From The Archives: Cartoons That Could Have Been

(originally posted on August 14, 2010)

Here are three pilots I found on youtube.com for cartoon series that were never developed further. All of them are interesting, more so than any number of current animated programs currently littering Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon.

Give 'em a look!


CONSTANT PAYNE

This pilot was never aired because a scene near the end was said to be similar to the events of 911. Pity too. It looks like it had potential.

PLASTIC MAN

A pilot for the DC Comics character that was co-developed by Tom Kenny, the voice of Spongebob Squarepants, of all people!

UPDATE:  Since this article was first published, Cartoon Network has commissioned a series of one minute animated shorts based on this pilot to air as part of their Saturday morning DC Nation block.  This hardly qualifies as the full fledged series originally imagined, but it is nice to know the idea has lived on in some form or another.


BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER


This last one is only a promo and not a complete pilot but it's still interesting.

Lauren Faust Returns With A Few Of Her (Super) Best Friends

The new DC Nation animated block on Cartoon Network saw the launch of a new batch of shorts by Lauren Faust who recently breathed new life into Hasbro's My Little Pony Franchise!  The series entitled Super Best Friends Forever features the adventures and friendship of Supergirl, Wondergirl, and Batgirl!  The first short is only about a minute long and can be viewed below.

There's really not much of a story to consider here as the whole story is built around one gag (conning Wonder Girl into 'borrowing' her sister's invisible jet), so let's talk a little bit about the characters.  First, the painfully obvious.  None of them resemble their comic book counterparts.  Canon is more or less thrown to the wind, but hey, it worked for Teen Titans, right?

Riiiiiight?

This is first and foremost a Lauren Faust creation.  It's here for comedy first, not the super heroic exploits the comics are known for and you know what?  I'm okay with that.  If you tried to fit an action story into a 60 second short, you'd really have nothing more than punching and posturing.  This new comedic take works and it works well in its’ format.

Batgirl seems a bit spastic for my tastes, not at all like her normally serious self, but then I have to consider the energy Tara Strong is putting into her vocalizations and it just makes everything click.  The fact that her facial expressions are pure gold in every frame doesn't hurt matters either.

Next we look at Supergirl.  I really like her design.  She's not a stick like Batgirl or Wondergirl.  She has a broader build that's indicative of the kind of power her solar-charged Kryptonian muscles are packing.  She also has a deeper voice than the others that I really, really like.  Waaaaaay too often female voice characterizations are limited to a very few archtypes.  It's nice to hear a deep (even a bit raspy at times) yet still appealing voice coming from a female lead.  Of all the characters in this group, she seems to be the one that goes against type the most.

Finally we come to Wondergirl.  I like her.  I like the fact that she looks Greek and sounds exotic, but her personality is a little flat compared to Batgirl's exuberance and Supergirl's mischievous streak and apparent temper.  She is a bit stick-like compared to Supergirl, but she's tall and has a certain power to her movements.  Of all the characters I think she'll need the most development (or what little development one can hope to get from one minute shorts).

All in all, Ms. Faust seems to be living up to her hype.  The short was fun and entertaining and I look forward to more of the same.  For those interested, I found an interview with Lauren on youtube conducted by the kind folks at Media Geek Zone.  Enjoy!