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Originally posted by SigmaNunki:
Will that original cast be the voices?

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Originally posted by shameless:
I dunno, animated seems kinda... eh. Maybe. I dunno how well each character and the chemistry of the ensemble would come through if it wasn't live action.

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Originally posted by DonCoat:
I'd welcome it, but I would hope it would serve as a bridge to more live action (big screen or small).

Some may remember the animated Star Trek series. Aside from its rather poor animation quality, it was actually quite solid, and brought in new science fiction concepts that went beyond the ST-TOS series. For instance, it had a truly non-human character that didn't look like a man in a rubber face prosthesis, and used stories from well-known SF authors like Larry Niven. While those specific items are not applicable to Firefly, the concept is: animation can allow things (like ultra-dangerous stunts) that live action can't.

All in all, it was a very sweet little tidbit that filled a gap (in real time, not so much in fictional time) between the series and the first movie.

I do have a number of concerns, however. First would be to maintain the quality of storytelling of the original. I can't see this going anywhere without Joss (or his blessing), and you'd have to get at least part of the original writing team involved.

Second, you could not target this at children. Firefly was very much an adult themed show and any continuation would have to be the same. I sure don't see FF as a Saturday Morning show (even though the ST animated series was). That's problematic, since the only successful adult-themed animated shows have all been comedies (Flintstones, Simpsons). And the more adult the themes, the less likely the success (witness the struggles of Futurama and Family Guy). So I wonder where a network client would think to slot such a show. Would any take a chance on this in prime time, given the risk?

Third, you say the CG would be the same as on a live action show... but isn't it the CG that's the expensive part? I don't understand the economies here. And how would you fit animated actors into the very realistic CG?

Finally (and no offense), who are you? Do you have a track record in the industry? Have you sold any shows of any kind to anyone, anywhere? The last thing this franchise needs is another perceived failure, and Joss (knowing that) would be unlikely to put his trust and cooperation in some upstart outfit. Now, if you were a Miyazaki-caliber studio, that would be one thing; otherwise...

So as I see it, you face a very tough road full of potholes. If this proposal is anything but pie-in-the-sky, I'm all behind it -- but you'll have to "show me the money" before I get all excited-like.

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Originally posted by Mangolo:

That is what we'd shoot for. The big issue (besides Fox blowing the promotion of the series) is cost versus audience. Firefly had a solid audience, but not quite large enough to support its big budget (all sci-fi is expensive) We could do the animated series for less than half of the live action budget and still have the same CG work (all the space ship stuff would look exactly the same as the live series)

Let me know if you have more questions or concerns.

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It'd be even better if you resurrect Book & Wash.

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Originally posted by Roy:
Go for it.

I think this could work provided the original cast did the voices, the animation was of an exceptional standard and the story lines remain at adult levels.

It'd be even better if you resurrect Book & Wash.

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Originally posted by Mangolo:

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Originally posted by DonCoat:
I'd welcome it, but... (snip)

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I totally understand your concerns:
1. We'd only move forward with Joss and his writing team involved

2. We'd market this to the same audience that FFTOS was targeting. Indeed, this is not a proven animation market. We did fail at our attempts to make a seperate animated TV show with the same demographic, but our financial situation has changed and the venues for the show has changed. Time slots are going to be a secondary market. Downloads and on demand television will be dominant, especially for our market demographic.

3. CG tends to be expensive, but compositing between CG and live action is just as expensive. The blend between the CG and our style of animation seems to work fine. Obviously it wouldn't work with other styles of animation.

4. We are an independent studio. We'd finance this on our own. We have had a track record of successful productions in many parts of the industry. I think waiting for the networks to come around on this show is not realistic nor letting them have any control would be prudent (given the history). We do have connections with Miyazaki's studios, but design would come from ourselves and Jean Moebius Giraud who is working on our current project with us.

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Originally posted by DonCoat:
Yes, it would be great if FF was the first to do so, but what are the odds?

Oh, one other thing: it would be silly to do this project unless it was produced in full-resolution high-def widescreen format. But I'm sure that's a given already.

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Serenity Now

The recent delay of Joss Whedon’s Serenity isn’t the only intrigue taking place behind the scenes. Word is going around that Universal wanted to do a Serenity animated feature film direct to DVD, in the vein of The Animatrix or The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury. And apparently, they were serious enough to commission a script. The writer chosen for this project was Brett Matthews, who wrote an episode of Firefly and also provided the script for Dark Fury. Matthews and Whedon came up with a story for the Serenity animated feature and Matthews was set to tackle the script.

However, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear, the Serenity animated feature isn’t happening. But that doesn’t mean this story won’t see the light of day. Dark Horse is rumored to be very interested in using the story Matthews and Whedon came up with as the basis for their first Serenity miniseries. If it happens, look for the miniseries to be written by Matthews, who already has a few comic scripts under his belt, including the Marvel Knights Spider-Man/Wolverine miniseries that came out last year.

This Has A “Reaver Nation” Factor of Eight Out of Ten,

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Originally posted by BonaNaCroin:
This might sound blasphemous but a possibility might be to have a differant crew.

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Originally posted by Cybersnark:
Being a huge animation fan, I'm really excited at the idea.

As you said, it's not a proven demographic in network television, but the success of adult-aimed anime series (Witch Hunter Robin, Ghost in the Shell: Stand-Alone Complex) proves that there is a market for it, and the success of teen-aimed shows (Justice League Unlimited, Avatar: The Last Airbender) demonstrates that long, intricate arcs are possible even in a half-hour serial.

Maybe pitch it to the specialty networks (I can see Cartoon Network or Sci-Fi being interested stateside, and there are Browncoats at Space up here in Canada). As long as Joss and the BDH are available (and the money's good), I can't see them turning it down.

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No. As much as I liked these characters, they're dead. And Firefly is about keeping it real. Resurrect them and it's not Firefly, it's just one more "oh, it's science fiction, we can get away with anything" piece of

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Originally posted by cljohnston108:

One name that I can't get out of my head as I'm reading this thread: Audu Paden.

He produced Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles and MTV's Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, and those are my two all-time favorite CGI series!

I wouldn't have a single worry about an animated Firefly series if he were involved.

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Originally posted by Redlava:
Hell I would watch sock puppet theater if it was about the verse.

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