Episode 118: We Double-Checked, Filmation Still Sucks

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Fat Abbot

The show this is from is better animated than anything Filmation ever did.

“Inspired” by a recent altercation over something completely irrelevant, Ben and I tread over some familiar ground and stomp all over Filmation a second time. We talk about some shows so unimportant that we don’t even remember their names, and we mock the overuse of stock footage for which Filmation is so remembered.

In a bonus round, we also talk about the next Ninja Turtles crossover. Seriously, one was enough.





14 thoughts on “Episode 118: We Double-Checked, Filmation Still Sucks”

  1. Oh man… it physically hurt to watch the Archies clip!

    I hated He-Man, She-Ra and bunch of these others when I was a kid. I’m pretty sure it was the awful animation that pushed me over the edge on that. It’s amazing how alone one can feel when everyone else you know loved those cartoons. Strangely glad to learn I’m not actually alone!

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    • I think I said this the last time we posted a Filmation show that I spotted all of Filmation’s cheesiness right away, and I would argue with my friends who didn’t notice all of Filmation’s repeat cel usage.

      I would yell, “Don’t you SEE THAT??!?!!?” Everyone has the same face. Everyone has the same actions. You see the same damn footage in ever single episode. It drove me nuts.

      Filmation was the first studio I could instantly recognize. I always knew when it was them.

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  2. You are being too hard on Filmation. Mr Neil. Hand drawn animation is difficult to pull off without a major movie studio. We the public have grown spoiled from how much computer animation can allow for more variety of animation. But for tv animation you have to cut corners in order to not go broke such as stock footage and long transformation sequences.

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    • No, because at any point in its existence, Filmation was producing the worst animation on TV. Terry Toons, Leonardo Productions, Jay Ward Productions, Hanna-Barbara, and Pantomime Pictures all did fairly crude animation at one time or another, but they were always more charming than Filmation.

      Yogi Bear may have had extremely limited animation, but it made up for it with great character art.

      Filmation was just lifeless from the moment they opened their doors to the day they were mercifully shut down.

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  3. He-Man at times almost looks rotoscoped whenever you see He-Man laugh the way his head tilts back just looks that way or some of his run animation. Lou Scheimer is no Max Fleisher.

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    • It’s funny that I know exactly what laugh you’re referring to, because it’s in virtually every episode. And I’m pretty sure He-Man isn’t the only one who does it.

      The show was almost entirely rotoscoped. That’s why a lot of major characters had the same face, same build, and same walking animations. It was because they used one actor and traced footage of him again and again.

      I would kill to see those stock footage of the actors. They probably don’t exist anymore, but I’m sure it would be a riot to watch live action versions of all the stuff we grew up watching on He-Man and She-Ra.

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  4. Neil, you’re Deviantart horror stories are interesting and funny you should consider telling more of them on the podcast. Unless its some PTSD thing, and its best to not relive them.

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  5. Oh, God, not the Ewok movies. Oh, God, no.

    … Err, back on the subject, yes, there’s a clear distinction between Hanna-Barbara and Filmation where character design is concern. Hell, Flintstones had more appeal than BraveStarr. Ugh, that talking horse.

    No wonder I notice the huge dip of quality in the Mighty Mouse cartoons. God Damn.

    Also, poor TMS. That stairs animation… WTF.

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  7. I wish every franchise from star wars to superman and it’s fans would have the same attitude of
    “There is no (It’s supposed to be.).” that Ben The Host holds for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” It would make fandom a more enjoyable experience.

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  8. I enjoyed the extra discussion on TMNT. Turtles Forever was a love letter to the ’87 series, and the ’03 Turtles was good, from what I saw of it. I was never the biggest fan of the ’87 show, but I recognize it had a charm that is endearing. I have the entire set on DVD and I will be watching it eventually. I have also been picking up the ’03 series DVDs when I find them for cheap and I enjoy it a lot. It is well written and more mature, but it still has respect for the previous iteration. TMNT is one of those franchises that can be reinvented over and over and still be fresh for a new audience, like Transformers, Batman, etc. Fans should realize that ’87 was what it was and that there is no reason to try and recreate it, although the new TMNT CGI series tries hard. I bought the first DVD of it and I wasn’t that impressed, but I will give it another chance with the next DVD release since I don’t get Nick.

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