Sym-Bionic Titan (Genndy Tartakovsky's new series)

Malintex_Terek

@Wired:

Cartoon Network is bringing animator/director Genndy Tartakovsky back to prime-time television with a new sci-fi series called Sym-Bionic Titan.

The show, one of several announced Wednesday as part of Cartoon Network's dramatically expanded development slate, will focus on three extraterrestrials from the war-torn planet Galaluna who crash-land, only to be swept up in high school and the fate of the Earth as we know it.

Tartakovsky's animated 2003 Clone Wars miniseries paved the way for the ratings success of Cartoon Network's CGI-soaked Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which is currently owning the boys 2-11 demographic. If Sym-Bionic Titan is anything like Tartakovsky's stellar Samurai Jack, the new show promises to deliver some seriously kinetic eye candy.

Also announced Wednesday by Cartoon Network: Peter Chung (Aeon Flux, Alexander) is attached to direct Firebreather, the cable channel's first original, all-CGI feature film.

Like Sym-Bionic Titan, Chung's movie will mash awkward high-school drama with a mandate to save the world, this time through friendship with a fire-breathing dragon rather than exiled extraterrestrials with superpowers. Firebreather is Chung's first stab at the director's chair since the animated The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury.

There's more on Cartoon Network's packed plate, including six more new animated series, three more original movies, two scripted pilots and six live-action series (including one starring the NBA's Eddie House). Disciples of cerebral talent like Tartakovksy and Chung should be sitting quite pretty as 2009 and 2010 unfurl.

Source.

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High-school hijinks or no, Tartakovsky + mechs returning to CN is the cartoon equivalent of the second coming. Not to mention many of the 'recent' American directed super robot shows have been good and Genndy has a great track record.

Would have been perfect on Toonami, I reckon.

pyromonki

He does too much though, he never FINISHES ANYTHING.

give me a final episode of samurai jack, and I'll call it even though.

Dark Lord Zenigame

That wasn't on him, it was Cartoon Network's fault for not ordering any more episodes and letting the show rot.

And even if they tried continuing it now, Mako's dead so it wouldn't be the same. :<

Green_vs_Red

But we'd still get closure Mako or not.

@pyromonki:

He does too much though, he never FINISHES ANYTHING.

Dexter's Laboratory was finished after Last But Not Beast but some genius decided to create Ego Trip which lead to the newer crappy episodes, Clone Wars was also finished but someone decided the original series was too short and needed to be touched up with CGI.

Nobodyman

@Green_vs_Red:

But we'd still get closure Mako or not.

Dexter's Laboratory was finished after Last But Not Beast but some genius decided to create Ego Trip which lead to the newer crappy episodes, Clone Wars was also finished but someone decided the original series was too short and needed to be touched up with CGI.

I thought Ego Trip was really good actually. In fact, I think it was quite some time after that premiered that they decided to "revamp" Dexter (worst mistake ever BTW).

Anyway, GENNDY TARTAKOVSKY'S BACK!!! F*CK YEAH!!!

Dragon Warrior Steve

@Nobodyman:

I thought Ego Trip was really good actually. In fact, I think it was quite some time after that premiered that they decided to "revamp" Dexter (worst mistake ever BTW).

Anyway, GENNDY TARTAKOVSKY'S BACK!!! F*CK YEAH!!!

Ego Trip was friggin' hysterical, but the revamped Dexter episodes were god awful.

And if it's Tartakovsky, I'm watching. Anything he does is brilliant. I miss seeing his stuff on TV.

Malintex_Terek

Ego Trip was how cartoons were traditionally ended; with a bang called a feature-length movie. And as a movie it was a great summary of the series itself and was very entertaining.

I agree, the new seasons weren't nearly as edgy or funny. It was like Dexter without teeth.

@Green_vs_Red:

But we'd still get closure Mako or not.

You still got a bit of closure with what that black guardsman guy said when he fought Jack to prevent him from using a time portal. He imagined Jack older when he beat Aku, so in a sense you know he wins, it just took a while.

Green_vs_Red

But like the old saying goes nothing is set in stone.

As for Ego Trip I don't think it was that bad eventhough the ending in some ways felt like a copout and Dexter kind of came off out a character sending a group of robots back in time to kill Dee Dee.

Yonkou3

@Green_vs_Red:

But like the old saying goes nothing is set in stone.

As for Ego Trip I don't think it was that bad eventhough the ending in some ways felt like a copout and Dexter kind of came off out a character sending a group of robots back in time to kill Dee Dee.

No, it came off like "I'm tired of this bitch wrecking my things" and COMPLELTELY reasonable

Nobodyman

@Yonkou#3:

No, it came off like "I'm tired of this bitch wrecking my things" and COMPLELTELY reasonable

Hmm, maybe Dexter really is a mad scientist. It certainly wouldn't be the first time he exhibited questionable behavior.

Ao Kiji

Not to mention many of the 'recent' American directed super robot shows have been good

Like what? Effin' MEGAS ?? pfft..please.
Still, Tartovsky has yet to do anything that wasn't mind-meltingly AMAXING(maxium amazing). So, I am really excited about this. I hate that CN wants to have all these CG shows now, but whatever, man.

Nobodyman

@Ao:

Like what? Effin' MEGAS ?? pfft..please.

I seriously hope you're not talking shit about Megas. I'm going to assume you meant that Megas was the only good recent super robot show, which I will agree with (Robot Boy…ugh)

Malintex_Terek

The Big Guy & Rusty was another good mech show, though when I was watching it as a young lad I didn't really think of it as "mecha". In retrospect it was very good at that.

Ao Kiji

Megas seemed like a run-of-the-mill weaksauce pseudo-anime cartoon show to me.
It was like a really high quality webcomic or something. I think there were a few cool episodes, but meh…I sure didn't miss it when it was gone.

As a kid, watching it I remember being annoyed that such nice animation and one of the first attempts at a "Western Anime" was so meh. It was just like any goofy, forgettable cartoon on CN now, only with a mecha in it. Maybe, I need to rewatch it and in retrospect it'll be good or something but...give me samurai jack or dexter any day of the week over Megas. It was just to goofy for me to take seriously and not funny enough for me to laugh at. $:\$

I'd rather watch Invader Zim or my life as a Teenage Robot, hell maybe even Fairly Odd Parents...
It just seemed like CN wasted such high production on...crap.
Like when they funded that Grand Prix whatever show and got all this voice talent and anime MADE specifically for Toonami then the show sucked.

I do remember Megas having one of the best themes ever, though...chicks DIG giant robots… lol I used to sing along with that…then turn the channel.

Malintex_Terek

Megas was incredible in its early episodes, but in the later ones it focused more on parody/satire and less on character situations and general sci-fi parody, which weakened it. Bringing back one-shot characters was also not cool.

EPIC end, though. One of the best finale's I've seen in a long time.

Nobodyman

@Ao:

Megas seemed like a run-of-the-mill weaksauce pseudo-anime cartoon show to me.
It was like a really high quality webcomic or something. I think there were a few cool episodes, but meh…I sure didn't miss it when it was gone.

As a kid, watching it I remember being annoyed that such nice animation and one of the first attempts at a "Western Anime" was so meh. It was just like any goofy, forgettable cartoon on CN now, only with a mecha in it. Maybe, I need to rewatch it and in retrospect it'll be good or something but...give me samurai jack or dexter any day of the week over Megas. It was just to goofy for me to take seriously and not funny enough for me to laugh at. $:\$

I'd rather watch Invader Zim or my life as a Teenage Robot, hell maybe even Fairly Odd Parents...
It just seemed like CN wasted such high production on...crap.
Like when they funded that Grand Prix whatever show and got all this voice talent and anime MADE specifically for Toonami then the show sucked.

I do remember Megas having one of the best themes ever, though...chicks DIG giant robots… lol I used to sing along with that…then turn the channel.

To each his own then, as long as you agree that the theme song was kickass. The writing was weak at times, I'll grant you that, but just the premise about a guy from Jersey tearing ass around the universe with his giant robot just screams "EPIC" to me.

Green_vs_Red

@Ao:

Megas seemed like a run-of-the-mill weaksauce pseudo-anime cartoon show to me.
It was like a really high quality webcomic or something. I think there were a few cool episodes, but meh…I sure didn't miss it when it was gone.

As a kid, watching it I remember being annoyed that such nice animation and one of the first attempts at a "Western Anime" was so meh. It was just like any goofy, forgettable cartoon on CN now, only with a mecha in it. Maybe, I need to rewatch it and in retrospect it'll be good or something but...give me samurai jack or dexter any day of the week over Megas. It was just to goofy for me to take seriously and not funny enough for me to laugh at. $:\$

I hope you don't think this qualifies as funny or serious let alone good.

ybmc

Megas had Bruce Cambell guest star, and that's all I need to say about that.

Heard about this earlier this week, INCREDIBLY EXCITED to see that Tartakovsky is working again. I was worried that storyboarding for Iron Man II was showing a decline in his career.

And for Samurai Jack fans, he was working on a film that would definitively close the series. I don't know whether or not he's still working on that, though, since last I heard of it was back in April.

Ao Kiji

I hope you don't think this qualifies as funny or serious let alone good.

I giggled at this atleast. I rewatched the pilot episode of Megas and didnt crack a smile.
And that Mandark cartoon looks like something from the last season or two, which sucked.
80% of that show was amazing, though!
This is one of the single cartoon episodes that a decade later, I still remember vividly: