toonsman

[toonsman]

Ding!!! Ding!!!

And that’s the end of round two of the animation debates…
So far no blood has been drawn but the pitch forks and torches haven’t arrived yet.
Seriously guys and ladies. It was just a thought I had… didn’t want to see you guys get mad about any of this. Somewhere there is an animator that could do an outstanding job of making things look and work well together…besides, I think most of us would agree that both Grant and Naylor wouldn’t go for anything that would make Red Dwarf look bad or belittle the series and all the years of hard work they put into an excellent product. Thank God they said no to an American version of Red Dwarf… I saw the pilot stuff years ago on that and except for Robert Llewellen it was hideous… I’m glad they ran screaming from those studios.
Nor would I want to see American animators or voice talents being incorporated into a Red Dwarf animation or live series…just would not work.
It has just been frustration on my part watching Red Dwarf being treated (in my opinion) like a red-headed step-child by the BBC. They never were really afforded a good working budget throughout most of the series and the BBC took home the lion’s share in profits in both sales and licensing agreements. I feel like both Grant and Naylor were short-changed and unable to fullfil their ambissions for the way they truly wanted to Red Dwarf to look and come across to the audience.
I figured animation of a high calibur could afford them flexablity in the realm of ideas and having those ideas see the light of day…albearogs, dollochimps and all.
I ,like the rest of you, have been waiting years now for a movie I that I fear will never happen. Call me a sad old git, but I miss the good old days of watching episodes of Red Dwarf for the first time and the anticipation of getting the newest episodes…. and then watching them again and again.
Anyhoo, I hope the day comes when the creators will be able to put out new things dwarfian for all of us.

Cheers Mates…. Jason :)

[toonsman]

Well,
Guys I have to say… all of you here have some great opinions and insight as to what the target audience’s reaction might be to an animated Red Dwarf series. Thanks to all of you for the replies… being stuck here in america, it’s never been a easy knowing what everyone’s opinions back in the UK are on such issues.
I like starting up a provoking thread or two… not to start arguments….but good solid debates are a good way to get the attention sometimes of those higher up on the chain of influence and ability (i.e. hope someone affiliated with Grant Naylor saw this thread).
All of you ROCK!!!

Thanks again, Jason :)

[toonsman]

Not that I know anything about these things, of course, but wouldn?t an animated series work out just as expensive as live action?
I mean, depending on the style of animation, there?s a whole lot of labour/time/CGI involved, which doesn?t come cheap, and you?ve still got to write the script and pay the cast – so what?s the point? Why not just make it live action in the first place?

Well, my whole concept to all of this was that it could be another avenue for the creators and the cast to explore ideas for story lines…hopefully help Lister get back home to earth….that sort of thing. As far as production costs are concerned it’s not really as expensive or time consuming as it was say 5 maybe 7 years ago.
Technology for programs like Maya make the process of animation faster, more fluid in its looks and movement. The expense comes in depending on which production company you deal with… that can get pricey if you go with the wrong company obviously…and as far as paying the cast goes….lol… you could just get Chris Berri come in and do voices for the entire cast as he did with the audio books.
I would dearly love to see the guys go back to doing a live series…but hey…when it comes down to it….it seems everything would still hang on the approval of the BBC right? Oh well, what ya gonna do bout that…right?
Cheers Mate…. Jason :)

[toonsman]

Hi Pete,
No, I never got the chance to see it… it stinks really…being stuck in the states and not having full access to everything dwarfian. Knowing the cast from RD I’m sure the humor was great though….cheers :) Jason

[toonsman]

I remember… point made there mate. Wasn’t thinking along those lines though… :)

[toonsman]

Wow,
Great to see all the input comments about an animated series. Yes ,of course, it would not be to everyone’s liking…and no , I personally don’t think the campy, cartoony western animation would be good either. I do recall the animation used in season VIII for Ace Rimmer’s light bee being taken to its final resting place… that’s the kind of animation I was thinking of… and over the years I do also recall seeing some brilliant animations coming from the BBC. And believe it or not,
that type of high-end animation ,while it can be time consuming, now-a-days doesn’t really stack up as high budget-wise. I just think after watching alot of interviews with the RD creators that it could be fun for them and at the same time I think the guys could really explore areas of possible ideas that they could not do during the production of the live series…no it could never take the place of the cast we all love so much, but it would open doors to other scripts that never saw the light of day…

Cheers Gang,
Jason :)

[Author]

Replies