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Does anyone remember The Pirates of Dark Water cartoon? Is it time for a reboot of The Pirates of Dark Water cartoon? The Forgotten Show Hanna-Barbera has a somewhat iffy reputation amongst some animation fans. On the one hand, the studio has been criticised for its lacklustre and recycled animation during the ’70s and ’80s; […]

Pirates of Dark Water Reboot: Why Fans Should Be Furious Written by Tito Pernalete for Fortress of Solitude...

Rebooting classic cartoons like The Pirates of Dark Water can expand the universe and engage new audiences. Networks like Cartoon Network excel in animation due to innovative storytelling methods and characters. Hits like Men In Black: The Series and Dungeons & Dragons can still find success with a modern update.

Saturday cartoons were, and still are, the pinnacle of children's entertainment for generations of people, and the classic animated shows that populated the airwaves for many years deserve quality reboots. Rebooting a beloved series can happen for many reasons, but this predominantly occurs because fans can't get enough of the original show and want more content. Additionally, reimagining these shows for the present day can be a fun way to expand the universe of the stories and create an impact that lasts even longer than the show's initial run.

However, modern successful works couldn’t have gone half as far...

Older fantasy cartoon shows, like Visionaries and The Pirates of Dark Water, deserve more recognition for their unique storytelling and world-building. Animation is often pigeonholed as children's shows, but series like Gargoyles and Xiaolin Showdown prove that cartoons can be rich and complex. Infinity Train, despite its critical acclaim, struggled to gain a large audience but stands out for its creativity, emotional depth, and relatable characters.

Even though they went unnoticed, many amazing fantasy cartoon television shows deserve more recognition. Whether they're older series from when animation was first evolving as a genre or more recent shows that have been overshadowed by more popular series, these shows are iconic enough to have generated a cult following. Combining fantasy and animation can be risky in terms of getting the audience's attention, but they open many doors for art style and storytelling. Newer fantasy series have been gaining popularity, so older shows should also get their due.

On October 28, Paramount+, in partnership with Nickelodeon, will launch Star Trek: Prodigy, the first Trek series created specifically for a target audience of young people.

This is a show that comes to the table with an exceptional pedigree in creativity. Creators Dan and Kevin Hageman are a powerhouse brother duo with writing credentials for long-running popular animated series such as Netflix's Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia and Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu.

At New York Comic-Con, they were joined by director Ben Hibon who brings experience in animation direction and design to the team. Together, the team spoke virtually with a roundtable of press members about the inspiration and aspirations of their fledgling series.

Not a children's show but also not in the vein of juvenile-yet-adult cartoons like Bojack Horseman and South Park, Star Trek: Prodigy harkens back to the epic adventure animated series like The Pirates of Dark Water and -- dare we mention it?...

For every animated game-changer and a generational milestone like Avatar: The Last Airbender or so-bad-it’s-good oddity like The Nutshack, there are countless more that could only dream of achieving even just a fraction of the aforementioned cartoons’ popularity.

Related: 5 Best (& 5 Worst) Nickelodeon Cartoons Of All-Time, Ranked (According To IMDb)

For many reasons that range from being ahead of the curve or poor quality, these cartoons have been mostly forgotten by the general public. While shows like The Pirates of Dark Water deserve a second look and maybe even a revival, others are better left as relics in a museum’s basement.

Stu Rosen, an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning force in children’s programming died early Sunday morning after a battle with cancer. He was 80.

“This is a very sad day for my family and I. My wonderful, colorful, fantastic cousin, Stu Rosen died this morning,” wrote Rosen’s cousin Donna Siegel on Facebook. “My heart is broken and I’m sure anyone who has ever met him feels the same way. What a character he was.”

She continued, “He is the one I wrote about a few months ago that I gave a birthday party for….but it was really a going away party because he was dying of cancer. I told you all that it was the best party I have ever given.”

Rosen’s was into the industry was as a production assistant at Kcet before creating and serving as the co-executive producer of the children’s television program Dusty’s Treehouse.

Don Lusk, an animator behind “Alice in Wonderland,” “Peter Pan,” and many more classic animated Disney movies, died Sunday morning, according to a Facebook post by Ed Asner’s daughter, Navah Paskowitz-Asner. He was 105.

Lusk’s 60-year career touched countless classic works from Disney, where his career began in 1933. There he worked his animation magic on famous titles including 1938’s “Ferdinand the Bull,” 1942’s “Bambi,” 1950’s “Cinderella,” 1955’s “Lady and the Tramp,” 1959’s “Sleeping Beauty,” and 1961’s “101 Dalmatians.” Some of his most memorable work includes Cleo the goldfish in 1940’s “Pinocchio” and the “Nutcracker Suite” fish dance in “Fantasia.”

After leaving Disney in 1960, he continued freelancing throughout the decade, working on several Charlie Brown specials beginning with 1969’s “A Boy Named Charlie Brown” and throughout the ’70s with “It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown!” and “Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown.” He also freelanced for Upa on the animated...

I recently had the opportunity to speak with the man behind many of the voices I grew up listening to in the mornings, after school and even on the weekends.  Peter Cullen is known throughout the world not only as the voice of the wise and heroic leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime, in the 1980s The Transformers cartoon series, but he was also the voice of various other robots including Ironhide, Slugslinger, Streetwise, Wingspan and Nightstick. He reprised the voices of Optimus and Ironhide in the 1986 ?The Transformers: The Movie? film. In 2007 Cullen returned as Optimus Prime in Michael Bay's live-action Transformers film and it's subsequent sequels. Cullen has also lent his talents to the somber voice of Eeyore in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. He has lent his voice to Knight Rider (K.A.R.R.), The Pirates of Dark Water (Mantus), Dungeons and Dragons (Venger), Voltron,...

Hugh Jackman looks crazy.

The actor is currently playing Blackbeard in next year’s Peter Pan prequel Pan. Yup—everything in that last sentence proves that we’re living in the hilarious dystopia our greatest science-fiction writers warned us about. But don’t despair, because Jackman isn’t just playing Blackbeard: He’s also rocking a very distinctive Blackbeard look–bald head, elaborate beard–and he’s rocking it in public, mostly in the stands at Wimbledon. Here’s everything Hugh Jackman looks like now:

Walter White, Heisenberg Form.

Max Von Sydow as Ming the Merciless in Flash Gordon.

Christopher Lloyd...

Alongside the heralded Speed Racer and Kimba: The White Lion, Marine Boy was one of the original handful of imported television series that captured youngsters’ imaginations and put Japanese anime in the stateside consciousness.

Now fans of the 1960s series, and an entire new generation of anime appreciators, can experience the undersea hero’s aquatic adventures as Warner Archive Collection distributes Marine Boy: The Complete First Season. Produced in Japan but intended for first-run syndication in the United States during 1966-67, Marine Boy was one of the first color cartoons to come from Japan. A teenager with some amazing inventions at his disposal, Marine Boy battles evil on and under the seas on behalf of the Ocean Patrol, aided by his father, Dr. Mariner, and the brilliant Professor Fumble. Joining Marine Boy in his missions are his white dolphin, Splasher, young mermaid friend Neptina, and fellow Ocean Patrol agents Bullton and Piper.

"There's no point in being grown-up if you can't be childish sometimes," Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor once said - and it would appear that the vast majority of you lot agree.

Online media outlet LoveFilm has just reported a massive surge in popularity for classic animated series - we're talking '80s and '90s vintage here - on its online streaming service - the likes of The Real Ghostbusters (1986-1991), X-Men (1992-1997) and He-Man: Masters of the Universe (1983-1988) have all leapt up the charts.

> Super Mario, X-Men lead '80s, '90s animated revival on LoveFilm

This week's Week in Geek is all about paying tribute to those classic kids' cartoons of yesteryear - the kind of animated gems you just don't get on telly anymore. So pop on your rose-tinted spectacles and prepare to take a warm dip in a bath full of nostalgia juice...

> Week in Geek - Hulk,...

Earlier this week, we announced that there were plans to adapt the Hasbro properties Monopoly, Action Man and Hungry Hungry Hippos into features.  This is further evidence that anything and everything could be targeted for a reboot some point in the future.  Perhaps we'll see Gargoyles, The Pirates of Dark Water, Jonny Quest or Centurions adapted before long.  But today, we're going to step away from vintage animated properties and look at a great live-action series from the early 90s.  Hit the jump for awful waffles, "Ug" Lee and Camp Anawanna.  Hollywood! Adapt this: Salute Your Shorts! My fond memories of Salute Your Shorts tricked me into thinking the show was on the air a lot longer than it really was.  Spanning only 26 episodes, the summer camp series ran for just about a year from June of 1991 to June of 1992 (though its reruns continued until early 1999).  Also news to me...

Hollywood's obsession with odd adaptations continues.  Next on the chopping block are Hasbro products Monopoly, Action Man and Hungry Hungry Hippos.  (This news makes my suggestions to adapt Gargoyles, The Pirates of Dark Water, Jonny Quest and Centurions seem much less far-fetched.) The family-friendly board game featuring Rich Uncle Pennybags is up first, thanks to an agreement between Hasbro and independent finance/production company Emmett/Furla Films.  Production on Monopoly is scheduled for a production start in 2013.  Hit the jump for more on the joint production's adaptation plans.  The La Times reported on the three-picture deal between Hasbro and Emmett/Furla Films.  Hasbro has found success with their Transformers adaptation, with their G.I. Joe and Battleship attempts not exactly achieving the same results.  Monopoly was previously in development at Universal with Ridley Scott set to produce; Emmett/Furla was still in the mix back then.  The production company aims...

Well, folks, the Hollywood adaptation train keeps rolling.  The latest addition to the ranks is a possible feature production of the short-lived series Manimal, about a doctor who moonlights as a crime fighter and can morph into different animals.  They've yet to take my advice and greenlight a movie adaptation of Gargoyles, The Pirates of Dark Water or Jonny Quest, but we'll press on in the hopes that studios come to their senses.  Today we'll reach back into the bag of obscurity and pull out a mid-80s cartoon series from production company Ruby-Spears and Japanese animation studio, Sunrise.  A series that could easily (and most entertainingly) be adapted by director Michael Bay, as I teased last week.  Hit the jump for man and machine, power extreme. Hollywood! Adapt this: Centurions!  While Centurions is an obscure reference even in my circle of friends (save one, who has a Doc Terror...

Last week, in our continuing exploration of fan-favorite properties that remain unadapted by Hollywood, we took a look at Hanna-Barbera's The Pirates of Dark Water.  That story didn't get quite the response that our post for Disney's Gargoyles did, but I'll chock that up to Dark Water being more of a niche property.  So let's return to something a little more familiar.  Today's subject has been around for almost fifty years in various adaptations but a live-action feature has yet to be cracked.  It's longevity speaks volumes toward its potential for a contemporary reboot.  We'll explore this family-focused, action-adventure series after the jump.  Hollywood! Adapt this: Jonny Quest.  Before we get into today's topic of discussion, let me just say that all of the future articles of "Hollywood! Adapt This" won't necessarily be from old cartoon shows (although a Lot of them certainly will).  We plan on revisiting vintage cartoons...

Last week, we discussed the potential of a feature adaptation of Disney's Gargoyles, a dark and Gothic animated serial from the mid-1990s. There was a good amount of support for the idea and more than a fair share of nostalgia for the property.  To encourage more discussion in the comments, feel free to let us know if you think a particular adaptation is a good idea and why, who should star in the major roles and who is fit to sit in the director's chair.  This week, we'll set sail for the distant waterworld of Mer in search of the lost Thirteen Treasures of Rule.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, hit the jump to find out.  Hollywood! Adapt this: The Pirates of Dark Water. For decades, Hanna-Barbera was the king of cartoons: The Smurfs, Jonny Quest, Space Ghost, The Powerpuff Girls and Yogi Bear just to...

Welcome to the first installment of an on going look at various horror themed cartoons and toys from multiple eras. I decided to start with a series that despite multiple tries was unable to ever be picked up as an on going animated series. Monster in My Pocket, a line of miniature toys inspired by various legendary creatures from film, mythology, cryptozoology, and other paranormal realms when it debuted in 1990. Originally sold as trading cards and stickers before being released as toys in single packets, packets of four, secret twelve packs, and 24 packs, causing this then eight-year-old horror fan, to instantly fall in love with the toys and try my best to collect all 229 variants of the little rubber figures, my personal favorite being the Cerberus.

Figures

All though as child I had no clue that some of these figures were only obtainable through various promotions through assorted restaurant chains...

It's actually rather difficult to explain the appeal of Swat Kats: The Radical Squadron. Similar, I suppose, in the power behind its effectiveness to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, there's just something about the crazy juxtaposition that sucks you in. Plus, Chance Furlong is just a wickedly cool name.

The scrap jockeys, and their impressively sinister-looking alter egos, lay waste to the most bizarre villains you've ever run into, and they do it with impossibly big guns and... well, I would say cat-like reflexes, but I suppose it is simply cat reflexes.

This early-mid 90's animated effort was in many ways a throwback to earlier days of Hanna-Barbera fun. While there are some long arc entanglements, like the boys fall from grace with Feral, the show mostly consists of throwing some sort of massive opposition at our heroes, and watching the explosions. Balanced with our "tinker time," as Chance and Jake...

Every once in awhile our office becomes unmanageable. And when I say our office, I mean my apartment. Specifically, behind the couch in my living room. Every so often so much stuff has accumulated in boxes that I need to do get rid of it so I can make room for whatever might be arriving in the future.

And that’s where all of you come in.

Over the past year, Collider’s traffic has hit levels I never thought possible. As a thank you to everyone who reads the site, I’ve decided to grab everything that’s sitting in boxes and give it all away to our readers. In addition, we’ve been given some awesome stuff to giveaway like The Hangover Extreme Edition DVD, Predators on DVD and Blu-ray, some Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Blu-rays and backstage passes, and I’ve even got a Conan TBS...

1991 may not seem like all that long ago, but it is world’s away when it comes to the kinds of cartoon adventures that hit the airwaves, and even then Hanna Barbera’s The Pirates of Dark Water was something of a throwback to earlier days. In a unique and imaginative world, where alien life and advanced technology mix with Old World themes, a young man named Ren is thrust into a life of adventure.

When a mysterious stranger washes up on the shores of his lighthouse, Ren learns that he must take over the quest to reunite the 13 Treasures of Rule, to keep the Dark Water from destroying the world. Unfortunately, the evil Lord Bloth is after the power of these treasures himself. With only a hastily thrown together band of allies, including the flying monkey that was recently working for Bloth, Ren has to figure out how to...