Don’t Worry, I Gatchaman

Yep. You guessed it. We have another one. Might as well get used it. Our favorite cartoons from the Golden Era of animation -as far as I am concerned- ( 80’s – early 90’s) are making it to the big screen in record numbers. This time it’s Gatchaman by Imagi Studios and whether you are tired of seeing them or not, these movies seem to be worth it as far as Hollywood is concerned.

And so it is now clear, or seems to be clear, that they’ll take any script that is based off of one of our Saturday morning delights. (  I hear Voltron and Thundercats are in the works, and sshhh… Don’t tell anybody, but I’m shoppin’ Jem and Captain Planet right now, so step off that! LOL) But to be truthful, I am not as excited as one might expect.  I should be thrilled really. I mean, this is what I do – not the movies , but the comics,animation, cartoons, and so forth- but I can’t help but think that the studio execs are banking on that nostalgia factor to cash some serious coin. Not that I  blame them though, but Hollywood seems to always cut corners in order to cut costs when making adaptations ( see live action Street Fighter- both of them, Inspector Gadget and Speed Racer)[ Note: Street Fighter, as we all know, is a video game and  most movies based on videogames end up terrible anyway, but that is really beside the point]

If the pictures don’t look familiar to you then, let me give you a brief (very brief) intro to one of the most famous action animes of the 1980’s. Gatchaman, sometimes referred to as G-force in the states, is an awesome Japanese import about a group of young teenager who become bird warriors, given special powers to fend off the villains who seek Earth’s destruction by stealing natural resources. It was basically a sci-fi action anime that was largely successful and spawned several spin-offs and video games. This team of teen do- gooders all had super powers or abilities that matched up with what ever bird costume they were given – super speed and flight are an example. The movie version will be in CGI ,and as always, looks impressive from afar.

So, will this movie, based on a cartoon with a sketchy plot, be able pull off an exciting stunner like Transformers, or will it crash and burn like the ill-advised Speed Racer?  Well,we’ll all find out soon enough as this movie is slated to be released sometime in 2010. Get ready for another trip, stumble or fumble down memory lane.