This is the thread where we talk about Western Animation and Comics.

[Classy Viking]

Being it Superheroes or Pixar, this is where we can discuss it.

TWO RULES:
1. No mentions of Anime or Manga as a superior or a preference. Only to discuss homages and parodies.

2. No My Little Pony, That show will derail any discussion at all.


To start us off:

Who here has read the Greg Rucka/J. H. Williams III's Detective Comics Run featuring the new Batwoman? It may be the most beautiful superhero comics I've ever read/

Also Sym Bionic Titan, who else is mourning this show killed too early?

[fleur_fraise]

Well clearly anime is far superior to any western animation. Just compare them:

Anime


Western animation


It's not even debatable.

But if we MUST talk about Western animation, I've been watching the new My Little Pony show, and I have to say I quite like it! The characters are adorable and the writing is hilarious. Anyone else seen this show?

[Classy Viking]

Katie Burger, I loathe you.

[fleur_fraise]

My favorite pony is Rarity, but I also love Fluttershy. What do you think?

[Bresslol]

I'm Jon Bressler, and I approve this trolling.

[reppy]

Two of my favorite American animated films.

Man, there was another one I'm thinking of, it's not really for kids though. >__>  All I remember is it involves a cat.  And lots of adult-themed stuff.  XD

[fleur_fraise]

I'm Jon Bressler, and I approve this trolling.

Um that's the OLD My Little Pony and while I do love old cartoons from my childhood, I'm talking about the NEW My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
Which, in terms of both writing and character development, is far superior. I like the art direction of the old cartoon better but the new version is more modern and has been updated for today's children.

[Classy Viking]

Two of my favorite American animated films.

Man, there was another one I'm thinking of, it's not really for kids though. >__>  All I remember is it involves a cat.  And lots of adult-themed stuff.  XD

Fritz the Cat, man.

[@random]

I'm Jon Bressler, and I approve this trolling.

I haven't seen a thread get full of win so fast since Cauan tried to give us advices on how to following cosplayers around and buy stuffs from milanoo. 

[fleur_fraise]

I'm Jon Bressler, and I approve this trolling.

I haven't seen a thread get full of win so fast since Cauan tried to give us advices on how to following cosplayers around and buy stuffs from milanoo. 

I know you quoted Bressler but I take credit for the awesome, thank you, thank you.

[reppy]

Two of my favorite American animated films.

Man, there was another one I'm thinking of, it's not really for kids though. >__>  All I remember is it involves a cat.  And lots of adult-themed stuff.  XD

Fritz the Cat, man.

That's it.  I was thinking Felix the Cat, but I knew that wasn't it.  Man, Fritz . . you taught me so much at when I was only 12.  Good thing I forgot it all.

[meep]

Well clearly anime is far superior to any western animation. Just compare them:

Anime


Western animation


It's not even debatable.

But if we MUST talk about Western animation, I've been watching the new My Little Pony show, and I have to say I quite like it! The characters are adorable and the writing is hilarious. Anyone else seen this show?

Clearly you got it wrong girl.

Clearly western animation is the top.

Anime


Western Animation


If we MUST talk about Anime lets talk about Panty and Stocking ok. C:

[@random]

I'm Jon Bressler, and I approve this trolling.

I haven't seen a thread get full of win so fast since Cauan tried to give us advices on how to following cosplayers around and buy stuffs from milanoo.  

I know you quoted Bressler but I take credit for the awesome, thank you, thank you.

That was some epic trolling. (^_^)


_{(Edit: Both then and now.)}

[reppy]

Anyone remember watching any of these totally radical Saturday morning cartoons?  Man, I wonder if any of these ever made it out to DVD..?

[Classy Viking]

The Tick is on DVD.

[reppy]

The Tick had a pretty good cult following.  I thought the live action TV show they did was hilarious, but it got canned pretty quickly.

[lychee-twist]

Oh dear god. I remember that Sharky dog. Not so much on Eek the cat. I watched a lot of cartoons when I was younger (and now), and for whatever reason I'm "eh" on most of them.

Unless it's this:


That show was awesome.

Also: Flashback!

[reppy]

The shows Animaniacs and Freakazoid pretty much helped define me from the ages of 10-12.

I think my first experience having a "marathon" was when Nickelodeon picked up the "Tiny Toons" show and played probably 12+ hours straight.  I think I watched most of it.  Ah, summers.

[lychee-twist]

I just happen to have Freakazoid Season 1 on DVD. Two episodes got repeated during that. My favorite part was "Scream-O-Vision" and Freakazoid's coke spit gag.

[reppy]

I found mine the other day while cleaning my closet. ^^  Noticed it said "Season 1" on it so I went online and found Season 2 on Amazon.com.  Loved that show so much.

We interrupt this program to bring you the following important message: I'm actually a deep voiced woman.  We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

[~boogiepop~]

Ohai



She's like one in a million.

[jaqua]

This show scared me so bad when I was a kid. I loved it.

[KogaRyu]

[jaqua]

BATMAN BEYOND, WHOAAA I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT THAT SHOW.
And Archer is just fabulous.



This was my favorite cartoon for years. Especially since Justice League came on right afterward.



SUPERJAIL STARTS AGAIN THIS SUNDAY, THIS SHOULD BE CELEBRATED

[Wuntvor]

Were to start.  I have always been a fan of animation, and like all US citizens I grew up watching Western Animation and reading US comics.  As a child of the 70's I can say that animation has undergone amazing changes over the years, but there are a few key points that must be addressed.  I think the key turning point in American Feature animation was when Don Bluth, John Pomeroy, and Gary Goldman left Disney because of TRON and started their own animation firm.  This one act changed the face of Disney animation for the next decade, by pretty much giving Disney a major slap in the face and waking them up.  If you don't know who Don Bluth is, you need to pull out all of the animated features you watched growing up.  His first Feature film was The Secret of N.I.M.H., and he and his crew pulled out all of the stops making it.  They paid for it with the proceeds they got from a couple of video games they produced.  You may have heard of them "Dragons Lair" and "Space Ace".    They also did a TV feature film entitled "Banjo the Woodpile Cat."  Anyway, after Secret of N.I.M.H. came An American Tail  What was Disney doing?  The Black Cauldron and The Great Mouse Detective.  Hmm... No contest on which was the better set of shows.  But now the competition begins in earnest!

Disney - 18 November 1988 - Oliver & Company
Bluth - 18 November 1988 - The Land Before Time
Disney - 17 November 1989 - The Little Mermaid
Bluth - 17 November 1989 - All Dogs Go to Heaven
Disney - 16 November 1990 - The Rescuers Down Under (First animated sequel)
Disney - 22 November 1991 - Beauty and the Beast
Bluth - 3 April 1992 - Rock-A-Doodle
Disney - 25 November 1992 - Aladdin
Bluth - 30 March 1994 - Thumbelina
Disney - 24 June 1994 - The Lion King
Bluth - 7 October 1994 - A Troll in Central Park
Bluth - 11 April 1995 - The Pebble and the Penguin
Disney - 23 June 1995 - Pocahontas
Disney - 21 June 1996 - The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Disney - 27 June 1997 - Hercules
Bluth - 21 November 1997 - Anastasia
Disney - 19 June 1998 - Mulan
Disney - 18 June 1999 - Tarzan
Disney - 31 December 1999 - Fantasia/2000
Bluth - 16 June 2000 - Titan A.E.

Bluth hasn't released anything new since Titan A.E. and Disney has cut back on the speed of their releases  They have also gone back to using CG in their animation, which was the original reason Bluth left them in the first place.  Of course, Bluth himself started using CG in Anastasia.  So who is going out to buy Tangled today?

Another cult classic that was produced in Canada by Nelvana is the post apocalyptic rock and roll musical Rock & Rule.  In my opinion it is better than Heavy Metal, mainly because it has better story continuity.  Both features are worth taking a look at.

Ralph Bakshi, is the other big name in Western Animation.  He is best known for movies like, Fritz the Cat, Wizards, Heavy Traffic, Fire & Ice, American Pop, Cool World, and the animated Lord of the Rings.  If Bakshi had a hand in it, you know it was for adult audiences, and looked like something out of a drug induced fantasy.

Other great animation studios that are no more.  Turner Feature Animation.  They produced The Pagemaster and Cats Don't Dance.  My wife still runs the CDD fansite.  They got purchased by WB and later produced The Iron Giant, unfortunately, they also did Quest for Camelot.

Dreamworks, has a few noteworthy films.  Chief among them is The Prince of Egypt, although Antz, The Road to El Dorado, Chicken Run, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, and of course, Shrek, are also worth mentioning. They also produced Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas which didn't do to well, but then it was going up against Finding Nemo.

Speaking of Nemo.  I don't suppose I need to get into Pixar.  Needles to say, if Pixar did it, it was a hit.  Of course Pixar's John Lasseter is also a major fan of Studio Ghibli, so we know they have taste.

I am going to finish with a bit of comic info for you all.  The comic strip Dick Tracy just recently had a face-lift.  Dick Locher just recently stopped drawing the strip after 32 years.  The new team of Mike Curtis and Joe Staton have a inker/letterer I know very well, my wife Shelley. Take a look. http://comics.com/dick_tracy/2011-03-29/

[jaybug]

In the 1940s -50s there was no greater animation than Superman. There were a lot of great cartoons at this time. Popeye, Warner Brothers cartoons, Harvey cartoons, MGM cartoons, things you will never be allowed to ever see again, as they are so incredibly politically incorrect, and so ultra-violent.

The 1960s animation of the US was the bottom of the barrel as far as animation goes, IMHO. Except for Johnny Quest, which was awesome! And the Flintstones, which was the first animated series on prime time television.

70s foreign films, not Japanese, Fantastic Planet, Allegro Non Troppo. Speed Racer came to US from Japan. At the time I had no idea it was from Japan. It was just cool.

I only add my love for Wizards, and anything Bakshi from the 70s. Even if I had to wait until much later to see Fritz the Cat.

You could possibly count Ray Harryhousen's stop-motion animation from Hollywood blockbuster films, but they were serious works, not cartoons.

It wasn't really until 1987 when Disney put cartoons in syndication that animation began to take off again. Duck Tales, Rescue Rangers, etc. For some reason I can't count He-Man or Go-Bots. I guess I could count transformers, but those were strictly a commercial toy selling body by Hasbro. Also they were made in Japan, not the US. Cheaper that way back then.

Now cheap is Korea. Even for anime companies. See credits for Kimi ni Todoke as an example.

[jaqua]

Disney - 24 June 1994 - The Lion King
Disney - 23 June 1995 - Pocahontas
Disney - 21 June 1996 - The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Disney - 27 June 1997 - Hercules

Whoa, my four favorite Disney movies came out consecutively.

[reppy]

[jaqua]

I keep remembering awesome cartoons. Clone High represent

[Saki-the-cat]

*sigh* Childhood, man....The only reason i grew up was because Disney, Nickelodion, and Cartoon network became 90% teen sitcoms and dramas. Now i shall name out everything awesome i grew up with:
Spongebob. (the good ol' early episodes before it jumped the shark)
The wild Thornberries.
Rocko's modern life.
Hey Arnold.
Fairly odd parents (before it jumped the shark)
Rugrats.
Pound puppies.
Jonny Bravo.
Dexter's labrotory.
Powerpuff girls.
SWAT Kats.
Recess.
Pinky and the brain.
Animaniacs.
NOW FOR MOVIES:
Lion king.
Lion king 2.
Winnie the pooh.
Mulan.
Aladin.
Pocahontas.
Tarzan.
An American tale.
Balto.
The great mouse detective.
Toy story.
Toy story 2.
Bugs life.
Snoopy come home.
The Aristocats.
Oliver and company.
101 Dalmations.
Lady and the Tramp.
Lilo and Stitch.

Possibly more i can't think of at the moment...

[Classy Viking]

I keep remembering awesome cartoons. Clone High represent

I WOULDA LIKA SOME CHOWDA

[jaybug]

My mother was grateful that CBS ran Peanuts films for holiday viewing. She didn't like the old Rankin-Bass stop motion stuff.

ABC put out a movie in Prime Time called "The Point." A character in it, Timer, was later used in the ABC spots promoting good eating habits. Also Dodge made a car called the Arrow afterward. They used a song from that film sa the jingle to sell the car, "Me and My Arrow."

I think the Bill Murray, Chris Rock animated film was a similar film to The Point.

[superjaz]

When I grow up I want to be the grandma from 'Hey Arnold'

[Wuntvor]

My mother was grateful that CBS ran Peanuts films for holiday viewing. She didn't like the old Rankin-Bass stop motion stuff.

ABC put out a movie in Prime Time called "The Point." A character in it, Timer, was later used in the ABC spots promoting good eating habits. Also Dodge made a car called the Arrow afterward. They used a song from that film sa the jingle to sell the car, "Me and My Arrow."

I think the Bill Murray, Chris Rock animated film was a similar film to The Point.

Actually Timer is from "The Incredible, Indelible, Magical, Physical Mystery Trip".  It beat Osmosis Jones by quite a few years.

I forgot to mention Rankin/Bass earlier.  They brought us The Hobbit, The Return of The King (finishing up for Bakshi), Flight of Dragons, The Last Unicorn, and of course ThunderCats. They also made all of those Christmas specials.

[jaybug]

So who was in the Point, besides Arrow? Was the boy Arlo? gonna make me IMDB this aren't you? OKay, it's Oblio,not Arlo.

[lychee-twist]

When I grow up I want to be the grandma from 'Hey Arnold'

Ohmygod, absolutely. Dress up as a black cat and herd all the black cats when Friday the 13th rolls around.

Tress McNeal, I love you so hard for being her voice and doing it so well!

[Chibachi Nero]

SPEAKING OF SUPERHERO COMICS...does anyone else here read Peter David's X-Factor? Because none of my friends do and it kills me that I have no one to flail about it at. So much love.

COURAGE THE COWARDLY DOG, MAN. I looooved that when I was little. Also CatDog and Recess and Earthworm Jim (yes, that's a real show. It's about an earthworm with a robotic suit. Deal with it.) More recently, I like X-Men: Evolution and Static Shock.

But I always hated Spongebob.

[Classy Viking]

SPEAKING OF SUPERHERO COMICS...does anyone else here read Peter David's X-Factor? Because none of my friends do and it kills me that I have no one to flail about it at. So much love.

I may love Peter David's X-Factor. One of the best books Marvel is putting out.

[Chibachi Nero]

YES. It's one of the few superhero books that I find consistently fantastic. PAD is such a great writer.

[Classy Viking]

PAD is the reason, why I love Aquaman. He figured out a way to push aside the narm around the character.

[lychee-twist]

I recently got into "Transmetropolitan" thanks to reddit's r/cosplay forum posting "How do I?" threads about how to make Jerusalem's glasses about once every other month.

It's really dark, really gritty, but I do like it You kind have got to brace yourself reading it in a couple of areas. It's not often you see the main character eat a KFC bucket of animal eyes like a ravenous hyena.

And it's completely normal in that world.

[Chibachi Nero]

Transmet is awesome. My dad and I both love that one.

[lychee-twist]

Your Dad reads it? My dad would probably just get depressed. Haha. Or he'd like it a little *too* well. Spider Jerusalem took me by surprise. THat's for sure.

I got both my books at Goodwill for $2 and $3, too! Everyone check out thrift stores when looking for books and new series. The selection isn't great (for obvious reasons), but every once in a while there's some gems.

[Chibachi Nero]

My dad loves it. He's a big comics geek.

[Wuntvor]

Anyone going to The Stumptown Comics Fest April 16 & 17 in Portland?  My wife would like to go and meet Gary Martin.

[Chibachi Nero]

My dad and I'll probably show up for a bit, we usually go for a few hours and wander around.

[lychee-twist]

I'm going to Stumptown on Saturday. I can't wait to meet KT Shy. I've been trying to figure out a way to meet her without being horrendously awkward. I've got a list of celebrities I've met and been totally weird around.

I nearly broke Richard Dawkins' hand.

[jaqua]

Wait. You've met Richard Dawkins?

... If you feel any strange breezes near you, it's just wafts of my uncontainable jealousy blowing your way. Don't worry about it.

[lychee-twist]

Haha. Well, if I find out that he's speaking and doing a book read at PSU again, I'll be sure to tell you. He's the perfect example of "Speak softly and carry a big stick." He's so gentlemanly, but if he doesn't like something, look out.

[NARUNIK]

DUCK TALES