this is a great figure. I reviewed the Tara figure from Herculoids earlier this year. I have all the Herculoids humans, but none of the beasts. Someday I'll get them all.

      Don't forget the wrestler Ariel! Her toy looks like a vampire

      I used to collect a bunch of "Alex" figures but they made an unimpressive group. The only one I still have is Alex from Crimson. (I sold all my havoks and Lex Luthors :))

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