Is it just me or is comics where cartoon producers are looking for new ideas?
X-Men is in it's final season. Batman is being brought back to life with all
new eps. Where's the Tick... Comdey Central? Spawn is leading a pack of
HBO animations. Marvel is still kicking out lots of TV stuff including a new
GhostRider series next season... Is there and truth to the rumors that there
will be a second season of Maxx? Savage Dragon is getting retoaled at USA.
All this and more...

72 responses total.

The Tick is still on COmedy Central, yep.

I've been hearing about the second Maxx series for a while now,
but nothing lately.  Hmph.

Marvel is presently considering Captain America, Silver Surfer, and Namor for
their own cartoons, action figures, etc.  the main key is how marketable they
are and how many supporting characters do they have that can be made into
interesting action figures.

Isn't that right. I feel that in most cartoons today are only there to promote
a action figure line. There are only a few that have any inteligence at all.
I mean you don't see ER action figures or lunchboxes. Why can't they just make
a cartoon?

Because the money comes from the merchandise. Once a show airs, you can't
make too much more from it, but if you put out an action figure line, you
could reap more profit than you could get from advertisers. Just look at
what's available in Japan. Sailor Moon merchandise alone makes Marvel
merchandise look meager in comparison. A successful cartoon needs stuff
to reap in the profits and gauge the kids' reactions to the shows. If
a company could sell 5,000,000 Hammerman action figures, the show would
still be on despite the poor animation and sucky plots.

ok.. the Silver Surfer is a go. prepare for action figures, handheld games,
shoes, and many more ways to get money from parents with obsessed kids.

I know anime is cool and all, but it all seems so risky when they seem to rush
into these things they really loose track on quality of the pictures and
story. Plus with all the hubbub now about installing ratings on TV shows they
can't really show everything that they can with comics. It doesn't really
transfer very well now a days.

What is everybody favorite cartonn? Mine was The Maxx,but that was only one
season... So, I'd have to say my favorite cartoon urently running is
Gargoles.The was smartest thing Disney did... they hired the people who did
Batman to make it for them. My second favorite is Transformers Beast Wars.
Fully computer animated  and the storie's actually have some thought into it
(unlike the old one). The best thing is that they are useing projetiles that
actual make dents!

Hey, I've caught a few of the beast wars episodes and I have to say that they
are really cool. oh by the way Dave, this is how you spell Gargoyles, not
Gargoles (sigh.)

Everybody knows by now I can't spell wroth shiy...

My favorite current cartoons are Gargoyles, Samurai Pizza Cats, and Daria.
Gargoyles has a complex storyline that's worth examining. The Pizza Cats
are just plain silly (where else can you see a villain who's a transvestite
gay fox [they say he's a rat, but look at his tail] who explodes every
time he's angry). As for Daria, only 2 episodes have aired and I'm already
hooked. I knew people like that.

RE #10 Otaking, I am aware that "Daria" is a spin-off of "Beavis & Butt-Head,"
and I did see some promos on "Gargoyles," but who are the "Samurai Pizza
Cats" and what channel are they on?

Re #11: Samurai Pizza Cats is on Ch. 20 at 6AM.

I like the point of how Gargoyles gets into the Shakespeare mythos. They have
made a very complicated storyline that spans for centuries, yet you can jump
onto any ep and no what's going on.

yeah , when ever I can see Gargoyles it looks really interesting, but thats
my normal test/quiz study time so i can't really see stuff that early in the
morning.

X-Men is in its final season?  how does that work? (excuse the ignorance, I
dont' ahve much choise)

What do you mean? X-Men is not going to be on TV no more after this next
season. I guess ratings are down. Who knows?

Marvel is just not producing new episodes of the X-Men.. they've made enough
episodes for syndication and are ending the series before they run out of
stories.. BUT the fact that there are enough episodes for syndication means
you will still see them on TV.. just no new ones..

Wow, that means I might be able to catch up.  If I recall, however, 
there were never all that many made per season.  Rather frustrating, 
actually.

Quote CSN, "Tim Burton may be doing a live-action Scooby Doo film (ruh roh)"

hehe.. i heard about that.. weird.. i wonder who they'll be casting..

How soon before we see a live action "Jetsons" movie?

Presumably, bruin, by the time I'm dead, because over my dead body will 
I permit a live action Jetson's movie to be made (and I'll, take step, 
too, remember T2?  those kinds of steps.)

Unfortunately, movie studios think that live-action versions of popular
cartoons are "new and fresh ideas" instead of just an excuse to have an
expensive fx budget. Add the fact that animated films (except for Disney's)
don't stand a chance of making much money and you realize that studios
just want cash, not quality. Of course, cash is always the bottom line.

of course, most non-disney animated flicks actually suck.  has anyone ever
been anything but disgusted by these new studio animated flicks that have come
out since American Tale?

well, of course, Disney sucks just as much. Who are those guys who do Batman
and Superman?

Warner Bros. studios does Batman and Superman.

Actually, disney full length films are good, the animation tends to be
incidental to that.  Batman the animated series *is* however, the beswt half
hour regular series I've ever seen in animation... I still get a kick out of
watching it.

Disney films follow one basic pattern ever since The Little Mermaid. Every
new Disney film now has to be a musical. That leaves very little room for
innovation in my opinion. You can't do too much with a plot if you need a
catchy tune to go with it. Now, of course, I'm not including musicals like
Fiddler on the Roof or Chess. I'm talking about musicals targeted at
children. Since Disney makes a lot of money from children's musicals,
everyone else tries to make children's musicals. Noone in America
even tries to make their own kind of animated film that's any different
from what Disney has already done.

And how about Disney releasing songs from their movies as hit singles (such
as "Beauty And The Beast" by Celine Dion & Peabo Bryson, or "Can You Feel The
Love Tonight" by Elton John)?

The music is just a bloody inconvenience in my opinion... Beauty an the Beast
was, in fact a very good movie in its own right.  If they could kill the voice
over songs it would be a big improvement, though.

Not that Disney has made an original movie since Walt died... It's either old
myths, historical stories, or stories they ripped off from Japan...

Lion King was completely original, actually.  

A lot of the stories are at least drastic improvements and glamorizations.

NO, no, no, no, no... Lion King was a complete rippoff of Japan's Kimba The
White Lion. There was nothing original in Lion King. In fact the makewrs of
Kimba could have sued, but they thought it was an honor to have it homaged.
They didn't realize that Disney was not paying homage, but ripping them off.

that a fact?  Ah well, it was pretty well done anyway.

At a recent Anime con (I forget which one), producers of an anime company
annouced a new Kimba the White Lion movie in the next year or two. They
jokingly wondered if they should worry if Disney would sue them for
plagiarism.

Funny joke... but let's walk this path for a second. Disney is stupid enough
to do something like this. Yet, they would never sue because if they went to
court the general public will find out that Kimba was made long ago (what,
30-40 years ago???) and that Lion King was a total rip off. So, Disney
(knowing they could've gotten into major trouble) will never sue. Now look
at this again. If Disney doesn't sue and if the new Kimba movie was
distributed in the US, then the general public will think that they were
ripping off Disney...
   SICK STUFF!!!

Don't like disney, dave?  why not?

I hate Disney, but that is a long story. Insted I bring a little news...
   Maxx will have a second run of episodes on MTV!!!!! Yeh! But is it bunny
Maxx, or Horse Maxx? Will it continue were they left off or start the Sara
story? Look for it next year.

Two Weeks to Spawn!!!!!

Can somebody tape it for me?  I dont' get cable, much less hbo, and I cna't
order it unless columbia cablevision wires our road.  Besides, I'll be gone
at the time.

- Backtalk version 1.3.30 - Copyright 1996-2006, Jan Wolter and Steve Weiss