It was only later that I remembered the original Thundercats didn't air as Thundercats in France, but as Cosmocats.
We had at least one French family holiday during the major Thundercats phase of my life. I was delighted to discover a whole new country full of merchandise, including a comic book, a collectable mustard jar with Lion-O ('Starlion') and Cheetara ('Felibelle') on it and a 7" single of the theme song, which I played so often I can still remember most of the French lyrics:
Cosmocats extraterrestres!
Cosmocats, c'est vous
Qui avez tous les pouvoirs
Cosmocats, à vous!
Cosmo, cosmo, cosmo, Cosmocats!
Cosmo, cosmo, cosmo, Cosmocats!
I could go on, but I won't. I make no claims for the accuracy of the grammar, either.
Later on Saturday I discovered Cosmocats DVDs in a shop called Kandy, which appears to be the French equivalent of Poundstretcher. I recognised the episodes immediately, even with French titles, and bought the one with Tygra on the case as a present for my ten-year-old self.
(I also brought back a collectable mustard jar, with Spielberg's Tintin on it this time, having recently finished the Bolt and Mittens mustard obtained on a previous trip.)
* YMMV, rose-tinted spectacle etc. If I'd been a fan of My Little Pony in the 1980s I expect I'd now be complaining about how terrible the new one is.
