is clearly inspired by Nicolas Cage's character "Cameron Poe" from the masterpiece CON AIR.
That is all.
Showing posts with label Animated. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Animated. Show all posts
Monday, May 4, 2020
Only now does it occur to me.... STAR WARS: EPISODE VII––THE FORCE AWAKENS (2015)
Only now does it occur to me... that since I've amply demonstrated the inspiration that the STAR WARS sequel trilogy drew from something as humble as old random episodes of DROIDS, it's time to officially acknowledge that Oscar Isaac's character "Poe Dameron"
is clearly inspired by Nicolas Cage's character "Cameron Poe" from the masterpiece CON AIR.
That is all.
is clearly inspired by Nicolas Cage's character "Cameron Poe" from the masterpiece CON AIR.
That is all.
Friday, March 13, 2020
Only now does it occur to me... STAR WARS: DROIDS––TREASURE OF THE HIDDEN PLANET (1985)
Only now does it occur to me... I guess we're doing more of these, huh? If you already read my thoughts on THE PIRATE AND THE PRINCE, then you know the score.
This is another feature-length fusion of four episodes of the mid-1980s animated series DROIDS. TREASURE OF THE HIDDEN PLANET is written by Ben Burtt (STAR WARS' iconic sound designer) and stars a character named Mungo Baobob who is basically Kenny Loggins and/or Jesus.
It takes cojones to name your protagonist "Mungo Baobob." He gets a solid "Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration" moment
where he says he's "Mungo Baobab of the Baobab Merchant Fleet." This is *chef's kiss*-style good writing. Anyway.
Now, there is a hell of a lot going on here, and I only have the patience to scratch the surface. So, if you'll buckle up, here are ten bizarro minutiae from TREASURE OF THE HIDDEN PLANET.
#1. This is probably the most important. To the degree that people were pissed off when they learned that R2-D2 could fly in REVENGE OF THE SITH but never used that power before or since, they ought to be delighted that TREASURE OF THE HIDDEN PLANET reveals R2-D2 has been keeping his motherfuckin' breakdance moves a secret until now.
He puts some lukewarm alien calypso on the jukebox, apropos of nothing, and just starts busting moves. He's windmilling, he's jackhammering, he's moonwalking, he's poppin' his goddamn lid.
Really top-notch stuff. It's too bad George never licensed any STAR WARS spin-offs to Cannon Films.
#2. The plot. To the point at which random MacGuffins seasoned with a hearty dose of sci-fi technology can function as a genuine plot, I guess what we're looking at here is a treasure buried on a secret Sith planet
which is disguised by a massive dust cloud called "The Cloak of Sith." The only way to find it is to have C-3PO translate an ancient artifact/miniature pyramid thing
which can unlock the secret of the mysterious star system. If you haven't fallen asleep yet, you may note that this is almost exactly the nuts & bolts of the Exegol/Sith Wayfinder plot in J.J. Abrams' THE RISE OF SKYWALKER. Given that they took Kylo Ren/Kybo Ren from an old episode of DROIDS already, I think we can pretty much assume they lifted this wholesale.
#3. There's a moment where C-3PO's memory is about to be wiped, and his tormentor asks him what name he would like to be called by in his new iteration.
He stops just short of saying "Anthony Daniels," the actor who plays C-3PO (and who is voicing him here in the cartoon, as well).
#4. The Trouble with Tribble/Muppets. There's a subplot with alien creatures who are halfway between STAR TREK's Tribbles and the muppet aliens who sing "Mahna Mahna" on THE MUPPET SHOW.
This is mostly a device so we can see the answers to the questions "what would C-3PO look like in an ash-blonde wig?"
and "how well he would rock a beard?"
The answers are "not as good as you'd think," and "remarkably well," respectively.
#5. R2-D2 finally gets a medal. Most classic STAR WARS nerds' ire was directed at the fact that Chewbacca didn't get a medal at the end of A NEW HOPE, but R2-D2 really put his ass on the line, too, and hey, whaddya know, the little guy finally got one.
Of course it's for winning a horse/tauntaun/thing race, and not for getting his dome singed in the Battle of Yavin.
#6. Speaking of which, this pivotal race on so-called "rockhoppers" ends up being a unfortunately long-winded part of the story
and I'm fairly certain that it inspired both the "Fathier racetrack" in THE LAST JEDI
as well as the annoying, two-headed announcer from the extremely "wizard" podrace in THE PHANTOM MENACE:
So this is more, seemingly endless evidence of the outsize influence DROIDS played in the prequel and sequel trilogies. So weird.
#7. And love how they have R2-D2 astride this hot-dog space horse. How does he stay on there?
Really dignified stuff.
#8. The villains. We have the Imperial officer version of Doctor Claw on the one hand,
and on the other we basically have Oliver North-funded space Contras
who commit war crimes, atrocities, mind-flaying, etc.
Sort of a strange juxtaposition for a kids' cartoon, but, hey, it was the Reagan years. Gotta educate 'em on right-wing banana republics sometime.
Also there're Cthulhu priests wandering around here, too. The live-action version of this would be too disturbing for a PG rating, I'm sure.
#9. R2-D2 is always turning up new and increasingly phallic capabilities. Turns out he contains an entire 10-foot fire hose
for when you need to wash away the mud creatures tormenting C-3PO.
Spoiler alert: it's not
And a curiously-placed 3PO leash for when the golden boy is showing too much self-determination.
#10. An escalating circus of sexuality, the likes of which we haven't seen since SPLINTER OF THE MIND'S EYE. As I've written previously, the DROIDS series seems dedicated to placing a lot of STAR WARS' sexual subtext directly into the "text."
Interesting aside: when a grotesque droid named LIN-D decides to make a play and mack on R2-D2
he quickly realizes his mistake, and consequently invites 3PO to the party as well.
But 3PO shuts it down outright, because 3PO don't swing:
Elsewhere, when they land on a snow planet, R2-D2 escalates the situation by immediately making some extremely suggestive spread-eagle snow angels
which prompts a scolding from 3PO:
That's it––it's canon now: when the Rebels first landed on Hoth before the events of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, R2 was exclusively doing this for months while they built Echo Base.
Finally, due to some fuzzy plotting and a "shrinking mirror"
R2 gets HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS'd. Naturally, C-3PO's first reaction is to
toss him inside his empty (?!) abdominal cavity.
I've never been more confident that someone is getting off on this.
Anyway: DROIDS, ladies and gentlemen.
This is another feature-length fusion of four episodes of the mid-1980s animated series DROIDS. TREASURE OF THE HIDDEN PLANET is written by Ben Burtt (STAR WARS' iconic sound designer) and stars a character named Mungo Baobob who is basically Kenny Loggins and/or Jesus.
It takes cojones to name your protagonist "Mungo Baobob." He gets a solid "Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration" moment
where he says he's "Mungo Baobab of the Baobab Merchant Fleet." This is *chef's kiss*-style good writing. Anyway.
Now, there is a hell of a lot going on here, and I only have the patience to scratch the surface. So, if you'll buckle up, here are ten bizarro minutiae from TREASURE OF THE HIDDEN PLANET.
#1. This is probably the most important. To the degree that people were pissed off when they learned that R2-D2 could fly in REVENGE OF THE SITH but never used that power before or since, they ought to be delighted that TREASURE OF THE HIDDEN PLANET reveals R2-D2 has been keeping his motherfuckin' breakdance moves a secret until now.
He puts some lukewarm alien calypso on the jukebox, apropos of nothing, and just starts busting moves. He's windmilling, he's jackhammering, he's moonwalking, he's poppin' his goddamn lid.
Really top-notch stuff. It's too bad George never licensed any STAR WARS spin-offs to Cannon Films.
#2. The plot. To the point at which random MacGuffins seasoned with a hearty dose of sci-fi technology can function as a genuine plot, I guess what we're looking at here is a treasure buried on a secret Sith planet
which is disguised by a massive dust cloud called "The Cloak of Sith." The only way to find it is to have C-3PO translate an ancient artifact/miniature pyramid thing
which can unlock the secret of the mysterious star system. If you haven't fallen asleep yet, you may note that this is almost exactly the nuts & bolts of the Exegol/Sith Wayfinder plot in J.J. Abrams' THE RISE OF SKYWALKER. Given that they took Kylo Ren/Kybo Ren from an old episode of DROIDS already, I think we can pretty much assume they lifted this wholesale.
#3. There's a moment where C-3PO's memory is about to be wiped, and his tormentor asks him what name he would like to be called by in his new iteration.
He stops just short of saying "Anthony Daniels," the actor who plays C-3PO (and who is voicing him here in the cartoon, as well).
#4. The Trouble with Tribble/Muppets. There's a subplot with alien creatures who are halfway between STAR TREK's Tribbles and the muppet aliens who sing "Mahna Mahna" on THE MUPPET SHOW.
This is mostly a device so we can see the answers to the questions "what would C-3PO look like in an ash-blonde wig?"
and "how well he would rock a beard?"
The answers are "not as good as you'd think," and "remarkably well," respectively.
#5. R2-D2 finally gets a medal. Most classic STAR WARS nerds' ire was directed at the fact that Chewbacca didn't get a medal at the end of A NEW HOPE, but R2-D2 really put his ass on the line, too, and hey, whaddya know, the little guy finally got one.
Of course it's for winning a horse/tauntaun/thing race, and not for getting his dome singed in the Battle of Yavin.
#6. Speaking of which, this pivotal race on so-called "rockhoppers" ends up being a unfortunately long-winded part of the story
and I'm fairly certain that it inspired both the "Fathier racetrack" in THE LAST JEDI
as well as the annoying, two-headed announcer from the extremely "wizard" podrace in THE PHANTOM MENACE:
So this is more, seemingly endless evidence of the outsize influence DROIDS played in the prequel and sequel trilogies. So weird.
#7. And love how they have R2-D2 astride this hot-dog space horse. How does he stay on there?
Really dignified stuff.
#8. The villains. We have the Imperial officer version of Doctor Claw on the one hand,
and on the other we basically have Oliver North-funded space Contras
who commit war crimes, atrocities, mind-flaying, etc.
Sort of a strange juxtaposition for a kids' cartoon, but, hey, it was the Reagan years. Gotta educate 'em on right-wing banana republics sometime.
Also there're Cthulhu priests wandering around here, too. The live-action version of this would be too disturbing for a PG rating, I'm sure.
#9. R2-D2 is always turning up new and increasingly phallic capabilities. Turns out he contains an entire 10-foot fire hose
for when you need to wash away the mud creatures tormenting C-3PO.
Spoiler alert: it's not
And a curiously-placed 3PO leash for when the golden boy is showing too much self-determination.
#10. An escalating circus of sexuality, the likes of which we haven't seen since SPLINTER OF THE MIND'S EYE. As I've written previously, the DROIDS series seems dedicated to placing a lot of STAR WARS' sexual subtext directly into the "text."
Interesting aside: when a grotesque droid named LIN-D decides to make a play and mack on R2-D2
he quickly realizes his mistake, and consequently invites 3PO to the party as well.
But 3PO shuts it down outright, because 3PO don't swing:
Elsewhere, when they land on a snow planet, R2-D2 escalates the situation by immediately making some extremely suggestive spread-eagle snow angels
which prompts a scolding from 3PO:
That's it––it's canon now: when the Rebels first landed on Hoth before the events of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, R2 was exclusively doing this for months while they built Echo Base.
Finally, due to some fuzzy plotting and a "shrinking mirror"
R2 gets HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS'd. Naturally, C-3PO's first reaction is to
toss him inside his empty (?!) abdominal cavity.
I've never been more confident that someone is getting off on this.
Anyway: DROIDS, ladies and gentlemen.
Saturday, March 7, 2020
Only now does it occur to me... STAR WARS: DROIDS––THE PIRATE AND THE PRINCE (1985)
Only now does it occur to me.... that, for the serious STAR WARS fan, there are at least a few bizarre reasons to watch the aggressively mediocre DROIDS animated series (1985-1986). This one I'm looking at today is a four-episode story arc that's been edited into a feature-length film called THE PIRATE AND THE PRINCE. [There are fourteen episodes of this nonsense in toto, eight of which are available on DVD, and the idea is that they take place in roughly the fifteen years before STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE (1977).] The major draws are the vocal appearance of Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, the use of Ben Burtt's iconic sound design, a number of obscure STAR WARS references for the diehards, and a barrage of laughable insanity endemic to '80s cartoons made on the cheap.
Big daisy chain energy
Feels like a Salacious Crumb reference
I don't really need to touch too much on the main plot, which is about scepters and magic orbs and alien princes and things we don't really care about. So––without further ado––eleven minutiae I noticed about THE PIRATE AND THE PRINCE cycle:
#1. R2-D2 and C-3PO spend an inordinate amount of time in this piece waiting tables. While 3PO looks pretty snazzy in an apron, I think it's mostly so they can have a throwback to R2 serving cocktails in RETURN OF THE JEDI.
This guy is totally a reject from YELLOW SUBMARINE
Also, it's worth noting that their throwback-diner cook boss is a grizzled, four-armed alien
and the clear inspiration for one of George Lucas' most eye-rolling prequel characters, the dirty bellyshirt-wearing "Dexter Jettster."
It's just a big wheel and you ride in it
#3. Not to mention that this is apparently the source of Adam Driver's "Kylo Ren" from the sequel trilogy. You see, the main antagonist is a tantrum-throwing space pirate named "Kybo Ren," who is essentially a heavyset outlaw biker/Mongol invader straight out of an American International picture.
Huh. I guess J.J. liked the name?
#4. Stylistically, I'm fairly impressed by how well they adhere to the STAR WARS canon. We have the same Kurosawa-inspired wipes as in the live-action films, the Ben Burtt sound effects are well-curated (he had a hand in the production and some of the storylines), and they've clearly paid attention to the starship design, even when it comes to minor vehicles, glimpsed in passing in the movies.
A-Wings, etc.
They're plugged in to what the nerd kids paid attention to. Which means that for every generic biker-pirate, there's a––
Behold Sy Snootles, the lead singer in Jabba the Hutt's house band:
I appreciate the general willingness to go for semi-obscure movie references when they could have easily gone for completely generic aliens in every case (don't worry, there are a lot of generic aliens, too). She's also been slightly bowdlerized a bit in, shall we say, the mammary region, which is probably for the best. At least she kept her snazzy peacock feather.
#6. IG-88 cameo.
He's a droid extra with no lines––it's not even an under-five situation––in the background of a scene in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, when Boba Fett is first introduced:
In this cartoon, he's a minor antagonist, and he actually speaks English––in a tone very similar to James Earl Jones' Darth Vader. Who knew?
#7. Space Grace Jones. I'm pretty sure the female lead (the extremely non-STAR WARS sounding "Jessica Meade") is loosely based on Grace Jones.
She's got a flattop and a lot of badass energy, though she can't compare to actual sci-fi Grace Jones, last seen at Junta Juleil in CYBER BANDITS. At least she gets a scene where she knocks over a gigantic alien goon, wedges him in a doorway, and then uses his juicy caboose as some kind of springboard after saying "Ladies first."
#8. I have to tip my hat to a scene where R2-D2 pretends to be a torture droid in order to trick a confession out of a perp. Gives a real window into R2 and 3PO's essentially S&M relationship, too.
C-3PO is actually praying
More on this later, I guess.
#9. I also appreciate when a Gamorrean Guard (from Jabba's Palace in RETURN OF THE JEDI) and a generic alien pull the ol' crouch n' shove on C-3PO, sending him careening (toward a crotch).
#10. Sex robots. An old prospector in the cantina dances with what can only be described as the low-rent sex-bot version of Rosie from THE JETSONS.
Based on his look of pervy smugness (he's winking, for godssakes!) and the blow-up doll-inspired rouge detailing, I really don't think there's any other way to read this. Pretty sure this is the first time that STAR WARS ever tackled this issue, at least until SOLO's depiction of the complicated relationship between Lando and his FLEABAG droid.
#11. Speaking of which, the DROIDS series really lets R2 and 3PO explore their sensuality.
And I'm 90% certain that this was animated by at least one person with a "Sir Mix-a-Lot-adjacent" fetish. The number of roly-poly dudes who end up with their asses in the air cannot be denied.
Probably a good note to end on. To be continued...
Big daisy chain energy
Feels like a Salacious Crumb reference
I don't really need to touch too much on the main plot, which is about scepters and magic orbs and alien princes and things we don't really care about. So––without further ado––eleven minutiae I noticed about THE PIRATE AND THE PRINCE cycle:
#1. R2-D2 and C-3PO spend an inordinate amount of time in this piece waiting tables. While 3PO looks pretty snazzy in an apron, I think it's mostly so they can have a throwback to R2 serving cocktails in RETURN OF THE JEDI.
This guy is totally a reject from YELLOW SUBMARINE
Also, it's worth noting that their throwback-diner cook boss is a grizzled, four-armed alien
and the clear inspiration for one of George Lucas' most eye-rolling prequel characters, the dirty bellyshirt-wearing "Dexter Jettster."
#2. On that note, one of the stupidest vehicles from the prequels (from REVENGE OF THE SITH)––a big wheel with legs on it––
seemingly found its origin in these episodes of DROIDS. Lucas and his staff were apparently diving deep in the archives when it came to vehicle design.
#3. Not to mention that this is apparently the source of Adam Driver's "Kylo Ren" from the sequel trilogy. You see, the main antagonist is a tantrum-throwing space pirate named "Kybo Ren," who is essentially a heavyset outlaw biker/Mongol invader straight out of an American International picture.
Huh. I guess J.J. liked the name?
#4. Stylistically, I'm fairly impressed by how well they adhere to the STAR WARS canon. We have the same Kurosawa-inspired wipes as in the live-action films, the Ben Burtt sound effects are well-curated (he had a hand in the production and some of the storylines), and they've clearly paid attention to the starship design, even when it comes to minor vehicles, glimpsed in passing in the movies.
A-Wings, etc.
They're plugged in to what the nerd kids paid attention to. Which means that for every generic biker-pirate, there's a––
#5. Sy Snootles cameo?!
I appreciate the general willingness to go for semi-obscure movie references when they could have easily gone for completely generic aliens in every case (don't worry, there are a lot of generic aliens, too). She's also been slightly bowdlerized a bit in, shall we say, the mammary region, which is probably for the best. At least she kept her snazzy peacock feather.
#6. IG-88 cameo.
He's a droid extra with no lines––it's not even an under-five situation––in the background of a scene in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, when Boba Fett is first introduced:
In this cartoon, he's a minor antagonist, and he actually speaks English––in a tone very similar to James Earl Jones' Darth Vader. Who knew?
#7. Space Grace Jones. I'm pretty sure the female lead (the extremely non-STAR WARS sounding "Jessica Meade") is loosely based on Grace Jones.
She's got a flattop and a lot of badass energy, though she can't compare to actual sci-fi Grace Jones, last seen at Junta Juleil in CYBER BANDITS. At least she gets a scene where she knocks over a gigantic alien goon, wedges him in a doorway, and then uses his juicy caboose as some kind of springboard after saying "Ladies first."
#8. I have to tip my hat to a scene where R2-D2 pretends to be a torture droid in order to trick a confession out of a perp. Gives a real window into R2 and 3PO's essentially S&M relationship, too.
C-3PO is actually praying
More on this later, I guess.
#9. I also appreciate when a Gamorrean Guard (from Jabba's Palace in RETURN OF THE JEDI) and a generic alien pull the ol' crouch n' shove on C-3PO, sending him careening (toward a crotch).
#10. Sex robots. An old prospector in the cantina dances with what can only be described as the low-rent sex-bot version of Rosie from THE JETSONS.
Based on his look of pervy smugness (he's winking, for godssakes!) and the blow-up doll-inspired rouge detailing, I really don't think there's any other way to read this. Pretty sure this is the first time that STAR WARS ever tackled this issue, at least until SOLO's depiction of the complicated relationship between Lando and his FLEABAG droid.
#11. Speaking of which, the DROIDS series really lets R2 and 3PO explore their sensuality.
And I'm 90% certain that this was animated by at least one person with a "Sir Mix-a-Lot-adjacent" fetish. The number of roly-poly dudes who end up with their asses in the air cannot be denied.
Probably a good note to end on. To be continued...
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