Toon Zone Talkback - Frederator Films Launches; "Samurai Jack" Feature In the Works

[tb4000]

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117967622.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

First film will be...Samurai Jack.

[Starsky]

That... is awesome.

Though I don't think I'll get used to a different voice for Aku.

[Dorks UNITE!!23]

I was about to post this...you beat me.


Frederator.....and Warner Bros.........and Cartoon Network working again?

OOOOOH! This will be interesting!!

[Game Freak 4]

Wait..."Oh Yeah! Cartoons!" for Cartoon Network?

MISSSSSTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!!!

[HG Revolution]

Samurai Jack movie?

OMGBESTNEWSOFTHEDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[YoshiAngemon]

Hm. Maybe the movie will finally put an end to Jack's quest to return to his own time, and undo the evil that is Aku!

[Don_East]

Time for a casting call for Aku I guess.

[Dark Fact]

If they're finally going to finish the Samurai Jack story with this new movie, then all the power to them. I hope the new voice of Aku is good. :sweat:

[TheFZAtUGSOnline]

Actually, SpumCo Did Some Of The World Premiere Toons for CN, then WAC Came In, Oh, Yeah! Did Nick (FairlyOdd, Teenage Robot, Danny Phantom, among others that didn't make it).
Samurai Jack Movie You Say, Ima Intrested!
Keep Me Updated!

[Leviathan]

ONLY 9 POSTS???!?!??? C'mon, I don't even like Samurai Jack, yet I know half the board has been doubled over in anticipation for years for this to happen.

[Dorks UNITE!!23]

ONLY 9 POSTS???!?!??? C'mon, I don't even like Samurai Jack, yet I know half the board has been doubled over in anticipation for years for this to happen.

Just beacuse it's 9 posts, doesn't mean nobody is gonna come. People will see this soon.

[Neo Ultra Mike]

I Think The Samurai Jack Movie Has A Chance to be really good, espically with Genndy attached to write and direct it. I'm sure he wants it to have a pretty similar look to the series and knows the animators that will allow him to achieve it so it will look good (I mean Freadator does good work. "My Life As A Teenage Robot" was nicley directed, even if not as streamlined as Samurai Jack. Though that may have more to do with creative/writing differences then artisitc ones). Yeah finding someone to replace the late great Mako will be hard since I doubt Gred Baldwin (who is replacing Mako as Uncle Iroh in Avatar) would be able to do a proper angry villian voice that Aku has. I'm sure they'll find someone suitable.

I also like how Fredator is trying to bring back the dying 2D Animated Movie, which only seemed like it was going on DTVs or have to be attached to a series to play on the big screen. Don' know how "The Neverhood" or "The Seven Deadly Sins" will turn out, but it's sure to be a lot better then random CGI Animal Movie 58.

[zoid9000]

Words cannot express just how awesome this is. ^_____^

I'm sure they'll find a great VA for Aku, but I'm just freaking excited it's actually in the works. Finally!

[DarthGonzo]

Is this movie going to be released on theatres? Or is it being made for television or DVD?

If it's the former, I just don't see how it could possibly fare well in todays climate.

[Jeff Harris]

Actually, SpumCo Did Some Of The World Premiere Toons for CN, then WAC Came In, Oh, Yeah! Did Nick (FairlyOdd, Teenage Robot, Danny Phantom, among others that didn't make it).
The hell are you talking about?

There had been no on-air World Premiere Toons/What A Cartoons from Spumco. The John K. shorts were initially online-only and came after the first generation of Web Premiere Toons, years after the What A Cartoon project began.

I'm sick of folks giving John K. credit rightfully earned by Fred Seibert, the most underappreciated force in animation today (I personally rank him higher than Lassetter myself, but that's another conversation).

[J'onn J'onzz]

Wow, great news. Wonder when it'll be released.

[Jave]

The hell are you talking about?

There had been no on-air World Premiere Toons/What A Cartoons from Spumco. The John K. shorts were initially online-only and came after the first generation of Web Premiere Toons, years after the What A Cartoon project began.

I'm sick of folks giving John K. credit rightfully earned by Fred Seibert, the most underappreciated force in animation today (I personally rank him higher than Lassetter myself, but that's another conversation).The only WPT/WAC shorts that even come close are "Tales of the Paranoia Worm" and "Lucky Lydia" which were made by former Spumco employees (Eddie Fitzgerald and Bob Camp, respectively), but that's it. The name "Spumco" was never part of those shorts.

[Leviathan]

The only WPT/WAC shorts that even come close are "Tales of the Paranoia Worm" and "Lucky Lydia" which were made by former Spumco employees (Eddie Fitzgerald and Bob Camp, respectively), but that's it. The name "Spumco" was never part of those shorts.

I guess you could add David Feiss to that as well due to his Spumco connection (He worked on Big House Blues and some of the early Ren and Stimpy episodes).

But otherwise you both are absolutely right.

[Mr. Manager]

They'll probably make Aku silent for the whole movie, which would be better than getting a different VA honestly.

Anyway, this news is just insanely amazing. I'm really looking forward to getting a real ending, and it'll be nice for Cartoon Network to have a third big-screen feature. I can't see it doing very well in theatres, but it does sound great.

[Anarky]

This is the talkback thread for Frederator Films Launches; "Samurai Jack" Feature In the Works (http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=17747).

Glad to hear a Samurai Jack feature is in the making however it is sad Mako isn't with us to reprise his role as Aku.

[DarthGonzo]

They'll probably make Aku silent for the whole movie, which would be better than getting a different VA honestly.

I doubt that.

I'm sure they'll find a replacement.

[D Dubbs]

I don't get why people are so surprised. This is old news back from Sept. 2006: http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1541895/story.jhtml


The proudly stubborn Tartakovsky is excitedly planning to oversee the faithful version he's always insisted upon while putting the Japanese warrior back into his ink-and-pencil trappings. "Jack will come back," he promised, "we will finish the story, and there will be an animated film."Whatever, I'm looking forward to it anyway.

[veemonjosh]

I don't get why people are so surprised. This is old news back from Sept. 2006: http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1541895/story.jhtml


Well, we're surprised that it's actually OFFICIALLY announced, and not just the ramblings of Tartakovsky.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

*the heavens open with the songs of angels*

FINALLY.

One of the greatest action cartoons of all time will get it's due and along with that we'll see some fresh ideas thrown around in those other projects.

This is wonderful news for animation lovers. Hopefully even more great things will come of Frederator's feature film projects.

It's a shame Mako has left us and you can't "replace him" now matter how hard you try but I wouldn't want Aku to be silent either. Aku was too talkative in the series to be silent now.

[PC!]

I'm really curious how Frederator will mimic the style of CN Studios, though I have complete faith in them to get the job done.

So, how does this whole deal work? Obviously CN wasn't interested in continuing the series, but with another animation studio footing the bill for a movie, perhaps they thought "Eh, couldn't hurt." I'm no expert on how animation companies work, but is that a reasonable assumption?

Whatever the case, nothing is quite as satisfying as a unfinished story having an opportunity to come to a close. Awesomeness.

[Desensitized]

Now THIS is some great, great news. Let us all rejoice.

[creativerealms]

Sweet so it looks like Samurai Jack will get an ending after all. Yeah Mako will be missed and impossible to replace.

[Neo Ultra Mike]

Here's some more info According to Fredator Studios Themselves:

http://www.frederatorblogs.com/post/4187

Based on this, it seems that CN handed them the rights to the series for the movie, which means CN may not have that direct connection to the upcoming Samurai Jack movie. This may be a good thing since direct CN Films haven't exactly done well and Freadator may be able to push the movie better then CN could of. We'll still have to wait and see for more details about it though.

[judyindisguise]

I'm glad to see Samurai Jack resurrected, and it's very reassuring that its creator is in charge of it. But I'm wondering if a good 2D movie can be made for under 20 million? I don't think full animation can be generated at that cost.

[King_of_doom]

Can't believe no one mention this
http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=17747

I really can't wait to see how it ends up, hopelly it give us the ending we wanted on the show. I know for some won't be the same since Mako has passed away but lets hope the movie rocks.

I notice there's already thread about it but doesn't hurt here as well since Jack's from CN.

[Ykwia]

Frederator?, How will it turn out and will it have that artstyle?
And will it also tie up some loose ends?

[Cartoon_Kid]

I realy didnt like the series hopefully the movie will be better..

[Wanted]

All they have to do is produce it as if it were three or four episodes of a running series... it shouldn't cost that much, right? The "research" makes it sound feasible. I mean, Afro Samurai cost $5,000,000 to animate, and it was pretty good.

This started my day... I read the article and said, "How is this possible?" And, though there might be a few problems to work out still, I'm guessing that it'll be a good movie. But, I'm not lying when I say I'd prefer Warner Home Video to distribute the movie (even though at this point I should care less). That's just my penchant, I guess.

[King_of_doom]

Frederator?, How will it turn out and will it have that artstyle?
And will it also tie up some loose ends?

I don't know how they are goanna mimic the same style, probably getting the same artist tho i doubt it but if Tartakovsky's involve, i don't think the movie will fail.

[Darklordavaitor]

I am a huge Jack fan, yet I don't have high hopes.

[HG Revolution]

I'm glad to see Samurai Jack resurrected, and it's very reassuring that its creator is in charge of it. But I'm wondering if a good 2D movie can be made for under 20 million? I don't think full animation can be generated at that cost.

Akira has the best full animation in any motion picture and was made for $10 million dollars. Besides, Samurai Jack has often opted for limited methods when possible, so it wouldn't look any worse than the series.

[RockmanDash]

A Samurai Jack movie?

YESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this will probably end the whole series which should make this good:D

[Juu-kuchi]

Awesome. While I wasn't that fond of Samurai Jack, I'm glad it's getting a movie and a chance to finally end.

Hopefully the movie version will allow him to be a bit more extra violent and actually kill non-robotic beings.

[Golgo13]

This is a dream come true. One of the most elegant action cartoons ever gets it's own movie.

Also, isn't anyone else excited The Neverhood movie they're also producing? Tell me I'm not the only one who remembers this game.

[Pamela Isley]

This is awesome news. :cool: I hope it ties up the loose ends left from the series.

[Draft]

Despite not really caring for Samuraii Jack, I do help this does well because Frederator is a great company and i have liked in at least one point of my life enjoyed everythign they made(I despise Chalkzone nowadays)

[tb4000]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_%2B_Rosemary

apparantly this is the next Nick show they're producing.

[Dr.Pepper]

Are they finally making the Samuri Jack movie they said they were going to make 5 years ago.

[GWOtaku]

The Samurai Jack movie is spectacular news, as long as they take the opportunity to give it a proper ending. If so, this is just great.

[veemonjosh]

Can't believe no one mention this

We did mention it in the General Animation board.

[Dudley]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_%2B_Rosemary (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_%2B_Rosemary)

apparantly this is the next Nick show they're producing.

Not quite.

This (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random%21_Cartoons)is what they were working on. Think of it as part of a new Oh Yeah! Cartoons.

[NintyScreen]

Are they finally making the Samuri Jack movie they said they were going to make 5 years ago.

Depending on reading the entire article , then it's a yes.

[J'onn J'onzz]

Well, we're surprised that it's actually OFFICIALLY announced, and not just the ramblings of Tartakovsky.
That, and Timbox hijacked the original thread announcing the movie, making up some garbage about how he's going to make his own animation studio, and it will make a Samurai Jack movie, with the help of every animation studio in the world.

[Deadman]

wonderfull news

[Kyuss]

Indeed, seeing the return of the 3rd greatest Samurai I've ever seen (Mugen and Jin rank 1 and 2 in my book but not in any order), has to be a triumph for all.

[danreyes1]

The first film is reason to celebrate. Not sure how I feel about the other two movies. But of course there will be more after that anyway. And it'll be good to see some 2D on the big screen again.

[veemonjosh]

That, and Timbox hijacked the original thread announcing the movie, making up some garbage about how he's going to make his own animation studio, and it will make a Samurai Jack movie, with the help of every animation studio in the world.

I still wonder why he doesn't answer my e-mails. I miss him... :sad:

[Bones Justice]

A Samurai Jack movie is great news! Especially since the creator is writing it. I have no doubt that it will contain lots of awesome action.

I have thought about the ending to this series many times and it always comes back to the same thing. Jack returns to the past and defeats Aku once and for all. What am I missing?

[Jiggle-Bot]

Cinema or direct to video release...
Well given the budget it can probably afford a cinema release and be profitable

Keeping the look of the series...
Yeah i hope they keep the distinct style of the show but still keep it new for the fans.

The movie plot...
Yeah i suppose every fan wants a proper ending for the show, i'm keeping an open mind and hoping for a good feature length worthy film.

[Karl Olson]

I'm glad to see Samurai Jack resurrected, and it's very reassuring that its creator is in charge of it. But I'm wondering if a good 2D movie can be made for under 20 million? I don't think full animation can be generated at that cost.

Even with a US boarding and key staff, you can do theatrical grade work for 20 million. Shoot, the PPG movie was done with only 10 million. Secret of NIMH was only 6 million, which even with worst case scenario inflation would only be 18 million today. Of course, when you start doing all the work in Japan and Korea, you can do stuff like Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence for 20 million.

But yeah, Samurai Jack should look stunning at 20 million, especially with Gennedy at the helm.

[Bubblegum Girl]

Finally! :D I've been watching reruns of Samurai Jack and I fell in love with the show all over again. I guess they scrapped the live action movie idea and decided to go for good old fashion 2D animation. ;) It's good to know that we're finally going to have an ending to the series.

[Dudley]

That, and Timbox hijacked the original thread announcing the movie, making up some garbage about how he's going to make his own animation studio, and it will make a Samurai Jack movie, with the help of every animation studio in the world.

I remember that.
That was hilarious.

[PeppeRaskell1]

Yes, I'm glad that a Samurai Jack movie is finally coming (a lot of us SJ fans have been waiting almost four years for that to happen!), and yes, I'm glad that Genndy Tartakovsky is directing it (I can't see anyone else doing the series that made GT a household name--anyone still remember the non-Genndy seasons of Dexy's Lab?).

After almost four years of nothing happening...it's finally happening.

[judyindisguise]

Even with a US boarding and key staff, you can do theatrical grade work for 20 million. Shoot, the PPG movie was done with only 10 million. Secret of NIMH was only 6 million, which even with worst case scenario inflation would only be 18 million today. Of course, when you start doing all the work in Japan and Korea, you can do stuff like Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence for 20 million.

But yeah, Samurai Jack should look stunning at 20 million, especially with Gennedy at the helm.

Glad to hear it. I was one of those ticked off by the non-ending of the series. Jack deserved better. I'm sure Genndy will make sure the fans won't be disappointed again. I hope he's not too distracted by that Dark Crystal project he's been working on...

[HG Revolution]

Glad to hear it. I was one of those ticked off by the non-ending of the series. Jack deserved better. I'm sure Genndy will make sure the fans won't be disappointed again. I hope he's not too distracted by that Dark Crystal project he's been working on...

He's still working on it? I assumed that Dark Crystal had entered production hell after Mirrormask was such a huge bomb. He's been kicked off Astro Boy as well, so he'll have plenty of time to finish Jack before going on to his next big project.

[Caswin]

Yeah! Closure! Finally! Please?

[CookieS]

More than an hour of Samurai Jack? Someone please say it isn't so. While I thought the series was artful, it wasn't really that exciting. Unless they plan on adding a slew of more talkative, one-shot characters, the movie will suffer. Samurai Jack was an interesting study, but lacked a good narrative. It was another "freak of the week" show made it similar to many other super hero cartoons. Creating a movie just for the sake of closure is a weak reason because it has a very exclusive, non-welcoming appeal. If they're going to bother with a film, it needs to be an open concept that will attract new viewers as well.

[judyindisguise]

More than an hour of Samurai Jack? Someone please say it isn't so. While I thought the series was artful, it wasn't really that exciting. Unless they plan on adding a slew of more talkative, one-shot characters, the movie will suffer. Samurai Jack was an interesting study, but lacked a good narrative. It was another "freak of the week" show made it similar to many other super hero cartoons. Creating a movie just for the sake of closure is a weak reason because it has a very exclusive, non-welcoming appeal. If they're going to bother with a film, it needs to be an open concept that will attract new viewers as well.

It also needs better animation than Flash can offer IMO. I love Jack, but coughing up 9 bucks for it at a movie theater had better give me more than an extended TV episode.

[J'onn J'onzz]

Even with a US boarding and key staff, you can do theatrical grade work for 20 million. Shoot, the PPG movie was done with only 10 million. Secret of NIMH was only 6 million, which even with worst case scenario inflation would only be 18 million today. Of course, when you start doing all the work in Japan and Korea, you can do stuff like Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence for 20 million.

But yeah, Samurai Jack should look stunning at 20 million, especially with Gennedy at the helm.
The Aqua Teen movie was only 750 thousand. ;)

[Caswin]

MWhile I thought the series was artful, it wasn't really that exciting. Unless they plan on adding a slew of more talkative, one-shot characters, the movie will suffer. Samurai Jack was an interesting study, but lacked a good narrative. It was another "freak of the week" show made it similar to many other super hero cartoons. Creating a movie just for the sake of closure is a weak reason because it has a very exclusive, non-welcoming appeal. If they're going to bother with a film, it needs to be an open concept that will attract new viewers as well.I think the very need for closure will result in something more eventful than usual. There probably wouldn't be much need for one-shot characters, either; the show had plenty of quirky one-episode characters (plus a few recurring ones, such as the Scotsman and Jack's father) to pick up- I expect we'll be seeing the dogs from the opening trilogy again.

Anyway, the series had more than a few talkative episodes. Remember "Da Samurai"? Well, okay, I myself only just watched it on Jetstream a while ago, but still.

[Noukon]

More than an hour of Samurai Jack? Someone please say it isn't so. While I thought the series was artful, it wasn't really that exciting. Unless they plan on adding a slew of more talkative, one-shot characters, the movie will suffer. Samurai Jack was an interesting study, but lacked a good narrative. It was another "freak of the week" show made it similar to many other super hero cartoons. Creating a movie just for the sake of closure is a weak reason because it has a very exclusive, non-welcoming appeal. If they're going to bother with a film, it needs to be an open concept that will attract new viewers as well.

It really varied between episodes. Some of the better episodes did offer really interesting, if subtle, narratives. You're right, though, in that it will be a hard sell without something new to bring in people unfamiliar with the show.

Mako's replacement VA for Avatar does a fairly excellent imitation, and I'm sure he could do Aku justice.

[Scythemantis]

Am I the only one who's brain had a triple orgasm at the word "Neverhood?"

Stunningly awesome, highly creative PC game over a decade old that truly did deserve a full-length film.

[Noukon]

Am I the only one who's brain had a triple orgasm at the word "Neverhood?"

Stunningly awesome, highly creative PC game over a decade old that truly did deserve a full-length film.

It's definitely cool that they're doing a Neverhood movie - I loved the game. It'll be interesting to see what kind of story they come up with for it.

[Jiggle-Bot]

IMDB has an entry up for the movie with a tentative release date of 2009.

You need a pro account to view it though.

Here's the link: http://imdb.com/title/tt1058779/