Grim n' Gritty or Colorful?

[King Tycho]

What kind of movie do you want? Lately dark, grim, and gritty has been the in thing, movies that delve into the psycology of the characters, are "dark", and are shown in drab grays and earthen tones. The Dark Knight is a good example, Lord of the Rings too, though to a much lesser extent. Movies that have humor in short supply, or sometimes no humor at all. Movies not necesarrily you could take your children too.

There are other types though, think Iron Man, or Spider-man, or the original Star Wars. Movies with a healthy sense of humor that might be considered bright and colorful. They aren't as psycological, and certainly not as dark. While they aren't "kiddie flicks" they are something a family can enjoy together.

I should note, I am not asking if you want and adult movie vs. a kiddie movie.

Personally I love filmation, but a movie that replicated filmation would not really hold my interest. It would be to silly and kiddie for me. But, i also don't want the "Dark Knight" take applied to He-Man. The review at latinoreview of Justin Marks script said the movie had not one beat of comic relief, and to me, that itself would leave it to far removed from MOTU to in anyway be part of it. And, i've always thought one of the trademarks of MOTU were the vibrant, bright colors. So many movies today seem to be drab and colorless, and i worry that studios would try this approach to MOTU which I also think will leave it too far removed. So my vote would go for colorful.

Any thoughts?

[Lay Ze-Man]

This has been discussed a little before.

I at least want them to use the Classic designs as a starting point in terms of color palettes.

If they start with red and blue on Stratos, but during the design process they come up with a cool redesign of him that just happens to work better in more muted tones, then I'd be cool with that.

But chucking out the bright colors out of fear that it won't be "cool" enough, anything like that I am 100% opposed to.

Just saying that I'd be shocked if they ever had Hugh Jackman even do a test with orange and brown duds, to say nothing of the yellow and blues.

[King Tycho]

Just because they have a design that looks good, doesn't mean it looks like motu. For me, the colors are an integral part. They might have a "Stratos" that looks good in grey and black, but for me it wouldn't be Stratos anymore, no matter how good the design looked. I don't ask for a 100 percent xerox of the toys, but if you can't still see the toy in the design, then it isn't faithful at all. The box art for me is convincing enough that i think the original toy designs could work with minimal tweaking.

[fantombe]

I don't ask for a 100 percent xerox of the toys, but if you can't still see the toy in the design, then it isn't faithful at all. The box art for me is convincing enough that i think the original toy designs could work with minimal tweaking.

The problem is that artwork not specifically designed to be used in live action very rarely transfers well into live action. There are a few rare examples (Spiderman, Superman, Iron-man), but in a lot of cases, it just doesn't translate well.

Someone did a great mock up of He-man in photoshop somewhere around here to show just how ridiculous it actually looks when you take the toy/artwork and just stick it on a real person. I can't remember what thread it was posted in right now, but if I remember I'll post the link.

Another good reference would be to check out one of the Cosplay threads. There are some people that have incredibly faithful costumes, and some (like a Trap-Jaw and a Webstor) that look literally like the toys brought to life in their detail. However, they all without exception look like people in costumes. I.e. Trap-Jaw doesn't look like Trap-Jaw, he looks like a bloke dressed as Trap-Jaw.

There's definitely a balance that needs to be struck to make the characters look like the people they're playing without looking like people dressed up as the people they're playing, but I wouldn't hold out much hope of seeing the toys recreated on screen.

[Lay Ze-Man]

However, they all without exception look like people in costumes. I.e. Trap-Jaw doesn't look like Trap-Jaw, he looks like a bloke dressed as Trap-Jaw.

There's definitely a balance that needs to be struck to make the characters look like the people they're playing without looking like people dressed up as the people they're playing, but I wouldn't hold out much hope of seeing the toys recreated on screen.

Good points, I agree completely.

Keep in mind though that movie studios have a BIT more to work with as far as makeup, costumes, prosthetics, CGI, etc.

A cosplayer has their own (usually questionable, no offense) physique to limit them, and budget and materials constraints as well.

With correct casting, makeup, costume and effects in place, I have no doubt that ANY MotU character could be translated to live-action in a very recognizable and very cool manner.

But it's a matter of the suit designs in Iron Man vs. the make-up design for the Thing in FF, and which way they want to go.

[Mirage]

What's with the DARK nowadays?


Everywhere I go, it's dark, dark, dark, dark, DARK!




Life *** as is out here in the real world. Why can't we have a little color and light on screen to balance things out?

[fantombe]

the make-up design for the Thing in FF, and which way they want to go.

I agree. The Thing is another great example of "bloke in costume" syndrome!

As you say, nowadays they should be able to do better, in theory, but no matter how good the technology and intentions, some things just don't translate well to the real world.

Maybe by time we get to Fantastic 4 XI they'll have got it right!

(Silver Surfer's another example of godawful to-screen translation based on the trailers, so I think you've hit the nail on the head with your examples there)

[Tallstar]

I'll say this -- I don't think MOTU should be grim and gritty like 300. That's totally the wrong approach for MOTU. I think Columbia Pictures should do a more fantastical take on the live-action movie...if that makes sense. You can have colorful characters and set them in environments that are surreal/moody like the original box art.

He-Man should be nothing like Batman. That's just not the essence of the character at all.

[Captain Marvel]

Off the top of my head, I think that The Hobbit has the tone close to what a good MOTU movie would need. Moving from books movies with an appropriate tone, the Star Wars films are the first that come to mind.

[King Tycho]

The Star Wars films are a perfect example of the tone I would like (at least the original trilogy, the prequels are sloppy, and way to cartoony though, and not indicitive of the tone i'd like) I also think the first Pirates of the Caribbean provides a good idea of the tone i'd like, though the movie needs more color.

[Captain Marvel]

Oooh yeah -- the POTC movies are a good match tone-wise too, can't believe I forgot about those...

[King Tycho]

Well, i'm really only thinking the first one, the second and especially the third got too "dark" and grim and depressing.

[Battle_Brak]

I'm always a little confused when this comes up. Are we talking about the tone of the story or the look of the film?

If we are talking about aesthetic why can't it be both? The vintage box art is the prime example of this. It is dark and gritty, but there are also brilliant splashes of color. The landscape feels dark and otherworldly. Still, the characters are appropriately colorful. I don't want to see the pastel world of Filmation or the drab desaturated world of MYP. It needs to be something bolder than that.

For the story, I feel like parts have to be dark, much darker than a lot of the films mentioned. I mean we have a crew of vicious monsters led by a guy with a skull for a head. You can't handle that with a light touch and have it work. The villains should be dark, twisted, and evil. The heroes should have to deal with dire consequences. MOTU is generally laughed at by the mainstream, and therefore if a film is going to reach a wider audience it has to present itself more seriously than any version that's come before.

Well, i'm really only thinking the first one, the second and especially the third got too "dark" and grim and depressing.

I didn't find anything even remotely depressing about any of the POTC movies. If you want something lighter than Pirates 2 then we are operating on entirely different wavelengths.

[Krueger]

If you would have asked me the same question about two years ago, I would have easily gone for grim and gritty. I don’t think that’s the right approach now, though. I don’t like the idea of making it completely bright and colourful, either. Speed Racer did that, and it seemed that no one liked it. As people have said, a balance between the two.

I’d like Eternia to feel like a real, lived in world. I would also want it to look completely fantastical, as well. I don’t want people to watch it and have them say “Oh, I’ve been to the place that doubled as the Iron Forest”. I think it should look like a whole other world. That’s where the Narnia films failed to an extent, IMO. Narnia didn’t look like another world; it just looked like New Zealand. I think Eternia should look utterly alien and different in every possible way. That’s why I prefer the look of the Filmation series over the MYP series. In the Filmation series they made Eternia look as alien and other-worldly as possible, like the trees for example. The MYP series didn’t give Eternia personality. It just looked like a generic place.

In terms of the looks of the characters. I don’t think some of the original costumes and character looks would translate well to a live-action film. Little homage’s here and there to the original costumes would be fine, but I’m not calling for the characters to look the same at all.

[Battle_Brak]

In terms of the looks of the characters. I don’t think some of the original costumes and character looks would translate well to a live-action film. Little homage’s here and there to the original costumes would be fine, but I’m not calling for the characters to look the same at all.

I'm pretty flexible on this as well. With the exception of He-Man (which was totally off course) I thought all of the concepts shown in Art Book were fine. As long as it captures the spirit of the original design I'm fine. Plus, in real life people do change their clothes.

I don't think they need to deviate too far from what's established though. I posted these a while ago to show how I'd approach character designs for a movie. The final designs would probably end up being much more of a departure, but I would start as close as I felt was possible to the source material.




The He-Man is a bit old and I'm a little embarassed by the quality of it now. However, I think these get the point across.

[Multibot]

IMHO, any motu movie should be done in cgi, like shrek, Ice age, etc.

I'm not convinced they can do motu justice with live action. Making the characters look like themselves in live action would be very hard to do imo, without looking totally laughable. the '87 movie was horrible imo, and certainly should not be repeated.

if they do it in live action, i'd want it to be the same callibur as LOTR, POTC, SW, etc. Epic, funny in parts, terrifying in parts, great action, colorful (not too dark to see what's going on, like alot of movies nowadays). If they need inspiration, they need to only look at the myp series, and translate that into live action. Without making the characters look like they came out of a superhero movie.

not that those are bad or anything, in fact I love the FF4, spiderman, Ironman, etc. but imo MOTU shouldn't just be another superhero flick, it should be more serious & epic. I don't want a live action motu movie looking like Scooby Doo, Flintstones, Garfield, Chipmunks, etc.

[ehenyo]

Doing the entire movie in CGI is setting it up for failure, in my opinion. All CGI movies are typically targeted at kids while this film is probably for all peeps.

[King Tycho]

IMHO, any motu movie should be done in cgi, like shrek, Ice age, etc.

I'm not convinced they can do motu justice with live action. Making the characters look like themselves in live action would be very hard to do imo, without looking totally laughable. the '87 movie was horrible imo, and certainly should not be repeated.

if they do it in live action, i'd want it to be the same callibur as LOTR, POTC, SW, etc. Epic, funny in parts, terrifying in parts, great action, colorful (not too dark to see what's going on, like alot of movies nowadays). If they need inspiration, they need to only look at the myp series, and translate that into live action. Without making the characters look like they came out of a superhero movie.

not that those are bad or anything, in fact I love the FF4, spiderman, Ironman, etc. but imo MOTU shouldn't just be another superhero flick, it should be more serious & epic. I don't want a live action motu movie looking like Scooby Doo, Flintstones, Garfield, Chipmunks, etc.

I would certainly see a CGI motu, but it's not what i want. Movies like Scooby Doo, Flinstones.... they failed because while they were made with live actors, sets, and costumes, they were still trying to make them look like cartoons. (Garfield and Chipmunks just failed cause they sucked)

Certainly I want something epic, but epic and dark don't necesarily walk hand in hand. The original Star Wars trilogy was certainly epic, and while Empire flirted with dark, they certainly weren't cartoony (okay, ewoks, sure, and for the record I don.t want ewoks in MOTU..... or Widgets for that matter)

I just don't see why so many people want a dark brooding movie that kids won't be able to see?

[Torvik]

I'll say this -- I don't think MOTU should be grim and gritty like 300. That's totally the wrong approach for MOTU. I think Columbia Pictures should do a more fantastical take on the live-action movie...if that makes sense. You can have colorful characters and set them in environments that are surreal/moody like the original box art.

He-Man should be nothing like Batman. That's just not the essence of the character at all.

Agree completely... He-Man all dark and covered with grime is not the way to go..

It does not have to be neon day-glo colors.. (I'm not advocating that) . but to go excessively "dark" in tone and style AND appearance.... no thanks.

[Brad2dbone]

MotU is way too wacky and fun to go all dark and serious. It's all about male adolescent fantasy fulfillment. Any time MotU tries to take itself too seriously= fail.

[fantombe]

these are fantastic examples. You can see there the He-man, which is clearly an illustration, has lineart, etc. looks excellent. However, it is difficult to say how well it would translate because of that.

Then you look at triklops and with a more photorealistic rendering, he looks like a bloke on the way to a halloween party. If you saw it on screen you'd find it incredibly difficult to suspend your belief enough to think he was a real character.

I bet, however, if he was drawn in the same lined and inked style as the He-man though, we'd look at it and think, "Yeah, that would look great in a movie!"

This is exactly what I'm talking about in terms of illustration/toy translation. No matter how detailed you make them, designs meant for illustrational (er... that's a word... honest!) media and toys rarely translate well into live action.

Great pictures though.

[mattnotis]

As previously stated, there needs to be a balance. We can't have characters with bright primary colored outfits and skin. But at the same time we need them to be recognizabled as those characters. They accomplished this in Transformers with Optimus, Jazz and Starscream. They looked different than their cartoon counterparts, but close enough to where you could clearly identify which character they were supposed to be.

[Lay Ze-Man]

They accomplished this in Transformers with Optimus, Jazz and Starscream.

They . . . accomplished something in those movies?

Just kidding, I know what you're saying.

[Krueger]

As previously stated, there needs to be a balance. We can't have characters with bright primary colored outfits and skin. But at the same time we need them to be recognizabled as those characters. They accomplished this in Transformers with Optimus, Jazz and Starscream. They looked different than their cartoon counterparts, but close enough to where you could clearly identify which character they were supposed to be.

I wouldn't say Starscream resembled his original counterpart in any shape or form. Well, form maybe. But I agree, Optimus and Jazz definitely did. To a lesser extent, even Megatron and Bumblebee did, but just because of the colours.

[PaoloKr]

Hard to say...
I have no idea!