Facepalm worthy test footage from Warner Bros.

[Mr. Adventure]

I never thought about this before but does Hong Kong Phooey being a dog ever amount to anything? Maybe a radical reboot would be for him to just be a guy.

[auntiehill]

*sigh* I'm not sure "lame" really even begins to cover it.

[Guy Gardener]

A Janitor that doesn't know what a toilet is?

[scotpens]

Asbo Zaprudder wrote:

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You can't really have Marvin without Duck Dodgers IMHO.

Actually, Marvin the Martian (though he didn't have a name yet) made his first appearance in the 1948 cartoon Haredevil Hare, starring Bugs Bunny. I think an animated Marvin in a contemporary live-action universe could work, but he needs a strong character like Bugs or Daffy as a foil.

As for Hong Kong Phooey, never heard of him. The toilet stuff was just bad, bad bad.

[Cutter John]

Maybe I'm just sick of dragging CGI cartoon characters inot the real world with no explaination. Garfield, The Smurfs, The Chipmunks, etc.

[Asbo Zaprudder]

The Eggnogstic wrote:

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Actually, Marvin the Martian (though he didn't have a name yet) made his first appearance in the 1948 cartoon Haredevil Hare, starring Bugs Bunny. I think an animated Marvin in a contemporary live-action universe could work, but he needs a strong character like Bugs or Daffy as a foil.

Yeah, I'm only familiar with Marvin the Martian in Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century. It's interesting that the character goes back as far as 1948. As you say, Bugs would work just as well as a foil. The main problem with Marvin the Martian as a main character might be that, apart from the eyes, he doesn't have a face. I believe his proposed antagonist was Santa Claus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_...n#Planned_film

I wonder how much money WB spent on that turkey.

[Trekker4747]

These clips were terrible and pretty much reminded me of every other attempt recently to take childhood characters and put them into "the real world" rather than leaving them in their fantastical/cartoon settings. I mean, is Marvin the Martian really Marvin the Martian when he's battling wits with some snarky kid in the the real world and not Bugs Bunny in a cartoon?

It just feels off. That's the problem the "Smurfs" have. I can go with the CGI and real-person Gargamel but setting it in New York City and adding in modern-day human characters? Why?! Why not keep it set in the Smurfs fantastical setting and deal with Smurfette's, rather dark, origins?

The HKF was the worst one yet. I mean we're STILL doing toilet humor in kids movies? And surely HKF realizes that in spite of what we do in toilets the water in it came from the tank and is -relatively- "clean?" And, seriously, he eats the unrinal cake and thinks it tastes good?! Ugh, cartoons, just UGH!

[Ar-Pharazon]

Roger Rabbit was really good. Maybe they just can't stand leaving these known characters they way they were originally portrayed.

They always have to "spice" them up or make them relevant to today's kids, which is why they end up lame if you ask me. Today's toilet humor isn't anywhere near as good as classic toilet humor.

[Relayer1]

Always hated Hong Kong Phooey. Nothing here to change that...

[Gaith]

Relayer1 wrote:

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Always hated Hong Kong Phooey. Nothing here to change that...

A world in which HKP gets a live-action adaptation but Prydain and The Golden Compass* don't = a cruel and unjust world.


* (I'm talking the whole book here, ending and all.)

[JD]

These clips were pretty bad. Definitely dodged a bullet not getting them.

[scotpens]

Ar-Festivus wrote:

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Today's toilet humor isn't anywhere near as good as classic toilet humor.

Amen to that!

Trekker4747 wrote:

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These clips were terrible and pretty much reminded me of every other attempt recently to take childhood characters and put them into "the real world" rather than leaving them in their fantastical/cartoon settings.

I thought Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) was funny. The interaction between the human and cartoon characters worked for me. And there were a few cute gags referencing the changing times (Porky Pig and Speedy Gonzales complaining about political correctness, Wile E. Coyote ordering his crazy gadgets from the Acme Company online using a laptop and a satellite dish).

And, seriously, he eats the urinal cake and thinks it tastes good?! Ugh, cartoons, just UGH!

They really don't taste that bad.

[Alidar Jarok]

For test footage, I thought the CGI Hong Kong Phooey looked good. It shows how far we've come with CGI (to use another Warner live-action/cgi mix, I'll say since Space Jam). Script was bad, obviously.

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Gaith wrote:

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A world in which HKP gets a live-action adaptation but Prydain and The Golden Compass* don't = a cruel and unjust world.

* (I'm talking the whole book here, ending and all.)

+1

Pullman's trilogy is usually referred to as "His Dark Materials" - the name being taken from "Paradise Lost" by John Milton. In the UK, "The Golden Compass" is titled "Northern Lights", although the US title is possibly superior from a marketing point of view. However, "golden compass" did not refer to the alethiometer, but to the dividers that God supposedly used during the creation of the world (also derived from a quotation from Milton). The film adaptation of the first book appeared to have been butchered by the studio execs. There's always the full-cast audiobook adaptation. One just needs to supply the imagery oneself.

I hadn't read the "Prydain" books or seen The Black Cauldron, but IIRC it's based on the "Mabinogion" (Prydain is the Welsh name for Britain). Sounds interesting, although it's primarily aimed at children. Disney still hold the movie rights I understand.

I'll add the "Earthsea" novels by Ursula Le Guin to the list. The TV adaptation and anime were both pretty poor.

[Alidar Jarok]

Book of Three (Prydian) series is aimed at children, but matures over time - just like Harry Potter. The problem is they can be fairly thin at times. It's clear that The Black Cauldron is the meatiest of the early books, which is why Disney made that into a movie instead of the first one. But I still would love to see a whole series of movies. I doubt Disney has much of an incentive, though.