http://www.thewrap.com/dreamworks-animation-acquires-felix-the-cat/
Man, they are snapping up all sorts of classic characters aren't they?
Oh, and play the Nintendo game, it's great. One of my favorites.
I really don't know what to make of their desire to make Felix a premier fashion brand. (http://variety.com/2014/film/news/dreamworks-animation-acquires-rights-to-felix-the-cat-1201221646/)
He fits right in with the DreamWorks Classics stable (indeed, DWC already owned some Felix cartoons), but how are they going to market him outside of Asia, where he is recognized but not especially popular?
Aw man, you beat me to it by a hair.
I just don't think DreamWorks is capable of popularizing Felix again, at least right now. They strike me as a confused company desperate for something to stick against the wall, and, frankly, kind of a relic. They can't pin their hopes on these long-faded characters (it doesn't help that the Lone Ranger is going to be unusable for a while thanks to that movie, and Rocky & Bullwinkle might be headed back into the cooler), they need a better strategy.
Heh.
It is pretty upsetting to see them fall victim to Classic Media's way of thinking, and in the process sink as quickly as they have. Dig up long-faded franchises without enlightening people on what made them popular in the first place? Oh yes, that's the ticket!
I would love for Katzenberg to step down and hand the reins to somebody who is more capable than he is at this moment; he is WAY past his prime. His contract runs through 2017, but there is no succession plan in place. DWA has never been a gold standard of animation, but they are the caretakers of a lot of iconic characters and many of them deserve better than these half-baked attempts at keeping them from being forgotten.
I predict fart jokes, lots of loud voice acting, an obnoxious humor style that has nothing to do with the original show, odd focus on a character that is not the titular one, and a song and dance number to a pop song before (or even while!) the credits roll.
I'm not very optimistic when it comes to modern cinematic revivals of old school properties, as you can tell.
It's possible that part of the reason they bought Felix is to have intellectual property to base a Netflix series on. They have a deal in place with Netflix to provide 300 hours of programming to them over the next several years (http://ir.dreamworksanimation.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=771851), and considering how afraid they seem to be to use DreamWorks Animation Television to launch new intellectual properties, I wonder if they'll be doing a Felix show.
Well... This is a pickup I didn't expect.
Personally, I was never a fan of Felix. He's a boring character and his cartoons are unremarkable.
If DWA can make him interesting, I'd be fine with them making a movie or whatever. I'm not sure how they could do it, though. :thinkin:
Felix is a relic of his time. He's not comparable to someone like Mickey
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on June 17, 2014, 05:15:18 PM
I predict fart jokes, lots of loud voice acting, an obnoxious humor style that has nothing to do with the original show, odd focus on a character that is not the titular one, and a song and dance number to a pop song before (or even while!) the credits roll.
I'm not very optimistic when it comes to modern cinematic revivals of old school properties, as you can tell.
Dreamworks did OK with
Mr. Peabody & Sherman, I thought, and they're capable of producing some good stuff when they put their minds to it.
Of course, with Felix, it helps that the character is basically a blank slate and his cartoons aren't really known for anything but being being crudely made and/or bizarre. The truth is that Felix has never had a set personality in place nor have his universe or his cartoons had any set of rules that it rigidly adheres to. The closest thing to continuity that Felix has ever had was the presence of his magic bag, and even with that we've never been given any insight as to what it is, where it came from, how Felix came into possession of it or how it works. If Dreamworks can establish ANY kinds of rules or disciplines for Felix, it would be a step up and more than any Felix cartoon has had before.
Felix the Cat never did much for me.
Perhaps I can make a small exception with what was his latest incarnation in the 90's - The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat which ran on CBS Saturday mornings for only two seasons. It was a really trippy show at most. I remember the disappointment I had when Charlie Adler took over the voice of Felix in season two.. it was too Buster Bunny-ish for my liking.
As for DreamWorks' acquisition of Felix, good luck to them.
Felix the Cat: The Movie has been remastered in HD and uploaded by its official YouTube channel.
Also, when revisiting this thread through a forum search (I'd forgotten I posted in it before): DreamWorks never really did anything with this character, have they? It's been close to a decade.