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Another Brillstein classic there! The Littlest Diplomat does sound like interesting TV here - the format also sounds like something that could export well to other countries, I could see ITV trying something similar around the Commonwealth for example.

Let's hope Samantha Smith has a long an fruitful career- perhaps getting an Ambassadorship later on?

Nice butterflies @Geekhis Khan .
I wonder if CBC or CTV will try to make a Canadian version of it with an up-and-coming Canadian actor.
I could see someone rebooting this in Europe (particularly the UK) or Canada. No idea who'd star.
This has...ominous implications.
It certainly does, but it's a good idea not to jump to conclusions.
Stay Tuned. 📺
The interesting thing about the Bardo trial--guess who prosecuted and got Robert John Bardo sentenced to death originally (IIRC, it was commuted to life--he should never get out, IMO)? Marcia Clark, the lead prosecutor on the O.J. Simpson case (who many blame for botching the case)--hell, her being the prosecutor in the Bardo trial may have been one of the reasons she got the lead prosecutor on the Simpson trial...
Interesting to know. It's a long way to the OJ trial, though. Not sure where to go there.

Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled thread...
Yep. First time I've been threadjacked by a discussion on Calgary tourism options!
 
Readers and followers,

According to Muppets fansite toughpigs.com and the Twitter feed of Henson biographer Brian J. Jones, Muppet Designer and legend Caroly Wilcox has passed away.

ErZP2P9W8AA9WOk.png


Assuming that this is correct, this is quite a loss. As the driving force in the Muppets Workshop from the 60's into the 21st Century she was the force behind the construction and maintenance of your favorite Sesame Street and Muppet Show Muppets.

She will be sorely missed. Requiem in pace.
 
The Animation Wars Begin!
Talkin’ Mid-Eighties Cartoon Renaissance
From Talkin’ Geek with Nerdicus and Dorkimax Vidcast, February 3rd, 2006, Upload


Theme song plays; Title Card: “Talkin’ Geek”.

Interior – Basement Sound Stage
Two young men in geeky pop culture clothes sit in front of microphones at a desk in front of a shelf full of geeky toys, books, and other merch. The two hosts laugh constantly at their own jokes and references, making the viewer wonder if they’re on too much sugar and caffeine or Something Else.

Nerdicus
Hello once again, geeks, nerds, dorks, spazzes, and assorted rejects and losers we love…

Dorkimax
We love you, dorks!

Nerdicus
Yea, and welcome again to Talkin’ Geek. I’m Nerdicus, once again rising up against the Mundane Empire to push all things dorky…

Dorkimax
And I’m Dorkimax, Ruler of the Great Spazztastic Net Empire of the Alternate Universe where all is Nerd!

Nerdicus
And we’re glad to have you and hope that you’ll comment below…

Dorkimax
Hit that “Like” and “Track” button!

Nerdicus
Yea…so today we’re talking the Mid-Eighties Animation Renaissance!

Dorkimax
Yaaaayyy!!!! Cymbal crash! (hits button, causing cymbal sound effect)

Nerdicus
Thanks, D-max! So we’re going to look at all of those animated features and TV shows that resurrected the lost art…

Dorkimax
Let’s talk Disney!!!

Nerdicus
Let’s not talk Disney, we all know all about that. No, let’ talk the resurrection of the lost art of animation!

Dorkimax
Yaaaayyyy!!!! (another cymbal crash)

Nerdicus
Thanks, D-max.

Dorkimax
You’re welcome!

Nerdicus
So…The Thief and the Cobbler. Legendary.

Dorkimax
Legendary!

Nerdicus
Legendary. So, The Thief and the Cobbler was the decades-long passion project of Richard Williams and, thanks to Steven Spielberg…

Dorkimax
Spielberg!!

Nerdicus
…and Don Bluth. And when it screened in 1987, it was breathtaking…

Dorkimax
Breathtaking!

Nerdicus
…and it kind of flopped. I mean, not bad-bad-bad, but like $21 million against the over $30 million it ultimately cost, so a flop…

Dorkimax
Flop!! (hits button, making “Wah-waaahh” sound)

Nerdicus
…but, like, won a bunch of awards and amazed people with its amazing animation and is seen by those in the industry as like the greatest hand-drawn animated feature ever.

Dorkimax
Ever!!

Nerdicus
Shut up, D-max.

Dorkimax
Sorry!!

Nerdicus
So, The Thief and the Cobbler is considered the greatest hand-drawn…

Dorkimax
Hand-job!

Nerdicus
…hand-drawn animation ever. It’s a cult classic and is shown in universities like CalArts and shit. So, like a real winner on the artistic front, but the silent protagonists and the long, dreamlike pace and lack of any real central narrative didn’t really connect with Peter and Patty Popcorn, so low box office. Still, the prestige was immense.

Dorkimax
Epic!

Nerdicus
And it jump-started Don Bluth’s flagging career, with all that came with that! Now, then you have Yutaka Fujioka’s Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, which was another long production, and so many amazing animators from Disney Old Men to Brad Bird to Hayao Miyazaki and many, many more worked on it, but it was like 1989 before it premiered, and, well, it didn’t do much better, like $11.5 million on a $35 million budget. So, no wonder we remember Disney, right?

Dorkimax
Right! (gong sound effect)

Nerdicus
So, then, speaking of Disney and Miyazaki, Disney also brought the amazing animation of Studio Ghibli to America, and for that alone the Mouse gets my love…

Dorkimax
Lots of love! Show this channel “Love” below!! (points down)

Nerdicus
Right, and Disney also made a VHS and later VCD distro deal with “Japan’s Disney”, Osamu Tezuka and his Tezuka Productions to distribute Astro Boy, Princess Knight, and of course Kimba the White Lion[1]!

Dorkimax
PeeeeennnnnsylVAIN-yaaaaa!!!

Nerdicus
I don’t think that’s the line, D-max.

Dorkimax
Sorry!!

Nerdicus
So, the success of Disney animation in general and the buzz around Bugs & Daffy’s appearance in Roger Rabbit in particular led to the return of Warner Brothers animation, who’d scooped up AAP during the breakup of MGM in ‘86. The studio had reacquired most of their classic cartoons and had begun replaying them on Nickelodeon[2] and later acquired Rankin-Bass as part of their takeover of Lorimar in ’89. They soon started producing new Bugs and Daffy cartoons both for Saturday Mornings and for Shorts to play in front of Warner movies.

Dorkimax
Yaaayyy! Bugs Bunny rules!! (hits button and plays opening of Looney Toons theme)

Nerdicus
And when AAP and R-B went to W-B, they rebooted Popeye along with Betty Boop and Mighty Mouse and played them all on Nickelodeon along with the Looney Tunes and R-B classics, helping to shore up the struggling network. Meanwhile, Ted Turner’s CBS, who’d bought up the struggling Hanna-Barbera from Taft in ’87, launched Cartoon TV in ’89, mostly playing the old H-B titles at first. This led Triad to scoop up Filmation from Westinghouse in 1988 and, in turn, Hollywood Pictures Chairman Michael Eisner and Studio Head Jeffrey Katzenberg approached DIC…

Dorkimax
Ha-ha-ha! DIC!!

Nerdicus
Yea…approached them about a partnership to produce another animated feature based upon The Littles, hoping to compete directly with the upcoming Disney movie based upon Mistress Masham’s Repose. But soon after, DIC ran into financial trouble after a buyout of their parent company, and that led the leadership talent to leave, so DIC was having trouble staying afloat…

Dorkimax
Couldn’t keep their DIC up!

Nerdicus
Seriously, shut up!

Dorkimax
Sorry!!

Nerdicus
So…where was I? Oh…so ABC/Hollywood Studios just flat out buys DIC – (points at Dorkimax) don’t! – and they spin up their own ABC animation division, Hollywood Animation Studios.

Dorkimax
(in a funny voice) There’s a buy for everyone!!

Nerdicus
Nice reference, D-max[3].

Dorkimax
Not aaaaaa problem!

Nerdicus
And with that, the New Animation War was set in motion!

Dorkimax
Cry “Havok!” And let slip the Nerds of War!! (hits button, causing the Conan the Barbarian score to play)

Nerdicus
So that’s all for now, nerds, geeks, dorks, spazzes, and assorted rejects and losers we love! Join us next week where we discuss Sailor Moon: Great Anime or Fetish Fuel? And until next week, goodbye!!

Dorkimax
Like, track, and comment, fools!​

Theme song plays, Title Card: “Talkin’ Geek”, credits roll.

[video ends]



[1]
trollface-rage-comic-internet-troll-internet-meme-comics-trollface-thumbnail.jpg


[2] The return of WB animation has led to a butterfly whereby Warner does not sell Nickelodeon to Viacom in 1986.

[3] Reference from something made in this timeline, not ours! A joke so inside even I don’t get it.
 
Well that transcript seems why tooo close to Real Life. Some really bad channels out there.

Still some info in there, esp the revivial of Animation rivalries- I wonder how much of this is 'made in America' apart from Disney's output?

Looking forward to how all this plays out!
 
To quote the ever-on-point Lindsay Ellis: "Thanks, I hate it!"
It's so on the nose of that mid-00s garbage experimentation I can't picture these two clowns in anything other than cardboard+foil armour and terrible makeup worthy of season 1 of MST3K (yeah, the season even most fans haven't seen!).

Would it still be called "Kimba" if it's Disney doing the North American distribution instead of NBC? I suppose it would be if you're just putting it there for the lulz. Clearly memes spite nails!
I'm most surprised at the relaunch of shows like Popeye and Betty Boop! The demise of DIC is sad, I'm sure their final Littles movie is a good watch.
 
I legitimately rolled my eyes at a lot of the jokes there. Exactly what I'd expect from the early-mid 2000's. Hopefully these guys get better as they will go on.
Bet these guys parents are reccuring characters, ones wo show up on occasion to scold them for whatever.

didn’t really connect with Peter and Patty Popcorn, so low box office.
I'd say they don't get it, but that's a real classist, condescending phrase.
So…where was I? Oh…so ABC/Hollywood Studios just flat out buys DIC – (points at Dorkimax) don’t! – and they spin up their own ABC animation division, Hollywood Animation Studios.

Dorkimax
(in a funny voice) There’s a buy for everyone!!

Nerdicus
Nice reference, D-max[3].
[3] Reference from something made in this timeline, not ours! A joke so inside even I don’t get it.
Hmm, how about a game show that's original to this TL?

Or could this be from TTL's Robocop? Or perhaps a similar, satirical work, its equivalent of "I'd buy that for a dollar"?
 
A shame that Turner's own cartoon channel didn't adopt the Cartoon Network title TTL! It rolls off the tongue much better than Cartoon TV, that's for sure! But at the same time, I imagine the CN title doesn't make as much sense when you're lacking some of the foundationary cartoons the channel was built on OTL, the cartoons now shoring up TTL!Nickelodeon. Rankin-Bass becoming a part of it is a nice bonus for them.

Hanna-Barbera and Filmation ending up under similar roofs just feels rather fitting though, I'll be honest! DIC ending up under the thumb of Hollywood Studios was an unexpected twist though, though in this case it is a bit of OTL leaking into TTL. Eisner's ambitions may result in them not regaining their independence though, haha!

So we have Warner!Nick, Cartoon TV, Triad!Filmation, and Hollywood!DIC alongside Disney in the space of TV, exciting! I am a bit sad that, due to Warner owning Nick TTL, Games Productions Inc. is in effect butterflied, unless Viacom independently decides to come up with it, for whatever reason (do they even have any channels for children's content strictly at the moment?). I imagine folks like Vanessa Coffey will be floating around, and may end up getting scooped up elsewhere.
 
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I am going to be upfront here: I tried to read the transcript, but my self-preservation instincts kicked in, and I scrolled away. It was like if Red Letter Media's "Nerd Crew" bit was cranked up to 11.
 
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