ABC Family Celebrates "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends" and "X3" Next Saturday!

[veemonjosh]

According to an ad on Jetix, there will be a marathon of "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends" titled "Spidey and X-Man Swinging Into Summer Marathon".

It will run from 9:00 AM to (I assume) 12:00 PM on ABC Family and will mostly be episodes focusing on the X-Men.

"Hooray for Education!" - Iceman's Tagline in the Ad

[Spider-Friends]

Well...at least one of Disney's TV departments has more sense than their DVD production department.

Here are the episodes that AOL's TVguide shows:
8:00 am Sunfire
9:00 am The Fantastic Mr. Frump
9:30 am Prison Plot
10:00 am The Origin of Iceman
10:30 am A Firestar Is Born
11:00 am Mission: Save the Guardstar
11:30 am The X-Men Adventure


Considering that "Sunfire" and "Prison Plot" are on there...somebody actually had to KNOW these characters to make an X-Men connection.

[Stu]

Considering that "Sunfire" and "Prison Plot" are on there...somebody actually had to KNOW these characters to make an X-Men connection.
Amazing! Disney did some research! Now, let's see if they research the most requested 80's animation on DVD and further research will prove GASP! They own the rights to it!

I'm glad they're airing more of these episodes but one question... why aren't they airing X-Men? Seems a little odd...

[Mini Wolfsbane]

I'm glad they're airing more of these episodes but one question... why aren't they airing X-Men? Seems a little odd...

Just what I was wondering...albeit a little annoyed by it.

I know CN isn't connected with Disney,but maybe it's a "kill two birds with one stone thing" since CN is airing Spiderman The Movie during the weekend.With
these episodes,eventhough the X-Men guest spots aren't that many,that was why.
Still isn't a good excuse.I mean,I don't think X3 has been promoted well at all,but
then again I've had a lot on my plate lately,and I know I missed a lot interviews
and things,but it still stands to reason that I should either be sick of hearing about
X-Men now or excited beyond belief.Not have a blank expression on my face.

At least they did some research this time and didn't totally disappoint the viewers.

[veemonjosh]

I'm glad they're airing more of these episodes but one question... why aren't they airing X-Men? Seems a little odd...

I believe Disney lost the rights to that and all the other Marvel shows except Amazing Friends.

And I believe they only still have Amazing Friends to run this 25th anniversary marathon since, after this weekend, it's off BOTH Jetix schedules FOREVER!!! (or, if they keep the rights, until something blows up Wulin style)

[Stu]

I believe Disney lost the rights to that and all the other Marvel shows except Amazing Friends.
Are you serious? Someone other than Disney possibly own the rights to Marvel cartoons?

...have our Prayers been anwsered? Do you have a source to verify this?

[Spider-Friends]

I believe Disney lost the rights to that and all the other Marvel shows except Amazing Friends.

And I believe they only still have Amazing Friends to run this 25th anniversary marathon since, after this weekend, it's off BOTH Jetix schedules FOREVER!!! (or, if they keep the rights, until something blows up Wulin style)
Veemonjosh,
You really need to name reliable sources if you're going to make comments like that. This is the way nasty internet rumors spread.

1. This isn't a 25th Anniversary marathon...it's a Spidey/X-Men marathon.
2. Amazing Friends isn't off the schedule "after this weekend" according to AOL's TV guide (http://television.aol.com/search/results.adp?csexp=1148416957&hid=NY54362%7cX%7c2%7c1&zip=11375&searchby=showtitle&query=spider-man%20and%20his%20amazing%20friends&ag=All&st=1148416941&et=1149626541&skip=40).

I do think it is VERY strange that they aren't showing X-Men or releasing it as a DVD set since the movie is coming out...but Disney has proven to be very stupid in the past. We have no reason to assume that this is anything but them being stupid again. Plus, I simply cannot imagine how they could have lost the rights to the X-Men and have kept the rights to Amazing Friends. They got them all as a package.

[Stu]

I have heard that Amazing Friends is being taken off the schedule soon from some of the Toon Zone News guys. It could be true but again, it should be treated as rumour until someone offers some confirmation.

[Spider-Friends]

For some reason that just made me realize that Amazing Friends has been airing on a Disney-owned channel since May 25th, 2002. Four years*. That's impressive. None of the "big" 80's cartoons (G.I.Joe, Transformers, He-Man) have stuck around that long on any US channel that I'm aware of.


*It did have a long time off the air the latter part of 2003 and early 2004.

[Hypestyle]

interesting.. well, at least the 'toon is being introduced to new fans and kids.. hopefully they're not jaded by the dated animation..

...Does disney do a quarterly announcement of their planned dvd releases? just curious..

[Spider-Friends]

...Does disney do a quarterly announcement of their planned dvd releases? just curious..

Not sure how they do it officially but the info usually leaks out way before the official announcement.

[Dogbert]

It is quite possible that Disney is losing the rights to air Marvel shows. Earlier this year Spider-Man disappeared from the schedule on the first of the month (March, I believe) without any notice. IIRC, it wasn't until the next day that they updated their press site to reflect the changes. Now the June schedule rolls out and Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends disappears on the first of the month too. Now why would they drop a series in the middle of the week when a schedule change was coming the next week? Answer, their rights to the show expired. There's simply no other rational reason for dropping a show in the middle of the week.

Don't get your hopes up for a DVD release though. It's unlikely someone else owns these shows, rather Disney probably owns them but can't air them without Marvel's permission. If anything, this is probably bad because it strains the relationship between Disney and Marvel.

Yes, this is just speculation, but the evidence (odd schedule changes) clearly indicates that something happened.

[Mister Intensity]

I understand why the other episodes are in the marathon but why "The Fantastic Mr. Frump"? "Education of a Super Hero," the second Video Man episode, would make more sense, since that is a companion episode of sorts to "The X-Man Adventure." Like "The X-Man Adventure," "Education of a Super Hero" was a quasi-pilot to a X-Men animated series. It even had a cameo by the X-Men, including Wolverine, at the end.

Of course, if they really wanted to make things interesting, they should have put "Pryde of the X-Men" in the marathon.

Mister Intensity

[bigddan11]

Veemonjosh,
You really need to name reliable sources if you're going to make comments like that. This is the way nasty internet rumors spread.

1. This isn't a 25th Anniversary marathon...it's a Spidey/X-Men marathon.
2. Amazing Friends isn't off the schedule "after this weekend" according to AOL's TV guide (http://television.aol.com/search/results.adp?csexp=1148416957&hid=NY54362%7cX%7c2%7c1&zip=11375&searchby=showtitle&query=spider-man%20and%20his%20amazing%20friends&ag=All&st=1148416941&et=1149626541&skip=40).

I do think it is VERY strange that they aren't showing X-Men or releasing it as a DVD set since the movie is coming out...but Disney has proven to be very stupid in the past. We have no reason to assume that this is anything but them being stupid again. Plus, I simply cannot imagine how they could have lost the rights to the X-Men and have kept the rights to Amazing Friends. They got them all as a package.

AOL's TV guide is incorrect. As of June 1st, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends will be replaced on ABC Family by Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go! on weekdays and NASCAR Racers on weekends. On Toon Disney, the weekday Spidey will be replaced by Dragon Booster, and the weekend Spidey will be replaced by NASCAR Racers. If you want a source, yuo can check here: http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/prstuff/jetix.html. If you don't believe this source, you should know he gets his information from the Disney advance schedules. AOL doesn't.

As for the reference to X-Men and Spider-Man, it is believed that they have lost rights to both of these series. We don't have the original contract's for these series, but it is believed that the license for Saban for these 2 series was for something like 10 years. There were also revenue problems between Disney and Marvel. It's believed that Disney lost the rights back to Marvel for one of these two things, and we do know that Marvel and Disney have been in court many times over these two series from past articles. We've just never heard what the outcome was.

[Jon T]

We don't have the original contract's for these series, but it is believed that the license for Saban for these 2 series was for something like 10 years.

Spider-Man: TAS I can understand, but I'm not sure why would Saban have needed a specific license for X-Men, since they were the company that actually produced the series. In any case, I can only add my hope that all the Marvel animated series from 1966 to 1999 (excluding the 1967 Fantastic Four and 1979 Thing series) may finally out of Disney's hands.


For some reason that just made me realize that Amazing Friends has been airing on a Disney-owned channel since May 25th, 2002. Four years.

Obviously there's still an enthusiastic audience for light-hearted action adventure shows! It's really the excellent and consistent voice acting and writing that has stood-up all these years. Of course, those four fantastic looking episodes from Toei still look great animation-wise today as well!

It's just a great pity that Fox Kids/Jetix UK have never shown the series over here, even though they clearly have access to the entire Saban/Disney-owned Marvel library. This summer, it will actually be 10 years since the series was last shown in the UK. I wonder if it's still on anywhere else in the world?

[Spider-Friends]

I'll take your word for it that Amazing Friends is off the schedule.
But in regards to Spider-Man:TAS and X-Men:TAS:


We don't have the original contract's for these series,...

Who is "we"?


...but it is believed that the license for Saban for these 2 series was for something like 10 years.

Where are you getting that information from?

[bigddan11]

Who is "we"?

We is all of us. None of us have the contract that Saban made with Marvel for their shows. We don't know how long it was for. All we know is that it obviously has changed hands since Lions Gate Entertainment is now releasing the Marvel movies, and Warner is releasing X-Men Evolution. We also know that the 90's Spider-Man series has had additional DVD's released not under the Buena Vista name seeming to indicate that Disney no longer has the rights.

As for the 10 years deal, it was merely an illustration saying that we don't have the contract, but there are some people speculating that maybe the deal with Saban was for ten years. I clearly stated this is my post. It's speculation, but because we don't have the original contract, and since Disney doesn't respond to most requests, then we don't know exactly what is going on with the series.

[Stu]

We is all of us. None of us have the contract that Saban made with Marvel for their shows. We don't know how long it was for. All we know is that it obviously has changed hands since Lions Gate Entertainment is now releasing the Marvel movies, and Warner is releasing X-Men Evolution. We also know that the 90's Spider-Man series has had additional DVD's released not under the Buena Vista name seeming to indicate that Disney no longer has the rights.

A few things;

Nothing has changed hands - when Saban aquired the rights to the Marvel cartoons, it was merely the pre-existing ones. They didn't purchase the right to make new Marvel cartoons, they simply bought the majority of whatever had already been produced.

The non Buena Vista Spider-Man DVDs were actually bootlegs, believe it or not. No one is sure how they managed to get into stores, but they weren't official releases.

I am curious now as to who does own the rights. I do remember recieving a reply to an email about the various 80's Marvel cartoons in which they stated they no longer held the rights.

[Spider-Friends]

As for the 10 years deal, it was merely an illustration saying that we don't have the contract, but there are some people speculating that maybe the deal with Saban was for ten years. I clearly stated this is my post.
I don't call that clear. You said "it is believed that the license for Saban for these 2 series was for something like 10 years". Here is an example of "clear": People are speculating that Disney may have had a temporary license on the Saban shows. (The way you worded it made it sound as if Disney DEFINITELY had a limited amount of time with the shows and that you were guessing it was around 10 years.)


We don't have the original contract's for these series.
Another example of being clear: No one here has read or seen what the original contract says about Saban's deal with the Marvel cartoons. Of course we don't "have" the original contract. If we had the contract, we would own the shows.

Sorry to be so anal...but the meaning of your original statements was completely lost on me. I thought you were someone working for Disney when I first read it.

[Spider-Man]

Yes, this is just speculation, but the evidence (odd schedule changes) clearly indicates that something happened.
Seeing this schedule and the lack of the animated X-Men cartoon reminds me of the lack of X-Men DVDs. Either Disney is just not putting the show on the market for whatever good reason they think they have or they aren't able to put it out there for fans to view. Could there be more legal problems than we know between Marvel and Disney?

[Antiyonder]

Seeing this schedule and the lack of the animated X-Men cartoon reminds me of the lack of X-Men DVDs. Either Disney is just not putting the show on the market for whatever good reason they think they have or they aren't able to put it out there for fans to view. Could there be more legal problems than we know between Marvel and Disney?

I've had a suspision that the lack of X-Men DVDs after the 2nd movie is, that Disney was sore because X-Men 2 performed better in theaters than Disney's Lizzie McGuire Movie. Again it's just my opinion.

[Pomegranate]

That goes to show you why Fox Kids needs to be freed from Disney's evil grasp.

[screw on head]

Did anyone happen to catch this morning's marathon? Below are the talkback links for the episodes that aired.

8:00 am Sunfire (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=107258)
9:00 am The Fantastic Mr. Frump (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=106550)
9:30 am The Prison Plot (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=110508)
10:00 am The Origin of Iceman (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=111679)
10:30 am A Firestar Is Born (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=113585)
11:00 am Mission: Save The Guardstar (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=114802)
11:30 am The X-Men Adventure (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=117212)

If anyone noticed any edits made to these episodes or any others, please point them out here (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=167406).

[Hypestyle]

.. glad for the mini-marathon.. though I'm hoping one day somebody slips and they will finally play "Knights & Demons".. though they'd probably get fired.. :shrug:

[Spider-Man]

I've had a suspision that the lack of X-Men DVDs after the 2nd movie is, that Disney was sore because X-Men 2 performed better in theaters than Disney's Lizzie McGuire Movie. Again it's just my opinion.
I highly doubt Disney expected a movie based off one of their cable channel shows to beat a movie that has a larger fanbase and a high grossing first installment. Regardless I'm just glad that we got to see a nice little marathon for this series. I assume if there are any problems it must be legal. It is nice to see them showing Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends though. While it's a very popular show among fans still it does get overlooked by the fans who came into the Marvel world during the 1990s and early 2000s.