Maverick Social Media Update-BlueSky

Not a Maverick Quickie but technically a quickie.

It seems that BlueSky is now all the rage in Social Media these days and as of Late October and Early November 2024, it's exploding in popularity.

All because of Musk's infamous October 2022 acquisition of Twitter, where as of July 2023, he has rebranded it as X.

I never opened a Twitter..... or X account before but....

seeing as how pissed people, as well as celebrities, have become over the lack of moderation in X as well as other drama they have to put up with,

I for one welcome this change to shift gears towards BlueSky for better moderated Social Media presence.

So I'm thinking, starting either Tonight or Tomorrow before December, 

Starting late night November 29 2024, I've officially opened my BlueSky account.

because I too share the dissatisfaction of people putting up with X as well as not even using my THREADS account anyway.

(To be honest, even I have not used my CARA Account. I wonder why?)

But what does this mean for my BLOG?

Nothing!!!

The blog will still remain active, just with a new Account.

It's just like when I opened my CARA Account back in late June 2024....

Only this time, I promise to be more active on my new Account.

Have I mentioned I'm now on BlueSky?

Here's my profile. 

Feel free to message me or get connected with me:

https://bsky.app/profile/real-danmartinez.bsky.social

Maverick Quickie-The movie that inspired the manga series BERSERK

 ..........

Well, I'm not a guy who practices Seance so i can't ask the ghost of Kentaro Miura,

But this is an absolutely interesting find.

Never thought I find the source that inspired the BERSERK manga.

Was Miura-San a fan of PAUL VERHOEVEN and his work?

For me, I'm more familiar with Verhoeven's work after ROBOCOP in 1987 so I don't know what to say about his pre-ROBOCOP filmography.

Admittingly, compared to all the other anime where I actually watch the anime first before I read the MANGA, 

BERSERK is one of those where I actually read the MANGA first before I watched the various anime adaptations out there.

I have an ARCHIVE.ORG Link to the Dubbed version of the 1997 Berserk Anime that I can watch or download the individual episodes on my Hard Drive

but......

I might as well find a DVD, Blu-Ray, or 

4K Restored copy of FLESH+BLOOD on ARCHIVE.ORG if it's 4K restored and not upscaled as some restorations claim.

The Other Fleischer Feature Film: MR. BUG GOES TO TOWN

After the success of GULLIVER'S TRAVELS in 1939, 

Paramount Pictures requested FLEISCHER STUDIOS to make another animated flick for the studio in time for Christmas 1941.

The film would be MR. BUG GOES TO TOWN.

To go from GULLIVER to MR. BUG in less than 2 years is either quite a feat or an insanity even for 1940s animation standards if you stop to think about it.

Typically, Feature Length animation takes 3-4 years to complete.

2 years if you're lucky to make that mark.

The film looks like it's Fleischer trying to beat Disney to making a feature length version of the classic Fable THE ANTS AND THE GRASSHOPPER but make no mistake, MR BUG is not based on the classic AESOP'S FABLE.

The film was actually susposed to be an adaptation of Maurice Maeterlinck's novel THE LIFE OF A BEE.

but Paramount was unwilling to purchase the film rights from Samuel Goldwyn.

And thus, the original Idea of Hoppity trying to save his fellow bug friends from the threat of Humanity was born.

This film, while lighthearted in it's presentation at least in 1940s standards,

It's actually surprisingly dark in tone.

Not because this film would debut 2 days before the infamous Attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7 1941,

but rather it's due to the fact that it portrays insects having their habitat under the threat of:

Land Development.

But unlike with Richard Adam's WATERSHIP DOWN, 

which wouldn't debut until 31 years after Mr. Bug's release, 

where the Rabbits flee their Warren due to residential development, 

The Bugs go out of their way to help their Land Owner DICK DICKENS' win an appeal with a Government check so that their home doesn't get snatched and used for Land Development.

Aside from Full WEST COAST STYLE Art and Acting now having permeated the perennially EAST-COAST studio known as FLEISCHER, this film also had a new major problem and that had nothing to do with emulating Disney but rather a newfound feud between the two brothers who founded the company.

Apparently there was rift between Max and Dave Fleischer that began during the production of Gulliver's Travels back in the late 30s.

The rift got so bad that the two brothers refused to communicate in person, instead preferring to communicate with written memos so a physical fight doesn't occur between the two.

And Paramount was made aware of the rift between the two so the studio devised a solution that either one of the brothers would resign after production of Mr. Bug concluded.

We all know how that went...

Despite all that as well as the film having ditched the EAST COAST feel of the early BETTY BOOPS and POPEYES, MR BUG still is a classic for all of us.

It has the classic condescending villain who we know is evil but he tries to hide that by pretending to be a good guy, only to feed bad info and let schmucks fall for his schemes.

The environment message is somehow better executed and not as preachy as films like

FERNGULLY or ONCE UPON A FOREST would try.

You have to remember that this film was released 3 days before the United States' entry into WWII but the tense atmosphere of environmental damage to a Bug's habitat was still real even in the 1940s.

I also dig the detail on some of the characters during closeups such as the light source used on C. Bagley Beetle shown below.

Somehow Human-like though I doubt BEETLE's face would get the 

KNOW YOUR MEME "CHAD" treatment in 2025.....

we'll see. 

The opening credits with the New York Skyline is also impressive too.

I don't know if that's the Patented Stereo-Optical Setback Camera or something similar but the 3D-feel of the buildings do reek of the Setback Camera that Fleischer was famous for back in the Betty Boop and Popeye days.

Many of my VLC screenshots of MR.BUG are coming from this unusual restored copy of the NTA Print of the film.

Now here's an interesting True Story:

Did you know that Sci-Fi writer HARLAN ELLISON was so obsessed with MR. BUG during his childhood that he tried many times to sneak into the various movie theaters just to watch the film without paying for a goddamn ticket?

"To be a REAL MAN of a writer, 

you must sneak into your most coveted Childhood Animated films

while they're still playing in Theaters."

While he didn't see the film in it's entirety during his childhood, Ellison eventually saw MR. BUG in it's entirety through it's May 1989 REPUBLIC PICTURES VHS/Laserdisc release.

And get this, even HAYAO MIYAZAKI likes this film. Enough Said....

And no, MR.BUG did not influence PIXAR or DREAMWORKS when they made ANTZ & A BUG'S LIFE in 1998 despite both of them being CGI FILMS about ANTS.

I don't know what was the influence for ANTZ....

*COUGH*Bosnia*COUGH*& Kosovo*COUGH*

but I do know that A BUG'S LIFE was inspired by the classic fable THE ANT & THE GRASSHOPPER.

And as for the 31 year timeframe for WATERSHIP DOWN I mentioned earlier, don't question the timeframe from between Mr. Bug and WATERSHIP DOWN.

I know what timeframe I was referring to....

OK OK. You've got me. I confess....

I was actually referring to Richard Adam's 1972 Novel, not Martin Rosen's 1978 Film.

Natasha Kline does what a certain Cat and Dog couldn't do in 1994? We'll see...+ A BANCROFT BROTHERS ANECDOTE

I've read that NATASHA KLINE's PRIMOS is a ratings hit.....

"Oh yeah... I proved those naysayers wrong by forcing my parent Network to retool my show!"

Dammit Tater!!! Don't interrupt this blogpost.

Anyway,

After all the complaints and the major stink people made about the original awful premise which was to ripoff NICKELODEON's THE LOUD HOUSE or CASAGRANDES, it looks like the promised retool made a wrong RIGHT.... 

But will it convince us, the viewers, that this show has potential?

We'll see.

After all, there's a huge difference between a show that has the highest view count,

AKA Ratings

vs.

A show with the best Critical Reception.

For those who need a recap, PRIMOS was announced in early 2022 as per part of a lineup of new shows to celebrate Disney's 100th anniversary.... well that was the plan....

This photo dates back from 2022 when I was at my Final Year in College.

At first, nobody paid that much attention to the announcement due to bigger issues like Ron DeSantis' big fight with the MOUSE HOUSE over an infamous bill overturn in Florida, among other things.

Then in Mid-2023, the first images and the first trailer showed up....

AND, HOO-BOY, WERE PEOPLE MIGHTY PISSED!!!

Don't have an image of disgruntled nerds,

So instead, I'm using this image of a Mighty Pissed OSWALD THE LUCKY RABBIT.

(FYI: He's mad at FELIX THE CAT for sharing an image of a Sphynx Cat.)

That's because of the what was thought to be an awful premise that made it look like that the show was Ripping Off NICKELODEON'S THE LOUD HOUSE & CASAGRANDES...

Others included trying to make "OYE-PRIMOS" a catchphrase but if that were to happen, the catchphrase would have been made annoying because while yes, actual Mexican cousins do say it, the fact that the Mouse House almost tried to trademark it like they almost did with Polynesian culture in 2016 and DIOS DE LOS MUERTOS in 2017 was enough to make even Mexican-American residents vomit(Metaphorically Speaking) over it being a frequent catchphrase thing.

Another problem with PRIMOS was the Controversy over the alleged stereotyping of Mexicans in general.

I've read an article and a few Facebook Posts that the Mexican-American Community complained about the stereotypical portrayal. 

And instead of raging like most animation nerds, 

the community instead complained in a rather polite manner.

But the Mouse House Executives responded back aggressively about how ungrateful the community was about what they feel should be represented in a cartoon of that Caliber.

This aggressive back talk from the Mouse House executives sort of reminds me of when Herb Powell from THE SIMPSONS yelled at his executives for their tastelessness in Customer support.....

But in reverese.

In this screenshot, Herb is fuming at his executives for choosing Car names that are named after 

Greek Gods/Goddesses instead of Predatory Animals.

People would rather have a car named Mustang or Cheetah instead of Persephone.

But I think the major stink was that the announcement Images were coming off at a really bad time. 

Actually, TWO OF THEM.

The first images of PRIMOS were shared shortly after the final 3 episodes of 

THE OWL HOUSE were broadcast on Television.

People were mighty upset about PRIMOS' announcement in May 2023 because they felt THE OWL HOUSE was the perfect show for LATIN-AMERICAN Representation with the LUZ character 

and Disney's Executives shat on DANA TERRACE's efforts due to the executive's viewpoints on audience demographics.

I really shouldn't use this because Herb actually knows what people want,

but his Braindead executives would prefer to tell people what they should have.

The other thing that made people like me angry about the announcement on PRIMOS was the fact that the images were shared during the relative start of the WGA Strikes on May 2023 which would eventually escalate when SAG-AFTRA joined in on July 2023.

After all that, most of us eventually became numb and waited on whether Disney would air PRIMOS in it's original turd form just so we can watch and burn on the product.....or whether the show would be written off for tax purposes due to the backlash.

TOTALLY NOT BORROWING FROM ZASLAV'S HOMEWORK MIND YOU!!!!

Then, Fall 2023 came and the show did not premiere as scheduled.

A lot of use thought the show was canned but as it turned out, The MOUSE HOUSE caught wind of the backlash and demanded that Natasha retool the series so it doesn't piss off any viewers.

The retool happened and the show was expected to premiere on January 2024.

Again, it was a no-show. I wonder why?

Then it was expected to premiere on June 6 2024 to coincide with the premiere of BIG CITY GREENS the movie: SpaceCation...... then the show was a no-show again.

Finally, it premiere on July 25th 2024.

And we all thought DISNEY TELEVISION ANIMATION didn't learn a lesson from their mistakes after making the infamous

THE SHNOOKUMS AND MEAT FUNNY CARTOON SHOW 

Bet you didn't know that this show existed, did ya?

Well, it wasn't what you call a good show to begin.... but I guess it's better than what THE BROTHERS GRUNT suffered from...

Considering they both debut in 1994.

Part of the problem with Shnookums and Meat was the fact that it was:

SURPRISE SURPRISE

a blatant ripoff of THE REN & STIMPY SHOW...

"Right down to a funny Behind-the-Scenes story where our Animation Studio Carbunkle refused to work with Disney as a result of a budget issue. 

Stimpy loves that story."

The funny thing is that SHNOOKUMS AND MEAT actually made their debut as a segment on the equally infamous MARSUPULAMI in 1993.

I'm sure MARSUPULAMI is regarded as an absolute Nostalgic TV classic to all you GEN Xers and early Millennials but I still call the show infamous because the original Belgian creator of the comics ANDRE FRANQUIN was not happy about the show or the decisions in making it and his firm MARSU B.V.  actually sued DISNEY in 1997 for even making the show to begin with.

I bet that during this time in 1994, John K. got pissed at the Mouse House for blatantly ripping off his characters at the time... but by then, he was fired from Nickelodeon.

Plus, he also Lambasted the GAMES episodes of Ren & Stimpy, just like everybody else was doing at the time.

Even THE SIMPSONS, even during one of their infamous Clip Shows, fiercely believed the Earlier SPUMCO Episodes of Ren and Stimpy were superior to the later GAMES Episodes.

I've had a minor exposure to SHNOOKUMS AND MEAT before through photos and an Instagram account dedicated to 80s and 90s culture but I can tell you,

Ren and Stimpy Ripoff or not, the show probably did better than the GAMES episodes ever would.

And certainly better than Brother's Grunt due to the fact that it's not preachy about gross humor just to make sense of an Auteur License. 

Whatever, Just like with Shnookums and Meat, I'll give PRIMOS a try...

But I sure won't Binge Watch it Weekly.

I'll mostly binge-watch the RANMA Remake on Netflix....

Speaking about NETFLIX,

I read on Facebook about Natasha Kline's interview with the Bancroft Brothers during a PODCAST where she mentioned considering selling PRIMOS to NETFLIX if the deal with DISNEY fell through...

And there was actually a Bidding war for the show too.

She also states her minor disappointment that studios such as Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and yes, even DISNEY, only care about pitches that would become the next Cash-Cow like SpongeBob was in 1999.

The idea being that even if the show is picked up, Studios are only willing to keep the show for at least One Season or Two.

And even word of Mouth is not enough to keep the show going after the Third Season according to executives...

I get where this is going but at the same time, I'm seeing people on Social Media saying that shows like SpongeBob, BIG CITY GREENS, and TEEN TITANS GO! have all outstayed their welcome despite high Network Ratings.

WHAT ANIMATION FANS DEMAND ARE THAT SHOWS LIKE:

AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER,

TEEN TITANS(2003),

&

THE OWL HOUSE

should have INDEFINITE airtime like THE SIMPSONS still does to this day.

.....

I'm really conflicted to say this but....

While I'm all for to having a proper HAND-DRAWN Frame-by-Frame revival of the 2003 Teen Titans, 

AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER,

and 

THE OWL HOUSE

are perfect with their Third Season Conclusions....

Well I heard AVATAR is doing a midquel series continuing after Book 3 come forth next year so that's a plus for us AVATAR Fans.... and I applaud that revival.

But OWL HOUSE has a perfect conclusion that doesn't need any continuations.

And this is not my opinion but rather me wanting to respect DANA TERRACE's decision not to continue her series after the third season after all the drama she witnessed from the higher-ups as well as the strikes of 2023 as well as..........

YEESH.... THE LIST IS TOO LONG 

and I think it's time for me to close up this post and save my wrists for another post rather than get carpal tunnel writing a diatribe.

There. That's more like it.

Before the GENTLEMAN THIEF graced television screens-THE LUPIN III 1969 PILOT FILM

When Lupin III premiered on August 10 1967 as a manga series written and illustrated by the late KAZUHIKO KATO, aka MONKEY PUNCH, 

Little did people or Kato himself know that what was spearheaded that day would forever change the landscape of Anime Audience Perception.

But did you know that before the 1971 series debut, TMS made a pilot film in order to appease bankers and financers to gain some finances to produce a series before the project goes PRIMETIME?

It's true. 

Behold the PILOT FILM of LUPIN III

What differs with this version of LUPIN vs. the later more well known adaptations is the presentation.

Is the visuals.

Unlike the later anime adaptations which often at times prefers to deviate away from MONKEY PUNCH's art style, in favor of something more CONVENTIONAL for the presentation, 

This PILOT FILM seeks to make the art sort of match MONKEY PUNCH's art in ways you can't possibly imagine.

That's the fierce dedication that the artists have when they happen to be fans of the author.

Also, some of the voices sound different too.

Most noticeably ARSENE LUPIN III himself.

Before they decided to have YASUO YAMADA perform the voice of the gentleman thief, they had given ARSENE's grandson a different tone of voice in both performance and octave.

That may explain why LUPIN sounds deep-voiced instead of NASAL and funny which we've come to associate the thief with.

In the Cinemascope version, he was portrayed by NACHI NOZAWA

while on TV, he was portrayed by Taichiro Hirokawa.

None of these actors accurately portrayed the Nasal octave and performance tone that YASUO YAMADA was known for.

Also, Zenigata and Goemon have their respective actors swapped.... sort of.

In Cinemascope, Zenigata was performed by SHINSUKE CHIKAISKI,

While on TV, it was CHIKAO OTSUKA.

In Cinemascope, Goemon was portrayed by GORO NAYA,

while on TV, it was OSAMU KOBAYASHI.

When the TV series premiered, OTSUKA and NAYA swapped their parts as NAYA felt he's better off as Zenigata while OTSUKA felt he's a better GOEMON.

Of course, in part 2, OTSUKA was replaced with MAKIO INOUE.

The only noticeable standouts who would actually be mainstays in LUPIN till their retirement later in life were

KIYOSHI KOBAYASHI as JIGEN

and EIKO MASUYAMA as FUJIKO.

Did I say that the animation of this PILOT FILM aimed to mimic the art style of MONKEY PUNCH?

Here are some images of the manga to prove what I'm talking about:

Now let's use some VLC Screenshots to compare to the MANGA:

You'll also notice this old man on the right next to Zenigata.

Apparently, TMS was planning to add this character to serve as a fatherly assistant to the inspector.

He goes by the name of KOGORO AKECHI.

This character already existed before LUPIN so I think the plan was to bring this character full circle as an adversary for Lupin considering he actually arrested the thief in the the very first Chapter of the Manga.

But my guess was there was a Copyright issue with this character back in the late 60s that prevented this character from appearing in future LUPIN III adaptations so TMS dropped AKECHI from the LUPIN Canon.

Where can you find the pilot film?

If you have the Green Jacket DVDs, then it's where you can find this.

I'm sure it's also on YOUTUBE but...

Let me share you this link to film I found on ARCHIVE.ORG:

https://archive.org/details/lupin-iii-pilot-film

You might be asking

"HEY DAN, WHERE THE HELL ARE THE SUBTITLES? IS THIS THING DUBBED?"

My answer:

The pilot film was never officially dubbed in ENGLISH. 

The version of the Pilot film I'm using for my VLC Screenshots is actually in Japanese but for some reason, the copy I found on ARCHIVE.ORG is the Raw Japanese print so that's why there are no subtitles.

Also, the print I'm using is the TV Pitch print from the 1971.

I'm still on the lookout for the original Cinemascope Print with the original 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio as well as the original actors but finding the Lupin Pilot Film in Cinemascope has been surprisingly difficult.

And no, Lupin himself didn't steal the Cinemascope Prints.

He fiercely believes in film preservation as much as we all do.

Anyway, after these prints of the PILOT FILM were made, they all spearheaded the LUPIN Franchise.

The first was the Green Jacket TV Series in 1971

The Red Jacket Series from 1977 until 1980

The Pink Jacket series from the Mid-1980s

Theatrical Movies that include

Mystery of Mamo in 1978

Most famously CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO in 1979

The various Tv Specials which can range from Artist to Artist depending on the special

And culminating in the 3DCG theatrical movie released in late 2019

While the art for Lupin has changed over the years depending on Animation Director, production team, budget, or whether the team prefers to mimic Monkey Punch's art vs the Fandom preferring the art to be as conventional as anime should be, 

Be sure to remember where it all started.

Sure, the Manga started in 1967 

but the animation of Lupin all began with a simple Pilot Film released in 1969 and was originally meant to be screened to investors....

Which succeeded the second time around during the start of the 70s.