From: wbarnes@sura.net (Bill Barnes)
Subject: Re: We Need Anime in the Theatres
Organization: SURAnet, College Park, MD, USA, NA, Earth, Milky Way
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 20:06:05 GMT

In article <1992Jul22.175740.3991@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu> cmeadows@nyx.cs.du.edu (Christopher Meadows) writes:
>It is my personal feeling that a great deal of the animation around 
>today is drek (to use a term from Shadowrun), plain and simple.  Even
>when the animation itself is good, the storytelling is often lousy.

Hear, hear!  And over there too!

>There are of course a few exceptions to this rule, but not many.  Of
>course, I'm referring to the American animation shown today, not Japanese
>anime (though with so many of our American cartoons animated in the Orient,
>it's kind of hard to tell the difference anymore).  And this is where I
>make my point.

Careful about not including anime...they have their share of drek, just
as we do.

>We need more quality animation around, GOOD animation whose artwork and
>plotlines belie the old myth that cartoons are "just for kids."  We need
>to get adults interested.

Yeah!

>But how can this be done?  Certainly not with TV shows.  Sure, THE        
>SIMPSONS is an "adult-oriented" cartoon, but, well, as cartoons go, it just
>doesn't fit the bill.            

Why not TV shows?  For one thing, it's probably easier (i.e. cheaper)
to get something on TV rather than in a theater (I'm talking mainstream
theater release, not the little alternative theaters Streamline usually
ends up in).  Also, with the proliferation of cable, a relatively uncut
and uncensored anime could make it there now, whereas a few years ago you
would've had to aim for network syndication ala Robotech.  And as a friend
of mine mentioned, don't rule out the possibility of public TV either;
if you could find an anime series they would be willing to consider either
educational or "literary" (I don't think the Dirty Pair count, guys),
they might be persuaded to fund it.  Heck, Doctor Who fans keep that
show on the air, why not anime fans keep anime on the air (assuming it's
an anime worth keeping on the air, of course).

And don't overlook the direct video market, which Streamline and others
have been having limited success with.  Granted, it's a small start, but
better than nothing at all.

>No, what is needed is theatrical releases.  If a cartoon was billed as a
>feature film, and given a PG, PG-13, or even R rating, adults would come,
>as well as those adolescents who never really stopped loving cartoons but
>need an excuse (such as that provided by a non-G rating) to go and see one.
>And of course the perfect film to go and see would have to be anime.

Ummm, there have been "adult" animated movies before, most of which have been
box office flops.  Of course, this is probably more due to the fact they
sucked than anything else, but I think that just because a cartoon has
been slapped with a non-G rating doesn't mean it'll be a big draw.  You
have to work on people's attitudes and preconceptions about cartoons,
force them to realign their thinking.

Personally, I feel that most people want a revolution when what's
needed is gradual change.  For instance, start out by bringing over anime
that conforms to people's preconceptions about animated movies, namely
the family film.  Miyazaki is good for this.  Then you can work on the
adolescent action-adventure crowd - stuff like the Dirty Pair, Crusher
Joe, and their ilk would be appropriate.  Then you can bring the more
serious animes over like Wings of Honneamise.  Hopefully by this point
you've brought over enough different anime that there'll be something
that appeals to everyone (except those with absolutely no taste anyway,
of course 8-).  Now that animation is "in," we have a better shot of
getting anime into the States than ever before.

>However, it would probably have to be dubbed, as opposed to subtitled.
>Even though the quality would probably not approach the original (as many
>hard-core anime fans insist), the average non-anime fan would prefer not  
>having to try to read at the same time as he watched a show.  And it would 
>have to be widely-released, nationwide.  And it would have to be GOOD.

Define "good."  One of the problems with dubbing anime is the lip-sync
question.  Americans have come to take it for granted that the lip movements
match up, while the Japanese have almost never bothered (Akira is the
only exception I can remember).  So when dubbing, do you try to match
the mouth movements up and please those who expect them to, with the price
being stilted dialog, or do you allow the voice actors to be more expressive
and natural sounding and damn the lip sync, which would be jarring to a lot
in the American audience?  Tough call.  And there are similar trade-offs:
do you leave in Japanese cultural referrences and risk confusing the
audience or do you replace/omit them and thus "dilute" the original work?

>ROBOTECH: THE MOVIE might have succeeded, if only it had been nationally
>released, instead of merely test-marketed in Houston.  True, it might
>be very mangled, but it could have served as an introduction to the amazing
>new world of Japanese animation for those people not yet acquainted with
>it.  The problem was (as I see it) that it was identified with a TV show
>that was thought of as being "just for kids" by those who had never watched
>it, through the simple premise that it was a cartoon on TV, and therefore
>not for adults.

Ummm, not to burst your bubble, but according to everyone who's seen it,
the problem was not that it was associated with a TV show, the problem
was that it sucked big time.  I think something like Akira might have
a better chance of succeeding the mainstream: it's done quite well in
its limited distribution, which seems to be a decent indicator that it
might do well.  With the proper publicity behind it, it could sell.

>I'm probably preaching to a pre-converted audience, but I can't help but
>feel that if some company were to translate anime, and translate it RIGHT,
>it could go over in a big way here in America.  I wish that such a thing
>would happen...

While I want to agree with your sentiments, I think you're overlooking
the major prejudice most Americans hold, namely that cartoons should
be for kids.  We realize this is not so and have overcome such silly
preconceptions about animation, but others have not, and I think convincing
them that animation can have its own merits beyond a young/family audience
is where the real hurdle lies.  After all, if over a quarter of this country
is still willing to support Bush, the Nothing Meaningful Accomplished
President, we're obviously dealing with people who are not drinking from
the same fountain we are.  8->
-- 
Bill "Whassamatter?!  Can't you take a joke?!" Barnes   wbarnes@sura.net
Disclaimer:  The author apologizes for any thought-provoking material he may
	     have accidentally included and promises not to do it again.
Datclaimer:  My employers wouldn't WANT to share some of my opinions.