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ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 5.6 - SEPTEMBER 2000
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Just the Right Amount of Cheese: The Secrets to Good Live-Action
Adaptations of Cartoons
An Expert Opinion Gerard Raiti: What was the difference between producing the first and second Flintstones movies? Bruce Cohen: Well, there are lots of differences, but that's intentional. We wanted to make the sequel as different as possible from the original. Then the idea of making a prequel arose -- to make the sequel occur before the original, and before even the TV show. So the logical decision was to have a new cast in a place other than Bedrock. This is where Rock Vegas came in. GR: Why was the first Flintstones movie more successful? BC: That's hard to say. It was probably the novelty of the film. People had never seen Bedrock brought to life before. This was huge! It's always fun for fans to see their childhood characters come to life for the first time. GR: What originally enticed you to produce the first Flintstones movie? BC: I've always been a fan. It's a tremendous challenge to undertake. At the same time, it's the perfect opportunity to entertain millions of people. The Flintstones personifies family entertainment. GR: If you could have changed anything about Viva Rock Vegas that would have made it more successful, what would you have changed and why? Also, did you suspect at anytime it was of a lower caliber than its predecessor? BC: No, not at all! In fact, everyone involved in [Viva Rock Vegas] felt it was better than the original. The only thing I would have changed is the way it was marketed and reviewed. For whatever reason, people never gave the movie a chance. On our end, we tried to make the best sequel possible, and we thought we succeeded. So, no, there's really nothing I would have changed because I'm satisfied with how [Viva Rock Vegas] turned out.
GR: Why did the international audiences take to Viva Rock Vegas more than the Americans? BC: The international audience is less review dependent. They knew they enjoyed the first film and assumed the second would be equally good. And the new cast was mostly British, which created a lot of hype in England. The international audience is also less cynical. GR: Now for the crux of what I've been getting at: What makes a good live-action adaptation of a cartoon? BC: That is a very tricky question because there are many small factors that contribute to a good adaptation. This is because what works in a cartoon does not necessarily work in LA [live-action]. Being faithful [to a cartoon] is not good. It's about finding a balance. The movie needs to be loyal enough to the cartoon for the sake of the fans, but it also needs to do everything that a good live-action movie should. Think about the story arc for a second. The average story for a cartoon is twenty-two minutes. The stories are not designed with enough depth to interest an audience for two hours. More character depth is needed. 2-D versus 3-D takes on an entirely new meaning. The 2-D characters are flat -- not just on the paper.
The real challenge is the "real" versus the "unreal." Cartoons don't lend themselves to reality very well. Everyone wears ridiculous costumes; the sets are absurd and larger than life. The challenge is to make it look realistic without taking away from [the cartoon's] charm. GR: Why are many live-action adaptations cheesy or poor in quality? Who is to blame -- the writers, directors, producers, actors, studios? BC: The main reason is that many cartoons don't lend themselves to live-action. The stories and characters are not deep enough to sustain a motion picture. In the case of the Flintstones, they were created as a spoof of The Honeymooners. It's a cartoon version of a wacky world with two suburban couples. It's relatable to Americans. That's [The Flintstones] appeal. The studios are responsible for selecting cartoons that are transferable to live-action. GR: Do you plan to produce other live-action adaptations in the future? BC: I wouldn't say "no," but probably not. All the good cartoons worth adapting have already been done. At this stage, there would have to be some cartoon I've over-looked, and the story would have to be extraordinarily good.
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