Thursday, August 25, 2011

Animated World of DC Comics: Plastic Man (2006)

As much as Cartoon Network has gotten bashed for some idiotic decisions, such as the development of live-action programming under current network boss Stuart Snyder, they really missed the bus by rejecting a proposed revival of Plastic Man, co-produced & developed by and starring comic Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants).

Kenny and creative partners Andy Suriano and Stephen DiStefano, the latter a veteran comic book writer/artist who cut his teeth at DC in the early 80's, created a pastiche of artistic styles, mixing together the familiar, left-of-center designs of John Kricfalusi (ex-Ren & Stimpy), Jack Cole (Plas' creator), & Kyle Baker, who wrote & drew a Plastic Man miniseries for DC a few years back. Fellow funnyman Dave Coulier (ex-Full House) voices Plas' parole officer, Archie. Now, sit back and take a look, and let me know if CN really did screw up this time.......!

Edit, 9/6/23: Have to change the video. We have the 1st part of "Bubble Trouble":



The way I see it, had CN bought the pilot, given the mature humor, this would've been ticketed for [adult swim]. Luckily for us and for Tom Kenny, Plas would eventually land on CN as a frequent guest on Batman: The Brave & the Bold, with nods to the classic comics (Woozy Winks would make his TV debut) and the 1979-81 ABC series.

Rating: B-.

4 comments:

magicdog said...

I actually think this could have had potential!

I used to watch the old series and liked it fine as a kid, but it would have been great to see Plas in a new set up. This premise made sense since a lot of people tend to forget "Eddie O'Brien" started out as a petty criminal before becoming, "Plastic Man" and going straight.

I can't stand anything on Adult Swim, but I might have liked this show if they refined it a bit.

At least he turns up on "Batman, The Brave and the Bold" enough to stay in the public eye.

Maybe Plas will get another shot at a show of his own.

hobbyfan said...

Like you, Magicdog, I'm not much of an [adult swim] guy, but if they do a new Plas solo series, it'd have to be light-hearted like the original.

Funny thing. I remember reading about a Plas project that Dave Coulier was attached to, but the impression I got was that he was going to be doing Plas. As we all know, Michael Bell is still around, so why doesn't he get the call for a Plas revival?

magicdog said...

I think Michael Bell is retired (by choice). I read a recent interview with him that he'd taken care of financial matters and chose to retire shortly after doing voice work for a series of diamond store commercials.

He was lured back for an episode of "GI Joe: Renegades" as the voice of Duke's father (as we all know, Bell was the voice of Duke in the original series).

hobbyfan said...

Bell was not only the long-time voice of Zales Jewelry stores ads, but did bits for Parkay as well....