Digital Dandy over?

Discuss or comment on anything relating to Britain's longest running comic. The home of Korky the Cat and Desperate Dan. Has been running since 1937.

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TwoHeadedBoy
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Re: Digital Dandy over?

Post by TwoHeadedBoy »

Indeed - my sister had a roomfull of Betty Boop posters and so on, and didn't even know she was a cartoon character until I got her a DVD one Xmas!
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ISPYSHHHGUY
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Re: Digital Dandy over?

Post by ISPYSHHHGUY »

Raven wrote:
ISPYSHHHGUY wrote:Disney have long since stopped making any tangible Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts since the early 50s ...
As Peter alludes, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - new animation - is on TV every day. (It's been running for seven years now.)

And coming this Summer:

http://comicsalliance.com/mickey-mouse- ... ey-review/


But Mickey was always around with the newspaper strip, comics, video games, TV's Mickey Mouse club revivals, heavy licensing, etc. The problem with The Dandy's characters, who have nothing of the Mouse's ubiquity, as the years go by, is that only people over a certain age will have much of a strong nostalgic connection to them.
I ain't seen any TV for a decade , guys, let alone stuff on cable/satellite, etc, and I was referring to Mickey Mouse shorts [if you read my wording above] which were meant to be seen in the picturehouse---but who knows, maybe Disney will start up some new supporting feature Mickey shorts.


The TV material is an interesting footnote, but really it's in the same league as Tom and Jerry-the Movie, from the early 90s, which rarely gets a mention from the 'classic 40s/50s M-G-M cartoon buffs.

Thanks for identifying this seemingly made-for-TV stuff, which is not exactly in the same league as The Brave Little Tailor. But it's Mickey Mouse for all that, although you'd be hard pressed to see the TV material discussed on the 'classic animation' boards.

I think the last 'official' MM short was the 'Simple Things' in the early 50s, although the oddball one-off has since surfaced [there was an intruiging Frankenstein pastiche which I think was seen theatrically.]

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Re: Digital Dandy over?

Post by Raven »

ISPYSHHHGUY wrote: I ain't seen any TV for a decade , guys, let alone stuff on cable/satellite, etc, and I was referring to Mickey Mouse shorts [if you read my wording above] which were meant to be seen in the picturehouse---but who knows, maybe Disney will start up some new supporting feature Mickey shorts.
Yes, but the point was that Mickey has never really been away - and a daily TV show actually increases his exposure much more than cinema shorts would, and keeps him in the forefront of lots of kids' minds. (It's great to direct kids' attention to the brilliant, big budget, theatrical animation of yore, made by genuises, if you get the opportunity, but they do seem to like this slow moving, limited animation stuff, despite it seeming so short on imagination and fun).

And no, this stuff is nowhere near the level of the vintage cinema shorts - but if you're horrified by them, just wait till you catch a glimpse of TV's new Looney Tunes Show ...

ISPYSHHHGUY wrote:
I think the last 'official' MM short was the 'Simple Things' in the early 50s, although the oddball one-off has since surfaced [there was an intruiging Frankenstein pastiche which I think was seen theatrically.
There were a couple of longer features, like Mickey's Christmas Carol and The Prince and the Pauper. The Frankenstein one you were thinking of will be 1995's The Runaway Brain, which went out supporting A Goofy Movie amongst others. All this latter stuff is collected on Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse In Living Colour Volume Two (1939-Today).

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ISPYSHHHGUY
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Re: Digital Dandy over?

Post by ISPYSHHHGUY »

Thanks for clarifying all of that, Raven: I personally thought that 1983's Mickeys' A C hristmas Carol wasn't quite up to vintage Mickey, but Runaway Brain was a return to form again, albeit with a more modern approach!

I saw a couple of very updated Road Runner shorts at the cinema using CGI , not the cel approach, and they weren't bad at all......but yes, much of TV animation output is pretty dire, and I hope I'm not coming accross as snobbish or elitist, but a lot of vintage 'toon buffs feel the same way....

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TwoHeadedBoy
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Re: Digital Dandy over?

Post by TwoHeadedBoy »

ISPYSHHHGUY wrote:Thanks for clarifying all of that, Raven: I personally thought that 1983's Mickeys' A C hristmas Carol wasn't quite up to vintage Mickey, but Runaway Brain was a return to form again, albeit with a more modern approach!
I thought the exact opposite about those two :lol:
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ISPYSHHHGUY
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Re: Digital Dandy over?

Post by ISPYSHHHGUY »

Ah, well, two-headed boy, it takes all sorts to make a worlde!

I do like Betty Boop cartoons from the 30s as well, though-----teriffic surrealism, BIMBOS' INITIATION for example, is an out-and-out gem.



here's a handy link, to this rather splendid piece, pop-pickers:




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9fZXqJOcI8


Incidentally, this item is released under the delightfully-monikered TALKERTOONS banner.

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SID
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Re: Digital Dandy over?

Post by SID »

Back on topic, has anyone seen this?

http://chrishallamworldview.wordpress.c ... -timeline/

However, like others here, I don't agree with the conclusion. Even if the comic never comes back, The Dandy still lives on as an annual. :cheers:
Reading comics since 1970. My Current Regulars are: 2000 AD (1977-), Judge Dredd Megazine (1990-), Spaceship Away (2003-), Commando (2013-), Monster Fun (2022-), Deadpool and Wolverine (2023-), Quantum (2023-).

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Digifiend
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Re: Digital Dandy over?

Post by Digifiend »

"the comic which brought the world Desperate Dan, Korky the Cat and Bananaman"? Yet later, he mentions Bananaman's Nutty origins. And "gone forever" is pessimistic considering that DCT have said otherwise.

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Re: Digital Dandy over?

Post by SID »

I am quite excited to what DCT will do with the title. Will it stay as a on-line comic or bring it back to print? Will it continue to be aimed at children or at past readers? Considering that the annual is aimed more to the latter, I wonder if it would be more successful as a monthly comic doing the same?

Yep, I know that last bit is wishful thinking but it is nice to have a dream.
Reading comics since 1970. My Current Regulars are: 2000 AD (1977-), Judge Dredd Megazine (1990-), Spaceship Away (2003-), Commando (2013-), Monster Fun (2022-), Deadpool and Wolverine (2023-), Quantum (2023-).

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Re: Digital Dandy over?

Post by starscape »

I don't think there's a hope in hell of anything like a regular comic, weekly or bi-monthly. Maybe a second stab at digital but I think that might be a tarred brand by now.
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Re: Digital Dandy over?

Post by SID »

I am trying to be optimistic, starscape. At the end of the day, it won't be the end of the world if DCT does retire the comic. At the very least we will have the annual.

So the way I see it, anything extra will be a bonus.
Reading comics since 1970. My Current Regulars are: 2000 AD (1977-), Judge Dredd Megazine (1990-), Spaceship Away (2003-), Commando (2013-), Monster Fun (2022-), Deadpool and Wolverine (2023-), Quantum (2023-).

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TwoHeadedBoy
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Re: Digital Dandy over?

Post by TwoHeadedBoy »

ISPYSHHHGUY wrote:Ah, well, two-headed boy, it takes all sorts to make a worlde!

I do like Betty Boop cartoons from the 30s as well, though-----teriffic surrealism, BIMBOS' INITIATION for example, is an out-and-out gem.
One of my all-time favourites :D

And from the same studio, but missing Betty Boop, is Swing You Sinners!, one of the most insane cartoons around - great ghostly designs!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... b8isnhYMjg

(sorry about that, return to Dandy-based stuff now, just had to be said)
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ISPYSHHHGUY
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Re: Digital Dandy over?

Post by ISPYSHHHGUY »

well, two-headed boy, this theme is indeed connected, as POPEYE the SAILOR debuted as a comic strip feature within Thimble Theater in 1929, and was snapped up as a theatrical cartoon animation feature a scant four years later; most casual viewers especially recognize POPEYE as an animated star, seperate from his newspaper-strip origins.

DESPERATE DAN or KORKY exhibit just as much visual animation potential as the spinach-eating sailor ever did, and indeed these characters were borne in the same 1930s period that saw POPEYE overtake even Mickey Mouse within the big-screen popularity stakes, but clearly, no financial backing was forthcoming to bring the DANDY stars to the silver screen in the more modestly-outlook UK film industry of the period.

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TwoHeadedBoy
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Re: Digital Dandy over?

Post by TwoHeadedBoy »

Interesting thoughts about what alternative cultural history we could have if there was a bit more money in the film industry at the times. In the 1940s, however, the UK did have a couple of minor animation/comic "stars" in the form of Bubble & Squeek... Here's some of their cartoons, courtesy of GB Animation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX4MNNssEI4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QMsqAFe ... v-gyed06RQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nur0U1Gc ... v-gyed06RQ

And here's one of their annuals:
Image

Not as famous as Popeye or Korky, obviously, but it's a (false) start!
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Re: Digital Dandy over?

Post by Raven »

ISPYSHHHGUY wrote: DESPERATE DAN or KORKY exhibit just as much visual animation potential as the spinach-eating sailor ever did, and indeed these characters were borne in the same 1930s period that saw POPEYE overtake even Mickey Mouse within the big-screen popularity stakes, but clearly, no financial backing was forthcoming to bring the DANDY stars to the silver screen in the more modestly-outlook UK film industry of the period.

I'm not sure Korky could have offered anything that Felix the Cat hadn't already long delivered - and Felix had a more streamlined, instantly appealing design, more suited to moving smoothly, and easier to animate.

Desperate Dan may have had some potential, though the cowboy scenario might ultimately have been limiting, and Dan never had the great cast of supporting characters that Popeye did, built up over a long period through the Thimble Theatre strips, and which are a big part of his appeal.

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