Forum - View topicINTEREST: Heroes Cast Voices Marvel Anime, Thundercats' Snarf Voiced in Japan
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Cain Highwind
Posts: 315 |
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I THOUGHT Lion-o sounded like Willie Friedle. I should point out, while most of his roles have been goofy teen boys (is that hate for Kim Possible I see?  ), he WAS Terry McGinnis in Batman Beyond. It'll be interesting to see how he balances it out.
Oh and I find it weird that the article mentions Wolverine and Iron Man's SHS VAs. Steven Blum has voiced Wolverine everywhere lately, so that's fine, but if anything Iron Man's current VA should be listed as Eric Loomis. That would be more accurate. He voices IM in the IM2 Video Game, Avengers, and MvC3 which are much more popular than Superhero Squad. |
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Echo_City
Posts: 1236 |
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When I think of Iron Man's voice, all I hear is Robert Downey Jr.
The voice in MVC3 jars me because of that, not sure why. Though I also don't see why, out of all the superheroes, they'd focus on an Iron Man show. He's a bland superhero. He's a boy scout, and they had to give him alcoholism as a vice. If they hadn't spiced up his personality for the 2008 Iron Man movie, and it's money-grabbing (cyclical plot leads to no other reason) sequel, it would have been a snooze-fest.
People I know inform me that Batman Beyond was awesome, but I didn't see much of it. All I really saw was the episode with "get back in the kitchen" as so I could get context on the line that one of the AMV Hell Minis used from the show. (The mini from elfen lied where Bando slaps down the secretary and says "Git back in the kitchen" from BB). I haven't seen animated batman really since, well, The Animated Series.
Not really, it was definitely the superior American kids cartoon from its era. I remember the names of most of the principle voice actors to this day, like how Christy Carlson Romano is Kim, as well as most all of the theme song....I saw MANY an episode. Speaking of which, if there was a show from that era I'd say I hated, it would be the proud family. The only thing that show ever did for me, in a positive way, was make Tom from The Boondocks that much funnier. (BTW, IIRC the theme to Kim Possible is done by the VA for Penny Proud, hence the tangent) Despite being a superior kids cartoon of the modern era,when compared to American kids cartoons from the 80s and 90s, Kim Possible still falls flat. Kim Possible versus GI Joe/Jonny Quest/Thundercats/Voltron? She's going to have to plead nolo contendere. 
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Jessica Hart
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That's debatable. Avengers is a bomb while SHS gets phenomenal ratings (or did, I have no idea if it's still airing) MvC3 is the only one that might qualify, but comparing games to shows is kind of silly... show-wise, Tom Kenny is definitely more well known. And Kim Possible, ugh, don't remind me of that show. Nothing ruined animation for us girls more than stuff like that with it's 'girl power' crap; forever etching the stereotype that a girl can only be competent when her male partner is a complete hapless idiot. |
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Echo_City
Posts: 1236 |
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No way, I am astounded. Now that my jaw has been recovered from the floor, I am still incredulous that someone else shares that sentiment. In some shows I find the disparity between the moronic male companion and the more-competent female partner so great that I wonder why she keeps him around. Though in Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable wasn't as bad as other shows by far. He wasn't/isn't a gymnast and was always being compared in physical feats against someone who was...but then Disney did exploit that and turn it into simple-minded "girl power". Kim Possible was also the family dunce, as it seemed that her 2 brothers got the intellect in the progeny. However, Disney really did down-play those 2 for the same ends. The father was the worst part. Despite being a genius scientist, he was still the same bumbling idiot when it came to social interaction (and was at the bottom of the family hierarchy) just as TV dads have been for generations in the effort to promote "girl power". (That said, it was still a better kid's cartoon than so many of its peers, I stand by that assessment.) In The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, one of the best things was that Jessie Bannon was able to actually rival Hadji and Jonny in intellect and physical abilities. Even the one-off/recurring adult female characters were able to rival the adult males in the show. What's amazing is that they didn't have to dumb the male characters down to accomplish this feat! (But, the show failed and still hasn't seen a full DVD release after 14 years soooooo I don't think TV producers are going to try that again.) |
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Ashen Phoenix
 Posts: 2940 |
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Cannot wait for the new Thundercats anime.
I'm loving the character designs (especially Kit and Kat - so cute!!), and Lion-O's voice seems perfectly fine to my ears so far. Sure, I'm missing the sheer enthusiastic war cry of, "Thunder, thunder, Thundercats! HOOO!!" that Larry Kenney will eternally be remembered for, but still I'm willing to give it a chance. Loved the '80s cartoon, crossin' my fingers for the '11 version. |
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Echo_City
Posts: 1236 |
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I'm still concerned about the theme song, it was iconic.
Though Will Friedle is old enough that he might have actually seen Thundercats in his youth, which could mean he'd be motivated than the average VA to do the role proud. I'm gonna keep thinking positive on this, though the idea of a dude running around killing enemies and leading a rag-tag bunch of cast-aways with Ron Stoppable's voice is hilarious. An apropos comparison would be to an episode of Kim Possible werein Ron Stoppable is charged with fighting a large guy who fancied himself a ninja, a guy who intimidated Ron. However, after subduing Ron, the "ninja" opens his mouth, and has this high-pitched squeaky voice that made Stephanie Sheh's "Mimimikaru Beamu" sound like James Earl Jones. For the rest of the episode, Ron Stoppable makes cracks about how the "ninja" was respectable until he opened his mouth. "Dude, way cooler when you didn't talk" (something like that) I'm hoping there won't be a sort of irony with Ron Stoppable now being that "ninja", effectively. BTW, there's a trailer that's voiced? All the ones I've heard just feature stock dramatic music. |
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Jessica Hart
Posts: 219 |
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enurtsol
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That's the whole point at the end of the show! Ron Stoppable is that awesome and good-looking, inside and out! 
(And Belldandy wouldn't end up with K1, and Kyoko wouldn't end up with Godai, etc etc.) |
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Echo_City
Posts: 1236 |
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Yes, but AMG! isn't really the same thing. There were "magic forces" at work there to "explain" why this convenient pairing happened. Kim Possible doesn't really proffer such an explanation. Also, AMG! is loaded with engineering fallacies that are conveniently allowed to be resolved through magic (not like they would have worked anyhow!) That was a huge show-killer for me. At least the 2 brothers and father in Kim Possible built devices that could work, I never recall them building anything as preposterous as a front-wheel drive tricycle rally car for desert racing, and then needing a deus ex machina to make the stupidity of the tricycle design seem like a brilliant idea (a hidden retaining wall, under the sand, that could only support one wheel....) Oops, maybe I'm getting a little pedantic here. Moving on... 
In one of the trailers I saw, Lion-O slashes a people with a sword and punches a guy off a huge cliff (into water). But stuff like that did happen in the 1980s kids cartoon. Sure, it wasn't bloody gore like Golgo 13/Elfen Lied, but there were some implications made. Why can't kids' shows be violent? And in the aforementioned Jonny Quest, a clear kid's show, there was violence, people died, and there were interesting plots. Morals were also conveyed, physical fitness & technological aptitude were advocated, and the characters were cool. The T-1000 as the world's greatest bodyguard was classic. Oh, and the show looked realistic as well. No deformed art, no crazy pastel colors. (ie it didn't look like Panty & Stocking, aka an accurate Japanese rendition of the average American cartoon, art wise.) Sure, the show was flawed (in a word:Questworld) but it was a heck of a lot better than today's more sanitized, boring junk. Kim Possible is one of the more violent shows for kids today. Is that scary or what?
I was getting an impression that part of the "girl power" idea was that a girl was supposed to want to be involved with a rather dweeby guy. The Japanese have been showing that happening for a long time, only for male wish fulfillment rather than female empowerment. Kinda strange how those 2 dislike aims meet at the same point. 
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enurtsol
Posts: 14886 |
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My point was: if K1 doesn't deserve Belldandy, if Godai doesn't deserve Kyoko, then Ron doesn't deserve Kim!
Yeah, but often those guys don't deserve their harems.
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Lightning Leo
Posts: 311 Location: Earth |
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I remember the original Thundercats from my childhood!
Not all that surprised it's on the reboot list.
Just had to ask this, but does it seem to anybody else that the animation from back then seems leagues better than the modern stuff? Maybe it's just me. I'm thinking maybe it's because animation these days is all done by computers, so the final product doesn't have as much character/personality as traditional mediums. But then again, it seemed like there were more frames of animation back then too. Also, it seemed like the artists' grasp of anatomy, perspective, and genuine aesthetic were better too. Maybe it's because artists these days were raised on anime, whereas artists back then had no anime precedent and were mostly raised on classical art & animation. Or maybe it was because Japan was in an economic boom, and could afford more lavish animation? Or maybe that's just nostalgia speaking? Not to say that the trailer isn't impressive and an admirable effort, but I guess my mind can't help but compare. 
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Echo_City
Posts: 1236 |
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It's not just you, the old stuff does look better than the new stuff in my eyes.
I remember being told that 32 FPS was the minimum for the POV-induced illusion of motion picture, yet when I look at the FPS counter on shows now, I see betwee 22-24. I find that interesting.
I do not think that artists today can't draw properly proportioned people. I think that they don't have much incentive to do so, as on both sides of the Pacific, non-realistic "stylized" cartoons have been shown to be hugely successful. (Much to my personal chagrin). I think artists today can be equated to Picasso--they certainly have the ability to draw realistically, they just elect not to for differing motivations. (Though whereas Picasso was motivated by self-expression, today's artists are motivated by cupidity, at the expense of artistic integrity. Cubism allegedly has artistic value. Where's the artistic value in Powerpuff Girls or Lucky Star's art?)
Again, I agree. The trailer evoked images of one of the many J-game anime adaptations, only with crisp lines and simpler shading to look properly "retro". I was thinking of Tears to Tiara/Utaware-whatever/guin saga when I saw the trailer, more than I was the original show. Gotta say I'd rank the original show ahead in terms of art myself. |
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DangerMouse
Posts: 3992 |
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Same here loved the old show and the new one's looking to have a lot of potential, love the character designs, fantastic trailer with good choices for the voices that got a chance to speak I thought. Since old Lion-O's VA is voicing his dad in the new show I'm hoping he'll get to do it once since he's shown wielding the Sword of Omens in the trailer at least once heh. I'm surprised Blum isn't going to do the new Wolverine since he's been the current Wolverine and I've liked him in the recent stuff like Wolverine and the X-Men so hopefully the new voice will be good. |
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Jessica Hart
Posts: 219 |
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 I'm not some gore-hound, but yeah.. it's kind of hard to tell a war story when no one can get hurt or die... G.I Joe and Avatar suffered similar things. I guess that's why I kinda stopped watching American cartoon, too much censorship/executive meddling gets in the way.. plus they always get canceled without an ending it seems.
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Echo_City
Posts: 1236 |
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Just to clear things up, I was trying to point out the irony that something which allegedly aims to "empower" girls(Kim Possible) does the same thing that something which clearly does not seek to empower them does (Every harem anime ever). I'm not a fan of it in either scenario.
Too true. It's like American cartoons went back to early 80s American TV, where no one was allowed to die as that would be "too violent". People could get shot at from point-blank range and never get hit, people could be in a roll-over car crash at 80 mph and get up and walk away If I may harken back to Jonny Quest (90s version), therein people died. Many times on screen. When a death was off-screen, there was no doubt that it occurred, and it was only off-scene due to being particularly gruesome, an example being a man forcibly impaled on an elephant tusk. People were shot, blown up, eaten by sharks, etc. In addition, there was ample destruction, with helicopter missiles destroying buildings, things being shot to pieces. All done while being drawn realistically. I'm pretty sure there was even blood & gore on-screen in the show, which is a big no-no today. The show also put children in harm's way. It had children being shot at and suffering violence at the hand of others. The show also advocated children fighting, which is taboo today. Finally, the show also was pro-gun, and featured children using them. Such an idea today would send TV executives and parental advocacy groups into conniptions. All of this while being reasonably entertaining and having interesting characters. Though, as you say, it ended abruptly, being brought down by the one major flaw it had: Questworld. Does anyone remember the old Moltar intros on Toonami? In today's sanitized world, him saying that he has a crush on Sailor Moon, Cartoon Network would be sued out of existence for advocating "pedophilia" as she is only 14 (hence the quotes). Ah, the good old days of TV. |
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