FILMATION animation studio APPRECIATION
I gotta say, that growing up in the 1970s, I was a huge fan of Filmation Studios animation and (some of) their live action stuff.
I much prefer their style over Hanna-Barbera's because even though both studios were working off the dollar-and-ninety-eight-cent budget that the networks gave them, Filmation's character designs and overall artwork was so much more realistic and meticulously detailed than Hanna-Barbera's.
Yes, Filmation used stock animation more than anyone this side of Grantray-Lawrence (of 1967 Spider-Man fame), but since their stock animation often used rotoscoping, the results were much more fluid than any of their competitors.
I also appreciate Filmation for the following reasons:
- They kept their animation studio in America and did all their work here. No farming out to overseas until the late 1980s with Bravestarr, I believe.
- They made a commitment to diversity way before it was the thing to do. They had the first African-American animated character in an ongoing series with Pete Jones from the 1969 Hardy Boys animated series. Of course, they are well-known for their long-running hit, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. Other diverse characters starred or co-starred in Superstretch and Microwoman (a segment of Tarzan and the Super 7), Space Sentinels, live action's Ark II, and others.
- For DC Comics fans, Filmation was instrumental in getting DC characters into animation. Filmation's very first ongoing series was The New Adventures of Superman in 1966.
- Filmation did a lot of licensed properties, but they went the extra mile when they did animated adaptations of live action shows. They often hired the original actors to provide the voices like in Brady Kids, Star Trek, and Gilligan's Island. For Star Trek, they even hired some of the original writers!
- Also, Filmation was where Bruce Timm and Paul Dini got their start!
Share some of your favorite Filmation memories here. If you have some (constructive) critiques of Filmation, that's ok too.
For me, I'll start by sharing that I actually spoke to Lou Scheimer, the head of Filmation, over 20 years ago. I forget how, but somehow I was able to get his office phone number (or maybe I was connected by someone I was talking to). At the time, I was thinking of writing a book that would have involved Filmation's stuff. Anyway, I have to say that Lou Scheimer was just the nicest guy to talk to me when he had no idea who the hell I was. We must have spoken for at least 10 to 15 minutes, and during the call I pretty much had an out-of-body experience the entire time because I couldn't believe he was really talking to me and sharing his stories about Filmation. Andy Mangels, who DID write a book about Filmation, also has said nice things about Scheimer. I don't think I've really heard anyone say an unkind word about him--maybe Jackson Bostwick, but he was fired as Captain Marvel. That aside, I can tell you talking to him was such a positive experience for me. It was everything I could have hoped for because during the call, not only was he forthcoming with his stories, he never made me feel that I was taking too much of his time or tried to rush me off the phone.
Now, I'll share one of my favorite Filmation original series -- the animated Space Sentinels. This was a cool series of young superheroes who had their headquarters in an inactive volcano. Some enterprising person has actually posted the entire series on YouTube, so absolutely check it out if you've never heard of it. For me, I bought the DVD set when it came out over 10 years ago.
I'm just glad that so much of Filmation's programming has been released on DVD and other stuff has been uploaded to YouTube for new generations to discover.
Here's the Space Sentinels theme, followed by the link for the playlist of the complete series:
[video=youtube;agK07ZRPfeM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agK07ZRPfeM&list=PLIb5EO10co6Y_2AOom2PudkeDZoG4Tag-[/video]
[url]https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVEWZwj8PW_AoROQIh-0CyqzoFnbKRP8u[/url]