The next 80s & early 90s cartoon that deserve a movie deal

[Mr. Adventure]

I'm actually not too famiiar with this era of cartoons though I just checked that Starcom on youtube and it looks pretty cool (from the 10 minutes I've seen).

I'd probably go for the Thundercats as having the best chance both from a Hollywood recognition POV and seems like it might be cool to see on the big screen from a fan POV.

 

[EmoBorg]

I'm actually not too famiiar with this era of cartoons though I just checked that Starcom on youtube and it looks pretty cool (from the 10 minutes I've seen).

I remember Starcom being related to the Cold War back in the 1980s.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I'd go for Robotech before any other. My second pick would be Bionic Six.

 

[iguana_tonante]

I grew up watching most of them, so I'd love to seen an adaptation. My favourites were MASKS and Centurions: I think with a few changes, they could work pretty well.

(Funnily enough, some of them were never popular in Italy, for example Exosquad, Sky Commanders, Starcom, and Visionaries.)

 

[Christopher]

Some of these I have no memory of. I was distantly aware that Battletech was an RPG, but I'd forgotten there was a TV show too. Centurions and Sky Commanders sound like things I saw advertised as toy lines and maybe barely glimpsed the shows based on them once or twice. As for Starcom, I can't recall ever having heard of it in any form.

 

[Holdfast]

MASK would be an easy product to mould into whatever shape would suit a film. The only problem is that the masks themselves hide the actors faces and if used for extended periods of time might make it difficult to really get any emotion across. That doesn't matter in a short kids show on TV, but might matter in a blockbuster summer action movie. Then again, various superhero films manage to work around this problem, so it can work.

 

[Saga]

I don't really see Defenders of the Earth counting as a property of its own. It was just a hybrid of Flash Gordon, Mandrake the Magician, and The Phantom, comic strips that date back to the 1930s. I'd rather see a solid, well-done adaptation of any one of those.

And Thundercats could work in live action. The characters are humanoid enough that they could be done with fairly simple prosthetic makeup, just face paint, contact lenses, fake fangs, pointed ears, and wigs/bald caps.

i think it would be cool if they could do individual films for Flash, Mandrake and the Phantom...then lead to a Defenders film. kind of the same build of Avengers had. but, i know this will never, ever happen.

its not so much the sfx that i think would hold back a live action Thundercats film, but if studio people think Ninja Turtles should become aliens i hate to think what changes they would make to Thundercats.

 

[Disruptor]

Defenders of the Earth, but only if they get Max Von Sydow back as Ming...yeah, he's like 80 now or something (don't be pedantic and look up his age, people...let it go.)

Guy Pierce as Mandrake. Michael Clark Duncan as Lothar.

 

[EmoBorg]

i forgot to add

Dino Riders
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5reNoxq0Mk


Dinosaucers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT0cOBI9yD0


Tigersharks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPYArc7bXL0


The Legend of Prince Valiant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5ptWFP1kBQ



Well there is just too many good 80s and early 90s cartoons out there.

 

[Christopher]

As with the constituents of Defenders of the Earth, I wouldn't really count Prince Valiant as a '90s TV franchise, since it's actually a comic strip that originated in the 1930s. The animated series did have some distinctive aspects of its own, like the Rowanne character and Arn as Valiant's ally rather than his son with Aleta. But it doesn't seem likely that any new screen adaptation of the comic would draw specifically on that particular adaptation when there's a wealth of other source material to choose from. They'd far more likely base it directly on the original comics and perhaps include some homages to the 1954 feature film.

Which is not to say I didn't personally enjoy the show. It was another show in the same category as Phantom 2040 (from the same production company) and Exosquad (from a different one, though with the same lead voice actor as Valiant, Robby Benson) -- smart, well-written shows with impressive casting and a more adult tone than most, yet undermined by truly atrocious animation. I don't see The Legend of Prince Valiant specifically getting a movie reboot, but I've always wished that it and the others could be re-animated to the original soundtracks (though with new, better sound effects) by a more competent studio.

 

[Takeru]

And Thundercats could work in live action. The characters are humanoid enough that they could be done with fairly simple prosthetic makeup, just face paint, contact lenses, fake fangs, pointed ears, and wigs/bald caps.

It's not that simple, you just described the costumes of CATS and while they're great for a stage musical they would never work for a movie.

 

[BillJ]

Surprised no one has attempted to remake Thundarr the Barbarian. It seems like it would be perfect for the big screen.

 

[Christopher]

And Thundercats could work in live action. The characters are humanoid enough that they could be done with fairly simple prosthetic makeup, just face paint, contact lenses, fake fangs, pointed ears, and wigs/bald caps.

It's not that simple, you just described the costumes of CATS and while they're great for a stage musical they would never work for a movie.

Lots of movies have treated the prosthetics of alien or supernatural characters in that way. Look at Star Trek. Vulcans and Romulans have pointed ears, facial makeup, and often wigs, and Data has facial makeup and contact lenses. Legolas in Lord of the Rings has pointed ears and a long wig. The Dark Elves from Hellboy II had contact lenses, face paint, wigs, and subtle facial prosthetics.

The point is, if you look at the actual designs of the Thundercats characters, their faces and proportions are almost entirely human. They don't have feline muzzles or anything. So the makeup requirements for authentically recreating them in live action would be quite simple and would not even begin to strain the talents or resources of any Hollywood makeup artist; therefore there would be no reason it could not be achieved in live action.

If what you're saying is that the original designs are too simple to look effective on the movie screen and that they should be replaced with something more elaborate, okay, fine. But that could still be achieved in live action with prosthetic makeup, as we've seen in many films over the decades. So I see no reason why a Thundercats film would have to be CGI.

 

[cardinal biggles]

I voted for Thundercats in part because I'm surprised it hasn't been done yet. Second would be M.A.S.K.; while I never watched the cartoon show, I loved the toys.

And if we can have some British input - Dangermouse!

I second this.

MASK would be an easy product to mould into whatever shape would suit a film. The only problem is that the masks themselves hide the actors faces and if used for extended periods of time might make it difficult to really get any emotion across. That doesn't matter in a short kids show on TV, but might matter in a blockbuster summer action movie. Then again, various superhero films manage to work around this problem, so it can work.

Iron Man already did that work for them, with those inside-the-helmet shots of Robert Downey Jr.'s head while he's in flight.

 

[Christopher]

^Which I'm pretty sure is something that anime or tokusatsu shows were doing first.

 

[Takeru]

If what you're saying is that the original designs are too simple to look effective on the movie screen and that they should be replaced with something more elaborate, okay, fine.

Yes, that's what I meant. You can glue pointy ears on actors and call them vulcans, elfs or whatever, the difference is they're not cats, everyone knows cats, everyone has seen cats and they do not look like a human with pointy ears, a wig and whiskers glued to their face. A mask like that would probably look comedic and wouldn't be taken serious.

I think Doctor Who did a good job with its cat people, if a Thundercats movie did something like that it could work, they would look very different from the Thundercats we've seen in the cartoons but they'd be believable.

 

[Admiral2]

I'd go a bit further back and go with...

Jonny Quest - Only if we can circumvent the PC police and have a film adaptation with the original's full on violence, on-screen deaths and harmful stereotypes. Seriously though this could be a great action adventure film with gadgets and old time adventure elements. I think the group of scientist Quest, badass tough guy Race Bannon and the two kids really appeals to a wide demographic. Throw in that sexy temptress Jade and you have a summer blockbuster.

Herculoids - Just imagine how awesome the visuals would be. The alien worlds and monsters would be amazing


Space Ghost- See Herculoids

I am wit' youse!

I'm actually not too famiiar with this era of cartoons though I just checked that Starcom on youtube and it looks pretty cool (from the 10 minutes I've seen).

I remember Starcom being related to the Cold War back in the 1980s.

Not quite.

It was subtitled "The US Space Force" but US in the show stood for "United System." I'm pretty sure it was meant to be an international force organized to serve and protect the entire Solar System, even though the three leads were decidedly American. And the enemy was more like Cobra than a metaphor for the Soviet Union.

 

[Holdfast]

MASK would be an easy product to mould into whatever shape would suit a film. The only problem is that the masks themselves hide the actors faces and if used for extended periods of time might make it difficult to really get any emotion across. That doesn't matter in a short kids show on TV, but might matter in a blockbuster summer action movie. Then again, various superhero films manage to work around this problem, so it can work.

Iron Man already did that work for them, with those inside-the-helmet shots of Robert Downey Jr.'s head while he's in flight.

Yup, true.

Of course, it might get a bit repetitive to keep using those kind of shots, but I think it could work.

Switchblade was my favourite MASK toy; the cartoon never quite exploited its abilities to the full. I'd love to see it on the big screen. Come to think of it, VENOM had most of the really fun toys: Switchblade, Jackhammer, Manta, and the Indy racer whose name I can't remember that split into 3. MASK's best toy was Rhino, I think.

 

[Christopher]

Yes, that's what I meant. You can glue pointy ears on actors and call them vulcans, elfs or whatever, the difference is they're not cats, everyone knows cats, everyone has seen cats and they do not look like a human with pointy ears, a wig and whiskers glued to their face. A mask like that would probably look comedic and wouldn't be taken serious.

But again, the actual characters in the animated show did not look like cats, and the show never claimed they literally were. They were aliens from the planet Thundera who looked human except for their skin coloration and a few vaguely catlike attributes like slitted pupils and pointed ears.

 

[Takeru]

But again, the actual characters in the animated show did not look like cats, and the show never claimed they literally were.

You can't call a show Thundercats and the main characters Lion-O, Tygra, Cheetara, Panthro etc. and then claim that they're not supposed to be literally cats and that the audience shouldn't think of them as cats but only vaguely catlike aliens.
Had the show been called Thunderians and the heroes Tom, Dick and Harry you'd have a point, but not after what we got.

And I'm not sure about the old cartoon because it's been a long time since I saw it, but at least in the new one they are supposed to be cats, they are called cats, they refer to themselves as cats etc..