Lucy Lawless as Goldmoon in animated DL

[DM-Rocco]

Well, as was pointed out, your lowered expectations will be your return from the movie. Her voice is not necessarily indicative of the production values of the movie. My worry lies in how they tell the story, how the animation holds up, and how the other voices fair.

My chief amusement here is her ignorance. She refers to Goldmoon as a Native American. Hmmm, now while she may be a plains type native, the character, I can assure you with all accuracy, is not Native American. It's not like it's a slip of the tongue either, as she eludes to it several times.

That is my point exactly. She has no clue about what is going on.

Now, in fairness to her, I have seen her in other things than Xena, and she holds her own as an actress, but she always has elements of Xena in those other roles. Will she alone break this movie, no. Even if they dress her up to look just like Xena and have her do that stupid battle cry she won't break the movie. It will mostly come down to the movie adapated screen play versus the book, the stylings of the director and most importantely, the way the world is drawn.

Great art can make up for a lot of horrible acting. Bad animation and art will break this movie. If they use animators that don't use proper proportions and go for more of an animie style then I, and a great many others, will greatly lose interest. If they try and keep proper proportions and have rich backgrounds, that will make up for a lot of the cast.

I have jumped the gun and said it will suck. Until I see some art and hear some voice I will not change my opinion of the movie. Holywood really likes to put out crap and then wonder why no one is going to the movies. Until I see a trailer, this is just another in a long line of crap that Holywood is trying to make a buck on rather than the great epic it should be.

 

[DM-Rocco]

Except for the fact that Weis & Hickman have script approval, I have to agree with DM Rocco on this one. Just seems that everyone involved is merely "ok", I don't see anyone exceptional or who seems to put passion into their art.

I have had lunch with Weis a few times and we talked about a movie many times. SHe has told me they have rejected many script ideas in the past, so it is great to see that she has at least approved the script. That means that it will hold mostly true to the books, cause that is why they have rejected things like this in the past.

I am not concerned about the script. It is everything else that bothers me. Someone here said they should lock them in a room and have them supervise everything. I think they should do that too.

 

[Nightfall]

And if they did a live action movie and that blew chunks, would you accept that? I'm sorry but unless they got a budget equal to that of Lord of the Rings, I honestly don't see this picture coming off good in live action version.

Also while Elmore did do most of the art, that doesn't (in my mind) preclude someone else being able to equal Elmore. Not saying I think these guys are Gonzo good or even Miazayaki(sp) good, but I'm all for giving them a chance.

As for Lawless' comments, I'm willing to admit I'm a tad upset but not enough to get annoyed with it or believe this movie won't take off. Until we see definitive results one way or another, I'm willing to err on the side of Positive Energy Plane and see how it turns out.

Admittedly some might be wondering about it, especially since Dragons of Autumn Twilight isn't as good as the rest, but hey beginnings are less important (some times) than endings.

So I say give it a go.

Rocco,

Your opinions are fine. I just don't agree with them, especially that a studio can't do as good as Elmore.

 

[Klaus]

See, this is the problem with people like Lucy Lawless doing someone like Goldmoon. Here is her interview:

I just did the voice of an animated cartoon for Paramount, called Dragonlance. Obviously it's a fantasy story, with gods and monsters -- (no lesbian subtext). I never felt I nailed animated performance before, so wanted to get a handle on it.


I played a character called "Goldmoon," a Native American. We played around with accents awhile. I didn't know she was Native A till I got there and so didn't have time to research the accent (not many of those where I come from). More staccato! More commanding! More warm! Less disjointed! . . . Ummm, do you just want me to do Xena? Ahh, yes! That's it, do Xena! The voice is perfect! So warm, so commanding, so . . . yeah, yeah, let's get on with it.


It was actually really fun. At last I have done something my friends can actually watch. My son is gratified that I am not playing a bad guy. He can't stand me going to BSG every day to be mean to humans.


Oh well, it's a living!

L


WTF?

Oh well, it's a living? Do you want me to just do Xena? HELL NO!!!

My God this movie will blow more chunks than a Elder Air Elemental.

"Oh well, it's a living" refers to her son not liking that she is playing the bad guy in Galactica. As in "mu son doesn't like it, but oh well, it's a living". Chill.

As for Goldmoon being Native American, the Que-Shu have pretty much always been portrayed as having a very Native-American-style vibe. Go check Keith Parkinson's amazing portrayal of Goldmoon and Riverwind. He's practically Wind In His Hair (from Dances With Wolves).

 

[Nightfall]

*cheers on Klaus* You da man Klaus.

Hey how about we get Klaus to do the art work instead of those "professionals" Rocco? That make you happy? Then you can complain all you want! *is teasing...sort of*

 

[Umbran]

I am not concerned about the script.

Well, if you aren't worried about the script, Lawless should not be a problem - because what goes on in the fights should be in the script, and Goldmoon wasn't what we'd call a major combatant. There'll be no battle yell if she's not doing the fighting.

As for Lawless's comments about "Native American" - first off, Riverwind and Goldmoon are very thinly veiled Native Americans, so it is a valid description. Secondly - she's likely writing for a more general audience who don't know diddly about Dragonlance. She's not trying for technical accuracy, she's trying for a description people will grok, and that's the only ready short term.

 

[Nightfall]

Yeah I mean Umbran's right. The only fighting Goldmoon ever did in ALL the series comes on like one scene. It's a major scene granted but even then she's like "Gee I didn't like that. So no more fighting for me." She's not what we'd call a 3rd edition or even a 2nd edition cleric power. Just a plain old "divine" spellcaster with a nice staff.

 

[Filby]

To have an animated cartoon of Dragonlance under the supervision of the man who created Ghostbusters and X-Men Saturday morning cartoons is an insult to the rich world that is Dragonlance. They will not spend the time or the money to make it anything special. I would be surprised if it was a step above G.I. Joe and most likely they will do some stupid Animie like pokemon.

You're severely underestimating the capacity of animation to convey a good story. If this guy's past work has been aimed at kids, well, that's as much the network's and production company's doing, if not more so, than the director's. And don't forget that many good directors come from humble roots.

 

[Nightfall]

Thank you Filby for pointing that out.

 

[Umbran]

And don't forget that many good directors come from humble roots.

And, however humble his roots, let us note that the director has already earned several awards. Quote from Animation World Magazine:

"Long a fore-runner on the animation front, he has won numerous industry awards including the 1999 Monitor for best director, a Genesis Award and double Emmy nominations for episodes of Captain Planet and The Real Ghostbusters. "