Deadly Budget? 700K for a katsep?

From: chance <chance_at_unix.infoserve.net>
Date: Mon, 1 Apr 1996 07:29:53 -0800


> Ouch. $700 K? Let's keep this quiet, give the series a bad rep and all.
>When did he make that comment, BTW? And do you know what episode it may have
>been? I hope it wasn't The Deadly Pyramid, but the animation *looks* that
>expensive. Or was it not a matter of expensive animation but waste in the
>production at H-B?

He made the comment on rec.arts.animation around, oh, October last year,
and in response to a post of Mark Evanier's talking about "Mighty Orbots
being the most expensive series ever made". Evanier and Potamkin are
fast friends. Again, I don't even know if he was talking about the 'Kats, but
when I suggested "The Deadly Pyramid" as the likely culprit, the suggestion
was neither acknowledged nor denied. Probably the e-mail equivalent of
"no comment". I'd bet the budget was creeping up and up since the first
season, and was a bit out of control for elements of the second. That's
just a guess.

> $9.8 million if I remember correctly. Lion King shredded it. Balto's
>another excellent film with an unfortunate theatrical death ($11.6 million)
>because it isn't Dinsey.

Bingo. It had some heavy scenes and was not geared completely to the kiddie
market, and as a result is a *fine* film. Disney showed death in the form of
Bambi, Tod's mother, Gaston and Mufasa, but "Balto" depicted it as
coffins being readied for use; IMO *far* more powerful. Kats has a lot of
potentially powerful setups that could be explored in a film, but it would die
a horrible, shrieking death if aimed at seven year-olds. The anime route is
the only one to take.

>> Okay. Someone at Warners wrote up a neat little short about the innermost
>> workings of the Turner org called "Two Stupid Producers" which evidently

> I don't suppose you could have it or could post it, could you?
>Nah...Forget I asked, it's just too cruel.

Well, I could....but then I'd have to kill you. No, seriously -- I'd love to but
keelhauling is so painful, and certain people would land in a world of hurt.
We all have a sense of humour, but Tedco's is occasionally a bit
underdeveloped.

_____________________________________________________
"Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs that relayed
 antitoxin six hundred miles over rough ice, across treacherous waters,
 through Arctic blizzards from Nenana to the relief of stricken Nome in
 the winter of 1925. Endurance, Fidelity, Intelligence." -- "Balto"
_____________________________________________________

Received on Mon Apr 01 1996 - 10:44:52 PST

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