It appears "300" has been dislodged from its top slot courtesy of another comic book adaptation: the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
This is one of those times I wish I could draw. I'd love to see a take off on the popular "300" image except we see Spartan soldiers being knocked off a cliff by the Turtles.
PAD
Posted by Peter David at March 29, 2007 12:42 PM | TrackBack | Other blogs commentingGreat, now I'm going to have to download the trailers, edit them together, and see what happens. Curse you, PAD!
I've always found it to be non-news that a new movie beats the box office numbers of a movie that had already been out for 3 weeks. If "300" had still been the #1 movie of the week, then it might be news.
Just read latest X-Factor, still wish you'd write astonishing X-Men (& X-Men and Uncanny X-Men). Love your work and your references to your family, a reminder that you're a real person living in our real owrld. Happy Birthday to Caroline who is now "Caroline!"
Defeat? Yeah, we'll see how much money TMNT closes out with.
Is anyone actually surprised? I mean, everyone loves the Ninja Turtles. (Of course, I come from a rather biased generation).
C'mon, you know an artist or twelve. Feed one the idea--you might just get your wish.
Yeah, I bet ya John Byrne'd do it.
For a lot of money.
Hell, I'd draw it if the thought of drawing all those soldiers wasn't so daunting.
with the voice talent of Patrick Stewart and Kevin Smith there are reasons for older geeks to give it a watch. I wouldn't be surprised if it does well at the box office.
"WE ARE SPARTAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaa........." [thud]
"Kowabunga!"
TWL
When I saw that now-infamous "300" image with all of the soldiers tumbling off the cliff, I automatically began thinking of the old "Road Runner" cartoons. You know, where Wile E. Coyote would run off a cliff and then stand suspended in mid-air until realizing where he was, at which point he would fall to the ground making a whistling noise followed by a gentle "pluff" and a cloud of dust as he hit the ground.
As someone who has always hated the Ninja Turtles, I hope to see that 300 rebounds next weekend and makes turtle soup out of the zeroes in a half shell. I would also point out that it would take almost three of Turtle's opening weekend gross to match that of 300's opening weekend gross.
"This is where we fight. This is where they die."
Good way to look at the box office in the 300 VS Turtles war.
Thus endeth my venom filled, irrational hatred post on the Ninja Turtles.
Jerry, that was far more nebulous than most of your posts. How do really feel?
(I'm gonna get shot one of these days, I just know it...!)
"How do really feel?"
Firm, soft and way too hairy. Why do you ask?
Gee, Chandler, thanks for ensuring I'll have nightmares every damn night for the next six months.
I know I'm out of the loop, but how come the Ninja Turtles are suddenly making a comeback?
(unless I'm wrong, and they never went out of fashion as much as I stopped noticing.)
Only six months? Damn. I really am off my game.
Well, I took my 4 year old son to see it Saturday night and he loved it! 300 was a bit more mature for him, he didn't go.
"I know I'm out of the loop, but how come the Ninja Turtles are suddenly making a comeback?"
It's actually not that sudden. They had a cartoon from 2003 to 2006. They also had a couple of video games a year or two before that.
The people who loved them as a kid have now grown up. That creates a new market that wants to share them with their kids.
"The people who loved them as a kid have now grown up. That creates a new market that wants to share them with their kids."
So it's happened: 90s nostalgia. It seems like the distance between the actual event and the nostalgic yearnings is growing shorter and shorter.
Firm, soft and way too hairy. Why do you ask?
Gee, Chandler, thanks for ensuring I'll have nightmares every damn night for the next six months.
I know the feeling. There may not be enough alcohol in North Carolina to get that mental image out of my mind.
So it's happened: 90s nostalgia.
And we've got a Transformers movie on the way as well. Predictions--Thundercats, Shogun Warriors (If transformers hits), and a darker, grimmer take on My Little Pony.
First--Jerry, it worked. Myers isn't gonna get ANY sleep anytime soon. HA!
And Bill Mulligan--AAAAAGH! Ex-girlfriend Pony flashback! You jerk! (I can see it now. "When the other horseshoe drops....!")
Great. Now I'M not gonna get any sleep.
"There may not be enough alcohol in North Carolina to get that mental image out of my mind."
I'm sorry, but I can't change the facts. I am what I am.
The only time that it was ever a problem was the time I was camping and didn't bother to throw a shirt on before walking down to the lake. I heard a loud bang, I felt a sharp pain in my right shoulder and my world went dark. The next thing I know I'm thousands of miles from home and waking up next to Robin Williams in the New York City Zoo's ape cage.
And let me tell you, that man can play a mean game of charades.
"Shogun Warriors"
Ohhh, how I have LLLOOONNNGGGEEEDDD for a good CGI movie version of my third fave childhood toy. You don't even wanna know how happy a good Rom film or TV series would make me.
Ah, you beat me to it Jerry! I was going to mention Rom:Spacenight. Hell, it's the one Marvel property I would most want to adapt into a screenplay
Did you actually have a ROM toy?
When I was a kid, my numero uno favorite toy line was, of course, the Star Wars line. Why the hell hasn't anyone thought to do a Star Wars movie???
"So it's happened: 90s nostalgia. It seems like the distance between the actual event and the nostalgic yearnings is growing shorter and shorter."
Actually, the first Turtles cartoon series started in 1987, 20 years ago. The comic started in 1984. So it's really not that bad.
The Turtles aren't really a '90s property--they're more an '80s property that hit later than some of the others and hit a younger demographic, so it's taken a bit longer to be really visible. The Turtles cartoon premiered in '87, so that's 20 years, which is plenty of time for the early fans to reach adulthood.
(To compare it to Bill's list: My Little Pony premiered in 1981/82 and made a comeback in 2003, Transformers premiered in 1984 and has been making a variety of comebacks since 1995, and Thundercats premiered in 1983 and had a comic book revival in 1993 and DVD release in 2005 but no high-profile revival in its original format. The Turtles are right on schedule, if anything.
(Shogun Warriors came out in the late '70s and probably won't see a revival because it was a mashup of a wide variety of properties, so the rights issues would be complex, to say the least...)
"When the other horseshoe drops....!")
Just to give everyone something to focus on beyond Jerry's shagginess...
"In a world where ponies only come in pastel and perky, there came a dark stranger -- with blood on his hooves and fire in his eyes. Cast out of this land of equine elation, his mind has only one focus: vengeance.
"DARK PONY -- I SAY THEE NEIGH. (ThisFilmHasNotYetBeenRated)
"Coming this Christmas!"
TWL
"When I was a kid, my numero uno favorite toy line was, of course, the Star Wars line. Why the hell hasn't anyone thought to do a Star Wars movie???"
:)
How about A Star Wars TV series -- Jedi-PD?
Have any of you heard of a cartoon called the Samurai Cats? It was somewhat popular in Israel at a certain point, but it was dubbed, so I have no idea where it came from.
"Actually, the first Turtles cartoon series started in 1987, 20 years ago. The comic started in 1984. So it's really not that bad."
OK. I only became familiar with them when I lived in the US in 1989-1990. They only became big in Israel about two years afterwards.
In any case, it is clear that a certain generation of children are now grown up enough to make movies based on their childhood memories. Is that a good thing?
Posted by: Tim Lynch at March 29, 2007 09:21 PM
"DARK PONY -- I SAY THEE NEIGH."
Maybe the plot could be his quest for vengeance against the kid from Equus. Since the guy who plays Harry Potter in the movies recently starred in a production of Equus, they could tie it into the whole Harry Potter franchise (not to be confused with they Hairy Jerry franchise).
I can see it now: a line of "Dark Pony" toys, a line of Equus toys, and a cross-over with the Harry Potter universe.
When I was a kid, my numero uno favorite toy line was, of course, the Star Wars line. Why the hell hasn't anyone thought to do a Star Wars movie???
Bwah!
How about Micronauts, while we dare dream?
More likely they'll snap up the rights to Battling Tops or Rockem Sockem Robots.
It's actually kind of fitting that the TMNT beat out 300 for the number one spot, given that the TMNT started as a sort of general Frank Miller art style parody/knockoff.
"So it's happened: 90s nostalgia. It seems like the distance between the actual event and the nostalgic yearnings is growing shorter and shorter."
from the onion:
U.S. Dept. Of Retro Warns: 'We May Be Running Out Of Past'
"Did you actually have a ROM toy?"
Did I HAVE a Rom toy? The Neutralizer, Analyzer and Universal Translator are long gone, but he's still standing on my shelf, his eyes still light up and he still makes noise.
"(Shogun Warriors came out in the late '70s and probably won't see a revival because it was a mashup of a wide variety of properties, so the rights issues would be complex, to say the least...)"
Hey, stranger things have happened. I'd be happy if they only got Dragun, Mazinga and Raydeen into the thing.
Have any of you heard of a cartoon called the Samurai Cats?
Absolutely. I'm not all that personally familiar with it, but if I remember correctly my wife loved it at some stage of her life or another.
a line of Equus toys,
Brain ... bleeding ... now...
TWL
Micronauts.
They held a Halloween dress up day at my elementary school. I went as Bug from the comics. I think two other kids in the whole school knew who I was.
Man, I miss toys like that.
I used to do stop motion animation with my micronauts toys. 24 frames to get one second. It tok weeks to make a 15 second clip but at least I stayed off the streets. Small wonder I never had a drink until I was almost actually legally allowed to do so (admitedly that was a younger age back then)
PAD, 300 took back the top spot Tuesday, and for a movie going into it's 3rd weekend, thats damn good.
So I guess the Image of the turtles knocking Spartan Soldiers off a cliff would be somewhat accurate, but then you would have to show them being grapped at the anckles and thrown off the Cliff as well.
However, Blades of Glory is going to be the flick to beat. I'm just curious how long 300 will stay in the top 5.
(Shogun Warriors came out in the late '70s and probably won't see a revival because it was a mashup of a wide variety of properties, so the rights issues would be complex, to say the least...)
I once met a guy who claimed to have purchased the Shogun Warrior license lock, stock, and barrel. Haven't heard anything else since.
Absolutely. I'm not all that personally familiar with it, but if I remember correctly my wife loved it at some stage of her life or another.
Correction: now that Lisa's home, she says that I'm actually thinking of the "Samurai Cat" comic. She remembers the cartoon, but not very well. "Voltron, on the other hand..." saith she.
They held a Halloween dress up day at my elementary school. I went as Bug from the comics. I think two other kids in the whole school knew who I was.
It was probably that whole Bug vs. Hairy Ape thing that had them all confused. You really shouldn't go back to your elementary school to play dress-up: people make phone calls and stuff.
TWL
Have any of you heard of a cartoon called the Samurai Cats? It was somewhat popular in Israel at a certain point, but it was dubbed, so I have no idea where it came from.
Are you thinking of Samurai Pizza Cats? That was originally a Japanese series, but was dubbed in the US (humorously rather than accurately--to its benefit, from what I've heard).
Of course, this #1 contest will pale next to the upcoming three 3s: SPIDER-MAN 3, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 3 and SHREK 3. All in the same month!
I thought they DID a revival of Shogun Warriors. I remember seing pictures of a new design for Mazinga somewhere.
Of course, that could just be my brain damage talking. Or maybe it was a "Why haven't they done this?" conversation when we were putting all my stuff in storage.
Yeah. I still have a Mazinga. And all my Star Wars stuff. And all my GI Joe stuff. I've always said I was saving them for my son.
He ain't getting within 3 zip codes of any of 'em.
(BTW, speaking of goofy Japanese licensing--why would Shogun be any different from the different things that are marketed as Transformers over here? That was four different lines, if I remember right.)
Posted by Bill Mulligan
I used to do stop motion animation with my micronauts toys. 24 frames to get one second. It tok weeks to make a 15 second clip but at least I stayed off the streets. Small wonder I never had a drink until I was almost actually legally allowed to do so (admitedly that was a younger age back then)
Ummm, i suppose it's a bit late for this to be helpful, but let me point out that but even Disney "full animation" is generally shot "on twos", which means twelve separate pictures per second, photographed twice each to make 24 frames,
(Of course, where you may have multiple characters/objects in frame or several cel layers, you can do just twelve drawings/second total and change different layers in alternating shots - say, with a walking character, change the arms in even numbered frames, and the legs in odd-numbered, or update Mickey in even numbers, and Donald in odd numbered frames...)
You really only need to go "on ones" for really fast action (to avoid strobing) or when matching to something else (as someone said about why all the animation in Roger Rabbit was "on ones". "...it had to match closely, and real life is shot on ones...")
Well I'm not really a skilled drawer, but that doesn't stop me from playing around with Photoshop. Here's a rush job I threw together just for you, PAD:
"Have any of you heard of a cartoon called the Samurai Cats? It was somewhat popular in Israel at a certain point, but it was dubbed, so I have no idea where it came from.
Are you thinking of Samurai Pizza Cats? That was originally a Japanese series, but was dubbed in the US (humorously rather than accurately--to its benefit, from what I've heard)."
That's sounds about right. Here it was dubbed to Hebrew, very humorously, and had some cult following for a while. I wonder if it was as silly in the original Japanese, and what it says about translating humor.
We got cartoons from the US, Europe, Japan and sometimes eastern Europe. Since some of them were dubbed, I'm not always sure which ones are familiar to americans, unless I know they were from the US. The Turtles the Transformers and GI Joe were popular here too. I saw in the US a show called the Lost cities of Gold (?), but here it was shown in French. I don't know which is the original.
Tim, thank you and to your wife also for this little trip to the obscure side of memory lane.
Ummm, i suppose it's a bit late for this to be helpful, but let me point out that but even Disney "full animation" is generally shot "on twos", which means twelve separate pictures per second, photographed twice each to make 24 frames,
WHAT? I could have cut my time in half??? AUUUUUUGH!
Actually I knew that. In fact, my old super 8 projector could run at 18 fps so it realy only took 9 steps to make 1 second. I was just trying to elicit pity or at least more pity than usual.
Jim Danforth used to actually double expose his frames to create an artificial blur; WHEN DINOSAURS RULE THE EARTH has some of the smoothest stop motion ever. What's odd is that, to me at least, the blurred footage, while more realistic, has far less power than the strobed footage. Compare the Pteranodon sequence from WHEN DINOSAURS to ONE MILLION BC. Harryhusen's creations strobe like crazy but they have much more flair and enrgy than Danforth's.
A lost art, I fear.
I thought they DID a revival of Shogun Warriors. I remember seing pictures of a new design for Mazinga somewhere.
There have been various revivals of the original Japanese Mazinger series--could you have seen something from one of those, perhaps? (The series "Mazinkaiser," the most recent one, was released in the US a few years ago.)
(BTW, speaking of goofy Japanese licensing--why would Shogun be any different from the different things that are marketed as Transformers over here? That was four different lines, if I remember right.)
I think those were all or mostly produced by the same company (Takara). Although, looking over the list of properties that were included in Shogun Warriors, most of them seem to be from series by Toei or one of its subsidiaries, so it's less of an issue than I originally thought. (The exceptions are Gozilla and Rodan, who are from Toho instead.) Certainly it's more likely than seeing most versions of "Super Robot Wars" over here--that's a series of mecha combat games that cross over a wide variety of series from different companies.
Micha said:
"So it's happened: 90s nostalgia. It seems like the distance between the actual event and the nostalgic yearnings is growing shorter and shorter."
Actually, I argue on my blog (somewhere) that it's now effectively zero; that because of DVD, trade paperbacks, and other archives, things no longer get buried to be revived by nostalgia, they're kept around perpetually and new things just get added to the agglomeration of cool stuff. 'Firefly', for example, was only gone for four years before its revival; 'Family Guy' and 'Futurama' were gone less (IIRC.) Nostalgia is obsolete, because our past is so much more accessible than it used to be.
(And no, '300' is not going to "take back" the number one spot. Movies don't work that way anymore. Since everyone is about creating the opening-weekend gross, they don't care about staying power. Two weeks at #1, in and of itself, was pretty impressive. But the theatergoers are already off to something new.)
(Like 'Grindhouse', which opens in a week and three and a half hours, and which I am literally quivering in anticipation over.)
The Turtles continue to thrive, despite a longing from a fan base (and I will continue to declare myself a fan base until some authority declares that a fan base must consist of more than one fan) for a movie or cartoon series based on ADOLESCENT RADIOACTIVE BLACK-BELT HAMSTERS.
Where, oh where, are my hamsters?
Bill, it's not that it's a lost art, it's just evolved into CGI. It's much less arthritis-inducing now. I'm about to find out. I'm making my son a movie with his castle toys. Sort of a quasi-Goth Davey and Goliath go to Camelot.
Although, nothing beats those old Sinbad movies.
"And no, '300' is not going to "take back" the number one spot. Movies don't work that way anymore."
Oh, I didn't think it would take back the #1 spot. I just wanted it to place higher the TMNT next weekend.
:)
"I thought they DID a revival of Shogun Warriors. I remember seing pictures of a new design for Mazinga somewhere.
There have been various revivals of the original Japanese Mazinger series--could you have seen something from one of those, perhaps? (The series "Mazinkaiser," the most recent one, was released in the US a few years ago.)
Yeah, it wasn't that long ago. There's also been a few manga and the odd toys I've seen online that all tweek the design. They also did an update on the series Getter Robo (Dragun) that contains two or three robots that became Shoguns in the States.
(Like 'Grindhouse', which opens in a week and three and a half hours, and which I am literally quivering in anticipation over.)
You and me both, brother.
"This is one of those times I wish I could draw."
Hate to nitpick, but I'm going to do it anyway. I'm good like that.
I am sure you can draw, Peter. What you meant to say "I wish I could draw well."
:-)
Ahh, summer approaches with the Transformers, Spidey and Pirates 3, etc,; and suggestions of nostiglia abound with the Samauri Pizza Cats, Micronauts...
While I'm all for a Shogun Warriors revival (I still have the toys myself) or to see Rom back in action, is anyone aware that Hollywood IS working on live action versions of Speed Racer and VOLTRON!
Posted by: John Seavey at March 30, 2007 09:32 AM
"Actually, I argue on my blog (somewhere) that it's now effectively zero; that because of DVD, trade paperbacks, and other archives, things no longer get buried to be revived by nostalgia, they're kept around perpetually and new things just get added to the agglomeration of cool stuff. 'Firefly', for example, was only gone for four years before its revival; 'Family Guy' and 'Futurama' were gone less (IIRC.) Nostalgia is obsolete, because our past is so much more accessible than it used to be."
You are talking about the suply of nostalgia, but what determines the demand? Does the quick suply of nostalgia material like DVD's create the demand for nostalgia material? Or is it just a nostalgic time? Maybe its that people who are still in their 30s or early fourties have the economic power to create a demand for nostalgia?
It's also interesting how this decade has seen such an increase in movies that take place in fantasy/sci fi/comics or quasi-historical settings. This is definitly because of the development of technology. This is a good time for geeky fans everywhere.
A good title for an essay or book in cultural studies about this time period in popular entertainment would be: 'Fantasy Movies and Reality TV'.
(And no, '300' is not going to "take back" the number one spot. Movies don't work that way anymore. Since everyone is about creating the opening-weekend gross, they don't care about staying power. Two weeks at #1, in and of itself, was pretty impressive. But the theatergoers are already off to something new.)
Well, according to Boxofficemojo.com and other sites, Turtles were only on top 4 days before 300 overtook the #1 spot again.
Anybody remember BLACKSTAR?
How about "PRE-TEEN DIRTY GENE KUNG FU KANGAROOS"
Just me then...
Ah....
This is small and petty of me, but what the heck.
Weekend Box Office Postions and Gross:
(3) 300 $11,155,000 Weekend/$179,662,000 Total
(4) TMNT $9,160,000 Weekend/$38,428,000 Total
Death to Turtles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's a big drop off for the Turtles and bodes ill for any sequel. Personally I wish they'd made it live action; it takes something special away to have ot be just another cartoon, albeit a better, more expensive one.
So 300 will be the first film of 2007 to reach 200 million?
All joking aside, that does suck for Turtle's fans and for the franchise as a whole. Despite my "rabid fanboy" shtick from above, I figure that there's room enough out there for lots of stuff and that any successful comic book based movie has only got to help the next along. Turtles being, for lack of a better word, a more "comic booky" feeling movie then something like 300 would have been a good success to have had to convince some of the studio brass that some of the more offbeat but cool stuff from the worlds of comic books and animation would have been bankable as a project to start up for next spring/summer.
Yeah, we've got Spider-Man and FF coming up, but they're pretty much already considered bankable thanks to their previous outings and their "icon" status in pop culture. They're "different" in the eyes of most people who aren't a part of the fandom loop. Turtles having a success here would have opened a few doors for some of the other stuff out there that WE all know about but that the mainstream of pop culture hasn't cottoned onto yet.
I would have still liked to see 300 kick Turtle's box office butt, but I do wish that it had been a much closer race.
Thompur...I was reading Pre-Teen Dirty Gene Kung Fu Kangaroos just last week! (doesn't really hold up). It was my second favorite of the animal titles (the titles only...my favorite series was Ex-Mutants which started with a silly title, before they decided it was better than the title.).
The best of the titles, though was Naive Interdimensional Commando Koalas!
