#specifically the who framed roger rabbit version

[axeyew]

life is really only what you make it, stand right up and show you can take it. make life worthwhile, c'mon and smile, darn ya smile. > swap dream belongs to song_a

[universallydelegated]

so to be clear, there's like 2 different versions of your smiling critters toon au. an in-universe version and an extra meta version

Yes(?)? I think so? Er, I think I understand what you mean, Anon. Actually, I might as well take the time to explain this huh...

My Toon AU is basically the concept of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The Smiling Critters show is a show, with its actors being Toons (the Smiling Critters).

Toons are beings from another universe called the Tooniverse--a world parallel to ours, with a portal connected in Hollywood California. This is where all Toons come from! Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, etc. This includes ALL animated figures, even those from Japanese anime! There are specific terms that label these types of toons too, but that's something for a different post.

(There's also the Puppetverse, but that can also be a later discussion.)

Toons live harmoniously with humans, and many find jobs same as us. They're all integrated in! But most toons find jobs as actors in shows or movies.

In the case of the Smiling Critters, they were offered a position to help make the "Smiling Critters" children's show a reality, and they agreed. After fourteen long, but beloved seasons of filming, the Smiling Critters decided to take a short break before they continued onto Season 15.

This is when Playtime Co., a popular Toy Company, approached them about a new opportunity--to have a role in the upcoming Season 3 of "Poppy Playtime", the horror show that Playtime Co. had been releasing.

Intrigued by something new, they agreed to join and film for "Poppy Playtime", and here we are now, post-production!

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 10/10/2023

by dry volume, this post is 80% talking about gallery walls. tl;dr : do not buy or hang up things you do not like in a vague attempt to make your house look more grownup ONLY put up things you love, mat your art to give it visual room to breathe.

listening

had a playlist of the james bond theme songs on while i was deep cleaning my kitchen and the line "YOU GOT TO GIVE THE OTHER FELLA HELL!!! " from SPECIFICALLY the guns 'n roses cover of live and let die (even though the playlist had the correct mccartney version) has been THOROUGHLY stuck in my brain for forty eight hours.

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reading

academic transphobia to follow:

an anti-reading section, for once. Retraction Watch (site that tracks academic paper retractions and major academic beef like when someone is stripped of tenure for fraud, formerly my beloved) published an op-ed by an anthropologist TERF who is Big Mad she got called out by her professional association for trying to submit a conference talk that amounted to hate speech against her trans colleagues in the name of the stupid fucking largely disproven sexing skeletons thing. the comments have devolved into the professor sock puppeting anyone who goes "hey RW why did you platform this?"

would be very interested to hear from RW about how a retracted conference talk has the same impact on the scientific community as a retracted paper, but we'll fucking see. i think RW provides an important service to the scientific community (they are the most indepth and thorough tracker of retractions, more so than the actual publishers) but this is a fucking weird move

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watching

rewatched Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988, dir. Zemeckis) for fic research. GOD this movie is fucking good. it performs a minor animation miracle every thirty seconds.

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playing

nothing to report

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making

by popular demand (four people), some thoughts about gallery walls. some discourse on the method, if you will. i went with a gallery wall bc i like the look and i had an extremely large blank wall to fill bc this apartment is slightly too big for me. the string lights remind me very much of my dorm rooms but cool lamps have been few and far between down here.

how to get art (and why/caveats)

i honestly don't have a ton of direct collecting advice here other than "have you tried going to a lot of thrift stores". i cheat bc both my parents were architects who collected art, everyone in my family dabbles in fine art, and my sister has her bachelors in art history. so i am awash in paper, constantly. i grew up with a set of flatfiles and a closet full of spare frames. i recognize most people do not grow up like this.

with that caveat out of the way, how do i actually get my art? usually one piece at a time over a very long period of time. there's a postcard on my gallery wall i got in 2009. this is a game you will be playing for the rest of your life as you discover things you like and your tastes evolve.

it is VITAL that you love every piece on your walls. no filler ikea canvases unless you actually like them. the instant you start thinking "oh i need a landscape to look Grownup" you have to strangle that thought in the cradle. there are no rules, especially in art. put whatever the fuck you want up on your walls with no regard for the public's taste.

i feel like "i should buy and put up more art" is something that often falls into a vague Grownup Improvement Goal (like budgeting) bc it is an Grownup Improvement Goal and not bc they actually want to buy and put up more art. fortunately for everyone, you do not have to buy or put up Morally or Socially Improving art that will impress some vague category of grownups, bc we don't fucking live in victorian times.

most importantly you do not need to spend much (or in some cases any) money to put things on your walls. getting the effect you want (fancy washi tape, matching frames) may take some money, but using the printer at work and stealing some scotch tape is free.

how to get art (actual advice this time)

i feel a little silly typing this all out but i really like reading other chewsdayposters' processes, and it is really helpful for me a lot of the time to have someone say: actually there is this complete other way of doing something you have never considered bc u did not grow up with it

i ask you: do you have a stack of sentimental papers somewhere in your home? congrats you have some frameable items. a thing does not need to be Fine Art to be in a frame to go on the wall and make you happy. tape up a birthday card. put a quilt up on your wall. pushpin a label from a jar of pickled herring bc it reminds you of your grandma. frame a beloved tshirt. this is a martha stewart ass statement but things that are not traditional paper art on your walls will add variety and whimsy to your home.

other places for art that are not thrift/estate/yard sales:

i do believe that making your own art, including a $3 paint-by-numbers kit, will fix something in your brain. it's very similar to how i personally have to go stand with my feet in a body of water twice a year or THE SLUDGE smothers my brain

your favorite weird indie bands are almost certainly selling posters on bandcamp even if they're not currently on tour

i like the artists' co-op justseeds for art that deals with "social, environmental, and political engagement" like my beloved "fuck space tourism" poster

start a "good lines" or equivalent "art i like" tag on here and buy prints when u have the money. even if artists here don't have a shop open or don't have the specific piece u want as a print, ask if u can throw them an appropriate amount of money on venmo or something and get it printed locally or online. ive had good luck with vistaprint and they have rolling sales

do you like a piece of art in the public domain, like something from a museum? print it out. put it in a frame. no it's not as nice as a professional print but it's free if you do it at work and now it's on your wall

fuck around on wikimedia commons and the internet archive. i particularly love pulp magazine covers and little illustrative insets for out of date astronomy books

non- and semi-consumable supplies

if u put $25 into supplies u can use for many many other projects (i assume you probably have some of the following list), you can make any frame nice and save approximately a gajillion dollars.

good utility knife and extra blades

hammer

tape measure

level (comes with most command hook packs, you can also use your phone)

stepstool, sturdy chair, or patient tall person

assorted nails (you can buy a little tackle box with assorted nails from most big box stores)

little squeezy tube of DryDex spackle ($5) and putty knife or honestly old credit card to fill in nail holes when you move out

OR command strips and hooks

matboard that is white on one side and black on the other (~$8 at big box craft stores). you can use this to cut your own mats and/or replace a kind of weird back on an otherwise good frame

most printer paper these days is acid free. steal some from your workplace.

assorted small brushes

little thing of acrylic paint in whatever color you want your frames to be (~$1.50 ea). you can also spray paint your frames for a different finish but i don't have the space or patience in this apartment

sandpaper or sacrificial emery board

i would further recommend a little set of letter size desktop drawers/mini flatfiles like this to keep all the small stuff you want to frame in one place. i have sentimental art i don't want to frame in one drawer and things i do want to frame in the other. this has been very good for my brain bc it's all safely and flatly contained out of sight, and it's easy to flick through a stack of things i already love when i need one more small thing or one warmer thing to fill a gap

frames

the good news for us is that frames and art are a fucking bitch to move and people frequently give them away. your local discount and thrift stores are going to be fucking awash in small frames 8.5"x11" and under for under $3 each. when you are thrifting or estate saling or yard saling or generally gallivanting about on a weekend, pay little attention to any art actually in a frame. is the frame in okay shape? can you repaint it without too much trouble? will it clean up all right? does it have the glass? can you insert the glass from a different frame into the one you actually want without any thrift store employees noticing?

for weird sizes above 8.5x11 and outside poster size that cannot be easily found at thrift stores, the big box craft stores here in america have roughly quarterly frame sales and frequent coupons. do NOT get your shit professionally framed at michaels bc they upcharge by about 3x compared to other local framers (both on the east coast and here in tx).

i went through two periods of seriously buying frames (last year of high school and the year i moved into the original lair, when/where i thought i was going to stay for a few years) and ive swapped in out and between those dozen or so total. once you have built up a little stock of frames that fit the general sizes of art you tend to collect, ur pretty good for a while. the only new "frame" i bought for my gallery wall was a little floating shelf.

mats

the absolute biggest fucking thing u can do to make your art look nicer is mat that bitch, which gives it room to breathe. if your art does not have a built in border or a lot of white space (see 9, 12, and 13 in the gallery wall below, as well as 8 which has a ton of negative space with the car door), you need a frame bigger than your art. you can google the suggested proportions yourself or decide with your heart.

i am a big fan of a very slapdash floating mat, which means cutting a piece of printer paper to size or flipping around the paper that tells you what size the frame is and slapping your art right on top of that, sometimes with a lick of gluestick to keep it in place. generally a floating mat means a sort of 3D matting technique but we don't have time for that. do not do this printer paper technique long-term with a particularly beloved or expensive piece of art.

u can also buy pre-cut mats at Michaels or Joann’s for not too too many dollars, or cut your own with the acid-free matboard ($10 for a poster board sized piece) and a new utility knife blade and a steady hand. or, if you're lucky, it comes with the frame.

gallery wall specific advice

there aren't any rules. actual galleries and museums tend to put the center of a piece or group of pieces at 57" from the floor. you may want to fuck around with that depending on your own height, the space you have, and the pieces you own.

a gallery wall does not need to be 24 pieces like this one. it can be any number.

this is the first one i have done mostly by myself and it is the most color-restricted one i have ever put up. it is also the one with the most successful repeating motif (circles). usually i grab the art i want most to go together and send pics to my art historian sister who will then arrange it for me and say shit like “do you have another small blue thing for the top left” or “do you have two pieces that are warmer and larger” or "different frame for the middle left"

look at a lot of other gallery walls. personally i like the ones that have non-framed and non-square things in them. ideally mine would have photographs and taxidermy in it for maximum weirdness. but u cannot go wrong with a grid, or all horizontal pieces, or all vertical pieces. for a full wall puzzle piece like this, u do not generally want an american southwest four corners meeting situation. stagger it. lay everything out on the floor and move it around eighteen times (this is the worst part). the gallery wall as a whole does not have to be perfectly aligned to the ceiling or the back of your couch or what have you. it can be sort of an organic blob shape along the top and bottom edges.

my wall

this soothing blue and green wall with wood tone pops has pieces from almost half my life. it skews later in college/recent acquisitions, as i sharpened my taste for limited-number prints and had a car to go to thrift stores with, but that’s just how this specific wall came together

the list below should tell you what each piece is, how much i paid for it (and the cost of the frame if applicable), and when i got it. this wall has most of the Nice Art in my collection that is signed/numbered/in some way slightly fancier bc it is the wall i stare at when on my couch.

embroidered Scorpio constellation hoop, birthday gift from my sister (free, came with hoop, i used some makerspace felt and batting to properly back and finish it much later so free with my tuition), nov 2016

numbered and signed print of an italianate cityscape, $5 and came with the frame and mat from an estate sale, i put a new back on it with scrap matboard so the back of the print wasn't just naked, fall 2021

signed print of a new england landscape, came with the frame and the mat but is stained right over the signature :( $2.50 from salvation army, one of the last things i bought in spring 2023 before i moved

signed original multimedia on board collage by my sister from her like second ever gallery show, $69 in winter 2022 for the art, the frame was from a free pile i gave a new acid free back with scrap matboard. that was such a good free pile i got a huge pile of frames from that

magazine page (idk which one either) i saved in high school (i graduated in 2013) or very early college, frame was from a free pile by the side of the road in summer 2021 and repainted with some white acrylic paint. it is float matted with printer paper. maybe a dollar for the paint? i definitely did not buy the magazine

this is an out of print poster by one of my favorite living artists (Josh McPhee) so i emailed him and asked if i could get it printed myself if i threw him $25 and he said yes. i think it cost $22 to get it printed professionally, the frame is basics by studio decor ($20 for a 2-pack) (i spent so much money and time on this one bc i wanted a very specific look for a very specific space in my kitchen in the old apartment), feb 22

signed numbered woodcut by Roger Peet ($20 in august 2020), another studiobasics frame that was i think $8 in summer 2022. float matted with acid free matboard and not printer paper.

gigantic fuckoff unsigned unlabeled poster i bought bc she reminds me of the Barnes & Noble murals, $10 at goodwill (came with the frame, half off) sep 2023

star chart from the US Naval Observatory that was on a free shelf at Amherst College when i was taking a class there in fall 2018, another studiobasics frame (idk when i bought this one) so under $10. float mount on acid free printer paper.

plaster frog mirror from an estate sale in spring 2021, i do not remember how much i paid for it but it was not more than $5

oh goddamnit this is a new block so of course it restarted the numbering. fatal off by a power of ten error, very typical for astronomy. poster from a show i went to in college spring 2015, do not remember when i bought this sub-$10 studiobasics frame either, float mount on acid free printer paper.

signed poster from my roommate-at-the-time’s cousin’s band in fall 2014 (i can’t actually find the receipt but i did find an email from her cousin letting me know he shipped me and my roommate’s orders together lol) let’s say $20, another sub-$10 studiobasics frame of mysterious provenance.

moon map out of an old science book in high school, let’s be generous and say $10 for both the book and the frame (another studiobasics)

numbered but unsigned new year’s print from a local-ish print shop in massachusetts, $12 at savers with the frame, fall 2022

cover of a very fragile vintage paperback copy of raymond c/handler’s The Long G/oodbye i acquired in high school (could not have been more than a dollar or two), with a frame and mat that came in an ikea multipack my dad bought me in high school bc i had a set of l/ackadaisy miniposters i wanted to hang, looks like the closest modern equivalent is the EDSBRUCK, a single will run you about $12 today

postcard inherited from my grandpa’s collection of loose paraphernalia in 2010 (free but at what cost etc), frame is a studiobasics that come in a pack of 6 for $20 (less if you have a coupon) so let’s round down a smidge and say $3. don’t remember when i bought this frame either, it is matted with real matboard bc the postcard and the back of the frame are so thin

“my heart is a fish” cross stitch (a reference to the imperial radch trilogy of books) i made this and did not date it but i know i blogged about it on here at some point between 2014-2018, i remember having to buy five colors of thread but owned the hoop already, again back and finished it properly much later with maskerspace batting and felt, let’s say $5 not counting my time

postcard from @believerindaydreams last winter in another studiobasics frame and float mounted with acid free matboard.

tiny moon mirror from salvation army in early spring 2015, under $5

CD mirror from Vapor95 ($125? preorder in fall 2021), came with velcro command strips which was very nice of them

a $300 original multimedia collage (the first one my sister ever made, when she was in middle school) i bought in spring 2021 from her first show, sitting on a $5 acrylic shelf from five below i bought last month

22-24 are national geographic maps, 50c each at an estate sale last month, had to buy $7 worth of binder clips and pushpins to put them up bc i don’t fucking know what box they’re in and didn’t have time to rip the whole closet of boxes im ignoring apart

a slightly longer tl;dr: do not buy or hang up things you do not like in a vague attempt to make your house look more grownup ONLY put up things you love, thrift and repaint your frames if possible but you can get very cheap studiobasics ones if you want them all to match, acid-free mat your art for preservation and to give it room to breathe, keep a little drawer or box of stuff you love and might want to frame

[sineala]

Hi how are you?

I was today years old when I found that in Robinson Crusoe there is character whose name is Friday. I was told that Friday now cold mean "a true friend and companion" and when people call someone their Friday they mean "a good friend".

I at once remembered Tony and his AI Friday. Did he call her that after the Robinson Crusoe's Friday or is there some other meaning in comic?

This is true, but I think there's also a second layer of reference in here.

I haven't actually read Robinson Crusoe but my understanding is, yes, that the expression "Robinson Crusoe and his man Friday" led to the term Man Friday being used to describe a very loyal servant or personal assistant -- but, specifically, a man.

There is an equivalent term "Girl Friday," referring to a woman. A lot of people's main association with this version of the term -- it was certainly the first thing I thought of -- is the 1940 screwball comedy film His Girl Friday, where Cary Grant plays a newspaper editor and the Girl Friday character being referred to in the title is his star reporter (and also ex-wife).

So I would assume that since Tony's AI Friday is female and that she performs investigative tasks similar to that of a reporter -- Robinson Crusoe's man Friday doesn't do anything like that, as far as I know -- she is specifically intended to be a reference to the movie His Girl Friday, which is in turn referencing Robinson Crusoe's Friday.

In fact, in Friday's first appearance (IM v3 #53) we see Pepper refer to her as Tony's Girl Friday:

In this particular panel, Friday's appearance and her dialogue is also obviously referencing a different comedy film, the 1988 movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit; Friday is clearly being drawn to look like Jessica Rabbit, and what she's saying is Jessica Rabbit's famous line from the movie. This is why Tony's saying that there are glitches in Friday's programming, because this is probably not what he wants Friday to be doing. So there's another comedy movie reference right there, which I think is another point in favor of Friday's name being a reference to His Girl Friday.

So, yeah, I think that they're referring to the movie His Girl Friday, but that also the movie is ultimately referring to Robinson Crusoe.

[aparticularbandit]

Yo, potential new bestie, and welcome!

I call myself Bandit, I'm at least 30, and I write a bunch of stuff!

Prompts are currently OPEN - but note it may take me a while to get to them. If I get to them. I can be really slow.

Currently, I have been liveblogging my first time through the Danganronpa series.

I'm so glad you're here, and feel free to check more specifics below the cut!

Credit for my current mobile banner and my current pfp goes to @princescar! Who did a fantastic job!!!!

General Links:

Tumblr Fic Masterlist

AO3

America Chavez RP Account

Note for Minors

Regarding Asks

Things I Will NOT Write:

Smut

Graphic Sexual Content

What I Write:

Marvel: specifically the MCU versions of Wanda Maximoff, Agatha Harkness, Agnes Bohner, America Chavez, and the Ancient One and a version of Viv Vision that draws on the comics to fit within the MCU

Glass Onion: primarily centered on the Shitheads, with the exception of Miles (and the inclusion of Helen)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit: specifically something I refer to as Timeline Canon (part one, part two), focusing on Jessica Rabbit, among others, although I can write this (and other Toon shenanigans) more broadly

Mrs. Fletcher

Danganronpa

Jane the Virgin: specifically Roisa (Rose Solano/Luisa Alver)

Anything Else Found Within My AO3

[twistedtummies2]

Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes - Honorable Mentions

Welcome to A Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes! During this month-long event, I’ll be counting my Top 31 Favorite Fictional Detectives, from movies, television, literature, video games, and more!

With that said, the countdown shall start tomorrow. Before we get to it, I want to go over some Honorable Mentions. These were Twelve Terrific Detectives who ALMOST made the cut, but not quite…

Benoit Blanc.

Combine Tennessee Williams with Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, and you’ll basically have Benoit Blanc. Played by James Bond himself, of all people, Daniel Craig, Blanc is probably the most significant old-school detective character to come out within the past few years. The central sleuth of the film “Knives Out,” and its sequel, “Glass Onion,” Blanc is a Southern gentleman detective; a slightly eccentric private eye whose somewhat cartoonish attributes bely a steely mind and equally iron-clad will. The films are actually inspired by Christie’s works, and give a sort of Americanized view of the same sort of fiction. They play out with a similar sense of humor and style, but with a few unique twists of their own. I’m mostly including Blanc here because I’m 90% certain that if I DIDN’T, someone would call me out on it; nevertheless, he’s definitely worthy of praise.

2. C. Auguste Dupin.

Of all the detectives to come throughout this event, arguably none are as IMPORTANT as C. Auguste Dupin. This French gentleman sleuth was the invention of my favorite author, Edgar Allan Poe, who wrote three short tales featuring this character. The Dupin Trilogy – consisting of the stories “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “The Mystery of Marie Roget,” and “The Purloined Letter” – is widely considered to be the birth of the modern detective story, and Dupin is just as widely credited as the first proper detective character in literature. Characters like Sherlock Holmes, Father Brown, and the aforementioned Hercule Poirot likely never would have existed if it weren’t for Poe’s “studies in ratiocination.” While this definitely makes Dupin worth noting – especially since I am a huge fan of Poe, and two of his Dupin stories (“Marie Roget” is sort of underbaked, in my opinion) – there’s not that much to say about the character, and he hasn’t captured the public imagination as strongly as other detectives who would follow him. Therefore, I don’t think I can, in all fairness, give him a place in the Top 31. For being the first of many, however, he has at least earned an Honorable Mention.

3. Eddie Valiant, from Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

I’m specifically talking about the movie version here; I’ve never read the (much darker) book the famous film is based on. On that note: “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” is a bizarre little picture, which combines literal cartoon hijinks with the trappings of a film noir styled crime story. The story focuses on hard-boiled detective Eddie Valiant – played by Bob Hoskins, in perhaps my favorite of all his roles (well...more like second favorite) – going through the wacky world of Toontown to try and solve the titular mystery. He’s joined on his quest by Roger Rabbit himself, Roger’s human bride, Jessica, and a talking taxi cab. (Because why not?) Throw in encounters with tons and tons of famous cartoon characters, from Mickey Mouse to Bugs Bunny and so many more in-between, and it’s not a surprise this film has become so beloved. Eddie, himself, is a really fun character; much of the joy of the picture comes from the fact Hoskins generally plays the character pretty straight, which makes his reactions to the zany insanity of the cartoon world around him all the more hilarious.

4. Encyclopedia Brown.

I felt I had to include at least one “kid detective” in the bunch, and out of all the characters I could have chosen there, perhaps none are more emblematic of the genre than Encyclopedia Brown. The titular protagonist of a series of children’s detective books, Leroy “Encyclopedia” Brown is a highly observant and intelligent young man, who sells his deductive abilities the way most kids stereotypically work lemonade stands. Encyclopedia is the son of a police chief, who works and lives in the fictional seaside town of Idaville, U.S.A. Despite his youth, Encyclopedia often seems smarter than his old man, as he is extremely skilled at noticing little details that other people miss, and thus uses these inconsistencies to piece together the problem. He even has his own Mini-Moriarty to match wits with, in the form of a cunning but nasty town bully known as Bugs Meany. (Yes, that is apparently his real name.) While not especially complex, the Encyclopedia Brown books are still staples of children’s literature, being reprinted and pastiched numerous times since the 1960s. When I think of kid detectives, he’s probably the first character that comes to mind.

5. Jake Gittes, from Chinatown.

Jack Nicholson as a noir-style detective in some slick shades. (pauses) Do I really need to say anything else about why this one is awesome? I think that pretty much sums it all up in a nutshell. XD Honestly, more people are probably curious why Jake here isn’t in the actual countdown. Well, the fact of the matter is that I just don’t have a lot to SAY about Jake, and I blame this partially on the fact he only shows up in one movie. Most (though not all) of the detectives on the main countdown come from serialized pieces, having multiple episodes, installments, or general stories to their name. With only one film to his credit, Jake isn’t a bad detective, but it’s just hard to think of a whole lot to talk about with him, specifically, and he doesn’t stand out AS much compared to all the others who have so many appearances and so much more development behind them.

6. Johnny Dollar, from Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar.

Most of the detectives to come are the residents of film, television, and literature, primarily. However, there’s one medium that I feel doesn’t get enough credit nowadays: radio. Back in the golden age of radio, especially in America, detective radio programs were VERY popular; crime and mystery were hot topics, and there were TONS of shows and detective characters to choose from. One of my favorites was Johnny Dollar. Dollar is an insurance investigator, whose desire to help his clients often leads to him taking on cases larger than one would expect, and he has to adventure and snoop around a great deal to figure out the problem and bring those responsible to justice. The character was so popular, they would even have him break the fourth wall of reality at times, with guest stars who literally just played themselves (such as Vincent Price, who, in one episode, joins Dollar as a guest, acting as both client and sidekick at the same time). The character was played by several actors over the series run, the most popular arguably being Bob Bailey, who tackled the role for five whole years out its near-fifteen-year run. Johnny Dollar was so popular he would later be adapted into a TV film and a graphic novel, but most people will remember this intrepid investigator best for his radio adventures.

7. Mark McPherson, from Laura.

Played by Dana Andrews, Mark McPherson – the NYPD police detective protagonist of the classic film “Laura” – is a character who is sort of in the same boat as Jake Gittes. I absolutely love this movie; much like “Chinatown,” I think this is one of the absolute best examples of film noir storytelling there’s ever been. Not only that, but the film actually works as a legitimate mystery, with a couple of surprising twists and turns; something a lot of people don’t realize is that noir-style detective fiction doesn’t always focus on the mystery aspect of things, so it’s cool to see something that does while having all the other elements of that field. I also find it interesting how Mark’s character develops across the film, particularly in terms of his relationship to the titular character. However, beyond all that…again, I just don’t have a lot to say about McPherson, so I don’t think I can, in good conscience, give him placement in the Top 31.

8. Mike Hammer.

One of the most renowned noir-style detectives, private eye Mike Hammer really does live up to his name. He was originally created by author and actor Mickey Spillane, who wrote for Hammer in a series of books. Unlike some other sleuths of the era, such as Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe (the latter of whom won’t be on this countdown, apologies), Hammer isn’t just a hard-boiled cynic with a biting sense of wit that’s as sharp as his mind. He is a person with an outright vendetta, who goes after criminals with a stone-cold sense of focus and intensity. He is fiery and ferocious, not simply stopping but ATTACKING crime, as he harbors a deep-seated hatred for those who hurt other people for their own evil ends. His sense of morality and justice is a bit more ambiguous than most, as he is willing to bend and even break laws in order to see what he perceives as justice done, but at the same time has great respect for the police and is a highly patriotic figure. There’s a lot of gray areas to Hammer that make him stand out amongst the crowd of snap-brim-hat-toting detectives of this style and period. The character has been played excellently by a few actors, including Humphrey Bogart, Stacy Keach (my personal favorite, pictured here), and – get this – Mickey Spillane, the creator, himself! Talk about great casting!

9. Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.

I already talked about kid detectives with Encyclopedia Brown, but we mustn’t forget the ever-so-slightly more advanced stage of things: teenaged detectives. When it comes to that sub-genre, few have been as long-lasting as Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. These characters were the invention of Edward Stratemeyer: he was the head of the self-named publishing company Stratemeyer Syndicate, and acted as its editor and chief writer. Stratemeyer first created the Hardy Boys under the pseudonym “Franklin W. Dixon,” then later – wanting to create a female counterpart to fit into their universe, to appeal more to ladies – also thought up Nancy Drew, under the pseudonym “Carolyn Keene.” These pen names were important, as they allowed later ghost writers and other creators to publish the characters under the same oft-used pseudonym, that way Stratemeyer himself wouldn’t grow overtired due to all the other work he had to deal with. (This was a common practice back in the day.) The Hardy Boys were made in the late 1920s, and Nancy Drew first appeared in 1930; despite this age, not only are books still published and reprinted featuring these characters, but they’ve even been adapted to other media many times! In fact, as recently as 2019 there was a new Nancy Drew TV series, and in 2020 Hulu began airing a Hardy Boys series! That shows you, doesn’t it?

10. Richard Diamond.

This character was the invention of Blake Edwards, who is probably best-remembered today – especially when it comes to detective stories – for his comedy film series “The Pink Panther,” starring the determined but utterly dull-witted Inspector Clouseau. Before the antics of Clouseau, however, Edwards put his spin on the film noir genre with the radio production “Richard Diamond, Private Detective,” starring Dick Powell (pictured here, in costume for a promo photo). The series was a sort of semi-satire of the noir-style detective story, with a sarcastic and often tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, but also with a dark and dangerous edge that was typical of the genre. Even though what happened in it could be very funny (one of my favorite running gags was Elmer Fudd himself, Arthur Q. Bryant, as the voice of Diamond’s conscience), and the plots were sometimes absurd, it didn’t treat everything like a joke. When things got serious, you never doubted people could be hurt or worse. The radio show was so well-received that the character was later adapted into a TV series by the same title, featuring David Janssen as Diamond. The TV version was even more deliberately campy in tone, with Janssen’s Diamond as a somewhat “softer” character than Powell’s. Both are great (though I personally prefer the radio version), and well-worth looking up.

11. The Question.

As I said in the rules during my opening post, superhero characters are not going to be included here…depending on which superheroes you are talking about. Many superheroes can qualify as detectives, when you get down to it; most, if not all, are essentially fulfilling that role in their universe, by tackling crimes and facing foes that typical police can’t handle. However, there’s a big difference between a character like, say, Wonder Woman…and a character like The Question. True name Vic Sage, the Question is one of those characters you can basically consider a “super detective”: yes, they are included in the vein of the superhero genre, but the way they work is more like a classic detective than someone like Superman or the Grene Lantern. I use the DC analogies, by the way, because that is the company the Question hails from: originally created by rival company Charlton Comics, the Question was one of many Charlton characters “adopted” into the DC Universe when DC eventually bought out said rival. With his faceless demeanor, courtesy of a special mask, the Question is just as much a mystery as the crimes he seeks to solve. One of the more interesting elements of the character is that he has changed quite a lot over the years, with different writers putting a different spin on Vic Sage’s core philosophies and the kinds of adventures he goes on. Indeed, nowadays, Sage is not the ONLY Question; for a brief time, Gotham City police officer Renee Montoya – who had developed a romantic relationship with Vic – became the second Question. In typical comic book fashion, however, this was later retconned and Sage put on the mysterious mask once more. I was sorely tempted to include this character in the main list, but I actually haven’t read very many actual COMICS with the Question, so I don’t feel like it would be fair to do so.

12. Vincent Price’s Version of “The Saint.”

Our last Honorable Mention is kind of a case of cheating, I’ll admit, and that’s the main reason he IS just an Honorable Mention. Once again referring to my rules, I declared that characters like Arsene Lupin or William James Moriarty wouldn’t count here: while they have detective ELEMENTS, those characters I feel are really very different. They are what I would call “noble rogues,” characters more similar to Robin Hood than the aforementioned C. Auguste Dupin. The Saint is one of those characters…in his original format. In the books by Leslie Charteris, from which he originates, as well as in many other interpretations, Simon Templar – a.k.a. The Saint – is the so-called “Robin Hood of Modern Crime.” He is a gentleman thief who commits crimes against other criminals, for noble goals of his own. This, however, was NOT the case in the RADIO version of The Saint, which starred Vincent Price in the role of Templar. In the radio version, the character was softened up to be a more typical private detective, whose title of The Saint came from his impeccable manners and many good deeds. I absolutely loved this radio show; it’s one of my favorite detective radio programs of the period, and among my top ten Price pieces. HOWEVER, since this version of the Saint was an outlier to basically every other take on the same character, I didn’t feel like this one really ought to count in the Top 31. Sorry, Simon. I still love ya.

Tomorrow, the countdown begins in earnest, with Number 31! For clues in this event, I’ll be using quotes uttered by each detective featured in the main list. CLUE: “Be careful, Brain! Those are probably priceless fake artifacts!”

[shepswrath]

Could see a more modern day version of Who Framed Roger Rabbit with like. Specific plotpoints about newer animation styles and such, and the successor to the Dip in the original would be like. AI upscaling. Like yeah it looks better at first glance but is it.. really better? Is it not just a little bit.. scary? A little off? This will be my infection au. Maybe.

[fluffy-lovely-clouds]

Introduction/ Interest list!

Hiya, my name's Cloud |18| and this is my blog for fluffy things! I draw and do other stuff for underrated and older/nostalgic fandoms!

. If you recognize my art of anything else about me from a different blog, no you don't lol. (Look having this blog is like having a secret identity ok so I beg anyone who knows or figures me out to not rat me out plz)

. You know what, Imma just go ahead and say this in case anyone does figure me out. If you're weirded out, that's completely understandable but I want everyone to know that I stay on the sfw side of things, and by that I mean the really, REALLY sfw side.

. I also want people to understand that I do not have a fetish or kink or anything like that when it comes to this content. I ask any people who do to please respect that. I'm no kink shamer, I respect how you feel about it, but I see tickling the same way as I see hugging, cuddling, or kissing. For me it's just a good way of showing affection, bonding with someone, or having a good time! I just don't want any nsfw interactions please! If any nsfw accounts do interact, you're getting blocked!!

DNI: racism, homophobia, pedophilia, inc*st, etc. (You people should know bad from good)

. I also do NOT and will NOT draw real people!! I only draw and do stuff with fictional characters!!!

Ok, now that we got the standard rules down, here's my fandom list! Btw, I don't do commissions, just requests, so all my stuff's free lol!

• Just about any Disney movie, new or old (unless I haven't seen it but I'll either try and find it to watch or let you know I haven't!)

• Looney Tunes and other classics cartoons (Like Hanna-Barbera or Who Framed Roger Rabbit)

• Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends

• The Amazing World of Gumball

• Wander Over Yonder

• Fnaf

• Undertale (well this one's a maybe, I haven't been in the fandom for years now and when I was I didn't know too much about it but I'll try and catch up on it sometime)

• Super Giant Robot Brothers

• The Ghost and Molly Mcgee

• Parappa? (maybe)

• Muppets

• Kid Cosmic

• Welcome Home

• The Amazing Digital Circus

• Into/ Across the Spiderverse (this is the only Marvel content I'm really into, and I mean ONLY this specific version lol. I don't know heck about the Marvel Universe, sorry)I

• Super Mario Bros. Movie (emphasis on Movie, I barely know anything about the games lol. Man I am just so cultured/j)

• Spooky Month

[adarkrainbow]

Another short cartoon: Red Hot Riding Hood

I talked about Silly Symphonies, I talked about the Fleischer Studios... I had to complete the trio with Tex Avery. More precisely with their most famous cartoon of all time - “Red Hot Riding Hood”, the 1943 short that offered a quite modern and lustful retelling of “Little Red Riding Hood”. 

Be it through The Mask or Who Framed Roger Rabbit, you know this short one way or another. It was one of the landmarks of American cartoon animation. But let’s look at it from a fairytale perpective, shall we? 

# This short begins actually like a purely and entirely traditional “Little Red Riding Hood” retelling. In a beautiful forest you have a little ginger-haired girl in a red hood skipping through the woods, bringing her ill granny a basket of goodies, and there is a wolf waiting for her...  But then the story breaks as the wolf, the girl and the granny all shout at the narrator that they are tired of doing the same story over and over again, and they want to do something different, “new stuff”. Here we have one of the earliest examples of a genre that would latter be called “fractured fairytales”: the deliberate breaking of the usual pattern of fairytales for comical effect. And a very specific type at that, it isn’t the “Let’s change some details” fractured fairytale ; it isn’t a “let’s have two fairytales collide” fractured fairytale, but is a meta-fictional fractured fairytale where the characters themselves not only are conscious of their role in the story, of the nature of their story, and can interact with the narrative voice/storyteller. I have to admit, I do not know if this had ever been done before... If you find earlier example, don’t hesitate to share.

# A thing that should be talked about: the “faithful” rendition at the beginning of the short is an OBVIOUS jab at Disney’s very own Silly Symphonies. The outfit of the wolf is a clear parody/rip-off of the Big Bad Wolf’s outfit from Disney. Tattered red pants held by suspenders - one wolf is brown the other is black but both have a hat (a tall hat for Disney’s, a bowler hat for Tex Avery’s). You can’t get more obvious than that.

# So the cartoon begins all over with a new retelling - and it abandons the “Little” of the title, sign of the “childhood” of the character, for the term “Hot” as, as we will see, the story becomes a sexy and adult tale, not a “little” tale for “little” kids. And instead of taking place in a timeless countryside wood we change to 1) a modern and 2) urban setting: Hollywood at night, somewhere around the crossing between Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street. The same way the story has Red “growing up” into an adult version of herself, the very tale “grows up” into something more up-to-date and “adult” : from the timeless, cute woods of childhood we enter the city nightlife of adulthood.

# Of course the most obvious element of this adaptation is... LUST. This is a story about sex, and as sexual as a 40s cartoon can get. The Wolf isn’t anymore an hungry predator trying to eat a little girl ; but he becomes rather a lustful seducer obsessed with pretty girls who tries to “get” not a plump little morsel but a sexy nightclub worker at The Sunset Strip. I think the creators of the short actually thought they were completely reinventing the story by giving it an “adult” twist... When in fact they might have missed the dramatic irony of what they did. Because what this short does is just take back and put forward one of the underlying themes and hidden messages of the original story. “Little Red Riding Hood” was always a sexual tale - and I am not even just talking of the grim “folkloric” older tales. I am speaking of Perrault’s very own literary “Red Riding Hood”: in the moral at the end he explicitely compared the wolf to “seducing men” and the little girl to “young women walking the streets”, and he invites the reader to see the story as an allegory about the dangers of “woman-eating” men trying to seduce unsuspecting girls. It is all right there, in the text, very obvious. 

The thing is that the Brothers Grimm completely removed the sexuality of the tale, and so this is the “sanitized” version that arrived America. Hence my sincere belief that this Tex Avery short is one of the biggest example of an unknowingly correct adaptation. They tried to make the story more “adult” and thought they were reinventing it by crafting this new sexual fable - when in truth they just dug up the original message of the tale. 

# Of course I need to mention the few obligatory cartoon trivia, such as how the Wolf’s exaggerated cartoonish behavior in front of Red Riding Hood became one of the most iconic and influential “cartoon cliches” of the 20th century ; or how you can feel that this was a war-time movie due to the wolf trying to bribe Red with tires. Oh by the way: we see here again an update of the Wolf’s original “seduction”. In the original tale, the Wolf tricked the girl by inviting her to a more beautiful path where she gets distracted by, you know, the usual flowers and butterfly stuff - but here the Wolf is just trying to convince Red to come with him to the Riviera to start a “new life” of passionate romance, trying to bribe her with diamonds and pearls. In both cases we find back Perrault’s original moral: Be carefuly of sweet-tongued seducers, who try to trick you through their words. Always be careful when listening to the words of strangers that show out of nowhere and try to be a bit too kind with you. 

# I don’t know if the joke was planned or not, but the Wolf’s very own car is shown to be enormous. The “joke” I talk about is how the longest and biggest part of the car... is the HOOD. Turns out the Wolf has a bigger hood than Red herself X)

# Already a big change from the original story: Here, Red Riding Hood actually refuses to be bought by the Wolf’s sweet words and clearly shout a big “NO!” at his propositions before running away to her grandmother’s flat. The Wolf has to chase her down there. This is a BIG change from the original tales, where Red Riding Hood is fooled - and I do wonder if this isn’t because of the Silly Symphonies’ influence, due to Disney’s own Riding Hood story having the little girl being chased by the Wolf BEFORE he gets to her grandma’s house. 

# When the Wolf finally gets to Grandma’s house (here turned into a big penthouse at the top of a skyscrapper, known as “Grandma’s Joint - Come up and see me sometime”), we do have another element of the “fractured fairytale” genre: the inversion of roles for a surprising turn of events. Red Riding Hood, the sexy ginger-haired pin-up with a tiny red skirt, is replaced by her elderly, white-haired grandma who also wears red - but a long red dress. And here the grandmother acts as the polar opposite of her little girl: instead of rejecting an enamored wolf, she gets crazy over the clearly uninterested wolf. On one side, the grandma clearly is meant to be the “mirror-double” of her granddaughter, reversing the victim and prey relationship while also clearly wearing a red dress to show their relationship... But on the other side, the Grandmother DOES “turn” into the Wolf, like in the original tale: except here, it isn’t because the Wolf replaces her, but because she acts just like the Wolf - and thus she becomes the reflection of the Wolf, returning to him the same sexual harassment and lustful craziness he threw onto Riding Hood. 

We have a classic “hunter becomes prey” logic, and here we can maybe remember the ending of the Grimms version of the fairytale, where the wolf (well, the second wolf) ends up killed by the girls inside the house when he steps in - killed in a cooking pot, on top of that, clearly showing the inversion of roles. Except here eating has been replaced by loving: the harasser becomes the harassed. 

# I don’t have much to comment about the ending due to its very unique nature, which doesn’t really tie into the idea of parodying or adaptating fairytales, so I’ll just leave some general considerations here.

The ending we get in the short is that the Wolf, disgusted by women, decides to “kill himself” before he looks at another woman - and as Red Riding Hood appears on stage, he kills himself - only then to have his ghost reappear, just as lustful as before. On one side, this story ends like the Grimms’ story: with the death of the wolf. But on the other side, the short actually adds another element - the concept that the villain cannot change. I know this was done for the sake of a joke and being funny, but if you consider seriously the message brought on here, it is that: the Wolf learned from his bad behavior by being thrown into the same position he threw girls into ; he decides to stop being such a jerk... But he can only do so by killing himself, by destroying his own life - AND when his spirit/soul finally shows up... it does the very same thing he did previously, showing how inside his soul is just as lustful and harassing as in the beginning of the story. Which overall actually brings quite a grim and sinister moral: these lustful, girl-obsessed, predatory men will never change, they can take vows to change they’ll still be the same inside, and the only way they can effectively stop themselves from behaving like jerks is by... killing themselves?

I know I am reading way too much into a cartoon supposed to be funny and sexy - but hey, this is the entire reason of being of this blog, reading too much into everything. 

Interestingly, while this ending was already considered dark, inappropriate and controversial at the time, the ORIGINAL ending planned for the short was actually censored for being even worst. The Wolf, captured by Granny, was forced to marry her - and they had wolf-children. The happy family looks at Red performing her singing performance on stage, and the three wolf-children act just like their father. How many things wrong were there with this? The obvious accusations of bestiality as a lustful old lady sleeps with a wolf. The incestuous relationship of the three little wolf-children, who are basically Red Riding Hood new “uncles” and yet lust after her... Or the underlying moral behind the joke - all men are lustful, and jerkish behavior goes from generation to generation. 

Even though, fascinatingly, this ending actually was an “illustration” of the underlying fear behind Perrault’s original tale: the ungodly union between the wolf and the girl, the possible rape of the child by the beast... Except here completely reversed, as the Grandmother is the rapist. 

# Interestingly, while Red Riding Hood isn’t a child anymore, rather an adult performer, there is still an element of “child-isation” in her new incarnation, more precisely in her seducting song, that is a song to “Daddy” in which she begs her “papa” to offer her gifts of all sorts (we can think of the “goodies” originally for the Grandma, now for her). It is very interesting to see here the invocation of the father figure in a story that usually has an all-female cast except the wolf. And I know “daddy” is just a typical seducing techique/type of sexual relationship/social erotic convention... But note that in the song, “Daddy” mixes with “Wolfie”. The only male figure of the tale, the predatory lustful wolf, is equated with the “missing dad” of the story... I will let you conclude on your own what possible implications could follow.

... I have to say, going into this short I never expected the subject to become so dark. But as it turns out... it seems Tex Avery’s “Hot Red Riding Hood” might have its place among the “most disturbing Red Riding Hood adaptations”. 

[disneydatass]

How about some 80s movies for the movie ask thing? I cant chose a favorite movie from 88 but its either "Alice" Directed by Jan Švankmajer, or "Who framed Roger Rabbit" by Robert Zemeckis. Alice is Alice in Wonderland and its really not as scary as people make it out to be, unless taxidermy creeps you out then it is otherwise czechoslovakian. Who framed Roger Rabbit is a hilerious genre (hard boiled detective) parody that always makes me laugh. What is your fav from that year and why?

SO many great 80s films! From ‘88 specifically what a year!!! “Who framed Roger Rabbit?” Is the best! Another one of my favorite films in general! I actually have an autographed movie poster of it signed by bill farmer (goofy other cartoon voices) and Charles Fleischer(Roger rabbit/Benny the cab)

Also GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES! (The best ghibli film IMO) another one of my all time fave movies! Two completely polar opposite films; I think if you watched Roger Rabbit and then GOTF that is literally the ‘88 version of Barbie n Oppenheimer 💀

[autisticsupervillain]

Honestly, it really irks me whenever anyone claims a character can "Solo Fiction".

Because how the hell would you know that? Have you read every story ever written? Seen every show ever made? Obtained such a high understanding of physics and math that you can calculate the exact limits of every single character ever created? No.

Every character has limits and every OP hax you can think of has some method around it, even if that method doesn't exist inside the character's original universe.

"This guy's unbeatable in his franchise!" Unbeatable is relative. Spider-man would come across as pretty damn invincible if you dropped him in the middle of Five Nights at Freddy's. Even on the cosmic level, if you're considered omnipotent because you can destroy the universe, that's not gonna mean a whole lot if you're being put up against multiverse busters. Feats still matter, that's why silly characters can sometimes beat serious ones, or why kids show characters can beat grim gritty anti-heroes.

"This guy's unbeatable! He beat Gods! He beat THE god!" Okay, that's still relative. Beating a god isn't really a feat in itself, because the depictions of such beings vary wildly. It'd come across as pretty God-like to most people if you destroyed an island, but that'd get you laughed out of any divine competition in Dragon Ball. Furthermore, are these gods abstract beings whom you'd need to alter the fabric of reality to be able to hurt? Are they incomprehensible eldritch beings who break the laws of physics just by existing or are they basically just humans with fancy powers? Even depictions of thee capital G God aren't excused from this.

"This characters a gag character! He runs on toon force, the whole joke is he never loses!" Yeah, Bugs Bunny's been beating that drum for decades, dude. Not only does Toon Force actually have counters to it in fiction (The Dip from Who Framed Roger Rabbit is designed specifically to counter it, for example. Plus, some characters are explicitly stated to be immune to it, like Beerus from Dragon Ball Super), it too is relative. Sure, Popeye's toon force let him survive the universe literally getting turned off, but that's no reason to assume it would work against multiverse busters.

"This guy's hax are absolutely ridiculous! He can warp reality and rewrite the plot! He can adapt to anything you throw at him and will people to die!" No. Hax has limits. All hax has limits. Yes, even plot manipulation. Yes, even 4th wall breaking. And yes, even reality warping. Your character adapts to everything that's thrown at them? SCP 682 probably does it better and even he's been killed before. Your character regenerates from cells? Beast Cole regenerates from atoms and there are things, even in his own universe, that can kill him.

Let me contextualize it this way. You know the Archie version of Sonic? The overpowered one? He's probably near the top of your strongest characters in fiction list if you've heard of him. The one who can move so fast he beats his own shadow? The one who always wins because he's the literal embodiment of Chaos whom fate always inevitably serves? Yeah, that one.

Lord English from Homestuck has that exact same power, with the added scruple of the plot itself serving him. Insignificant events outside of Lord English's own multiverse, even ones that occured before Lord English himself even existed will somehow serve to aid him. Even retroactively. Whatever strings that fate, probability, and the plot itself have to pull to make things go his way will be pulled, anywhere in Paradox Space, at any time.

And John Egbert kicked his big green ass anyways.

So, no, your favorite character does not solo fiction. No character does. And even if such a character did exist, it would be impossible for you to prove that because you have not read every single work of fiction ever written.

[aestherians]

Hi! I'm Lisa Simpson /gen and for me at least my memories are of specifically being a 'toon not a human, and having a 'being recorded' life (what you are on shows, which is fake) and a living life (we do what we want). Think 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit'.

I'm only Lisa at 8 years old but am technically as old as my initial conception as a character. Older and younger Lisa's are still me, but morphed to fit the role ('toon forms aren't fully solid). Treehouse of Horrors versions are us acting again, we survive these things because we're 'toons.

We're very aware that our universe shifts with the times and Zeitgeist and we adapt to it due to being 'toons. Our maturity levels are also on par with adults, yes even Maggie can think and talk fully and clearly. Hope that scratched the knowledge itch at least a little! /Gen anon because my blog isn't alterhuman based and I don't want to cross it :)

That's definitely not the answer I expected, but so much cooler than I could've imagined!! Thanks for answering :D

[ghostly-shenanigans-in-progress]

BNHA X DP Crossover HCs

After the long wait and finals, here are my ideas for all the quirks/occupations and other concepts I devised for the DP characters in the BNHA universe. This was just for fun and for inspiration towards others interested in this crossover au in general. 

Tagging the people that were looking forward to this post based on the replies: @qoinq-qhost, @floralflowerpower, @tgfangirl4eva @goodfish-bowl, @whitehairglowinggreeneyedcrush and more. 

Anyways, happy reading, folks!

Mr. Lancer

Hero name: Mr. Scholastic

Quirk: Bookworm

Involves his iconic usage of literature titles & quotes for swears to become abilities corresponding to the novel’s contents/themes. Course, he is limited to only books he has read and can quote accurately. Additionally, his voice gets very raspy past two or three quotes as well.

Occupation: Homeroom Teacher for Class 1- A; He’s very dedicated to his new students and teaching the fundamentals of being a pro hero and more! Course, I don’t think his chamomile tea with a wedge of lemon is enough to help him relax from his students (*cough* Danny, Tucker and Poindexter) from their antics at times. 

Danny

Hero name: Phantom 

Quirk: Ghost core (Ok, @coffeecakecafe had the best name for this one gotta give credit here)

Able to do anything a ghost is perceived to do. Go through walls, disappear and fly. This is a one of a kind quirk as it was obtained from Danny’s old quirk being altered by a machine his parents made that would repurpose/alter an individual’s quirk based on their past family members' own metahuman genetics.

Danny is doing his best and trying to understand his new quirk without causing too much attention to himself while doing so but it seems like its been doing the opposite as of late. Thankfully, he won’t be doing it alone with all his classmates around to help him!

Sam

Hero Name: Black Dahlia 

Quirk: Overgrown 

Able to create any plant that she knows the biological makeup and content of in almost any environment. However, it is important for her to drink lots of nutrient rich water and take in enough sun if she plans to create larger versions of these plants.

Tucker

Hero name: Tech Master

Quirk: Tech Core

Located on his chest/heart area is a special energy core capable of powering electronics at a rate faster than anything made-man could ever hope to achieve. As a kid, Tucker would tinker away in his family’s garage on a suit that would harness his power to the fullest extent and lead a new era of support tech in the hero world.

Valerie

Hero name: Red Huntress

Quirk: Electromagnetism (Someone I’ve been trying to find their post on my blog had posted this idea and I fell in love with it ever since)

She’s like Static Shock but with a dash of magenta/ruby lasers she can create through focusing her electromagnetism through her finger tips. She is an expert with her quirk and has the best handle of her quirk than most of her peers. She is the most frequent visitor in the support equipment workshop next to Tucker, Poindexter and Danny. It’s how she built the hoverboard she has in the show that utilizes her electromagnetic abilities for both offensive and defensive maneuvers. (Also, I enjoy the idea that Bullet is Val’s uncle on her mom’s side and is her biggest supporter alongside her dad, Damien Gray).

Jazz 

Quirk: Serenity 

Helps calm individuals and give them a sense of safety/security when they’re around her in a 10 feet radius. Though, anyone out of range cannot be affected by her quirk and she needs to be conscious in order to use it.

She planned on becoming a pro hero but felt her powers were best suited for her dream profession as a psychologist. She has used her quirk a lot when Danny was overwhelmed with his studies prior to UA. Course, a phone call and sibling chat over the phone certainly does the job for Danny now when it comes to preparing material for exams. (Course, its up to you guys to decide)

Dash

Hero name: Rager

Quirk: Strength Magnification

Improves his physique and stamina by a large percentage for a set amount of time. Needs to be careful of how much/long he magnifies his body or else his body will become immensely sore. 

Kwan

Hero name: Rallier 

Quirk: Team Rally (50/50)

Able to duplicate himself 3-4 times while being able to power-up allies’ quirks or stamina with a rally chant to help the team. The more duplicates there are the rally effect multiplies/stacks on the individual but it can lead to dangerous outcomes for their quirk output. 

Kwan is the class representative for 1-A, he’s the best at the job and was more than thrilled to be the one leading his class in more ways than one.  

Paulina

Hero name: Enchantress

Quirk: Charm

If the opponent is flustered by her taunts or flirting, their vision will become altered and start seeing things that are not there. It works better on men than women and the opponent can snap out of it with enough willpower or if they’re not interested in her.

Star

Hero name: Ms. Meteorite

Quirk: Comet

Similar to Gran Torino’s Jet quirk except faster and she can create an explosive impact on where she lands. Similar to a meteorite landing on earth, she also learns to use this as a long distance move by punching fast enough as she descends to create wind pressure punches.

Poindexter

Hero name: Tex (like in Tex Avery; Danny gave him the idea!) 

Quirk: Slapstick

His appearance is black and white just like an old timey cartoon character as well as having the durability and cartoon powers of one. However, his quirk can only work as long as what he does with it is funny in the circumstance it’s used for. Sort of like “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” rules in a sense. 

Sidney is part of Class 1-A just saying, I don’t care, this is Poindexter’s time to shine here to be the coolest/funniest person in the class. Also, Tucker’s most loyal friend/tester for new support items. 

Wes Weston

Hero name: Vigilance

Quirk: Deduction

He is able to deduct people’s identities to flaws/weak points for him to use against them and  exploit against problems. 

Class 1-B Representative and the most annoying/terrifying person that Danny has dealt with in his life. He was able to figure out that Danny’s quirk is not his own or more so that it's not natural and takes every opportunity to state this regardless if anyone is listening or not. 

Amber Mclain

Hero Name: Ember

Quirk: Fiery voice (50/50)

Her quirk uses the vibrations in her sining voice to conduct intense heat waves onto opponents or utilize to rumble the structures around here and even put out the flames from her quirk. Its like a combination of Present Mic and Endevours quirk but it leaves her with a strained or inflamed vocal cords with overuse. 

Third year student or an upcoming rock star that has certainly gain huge popularity after her song “Remember” was a nationwide hit amongst the younger generation. She’s striving to be the top hero while making her next hit to become the 1# song on the listings. 

Dani

Hero name: Phantwo (lol jk; unsure what her name would be)

Quirk: Poltergeist 

Similar to Danny’s quirk “Ghost”, except she has the additional ability to melt herself to a slimy puddle and use her ectoplasmic slime to trap or surprise opponents.

Clockwork

Hero Name: Clockwork

Quirk: Time Keeper

Clockwork’s quirk allows him to stop time for 5 to 15 minutes and be able to rewind it in the same amount of time. It can be one to multiple objects as long as he touches them in order to interact with them.

Principle of UA in this au. He’s quite a reserved man but still manages to visit and congregate with students throughout the school during lunch period. 

Flynn Fenton/Flynn Walker

Hero Name: The Green Knight

Quirk: Mineralization 

His quirk allows him to manipulate the minerals and inorganic materials in the atmosphere to create into crystalized constructs that are almost stronger than diamond. Luckily, the crystals have no value so he doesn’t have to worry about that aspect of his quirk. He does have to worry about his skin becoming dried out as a result of his quirk usage. 

Flynn is a third year student that loves to check up on his cousin, Danny, any chance he gets bc of the amount of work he does with his internships.

James Walker (or James W. Hausermann)

Hero name: Warden Wraith

Quirk: Plasma Apparatus

His quirk ionizes the electrolytes in the blood system into plasma. His entire body is composed of plasma giving him his skeletal appearance. He can create plasma chains, teleport from point A to B and more as long as he focuses and has enough energy at use. Course, he can have minor to severe dehydration and imbalance in his electrolyte levels from overuse. 

Occupation: CEO of an infrastructure security company/Provisional License Examiner just like Gang Orca.The ghost prison guards become his backup/helpers for the exam phases. (They’re just trained stuntmen with combat or military experience for the occasion).

Also, I like to think Walker has kids in this au who are in the Class 1-A group; they’re not hard to spot they take after their father with their skeletal complexion. 

Skulker

Villain name: Quirk Hunter

Quirk: Tracker

The moment Skulker makes eye contact with his target he will be able to hunt them down and find them anywhere no matter how good they are at covering their tracks. He can lock on to only one target, but he will be able to know their heart beat, quirk, be able to place a tracking/scent line that only he can see and will lead him to his target’s location. It lasts for over a day or a half.

Occupation: Skulker is known for capturing, info-detailing or “retiring” newcomer pros or specific quirk users for his clients that pay him handsomely for their targets, dead or alive. Thanks to Vlad, Danny was strictly intended to be captured alive by Skulker but sometimes he gets too thrilled by the hunt to not have a memento. Trust me, it's more of a dangerous 

Nicolai Technus 

Villain Name: Technus 

Quirk: Technopathy

A genius in his own right, even if he’s a little crazy, with the best ability possible for a man of science and innovation. As long as he knows the makeup and attributes of the machine, Technus is able to completely repurpose or change a machine’s qualities for offensive and defensive qualities. Whenever that be for a mech suit or hacking a high tech system for entry, he’s able to do it as long as he knows what it is and how it functions. An example is repurposing a slot machine into a submachine gun that shoots coins at the target. 

Vlad Masters

Name: Vlad Plasmius

Quirk: Vampire

Can do anything a vampire can supposedly do. However, he was able to manifest an additional aspect of this quirk which is the ability to copy any quirk users ability. Based on the type of blood he ingests decides the amount of time he can use the copied quirk for.

Occupation: CEO of his own hero firm, he is extremely selective with the interns he has that there is a major waitlist to be even consider for Masters Inc. Course, imagine the surprise Danny must of felt when he received an offer from Vlad right off the bat after the Sports festival. 

Bruce Guiles (Bullet)

Hero Name: Bullet 

Quirk: Sphyraena or Chimera Fish

Able to do anything a barracuda can do or the quirk is a 50/50 mutant quirk in which he has both the traits of a barracuda, Chimaeras and a touch of piranha from his parents being of one of these fish species hence Chimera. Bullet can do anything those fish can do overall but he can’t go too long without hydration from water. Water quality and its oxygen content also affect his abilities by a noticeable percentage but he still remains quite formidable as a quirk user.

Occupation: Captain of a coast guard team, he’s a strict military man with an amazing record of saving people from any disasters both on land and sea. Him and Walker are best buddies ever since they went to school together. 

Vortex

Hero Name: Vortex

Quirk: Storm Warning

Vortex can utilize any variation of a natural disaster depending on the environment he’s in. Hurricanes, tornadoes, thunderstorms, you name it he can create it for his use. However, despite his amazing control over his quirk it is still possible for him to create these disasters if he lost control or magnify another pre-existing one if he loses focus. 

Occupation: Storm-chaser/Forecaster; His control and knowledge in combating/predicting these natural disasters has led to him to be part of a storm chasing crew and they’re the best in helping disaster prevention teams evacuate citizens as a result.

Petra Eris

Hero name: Pandora

Quirk: Butterfly Effect

Can manipulate or prevent a chaotic event to happen if she was in proximity and present to prevent it to happen. Or even give a little chaos to the opponent to deal with during battle. 

One of the top ten heroes and most beloved heroes in the country. She is the best strategist in any team and has a way to predict any event before they happen given the necessity of it for her quirk to work in her favor. 

Johnny 

Vigilante name: Johnny 13

Quirk: Unlucky

Johnny manifests his bad luck into a shadow that will latch onto opponents and cause unfortunate events to occur more for that individual as a result. However, the shadow cannot exist in complete sunlight; it can only remain if there are already shadows in his general area or it’s nighttime and its effects are strongest at that time obviously.

Occupation: Johnny is the leader of a biker gang or de-facto leader of said biker gang who loves to raise hell and helping folks that need saving whenever he’s around or is up to the task. Kitty tags along with him to help him out of jams and bc she loves him. :3

Kitty

Vigilante name: Kitty

Quirk: Lovesick

Kitty sends a smooch towards her opponent which if it makes contact causes the individual to have nausea or become disoriented for around 10 minutes. It can also have a chance of lasting longer if the individual was sort of infatuated with her regardless of gender. 

Pariah Dark

Villain name: King Pariah

Quirk: Ultimate Adaptation 

Similar to all for one except with the unpredictability for both the user and opponents. Pariah can manifest any type of quirk needed to defeat anyone that stands in his way both one-on-one and in groups. Course, drawbacks are the learning curve to some of the quirks and that multiple adaptions he utilizes at once will destroy his cells in the process. 

Pariah is a former follower of all for one who had unique quirk that All for one augmented to help him succeed if both Shigaraki and Tomura failed in their own conquest for the world. But now Pariah has his own plans to succeed where they failed and become the leader who shapes a new world order with an iron fist. 

Frederick Kingsmen

Villain/vigilante name: Fright Knight

Quirk: Burning Energy Infusion

Able to form/infuse objects with his own burning energy life force that is capable of burning or slicing through any in his sight. The sweat he gives off is what provides the material needed to ignite his unnatural flames despite it causing his body to overheat still. 

Fright Knight is Pariah’s second-in-command with a loyalty to him as strong as his control over his power. Fright Knight has faced many pro-heros as he carried out the smaller phases of Pariah’s plans and most of them barely came close towards defeating or leaving as much as  scratch on the knight. 

Rodolfo Gonzalo  

Hero name: Wulf

Quirk: Werewolf + Portal creation (50/50?)

Can do anything a werewolf can supposedly do; somehow it allows him to create portals with his claws to locations he has marked with them or visited in the past. 

Wulf was abducted on by Pariah’s forces and sent into the Nomu labs for experimentation to force on another quirk and instill complete allegiance to their cause. Course, Wulf broke free as a result of that new additional quirk allowing him to escape their clutches and his previous one helping him survive the endeavor. However, he lost his memories in the process and could only remember his native language, Spanish, and his hero name Wulf. 

Overgrown

Villain/vigilante Name: Overgrown

Quirk: Plant Manipulation

Can manipulate any pre-existing plant matter or create new vegetation if water and soil is present for the process or he understand the biological makeup of the plant in question. 

Occupation: Pro-hero or eco-terrorist who is tired of humanity from abusing the environment from quirk battles to industries using the land for their own benefits and none others.

That’s all I have for now! I hope this was worth the wait, guys. As well as, inspire ideas for your takes with a DP x BNHA Crossover! 

[letterboxd]

Blurring the Line.

As a new Space Jam film beams down to Earth, Kambole Campbell argues that a commitment to silliness and a sincere love for the medium is what it takes to make a great live-action/animation hybrid.

The live-action and animation hybrid movie is something of a dicey prospect. It’s tricky to create believable interaction between what’s real and what’s drawn, puppeteered or rendered—and blending the live and the animated has so far resulted in wild swings in quality. It is a highly specific and technically demanding niche, one with only a select few major hits, though plenty of cult oddities. So what makes a good live-action/animation hybrid?

To borrow words from Hayao Miyazaki, “live action is becoming part of that whole soup called animation”. Characters distinct from the humans they interact with, but rendered as though they were real creatures (or ghosts), are everywhere lately; in Paddington, in Scooby Doo, in David Lowery’s (wonderful) update of Pete’s Dragon.

The original ‘Pete’s Dragon’ (1977) alongside the 2016 remake.

Lowery’s dragon is realized with highly realistic lighting and visual-effects work. By comparison, the cartoon-like characters in the 1977 Pete’s Dragon—along with other films listed in Louise’s handy compendium of Disney’s live-action animation—are far more exaggerated. That said, there’s still the occasional holdout for the classical version of these crossovers: this year’s Tom and Jerry replicating the look of 2D through 3D/CGI animation, specifically harkens back to the shorts of the 1940s and ’50s.

One type of live-action/animation hybrid focuses on seamless immersion, the other is interested in exploring the seams themselves. Elf (2003) uses the aberration of stop-motion animals to represent the eponymous character as a fish out of water. Ninjababy, a Letterboxd favorite from this year’s SXSW Festival, employs an animated doodle as a representation of the protagonist’s state of mind while she processes her unplanned pregnancy.

Meanwhile, every Muppets film ever literally tears at the seams until we’re in stitches, but, for the sake of simplicity, puppets are not invited to this particular party. What we are concerned with here is the overlap between hand-drawn animation and live-action scenes (with honorable mentions of equally valid stop-motion work), and the ways in which these hybrids have moved from whimsical confections to nod-and-wink blockbusters across a century of cinema.

Betty Boop and Koko the clown in a 1938 instalment of the Fleischer brothers’ ‘Out of the Inkwell’ series.

Early crossovers often involve animators playing with their characters, in scenarios such as the inventive Out of the Inkwell series of shorts from Rotoscope inventor Max Fleischer and his director brother Dave. Things get even more interactive mid-century, when Gene Kelly holds hands with Jerry Mouse in Anchors Aweigh.

The 1960s and ’70s deliver ever more delightful family fare involving human actors entering cartoon worlds, notably in the Robert Stevenson-directed Mary Poppins and Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and Chuck Jones’ puntastic The Phantom Tollbooth.

Jerry and Gene dance off their worries in ‘Anchors Aweigh’ (1945).

Mary Poppins is one of the highest-rated live-action/animation hybrids on Letterboxd for good reason. Its sense of control in how it engages with its animated creations makes it—still!—an incredibly engaging watch. It is simply far less evil than the singin’, dancin’ glorification of slavery in Disney’s Song of the South (1946), and far more engaging than Victory Through Air Power (1943), a war-propaganda film about the benefits of long-range bombing in the fight against Hitler. The studio’s The Reluctant Dragon (1941) also serves a propagandistic function, as a behind-the-scenes studio tour made when the studio’s animators were striking.

By comparison, Mary Poppins’ excursions into the painted world—replicated in Rob Marshall’s belated, underrated 2018 sequel, Mary Poppins Returns—are full of magical whimsicality. “Films have added the gimmick of making animation and live characters interact countless times, but paradoxically none as pristine-looking as this creation,” writes Edgar in this review. “This is a visual landmark, a watershed… the effect of making everything float magically, to the detail of when a drawing should appear in front or the back of [Dick] Van Dyke is a creation beyond my comprehension.” (For Van Dyke, who played dual roles as Bert and Mr Dawes Senior, the experience sparked a lifelong love of animation and visual effects.)

Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and penguins, in ‘Mary Poppins’ (1964).

Generally speaking, and the Mary Poppins sequel aside, more contemporary efforts seek to subvert this feeling of harmony and control, instead embracing the chaos of two worlds colliding, the cartoons there to shock rather than sing. Henry Selick’s frequently nightmarish James and the Giant Peach (1996) leans into this crossover as something uncanny and macabre by combining live action with stop motion, as its young protagonist eats his way into another world, meeting mechanical sharks and man-eating rhinos. Sally Jane Black describes it as “riding the Burton-esque wave of mid-’90s mall goth trends and blending with the differently demonic Dahl story”.

Science-classroom staple Osmosis Jones (2001) finds that within the human body, the internal organs serve as cities full of drawn white-blood-cell cops. The late Stephen Hillenburg’s The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (2004) turns its real-life humans into living cartoons themselves, particularly in a bonkers sequence featuring David Hasselhoff basically turning into a speedboat.

David Hasselhoff picks up speed in ‘The Spongebob Squarepants Movie’ (2004).

The absurdity behind the collision of the drawn and the real is never better embodied than in another of our highest-rated live/animated hybrids. Released in 1988, Robert Zemeckis’ Who Framed Roger Rabbit shows off a deep understanding—narratively and aesthetically—of the material that it’s parodying, seeking out the impeccable craftsmanship of legends such as director of animation Richard Williams (1993’s The Thief and the Cobbler), and his close collaborator Roy Naisbitt. The forced perspectives of Naisbitt’s mind-bending layouts provide much of the rocket fuel driving the film’s madcap cartoon opening.

Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, Roger Rabbit utilizes the Disney stable of characters as well as the Looney Tunes cast to harken back to America’s golden age of animation. It continues a familiar scenario where the ’toons themselves are autonomous actors (as also seen in Friz Freleng’s 1940 short You Ought to Be in Pictures, in which Daffy Duck convinces Porky Pig to try his acting luck in the big studios).

Daffy Duck plots his rise up the acting ranks in ‘You Ought to Be in Pictures’ (1940).

Through this conceit, Zemeckis is able to celebrate the craft of animation, while pastiching both Chinatown, the noir genre, and the mercenary nature of the film industry (“the best part is… they work for peanuts!” a studio exec says of the cast of Fantasia). As Eddie Valiant, Bob Hoskins’ skepticism and disdain towards “toons” is a giant parody of Disney’s more traditional approach to matching humans and drawings.

Adult audiences are catered for with plenty of euphemistic humor and in-jokes about the history of the medium. It’s both hilarious (“they… dropped a piano on him,” one character solemnly notes of his son) and just the beginning of Hollywood toying with feature-length stories in which people co-exist with cartoons, rather than dipping in and out of fantasy sequences. It’s not just about how the cartoons appear on the screen, but how the human world reacts to them, and Zemeckis gets a lot of mileage out of applying ’toon lunacy to our world.

Bob Hoskins in ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit?’ (1988).

The groundbreaking optical effects and compositing are excellent (and Hoskins’ amazing performance should also be credited for holding all of it together), but what makes Roger Rabbit such a hit is that sense of controlled chaos and a clever tonal weaving of violence and noirish seediness (“I’m not bad… I’m just drawn that way”) through the cartoony feel. And it is simply very, very funny.

It could be said that, with Roger Rabbit, Zemeckis unlocked the formula for how to modernize the live-action and animation hybrid, by leaning into a winking parody of what came before. It worked so perfectly well that it helped kickstart the ‘Disney renaissance' era of animation. Roger Rabbit has influenced every well-known live-action/animation hybrid produced since, proving that there is success and fun to be had by completely upending Mary Poppins-esque quirks. Even Disney’s delightful 2007 rom-com Enchanted makes comedy out of the idea of cartoons crossing that boundary.

When a cartoon character meets real-world obstacles.

Even when done well, though, hybrids are not an automatic hit. Sitting at a 2.8-star average, Joe Dante’s stealthily great Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) is considered by the righteous to be the superior live-action/animated Looney Tunes hybrid, harkening back to the world of Chuck Jones and Frank Tashlin. SilentDawn states that the film deserves the nostalgic reverence reserved for Space Jam: “From gag to gag, set piece to set piece, Back in Action is utterly bonkers in its logic-free plotting and the constant manipulation of busy frames.”

With its Tinseltown parody, Back in Action pulls from the same bag of tricks as Roger Rabbit; here, the Looney Tunes characters are famous, self-entitled actors. Dante cranks the meta comedy up to eleven, opening the film with Matthew Lillard being accosted by Shaggy for his performance in the aforementioned Scooby Doo movie (and early on throwing in backhanded jokes about the practice of films like itself as one character yells, “I was brought in to leverage your synergy!”).

Daffy Duck with more non-stop banter in ‘Looney Tunes: Back in Action’ (2003).

Back in Action is even more technically complex than Roger Rabbit, seamlessly bringing Looney Tunes physics and visual language into the real world. Don’t forget that Dante had been here before, when he had Anthony banish Ethel into a cartoon-populated television show in his segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie. Another key to this seamlessness is star Brendan Fraser, at the height of his powers here as “Brendan Fraser’s stunt double”.

Like Hoskins before him, Fraser brings a wholehearted commitment to playing the fed-up straight man amidst cartoon zaniness. Fraser also brought that dedication to Henry Selick's Monkeybone (2001), a Roger Rabbit-inspired sex comedy that deploys a combo of stop-motion animation and live acting in a premise amusingly close to that of 1992’s Cool World (but more on that cult anomaly shortly). A commercial flop, Back in Action was the last cinematic outing for the Looney Tunes for some time.

Nowadays, when we think of live-action animation, it’s hard not to jump straight to an image of Michael Jordan’s arm stretching to do a half-court dunk to save the Looney Tunes from slavery. There’s not a lot that can be fully rationalized about the 1996 box-office smash, Space Jam. It is a bewildering cartoon advert for Michael Jordan’s baseball career, dreamed up off the back of his basketball retirement, while also mashing together different American icons. Never forget that the soundtrack—one that, according to Benjamin, “makes you have to throw ass”—includes a song with B-Real, Coolio, Method Man and LL Cool J.

Michael Jordan and teammates in ‘Space Jam’ (1996).

Space Jam is a film inherently born to sell something, predicated on the existing success of a Nike commercial rather than any obvious passion for experimentation. But its pure strangeness, a growing nostalgia for the nineties, and meticulous compositing work from visual-effects supervisor Ed Jones and the film’s animation team (a number of whom also worked on both Roger Rabbit and Back in Action), have all kept it in the cultural memory.

The films is backwards, writes Jesse, in that it wants to distance itself from the very cartoons it leverages: “This really almost feels like a follow-up to Looney Tunes: Back in Action, rather than a predecessor, because it feels like someone watched the later movie, decided these Looney Tunes characters were a problem, and asked someone to make sure they were as secondary as possible.” That attempt to place all the agency in Jordan’s hands was a point of contention for Chuck Jones, the legendary Warner Bros cartoonist. He hated the film, stating that Bugs would never ask for help and would have dealt with the aliens in seven minutes.

Space Jam has its moments, however. Guy proclaims “there is nothing that Deadpool as a character will ever have to offer that isn’t done infinitely better by a good Bugs Bunny bit”. For some, its problems are a bit more straightforward, for others it’s a matter of safety in sport. But the overriding sentiments surrounding the film point to a sort of morbid fascination with the brazenness of its concept.

Holli Would (voiced by Kim Basinger) and Frank Harris (Brad Pitt) blur the lines in ‘Cool World’ (1992).

Existing in the same demented… space… as Space Jam, Paramount Pictures bought the idea for Cool World from Ralph Bakshi as it sought to have its own Roger Rabbit. While Brad Pitt described it as “Roger Rabbit on acid” ahead of release, Cool World itself looks like a nightmare version of Toontown. The film was universally panned at the time, caught awkwardly between being far too adult for children but too lacking in any real substance for adults (there’s something of a connective thread between Jessica Rabbit, Lola Bunny and Holli Would).

Ralph Bakshi’s risqué and calamitously horny formal experiment builds on the animator’s fascination with the relationship between the medium and the human body. Of course, he would go from the immensely detailed rotoscoping of Fire and Ice (1983) to clashing hand-drawn characters with real ones, something he had already touched upon in the seventies with Heavy Traffic and Coonskin, whose animated characters were drawn into real locations. But no one besides Bakshi quite knew what to do with the perverse concept of Brad Pitt as a noir detective trying to stop Gabriel Byrne’s cartoonist from having sex with a character that he drew—an animated Kim Basinger.

Jack Deebs (Gabriel Byrne) attempts to cross over to Hollie Would in ‘Cool World’ (1992).

Cool World’s awkwardness can be attributed to stilted interactions between Byrne, Pitt and the animated world, as well as studio meddling. Producer Frank Mancuso Jr (who was on the film due to his father running Paramount) demanded that the film be reworked into something PG-rated, against Bakshi’s wishes (he envisioned an R-rated horror), and the script was rewritten in secret. It went badly, so much so that Bakshi eventually punched Mancuso Jr in the face.

While Cool World averages two stars on Letterboxd, there are some enthusiastic holdouts. There are the people impressed by the insanity of it all, those who just love them a horny toon, and then there is Andrew, a five-star Cool World fan: “On the surface, it’s a Lovecraftian horror with Betty Boop as the villain, featuring a more impressive cityscape than Blade Runner and Dick Tracy combined, and multidimensional effects that make In the Mouth of Madness look like trash. The true star, however, proves to be the condensed surplus of unrelated gags clogging the arteries of the screen—in every corner is some of the silliest cel animation that will likely ever be created.”

There are even those who enjoy its “clear response to Who Framed Roger Rabbit”, with David writing that “the film presents a similar concept through the lens of the darkly comic, perverted world of the underground cartoonists”, though also noting that without Bakshi’s original script, the film is “a series of half steps and never really commits like it could”. Cool World feels both completely deranged and strangely low-energy, caught between different ideas as to how best to mix the two mediums. But it did give us a David Bowie jam.

‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ is in cinemas and on HBO Max now.

Craft is of course important, but generally speaking, maybe nowadays a commitment to silliness and a sincere love for the medium’s history is the thing that makes successful live-action/animation hybrids click. It’s an idea that doesn’t lend itself to being too cool, or even entirely palatable. The trick is to be as fully dotty as Mary Poppins, or steer into the gaucheness of the concept, à la Roger Rabbit and Looney Tunes: Back in Action.

It’s quite a tightrope to walk between good meta-comedy and a parade of references to intellectual property. The winningest strategy is to weave the characters into the tapestry of the plot and let the gags grow from there, rather than hoping their very inclusion is its own reward. Wait, you said what is coming out this week?

Related content

Rootfish Jones’s list of cartoons people are horny for

The 100 Sequences that Shaped Animation: the companion list to the Vulture story

Jose Moreno’s list of every animated film made from 1888 to the present

Follow Kambole on Letterboxd

[ecnalubma]

woa tag game I don’t know if the original format was this or if you made it rainbow but I’m stealing it. cause it’s cute

tagged by: @stingroy slay and yass

last song: bloodmobile by they might be giants but specifically the venue songs version (for context)

last movie: who framed roger rabbit!! with halen, redlettermedia influence

last show: JOE PERA TALKS TO YOU please watch this show everyone [grabs you and shakes you] I might rewatch it..

currently watching: no shows, I might watch symbiopsychotaxiplasm tonite .. or something else. I’m also relistening to mag cause I love talking to myself about how I’d rewrite the show and also video palace which is cool but I’d also rewrite it so

currently reading: stone butch blues, was reading the pink line but stopped because I was uncomfortable with the last couple chapters 🫥 so I switched thank got

tagging my partner @stinkbug250 hello, and @songsfordustmites sorry hi seymour, and umm @largenipple @polari @evildead2electricboogaloo actually just anyone in the epic server can do it. and anyone reading I do not give a damn 🐜

[hendrickfw]

Three Caballeros story idea

So, reading different posts I thought about this possible fanfiction about the Three Caballeros. Hope you can tell me your ideas and if this sounds good.

Okay. After a fight with Uncle Scrooge during Donald´s birthday, our dear duck decides to take some vacations from his family with his best friends José Carioca and Panchito Pistoles. They travel through Latinamerica and the world discovering new cultures. I thought on making them go to Chapala (my headcanon home for Panchito), Bahía, Rio de Janeiro, Cusco, Cartagena, Buenos Aires, Asunción and other places. They would meet with other characters during their journey (Ari, Fenton-Cabrera, Panchito´s family, Rosinha, Nestor, an OC I love adding to absolutely all my fanfictions).

But, during their journey, they have an evil lurking behind them (*ahem* Felldrake, Sheldgoose and Monkey-Bat-Donkey-Rat). Donald only told Daisy where he went, but because of the last mentioned trio and their allies, the message never arrived, so she and Donald´s family (except Scrooge) are worried where he is. When the Caballeros where in Los Angeles (I will get to that in a second) he is able to contact her. Daisy takes a plane and she discovers Donald´s nephews and Webby sneaked to the plane to follow her and find their uncle. Although they wouldn´t find them at first, because the Caballeros are constantly changing places and our dear antagonists want the McDuck family and the Caballeros divided for their evil plans. Finally she would find Donald in Rio. I was thinking of writing a scene with both ducks dancing while Panchito and José sang “Hot Wings” from the Rio movie. 

Also we can´t stay only with Ducktales and The Legend of the Three Caballeros, right? After leaving Duckburg, our trio gets invited to play at a very famous restaurant in Los Angeles. That restaurant is Pizzarriba from “The Looney Tunes Show”. Am I leading to some kind of competition between Donald and Daffy like the one of “Who framed Roger Rabbit?”? Absolutely! I was planning to write a very similar scene of the movie, with the piano fight and everything. Yes, at the end they leave behind their conflict to defeat Marvin the Martian (obviously not working with Felldrake and the other villains), but this can lead to some interesting dynamics and also show more of the Caballeros friendship. Appearances from other Looney Tunes characters like Bugs Bunny, Speedy Gonzales, Tina Russo, Lola Bunny, Porky Pig, Wile, E. Coyote and the Road Runner are also included.

Now let´s talk about songs. Yes, I want to add a lot of them. During the first episode I wrote (although it is in Spanish), the one in Los Angeles, I added “Hear my voice” from the Louie´s Eleven episode, the Hungarian Rhapsody for the scene based on the Roger Rabbit film, “Ay Jalisco no te rajes” (the original song), “We are the Three Caballeros” from the House of Mouse and, obviously, or loved “The Three Caballeros” song. During the chapter where the Caballeros visit Chapala and Panchito´s family, I wanted to bring a scene where José asks about the large name and all Panchito´s family starts singing “My name is Panchito”. Also Baía, Blame it on the Samba and other songs will appear. I´m not sure about the ones from The Legend of the Three Caballeros.

Each episode would have a special character as protagonist. The Los Angeles will have Donald and his fight with Daffy, the Chapala one is obviously about Panchito and his family dynamic. We don´t need to have one location with one character, for example, when our heroes arrive to Rio we will have an important role with José and his comic characters, and also the Daisy-Donald reunion. Also in Bahia I wanted to have José as protagonist with Panchito. I don´t know if I explained correctly, but to put an example I´ll take Ducktales. One episode can be Scrooge-centered and the other Huey-centered. The same here.

After their crazy journey, the Caballeros continue their journey through other continents. They meet new cultures and characters. They go to South Africa, Kenya (I´m still debating myself if I want to include Zootopia here), Egypt (some Duck Avenger stuff in here), Jordania, Spain, France (chapter based on the Three Musketeers movie, and yes, they meet the Troubador), Greece (specifically they go to Ithaquack and meet Storkules and Xandra), Iran, Russia, India, China, Japan and other places. During this travel they finally discover something´s wrong and Felldrake is back. I´m specially interested on the Egypt episode, as I introduce Uno (Duck Avenger existed before the nephews were born, but Donald left that identity after the Selene incident). The France one is funny as it is a new adaptation of the musketeers movie. England is also funny as I want to write about Donald´s secret agent stuff. And in Japan they finally discover Felldrake and Sheldgoose are back. I don´t know how, but during this episode the Caballeros will become their superhero sonas (Duck Avenger, Morcego Verde and Gallo Loco) and meet this universes incarnation of the Justice Ducks and Fearsome Five (in this case six, as Daffy returns as Duck Dodgers).

There are some other travels after that fight, but just to wrap everything. Donald and Scrooge reconcile and the Caballeros & allies fight against Felldrake & allies. No spoilers because I´m not sure how exactly this can end.

I don´t know a lot about Kingdom Hearts, but I can add something. Also House of Mouse is canon and they have Bugs Bunny as guest character one time, with the a funny cartoon based on the first scene of the Looney Tunes Back in Action movie.

And yes, I thinks that is everything. I wanted to write this because I´m writing other fanfics (Dragon Knight, you can find an early version on fanfiction.net) and I´m not really motivated to write this. I just want to write this so the people can at least have an idea and know this exists.

So hey, hope this is a good idea. Hope you liked it and adiós amigos.