Cartoon/Anime to Live Action: Thoughts?

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Paige L

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That is true, if (and this is a big "if") the director, writers, and cast merabers can pull it off. It's a case by case basis, really. There's also those issues of canon and such. Though at the same time, there are limitations in what you could do for live action as opposed to what you could do in animation.

More so if this is an anime to American adaptation. Granted, I have my bias due to their remakes of the Japanese/Korean horror films.

For instance, if one were to make Ranma 1/2 a live action, it would be pretty difficult to pull off those moves of uppercutting someone to the next town.

I've never seen the live action version of Death Note. Is it any good?
 
I personally think that the quality of the live action can contribute to what an average anime lover will react. I think Death Note is umm..well-done. Even the scary characters looks real enough.
 
This whole thing makes me think of what Uwe Boll said. I know Uwe Boll is the director for video-based games but this quote kind of resonates with at least some of the live action, cartoon based films.



Article: [Link]

So if you replace a few worRAB and paraphrase a little...hmm..
 
I haven't seen The Last Airbender yet, but as a huge fan of the cartoon series I was appalled to hear about some of the awful changes Shyamalan made (eg. casting, name pronunciation, characters...). I read one magazine interview where he adamantly defended his decisions and I thought he came across sounding rather arrogant and clueless.

I get that directors have to make changes when they adapt stories to the screen, but usually a good director has the sense to keep in the elements that made the story popular while also adding improvements to it. Although not everybody likes The Lord of the Rings, I think Peter Jackson did a brilliant job of editing out some lengthy parts of the book while also expanding others(eg. Arwen's role, the battles). However, Shyalaman looks like he just took out all the fun, adventure, comraderie and vibrancy of The Last Airbender and replaced it with his usual "dark & moody" style of filmaking. The movie looks nothing like the series. I can't believe it even made the money that it did.
 
Wasn't there going to be a sequel to that one?

:lol: Never really a huge fan of Shymalan's work, though Sixth Sense was probably one of his only decent ones. For some reason, that comment made me think of Uwe Boll, the infamous director who makes movies based on video games.
 
I remerabered watching George of the Jungle recently and its got a surprising amount of tongue-in-cheek humor. I liked it. Considering the cartoon was kind of influenced by Tarzan, maybe it shouldn't be so surprising that it translated onto the big screen fairly smoothly. Honestly some things work better onscreen than others. (Live actors help. All-CGI characters can go either way, depending on the writing and budget.)

For the record, from the list I've only seen a little bit of Popeye, some scenes from Rocky and Bullwinkle, 101 Dalmatians, The Flintstones, Scooby Doo, and Josie and the Pussycats. Some of the movies required more suspension of disbelief to enjoy than others but I do have pretty good memories of all those movies.

Oh, and for what he did to Avatar the Last Airbender, Shyamalan is dead to me. That is all.
 
Looked it up and you're right. My mistake. The cartoon series came out in 1986 while the live action came out in 1984. Gonna remove that in a second...



Exactly! Animation can have unlimited possibilities. Maybe it's the factor of finding animators to work on a film sometimes.
 
good topic

Are you sure about Ghostbusters? I thought the cartoon series was based on the movie(written by Ramis & Ackroyd).

The American list really does look dreadful. I will admit that Ron Howard did a pretty good job on How the Grinch Stole Christmas especially when the source material is basically a bunch of rhymes. Although I did not like Transformers, it's quite impressive considering it is based on an 80s cartoon that was based on a toy.

Animation is a good storytelling medium. IMO it doesn't need to be "translated" into live action to make it better...or more accessible to new audiences. I can understand the interest in making comics(2D paper) or video games(interactive software) into live action because the original source medium is quite limiting. However that is not the case with cartoons. Animation already has boundless possibilities on effects and the advantage of progressive storytelling with an ongoing series.

So no, I don't like cartoons being made into live action features. But as long as they make money (ie. Transformers, The Chipmunks) the studios seem fine with going this route.
 
I think Mercury is the prettiest character. ♥ Dark Mercury storyline was great.

Oh man, she just carries a stuffed animal around. Creepy! And talks to it. At least it's okay to talk to a real cat. You're not as crazy.
 
See that's why I'm scared to watch the live action. Luna stuffed animal. :blank:

I said it before, and have said it again, I do like Dark Mercury.
 
No one would ever believe she was a scout!

So, I'm finishing rewatching the first ep of the live action.

a) Luna. No. Just...No. Stop. Have you never seen Sabrina? *weeps in pain*
b) The Sailor Scout outfit? Erm..Isn't Japan known for their outfits? Short and lots of exposure?! Why is so so covered? Why is it so huge on her? :nono:
c) The accessories look like barbie toys. That phone? The Cresent Wand. The tranformation necklace? Seriously?!

That said, I really love seeing them in live action. I love how they did the hair styles transformed. I love Usagi's hair. I love Shingo, omg he's adorable. And Mamoru is a major prick. But I love him so.

The Live Action is based on the Manga, right? Like Venus's storyline or something? I never read. I can't really get into reading comics/manga.

I feel like this was made for anime fans. Like, you have to be in love with the series to be able to watch it. (Which, like, a year ago, I spent a weekend doing nothing but watching all the acts.)
 
I'm all for diversity and stuff but that one was just a bit too much. I think the company just wanted to bank on the "Sailor Moon" name itself.

Then again, the video was during the early 90s and the whole diversity of minorities and those with a disability was rampant in it's politically correctness.

But hey, wheelchair scout! :rotfl:
 
Oh that one never gets old. :lol: It's sometimes a subject brought up on the Sailor Moon thread on this board. The link's already on the opening post.

It's not really Saban, let's not blame them entirely. I'd say it's Saban-inspired.

Hi Elena, hmm...Warner Bros. might have potential but that's up in the air when it comes to these sort of things.
 
Oh, Sailor Moon. I'm on a kick. While the live action was ... eh... I did enjoy how they dealt with the identities - how the hair changed. And the fact they were actual Japanese girls.

Has anyone seen what Saban was planning to do with live action SM? *cries*
 
The live action adaption of Dragonball Z was really bad.
Warner Bros is gonna make a Bleach Live Action movie. I hope it will turn out well, cause I'm a huge Bleach fan. Everyone says that it will suck like Dragonball Evolution did. But DB Evolution was produced by 20th Century Fox and Bleach will be by Warner Bros, and Warner Bros is so much better, they had movies like:

Inception
Harry Potter series
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
The Matrix Reloaded
The Dark Knight
The Hangover
Sherlock Holmes and so on..

Personally, I don't think it will suck.
 
Thanks for reminding me about the 101 Dalmatians one.

I always think in animation, you have unlimited boundaries as far as action goes because hell, you just draw away. Do anything that's not even humanly impossible (like survive multiple blasts of dynamite by only having a black burnt face as a result).

I don't think it's impossible to convert to live action from animation but like you said, it's pretty difficult.

But you do make a good point about budget. I think these days, they kind of go hand in hand. Speed Racer, the live action one, costs about $120 million for their budget (not how much they made in the box office) while Up's budget was $175 million. I guess it all depenRAB on how much effort/CGI was put in to it, not to mention the whole production costs and those other tidbits.

Then again, there is the 2D style animation like The Powerpuff Girls Movie (2002, $11 million) and The Simpsons Movie (2007, $75 million). One of the differences between these two and others such as Kung Fu Panda or Wall-E other than animation tactics is likely the whole process of voice actors. Powerpuff Girls and Simpsons had at least majority of their respective voice cast while other animated films not based on the TV series or foreign shows (unless, however, it's based on an old show where many of its original voice actors have either passed away or retired) have to find and audition numerous actors and actresses with sound check and all. And then having to fly them in to do the recording and stuff...

I know not all live action/animation films are like this depending on how much is put in to the film in terms of effects, CGI stuff. There are movies, live action or not, whose budget go for at least $20 million (Kick-Ass).

I don't know the whole technical stuff that could make the integration of CGI/Live Action that could be slightly cheaper or maybe around the same costs.

Garfield: $50 million
Alvin and the Chipmunks: $65 million
Who Framed Roger Rabbit: $70 million
Space Jam: $80 million

Somehow, I kinda expected it to be a little more expensive intertwining Live Action and CGI together but I guess with advanced technology, it's a bit easier as opposed if you did it with Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Cost effective wise, maybe it's a little easier to do the corabination of both. But the nurabers between the corabining of both live action/CGI, solely animation, and solely live action adaptation...depending on the effects and production stuff put in to, isn't too far off.

Anywho, here's a few sites that have links to the budget nurabers. Mostly "blockbuster" like films. Doesn't seem to list every single movie ever made.

The Nurabers - Movie Budgets
10 Blockbuster 3D Animated Films: Man Hours, Budget, Popularity | Tech Xav
 
There's only two off the top of my head that I actually enjoyed. They are:

101 Dalmatians (which you forgot to mention)
Alvin and the Chipmunks

Now, while I don't think it's impossible to get a live-action adaptation to work, it's pretty difficult to pull off. I also find it a little unnecessary at times, seeing as live action is pretty restricted compared to animation and unless you have a decent budget, you don't really have much room to move when making the film either.
 
That depenRAB which one you've seen. The Japanese live action or Toon Makers attempt at its English adaptation.

Edit: I'm referring to Sailor Moon of course.
 
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