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NewportMuse In reply to Tinselfire [2019-07-15 05:46:18 +0000 UTC]

I was in high school when it aired. It was an ambitious concept for Filmation, but TV in the late 80's was overrun with several toy-based cartoons from DIC and a Hasbro-Marvel Productions partnership. Bravestarr looked like two other space cowboy shows (Silverhawks, Saber Rider and the Star Sheriff's). Also, its limited American-produced animation couldn't compete with the outsourced animation from Japan that was more realistic, theatrical, and cheaper to make.

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Tinselfire In reply to NewportMuse [2019-07-15 14:52:13 +0000 UTC]

I wouldn't agree they look similar, since and are space opera while Bravestarr is distinctly western - perhaps not even really space western despite the sci-fi trappings, but simply western. But that is an assessment made in hindsight. Guess compared side by side back in the day when competition was fiercer and the market narrower one compared pitches rather than end products, in which case all three were "cowboys in space" and Bravestarr just drew the short straw.

It still baffles me to this day Filmation couldn't compete economically, since their animation budget was basically shoestring.

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NewportMuse In reply to Tinselfire [2019-07-15 17:12:32 +0000 UTC]

It all came down to money and ethics. Filmation president Lou Scheimer was committed to domestic U.S. animation production when all the other studios, including Disney, began outsourcing their work overseas, mostly to Japan. It was as cheap as 1/10th the cost of having it animated in America, but with the horrible working conditions the Japanese anime industry is notorious for. Scheimer also was adamant about incorporating morals and life lessons into all his cartoons, not just have violence and slapstick for pure entertainment. That made him a pariah and maverick during all the changes in TV animation during the 80's.

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Tinselfire In reply to NewportMuse [2019-07-15 17:35:06 +0000 UTC]

Never thought about the last part, but in hindsight there were probably some subjects touched on that didn't sit right with the then-current climate as well. Remember the MotU episode with the crippled veteran?

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NewportMuse In reply to Tinselfire [2019-07-16 22:08:57 +0000 UTC]

I'm afraid not. Haven't seen the original series in over 30 years and I never saw the reboot.

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Tinselfire In reply to NewportMuse [2019-07-17 13:42:41 +0000 UTC]

One of my favourites of the original, because it had rather an open-ended moral that was gradually revealed throughout the episode.

A boy who idolizes He-Man and wants nothing more than to go out and fight is staying with his grandfather, who is not quite as enthusiastic. When they are attacked by the regular henchmen, the grandfather fends them off with relative ease despite being confined to a wheelchair. Later on when the boy's pet is caught in the crossfire and nearly killed, the grandfather reveals he was wounded in action in the last war - but his crippling injury was not due to enemy action, but in an accident he himself caused, and which also killed some of his own.
The fourth wall-breaking moral was quite elaborate for that kind of show, stating as a matter of fact that fantasy is fine and normal, but in reality violence doesn't recognize allegiance - the "good guys" die all the time.

Can only presume investors reacted with mixed feelings when the writers had He-Man himself state that one of the lynchpin concepts of his own toyline is a necessary evil he disapproves of.

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NewportMuse In reply to Tinselfire [2019-07-18 06:43:54 +0000 UTC]

Lou Scheimer pushed for full creative control of the series, and Mattel granted it to Filmation. And "He-Man" became a very successful show anyway. It's still fondly remembered today for the kind of stories you mentioned. Hasbro, on the other hand, micromanaged all the cartoons it produced with Marvel Productions and Sunbow (now part of Hasbro Studios).

Scheimer's philosophy in story content is explained in his 2012 memoir "Making The Filmation Generation", parts of which are available to read on Google Books.

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Tinselfire In reply to NewportMuse [2019-07-18 12:28:58 +0000 UTC]

Wait...
This is not new to me, but I always thought it was wishful thinking. Are you saying there was a time when the people on the ground in popular media were not at the mercy of shareholders and corporate meddling?

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NewportMuse In reply to Tinselfire [2019-07-18 17:02:56 +0000 UTC]

Indeed. Read Scheimer's book online at Google Books for the whole story regarding He-Man.

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uncannyknack In reply to TheLastInterceptor [2019-07-05 23:52:37 +0000 UTC]

Thank you and it absolutely is! I think he'd be perfect as Bravestarr as well. Good eye

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uncannyknack In reply to Chesmire [2019-07-05 00:21:34 +0000 UTC]

Interesting you mention that. I was considering heavy plating 30/30 with flats but even with contour in the cladding as I worked it was coming out more G1 Robocop. So I ditched it and kind of dug it. Who knows I may circle back one day and change my mind. But Thunderstick is up there bike far right. Great eye on a subtle tease!  

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