The only way an animated version would work is if it was at the level of Akira or Ghost In the Shell in quality. I don't mean anime in terms of style. Not all all. I mean the painstaking details and beauty and world-building that went into those productions. Akira was very close to the art style of Katsuhiro Otomo and showed that any story could work in animation. Stylized won't work like with Clone wars and Rebels because Star Wars is a visual experience. The stories are simpler (I'm being kind) and the characters don't monologue. Star Trek is talking heads with a side of action and adventure.
You can have fascinating world building in animated science fiction. Consider Titan A.E., or animated Dr. Who.
Titan AE was Ok but not in a league with Akira. Akira had enough visual interest to allow two talking heads to go on for 15 minutes with no action. That's what Trek would need. Nuance of facial expression and body language. I'll have to check out the Dr. Who, this is the first I've heard of it. Thanks!
Im reposting the below from the incorrect thread I initially put it in. The proper answer is a star trek ANIME. People wouldn't dismiss it. Psycho pass and steins;gate say hello. Plus anime people are very open minded, they'll watch the first one ir two episodes of any new anime regardless of genre just because it's an anime. CBS can contact me about the royalty cheque on this idea
At first I dismissed the thought of another animated Trek our of hand. But now after reading everyone's ideas, I want it to happen. TAS proved it could work and not embarrass itself, even when the money is not there. They could push the boundaries of canon or go completely outside it like the novels. Again, not in an animé style (root it in a more realistic style, Rotoscoped animation), but definitely in the Japanese tradition of detailed world-building, costumes and props. Not to mention trippy effects. A new crew but plenty of familiar guests. Like all of them. Every actor who worked on Trek but isn't working now playing their characters if plausible, and new ones if not. Set it after ST6 but before TNG (where we thought Discovery would most likely be after Nicholas Meyer joined the team). And in the earlier half of that 80 years so that the Romulans are still around. Maybe explain what "matters more urgent" prompted their absence. Ok, let's get to work, Paramount. TrekBBS did the hard part. Now make it happen!
Agreed. I was never a fan of the movie uniforms. I do like the TMP costumes though (ducks as heavy objects are hurled in direction).
I don't know where it would have to be anything that complex, we've gotten plenty of episodes of the shows that were pretty much just action stories, and most of the movies after The Wrath of Khan were pretty much straight action movies. That's one of the advantages of Trek, it's open enough that you can tell almost any kind of story you want.
That is very true. It's adaptable not only to most media, but can thrive on a budget too. How many scifi properties can say that. I was starting to think beyond the limitations of a more budget-concious production. Japan does well with slow drama in animation, where western animation seems to assume the audience isn't invested enough because animation is seen as kids' stuff so most of it is simplifed. I want more trippy, metaphysical stories like TMP (me and the other 6 fans of the film), things that they can't do in today's action oriented live-action productions. But TAS worked with serious limitations and some of the those episodes are pure gold.
In some ways animation may allow Trek to be more versatile, in a visual sense. Relative ease in displaying unearthly environments, or alien species.
That would be the biggest advantage of animation. So if we were to get animated Trek who would you want to see work on it?
I have been rematching episodes of Johhny Quest, which I hadn't seen in many moons. I think that style of animation would suit a Trek endeavor.
An animated series on par with "Justice League: Unlimited" or "Young Justice" would probably work. The art is good, eye-catching, watchable, and easy to replicate - while the characters would be hand animated in the style, the ship(s) would be CGI. It is important to note that Disney doe not make much money from their films, they make a lot of money from merchandising. Even Japan's classic Gundam was a so-so money maker until merchandising kicked in. So, a modern Trek animation would have to be "pretty good" and be supported by "Stuff" - t-shirts, hoodies, toys, models, even comic books.
Totally agreed. live-action DSC will reboot Trek on TV to a new generation of fans literally. CBS Television has the chance to capture the younger than 14 age audience with a animated series. Sorry guys but it would be more juvenile than the intelligent stories, adult situations, language, violence on DSC. Doing something looking like Star Wars Rebels would be great. Actually the space-set shots in Rebels are all CG and look really good. More polish and time would allow them to look like live-action TV episodic quality but not feature film quality. An immersive 7.1 surround sound mix really helps. CBS Home video can sell it on Blu-ray with special features and they can make some additional revenue.
I would suggest that the first one be set in the Kelvin timeline, with Pine, Quinto, Pegg etc. reprising their characters. This would take advantage of whatever momentum JJ Trek still retains. This would count as the movie beyond "Beyond". However, I expect that these actors will become too expensive, so I would plan on later stories based on new characters.