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ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 4.1 - April 1999
Predicting the Future of Futurama
by Matt Shumway and Lamont Wayne
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| Futurama. All images & © 1999 Fox Broadcasting Company. |
Who would be better to review a cartoon about the
future than future animators? Representing a pool of animation talent at The
Savannah College of Art and Design, we have seen the future for our debut
review in the form of Matt Groening's new animated series Futurama which
previews on Fox, Sunday, March 28 and April 4 (8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT) before
moving to its regular timeslot Tuesday, April 6 (8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT).
Getting to Know Them
Futurama stars Fry (voiced by Billy West), a slobbish, slow-witted
pizza delivery boy who gets cryogenically frozen on New Year's Eve, 1999.
He wakes up one thousand years later to find himself in a totally new world.
In the future he meets Leela (voiced by Katey Sagal), a one-eyed alien girl
who is a fate assignment officer with bad depth perception. Along the way,
he befriends Bender (voiced by John DiMaggio), a beer drinking, cigar smoking,
pornography loving robot programmed to bend girders for suicide booths. Fry
also meets his 149-year-old great-great-great-great etc. nephew, Professor
Hubert Farnsworth, who has a collection of assorted lengths of wire. Together
they form the Planet Express Corporation, a delivery service that transports
cargo all over the universe.
This move by Groening to introduce a new show reminds us of the Hanna-Barbera
of old. The success of The Flintstones as an animated sitcom has been
compared to The Simpsons' success many times. It seems that Groening
is allowing history to repeat itself, almost mirroring Hanna-Barbera's move
with The Jetsons, keeping the same formula but moving it to the future.
This could prove to be a smart move. "I'm a big fan of The Simpsons,"
says college student Seth Grant, "but I've always wished for Matt Groening
to create a setting where he could broaden his horizons from the simple setting
of Springfield."
The most obvious aspect of Futurama is its similarity to The Simpsons.
When one watches the show, it's hard to get over the fact that one isn't watching
The Simpsons. The character design is the same. The humor is the same.
Blinky the fish made a cameo appearance, and we wouldn't be surprised if other
Simpsons characters made there way into the future as well. This is
not to say this is a bad thing. The Simpsons continues to be one of
the most successful animated programs of all time. The idea of creating another
show with the Simpsons' style and witty humor will no doubt prove a
smart decision for Fox.
The
Production End of It
One of the most intriguing aspects of Futurama is its integration
of traditional and computer animation. In the new animated Spider-Man cartoon,
when Spidey flies and flips through the computer backgrounds, one can tell
that they are computer backgrounds. In Futurama, the backgrounds and
animation are so close in their look and style that one hardly notices it's
computer. The best way to describe it is to compare it to the animated feature
Cats Don't Dance,
where the backgrounds and animation match almost seamlessly. As animation
students, this is a big issue. We are more interested in the creative ways
of using computer animation to assist in storytelling. Flashy and fancy doesn't
impress us anymore! "It is a welcome change from the usual synthesis
of the two types which is usually gaudy and ugly," says college student
Lance Simmons. When done correctly, computer technology can be a great enhancer,
but when done incorrectly it takes away far more than what is added to a picture.
We would like to take a moment and congratulate Rough Draft Studios for the
wonderful animation in Futurama. While carrying on the torch with the
character design and look of The Simpsons, Futurama's character
animation works a little bit better. We really liked the overall layout, and
the color scheme is more vivid and exciting. It's too early to comment on
character personality development, but the potential is there, and we can't
wait to see all the extremes that Fry and company will go through.
Overall, as animation students, we enjoyed Futurama. "The first
episode was consistently funny and didn't lag pace-wise," says college
student Gianina Lopategui. Similar to shows like The Simpsons and Seinfeld,
this is the type of show that the guys at work are going to talk about around
the water cooler. Simpsons fans definitely have something new and exciting
to look forward to. The future is now and more hilarious than ever!
The Classical Animation Society is a student organization at the Savannah
College of Art and Design. Devoted to character animation and the animation
industry, the Society was founded to unite the animation students at SCAD
to promote learning about the art, craft and industry of animation.
The Savannah College of Art and Design exists to prepare talented students
for careers in the visual arts, design, and building arts. The college emphasizes
individual attention in a positive environment.
Note: Readers may contact any Animation World Magazine contributor by sending an e-mail to editor@awn.com.