Pryde (In the Name of Love)...

Looks like its two comic style posts this week (wee...). Today, we're going to look at an obscure piece of animation, one that seems to go under the radar, even in this YouTube generation. Few think to even look for this cartoon and, since it never took off, you'd have to have a friend like me tell you about it. Most comic fans remember, or at least know about, the 90's X-Men cartoon on Fox (and love it to pieces...). What many people don't know (or forget about...) is that in 1989, a pilot for an X-Men cartoon was released, titled 'Pryde of the X-Men'...

In the 1980's, the youth market were flooded with cartoons that definitely did not treat their audience as seriously as many cartoons do today (except all you Pokemon knockoff shows [jerks...]...). For example, let's look at most episodes of He-Man: There is a problem that, it turns out, only He-Man can solve. Something bad is going to happen, tension builds, He-Man is summoned, he performs some Herculean effort, and the crisis is averted, wrapped up in a neat little moral before the credits rolled. Rarely are any innocents in any real danger as the villains didn't want to kill people, just lord over them with 'EVIL'. Even natural or cosmic dangers felt too big to be REALLY threatening and, since He-Man IS the 'Most Powerful Man in the Universe' (and won 3rd in the bikini contest...), you could be assured that he would always save the day. The same could be said of G.I. Joe, Transformers, Thundercats, and basically all action-adventure shows of the decade. No one died and the status quo was maintained (again, wee...). As kids, we bought these situations because the heroes were big and bold and the villains were over-the-top and mostly ineffectual and we loved seeing the good guys win in the end, regardless of the issues at hand, the ridiculousness of the outcome, or the stapled on moral lessons...

But, to speak of the X-Men pilot in question, it has all the elements of its 80's brethren: Magneto is a super hammy version of himself (I'll destroy the world with a comet!) and employs the 'Brotherhood of Mutant Terrorists' (why?), the bad guys give up with little fight (or sometimes with NO fight...), the heroes really seem to be in little danger (Nightcrawler is the closest to being in trouble...), and the same/similar voice casts is used for the characters (let's give it up for Frank Welker...). As it is 1989, this almost seems a parody of what had come before, but I know this is not the case. Parodies of that nature would be reserved for the 2000's and beyond. I can imagine the main reason this did not take off. Due to when this came out, much like the advent of alternative/grunge over hair metal, the market was over saturated with this kind of kids show and the formula had grown tired. This did not press any boundaries and would thus leave us without an X-Men cartoon until the fall of 92...

Not that there was no good within this (failed...) toon. On the contrary, the biggest bonus it has going for it is the art and animation. Coming in at the end of 80's era cartoons, it has all the polish the genre could muster and made it look good (better, in fact, than the last handful of the 90's era X-Men episodes...). Not only was the animation sophisticated, but the characters were all spot on for their time in the X-Men. The costumes were all of the 80's era, and while some were a bit ridiculous (I'm looking at you, Colossus...), they were authentic and accurate (what's up, Brown-and-Tan Wolverine...), just as the 90's counterpart were (different styles, same dedication...). And, while the voice talents were many you would recognize from Transformers or G.I. Joe, I can't fault their abilities to bring the characters to life in a dynamic manner. I do prefer the relative unknowns used in the 90's version, though...

I would be remiss if I did not mention a hidden (near forgotten...) bonus that came from the production of this pilot. As a kid, I remember very fondly playing the arcade game of this pilot in malls wherever I lived. It was a great game, which supported at least 4 players and played like a standard beat-'em-up game, but with mutant special powers added in. Most of them didn't make much sense (Wolverine's 'laser claw', Nightcrawler's strange damaging teleport, Colossus's 'RRRRAAAHHHH!!!' ability [don't ask...]...), but it was great fun and nice change of pace to play a full team of X-Men with your buddies for a change...

I do have some questions, though (as most fans of X-Men do after watching this little goodie...):
-Why is Wolverine Australian?
-Why is the White Queen in the Brotherhood and throw bolts of light?
-Why is Wolverine Australian?
-Why does Colossus sound like a stereotypical dumb Russian?
-Why does Prof. X give the 'Key' to Kitty Pryde, who he's known for exactly 10 minutes to protect?
-Why is Wolverine Australian?
-Why do the X-Men stay with their beaten opponents?
-Lockheed? Dazzler? Dumb Blob?
-Finally, why is Wolverine an Australian?

I give this pilot a B and mostly for nostalgia's sake. Most people who grew up on, and enjoy more, the cartoons of the 90's will be constantly rolling their eyes at this one, from the cheesy intro song to the hammy villains to the infallible heroes. But it does score points for animation proficiency and faithfulness to character designs (if not completely to the characters themselves...). If you are a diehard X-Men fan or dig the toons of the 80's, it's worth a watch or two. If you are more of a casual fan, I'd recommend waiting to find a fan that digs this kind of thing. Click hereif you want to begin the journey into Pryde of the X-men...

An odd little review...

Hoo-ha, e'erbody! Certain things tickle my funny bone more than most; pratfalls, my ridiculous friends doing ridiculous things (I'm looking at you, Matt...), the comedic stylings of vintage Looney Tunes cartoons. But a web cartoon that capture my attention and keep it's funniness is rare to find. Lucky for me, I found one. I am an avid viewer of Homestarrunner.com (if you've never heard of it, allow me to introduce you to the interwebs. Interwebs, this is somebody who lives under a rock...) and have been since 2001. They build their comedy mostly on nostalgic pop culture references (which I dig...) and ridiculous antics from strange cartoon characters. However, one toon in particular found that perfect balance of homage, nostalgia, ridiculousness and humor. Enter: Shopping For Danger!...

A quick aside: Cheat Commandos are a 'toon-within-the-toon' in the Homestarrunner universe, much like Itchy and Scratchy in The Simpsons or Terrance & Philip in South Park. The 'show' itself parodies most 'boy' shows during the 80's into the 90's; i.e. a good of fighter/military/tough guys who fight a group with an over-the-top villain (read: G.I. Joe vs Cobra...). However, these guys take the parody to directly referencing what each show would do: Instead of inferring to buy action figures and the like, the slogan of the Cheat Commandos is literally 'Buy All Our Playsets and Toys' sung in a very patriotic manner. The concept alone is very cute, but it is this particular episode that has won my heart...

Herein lies the plot synopsis in case you do not care to watch the toon: We begin at the Cheat Commandos base playset, when a Blue Las-alert goes off, signifying that Blue Laser is up to no good! In reality, they are shopping at a grocery store and will save a lot of money. The over enthusiastic leader type (Gunhaver...) stirs the other Commandos into a frenzy, but leaves behind the dorky type (Reynold...). They try to prevent Blue Laser from checking out, but Reynold has accidentally set off a rocket launcher, destroying part of the base. The Commandos return, mistaking Reynold's mistake for a Blue Laser attack. It ends with Gunhaver cry vengeance in the next episode (literally...), while Blue Laser cleans grout as it is (apparently...) a key to defeating the Cheat Commandos...

It's the little things that make this episode near and dear to me. The plot itself is a parody of any ridiculous plot that you might find Cobra do in G.I. Joe, but beyond that, I found the adherence and the references to the little things from my childhood to be paramount. Example: when there'd be a jokey or uncomfortable scene, a 'dopey' piece of music would play. It feels very He-Man to me, but so many 80's cartoons used this trick, I can't say it's just from one show or another. Changing scenes by using the title logo is straight out of West-ian Batman show which was then used in countless kids shows since then. It's hard to pin point each and every reference and why they are great (to me...) since the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts in this case. The Brothers Chaps (creators of the H*R phenom...) out did themselves and showed there love for the genre in this short, but very sweet cartoon...

You can find the link to the toon itself here. If you give it a chance, and happen to love 80's cartoons like did (and still do...), I think you'll really dig what these guys did. While your at it, peruse the site and see what else Homestarrunner.com has to offer. There hasn't been as many updates as there has been in the past, but I still swear by the site...