24 replies to this topic

[DarkJuno]

So. Beyond the usual fair of new versions of Transformers, G.I. Joeand even girly shows like THE PONIES, looks like Nicktoons specifically is digging up the grave reviving two properties, Thundercats and Voltron, as well as premiering a new version of the Ninja Turtles sooner or later.



Voltron Force, interestingly, looks like it's a sequel series to the original, though I'm not sure what to think of it. I know I'm well beyond the target audience of it, and I still have the original series here with me so it certainly doesn't ruin it, but making it all hip and cool breaks apart how cheesy and corny the original was, which is part of the charm. Still, if the kids like it then I guess that's fine, though I'm always wary of new versions of shows where they introduce new, younger characters, especially when said characters kind of scream token characters (black kid, vaguely Hispanic kid, and non-girly girl). I am kinda interested in how it looks like Voltron itself can have different torsos/helmets though. If nothing else, hopefully it elads somewhere, as opposed to the pretty decent Robotech: Shadow Chronicles that left it wide open for another movie and......stopped there.



Thundercats, on the other hand, looks really well done from the trailer. It looks like it might follow in the footsteaps of the Masters of the Universe reboot from 2002 or - techncially and objectively superior to the original in every way but nostalgia factor. Alas, that might also mean it might falter if it pays too much attention to the crusty old fanboys like He-Man did, rather then appease them but ultimately remember the kids as the various TF's have. Still, it looks good enough, though I'm sure Cheetara (and Lion-o I suppose) will usher in a new era of furries.

I'd show TMNT, but that "trailer" is really just text, sound effects, and rough CG models, so no point in that. All the same, I'm kinda amused by the "it worked 20 years ago, so dammit we'll do it again!" attitude they have in making this all over again, cyncially trying to dupe all the older fans of the original shows into biting as well. Unfortuantely, most companies tend to forget that the reaosn why a few reboots have worked out so well is because they were well made shows on their own rather then because it's just a trend, and they did a very good job of balancing out taking care of the kids along with respecting the original source amterial, all under the umbrella that this is there to make money, but of course no one pays attention to that.

Except the last part, funnily enough.

Eh, who knows. All I knwo si that it seems Nicktoons, with these three shows plus the new Power Rangers is pretty comfortable in bring back old shows. Wonder what's next.....

[Selena]

I saw the Voltron trailer yesterday and was just "......what?!" But it'll probably go the way of the old CGI series. Maybe. Thundercats actually looks... halfway decent!


No 80's poofhair is always a good thing.

[Game Master JRPomazon]

Selena, on 08 May 2011 - 01:54 AM, said:

Thundercats actually looks... halfway decent!


No 80's poofhair is always a good thing.

If they don't look like glam rock stars, they aren't the Thundercats.


. . .


But this will do just nicely.

[Raien]

Thundercats was one of the few 80s/90s cartoon adventures that I never saw back in the day. Nowadays, it looks a little simplistic for my tastes (as most 80s cartoons do). The trailer for the remake tells me that it will have more developed characters, which is a good thing, but the world still looks a little underdeveloped to me. I'd need to see more of it before I could get excited about it.

On the subject of the new TMNT reboot, I think the problem is that the writers and animators are themselves TMNT fanboys. They have such a personal interest in the property that they've dedicated their lives to churning out TMNT content, regardless of the market's interest in it. It's the same reason why comic book publishers can never just abandon their superhero series even though the public has long since lost interest in them. It's ridiculous, like a studio dedicated to releasing constant adaptations of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

Oh, and Voltron Force looks awful. The only question is, will it be better than the unholy abomination that is the 2006 reboot of Biker Mice From Mars?

[DarkJuno]

Yes, the newer Biker Mice From Mars was the most inexplicable remake ever. I liked the original show fine as a kid, but it was hardly a huge hit that needed a remake.

As for the inmates running the asylum, that's not necessarily a bad thing - it worked out pretty well for Transformers Animated, even in spite of CN trying to screw it out of a good timeslot it still recieved good ratings, and the spin-off non-toy products (mostly the "we'll take screenshots of episodes, insert captions and call them comics" ) apparently do exceptionally well with the intended demographic. Granted, that also has to do with how TF generally does well, it's just that the movies as of late have made it more apparent that's it's "come back," when in reality it never really went away. I will say though, the 2K3 TMNT show actually did do very well, at least in the first 4 or so seasons before the story arc became ridiculously overarching and complex for a Saturday morning cartoon, and even then part of the blame can lie with the death of network Saturday morning cartoons in general. So I can't blame them for trying a third Ninja Turtles show, and given how they're doing the new Voltron and Thundercats along with the aforementioned Power Rangers: Samurai, why not. I will agree that fanboys writing can also go horribly horribly wrong, it was just that in my example of TF:A, the writers were smart enough to realize that the core demographic were the kids, and you really didn't have to throw too many bones to the older folk to keep the reasonable ones in the lot happy. Just plenty of smart or at least well thought out writing and a good series bible with good actors and a respect for the franchise, while being bold enough to try different things is all you need.

Plus, if I spent $60 Million on a property I'd probably want to try and get something out of it too. I mean, obviously in the end this is all about money, and all these shows are very much "toyetic."

[Veteran]

Thundercats is back? *squee* Now all I need is Superted to get a revival and it's like I'm 6 again!

[Raien]

DarkJuno, on 08 May 2011 - 12:35 PM, said:

Yes, the newer Biker Mice From Mars was the most inexplicable remake ever. I liked the original show fine as a kid, but it was hardly a huge hit that needed a remake.

I feel the same. Part of the problem is that the rebellious culture that bikers are associated with has pretty much died, so the characters lack the "cool" factor they used to have.

Quote

As for the inmates running the asylum, that's not necessarily a bad thing - it worked out pretty well for Transformers Animated, even in spite of CN trying to screw it out of a good timeslot it still recieved good ratings, and the spin-off non-toy products (mostly the "we'll take screenshots of episodes, insert captions and call them comics" ) apparently do exceptionally well with the intended demographic.

It's true that the fans are better able to replicate and improve upon the original content because they have a better appreciation for it. The problem is that they don't know when to quit. This kind of content is not designed to be churned out on a regular basis. At some point, it has to make way for new original content.

But really, this is where the businesspeople are failing. It's their responsibility to take the creative talent and direct it towards creating fresh new ideas. A brand new series inspired by TMNT could be much more interesting and successful than a TMNT reboot. TMNT is old now, it's not going to excite people like it used to do.

[Chief Fire Storm]

The new Thundercats series will be on Cartoon Network. I'm kind of hoping Warner Brothers will finish and release the movie that they had in the works.

[Sondilyn]

I'm not sure how right I am... but is it me or does the animation on the Thundercats one look like Avatar? Not that that's a bad thing. I loved the animation for that.

[Selena]

Yeah, I thought it looked a little like Avatar's style too. Not the full impact. Just a bit. Like Avatar-lite.

[Raien]

Is it because the Pandorans are cat-like creatures?

[Selena]

No, not blue-people Avatar.


Avatar the Last Airbender.

[Sir Turtlelot]

I'm really excited for the Thundercats reboot, it looks like it has a lot of potential. That and I loved Thundercats as a kid.

[Nevermind]

I had a Liono dagger back when I was little. It was only plastic though, and didn't extend. Doesn't mean I didn't try!

Thundercats was a huge thing for me. God, I'm geeking all down my front right now.

[Selena]

Wait. 1:16 in the trailer.





SNARF. HE'S COMING BACK.

[Nevermind]

They don't allow such previews in my country.

[Game Master JRPomazon]

Mr. Pelucas, on 09 May 2011 - 10:08 PM, said:

They don't allow such previews in my country.

They don't allow snarf in your country? Lucky.

[SOAP]

Raien, on 08 May 2011 - 04:44 PM, said:

But really, this is where the businesspeople are failing. It's their responsibility to take the creative talent and direct it towards creating fresh new ideas. A brand new series inspired by TMNT could be much more interesting and successful than a TMNT reboot. TMNT is old now, it's not going to excite people like it used to do.

What do you mean? Are you talking about media in general, cartoons in general, or "saturday morning cartoon" type stuff? Because from where I stand there's plenty of original kids cartoons out there that are pretty successful. Someone already mentioned Avatar: the last airbender (the TC reboot reminded me of this too). Cartoon Network has Ben 10. And I don't remember which network carries it but Stormhawks is pretty awesome for a kids show. And for younger kids there's Chowder, Adventure Time with Finn and Jake, the Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack. All pretty new ideas and successful. So I'm kinda confused at what you mean by failing.

Mr. Pelucas, on 09 May 2011 - 07:51 PM, said:

I had a Liono dagger back when I was little. It was only plastic though, and didn't extend. Doesn't mean I didn't try!

Thundercats was a huge thing for me. God, I'm geeking all down my front right now.

A man after my own heart!

Edited by SOAP, 10 May 2011 - 03:31 AM.

[Selena]

They did remake Jem - it was that Miley Cyrus show thing.

[Raien]

SOAP, on 10 May 2011 - 02:31 AM, said:

What do you mean? Are you talking about media in general, cartoons in general, or "saturday morning cartoon" type stuff? Because from where I stand there's plenty of original kids cartoons out there that are pretty successful. Someone already mentioned Avatar: the last airbender (the TC reboot reminded me of this too). Cartoon Network has Ben 10. And I don't remember which network carries it but Stormhawks is pretty awesome for a kids show. And for younger kids there's Chowder, Adventure Time with Finn and Jake, the Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack. All pretty new ideas and successful. So I'm kinda confused at what you mean by failing.

I'm really just lamenting the general lack of adventure cartoons nowadays. I'm not saying that there aren't any, just that there aren't enough. If I add Spectacular Spider-man and the original TMNT reboot to your examples, that makes five adventure shows, which for a period of ten years is relatively tiny. I'm sure there's a few more examples we've missed but the point still stands. The variety of adventure cartoons is lacklustre compared to the 80s and 90s.

I also don't know why the "older kids" and "younger kids" demographics need to be split up like they are today. I remember shows like The Raccoons and Rupert the Bear as adventure series that both age groups could enjoy. Nowadays the cartoons for "younger kids" are almost entirely comedies, and while they may be good comedies (I have enjoyed The Fairly Odd Parents when I managed to catch it on TV), I still miss the variety.

[Nevermind]

That could be from the influx of battle anime taking over the morning cartoon shows. Pokemon, Beyblades, Dragonball Z, Yu-gi-oh, Bakugan, all those types. Even Bo-bo-bo-bo-bo-bo-bo-etc.

[SOAP]

Selena, on 10 May 2011 - 12:03 PM, said:

They did remake Jem - it was that Miley Cyrus show thing.

Miley's blonde wig has nothing on Synergy!

[DarkJuno]

You know the scary thing about Jem? By virtue of the three shows sharing writers who liked to world build and make little jokes, it's in the same universe/world as Transformers and G.I. Joe, subtly but pretty definitively. So hey, maybe Jem and the Holograms will get kidnapped by Cobra for......some reason in GI Joe Renegades and/or Transformers Prime and have to be saved.

....nah.

[Hana-Nezumi]

*looks up Jem and the Holograms*

How did I not know about this?! It's AWESOME!

[DarkJuno]

Not to ressurect the dead, but Nine Minute Preview of the new Thundercats.


I.....am suitably impressed. o_o Yeah, questionable child acting, but they are kids. Maybe it only looks good because this is part of the premiere, but still, wow.


So, with this, Transformers: Prime, G.I. Joe: Renegades, Avengers, and Young Justice, you can slap anyone who says Western Animation is dead - just a pity we lost Wolverine and the X-Men and Spectacular Spider-man due to politics.

Edited by DarkJuno, 03 July 2011 - 09:05 PM.