Commentary: ‘Exploding Kittens’ Is Just ‘Thor’ With Cats

The humbling of an all-powerful being is an enticing premise. It’s been utilized in different ways across different stories. In the era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the most notable example is probably the film Thor. It tells the tale of a god being transformed into a mortal so that he can learn a valuable lesson about how to best wield his powers. It was a successful exercise as it launched the character into prominence in the MCU and made Chris Hemsworth a household name. So it’s especially interesting to see that same formula utilized for a Netflix animated comedy.

The premise behind Exploding Kittens is quite simple once the template for Thor is put into account. A standard mythological version of God (Tom Ellis) is deemed too arrogant by a council in heaven. He is sentenced to time on Earth amongst humans to humble himself by helping them. They took away his God form and placed him in the body of a cat. Unfortunately, the dysfunctional family he attaches himself to has more problems than he is capable of fixing.

There are obviously several notable differences between Exploding Kittens and Thor. For one, Godcat retains some of his powers, that come into play in hilarious fashion. Meanwhile, Thor is completely mortal. There’s also an antichrist cat who adds a complex dichotomy of good versus evil. Lastly, Exploding Kittens is primarily a comedy while Thor relies mostly on action and adventure to tell its tale. But the core story structure remains the same. Both Thor and Godcat must interact with humans, and it’s this interaction that allows them each to have similar character arcs. It just goes to show that sometimes a base premise is all that’s needed to build a story. Everything else is just details.

Exploding Kittens is now streaming on Netflix.