If you want, I can hook you guys up to my new assorted timeline thread. A different take on Mario and the gang is included there, although I can't say I expected Toad Time to be greenlight here.
A Hippie in the House of Mouse (Jim Henson at Disney, 1980)
- Thread starter Geekhis Khan
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Saban is, was, and has been an independent producer. He partnered with Disney for distribution and funding for BioForce. He can and will show up again, and not always tied to the Mouse.That reminds me. Where exactly is Hiam Saban now? Is he still with Disney? I forget. Either way, something tells me that he's close to going into the higher ranks of the company at some point, what with the success of the Bio-Force series. He has an eye for potential, even if his ideals don't always align with Jim's.
It was the other way around, actually. As per OTL Mr. Hayward saw the potential for a Mario Bros. TV Show. In OTL it was under the auspices of DIC (he was CEO). ITTL its the independent Wayward. Wayward, lacking the size and contracts of DIC, and at the suggestion of Nintendo, partnered with Marvel.
@Geekhis Khan Any chance Disney still buys and restores the New Amsterdam theatre in Broadway like they did in OTL in 1995? I’d love it if they still did, if only so Disney still gets to irony of owning a supposedly Haunted Theatre haunted by a famous silent movie actress ITTL as well.
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Well, they have started with the Palace theater per OTL, but earlier for Muppetational. Why not?
I'm guessing Chris Collins died a couple years earlier ITTL, which I don't find that surprising as he was known to be a wild man and Flint Dille recalled how he had to bail Collins out of jail to make it to recording session.
Speaking of video game shows and Andy Heyward, I wonder if Sega will still create Sonic the Hedgehog. Alex Kidd is not going to cut it and I believe that will still have that intra-company contest to determine who the new mascot would be. Some of the entries were a rabbit that picked up objects with its ears and an armadillo that eventually became Mighty from SegaSonic the Arcade and Knuckles Chaotix. Despite that I believe that they would still go with Sonic because I can see the spines as giving him a punk look that would reinforce the 90s "attitude."
Or maybe King Koopa’s Krazy-Kool Kartoon Kountdown lasted a few years longer than OTL.
I can accept that. With that level of clout from the success of Bio-Force, however, ABC and Hollywood Animation may seek to bring him over to their cause. I can see Saban producing and distributing a straightforward dub of Sailor Moon through them, rather than the American remake version he tried to create IOTL. No doubt they would accept it. Anything to One-Up the mouse.
I totally forgot that they partnered with Marvel along with Nintendo. Now that's nice.
I hope that SEGA does retain Sonic the Hedgehog ITTL. Actually, is it possible for Sonic to be more competitive as a rival for Mario when SEGA can potentially be a stronger competitor to Nintendo under Triad?
I don't think Sailor Moon is a good franchise for Eisner/Katzenberg, to be honest. You know they'll try to make changes to their liking regardless of their hate-boner towards the mouse.
Maybe Saban is confident in adapating Kamen Rider, another Shotaro Ishinomori staple (more specifically Kamen Rider Black/Black RX), but Disney says no because of the content being too dark and violent compared to Bio-Force's campyness. Here comes Eisner and Katzenberg, with a franchise arguably more suited to widesweeping Americanization than Sailor Moon.
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What kind of ''changes'' would we be looking at here? 4Kids style Americanization changes where Rice Balls become Jelly Donuts or Turbocharged Thunderbirds style changes with Live Action segments and Juvenile Rewrites that make you wanna tear out your hair? If it's the former, well, it's gonna happen either way so I'm cool with it. If it's the latter, I get your point. (Seriously, look it up, Turbocharged was terrible. I mean, in theory, an American redubbed, Power Rangers style repackaging of an existing Anderson Property with Live Action segments COULD have worked in the 90s, if they hadn't used Thunderbirds and hadn't had the creative team behind Turbocharged. Captain Scarlet is a much better fit for that kind of thing, as long as the writing is better.)
I think an American adaptation of Kamen Rider would be nice addition, particularly if it's established from the get-go as 'Bio-Force/Power Rangers is for kids, Masked Rider is for (older?) teens' with expected differences in content. I see no reason for allowing one and denying the other so long as a audience distinction between them is clear and expected.
I'm honestly expecting a dub similar to the DiC dub under Hollywood Animation to begin with, but the latter is certainly possible since they're so hip and in-tune with the 90s.
Disney under Henson would respect the franchise a lot more, especially when they're so progressive (their track record towards the LGBT community ITTL is a good example of this) and respectful of Japanese culture.
I think it's clear that if Bio-Force was/is under the Disney Channel, it solidifies itself as a franchise for kids and tweens. Meanwhile Kamen Rider is still a relative unknown and under hiatus after Black RX. If there's a franchise ripe for exposure to a Western audience, especially for teens, it's this one.
If you're expecting the OTL DIC dub, but hoping for Disney to come along, you'll really enjoy what @Spooner The Trinity and @TheMolluskLingers are cooking up. Of course, I am showing some bias here, as I did come up with some additional ideas by accident.
I'm in the PM so yes I am aware of the content cooking up there.
Just note that even if I wasn't in the PM, I would've supported a Disney Sailor Moon dub 100%. It's such a perfect fit for them (keep the sincerity of the Viz dub but have greater voice acting talent) that any other dub would be of a much lower quality, especially under Hollywood Animation.
Let's say that Haim Saban presents Jim Henson with Kamen Rider Black and Sailor Moon, the former is a show where a man is brutally experimented on by an evil Nazi-like regime and goes on a revenge quest to take down this organization and their band of mutants (with gratuitous violence and blood) or a franchise where a girl is empowered to fight against evil through magic along with her friends and allies. I'd think Jim would take the latter, not gonna lie.
With Sailor Moon under Disney, Haim Saban brings the Masked Rider pitch to Eisner and Katzenberg, who immediately accept because of the content and the added bonus of sticking it to the Mouse by making a successful TV series that rivals Bio-Force.
Not to mention TTL's Sailor Moon anime is quite a bit darker due to taking plot points and characterizations from OTL's tokusatsu adaptation, as well as having fight scenes on par with DBZ.
Even if it's supposed to be that way, there's only so much that Disney can tolerate before they're going to say no, and I think that Kamen Rider would exceed that bar with its decapitations, blood, nudity, and other forms of violence depicted in live-action.
Yeeeeah. Sailor Moon ITTL will definitely be dark, but not that dark.
Thanks! I love the idea that ITTL, Koopa isn't relegated to being a local SoCal thing lost to time, but a true successor to Bozo the Clown for the 90s.
Wow!
Sailor Moon provided the template OTL for the likes of Winx Club and W.I.T.C.H,, not to mention plowing the the fields in the West for stuff like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the original run of Charmed. If this version works out like I think it could, it just might mean that we get stuff like Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Sailor Nothing, and Worm years early, not to mention Star Vs. The Forces of Evil and the New Teens reboot of She-Ra!
Why do I suspect that Saban is going to shop Kamen Rider(and possibly Metal Heroes) to PFN and ABC if Disney/NBC won't bite?
Sailor Moon provided the template OTL for the likes of Winx Club and W.I.T.C.H,, not to mention plowing the the fields in the West for stuff like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the original run of Charmed. If this version works out like I think it could, it just might mean that we get stuff like Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Sailor Nothing, and Worm years early, not to mention Star Vs. The Forces of Evil and the New Teens reboot of She-Ra!
Why do I suspect that Saban is going to shop Kamen Rider(and possibly Metal Heroes) to PFN and ABC if Disney/NBC won't bite?
Unfortunately, I was thinking of having Star Butterfly and Luz Noceda become the mascots of Disney's block, rather than protagonists in their own shows. So if you like those shows, you probably wouldn't see them exist.
With Jim Henson's trip to Spain now canonical I love the idea him doing some research on some show that he could possibly dubbed or remake for an American audiences.
I' reposting this quick list of suggestions:
List of Spanish television series - Wikipedia
The Authentic Adventures of Professor Thompson - Wikipedia
Bobobobs - Wikipedia
Mort & Phil - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/¡Ay,_Señor,_Señor!
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