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Thunder Prince (1987)


Cast:

No cast


What the box says:

When Blue Thunder, keeper of the secret Carne Technique, is slaughtered by three evil warriors, Black Mantis, Red Cap, and White Swallow, Andy, the son of Blue Thunder, vows to get his revenge. Andy seeks out Master Soul, a martial arts expert who hates killing.

Master Soul tries to convince Andy to let his vendetta go but Andy will not be swayed, and he decides to go after Black Mantis. Will Andy get his revenge? Will he take the advice of Master Soul?


Plot:

During a storm at a temple, Black Mantis vows to kill Blue Thunder. A fight ensues in which Blue Thunder is wounded with poisoned darts. The villains surround him demanding to learn the secret of Snake and Crane technique. However, Blue Thunder is able to escape with his son, Andy.

Blue Thunder hides Andy and tells his son to be honorable and carry on the work of the family.

Blue Thunder runs off to lead the villains away from Andy. Surrounded at the edge of a cliff, Blue Thunder takes a header off of it to keep from revealing the secret technique.

In the morning, Andy awakens and explores the forest. Komedy ensues as Andy fails to catch any animal for his breakfast.

At least buy the fish dinner before going to first base
At least buy the fish dinner before going to first base
He finally gets a carrot and falls asleep dreaming of chasing butterflies and seeing his father.

That night, Andy heads back to the cave. Jimmy, the mad monkey, is angry that Andy tore up his garden and attacks the kid. Yes, it is Andy versus the Jimmy the monkey. Suddenly, a snake bites Andy. Jimmy sucks out the venom and gets help. Squirrels bring Andy some nuts.

Later, Andy awakens and remembers some of his father’s lessons about not crying to be a man. In the morning, Tarzan tree swinging ensues. Andy and Jimmy fight but are somehow bonding.

Master Soul is walking through the forest when Jimmy demands that he leave. Master Soul beats the monkey but no spanking is involved. Andy tells the man to leave the forest. Master Soul knocks the pair out. He decides to train Andy in some martial arts. Andy reveals he has no family.

Passage of time, Andy defends various animals in the forest.

Master Soul is at the river and being chased by goons of Black Mantis. Surrounded by the lackeys, Andy and Jimmy come to the rescue. Andy will lure the goons away from Master Soul who can hide.

Andy is chased by Black Mantis and his goons. They eventually catch up to him. Andy realizes that Black Mantis is his father’s enemy. Black Mantis demands that the kid tell him where Master Soul is. They take Andy to evil overlord’s headquarters and throw him in jail.

Phoenix, a girl, sees Andy thrown into a cell. She is able to sneak him some food.

Jimmy tends to Master Soul.

Black Mantis cannot get Andy to admit anything. He decides to starve him into talking. The obvious evil overlord decides that Andy would make an excellent addition if he could be corrupted to the dark side.

Phoenix sneaks some more food to Andy and reveals she is a prisoner since Black Mantis killed her parents.

Master Soul has healed and must rescue Andy.

Black Mantis demonstrates his power against the villagers before having a feast.

Phoenix sneaks more food to Andy and will help him escape. They sneak out as the guards are getting drunk. Phoenix and Andy mightily kung fu the guards and make their break.

Later, Black Mantis chews out his goons.

Master Soul and Jimmy run into Andy and Phoenix. Master Soul learns that Andy is Blue Thunder’s son. He will teach the boy the martial arts. They all head back to the forest.

Philosophy ensues about abandoning hate. The training starts. Slow but definite improvement must be sprinkled with a few bits of komedy. Andy learns how to pull nails out of a post with his bare hands. He is finally shown the drunken fist technique.

Master Soul has been hiding his shoulder wound. Andy finally learns that his master is suffering from the poison attack and need the antidote.

Andy heads to the village and learns the antidote is a rare plant guarded by an evil snake. Black Mantis’s goons come by. Andy and Jimmy fight their way to freedom.

Back at the training camp, they tell Master Soul about the 1000 year Ginseng antidote. He refuses to let them go after it for fear of it being too dangerous. Andy and Jimmy sneak off to search for the cure.

They trod on the mountain where the cure grows. Finally discovering the plant, a snake attacks Andy. Jimmy the monkey versus a flying cobra.

Science has proved that Monkey Vs Snakes on a Plane is the greatest idea ever
Science has proved that Monkey Vs Snakes on a Plane is the greatest idea ever.
Andy passes out after being bitten by the snake. Jimmy digs up the cure and gives some to Andy.

Black Mantis and White Swallow track Andy.

Jimmy fighting the snake flashback ensues. Andy is meditating.

Black Mantis’s goons find Master Soul and Phoenix. Master Soul starts whooping the goons.

Andy has learned the drunken monkey fist and heads home.

Black Mantis is fighting Master Soul.

Phoenix is contending with White Swallow.

Andy, Jimmy, and woodland creatures head on.

Black Mantis starts smacking Master Soul around when Andy arrives to the rescue. The woodland creatures handle the thugs with surprising ease.

Andy fights Black Mantis. Andy reveals that Blue Thunder is his father and dodges the villains poison darts.

The woodland creatures set fire to Black Mantis’s evil overlord castle.

Andy uses the sleeper hold on Black Mantis. Master Soul convinces Andy not to deliver the deathblow because killing is wrong. Black Mantis plead s for death. Master Soul tells the defeated villain to lead a good life. Master Soul, Andy, and Phoenix walk away from the crying super villain.


What I say:

A boy whose is orphaned by a villainous kung fu master. He is found and taught how to fight by a wizened Shaolin master. Eventually, the boy grows up and must battle the man who killed his father. Well, that plot seems to have been used for most of the kung fu movies out there. Well, what would make the story usable in a cartoon. Helpful Disney like animals aiding the heroes would make it a cartoonable.

I wasn't able to find out for sure if this is just an older Japanese anime series like Ultrama 2 or not. However, with Joseph Lai being credited, I think it is safe to think this isn't from Japan. Joseph Lai, we meet again. He gave us some truely screwed up ninja movies such as Ninja in the Killing Fields along with the Catman movies: Catman in Boxer's Blow and Catman in Lethal Track. The best that can be said is that he couldn't edit 2 different cartoons together. It would take the American twisted ingenuity of Carl Macek to do that to create the Robotech series.

Whenever, I wrote "Blue Thunder" I had to keep myself from including any Roy Schnieder, Daniel Stern JAFO references, or any "Follow My Leader" quotings. Needless to say, that was a tall order. IF you have no idea of what I mentioning, watch a movie called Blue Thunder about a super helicopter but ignore the series that was recently released on DVD.

The animation makes it difficult to figure out how old Andy is. He looks like the typical 5 or 6 year old kid. A scene or 2 later, Andy looks like he's 11 or 12. The DVD cover makes him look like alate teen if not an early 20-something. That makes things complicated especially trying to decipher the time scale the show is based on.

The dubbing is bad. I mean, we have a horribly English-accented kid. The random Brooklynn accents from Japanese dockworkers in Gamera Vs Monster X is nothing compared to this. The only way to make him sound any more steretypically British would for him to talk about cricket, tea, and crumpets.

This isn't a good cartoon in terms of animation or story. Thunder Prince is horribly generic and derivative... (Sorry got to pull out that lame 2nd derivative calculus joke.) Still even with its many flaws, it still has a lame charm. I wasn't looking for something profound at the time. Thunder Prince being so goofy struck me at the right time to bypass a good numer of my negative nerves. Sure, I'm starting to sound more critical but am composing this more than a couple of weeks after originally watching it.

The carrot Andy eats at the first looks a lot like the 100 year old Ginseng



3 1/2 NINJAS

Quotable Dialogue

"Putting up a fight, eh?"
"My family and clan will live on to take revenge in my place."
"I want to eat you."
"Try my kung fu."
"There's the little kid with the monkey."
"Why don't you go back and play with your bad guy friends?"
"My name is Thunder Prince."
"You worthless son of a camel."


Morals of the Story

Toothpicks are deadly weapons.
Fish are easy to catch with your mouth.
Monkeys are farmers.
Snakes can fly.
Thunder Prince translates into "Andy."
Uppercuts are quite effective against cobras.
Coyotes love to de-pants evil goons.