My childhood was filled with awesome, and that’s what has shaped and carved me into the mecca of awesome that I am today. One of the earliest animated shows that ever impacted me was called Battle of the Planets! Granted, none of us ever called it that because to us it was G-Force. No, not that talking guinea pigs with superpowers movie. This was an animated series dubbed for North American audiences and was originally known as Gatchaman.
Now in conjunction with Corus Entertainment, Nelvana and d-Rights from Japan are going to reboot the franchise for a new generation.
Kidscreen offers:
Nelvana and d-rights—which also teamed on Nelvana’s popular Beyblade property—are set to develop the new series under the working title Battle of the Planets: Phoenix Ninjas.
The Ninja Science Team Gatchaman were the original genetically modified superheroes who had fantastic technology, vehicles, and bird themed costumes. They bound together to battle the evil forces of Galactor lead by the mysterious Zoltar.
Despite its hokey personalities, the show did what many a boy or girl band would do decades later. The team of five super teens each had their own personality, attitude and style. Everyone who loved the show had a different G-Force member as their favourite.
This is the original opening sequence of the show.
Now this new show will likely not have the more mature themes or certainly the mature visuals of the 1995 direct to video remake as it is targeted at 7-11 year olds. Which of course means that they will spaz out at the mere mention of anything they don’t like and have exaggerated reactions to make the kiddies giggle.
I would have preferred they had a balance like Avatar: The Last Airbender did. Still a little silly, but at its heart it told a mature story. Nothing wrong with that.
Time will tell if this new Battle of the Planets appeals to just the kids, the oldschool fans or none at all.
