Firefly- The Animated Series

POSTED BY: Mangolo
UPDATED: Friday, February 2, 2007 15:08
VIEWED: 35432
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MICJWELCH

Saturday, January 27, 2007 1:19 AM

I too am extremely disappointed that we have convinced someone NOT to continue Firefly. All because we think it wouldn't be good enough for us. Joss is used to writing animation. He would do extremely well with it. And we found someone willing to do it. Then we told him not to.

What's wrong with this picture?! How did we let this happen?!

"We may experience some slight turbulence, and then... explode."

NOSADSEVEN

Saturday, January 27, 2007 7:07 AM

For the record, count me in as part of the 65% that would absolutely buy an animated Joss & original cast continuation of Serenity. I am not a fan of animation, and I would prefer live action. But my overriding preference is for something to keep this ship flying... and what that something can be is already fairly limited without my own imposed restrictions.

As active as the online fandom is, it is already just a shadow of its former self. I'd hate to see this fandom fade away with no new material to discuss, because we were too picky about the medium. I mean, I'm all for being too picky about the creative team and the cast, but if they think it'll work, I'm willing to grant them the benefit of the doubt and follow them in to a new medium.

So instead of looking at what it is, look at what it can be. There's a lot of potential for animation, things that can be covered that would be very difficult in live action format - even things like Book's past, where the ages of the actors would be far less restricting to how the story could be told. And even if an animated series is not what we all want it to be, the influx and anticipation of new material will continue to stoke the flames until the next opportunity arises.

Anyway, here's a somewhat relevant excerpt from a recap of Joss's recent Fanboy Radio interview:
http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=93856

Quote:
In regards to more Serenity/Firefly comics, "We are doing another limited series, me and Brett Matthews are writing a new 3-issue Firefly comic series called Better Days that I’m not positive is coming out in the Spring. I’m not as interested as continuing with an actual series, a long-term comic book because there is something about the process of making Firefly that I’m closer to than I’ve ever been and a lot of that has to do with the actors… the Serenity crew – the way they cohered as a group was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced… If it was animated and they were doing the voices, if it was done like A Scanner Darkly, if it was on radio – all of those things would be interesting to me because I would be able to get the actors. To me, the characters just don’t exist without those actors… I don’t see it being something printed so much as someway to get back with them and continue our party that was our party.” And later, Joss adds, “Shepherd Book’s past would definitely be an element of whatever other story I could tell (with the actors). But ultimately, if I find that this is simply not to be, then, you know, I’ll just go online.”

The magic of Firefly transcended what showed up on our screens, and keeping everyone involved and connected is the best way to keep that magic alive and to enjoy the fruit it bears.

Thank you, Mangolo, for pursuing this, now or in the future. Joss has said many times that he's just waiting for the phone to ring, and while your call might not be the one he's waiting for, just maybe it is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ain't. We. Just.

MANGOLO

Sunday, January 28, 2007 10:45 AM

A very encouraging and well researched response nosadseven. Like I said, I will be revisiting this after we complete our current project strange frame.

I just want to say that Sundance Film Festival was an incredible experience. I made a bunch of deals for my film and for projects to keep my company expanding so we can do bigger and bigger projects.

I met some great people there like Jason Momoa (the dude is TALL) from Stargate:

I also met Darren Aronofsky (Pi and Requiem for a Dream).

I encourage everyone to see his new movie The Fountain.

Keep flyin'

GB

>

DONCOAT

Sunday, January 28, 2007 2:47 PM

To all who have complained about the folks who posted responses that were negative on the proposed animated series, I'd like to ask:

Would you rather that people had lied about it, or not posted an honest answer? What possible positive outcome would that have had?

Let's say this thread had been nothing but a pep rally for Mangolo and Co., and that they had jumped into this project with both feet expecting 100% support from the fan community. Further suppose they got Joss and the actors on board and made the series.

Now imagine that the animated series was completed and released, and instead of overwhelming response, fewer than 65% of even the hardcore fans supported it. Where does that leave Mangolo? Where does that leave the franchise?

Far better to give an honest opinion now than a hypocritical (and un-critical) high five that leads to a huge failure. As if that's what we need!

Kudos to those who spoke from the heart in this thread, whether pro or con. We have enough fanboys and fangirls. What we need now is intelligent planners, and they can't function without reliable information.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm pointin' right at it!

CLERICPRESTON

Sunday, January 28, 2007 3:48 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by shameless:
I dunno, animated seems kinda... eh. Maybe. I dunno how well each character and the chemistry of the ensemble would come through if it wasn't live action.!"

Nothing wrong with animation. Ok, a whole lot is wrong with the majority of western cartoons, however, very little is wrong with Japanese animation. One of the greatest and most widely respected Sci-Fi films of all time, Ghost in the Shell (originally a manga series), is an anime production. The Matrix owes a lot to GitS, the brothers openly admitting it's influence on the original production. If an animated Firefly series were to come to being, a company such as Production IG should handle the animation (coincidently they are responsible for all Ghost in the Shell animation, but you'll probably have seen their violent animated segment of Kill Bill: Vol. 1). It is notable that animated productions require far, far smaller budgets than their live action counterparts, and most usually sport very impressive animation quality and voice acting (Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society, released late last year in Japan, had a budget of only aproximately $3.2 Million inclusive of advertising, and is set to enjoy a fruitful release in the US and EU later this year). Original voice actors, with Whedon attached to write and direct, and Production IG covering animation, would certainly make something worthy of the Firefly name.

However, I have a motto that applies to situations such as these; What starts animation, stays animation, and what starts live action, stays live action.

CLERICPRESTON

Sunday, January 28, 2007 4:33 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Flyvote:
Quote:
Originally posted by doctroid:
Having watched the trailer, I'd say... Interesting.

Yes interesting.

But not what it takes to do Firefly.

Animate the VERY subtle expressions on Nathan/Mal's face when Saffron tells him he is her wife? No. With any type of animation it would come out anything but subtle.

Show Inara's eyes with animation? The very low signal level she gives Mal when he asks her a question at the end of that episode cannot be done with computer animation. Watch that sequence. Watch here eyes as he gets her to "admit" to kissing Saffron, and the oh-so-slight conveyance of emotion that barely shows when Mal leaves having guessed wrong.

Firefly is full of that intangible level of expression. Can't be done with computer animation.

Your animation, Mangolo, is artistic and impressive. But just not human and expressive. I'll watch what you do, and if it ends up being Firefly, I'll watch it likely only once. Not over and over and um, over...

Oks.. how much animation have you seen? The level of emotion captured in some animated productions is staggering. A lot depends on the voice actors, but a lot can be accomplished with a steady hand, a tablet and Photoshop (of course, far from an exhaustive collection of tools required). Hey, try watching the jokingly-exagerrated cel-shaded FMVs of the two great Playstation survival horror games Fear Effect 1 and 2, and you'll see emotion captured by animation. I'm guessing you lack of experience in the animation field, and selective viewing are what blinds you to the capabilites of the field of animation.

However, my honest opinion is only a well respected animation studio, with much experience, should be trusted with something like Firefly. After all, we can't risk a failure.

FLYVOTE

Sunday, January 28, 2007 5:09 PM

I'm not going to let this degrade into harsh insults and pointless arguing.

An opinion was solicited, I contributed.

I didn't stop the project. I'm not in charge. It isn't my decision.

According to Mangolo the project hasn't been trashed, only delayed. It was his decision to do so.

Any arguing that my opinion should be disregarded because my experience doesn't meet your standards is pretty much against the spirit of free input/opinion that Mangolo requested.

That's all I'll say about this. It isn't my mind that you need to change.

---- ---- ---- ---- ----
FlyVote (version 1.4):
http://www.usbmicro.com/misc
For Windows/Linux/MacOS9/MacOSX

MANGOLO

Sunday, January 28, 2007 9:21 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DonCoat:
To all who have complained about the folks who posted responses that were negative on the proposed animated series, I'd like to ask:

Would you rather that people had lied about it, or not posted an honest answer? What possible positive outcome would that have had?

Let's say this thread had been nothing but a pep rally for Mangolo and Co., and that they had jumped into this project with both feet expecting 100% support from the fan community. Further suppose they got Joss and the actors on board and made the series.

Now imagine that the animated series was completed and released, and instead of overwhelming response, fewer than 65% of even the hardcore fans supported it. Where does that leave Mangolo? Where does that leave the franchise?

Far better to give an honest opinion now than a hypocritical (and un-critical) high five that leads to a huge failure. As if that's what we need!

Kudos to those who spoke from the heart in this thread, whether pro or con. We have enough fanboys and fangirls. What we need now is intelligent planners, and they can't function without reliable information.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm pointin' right at it!

I totally concur.

GREENFAERIE

Monday, January 29, 2007 12:38 AM

Those of us that support an animated Firefly aren't disappointed that we got some honest opinions. At least not me. I appreciate the honesty. What perplexes me is what those opinions expressed: that animation wouldn't fly, and that it shouldn't even be attempted.

Why not? What if it actually exceeds your expectations? Why not support the idea on principle - that it would be more Firefly! Even if it's not half bad, it's better than nothing.

Personally I've bought every piece of Firefly related merchandise I could find, regardless of my expectations. I got the comics, and though I was not terribly impressed, I am still glad to have them. I got the trading cards. Nice, but it's nothing new. I got some Serenity money, and it's basically a few sheets of printed paper that's toitally unimpressive. If they released Firefly toilet paper I'd buy it. Anything I can do to keep Firefly alive is what I'd do. I'm disappointed that some of us are not nearly as dedicated.

But I still respect your honesty.

http://home.nycap.rr.com/wydraz/firefly

RUNA27

Monday, January 29, 2007 3:17 AM

A bit OT, but...

Quote:
I got some Serenity money, and it's basically a few sheets of printed paper that's toitally unimpressive.

What? Seriously? I bought me one of the last few framed displays of that that PropStore.com even had. I was totally ecstatic! It's incredibly pretty (and kinda trippy!). I wish U.S. currency was like that. :D

Then again, that's the framed display... with laser-cut velvet-and-gold mats that have the logo and all. It's considerably cooler-looking that way.

...

If you DID get a display, as opposed to the pieces on their own, BTW, I highly recommend opening up the back and seeing if they used masking tape to hold the pieces down on yours, like they did on mine. At this point in time, you won't see any damage, but that kind of tape is acidic, and can acid-burn mats and paper within a few years. I tested mine with a PH pen, and thankfully, the tape was the only non-archival piece they used (mats were acid-free and all, even the cardboard backing was acid-free, even though that's usually an acidic material; they also assured me before I bought it that the glue was acid-free that they used to hold down the actual paper). But it's really better to have mylar or acid-free Artist's Tape on there. It's fairly easy to replace even by yourself, actually.

...

And don't hang it in direct sunlight, it could fade. And keep it in air-conditioning if possible. And you may or may not want to replace the Perspex "glass" (basically plexiglas under a different brand), which may or may not have UV blockers in it.

...'course, that assumes you bought the display. If not, just make sure you store it in a cool, dry place, out of the light if you can and NOT between cardboard that hasn't been deacidified (I'd recommend using at least one piece of acid-free mat board or deacidified cardboard to make sure it stays "flat" and doesn't get crinkled or torn, but you can either store it between two of those or in one of those mylar bags they make for storing comic books in, or even in some photo/art portfolio albums, so long as any materials in them are "acid-free, lignin-free", and it's kept relatively flat).

...

Gorram roots will always show, won't they? (My parents are picture-framers/art restorers. I suppose it had to soak in some time... :P)

Yeah. That was totally OT. Sorry, just couldn't resist commenting!

-Jamie

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