AngryTurnip
09-09-2004, 12:27 PM
I've had a webcomic project tentativley titled "FreakOut" on the backburners for some time now which deals with two characters who end up on a flying island called Laputa. I posted an early version of the story on a board a year or so ago, and people layed into it calling it a Castle in the Sky ripoff.
I haven't seen the movie, and probably won't any time soon - I'm having a devil of a time finding it here in the UK - but I've read some reviews and here are the similarities:
-First and formost, the presence of the Laputa. It's not as damning as it might seem - Laputa originates in Gulliver's Travels, and is therefore in the public domain.
-The two heroes. Stomptokyo's review describes the main characters of Castle thusly: "Sheeta is a cute and innocent, and you can't help but feel her plight. Pazu is a tough little scrapper, a little bulldog." That'd be a pretty accurate description of FreakOut's main characters, Davy and Wend. Still, these personality types are pretty much archetypal, particularly when you're dealing with cartoon children.
Another thing - Pazu's earthy colour scheme and the pair of goggles perched on his hat make him look a little like Davy, who dresses in a Biggles-esque old-style pilot's outfit. Ever seen Kids Next Door? Think of a slim Nmbah 2.
-The setting. From what I've seen, Castle in the Sky takes place in a steampunky, Renaissance Italy-esque world. FreakOut's Laputa is totally different, being closer to Fritz Lang's Metropolis, but it DOES share its world with a country named Magonia, a steampunk interpretation of Renaissance Italy.
So, what do you think? Would an open-minded reader be able to chalk it all up to coincidence, or do you think I Should take it in for a heavy redesign?
I haven't seen the movie, and probably won't any time soon - I'm having a devil of a time finding it here in the UK - but I've read some reviews and here are the similarities:
-First and formost, the presence of the Laputa. It's not as damning as it might seem - Laputa originates in Gulliver's Travels, and is therefore in the public domain.
-The two heroes. Stomptokyo's review describes the main characters of Castle thusly: "Sheeta is a cute and innocent, and you can't help but feel her plight. Pazu is a tough little scrapper, a little bulldog." That'd be a pretty accurate description of FreakOut's main characters, Davy and Wend. Still, these personality types are pretty much archetypal, particularly when you're dealing with cartoon children.
Another thing - Pazu's earthy colour scheme and the pair of goggles perched on his hat make him look a little like Davy, who dresses in a Biggles-esque old-style pilot's outfit. Ever seen Kids Next Door? Think of a slim Nmbah 2.
-The setting. From what I've seen, Castle in the Sky takes place in a steampunky, Renaissance Italy-esque world. FreakOut's Laputa is totally different, being closer to Fritz Lang's Metropolis, but it DOES share its world with a country named Magonia, a steampunk interpretation of Renaissance Italy.
So, what do you think? Would an open-minded reader be able to chalk it all up to coincidence, or do you think I Should take it in for a heavy redesign?