J. Kyle
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| #1 Posted on 26.2.03 1155.37 Reposted on: 26.2.10 1159.08 | From 411 WWE Films is working on a "big project." McMahon said it is an animated project for TV, and they are working on it with their toy licensee partners. They hope to have the show on the air by 2004.
WWE's animated TV show will be a mix of traditional anime as well as Korean animation to provide very delated facial expressions. The cartoon will feature WWE characters, as well as new characters. WWE is very excited about it.
As long as its about the Hurricane and Booker T AWESOME. If not, I'll settle for many weed jokes about RVD that go over the censors heads, ALA Rocky and Bullwinkle. Promote this thread! | | redsoxnation
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| #2 Posted on 26.2.03 1204.38 Reposted on: 26.2.10 1207.29 | I remember the last WWF/E cartoon. If they allow it to happen again, I have no sympathy for any failures that occur. | J. Kyle
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| #3 Posted on 26.2.03 1209.37 Reposted on: 26.2.10 1209.44 |
Originally posted by redsoxnation I remember the last WWF/E cartoon. If they allow it to happen again, I have no sympathy for any failures that occur.
Are you telling me that 12 year old Hogan and JYD peddling a wooden cadillac isn't entertainment to you? | DarkRenegade
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| #4 Posted on 26.2.03 1218.06 Reposted on: 26.2.10 1229.01 | This sounds like this will be one of those cartoons that I'll watch just because it's so bad...but it would be cool to see a couple of wrestlers as cartoons.... | Grimis
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| #5 Posted on 26.2.03 1218.08 Reposted on: 26.2.10 1229.02 | Check please... | evilwaldo
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| #6 Posted on 26.2.03 1259.58 Reposted on: 26.2.10 1304.16 |
Originally posted by AngryJohnny From 411 WWE Films is working on a "big project." McMahon said it is an animated project for TV, and they are working on it with their toy licensee partners. They hope to have the show on the air by 2004.
WWE's animated TV show will be a mix of traditional anime as well as Korean animation to provide very delated facial expressions. The cartoon will feature WWE characters, as well as new characters. WWE is very excited about it.
As long as its about the Hurricane and Booker T AWESOME. If not, I'll settle for many weed jokes about RVD that go over the censors heads, ALA Rocky and Bullwinkle.
Like if someone asks what time it is and RVD says 4:20? It could be pretty funny depending on the direction it takes. | EddieBurkett
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| #7 Posted on 26.2.03 1340.32 Reposted on: 26.2.10 1341.25 | This raises a question that I've often pondered: Given that wrestling is a *sport* that, for all intents and purposes, exists in a fictional universe, would it make a difference if it was animated, or does it need to be portrayed using live actors? As much as it may actually be a guy named Kurt Angle and a guy named Chris Benoit wrestling in the ring, it is really Kurt Angle playing a character named Kurt Angle, and Chris Benoit playing a character named Chris Benoit, and they are telling a story of what happens when those characters collide. Is the only reason that match/story is fun and exciting because there are actual people performing it, or would an animated Kurt Angle vs. animated Chris Benoit be just as good? I think this is important not just from a "hey, the WWE could do cartoons, that's cool" aspect, but from the issue of removing talent from the wrestling equation. If all the wrestlers were animated, then they have no ego to complain about jobbing to put over new talent. Heck, new talent doesn't have to pay any dues, and new talent doesn't have to *develop*. Assuming that computer graphics continue to improve, is it entirely possible that a virtual fed could exist in a decade's time or so, or is this something that will always be relegated to the physical. (Of course, if the graphics are good enough that you couldn't tell, would it matter?)
Given all that, I'd have to think that if the WWE is attempting this, it will probably be something more like that MUSCLE cartoon, and be rather corny as opposed to attempting to legitimately explore the possibilities of the medium. | redsoxnation
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| #8 Posted on 26.2.03 1355.39 Reposted on: 26.2.10 1359.08 |
Originally posted by EddieBurkett This raises a question that I've often pondered: Given that wrestling is a *sport* that, for all intents and purposes, exists in a fictional universe, would it make a difference if it was animated, or does it need to be portrayed using live actors? As much as it may actually be a guy named Kurt Angle and a guy named Chris Benoit wrestling in the ring, it is really Kurt Angle playing a character named Kurt Angle, and Chris Benoit playing a character named Chris Benoit, and they are telling a story of what happens when those characters collide. Is the only reason that match/story is fun and exciting because there are actual people performing it, or would an animated Kurt Angle vs. animated Chris Benoit be just as good? I think this is important not just from a "hey, the WWE could do cartoons, that's cool" aspect, but from the issue of removing talent from the wrestling equation. If all the wrestlers were animated, then they have no ego to complain about jobbing to put over new talent. Heck, new talent doesn't have to pay any dues, and new talent doesn't have to *develop*. Assuming that computer graphics continue to improve, is it entirely possible that a virtual fed could exist in a decade's time or so, or is this something that will always be relegated to the physical. (Of course, if the graphics are good enough that you couldn't tell, would it matter?)
Given all that, I'd have to think that if the WWE is attempting this, it will probably be something more like that MUSCLE cartoon, and be rather corny as opposed to attempting to legitimately explore the possibilities of the medium.
A few problems: No real wrestlers means good-bye house show and other arena business. Then again, a few more months of the current booking and that could happen anyway. The suspension of disbelief aspect would be gone. Lose that, and there goes most of the PPV business. Then again, a few more months of the current booking and that could happen anyway. All that would remain would be a bunch of designers bitching about how their Tiger Ali Singh design has been held down. This would allow for the WWF/E to maintain its internet fanbase.
Thus, by turning the current product into animation you'd basically have WCW of 2000-01, with fewer political headaches. | EddieBurkett
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| #9 Posted on 26.2.03 1509.23 Reposted on: 26.2.10 1517.45 | As far as revenue goes, I think its obvious an animated fed would be entirely dependent upon ad revenues and PPV buyrates. Although, arguably, what's to stop someone from hiring *actors* to portray the animated characters in front of a live crowd? Isn't this more or less the origin of Jushin Liger in Japan? Granted, that starts to approach the realm of wrestling as we know it, but instead of Kurt Angle playing Kurt Angle, and all the resulting confusion, you could have Kurt Angle portraying a specific wrestler, doing the voices and making the live appearances. Heck, you could go so far as to book the exact same show in two different cities on the same night, effectively enacting the brand extension without diminishing your roster. Still, these questions go beyond my original premise.
As far as suspension of disbelief, that's what I'm really getting at. We know that Hulk Hogan is really Terry Bollea and that the Rock is Duane Johnson, and that the leg drop and the people's elbow aren't really going to hurt people all that much, but we still *believe*. Is it really that much further of a stretch for it to be animated? If anything, it would make the distinction between reality and fiction clearer, as instead of watching two guys help each other through fake combat, two competitors could be animated to *be* fighting each other. We know that backstage, the wrestlers are presumably friends, or at the very least professional towards each other, even if in the ring they are lunging at and attacking each other. In an animated fed, there is no real life persona, and no *backstage* (beyond what is created), so there's no real life to get confused in. The split between reality and kayfabe is gone, because there is no reality, so everything is kayfabe. | Bongo P. Michinoku
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| #10 Posted on 26.2.03 2122.41 Reposted on: 26.2.10 2123.32 | I don't know why, but I can't stop chuckling to myself after reading that article. | Manding0
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| #11 Posted on 26.2.03 2242.52 Reposted on: 26.2.10 2250.21 | I don't know... this whole thing could just be fun.
I know for a fact that it won't totally be about wrestling... Maybe just over the top stories the lead into wrestling. It would be fun if it was campy, like the old Hogan cartoon... but that really wouldn't do much for the ratings.
They could work on a compelling story, but then it have to focus on a single wrestler... kinda like those Joshi anime out there...
Anyhows, its not going to be the WWE live action world turned into a story... maybe It'll be like GI Joe, or FAT ALBERT! I'd love a story about Fat Albert where Mizark or ALbert could be Fat Albert... Mr. T could be Fat Albert's dad, Booker T could be Mush Mouth, Hurricane could be the Brown Hornet, ROCK could be Rudy... etc. .... errrr... yea...
Anyhows, I'm looking forward to it. | ALL ORIGINAL POSTS IN THIS THREAD ARE NOW AVAILABLE |
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