A New DuckTales Movie?

[Robert Maxwell]

Oh, come on, dude. You first accused 3D / computer animation of being a fad (you literally said it), got called out on it, then backpedaled to saying that your point was that the fad is the idea of computer animation replacing 2D stuff (which is still not a fad, I don't have numbers in front of me but I'd bet money that the ratio of CG / traditional animation releases has been at least 70 / 30 for ten years if not more), and now you're saying it's about quality.

That's not backpedaling, it's just clarification. Just because we don't always find the best words to make our points the first time out doesn't mean we're changing our positions. This is casual conversation, written extemporaneously without much editing, so we often don't realize how our words will be interpreted by our listeners. That leads to misunderstandings, and so we need to choose different words to clarify what we meant the first time. I'm sorry I wasn't clear right off the bat, but there's no need to be confrontational about a simple misunderstanding.

I don't think it's clarification, I think you are trying to defend a taste preference as an objective fact. It's fine that you'd rather have 2D, but you don't state it that way. Instead, you call 3D a "fad" and insinuate that it is of inherently lesser quality.

 

[SPCTRE]

The question is whether Alan Young would be able to reprise the role of Scrooge McDuck. He's apparently done so in video games as recently as last year, but he's 94 years old, so frankly there's no guarantee he'd be, well, available for any such movie unless it comes along really soon. And it's hard to imagine anyone else playing Scrooge; only a couple of other actors ever have, and only once each (Bill Thompson in a 1967 short and Will Ryan in a 1987 short).

Assuming he will be well (I wish him the best) there's also the fact that, judging from last year's Duck Tales game, he also sounds ancient.

 

[Christopher]

I've read about why Donald was left out, but never really understood the reasoning with it. Donalds nephews have similar voices.

Not really. The Donald Duck voice as invented by Clarence Nash and emulated by Tony Anselmo is an unusual technique called buccal speech where the sound is generated by forcing air between the cheeks and teeth rather than by vibrating the larynx. Russi Taylor's voice for the nephews was normal laryngeal speech, just roughened up a little, and was thus much more comprehensible.

If DuckTales came out now, I would hope that there was same much outcry about butchering of Barks's original stories as there is about new Fantastic Four movie

Honestly, audiences today are probably far more familiar with the characters from DuckTales than from the Barks comics.

I don't think it's clarification, I think you are trying to defend a taste preference as an objective fact.

I'm sorry, but you don't realize how hurtful that is to me. I have nothing but contempt for people who mistake their personal opinions for objective fact. That's exactly the reason for my complaint -- my point is that just because there's currently a preference for 3D animation, that doesn't make it objectively superior to 2D and require the extinction of that art form, any more than photography required the extinction of painting or electronic music required the extinction of live orchestras. My whole point is that there should be a diversity of styles in use to satisfy every taste. I don't want 3D movies to go away. A lot of them are superbly made and gorgeous. But I don't want 2D animation to go away either, because it's an equally valid and beautiful art form, and because it makes no sense to treat different art forms as mutually exclusive.

And it's not just my opinion. There are plenty of animators working in 3D today who still see beauty and value in 2D and want to keep exploring it artistically, but aren't given the chance to because of the rigid preference for 3D. John Lasseter, the pioneer who made Pixar what it is, has tried for years to get Pixar to diversify into 2D as well as 3D, but the market just isn't there, and they've had to settle for sneaking in 2D sequences under the end titles. Dreamworks snuck 2D into Kung Fu Panda as dream sequences. Then there's the award-winning Paperman short, which was 3D-animated but processed to look like traditional cel animation. So this isn't just about what I want. The animators themselves want to be free to work in both 2D and 3D, to be able to stretch themselves creatively rather than being restricted to only one style. And I want them to have the freedom to do both. Because I want other people to get what they want. I want there to be movies using every kind of animation -- hand-drawn, 3D CGI, stop-motion, paper cutouts, heck, even shadow puppets if someone wants to revive that form. That's my preference -- that there be options to satisfy every preference.

So the only reason I'm advocating 2D more strongly here is that the default is to favor 3D and I'm trying to promote a more balanced view. If the prejudice were the other way, if we were still in the days when the public clung to traditional 2D animation and were suspicious of 3D, I'd probably sound much more like a 3D advocate and people would be accusing me of hating 2D. Because I'm always trying to argue in favor of balance and the middle ground, and that means that when majority opinion leans one way, I feel the need to say "Yes, but..." and lean more heavily on the alternative point of view just to make sure it has someone speaking for it. Put another way, I like to stand up for the underdog.

 

[AvBaur]

If DuckTales came out now, I would hope that there was same much outcry about butchering of Barks's original stories as there is about new Fantastic Four movie

Honestly, audiences today are probably far more familiar with the characters from DuckTales than from the Barks comics.

Not in Europe. Over here, the Barks and Don Rosa duck comics remain massively popular. In Germany, you can even regularly buy new editions of Barks comics at most supermarkets and newsstands.

 

[.:: TSN ::.]

I honestly think that "The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck" is one of the classic comic-series that everyone should read in their lifetime.

It really feels sad that for some people DuckTales is their only connection to the duckverse. I mean I have known that that is the case, Don Rosa has often said in his interviews that he had no idea how big Ducks and Disney comics are in Europe, but it still always surprises me.

 

[Beagleman]

I honestly think that "The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck" is one of the classic comic-series that everyone should read in their lifetime.

Couldn't agree more, it might just be my favourite comic series of all time.

 

[Christopher]

It really feels sad that for some people DuckTales is their only connection to the duckverse.

Maybe, but it's not as if DuckTales was a bad show. It's still my favorite of the Disney Afternoon shows, and I'm not even a Disney fan. As I've mentioned, its animation was often quite spectacular; it had a terrific voice cast; and it had fantastic music by Ron Jones (I would dearly love a comprehensive soundtrack release). And many of its episodes were adaptations of the Barks stories.

One lesson I learned years ago from fellow TrekBBSer Greg Cox, who has plenty of experience with adaptations of all sorts: Any screen adaptation of a book, even if it's a bad adaptation, is beneficial to the author, because it brings them new exposure and income. Maybe only a small percentage of the viewing audience for the movie or show will even be aware it's adapted from a book or comic, let alone be motivated to check out the original. But since mass-media audiences are so much huger than book or comic audiences, even that small percentage will still translate to a major boost in the author's sales and the public's awareness of their work.

And DuckTales wasn't a bad or forgettable adaptation. It was a good show that still has a loyal fan following after decades. So that's even more exposure to Carl Barks's characters and concepts, and thus even more people for whom the show will be a gateway drug to the real thing.

 

[.:: TSN ::.]

Exposure to authors yes, but direct income, unlikely.. That's the only gripe I have with disney comics, no matter how much I love authors and artists who create them.

http://career-end.donrosa.de/

Don Rosa - Why I quit

Reason #1: The Disney comics system
How many people know how the “Disney system” of comics works? When I describe this to some fans when asked about it, they often think I’m kidding them or lying. Or they are outraged. But it’s an unfortunate fact that there have never been, and I ultimately realized there never will be, any royalties paid to the people who write or draw or otherwise create all the Disney comics you’ve ever read.

...

We are paid a flat rate per page by one publisher for whom we work directly. After that, no matter how many times that story is used by other Disney publishers around the world, no matter how many times the story is reprinted in other comics, album series, hardback books, special editions, etc., etc., no matter how well it sells, we never receive another cent for having created that work. That’s the system Carl Barks worked in and it’s the same system operating today.

...

 

[Christopher]

^Oh, right, yes. It slipped my mind for a moment that Disney is a rapacious megacorporation that makes Uncle Scrooge look generous.

 

[tomswift2002]

Just last year Capcom re-made the 1990 Ducktales video game. I've played it and they really stayed close to the original version (I've got the original version on Gameboy, so I was able to play one and then the other). Aside from updated HD graphics, and a new audio track (although the original 8-bit audio track was included as a bonus once you finished the entire game), the game was 2.5D game, just like the original game.

But I wouldn't want to see Ducktales as a 3-D CGI movie. We already got a taste of Ducktales in 3-D on the 2004 Mickey's Twice Upon A Christmas DVD as one of the stories.

I just wish that Disney would finish releasing the series on DVD.

 

[Jedi_Master]

If this fellow does the theme song - I'm in.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqyD8E1QATs[/yt]

 

[Kibbin]

One lesson I learned years ago from fellow TrekBBSer Greg Cox, who has plenty of experience with adaptations of all sorts: Any screen adaptation of a book, even if it's a bad adaptation, is beneficial to the author, because it brings them new exposure and income. Maybe only a small percentage of the viewing audience for the movie or show will even be aware it's adapted from a book or comic, let alone be motivated to check out the original.

Reminds me of the guy I met who after watching League of Extraordinary Gentlemen not only sought out the comic but also some of the books its based on.

I would like to see a movie based on Duck Tails but I'll wait to see how Chip an Dale do first. If we can have one reboot that doesn't have people cross over to our universe for a series of wacky misadventures then I will start asking them to do Duck Tails though I would personal want Tail Spin first.
As for those arguing that the comics trump the series in Europe I would argue that the studio is based in America and while the over seas box office seems to becoming more important I don't think it would be big enough to warrant comic over series in this case yet.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

TaleSpin actually might work quite well... Historical and funny.