Robotech is on the way!

[marcvader]

My friends called me Breetai because my mom made me wear a protective helmet and faceshield until I was 17.

lol, sorry.

 

[Pink Ranger]

lol, sorry.

She said it would keep me from having impure thoughts about girls.

Luckily, it had no long-term effect on me whatsoever!

**puts on buttless chaps and rides pink Vespa down the street, blasting the rare Korean-language version of We Will Win on the speakers**

 

[The Guard]

I'm not familiar with Robotech, but it always seemed kind of generic sci-fi to me. What's its unique appeal, exactly?

 

[Pink Ranger]

I'm not familiar with Robotech, but it always seemed kind of generic sci-fi to me. What's its unique appeal, exactly?

Many reasons for me. #1: it is on a grand scale, and is not afraid to exact a heavy, heavy price on the protaganists in order to achieve victory (not going to spoil it any more for your unless you want me to). #2: it focuses on the very human "homefront" issues as well, it is often thought to be based on a World War 2 epic melodrama (if you can get past the potentially disturbing implication that this is a originally a Japanese story talking about the heroics of WW2). #3 there is a ton of moral ambiguity; the heroes make mistakes that have drastic consequences, and the enemies bent on Earth's destruction can come off as strangely sympathetic at times.

 

[Tequilla]

Robotech ? What is this madness ? I've suffered the bastardization of Macross saga too in my country (no idea why they showed the us version here) , but please for the love of god watch the original version.

 

[Pink Ranger]

"Bottom line, America: There should be one comprehensive Robotech DVD set so I can finally find out what happens to the little town in the space bubble."

 

[nite-owl]

Pink Ranger's recliner of rage!!!!

 

[Pink Ranger]

Don't get me started on those damn Viewmaster slides!

 

[Octoberist]

I know that once Macross 'ended', Robotech as a show continued on by using footage from another series, right? And then another series after that once the 2nd show ended.

But any of this seamless and coherent? I know that with each 'series', the explanation is that it's a new generation of sorts, hence the introduction of new characters and bots....but what about the villains and such? Unless they're reusing animation and integrating them in and out of each cuts, how was anything connected?

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

I know that once Macross 'ended', Robotech as a show continued on by using footage from another series, right? And then another series after that once the 2nd show ended.

But any of this seamless and coherent? I know that with each 'series', the explanation is that it's a new generation of sorts, hence the introduction of new characters and bots....but what about the villains and such? Unless they're reusing animation and integrating them in and out of each cuts, how was anything connected?

Seamless and coherent are not words to ever be used in conjunction with the English dub of ROBOTECH/SUPER DIMENSION MACROSS. The seasons of TECH that followed the MACROSS story were culled from other anime series that had no relation to the story of the residents of Macross island and the alien fortress that was their home. When most fans think of Robotech I think most think of the Macross section and the soap opera of the personal lives of the people on board the fortress along with the space battle action. But trying to follow the ideas of the plot will drive you insane because the dub story is incomprehensible (What the hell was Proto Culture any way? Why is J-Pop the key to victory? ). Of course the actual Japanese story is not much better, in my opinion. I have yet to see any dub that was a great story or made a lot of sense to my American sensibilities. But it is easy to understand why TECH has a strong place in the hearts of some. Compared to the cartoons that generation watched at the time a lot of TECH comes off as very sophisticated, with consequences that included losing ones love and death. At the time (the mid 80's) my grandmother and I would watch it when it aired early in the mornings as I got ready for school. She enjoyed the soap opera nature of the show, the Macross portion anyway, because once the next batch of shows came in and it seemed so different from the Macross era, I just stopped watching.

 

[Kaleb]

Emile Hirsch for Rick Hunter

 

[Tequilla]

I know that once Macross 'ended', Robotech as a show continued on by using footage from another series, right? And then another series after that once the 2nd show ended.

But any of this seamless and coherent? I know that with each 'series', the explanation is that it's a new generation of sorts, hence the introduction of new characters and bots....but what about the villains and such? Unless they're reusing animation and integrating them in and out of each cuts, how was anything connected?

Made no sense whatsoever.

It shouldn't even be legal.

 

[marcvader]

Yup, I only watched the first season. They lost me after that.

 

[Octoberist]

So the whole Robotech mythology that was created for the US is pretty much based on the Macross material; and everything else afterwards is just irrelevant?

It's confusing because Macross too, is available in the US on DVD. I mean, does that mean that another studio can get the rights to 'MACROSS PROPER' and compete against Warner Bros?

 

[roach]

http://www.robotunderdog.com/sony-nabs-robotech-plans-franchise/

Sony just nabbed the rights

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

You know... Call me crazy but THIS is a property that could be done the way SPEED RACER was as a feature film.

 

[terry78]

Sony needs a franchise, boy.

 

[Steyin]

Sony getting this and those involved is nothing but bad news in my eyes. I honestly hope this never gets made now, cause it ain't gonna be done right.

 

[TheVileOne]

Here is why I don't believe this film gets greenlit. When push comes to shove, this is material that can not be done in live action for cheap. This is a sci-fi story that would be set in the future and you have to execute the SDF-1, the Veritechs, and the Zentraedi all in one movie.

The Veritechs are transforming fighter jets. There is a whole fleet of them on the SDF-1. The SDF-1 is not just a helicarrier from Avengers, it is a Helicarrier that transformers into one giant robot. So you not only have a fleet of Transformer-like fighter jets, one giant helicarrier that turns into a giant robot, you have a race of alien humanoids that are in fact giant humanoids. That is not something that can be done for cheap in live action. To try and do it and make it look good, there is no way it can be done for less than $200 million. Look at Pacific Rim.

Robotech is an existing property, but it has not had the longevity of a Transformers or a TMNT. It has not had consistent and successful reboots over the last 30 years like those franchises have had, not to mention huge toy sales. There have been Robotech toys in recent years, but most of them are higher-end, premium and collectible type toys, as in toys for older, nostalgic collector market fans and not for kids.

In the end, when the the suits are in their offices and deciding on what to and what not to greenlight for their upcoming slate, I just do not see them committing $200 million plus possibly even millions more for a franchise like Robotech.

Just think about this. Warner Bros. acquired the film rights to Robotech and had them for EIGHT YEARS. That means for eight years Warner Bros. was willing to spend millions to develop this property but they were never confident enough to pull the trigger and greenlight the film. That included having the likes of Batman Begins/Dark Knight producer Chuck Roven and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan on board.

Even now, look at Masters of the Universe. Warner Bros. had the property for many years, never got off the ground. It switched to Sony, and it's still languishing in development purgatory. I know I've read a little movement on the project, but it's been like several years since the Sony switch, and Sony is still not sure on giving it the greenlight.

 

[TheVileOne]

So the whole Robotech mythology that was created for the US is pretty much based on the Macross material; and everything else afterwards is just irrelevant?

It's confusing because Macross too, is available in the US on DVD. I mean, does that mean that another studio can get the rights to 'MACROSS PROPER' and compete against Warner Bros?

No. It is a slippery legal slope, but basically, going back for many years, Harmony Gold is claiming legal ownership of anything released as Macross in the US because of its licensing arrangement with Tatsunoko Productions for SDF Macross.

As a result, it has prevented any other licensed Macross merchandise, reboots, and spin-offs released in the US that fans have wanted, but Harmony Gold's ownership of Robotech/Macross has prevented.

The Macross that was released on DVD in the US was the original Japanese SDF Macross series that Harmony Gold licensed from Tatsunoko. Not the newer Macross stuff that has been made. That is why they were able to re-release it in the US with a newly produced English dub.

Here is more on the legal mess that is the Macross franchise, and why America has been unable to get any of the new Macross material that's been made in Japan in recent years.

http://kotaku.com/5990702/why-you-havent-seen-any-new-macross-in-the-west-for-nearly-15-years

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

What are the merchandising rights for RT? Could Sony get a piece of that pie? That would motivate them into getting a Sony RT franchise of the ground too.

 

[TheVileOne]

What are the merchandising rights for RT? Could Sony get a piece of that pie? That would motivate them into getting a Sony RT franchise of the ground too.

For Robotech, it's Harmony Gold. The thing, Robotech was never a big toyline back in the 1980s. Matchbox produced the toys as I recall.

Over the years, Toynami did new toys but they were all like high end premium collectibles. Also this thread should probably be merged with the other Robotech thread on this forum.

 

[Octoberist]

So Robotech is stuck in the 80's and 90's, while Macross has been ongoing (and as popularity as ever) in Japan. So essentially, the Robotech situation is similar to Kevin McClory owning the rights to 'Thunderdome', along with SPECTRE and Blofeld, right?

As EON (Macross) went on forth with the Bond series without the need of Spectre/Blofeld (until recently), McClory (Robotech) was just stuck with Thunderball, only wanting to remake it every 10 years it seems.

It feels like, while this is a great opportunity for mecha movies, I think Hollywood is only enabling the poor creative control of the franchise under the mighty fist of Harmony Gold.

 

[TheVileOne]

Robotech isn't stuck in the 90s at all. In 2006 they released a new animated movie The Shadow chronicles. A while back they re-released something a Mospeada OVA as a Robotech film.

I mean that's how I see it, but I think I might be misinterpreting how you phrased it.

Here is a better assessment. We can't see new Macross material in the US because of Harmony Gold's antiquated hold over SDF Macross which became part of Robotech. Harmony Gold is claiming merchandise and distribution control over anything Macross that gets released here. So Japan just avoids it completely. Harmony Gold seems to argue because they licensed SDF Macross which was the old show in the 1980s, they hold US control over everything Macross.

 

[Octoberist]

I think what I was trying to say is that Harmony Gold has to deal with what they have, due to this archaic licensing deal. I guess I don't blame them.

Instead of dealing with the ongoing Macross stuff, they've been trying to creating their own Robotech shows/movies like the Shadow Chronicles (which was animated by some Korean company). So it's like an alternate universe of the oringal Macross, like what Kevin Mclory was doing with James Bond. But we're stuck with Harmony Gold, while it wasn't the case with EON.