CGI Gatchaman (2008)

Well, count me as being cautiously optimistic regarding this announcement (I read about it on "Twitch" originallly). While I understand your being exhausted at the amount of CGI films being released in the U.S., I certainly wouldn't lump "Gatchaman" as being of their ilk. I'm rather looking forward to a CGI film about a high-tech ninja squad in colorful outfits over one filled with either talking animals, insects, or inanimate objects.

I kind of liked the 1994 OVA, though all it did was re-tell stories from the original series. I enjoyed the redesigns of the main characters and their mechas, appreciating the blend of a contemporary, sleek look that was still respectful to the original models.

More Gatchaman can never be that bad a thing.

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More information from White Shadow, a well known Gatchaman site for years...

http://www.chronicsite.com/gatchaman/2008feature.html

The latest news regarding the Imagi release

July 19, 2006: About a week ago, I received a surprise contact from the folks at Imagi, along with an invitation to tour their US office and talk to Kevin Munroe before Comic Con. I arrived in San Diego Monday, and Disturbed was able to drive me from there to LA on Tuesday for our meeting appointment. This was a terrific opportunity to see what is going on with the property.

Imagi is a small production company based in Hong Kong with the management office in Los Angeles. They are also working with the Japanese production company Mad House (you've seen the work of Mad House on various animated productions, including Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and an upcoming release of an anime version of Highlander). When we arrived, slightly early, we were shown an introductory video that included a scene from the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles feature film and an upcoming (currently shelved) project called Cat Tale.

After the demo videos, we were taken into the basement. I was expecting just to see people working at computer stations, but the "bullpen" was much like the animation studios I'd toured in Japan: small, intimate, casual, and full of wonderful creative clutter. I found myself looking at a full wall of Gatchaman concept sketches and another full wall with storyboard for a Gatchaman demo film. Too many images, too little time!

I was warned that the concept sketches were in their pre-early stages and would go through countless revisions before production begins, so I won't say much about the character designs right now. At this point, the characters looked pretty generic, and I hope they'll look closer to the originals later in the game. The artists in the bullpen were busy working on props, backgrounds, mechas and weapons, and the sketches I saw lean toward a dark, gritty portrayal of the Gatchaman universe. The artists want to dig deeper into the science behind our Science Ninja Team and offer a deeper look at their weapons and techniques, including a closer look at how the heroes "transmute" into Birdstyle. The Birdstyles themselves will look closer to actual battle gear than the old capes and tights.

On a neighboring wall were storyboard drawings for a Gatchaman demo film. From what I could see, the action resembles what's on the NTT commercials, and takes the action to the next level. Savage fighting scene with Joe, neat scene of Ken diving from on-high. This art had been done by a former Tatsunoko animator who'd worked on the Gatchaman OAV. In fact, much of the staff had been professionally inspired by the Gatchaman series in one way or another.

From there, we moved to Kevin's office, where lunch was set up, for a Q&A session. At this point, Gatchaman is in pre-pre-production stage. The story has not been written yet, but we were assured that it wouldn't be yet another rehash of the Gatchaman series (in other words, no more retelling of Gatchaman vs. Turtle King). The basic idea was a kind of origin story a la the movie Batman Begins that shows how the team went from trainees to Science Ninja. Character development will definitely be Gatchaman--not BotP "with teeth." The story will take place on Earth, not "beyond space." Imagi is going for a "hard PG/PG-13" rating with this feature, and we discussed the issue of the target age group. Kevin and the rest of the staff stuck me as knowledgeable of the original Gatchaman universe and tremendously psyched about the project. Most important: they are interested in what the fans have to say. Imagi would like to set up a forum for the Gatchaman film project, and they are keeping an eye on the BotP mailing list. If you have opinions, now is the time to make them known.

I wish I could cover everything we talked about, but it would take several more pages (I wish I'd brought a tape recorder). Our meeting left me feeling pretty psyched about the project as well. This Thursday, at Comic Con, Imagi will be screening parts of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles feature, and I want to get a look to see what we might be seeing in Gatchaman. More news soon!

An origin story? Well, I don't think I have a problem with that, seeing that this is a restart/revamp. Still, I hope they hold some clues from the past over for future revelation.

Hard PG/PG-13 rating? Well, that ounds promising as long as they don't let that dictate the project itself. I want quality story telling and character first, and if the material requires PG-13 violence, then so be it. Don't just do it for the sake of doing it, for that always stands out as exactly what it is and usually does nothing for the story.

Battlegear instead of classic bird style? I think I may have a problem here. Whenever they decide that the original is too cheesy and must be revamped into something realistic and unfamiliar, it can lose the very thing that made it great to start with. Does Gatchaman need to look more "battle gear" ready? Perhaps, I just don't know if I trust these remarks. It was stated that the early preliminary sketches seemed not very familiar with what we all know and love, as the writer expressed hope that they would evolve into something less generic.

Explain the transmute technology? Hmmm, does everything have to be ultra realistic. I am getting a bad feeling about that, but I must wait till I see more.

Well, Tatsunoko is still involved, which cannot be a bad thing. Still, it looks like they may have just handed this project over to Imagi to do as they wish, and that would not be a good thing. Also, I am still not taken with the CGI approach. I seriously doubt that the maker of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be offering us a product that eclipes the tiresome CGI animation we have already had heaped upon us. No, we are getting stuck with generic CGI animation that I could forever live without from this day forward, I can feel it in my bones. Caution, fans, caution.

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OK, so what's the speed of dark?

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