D&D General DND cartoon reboot on the way?

[RuinousPowers]

I really expected a name brand D&D show/cartoon before Cyberpunk got one.

 

[bedir than]

This is just standard nostalgia fishing. We got the same thing over in Transformers.

There's never been a year since '84 without a Transformers cartoon

 

[teitan]

I watched it as a kid during the original run. I didn't watch every episode of every season. I haven't seen it since. I don't remember it being horrible, but I thought the tone was too light from what I recall. I hope that if they do reboot it they re-imagine the characters, make it more serious and mature and not just play on the nostalgia of the generation who originally watched it.

I watch it every few months and it was pretty dark for the time and pretty serious considering the restrictions on children's programming at the time. Mark Evanier has gone on record (one of the creators) with how much they got away with on the series compared to some of the other shows. It was very controversial because it was so dark, again, for the time.

If they do revive it I pray, hard, they don't get all anime with it like they have with other revivals recently. I don't want another Sword Art Online, which is what every series seems to resemble in their structures. I also wouldn't want it to be dark for darkness sake, just good stories of these characters in that world trying to find a way home. Don't give me Mork Borg or Castlevania. Give me the world of Dungeons & Dragons from the cartoon.

 

[R_J_K75]

I watch it every few months and it was pretty dark for the time and pretty serious considering the restrictions on children's programming at the time. Mark Evanier has gone on record (one of the creators) with how much they got away with on the series compared to some of the other shows. It was very controversial because it was so dark, again, for the time.

If they do revive it I pray, hard, they don't get all anime with it like they have with other revivals recently.

Maybe I was just too young at the time to catch the darker nuances, but calling the Dungeon Master "Dungeon Master", the unicorn, and a few other things I didnt care for. Like I said though Ive not watched it since it first aired. I'll have to ask my friend if hes got a copy of them maybe I'll watch it.

I never watched anime except for catching a Dragon Ball Z or Pokemon episode waking up having left the TV on so Im not familiar with its tropes. I can say I dont care for the animation style. Closest I came to watching anime was the 80s Voltron cartoon.

 

[J.Quondam]

Maybe I was just too young at the time to catch the darker nuances, but calling the Dungeon Master "Dungeon Master", the unicorn, and a few other things I didnt care for. Like I said though Ive not watched it since it first aired. I'll have to ask my friend if hes got a copy of them maybe I'll watch it.

Fwiw, they're available on Youtube, in low-ish quality: D&D Cartoon playlist.
There are only 27 episodes, each just over 20 minutes, so it's easy enough to blow through them all in a week or two.

 

[teitan]

Maybe I was just too young at the time to catch the darker nuances, but calling the Dungeon Master "Dungeon Master", the unicorn, and a few other things I didnt care for. Like I said though Ive not watched it since it first aired. I'll have to ask my friend if hes got a copy of them maybe I'll watch it.

I never watched anime except for catching a Dragon Ball Z or Pokemon episode waking up having left the TV on so Im not familiar with its tropes. I can say I dont care for the animation style. Closest I came to watching anime was the 80s Voltron cartoon.

Yeah the show was hamstrung with requiring a "moral", a disagreeable character who was always going against the group and turns out wrong and learns their lesson, they couldn't show violence etc. Uni was their for children and some of the names are there to tie it in with D&D itself more fully. There wasn't a lot to it that was "D&D" really. It didn't tie in with the toy line that was on the shelf except for an appearance by Warduke and Strongheart in an episode, maybe Kelek? It was darker than He-man, which could skirt the edge on the language barriers with the PTC and FCC for kids.

I like some anime, I think Castlevania was fantastic for example, a great series adapting the source material very well and in a logical way that is entertaining and faithful but the ones you cite are Shonen and what I am afraid they would try to emulate with a modern D&D cartoon as opposed to allowing it to be its own thing. Hasbro has not had a good run with animated series lately, Transformers War for Cybertron was ehh at first and went downhill fast and they haven't had a "great" series since Prime after a string of great shows going back to the original. The less said about the various Joe reboots the better.

Mattel has done really well with MOTU, great viewership, two series that have multiple seasons and successful toylines. One a faithful continuation of the original stories and the other a reimagining of the series for the newer generation along the lines of the She-Ra refresh. Hasbro really needs to rethink their animation partners.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

For some perspective, these are the shows that ran alongside the D&D cartoon on CBS Saturday Morning during its' three year run.

 

[JEB]

There's never been a year since '84 without a Transformers cartoon

There wasn't a Transformer cartoon for a few years in the early 1990s. Longer if you don't count Generation 2 (which was just repackaged G1 episodes). But pretty much every year since then, correct.

 

[teitan]

There wasn't a Transformer cartoon for a few years in the early 1990s. Longer if you don't count Generation 2 (which was just repackaged G1 episodes). But pretty much every year since then, correct.

You are half correct! In Japan there was Headmaster and then Masterforce and then Victory! Then a strong of specials until Beast Wars which had its own series of anime attached to it as well. The best of the Japanese though was Car Robots.

Best D&D cartoon though is Record of the Lodoss War.

 

[JEB]

You are half correct! In Japan there was Headmaster and then Masterforce and then Victory! Then a strong of specials until Beast Wars which had its own series of anime attached to it as well. The best of the Japanese though was Car Robots.

Best D&D cartoon though is Record of the Lodoss War.

Right, G1 continued in Japan for several years, but Zone (1990 OVA) was the last G1 cartoon (Japanese or otherwise). TF: G2 premiered in 1993, and then Beast Wars first aired in 1996 (Japan 1997). So if you count G2, there's a gap between 1990 and 1993; if you don't, between 1990 and 1995. And something Transformers pretty much every year after that.

Agreed on Lodoss War, however. (Legend of Vox Machina probably feels more like an actual D&D game, though.)

 

[R_J_K75]

For some perspective, these are the shows that ran alongside the D&D cartoon on CBS Saturday Morning during its' three year run.

View attachment 262426View attachment 262424 View attachment 262425

Wow I remember a lot of those.,,,"BROTHER"! Howd Hulk Hogan get his own cartoon? I always knew it was time to go outside and get into trouble when the two local bowling shows came on after Saturday cartoons were over. Beat the Champ and Bowling for Dollars. It was hilarious, me and a few friends were sitting around drinking after watching a hockey game and we came across a Beat the Champ revival. I was astonished it was still on the air. All I could think of was King Pin and laugh. I think it was shot in a bowling alley a few blocks from my house, but you'd think these guys were in the Superbowl the way the contestants and announcers were acting.

 

[teitan]

Right, G1 continued in Japan for several years, but Zone (1990 OVA) was the last G1 cartoon (Japanese or otherwise). TF: G2 premiered in 1993, and then Beast Wars first aired in 1996 (Japan 1997). So if you count G2, there's a gap between 1990 and 1993; if you don't, between 1990 and 1995. And something Transformers pretty much every year after that.

Agreed on Lodoss War, however. (Legend of Vox Machina probably feels more like an actual D&D game, though.)

On Vox, yes. Right down to the perverted Gnome. Even in my DCC game it gets downright silly. They named a troll making pies out of paupers and children Petunia and hatched a plan to get him to the mountains so he can make his pies for his goblin friends with mountain goats instead.

 

[MNblockhead]

I dont have kids so I wouldnt know, but do young kids even watch cartoons anymore? Would this even interest kids these days?

Sure they do. Lots. Yes, if made for kids by producers and creators with experience making successful kids cartoons, who also had a respect and love for the source material, I think that they could make the cartoon appeal to both kids and nostalgic adults.

 

[MNblockhead]

How do you see the characters arriving in whatever D&D setting the reboot is going to use? The magical roller coaster or something else? curious

Keep the magic roller coaster fun ride. They sill exist and actually there seem to be more multi-media style rides than traditional roller coasters in many theme parks these days. Kids will still relate. Its iconic. Keeping it would keep true to the source material while still being relatable to kids who have had no exposure to the source material.

 

[MNblockhead]

I never watched anime except for catching a Dragon Ball Z or Pokemon episode waking up having left the TV on so Im not familiar with its tropes. I can say I dont care for the animation style. Closest I came to watching anime was the 80s Voltron cartoon.

Regarding anime, give "Deathnote" and "Attack on Titan" a try. With Attack on Titan, stick with it for the first few episodes. There are some conventions in Anime that may annoy those not used to anime, such as the over-wrought narration of feelings or the over the top expression of emotions. But AoT is not too bad in this regard. It is definately worth sticking with it. It has very rich story telling and great action scenes. Death note is just a good supernatural police procedural where you see the story from both the "good guys" and "bad guys" actions, wondering how it will all resolve. Both were very good. These were how my son got this old man into anime a bit. I'm still not an anime fan, but every genre has great stand-out works.

 

[DarkCrisis]

Awesome, but I fear it will end up looking like a Steven Universe style instead of a pseudo-anime style. I guess that depends on the tone. Looks at Teen Titans and Thundercats reboot...

 

[MNblockhead]

Fwiw, they're available on Youtube, in low-ish quality: D&D Cartoon playlist.
There are only 27 episodes, each just over 20 minutes, so it's easy enough to blow through them all in a week or two.

Thanks for sharing. Do you know the link for the unofficial cartoon of the last episode? Someone took the script and using artwork from the entire series put together the final show. It was really quite good. But I didn't bookmark/save it.

 

[Corinnguard]

Keep the magic roller coaster fun ride. They sill exist and actually there seem to be more multi-media style rides than traditional roller coasters in many theme parks these days. Kids will still relate. Its iconic. Keeping it would keep true to the source material while still being relatable to kids who have had no exposure to the source material.

I was thinking that the characters in the reboot could be playing an actual D&D game when they have a Jumanji moment. When they come to in whatever D&D setting the reboot uses, they have become their D&D characters.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Awesome, but I fear it will end up looking like a Steven Universe style instead of a pseudo-anime style. I guess that depends on the tone. Looks at Teen Titans and Thundercats reboot...

this one? I thought it was pretty good

 

[DarkCrisis]

this one? I thought it was pretty good

This one: