Showing posts with label GI Joe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GI Joe. Show all posts

Friday, April 12, 2024

G.I. Joe Next Movie Should Be A Cartoon

 


During Cinemacon yesterday, Paramount announced that a crossover film between Transformers and G.I. Joe is in development. If you've seen the latest Transformers movie Rise Of The Beast you remember the potential for this was teased.

I enjoyed G.I. Joe The Rise Of Cobra and appreciate it for what it is, essentially a live action movie. My biggest gripe with the film was Cobra's origin story and esthetic changes. Retaliation was a more grounded in reality, had some good action scenes, and set some things right from the first film (Cobra's look), but for whatever reason the majority of audience's didn't enjoy it.

After the failure of both G.I. Joe films and the 2021 Snake Eyes film, my guess is this is Paramount's attempt to salvage the G.I. Joe film franchise. I personally think the live action route is not the way to go for the franchise to move it forward. To get the franchise popular again an animated movie needs to happen.


An animated film would allow the G.I. Joe universe to be as over the top as possible and take more liberties to bring the mythology up to date.  And maybe incorporate some of the wackier aspects of the lore such as Serpentor and his clones. Incorporate some good humor and a core group of Joe's and it could work.

An animated film worked for the Ninja Turtles franchise last summer, it was Fresh and entertaining. And I'm waiting for a part 2. Paramount has an animated Transformers movie releasing in theaters later this year called Transformers One and starring Chris Hemsworth. Even though the live action film keeps falling through, Masters of the Universe has experienced some rejuvenation from the Netflix cartoon series.

If the masterminds at Paramount or potentially the future masterminds if the company is indeed bought, are truly trying to gain more ground and use IP's to their full advantage. They will make a G.I. Joe animated film.

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Centurions reboot

 


I recently watched He: Man Revolutions on Netflix a nice quick 5 episode cartoon to binge. Once that was over I went down the rabbit hole of cartoons of the 80's and 90's that Hollywood could pick through for a new generation. Which led me to a cartoon I remember watching as a kid and playing with my older cousin's toys of, but I wasn't particularly a huge enamored with. That cartoon is Centurions released in 1986 that fit the bill of cartoons of that time, a toy line and comic book line built in to raise the cartoons profile. As customary during that time, the intro gave you the whole story in 30 seconds.

The cartoon follows three individuals Max Ray, Ace McCloud, and Jake Rockwell, who it's never made explicitly clear but are military of government employees. They all have specialty skills in sea, air, and land and use specialized exo-suits that allow them to combine weapons within their suits. The trick though is they have to yell "Power Xtreme" for the suits to activate (not sure that would work in today's world).



Along they're side is Crystal Kane who is the overseer of their operation from the group's headquarters a  space station called The Sky Vault. The big bad of the cartoon is Doc Terror a cybernetic scientist much like other evil villains hell bent on domination.


Themes of the cartoon were based in science and environmental issues. Which are still very relevant topics today, with a little fine tuning to bring the plot up to date.  I know I would watch it as I'm not tied to it nostalgically and would give it a fair shake. The rights are owned by Warner Bros. so they either need to get on the ball and develop it in house or license it. 

There's only so many times you can rehash properties like Masters Of The Universe and G.I. Joe without adding anything new to the franchise. This is perfect candidate to reboot for the 21st century. It doesn't have an expansive mythology tied to it that needs to be worked in, and fan backlash wouldn't necessarily be a concern for needed changes, since it wasn't a super popular cartoon. Who knows it may become very popular with today's youth and become a gold mine.