ANIMATED SHORTS 320: KIM POSSIBLE, NEW OSHII IN NYC

[MattBrady]

CREATORS TALK ABOUT KIM POSSIBLE 4TH SEASON
PATRICK FOR PRESIDENT!, ANIME FINALISTS ANNOUNCED, NEW OSHII IN NYC

by Steve Fritz

The first scene of the first episode of the fourth season of Kim Possible has a wry observation. The announcement board in front of Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable’s high school simply says “Not The End.” To fans of Disney Channel’s Kim Possible series, this is very good news indeed.

Back in 2005, creators Mark McCorkle and Rob Schooley thought did the last ever episode of the series, a made-for-TV movie called Oh The Drama. They did the right thing wrapping up everything they could, with Kim and Ron not only truly finishing off all the bad guy but realizing they were meant for each other. It honestly looked like they were leaving on a very high note.

But like a lot of animated shows recently, the fans had their own thoughts on that (ask Fox).

They demanded more, a lot more. So much more a whole new season of 22 episodes make their debut on Disney Channel this Saturday, February 10 at 8:00 p.m. Then again, when you look at McCorkle and Schooley’s resume, what’s surprising is Disney didn’t realize what a hit they had on their hands.

Fellow grads of Philadelphia’s Temple University, the two seemed to be joined at the hip from that time forward. Their first work, together, were as sound men on Super Mario Brothers Super Show for DiC. They then did some work on The Real Ghostbusters. But things started moving their way when they went over to Disney TV.

It started with them being story editors on the Aladdin series. From there they did the last two made-for-video Aladdin videos, The Return of Jafar and King of Thieves . It was onward and upward as producers of the Disney’s Hercules series and then to infinity and beyond with a full 65 episodes (with Tad Stones) of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command.

Then in 2002, they struck gold again with Kim. Like a lot of similar shows, it looked like it would do its mandatory three years and a couple of now direct-to-DVD movies then be on its way. In fact, in 2005 the two did move on and wrote the script for the live action film Sky High. But, as stated, this wasn’t the end at all.

Here’s what the two had to say:

NEWSARAMA: It looked like with Oh The Drama, you resolved everything in Kim’s world. What made you guys do another season?

BOB SCHOOLEY: We got a call saying ‘You know what? We want to do another season.’ We said all right. Besides we love these characters.

Actually, doing this season was fun. We went through an interesting thought process because So The Drama was such a punctuating finale. We thought where could we go from here? Then we found out the relationship of Kim and Ron now dating gave the series a whole new outlook. It gave us new story ideas, new opportunities for comedy. It’s actually been a lot of fun.

NRAMA: So what about the villains? Are they returning too?

MARK MCCORKLE: Yeah. We also have a couple new ones. We have Camille Leon, a disinherited celebutante. She has experimental plastic surgery and now can shapeshift. How she gets into her life of crime you’ll have to see. She’s voiced by Ashley Tinsdale (High School Musical, Suite Life of Zach & Cody).

BS: Of course, we’ll see the return of Drakken. We’ll keep him in jail for a few episodes and will finally get him sprung out in a surprising way. About mid-season we’ll do a lot of unexpected villain team-ups and things like that. Keep it fresh, you know?

MM: For instance, when you meet Drakken’s cell mate, he’s an obscure villain from the first season.

NRAMA: Just from the way you guys are talking, I have to ask, what comic books did you guys read?

MM: I grew up definitely a Marvel guy. I was definitely into Spider-Man, X-Men, stuff like that. I’m not embarrassed to say, in spite of all the mocking I get from my wife, I still go to the comic book store every Wednesday. I do have to say that now I’m an adult I’ve dipped into some of the DC and independent stuff. It’s all great.

I think when you’re in this business, you have to be a bit of a kid all your life. The weekly visit to the comic book store is still one of the highlights of my life.

BS: I didn’t read comic books as a child. I watched way too much television. Mark just looks at me and shakes his head. He looks at something and says ‘This is just like the Reed Richards/Doctor Doom thing.’ Then I have to tell him that I’m completely ignorant of what he’s talking about.

NRAMA: You mean you didn’t watch the Fantastic Four cartoons when you were young?

BS: Oh yeah. I watched all the cartoons. My only excuse is my memory is fading with old age.

NRAMA: But one episode in particular, when you went into the origins of Shego and her family, struck me as classic comic book.

MM: We had fun with that. Dr. Possible being a college roommate of a scientist who went wrong and became Drakken was definitely a tip of the hat to Richards/Doom thing.

BS: We’ll be bringing Shego’s brothers back again. The main thing is each time we use them we try to come up with something different. This time we came up with a truly over-the-top 60s kind of villain from their past.

MM: Much of Kim’s world tends to be more James Bond than comic book. Team Go does give us the opportunity to do something a little more comic book-ish. Our director, Steve Loter, is another comic book fan, and he took advantage of this to do some different art and color schemes than usual.

NRAMA: Speaking of, the general design definitely harkens back to the 60s.

MM: We really wanted a graphic simplicity that was the hallmark of some of that decade. If you look back, even the architecture of that era, the mid-century modern, was based on things like the James Bond villain’s lairs.

BS: In fact, when we were first developing the show, we showed Alan Bodner, our art director, posters that Disney used in the 60s that featured that same kind of strong graphic design.

MM: And he thought it was great. Alan was always a fan of the classic Chuck Jones/Maurice Noble style of design. It’s funny. Everyone has managed to throw in the influences of their childhood into this show.

NRAMA: Now who’s the voice of Kim again?

MM: Christy Carlson Romano.

BS: She was on another Disney show called Even Steven. When she started Kim she was 16 and now she’s 22.

NRAMA: So she’s another homegrown Disney talent.

MM: You know that’s an interesting story. When we were looking for Kim we went through a ton of people. Then the people at Disney Channel brought her to our attention and her audition was just fantastic. She really nailed it. Now Will Friedel, the voice of Ron, has been doing stuff for a while now. He was in Batman Beyond and a lot of Disney shows. When he came in he nailed it, too.

NRAMA: Well, teenaged boy voices come natural for him.

MM: Right. John DiMaggio, who is Drakken, we always loved him as Bender in Futurama . What amazed us is just how funny and versatile a guy he is. Drakken is as funny as he is because of how funny John is. Like any of the great voiceover guys, he can do multiple voices. He also just has a terrific comedic sense. But what I’m getting to is when you have such good actors, then the writers are challenged and want to rise to the occasion. It brings up everybody’s game.

NRAMA: Would you say Kim Possible is strictly a very strong girl following or has it managed to cross genders?

BS: It’s undeniable that Kim has a huge girl audience. What makes us happy is we meet a lot of boys who love this show, whether they will publicly admit it or not.

MM: We’ve found that whenever you have a girl in the lead doing all the action stuff, there’s a certain age group of boys who won’t admit they like the stuff. They really want to see the boy in that role. Girls are just having a field day with it.

Because of this, one of the things we decided was having Ron come into his own a little more. He’s still the comical sidekick, but now that he’s the boyfriend as well we thought it was time to take his game to the next level.

NRAMA: It seemed you were hinting at that with Oh The Drama.

MM: That’s the launching point. Actually, if you look at Oh The Drama as a finale that’s one thing. But really you should look at it as a launching point for the fourth season. To follow chronology he has to get more confident now.

NRAMA: Again, looking over the show, wouldn’t you say you’re making Monique a more prominent character?

MM: Yes, she’s voiced by Raven. Going back to the first season, we knew that as much as Ron was the sidekick, we also felt Kim had to have her #1 girlfriend. It wouldn’t have been that realistic for her not to. So we created Monique. Being we’re also comedy guys, we wanted someone who would be also be a strong performer. One thing Raven is known for is nailing a punch line.

So at first, we made Monique kind of a wry observer to all that was going on between Kim and Ron. With the fourth season, she will become more involved in their adventures. We found adding her in that way opens up the ensemble.

BS: Another thing we’re doing is in the past with Wade we always had him as the kid who never left the room. We experimented with him leaving the room at the end of the third season. Thanks to Oh The Drama he will get out even more.

MM: And for Jim and Tim, who in the past were only a pain in the neck for Kim, we are also going to see them starting to fit in. What you will learn is they are super-geniuses. They are definitely following in their father’s footsteps in the realm of science. In fact, being this is also Kim’s senior year in high school we thought it would be great to have them skip a whole bunch of grades and be freshmen in her high school. So suddenly they are going to be tagging along whether she likes it or not.

NRAMA: So do you feel this season is going to be another strong one for you?

BS: Yes. It’s just great, although we have to admit we’re daunted by people’s expectations. We actually had the first show online on Disney Channel online (disney.go.com/disneychannel/) and are relieved to see people are loving it.

NRAMA: Any chance you will see the seasons collected on DVD?

BS: You know, we don’t have any control over that. There’s been a fair amount of shows released as DVDs, but never as boxed sets. Maybe in the future. We’re not typically involved in those decisions. We’d like a set if they do.

NRAMA: So how many episodes?

MM: 22, and the last two is a very big, epic two-part capper.

NRAMA: At least as far as we know.

MM: Yes. If we hear otherwise, we’ll let you know.

NICK NOMINATES PATRICK FOR PRESIDENT!

When you think about it, one would be hardpressed to find a truly brighter candidate. Then again, he used to be King of Bikini Bottom.

Starting today, Nickelodeon will kick off a new campaign which it calls “Patrick For President.” It features everyone’s favorite starfish, Patrick Star, best known for his supporting role on the ongoing animated juggernaut Spongebob Squarepants.

Launching today, Patrick interstitials will run through Nick with a campaign promise that, if elected, the network will run three completely new Spongebob episodes. It will hit fever pitch on February 19, when Nick will kick off an all-night marathon at 5:00 p.m., with the three new episodes starting at 7:00 p.m. If the campaign sounds a little rigged, well maybe Nick brought in some people from Ohio and Florida as consultants.

Then again…

“SpongeBob has been the number-one animated kids’ show on television for over five years and running. And who would’ve thought that after all this time Patrick would actually run for President?” said Tom Ascheim, Executive Vice-President & General Manager, Nickelodeon Television. “It’s creative new programming events like ‘Patrick for President’ that keep it fresh and funny, with viewers coming back for more.”

If you do want to vote, you can go to the URL: www.nick.com/prezday. There one can also vote for either Patrick’s Invertebrate Party (they’re the Pink ballot) or Larry The Lobster’s Crustacean Party (the red one). Fans can also get election “updates,” put together their own posters, and, in general, take things a lot less seriously than arguing the merits of Hillary Clinton or Rudy Giuliani.

ANIME AWARD FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

The New York Comic Con announced who are the finalists for the first ever American Anime Awards. The list is as follows:

Best Actor
Johnny Yong Bosch (Akira, Bleach, Eureka 7)
Crispin Freeman (Hellsing Ultimate, Noein, Revolutionary Girl Utena)
Richard Hayworth (Rurouni Kenshin)
Yuri Lowenthal (Naruto)
Vic Mignogna (Fullmetal Alchemist, Macross)

Best Actress
Luci Christian (Princess Tutu)
Susan Dalian (Naruto)
Mary Elizabeth (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG)
Maile Flanagan (Naruto)
Michelle Ruff (Bleach, Lupin the 3rd)

Best Actor in a Comedy
Greg Ayres (Negima, Nerima Daikon Brothers)
Johnny Yong Bosch (Akira)
Liam O'Brien (Comic Party, DNA Squared, Girls Bravo)
Tony Oliver (Lupin III)
Dave Wittenberg (Zatch Bell)

Best Actress in a Comedy
Laura Bailey (Kodocha)
Luci Christian (Desert Punk, Negima, Nerima Daikon Brothers)
Debi Derryberry (Zatch Bell)
Hillary Haag (Paniponi Dash)
Michelle Ruff (Lupin the 3rd)

Best Cast
FLCL
Fullmetal Alchemist
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG
Inuyasha
Naruto

Best DVD Package Design
Bleach Vol. 1
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Fullmetal Alchemist
Hellsing Ultimate 1--Limited Edition Steelcase
Naruto Uncut Box Set Vol. 1

Best Anime Theme Song
Asterisk (Bleach)
Heart of Sword--Yoake Mae (Rurouni Kenshin)
Rewrite (Fullmetal Alchemist)
Ride on Shooting Star (FLCL)
Rise (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig)

Best Comedy Anime
Ah! My Goddess TV
FLCL
Kodocha
Ranma 1/2
Tenchi Muyo OVA

Best Anime Feature
Akira
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Fullmetal Alchemist--The Movie
Inuyasha Movie 4: Fire on Mystic Island
Pokemon Movie 8: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew

Best Short Series
Elfen Lied
FLCL
Gravitation TV
Hellsing Ultimate
Ranma 1/2 OAV

Best Long Series
Fullmetal Alchemist
Inuyasha
Naruto
Rurouni Kenshin
Samurai Champloo

Best Manga
Bleach
Death Note
Fruits Basket
Naruto
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days

According to the New York Comic Con, over 43,000 fans cast their votes for the preliminaries. The Con has not announced how or when one can start casting their final votes. Winners will be officially announced on Saturday, February 24 at a special ceremony being held at the New Yorker Hotel.

For more info, check out the website: www.nycomiccon.com.

NEW OSHII FILM MAKING DEBUT AT NYC’S LINCOLN CENTER

The man who has given you such animated classics as Patlabor, Ghost In The Shell 1 & 2, Jin-Roh, Blood: The Last Vampire and many, many more will have his latest film make its U.S. theatrical debut this month.

Mamoru Oshii’s Tachigui: The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters was released last year and has been doing the international festival circuit. During this time it has been gathering an incredible buzz for its innovative use of animation and photography. It tells the tale of post-World War II Japan through the evolution of its fast foods. As always, critics are finding the latest Oshii production a true challenge to peg, but love the formidable task anyway.

“I have things that I keep in mind when I make a movie,” says Oshii. “For animation, I try to imagine it as closely as possible to live action, and for live action, I interpret it as animation. A movie that has as much information as live action, while maintaining the logical hierarchy of animation, is what I consider the most ideal cinematic work. I made Tachigui: The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters to show how it reflects this ideal form. The movie also examines Japan's postwar history from the dietary culture's standpoint. The historical accounts mentioned in the movie are all facts, the majority of the other elements including the eight main characters are fictitious, so please do not be deceived.”

Tachigui makes its US debut at NYC’s Lincoln Center as part of the organization’s Film Select Series. Showings are set for Friday, February 23 at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday, February 25 at 1:00 p.m. For more information on the showing, check out the URLs: www.production-ig.com. or www.filmlinc.com.

ASIFA-HOLLYWOOD UNCOVERS RARE BIT OF DISNEY HISTORY

The ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive has digitized another fascinating document from the collection of Clair Weeks, Marc Davis' assistant on Bambi and Peter Pan. Called the "Disney Studios Artist's Tryout Book" from 1938, it provides a valuable overview of how the Mouse Factory saw the production process and description of the various job categories.

For more information, as well as being able to read this incredible document yourself, check out ASIFA-Hollywood’s website at: http://www.animationarchive.org


NEXT COLUMN: It’s Upfront Season! The TV networks start making their plans for the Fall known and Disney is the first at bat. Expect a lot more over the coming months..

[John Cage]

I'm glad to hear about the new season of Kim Possible. It's actually a surprisingly well written show and I like the art style -- I wouldn't be surprised to hear the Legion of Superheroes team borrowed elements from KP.

Have a good day.
John Cage

[Ace]

It always amazes me how good the half an hour Disney Adventure shows have been over the last 20 years, especially when they could really just coast. KP is absolutely no exception.

[Sparro]

Kim Possible is a great show. My wife and I find us laughing at and enjoying it as much as our children. Small nitpick on the article The Kim Possible movie was called So Not the Drama not Oh the Drama

[sfritz]

Originally Posted by Sparro

Kim Possible is a great show. My wife and I find us laughing at and enjoying it as much as our children. Small nitpick on the article The Kim Possible movie was called So Not the Drama not Oh the Drama

Noted. Glad you liked the show though. -s

[PatrickG]

With all the folks crossing over between animation, comics and Hollywood, I keep hoping to see these guys on a comic project.

Eric Wight who was spotlighted yesterday did designs for the Buffy cartoon that never made it.

I want to see the Kim Possible folks make a similar leap, schedule and finances permitting.

[sfritz]

Originally Posted by PatrickG

With all the folks crossing over between animation, comics and Hollywood, I keep hoping to see these guys on a comic project.

Eric Wight who was spotlighted yesterday did designs for the Buffy cartoon that never made it.

I want to see the Kim Possible folks make a similar leap, schedule and finances permitting.

Well, their bio does include scripting Sky High. We'll have to wait and see. s

[Moriarty]

I'm not the biggest fan of Kim Possible, but even I'm curious as to what plans they have up their sleaves for season four. Good luck, gentlemen.

[Spaz_Monkey]

Originally Posted by Steve

last ever episode of the series, a made-for-TV movie called Oh The Drama.

No, it was SO the Drama.

[pop monkey]

Bring on the KIM POSSIBLE DVD season sets already, Disney!!



Mad Mustard
by popmonkey
on MojiZu

[Don Mega]

A new season of KP? Cool.

If it wouldn´t be so long till US shows make theire way to europe.

[Delta Ass]

Booyah!

Though I still think the best Disney cartoon was TaleSpin.

[pop monkey]

Originally Posted by Delta Ass

Booyah!

Though I still think the best Disney cartoon was TailSpin.

Surely, you meant DUCKTALES?
That'd be my vote, anyway.

[venus_redsca]

Still waiting on that Green Arrow news....

[Cray_ws]

Originally Posted by Moriarty

I'm not the biggest fan of Kim Possible, but even I'm curious as to what plans they have up their sleaves for season four. Good luck, gentlemen.

But obviously you still watch it.

I like the fluidity of the Kim Possible animation. Usually I'm very picky about cartoon anatomy, as I favor realism over truncated styles. But the animation is overwhelmingly smooth that you hardly notice the deficiencies.

I look forward to watching more episodes with my niece, as she loves all things Disney.

[LunarDaydreamer]

I was only asking about Kim P the other day ,,, *LOVED* 'So The Drama' and 'A Sitch In Time'... Steve have you any idea if there are any series boxed sets forthcoming?

Best actor in a comedy - Jonny Yong Bosch (Akira?!) O.o

[Justin M. Campbell]

Originally Posted by Cray_ws

But obviously you still watch it.

I like the fluidity of the Kim Possible animation. Usually I'm very picky about cartoon anatomy, as I favor realism over truncated styles. But the animation is overwhelmingly smooth that you hardly notice the deficiencies.

I look forward to watching more episodes with my niece, as she loves all things Disney.

Interesting note: One of the initial directors on Kim Possible was Chris Bailey, who directed the "Clerks" animated series, & you see the similarity between the two shows in early episodes.

[Darth Wahu]

Originally Posted by pop monkey

Bring on the KIM POSSIBLE DVD season sets already, Disney!!



Mad Mustard
by popmonkey
on MojiZu

Hell yeah!!!!
I can't wait for this to happen. If Disney can churn out crappy sequel to their awesome theater releases why can't they collect the episodes???

[dvitali]

Ducktales = Scrooge McDuck, Donald 3 nephews
Tailspins = Jungle Book ape Babloo and a small cub in a airplane
Both Excellent Disney cartoons

[Stressfactor]

I'd be delighted to see Kim Possible get some box sets soon. But if we're going to talk awesome Disney animated series I'm really disappointed no one has mentioned Darkwing Duck -- one of the best original Disney characters to tap into multiple generes -- comic books, pulps, and James Bond-y spy stories -- all the while adding just a smidge of parody and satire.

[Donster]

I expect there will be Kim Possible season dvds one of these days. And hopefully The Proud Family, Dexter's Laboratory, Powerpuff Girls, 2 Stupid Dogs and Freakazoid, too.

[CodeGuy]

I'd say Kimpossible is the best Disney cartoon series.

Followed by the great Darkwing Duck.

[Mendoza]

Oshi is a great director a bit behind Satoshi Kon in my opinon. Can't wait to see the new one.

[AdamYJ]

If you go to the Disney Channel website, you can check out the whole first episode of Kim Possible's new season, entitled "Ill-Suited".

[hhbx]

I've really enjoyed the Kim Possible series and movies and am really glad to see it back.