Movies based on cartoon shows

[Osiris-Rex]

I always really liked Altman's Popeye. Never understood the critical lambasting it gets.
.

It suffered from what a lot of movies suffer from. Great cast and characters stuck in a lousy script. Think Suicide Squad or Jonah Hex. Robins Williams and Shelly Duvall were pitch perfect as Popeye and Olive Oyl.
And Paul L. Smith, Paul Dooley, and Ray Walston also made for a believable Bluto, Wimpy, and Poopdeck. But the movie had slow pacing, was incoherent at times, cluttered, and rather boring for the most part.

 

[BoredGuy]

Still think there is tons of potential in:

Mighty Max

Generator Rex

Johnny Quest

Space Ghost

Galaxy Rangers

Gargoyles

Darkwing Duck (CGI, natch)

Bionic Six

The Herculoids

Exo-Squad

this. so much this.
Gargoyles all day

 

[Octoberist]

Disney has been sorta weird on Gargoyles. Things can change though.

With Ducktales* coming up, I can them bringing the IP back as an animated series. And maybe as a testing ground. It helps that the newer execs are folks who grew up in the 80's and 90's now.

*It does help that Ducktales has pre-established Disney characters, and was based on an acclaimed comic series with Scrooge.

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

What about Bravestarr?

It's a bit Masters of the Universe with cowboys, but still....it could work.
And having a native-american hero would make it different from all other heroes out there.

 

[Thundarr]

What about Bravestarr?

It's a bit Masters of the Universe with cowboys, but still....it could work.
And having a native-american hero would make it different from all other heroes out there.

I was a teenager by the time Bravestarr was on TV, so I didn't really watch it. I have seen a few episodes while babysitting my nephew when he was little, and it looked like a fun show. I think the producers would probably end up white-washing the main character for the live act adaptation though

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

I think the producers would probably end up white-washing the main character for the live act adaptation though

Unfortunately, i agree.

 

[Loden Greatstorm]

Ben 10 anyone?

 

[Thundarr]

Disney has been sorta weird on Gargoyles. Things can change though.

With Ducktales* coming up, I can them bringing the IP back as an animated series. And maybe as a testing ground. It helps that the newer execs are folks who grew up in the 80's and 90's now.

*It does help that Ducktales has pre-established Disney characters, and was based on an acclaimed comic series with Scrooge.

A friend of mine, who is a huge fan of Gargoyles, told me what he had heard about why Disney is so reluctant to do anything with the series. I don't know for sure if this is true, it's just what I was told by my friend.

The characters for Gargoyles, including their names, personalities, etc, were created by the writing team of Michael Reaves and his wife Brynne Chandler Reaves. The two of them wrote the majority of the episodes for Season 1 & 2. Then for Season 3, producer Greg Weisman decided that he wanted to take the show in a lighter, more comedic route, as well as taking several shortcuts with the animation to cut costs. Michael and Brynne Reaves disagreed, and eventually walked. The show continued in its new direction under a new writing and directing team. As Mr & Mrs Reaves had predicted, the fans didn't like the changes and the ratings tanked.

According to my friend, The split between the Reaves and Disney wasn't a very civil one, and Weisman is still upset with them for leaving the way that they did. However, due to an iron clad clause in their contracts with Disney, they will receive residuals/royalties for all future things Gargoyles related (DVD/VHS sales, toys, television broadcasts, and of course live action adaptations) regardless of whether or not they're still employed by Disney. Disney, or a least Weisman, doesn't want them to receive any financial compensation for the property, so out of spite they're just going to sit on the whole franchise. Either until the Reaves die of old age or there are a new bunch of executives at Disney who agree that Weisman's aproach to the show was not the way to go.

Again I don't know for sure if this story is true. This is just what I've been told. Take it for what you will.

 

[Sawyer]

I've been thinking about this lately, and I've come to the conclusion that 9 times out of 10, if you're making a film out of a cartoon show, just keep it animated. There might be a certain temptation/thrill in seeing George Jetson and his family in live action, but unless you update/give it the "mature" treatment, that **** is just going to look like Spy Kids or worse. Give it the Pixar/Dreamworks treatment.

Don't get me wrong, there are some that could be live action. Johnny Quest, Gargoyles, maaaaaybe Scooby Doo again. But for the most part...

 

[Vapor]

Thundercats
Gargoyles
Mighty Max
Pirates of Darkwater
MASK
Visionaries

 

[Thundarr]

The Addams Family was a comic strip, then a TV show, then a movie, then a cartoon, so it doesn't really count.

Actually, I believe the cartoon came before the LIVE (edited because of stupid atuocorrect) action TV series with John Astin. Or maybe shortly after? Either way, it certainly came out before the movie wit Raul Julia.

Æon Flux - Horrible.
Garfield - Good first half, terrible last half. Bad decision to make only Garfield CGI.
Dudley Do-Right - God awful.
The Flintstones - Good. I really like this one.
George of the Jungle - I liked this one too.
Inspector Gadget - Not really all that great.
Josie and the Pussycats - I LOVE this one. It's underrated to the max. It's the TV show brought to live just in the modern world.
Mr. Magoo - Horrible. Not even Leslie Nielsen could save it.
Popeye - Hate it with a passion.
Ri¢hie Ri¢h - I use to like it as a kid, haven't watched it since.
Rocky and Bullwinkle - The worst one on this list.
Scooby-Doo - I enjoy this one, I really do.

I also enjoy these ones.

 

[Thundarr]

Thundercats
Gargoyles
Mighty Max
Pirates of Darkwater
MASK
Visionaries

So what about live action adaptations of cartoons that have already been made? What ones do you like? Which ones do you hate? Which ones have you not yet seen?

 

[Vapor]

So what about live action adaptations of cartoons that have already been made? What ones do you like? Which ones do you hate? Which ones have you not yet seen?

The only one I have seen is The Flintstone. I was never a big fan of the show but I always enjoyed the film. I thought they did an alright job capturing the feel of it and John Goodman was perfectly cast.

 

[Vapor]

Reboot could be good too.