The greatest thing about my generation’s childhood is its pop culture. More specifically, the TV shows and movies of the 90’s (and a little bit of 80’s… great 80’s toons were still being shown during the 90’s). Arguably, that’s the best era for children’s cartoons, TV shows, and movies. So, it would be nice if that kind of taste can be brought back again to today’s pop culture.
Here are more movies I like to be made that I forgot to include in the first article. And they are all about from the pop culture of my childhood. I know that bringing back my childhood’s brand of pop culture to today’s entertainment would be totally awesome. “Toy Story 3” is a proof to that (“Transformers” and “GI-JOE”, just barely).
Muppets
I’m not really sure if Kermit and his friends would still click in today’s generation. But in my generation and a generation before mine, they were beloved. We love Jim Henson’s puppetry genius. We loved (and grew up with) “Sesame Street”, “Muppets Tonight” and “Fraggle Rock”.
If I‘m not mistaken, “Muppet Treasure Island” was the last Muppet film. It would be cool to have one more Muppet film after many years. But as I’ve said, I am not sure if Muppets will still be big for today’s audience. Walt Disney now owns the Muppets. So, it’s up to them.
One-shot animated movies continuing the X-Men and Spider-Man animated TV shows
The two most popular series from the Marvel Animated Universe (MAU – one of Marvel Comics’ infinity of continuity universes) were “Spider-Man” and “X-Men”. (note: MAU toons, aside from “X-Men” and “Spider-Man” animated series, were “Iron Man”, “Fantastic Four”, “The Incredible Hulk”, “Silver Surfer”, and “The Avengers: United They Stand”. “X-Men” and “Spider-Man”, however, were the only two that made an impact on me.) And if you were a fan, you would know that the two shows ended with cliffhangers.
In the last episode of “X-Men” (“Graduation Day”), Charles Xavier a.k.a. Professor X was attacked by Henry Peter Gyrich with a psychic energy disrupter which put Prof X in a critical coma. The X-Men solicited Magneto’s help to make an attempt to contact the Shi’ar who might be able to provide a cure. Magneto agreed to help and they were able to contact the Shi’ar. Lilandra arrived and had to get Xavier to Shi’ar; he would only be able to live under Shi’ar care, thus he’ll never be able to return back to Earth. As Jubilee asked, “Can he ever come back?” and Prof X reply via telepathy, “Perhaps not in body, my children [X-Men], but my spirit shall remain among you – where it was always meant to be.” The episode ends with Lilandra and Charles leaving on a Shi’ar ship while Magneto and the X-Men stood outside the X-mansion bidding farewell. Many questions arise. What will happen now to the X-Men? Will Magneto sill continue with his plan of waging a full-scale war with humans? Will Charles really be forever gone? That’s it? As someone with my age back then, such ending is emotionally draining and unsatisfying.
The ending storyline was better with “Spider-Man” but the cliffhanger was just as bad (for a kid). Season 5 of this series had brilliant storylines (at least, in my opinion). It started with Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson’s wedding. Then came the longest storyline of the series, “Six Forgotten Warriors”, which had five episodes. Then the shocking “Return of Hydro Man” storyline, which revealed that the MJ Peter Parker had married was a clone with hydro powers. Then the “Secret Wars” (which follows the same concept of the comicbook saga, though not the essence) storyline. And lastly, the best of the lot, the “Spider Wars” storyline. In that last storyline, Madame Web got Spider-Man to team up with five other Spider-Men of other realities – a billionaire Spider-Man with a Spider armor, a powerless Spider-Man (the most “important” and surprising of the lot), Octo-Spidy (who has taken Dr. Octopus’ tentacles), six-armed mutated Spider-Man (i.e. “The Six-Arms Saga”), and Scarlet Spider (Ben Reilly, i.e. “The Clone Saga”) – to save all of the multiverse from being destroyed by the Spider-Carnage (a clone of Spider-Man possessed by the Carnage symbiote). After the conflict, Madame Web sent Spider-Man to visit the powerless Spider-Man’s reality… which was OUR REALITY – THE REAL WORLD. The powerless Spider-Man revealed that he’s an actor portraying Spider-Man, who is just a fictional character in that (this) reality – the real world. Spider-Man got to meet his creator, Stan Lee. In the end, Madame Web promised that she’ll help Spider-Man find the real MJ (which was probably still trapped in dimensional limbo). And that’s the end. Again, that’s it? Will they be able to rescue MJ? This kind of cliffhangers bugs me (as a kid).
Making one-shot movies is the answer to resolve the bugging feeling given by the cliffhangers. It doesn’t have to be shown in the big screen. It can be direct-to-video (any way, it’s going to be available in the Net). As long as a movie – for each TV show – is made. This is a long-shot from happening, but I really hope they would make them.
Batman and Superman – together
A Batman-Superman partnership is definitely the greatest one-two punch superhero duo. Superman has the power, Batman has the brains. Superman is a “boy scout”-type, Batman is a “the ends justify the means”-type. Yes, their characters and methods are antithesis to each other. But these differences can be a lethal combination.
The direct-to-video “Public Enemies” – an animated movie based on the first issue of the “Superman/Batman” comicbook written by Jeph Loeb – was epic. It would be splendid if more movies are made with Batman and Superman teaming up. Better yet, if it’s a live action, heavy budget, big-screen film.
Crossover
This would be so hard to do in the big screen. But if it happens? Marvel and DC characters together? It would be legendary.
Mummies Alive
Since I was a kid, watching this TV show, I always imagined how great a live-action “Mummies Alive” movie would be.
For those who do not know this show, the story was about a boy named Presley Carnavon who is the reincarnation of Prince Rapses of ancient Egypt. Scarab, an evil sorcerer, wants the soul of the reincarnated Prince so that he can obtain eternal life. To protect Presley were Prince Rapses’ bodyguards – which were now mummies, but came back to life to serve us the guardians to the reincarnation of Rapses. The mummies or bodyguards were Ja-Kal, Rath, Armon, and Nefer-Tina. They possess super powers, weapons and armors – being enabled by exclaiming, “With the strength of Ra!” – which are manifested by falcon (Ja-Kal), snake (Rath), ram (Armon), and cat (Nefer-Tina). Just think “Power Rangers”-style. Aside from these powers, they can also make horrifying faces when in their normal mummy-state.
The concept and story charmed me a lot. Up until now, I think of “Mummies Alive” as one of the most unique children TV shows there are. And of it being made into a movie is one big kid-fantasy of mine.
Swat Kats in 3D
Another favorite 90’s TV show was “Swat Kats”. The story: two paramilitary (“Enforcers”) operatives, “T-bone” and “Razor”, were dismissed and reassigned to work in a military salvage yard after a conflict with their commander. From parts of the salvage yard, they built themselves gadgets, weapons and vehicles – most notably, the “Turbokat”, a high-tech jet fighter. They also built a secret base/hangar below the salvage yard, where the “Turbokat” and other vehicles, and their armory and equipment are stored. They then called themselves the SWAT Kats and became masked vigilantes, protecting the city from any form of evil – from sorcerers to mutant monsters to criminal robots. If that does not sound badass enough, well, the world of “Swat Kats” is populated by anthropomorphic cats instead of human beings. Cats. Not dogs. Dogs are cliché.
Anthropomorphic animals in 3D are not unknown in Hollywood. There’re “Garfield” and “Alvin and the Chipmunks” and the hamsters of “G-Force”. And with the kind of advancement that 3D animation has now (like what they did in “Avatar”), bringing the “Swat Kats” to the big screen would be feasible. The elements of a blockbuster movie (if guided properly) are found in “Swat Kats” – raw action, anthropomorphic characters, a diversity of villains, gadgets, and a cool rock and roll theme. Oh, let me put emphasis to the theme. The music can really put you in the mood. If a “Swat Kats” movie is made, I can almost guarantee that it would be a blockbuster hit.
Other children’s shows of the 90’s
Aside from “Swat Kats” and “Mummies Alive”, there are other several shows that I think would be great in the big screen (in live action):
“(The Adventures of) Tin-Tin"
“G-Force/Battle of the Planets/Gatchaman”
“Captain Bucky O’Hare” (should have the same treatment with my “Swat Kats” proposal)
“Nadia: Secret of the Blue Water”
“Bots Master”
“Brave Starr”
“Captain Planet and the Planeteers”
…are just some.
D4: The Reunion
That should be the title.
I love the “The Mighty Ducks” trilogy. The “TMD” movies are only second to “Space Jam” as the best sports movie for kids/tweeners. Each movie, though filled with children’s movie clichés, was very entertaining. Especially, the last one.
Let’s review the line-up (I suggest that only those who appeared at least twice in the trilogy should be included in the reunion movie. Pictures are of their appearances then and now.):
00 Guy Gawaine (forward) – the second best all-around player… and the (lucky) guy who has Connie as his girlfriend.
4 Dave Lester Averman (forward) –the clown of the team.
6 Julie “The Cat” Gaffney (goalie) – my most favorite Mighty Duck character. She serves as a back-up to Goldberg, though, skills-wise, she is the better one. She is nicknamed “The Cat” for being able to quickly catch the puck with the glove. She became the starting goalie in the third movie.
7 Dwayne Robertson (forward) –the best puck handler/balancer of the team.
9 Jesse Hall (forward) – the bluntest member of the team, thus, he is usually the trash talker of the Ducks during games.
16 Ken Wu (forward) – he is the most graceful and acrobatic among them because of being a former Olympic figure skater. His skills allow him to get through defense to score or to create scoring opportunities.
18 Connie Moreau (forward) – the other hot girl in the team besides from Julie. Though she is a girl, she is tough and can hold her own in the ice.
21 Dean Portman (defenceman) – he is the enforcer that provides the toughness-identity of the team. With Reed, they are called the “Bash Brothers”.
22 Luis Mendoza (forward) – he is the fastest skater in the team. However, he always had trouble with stopping.
33 Greg Goldberg (goalie/defenceman) – he is the team’s primary goalie in the first two movies, but was made to defenceman in the third. Though Julie is better than him in goalie skills, he is better with the stick. He is also an infamous farter and he scored the winning goal in D3 – which many of us fans found absurd.
44 Fulton Reed (defenceman) –with Portman, they are known as the “Bash Brothers” – the tough enforcers of the team. He’s also an invaluable contributor in offense as he has an explosive – but an inaccurate 1-of-5 – slapshot. It is so powerful that opposing defenders get away from the puck rather than get hit since it is powerful enough to live imprints in a goalie’s gloved hand.
56 Russ Tyler (defenceman) – a street-smart player that has a slapshot called a “knucklepuck” that moves in a sine wave motion.
96 Charlie Conway (forward) – he is the captain of the team, the leader – the “heart and soul”, as Coach Bombay puts it. Though he was not exceptionally skillful earlier in the series, he shown considerable improvement in skills in the third movie. He also made the winning shot in the first movie and the winning assist (to Goldberg) in the third movie.
99 Adam Banks (forward) – the best player in the team. He was originally an opponent and antagonist of the team, but joined the team after a residential border issue. Though, his teammates initially gave him the cold treatment, he eventually gained their friendship and respect. In the third movie, he was displeased when he was put in the varsity team – leaving his Duck buds in the junior-varsity team – of their school because of his superior skills, but he re-joined the Ducks in the showdown between the varsity and junior varsity teams.
And, of course, it is important that Coach Gordon Bombay should be the one that would coach them.
I love to see that hockey team again. The team is composed of a good mix of characters with different personalities and skills that helped make the team stronger. True, if there is going to be a reunion, the players are now old. And that’s the beauty of it! The concept of putting them together to have a special match will bring the charm. Maybe some would be pro athletes already, or hockey team executives or school coaches, or some might have careers unrelated to hockey at all. But they would be brought together again to play a “special match”… I don’t know what or how, it’s up to the writers to think of an idea of a “special match” to make a reunion happen.
D4 would be an awesome trip down memory lane for us 90’s kids.
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