Category Archives: Cartoons
Requiem for a Pony: The Legend of Derpy Hooves
Different is beautiful.
We are gathered here today to mourn the loss of Derpy Hooves.
If you’re reading this, then we suspect that you already know who she was; but if not, let me tell you the tale of one special little pony.
Derpy was a recurring background character on the popular cartoon, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. She was originally un-named, but an animation error in the second part of the series premiere left her with characteristic “Derpy” eyes. When Internet fans began posting stills from the show to point out the mistake, Derpy became an Internet sensation. And as Derpy began to draw more attention, the show’s fans gave her a name: Derpy Hooves. Afterward, the familiar derp-eyed pony began making frequent appearances in the background of many episodes.
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Fans were overjoyed when she had her first speaking role in the Season 2 episode: The Last Roundup, where she was officially referred to by other characters as “Derpy”. She was given a somewhat silly voice, and turned out to be a bit of a clutz. Still, fans were happy to have some background on the pony they made famous. Namely, Derpy was a mail-pony who loved to eat muffins.
It was a show of Internet fan-service by the producers, and fans recieved the episode very well.
In January, however, Derpy ran into trouble. Several bloggers wrote articles questioning the sensitivity of such a character. Could “Derpy” be an offensive euphamism for the mentally handicapped? Hasbro began to look into it. When the episode was released to iTunes last week, fans were dismayed to find that Hasbro had reacted by removing the mention of her name from conversation, changing Derpy’s voice and, most unforgivably, un-derping her iconic eyes.
Fans took to the Internet in protest. Petitions were signed and angry letters were sent to the show’s writers. They, for the most part, believed the revocation of “true-Derpy” due to the complaints of a minority of fans who didn’t understand the point of the character. Hasbro, however, has stood by their decision to alter Derpy. The most special little horse in all of Equestria, as a result, became much less special.
Friendship is Magic is still a wonderful programme, and I highly recommend it. With the loss of Derpy Hooves, however, the show has lost something else, as well.
Sometimes, it’s the things that a show doesn’t say or point out to its audience that mean the most. We didn’t love Derpy because she simply looked silly, or had a funny voice. We didn’t see her as something to mock, and when we made fun, we did it out of love. What Derpy showed us was that you don’t have to be perfect to be a part of the herd. She showed us that you can be different and still be beautiful. You can still be a bit odd and still be liked. That was the lesson of Derpy Hooves: Derpy’s diversity made our love stronger. In that, Derpy will be missed, but she will always be remembered.
Facebook Fans announced March 1 to be “Derpy Day” in memoriam. Derpy Day will be celebrated with delivering mail by hand, eating muffins, making Derpy-eyes in the mirror and in photos, and by wearing grey.
Finally Bringing Ninja Turtles to My Blog
I was a huge Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan when I was a kid. Still am, technically. But out of all the 80s cartoons, Ninja Turtles was probably my favorite. So let’s take a nostalgic trip back to those badass days with this stop-motion animation version of the classic Ninja Turtles cartoon opening. Give the video a few seconds, creator Kyle Roberts put himself into it at the beginning for some reason. Proud of his work, I guess.
What is the Point of DC Animation These Days?
On the day after their latest film, Justice League: Doom, is released, I find myself asking what the point is anymore for the DC animation studio that keeps churning out these straight-to-DVD animated movies every few months. Mostly I ask this in regards to their next film, Superman vs. The Elite, and how utterly random and sort of ridiculous it sounds. This probably isn’t going to be a popular theory, and who am I to look such a gift horse in the mouth of actual, well-made Justice League movies, but hear me out.
Why do the movies produced by this very talented production company seem so random and disconnected? Why are the fantastic efforts of Bruce Timm and his people not put to better, more substantial use?
Let’s first take a look at Superman vs. the Elite.
Not to be voiced by Tim Daly, by the way
So far we have this description of the film:
The Elite, a team of super-powered antiheroes, is renowned for killing their enemies. Despite the acclaim and approval the Elite enjoy, Superman knows they are in the wrong, creating more harm than good by their methods. Tensions between them finally culminate in a mass showdown on Jupiter’s moons, when Superman is forced to prove that violence is never a positive.
The movie is based on an early 2001 story from Action Comics, where the Elite basically did exactly what it says there in the description. Right down to fighting on Jupiter’s moon. And the animated Elite is pretty much the exact same Elite from the comics.
I guess these guys made quite the impression on somebody more than a decade ago
The team members are, from left to right, Coldcast, Manchester Black, The Hat, and Menagerie. I have no knowledge of any of these characters or The Elite as a team, so I have no personal attachment to this being turned into an animated film. But I’m also free to ask the question of why?
Why this story? Why such a random choice from more than 10 years ago?
For that matter, why turn ‘Tower of Babel’ into Justice League: Doom? Why Batman: Year One and All-Star Superman? I’m not saying I haven’t enjoyed some, if not all, of these films. I’m just saying why does it have to be so haphazard?
Why not a Lois Lane movie?
Once upon a time, Timm and Co. were the masters of animation with Batman: The Animated Series, Superman and Justice League: Unlimited. They had an ongoing saga that lasted years and multiple shows that were beloved by fans. But these new movies don’t have anything to do with those old TV shows.
There have been several attempts to bridge certain movies, like Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths and Justice League: Doom, but those don’t seem to feature the same characters from Batman: Year One, All-Star Superman, Green Lantern: First Flight, Wonder Woman or even Superman vs. The Elites. All of these movies are disconnected. They’re just vanity projects, as if they pulled an idea out of a hat and decided to make that movie next. Would it really be so hard to unite the movies? Or make movies that lead into one another?
There’s also the problem that after the poor sales of Green Lantern: First Flight and Wonder Woman (which is the best of all the movies), Warner Bros. has demanded that all future movies must include either Superman or Batman. So that severely limits the production crew’s options.
So what’s the point? Is the market for an animated Batman or Superman film really so great that Warner Bros. keep demanding another film? Are they making a lot of money? Are they easier to make than a full TV show? Do they make more money than a TV show?
One half of the only money-making superheroes that DC owns
Right now, DC only has Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series on TV. Neither has anything to do with the animated movies, even if the style of animation between the Justice League films and Young Justice is quite similar. They should just go ahead and declare that the movies and the show take place in the same universe. Why not a Young Justice movie? Why not a team-up with the Justice League and Young Justice in one film? Why not have the various DC animation studios working together for the harmony of all?
There is already a built-in audience for a Young Justice movie. And surely it’s a bigger audience than those who want a done-in-one Superman vs. The Elite DVD. Why not make feature films that appear in theaters? Warner Bros. could make millions that way. But no, they want roughly two or three straight-to-DVD films popped out at random throughout the year.
More importantly, where’s the New 52 reboot film? DC is pushing this new initiative in its comics, why not have everything else line up with that? Why make a movie about a Superman storyline that nobody has heard of from 2001, when they could make a brand new movie with a brand new storyline set in the New 52 universe?
All this rambling comes down to one basic point: why is this amazing, brilliant production team reduced to making one or two movies a year based on old Batman and Superman comic book storylines?
They could be doing so much more.
More Legend of Korra Goodness!
I promised to bring as much Legend of Korra preview stuff as I could find to this blog, because I and everybody else are really waiting for the new Last Airbender series to begin! Well you’re in luck, as a new trailer was released just yesterday! It’s kind of a made-for-TV commercial, with some pretty silly narration. But mostly this trailer is filled with actual dialogue and scenes from the show. So that’s pretty neat.
Plus the animal mash-ups continue with Korra’s polar bear dog!
A Plastic Man Cartoon? For Reals?
Beyond the silliness that is an actual, honest-to-god Plastic Man cartoon.
Plastic Man is a DC Comics superhero with the ability to, as I’m sure you just watched, strength and shape his body into anything he wants. He’s a comedian, known for being a very silly sort of guy. Which means he’s perfectly suited for a silly willy, diffy daffy kids cartoon courtesy of Cartoon Network. Though he’s not going to get a full show. Instead, Plastic Man is going to get a few animated shorts to go alongside DC’s new DC Nation block of shows, which will include Young Justice and the new animated Green Lantern series.
What’s that you say? A DC Nation animated block? Tell us more, Sean!
Gladly. After the jump.
Henchman-4-Hire 