Battle Of The Planets Maybe Getting Remake!

[James]

Battle Of The Planets, the US edit of Japanese anime, Gatchaman looks as if it will be getting a remake!

The story can be found Here but essentially it says:

The 1970s animated series Battle of the Planets, following the adventures of five teens known as G-Force, is being revived by US and Canadian producers as a series of eight new 2D animated movies and a 24x30' television series.

New York-based Sandy Frank Entertainment and Canada's Ocean Productions are teaming up to breathe new life into the classic show, originally a Western adaptation of the anime series Gatchaman from Japanese studio Tatsunoko.

However, since the home video market didn't yet exist when those deals were signed, he added, those rights were retained by SFE. Consequently, the company has already signed home video deals with Rhino for the US, Universal for the UK and is in talks with Universal for France.

Now isn't that good news?!

[JohnCrichton]

It'd be better if it was being produced in Japan as a 26 episode series.

I wanna see the real Gatchman back in action, but.... no sense in ragging on something before it comes out.

This studio have a good record for making anything else?

[James]

Originally posted by JohnCrichton
It'd be better if it was being produced in Japan as a 26 episode series.

I wanna see the real Gatchman back in action, but.... no sense in ragging on something before it comes out.

This studio have a good record for making anything else?

Not sure, however the news is merely days old, so I imagine the Gatch Underground will be hunting for more details as we speak.

I agree with you in part, I'd like to see this placed in the hands of the Japanese where you know that there is more likely to be a solid quality to it. That said, I grew up on BotP and a series of that show that wasn't merely a chopped up version of the original would be cool. Depends on how closely it relies on the source material.

If it's like the BotP comic, it could be a little uneven as that title seems to be totally unsure if it's G-Force or Gatch it's dealing with.

Fingers crossed it's a good 'un!

[Beat]

(Hitting head)

A FULLY AMERICAN GATCHAMAN?! This won't be good.

[James]

Originally posted by Beatdigga
(Hitting head)

A FULLY AMERICAN GATCHAMAN?! This won't be good.

Well not precisely. It will be based on the creation of Sandy Frank that whilst based heavily on the original, most fans will say the reedit created a universe of it's own unlike it's more direct translation a few years later with G-Force: Guardians Of Space.

So yeah, not quite Gatchaman, but I imagine it will be darker than the original BotP. I actually prefer the characters in BotP to Gatchaman. If it could combine those characters and story background with the more adult, arc orientated Gatchaman then I think we could have a winner that mixes the best of the two cultures.

[Zoddman]

Just go watch the OAV that Tatsunoko Prod. did in the mid-90's, then you'll be happy.

[James]

Originally posted by Zoddman
Just go watch the OAV that Tatsunoko Prod. did in the mid-90's, then you'll be happy.

Or not. I think it lacked the character of the original series - it seems as if the need to fit 105 episodes of story into 3 episodes meant that the characters had to be left at the wayside. Still recommended, especially for newbies, but I'd hope that this BotP series will be more character based and not make the same errors this OAV collection did.

[Chris Wood]

Well, some Gatchaman is better than none, so I'm excited about the "new" project. I'd prefer that they just show the original Gatchaman series unedited though. Or better yet, create a new series using the studio that did those awesome Gatchaman NTT commercials in 2000.

[James]

Originally posted by Desslar
Well, some Gatchaman is better than none, so I'm excited about the "new" project. I'd prefer that they just show the original Gatchaman series unedited though. Or better yet, create a new series using the studio that did those awesome Gatchaman NTT commercials in 2000.

Not a fan of the NTT commercials per se, some of the flash stuff that came from it was fun. I agree I'd like to see Gatchaman get it's own release and not have to piggy back the BotP DVDs - it means we won't get the whole series since BotP didn't cover 20 of the 105 episodes (some essential ones too). Plus there is Gatchaman II and Gatchaman F that needs releasing. Perhaps this project will spur that on...

[Chris Wood]

Originally posted by SJJ
Not a fan of the NTT commercials per se, some of the flash stuff that came from it was fun. I agree I'd like to see Gatchaman get it's own release and not have to piggy back the BotP DVDs - it means we won't get the whole series since BotP didn't cover 20 of the 105 episodes (some essential ones too). Plus there is Gatchaman II and Gatchaman F that needs releasing. Perhaps this project will spur that on...

What didn't you like about the NTT commercials? The animation was great.

As for Gatchaman II and F, I don't think they are quite as essential, but I'd like to see them someday I guess. Both are somewhat spoiled by awful mecha designs though.

[Bakasama]

"Sandy Frank Entertainment?!"

I remember those guys. They're the ones that dubbed the Gamera movies.

Still, I remember Battle of the Planets featured such acting talent like Keye Luke, Casey Kasem, and the voice of Scrooge McDuck from Duck Tales. Too bad, I remember his name.

[James]

Alan Young who was Zark and Keyop played Scrooge McDuck.

Keye Luke (Zoltar) is probably most vividly in people's minds as the old Chinese man in Gremlins and Gremlins 2. He was also Number One son in the old Charlie Chan movies...

Let's not forget Juliet Waldo who was Princess/Every tiny child in the series. She maybe more memorable as the voice of Penelope Pitstop from Wacky Races and The Perils of Penelope Pitstop!