Atomic Betty: Defending the Universe and Trying to Find a Home on TV
The result of their efforts was an evocative demo that would give prospective buyers and investors a taste of the product to come. Betty and crew proved tasty indeed; Trevor Bentley recalls the excitement of their triumph at Cannes: "The big kick was the feedback we received at MIP Jr. and MIPCOM; Betty was the first most-viewed North American property at MIP Jr. I'd say that all the positive response has been the most enjoyable thing to date." Atomic Cartoon's showing was particularly impressive: of the 758 properties presented at MIP Jr., Atomic Betty was not only the North American champ, it was the third most-screened item in the entire program.
Fruits For Their Labor?

View the Atomic Betty trailer.
The cartoon has a winning retro look, and a quick glance reveals that the Atomic team stayed true to their inspirations. The UPA influence is strongly evident in the scene where Betty's ship weaves in and out of traffic, and some of the scenes set in I-Q's robot factory also reflect UPA's modernist style. The transformation scenes and titles are clearly inspired by modern anime; so are the flowing combat sequences, where Betty twirls and spins from one unlucky robot to the next without missing a beat. The character designs are uniformly excellent; Betty sports a flaming red ponytail and large green eyes that suggest anime design while keeping the look of a young, All-American girl. Whether girding for battle or daydreaming in class, the character is expressive, appealing and fun to watch. Sparky the Martian is (of course) a little green man, who benefits from sharp, well-defined poses. Robot X-5 resembles a tin toy straight out of the 1950s, and thus fits in perfectly with the demo's "throwback" style. Samantha Daley believes that Betty's appeal will be, well, universal: "Even though Atomic Betty is based on a girl, we feel the show will reach both genders because it follows one little girl's way of dealing with the unfamiliar and sometimes difficult world of childhood."
Let's hope a network executive is thinking the same thing and signing on the dotted line right now...ensuring Atomic Betty will reach our television screens.
Martin "Dr. Toon" Goodman is a longtime student and fan of animation. He lives in Anderson, Indiana.
The Atomic Cartoons team is confident about facing the challenges of producing the new series. When asked how their experiences at other studios prepared them for Atomic Betty, Trevor Bentley replied: "All the work we have done for the big studios has led us to where we are today, so it's hard to pick out all the specific lessons we've learned. Some of the key things have been the chance to work with and learn from some really talented and experienced veterans, as well as working on critically acclaimed, award-winning shows. As far as Betty goes, we know all the pitfalls of pre-production so you can bet we won't cut any corners on the model packs, boards and layouts. The timing will be taken care of here as well, so we will maintain the crisp, quick, snappy action and subtle acting that sometimes gets lost in the animation stage. I think the important thing to us was to make a show that we would want to work on and watch."

One of the killing machines under Supreme Emperor I-Q's command.























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