ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 5.6 - SEPTEMBER 2000

Just the Right Amount of Cheese: The Secrets to Good Live-Action Adaptations of Cartoons
(continued from page 2)

X-Men was a successful, faithful adaptation of the comic. © Twentieth Century Fox.

Who Knows What the Future Holds
Despite several box-office failures, the industry is planning to produce more live-action adaptations of cartoons. This summer's X-Men found the balance to which Bruce Cohen referred; it was loyal enough for fans yet substantive enough for general moviegoers. With the success of X-Men, Marvel Enterprises has finally received the green light for projects like Spider-man, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America and Daredevil. This is all in addition to the X-Men sequel that is already in early development.

Furthermore, this November brings Disney's 102 Dalmatians, in which Glenn Close reprises her role as Cruella Deville. Next year, Universal Pictures will try yet another Hanna-Barbera adaptation in Josie and the Pussycats, for which I have low expectations.

The future of live-action adaptations of cartoons looks hazy. There will certainly continue to be a mélange of successes and failures. It boils down to Bruce Cohen's belief that most of the suitable cartoons have already been adapted. The good adaptations will be those which have non-cartoon affiliated production crews like X-Men's director Bryan Singer.

In short, an out-of-context phrase from Shakespeare's Hamlet always comes to mind when thinking about cartoons and their live-action adaptations. The following excerpt is from Hamlet's monologue in Act II, Scene 2: "Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed/The very faculties of eyes and ears." Good cartoons have always attempted to mystify the senses through catharsis, introspection or humor. Successful live-action adaptations should follow a similar route. Studios should learn not to adapt a cartoon strictly for monetary or nostalgic reasons; the cause for a live-action adaptation should always be to enhance the cartoon's ability to entertain. Any other reason is a disservice to the standard that the vintage cartoon represents.

Gerard Raiti, a resident of Baltimore, has reported on animation, Broadway musicals and comic books for various publications including AnotherUniverse.com and Newsweek.

 
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