Marvel and Funko Animated Shorts Talkback (Spoilers)

RoyalRubble

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Announced today October 8th 2016, at the New York Comic Con.

Marvel will be partnering with the company Funko for a series of comedic shorts featuring Marvel heroes and villains. One of the shorts, titled “Spellbound,” was shown, featuring Spider-Man and Iron Man in a face-off against Loki. Lane teased two more shorts: One with Deadpool and Venom in a chimichanga truck, and another with Rocket and Groot versus the Collector.
Source: ComicBookResources article.

Season One:
- "Spellbound"
- "Bait N Switch"
- "Chimichangas"

Season Two announced on July 22nd 2017, at the San Diego Comic Con.

Lane discussed the Marvel FUNKO shorts, and announced a new season of the shorts. The first episode will feaure Star-Lord, Baby Groot, Taserface and a special guest star.
Source: Newsarama article.

Season Two:
- "Cosmic Sleigh Ride"
- "Mjolnir Mischief"
- "Tick Tick Smash"
- "Time to Unwind"
- "Submarine Showdown"
- "Big Robot Little Problem"
- "Rooftop Rock"

Stay tuned for further developments!
Comments?


Mod Note: We appreciate and encourage discussion, but please keep your posts civil, relevant and insightful. Please do not post any improper or inflammatory material, as we will issue warnings if we believe it necessary. And remember to keep the discussion ON-TOPIC!
 
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RoyalRubble

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BleedingCool has some more details about the shorts shown and teased at NYCC, as well as an image from "Spellbound".
Lane broke the news that Marvel and Funko have collaborated to create three brand-new animated shorts that will be released later this year. The animated short Spellbound featuring Spider-Man and Iron Man facing off against the trickster Loki and his mind-controlling scepter, debuted to an enthusiastic crowd during the panel. The two other shorts include Chimichangas featuring Deadpool facing-off against Venom and Rescue where Rocket breaks into the Collector’s museum to try and set his buddy, Groot, free. A still image from Spellbound can be found in the link above.
Ubr4RXv.png

Image Credit: Bleeding Cool, Marvel, Funko
 

Frontier

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I wonder if they're going to get the main VA's back for this? If there's any actual dialogue granted, because I guess it would be weird to hear voices coming out of those Funko's and they could just as well tell the stories without any dialogue :sweat:.

I wonder if Venom is going to be Venom Venom or Flash as Agent Venom o_O?

I really hope they get back Nolan North for Deadpool, presuming there's any actual dialogue in these shorts :ack:.
 

RoyalRubble

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October 10th: Other than the voice cast, I'm also curious as to how these will be released - will they air on TV, get released online, or maybe even theatrically paired with certain movies. The latter seems kind of unlikely but who knows.

November 30th: The "Spellbound" animated short is now available on Marvel's YouTube channel!

 
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Greg91

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The response to this short has been very positive in the YouTube comments and other areas on the net which is refreshing to see for a Marvel animated product! The next two shorts are supposed to come out in December. I'm not sure if it's just these three or if there are more.

I thought Spellbound was light and fun. It didn't blow me away or anything, but it was a nice little short.
 

RoyalRubble

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There are some more details on the Marvel site, as well as a screenshot from the Rocket animated short.
Be on the lookout for the next two animated shorts roll-out! “Bait N Switch,” premiering on 12/7, features Rocket breaking into the Collector’s museum to try and set his buddy, Groot, free. “Chimichangas,” premiering on 12/14, features Deadpool facing off against Venom!
The Marvel Funko shorts include story and animation by A Large Evil Corporation and were executive produced by Brian Mariotti, Dan Buckley, Cort Lane, Joe Quesada, and Alan Fine.
 

Troy Troodon

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The response to this short has been very positive in the YouTube comments and other areas on the net which is refreshing to see for a Marvel animated product! The next two shorts are supposed to come out in December. I'm not sure if it's just these three or if there are more.

I thought Spellbound was light and fun. It didn't blow me away or anything, but it was a nice little short.

I think reason why people tend to forgive the kiddy theme of the shorts as appose to the actual shows on air has less to do with tone, and more to do with context. These are short, cutesy, silent comical acts with the toys reenacting the characters and not the characters we know from the comics; in short a parody. Think of it as a more child friendly version of the Superhero Bad Day videos.
 

TheLemsterPju

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I think reason why people tend to forgive the kiddy theme of the shorts as appose to the actual shows on air has less to do with tone, and more to do with context. These are short, cutesy, silent comical acts with the toys reenacting the characters and not the characters we know from the comics; in short a parody. Think of it as a more child friendly version of the Superhero Bad Day videos.

I would be willing to believe that, if it weren't for the fact that I've seen many commenters disregard everything the new shows do on their own in favor of comparing it to the originals or the films. We got to see Hulk fight Galactus and Thanos age the Avengers into ash. The films have yet to do anything like that.

Who cares if they're more "humorous" in these shows? IMO, I feel like that adds a bit more humanity to the characters. It's not like they're that far off from how they're normally portrayed. Cap is still a boyscout, Tony has always been full of himself, the basic characteristics are still there. A little more comedy for the kids isn't a bad thing. What kid show doesn't have lots of jokes? (And no, I'm not saying "kids have to be talked down to." I know that has been an issue for a lot of people, including me, for the first seasons of Ultimate Spider-Man and some of Agents of SMASH, but since then Marvel Animation isn't shying away from maturity and character development. "Kraven the Hunter" and "Banner Day" come to mind.)

Also, a parody? A parody in what sense? It isn't making fun of anything, it's just comedic. One of Marvel's trademarks is its unapologetic sense of humor. No one is going to call Batman: The Brave and the Bold a parody because Batman fights guys like Zebra-Man or Crazy Quilt. That's a TRIBUTE to the sixties era, in the same way Super Hero Squad is a tribute to Marvel's Silver Age. It isn't mocking those eras, it is acknowledging them in a nostalgic or fun fashion. That's exactly what Avengers Assemble: taking all these elements from old comics and new, plus the films into a mix of simple entertainment. If people don't like it, that's fine. It's still a double standard for YouTube commenters to all of a sudden give these Funko shorts praise for it's comedy, when they have been giving Marvel Animation [a hard time] for it's same exact comedy for the almost five years. The "parody" claim is an excuse. Plain and simple.
 
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TheLemsterPju

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Whatever you say, I won't argue.

I'm sorry if I left a bad impression, or came across like I was attacking you. To be honest, I wasn't arguing with you. It's a discussion, and I was just contributing. Getting deep into one doesn't bother me anymore, so it's all good. Feel free to share your opinion. :)
 

Troy Troodon

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I'm sorry if I left a bad impression, or came across like I was attacking you. To be honest, I wasn't arguing with you. It's a discussion, and I was just contributing. Getting deep into one doesn't bother me anymore, so it's all good. Feel free to share your opinion. :)

Okay then. Well for starters, I do agree it seems delineate for people to compare this to the shows in the manner you mentioned. But I guess when I say Parody, I meant it was sort of a parody to the films; though I might be wrong as this was just the first short, so it may well be doing it's own thing. :shrug:

But while it's true some of the character's characteristics are still retained, it's the context of how the characters here are conveyed, though I wouldn't exactly call them characters, more like caricatures to say the least.:sweat:

Here's my personal gripe though, which is something that Linkara actually brought up once, and my thoughts exactly; humor is primary tool to defuse tension, however if character continuously forget that there is actual tension in story that's going on it just comes of as distracting or even annoying at times. The purpose of comedy in a more serious kid themed program (at least, serious in terms of comparing it to something more goofy) is to counter dramatic conflict, but if you continue to run it out, (particularly if you keep filling in pop cultural references) it becomes somewhat out of place.

Although another thing I will agree with, is that indeed Brave and the Bold and Superhero Squad are not parodies, and yeah both shows are rather commending to the more goofy and light hearted feel of the Silver Age in their own rights (though I still think the latter show is somewhat closer to parody not just for it's more comedic take on the characters but also in terms of context of the toy deal and the overall cartoony universe it's set, but that's just how I perceive the show)

And yes, you are right about how arbitrary or even ill informed some if not most YouTube comment arguments can get (trust me I've been there a thousand times myself) so if there is a comment you find that doesn't make sense or even contradicts the criteria of one's criticism or overall argument, you are more than obliged to disagree. But still we should all try our best to be open minded, and try to share our own critics or over all input regarding a certain media, and try not to argue with certain folk, since there are people are are pretty thick headed and self righteous and would pretty much defy anyone's critique or opinion on something, and even try to make others look wrong. :sad: (again I've been there)

But like I said, we can always be open minded and respect one's opinion on something and try not to make a war out of it. Sure there are still people who's opinions we can't respect, but if there's one thing I learned from past experience on sites like this, is that the grand majority of the people I share them with are some of the kindest, smartest, and most decent minded people I've had the pleasure to interact with. So don't let what other people say get you man. :)

And thanks btw for your seniority to let me at least share my own thoughts, it means a lot to me. ^^
 
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Greg91

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Who cares if they're more "humorous" in these shows? IMO, I feel like that adds a bit more humanity to the characters. It's not like they're that far off from how they're normally portrayed. Cap is still a boyscout, Tony has always been full of himself, the basic characteristics are still there. A little more comedy for the kids isn't a bad thing. What kid show doesn't have lots of jokes? (And no, I'm not saying "kids have to be talked down to." I know that has been an issue for a lot of people, including me, for the first seasons of Ultimate Spider-Man and some of Agents of SMASH, but since then Marvel Animation isn't shying away from maturity and character development. "Kraven the Hunter" and "Banner Day" come to mind.)
I honestly have no idea why people loved these shorts so much yet are so critical to the animated features. Not just the shows, but the movies as well. The only other time I saw this amount of positivity for Marvel Animation recently were the Guardians of the Galaxy: Origins shorts. So I guess the YouTube commenters just like shorts? :confused:

Anyway, I own two Funko Pop figures. One I got for free with a Captain America: The First Avenger DVD and the other I brought this year. I don't think either character is confirmed to appear in the shorts though.

IMG_0506.JPG
 

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