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rocketdave — Obscuri-JAM: Muffet
#muffet #tattertown
Published: 2019-04-04 00:40:28 +0000 UTC; Views: 6879; Favourites: 49; Downloads: 5
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Description
Here's an entry for 's 12th Obscure Character Art Jam: fav.me/dd3kpg7This is Muffet (aka Muffet the Merciless) from the Ralph Bakshi failed pilot/holiday special Christmas in Tattertown, which you can watch on YouTube: youtu.be/AoiLlwH_YD0
The plot was about a girl named Debbie, who, along with a couple of her toys, is magically transported to Tattertown, where lost objects end up and come to life. Now having a will of her own, Muffet is no longer interested in being Debbie's doll, so she runs away with designs on becoming the dictator of Tattertown. As a kid, I was particularly drawn to the old-timey cartoon influence that's evident in the animation. I always kind of thought of Muffet as being somewhat reminiscent of an evil, female Baby Herman.
If you're a Tenchi Muyo! fan, something worth noting is that Muffet was voiced by Jennifer Darling, who did the voice of Ayeka, while Debbie was voiced by Sherry Lynn, who was also the voice of Sasami.
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Comments: 13
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Thanks, I saw the same special as you. Maybe one of these days I'll draw more fanart based on it.
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You don't see much Bakshi fanart for this particular outing on here! Well done!
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Never seen that paticular short before but its a cute pic
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Wow, that was quite a wild little show! Thanks for the link. A lot of cool voice work going on there, the actors impersonate several animated legends (including Charlie Brown, Goofy, etc.)
I can see why it failed -- the story is all over the damn place and has holes everywhere. The girl seems to realize she's in a bizarre universe nowhere near home with no way to return, and she just rolls with it.
Too bad we don't have more stories about Muffet, a villainous plaything with a munitions base would make a good series.
You did a nice job capturing the character, the retro style seems to be another thing you're good at.
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Thank you. Yeah, I think that even as a kid, I was aware that the special was a bit of a mess, but Who Framed Roger Rabbit, which I was obsessed with, apparently came out the same year, and I think Tattertown probably gave me kind of a Toontown vibe. There's even a cameo by Flip the Frog and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Debbie is a weird character. She's ostensibly the protagonist, but she basically wants to enslave her former doll and force her to be her plaything once again, even though Muffet clearly wants nothing to do with her.
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I guess if they ever did a series based on this, they'd have to leave out Debbie entirely. I honestly thought her toy bear with Charlie Brown's voice had more character development than she did!
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Hmm, the bear didn't sound that much like Charlie Brown to me. I actually assumed it was the late Dana Hill doing his voice, but I just looked it up and it wasn't her.
I dunno, I found it kind of humorously subversive that they'd make the main character somewhat twisted, like a less intense Elmyra. Now that you mention it, it is odd that she doesn't seem at all intent on getting home. Maybe if had gotten picked up for series, there would have been some focus on that. I think I thought she was an orphan or something, but looking at it again, there's not really anything upon which to base that assumption.
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Maybe just my imagination but I thought they were referencing Charlie Brown, especially when the bear is discussing the Christmas tree, "Mr Tennenbaum." www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoiLlw…
Anyway, it certainly was worth a look, vastly better than any animated show I know of in the modern era. I always enjoyed Bakshi's Mighty Mouse cartoons, which borrowed heavily from the great old Terrytoon originals.
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Oh, I can see what you mean about the Charlie Brown reference; tbh, I haven't watched the special all the way through in a while. Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures is a cartoon I was a fan of as well.
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