Spoilers Star Trek: Prodigy 1x13 - "All the World's a Stage"

[fireproof78]

Animated? Is that a better term?

 

[Nerys Myk]

Exactly. LD is a cartoon, the way Baseball Bugs is a cartoon. PRO and TAS are not cartoons, the way Disney's Cinderella is not a cartoon.

They're all cartoons. The style of the drawing is irrelevant.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

They're all cartoons. The style of the drawing is irrelevant.

I suggest you look up the actual definition of "cartoon." Or the Wikipedia article.
(This is starting to remind me of an incident many years ago, when my model train dealer at the time, a Fundamentalist Christian, used the word "gospel" in a way that made it extremely obvious he had no idea what it meant. I looked at a mutual friend who was also there, and said, "you want to tell him, or should I?")

 

[fireproof78]

Words and their usage can change.

 

[Dukhat]

Exactly. LD is a cartoon, the way Baseball Bugs is a cartoon. PRO and TAS are not cartoons, the way Disney's Cinderella is not a cartoon.

I get the point you're trying to make. But that doesn't change the fact that I was not talking about Lower Decks when you quoted me. I felt that you took my quote out of context.

Words and their usage can change.

My point was that someone who uses the term 'cartoon' in a derogatory context, as opposed to simply a descriptor, to describe an animated show/movie is doing a disservice to the people creating that show.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I suggest you look up the actual definition of "cartoon." Or the Wikipedia article.
(This is starting to remind me of an incident many years ago, when my model train dealer at the time, a Fundamentalist Christian, used the word "gospel" in a way that made it extremely obvious he had no idea what it meant. I looked at a mutual friend who was also there, and said, "you want to tell him, or should I?")

Already did. It's a word that has evolved or the centuries. It's not just funny pictures. Or something drawn in a exaggerated manner. LD would still be a comedy if it was drawn in the 70's Filmation style or render in the CGI of PRO. It's comedy is rarely derived from it's art style. It's dramatic beats aren't lessened because it's not photorealistic.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I get the point you're trying to make. But that doesn't change the fact that I was not talking about Lower Decks when you quoted me. I felt that you took my quote out of context.

I did no such thing. You said that PRO is not a cartoon (an assertion with which I am in total agreement). I supported your assertion by contrasting PRO and TAS (neither of which, though animated, are cartoons) with LD (which most definitely is a cartoon).

It's comedy is rarely derived from it's art style. It's dramatic beats aren't lessened because it's not photorealistic.

Its comedy is not derived from its art style, but it is enhanced by it.

Put another way, if Disney's "Nine Old Men" had rendered Cinderella, or Snow White, or Aurora/Briar Rose in the style of Mickey Mouse and his friends, would the stakes feel as high? And if Friz Freleng, Chuck Jones, Robert McKimson, & co. had rotoscoped Bugs, Daffy, and Porky from reference footage of an actual rabbit, an actual duck, and an actual pig (pretend for a moment that you could actually get the real animals to do things that are probably anatomically impossible), would they be as funny?

I'm rather surprised that @Tuskin38 hasn't responded to the objections raised by @Dukhat and myself to

It’s a cartoon.

 

[fireproof78]

Put another way, if Disney's "Nine Old Men" had rendered Cinderella, or Snow White, or Aurora/Briar Rose in the style of Mickey Mouse and his friends, would the stakes feel as high

Potentially, yes.

 

[Dukhat]

I did no such thing. You said that PRO is not a cartoon (an assertion with which I am in total agreement). I supported your assertion by contrasting PRO and TAS (neither of which, though animated, are cartoons) with LD (which most definitely is a cartoon).

Well, no, that's not what I said. I said that using the term 'cartoon' in a derogatory sense rather than just as a descriptor does a disservice to the people producing the show. Like, "I don't take this show seriously because it's just a cartoon."

As a descriptor, 'cartoon,' 'animated series,' etc. is a perfectly fine way to describe PRO, LDS, TAS, South Park, Futurama, Bugs Bunny, or any other non-live-action show/movie, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Will_Carter]

That is one seriously huge mug of coffee. It's like, photon torpedo size! And, where the hell's mine?!

I know right?!

I kinda got annoyed, but i just... reminded myself this is kinda aimed at kids, so.... On that front? I'm genuinely amazed they went for so many callbacks. I mean the Enterprizeans are a bit....

I mean their hearts are in the right place, and give them credit where due. Give them an interface they know and they can actually fly. Not bad for a bunch of primitive cargo cultists.

This show repeatedly highlights that it has heart, which is something other trek productions sorely lacked. Show isn't my cup of tea, but it doesn't have to be. It is uniquely itself and is trying to keep on the hopeful side of things.

 

[Will_Carter]

I like the alien doctor telling the kids they know they're not the Starfleeters they honor by imitating. They're not stupid or insane, they're making a choice and a noble aspirational one.

That for me turned the episode from insult to heartwarming. Just one of those moments that recontextualized all of it. Given we only saw essentially children and teenagers it would've been easy to go 'haha look at these stupid primitives' but no. they were helped by someone from a society they want to take from.

That the enderprizians can actually FLY given familiar controls is the cherry on top. They're not doing the thing five year olds do when playing and randomly calling things out. They actually learned from whatever Garrovich passed down, and have kept the knowledge alive.

I love the use of the bosun's whistle to start the play/logs. It's such a small touch but a great one.