Do you remember when movies used to inspire cartoon shows?...

The Tim Burton movies, Beetlejuice, Batman and Batman Returns all inspired these cartoon series that go by the same name. But anyway, the point I'm getting at, is wouldn't it be great if a movie like Man of Steel and/or Batman v Superman inspired a whole new cartoon series that's completely separate from the DC Animated Universe? I mean we tried our luck with Batman: The Brave and the Bold, and that didn't last beyond 65 episodes, and then we tried our luck with Beware The Batman and that was even more short-lived than Batman: The Brave and the Bold was.

65 episodes is actually a respectable number of episodes for an animated TV show, and even if Brave and the Bold could've continued longer, it still left an impact on those who watched it, particularly its nice take on Aquaman (Outrageous!). Not all animated shows are as wildly popular as DuckTales was, and that show reached 100 episodes back in the day, which wasn't all that common for even popular animated shows at the time when the usual number of episodes was around 65 at most in a common lineup. :)

I bet we'll see a new Batman show unrelated to DC Animated Universe before long as opposed to Superman because the suits currently think Batman is hot stuff and will bring them more money than, say, a Superman show would. The real question is how long any new show will last on the network before being screwed over by bad decisions of the powers that be, and that depends on whether the suits actually give shows proper time slots, actively market the show via advertisements and merchandise, and don't greenlight stuff only to cancel them later, the latter being a rather rampant policy which Beware the Batman and Young Justice (which were outside DCAU) among others have sadly fallen victims to.

I do remember the days when movies inspired TV shows, but I also remember how strange some of the choices were. I'd love to meet the person who watched Toxic Avenger and decided that'd it'd be the perfect inspiration for a kids cartoon.

Mighty Ducks comes to mind.

Nothing like the movie, but I didn't care!

This does still happen (perhaps not as often as the 80s/90s), does it not? Didn't How to Train Your Dragon get a spin-off?

Or do you mean strictly live-action to cartoon?

Just thought of another one. The NeverEnding Story.

Maybe a little more of an acquired taste, but I enjoyed it.

What do you mean if it inspired a cartoon separate of the DC universe? Do you mean the current film/televised DC universe? I dunno, I kindof like the existing comic multiverse. There are a million possibilities. Then again, cartoons gives us new possibilities with its own writing in itself (Harley!).

Cartoons are becoming less important. They've done away with Saturday morning cartoons and Cartoon Network/Adult Swim is slowly being filled up with live action shows and other nonsense. It is a travesty that will obviously lead to the demise of mankind. Give us our smurfing cartoons back!

Watch this smug bastard ghost get shut down.

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Originally Posted by Shorty

What do you mean if it inspired a cartoon separate of the DC universe? Do you mean the current film/televised DC universe? I dunno, I kindof like the existing comic multiverse. There are a million possibilities. Then again, cartoons gives us new possibilities with its own writing in itself (Harley!).

Cartoons are becoming less important. They've done away with Saturday morning cartoons and Cartoon Network/Adult Swim is slowly being filled up with live action shows and other nonsense. It is a travesty that will obviously lead to the demise of mankind. Give us our smurfing cartoons back!

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I think he means the old animated universe that had the Batman and Superman Animated Series together. Kind of a moot point I feel since those two things haven't been active in forever. Though they're still making animated features based off the comics. They're just straight to DVD.

Edit: Goddammit, how could I forget about the Real Ghostbusters? I am scum!

Yeah, he actually means the DC Animated Universe which has a whole wiki page dedicated to it. It includes quite a few TV series, theatrical and direct-to-video films etc. which all spawned from the world of Batman the Animated Series and share the same continuity unlike most other DC animated shows from before and since then which tend to take place in separate, individual continuities. Fans tend to refer to this particular continuity as the Timmverse due to the heavy influence of Bruce Timm who was the shadowy hand behind these productions in one capacity or another, and the universe did take cues from his distinctive artistic style. ;)

It's a shame that many cartoons are being mistreated while networks focus on just a few franchises. The Legend of Korra suffered from network politics as well, and I won't be surprised if several intriguing future shows will fall into the same trap eventually when the suits make yet more incomprehensible decisions. It should be interesting to see if in the future we'll see more animated shows based on films like Tron: Uprising which was based on the Tron universe although I'm not holding my breath.

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Originally Posted by Kalevala

This does still happen (perhaps not as often as the 80s/90s), does it not? Didn't How to Train Your Dragon get a spin-off?

Or do you mean strictly live-action to cartoon?

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I mean, I wanna see another live-action superhero movie inspire a cartoon series just like in the old days. I feel like if Man of Steel (2013) or Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) doesn't inspire the next superhero cartoon then Zack Snyder's upcoming Justice League film might inspire the next superhero cartoon series.

Apparently 2D animation is more expensive and time consuming than 3D which is why a lot of "cartoons" are becoming 3D or live action shows. The spin offs we are getting from these films are basically all of these live action shows that are cheaper to make. I know very little of the process but I do see 2D and 3D people work and the process for making 3D come to life is definitely quicker so time if probably a factor too.