Hey all, new guy here. Got all misty-eyed after seeing news about the game, and I've been hunting for somewhere to talk about Redwall, maybe make some new Redwall-based friends and the like. Finally found this place... So I joined.
So, does anyone remember the Redwall cartoon? I actually have it on DVD. Ain't watched it in forever, though, but I plan on it as soon as I can get someone I know to watch it with me...
Hello. I'm relatively new too. Though I'm not sure this is the place for introductions. I think its Front Lawns or something.
I've never watched the cartoon and don't feel particularly inclined to do so. I mean, the books are better, right?
Definitely!
The cartoon was actually my introduction to the books when I was a real little kid. I liked it a lot then because I liked pretty much anything that was animated and had talking mice in it, so of course I had to go track down the books at my elementary school library.
I've even rewatched a bunch of the animated series fairly recently, and it's a real mixed bag in terms of quality. The animation can get pretty stilted and sloppy, for one, though certainly not in a way that suggests the showmakers didn't care (if you've ever seen a bad direct-to-video animated movie, then you know what "not caring" really looks like). I more get the sense that they were just working with a very small budget and time constraints. I do generally like the character designs, though. With some of the villains, it can get hard tell what they're even supposed to be (like, some of the weasels appear to have buck teeth like rats for some reason??), but most of the good guy species look spot on. Even most of the voice acting is actually pretty decent.
And as an adaptation, I think that season 1 at least is actually kind of an improvement on the book. There are some changes they made that I don't quite get (like the tapestry having prophecies on it, which seems a bit weird and unnecessary), but most of the other changes they made seem to have been for the sake of making characters more likeable, useful, and engaging. I especially love all the changes they made with Cornflower. In the book, she's just kind of The Love Interestâ„¢, and the biggest effect she really has on the plot is accidentally throwing a lamp on Cluny's siege engine. But in the animated version she has all sorts of chances to do cool stuff and to shine as a character. I can't really comment on season 2 since I haven't rewatched it all the way through (at least, except to say that Tim Curry is the most perfect person they could have chosen to play Slagar). But season 3 is definitely more of a step down from the book (though Martin the Warrior is my favourite book in the series, so they had a bigger act to follow there). It's not bad per se, since there is some stuff they did really right (like how they depicted Tramun Clogg, and how pretty Rose's Noonvale song is in the show), but they definitely missed the mark on some of the book's key moments. The tickle torture scene is also just phenomenally stupid.
So, yeah, the animated series is certainly flawed, but I'm still glad it exists. I even wish they could've done at least one more season based on Mossflower just to see how it would have turned out (and to see how they would have animated the bats).
Hmmmm, solid advertisement. XD
Personally, I only found Redwall because of Kung Fu Panda Fanfiction. I saw Marlfox's book cover and thought. Animals? An axe? MINE! And now I'm obsessed. Muhahaha!
Lol!
Welcome, Torry! So glad you found us.
My introduction to the series was the animation as well. My grandmother taped some of it when it was showing on TV, and it has been a source of nostalgia ever since. When I got older I started noticing that in the between-breaks extras there was Brian Jacques talking about the series, and I asked my mom about the books.
Turns out, we had a few!
So started my addiction to reading. I loved the first book, discovered through friends that there were even more, and spent years amassing, reading, and rereading the books.
As many problems I see now with the animation, I cannot bring myself to dislike them because of how fond of memories they are.
That's the thing; I would probably LOVE the show if it had been a memory for me. Before the books.
But because it wasn't I just think it feels out of place.
I'm a bit curious. How does the show handle all the deaths? I mean what with how gory the books are, how does a cartoon do it? How many gory discretion shots are they?
There is no blood. All injuries, like arrows and spears, look like they're holding it more than . . . Wearing it. For example, Orlando in Mattimeo had an arrow stick into the wood BESIDE his paw, though he acted like it was actually pierced. Most PG way to go.
Perhaps the most gory thing would be with Asmodeus, where the shadow of Matthias cutting off his head showing, then the head falling to the ground. No blood.
Except for this little tapestry scene depicting Matthias's victory, with the beheaded snake beneath him with, I think, just a small puddle of orange-red stuff. That's it.
I think the cartoon was only slapped on at an early time of the morning over here for a brief while, and so I think I caught about one episode. A few years on I saw another episode on a channel on Sky (not sure what the direct US equivalent is - maybe just go with cable). That was some years back and I don't think they've repeated it.
Basically what I'm saying from that is that it hasn't influenced my interest in Redwall in any way. It was all about the books. If it had been shown more and in a better slot, I probably would have watched the cartoon - though I don't think it's a very good interpretation from what I have seen.
Quote from: SoranMBane on December 20, 2017, 05:48:44 PM
The cartoon was actually my introduction to the books when I was a real little kid. I liked it a lot then because I liked pretty much anything that was animated and had talking mice in it, so of course I had to go track down the books at my elementary school library.
I've even rewatched a bunch of the animated series fairly recently, and it's a real mixed bag in terms of quality. The animation can get pretty stilted and sloppy, for one, though certainly not in a way that suggests the showmakers didn't care (if you've ever seen a bad direct-to-video animated movie, then you know what "not caring" really looks like). I more get the sense that they were just working with a very small budget and time constraints. I do generally like the character designs, though. With some of the villains, it can get hard tell what they're even supposed to be (like, some of the weasels appear to have buck teeth like rats for some reason??), but most of the good guy species look spot on. Even most of the voice acting is actually pretty decent.
And as an adaptation, I think that season 1 at least is actually kind of an improvement on the book. There are some changes they made that I don't quite get (like the tapestry having prophecies on it, which seems a bit weird and unnecessary), but most of the other changes they made seem to have been for the sake of making characters more likeable, useful, and engaging. I especially love all the changes they made with Cornflower. In the book, she's just kind of The Love Interestâ„¢, and the biggest effect she really has on the plot is accidentally throwing a lamp on Cluny's siege engine. But in the animated version she has all sorts of chances to do cool stuff and to shine as a character. I can't really comment on season 2 since I haven't rewatched it all the way through (at least, except to say that Tim Curry is the most perfect person they could have chosen to play Slagar). But season 3 is definitely more of a step down from the book (though Martin the Warrior is my favourite book in the series, so they had a bigger act to follow there). It's not bad per se, since there is some stuff they did really right (like how they depicted Tramun Clogg, and how pretty Rose's Noonvale song is in the show), but they definitely missed the mark on some of the book's key moments. The tickle torture scene is also just phenomenally stupid.
So, yeah, the animated series is certainly flawed, but I'm still glad it exists. I even wish they could've done at least one more season based on Mossflower just to see how it would have turned out (and to see how they would have animated the bats).
About the animation its a series that is nearly 20 years old- obviously the graphics and so on will be a lot worse than they are today.
I also think that the first season was a big improvement on the Redwall book as it fits a lot better with the rest of the Redwall universe than the book does. I'd say season 2 was on par with the book. But yeah season 3 was somewhat below the book although they definitely didn't butcher it in my opinion.
BTW if anyone wants to watch the series or re-watch it, the entire series is on youtube (all 3 seasons and they're even organized into playlists). Just search Redwall on youtube...
Or on other legal sites.
Quote from: The Skarzs on December 30, 2017, 05:23:43 PM
Or on other legal sites.
Sure except those sites typically require a paid membership and the bigger problem is that what content is available on them varies from country to country. For instance, some t.v. series, movies etc... that are available on the American Netflix aren't available on Netflix Canada or Netflix in European countries etc... due to differing copyright and licensing laws between countries. You can get around that by Tor Browser or using some proxy server but then again that is also technically going against copyright rules to get that content. Youtube is universal if you have access to youtube this content is available anywhere you are in the world.
...
Quote from: Grond on December 31, 2017, 04:11:50 AM
Quote from: The Skarzs on December 30, 2017, 05:23:43 PM
Or on other legal sites.
Sure except those sites typically require a paid membership and the bigger problem is that what content is available on them varies from country to country. For instance, some t.v. series, movies etc... that are available on the American Netflix aren't available on Netflix Canada or Netflix in European countries etc... due to differing copyright and licensing laws between countries. You can get around that by Tor Browser or using some proxy server but then again that is also technically going against copyright rules to get that content. Youtube is universal if you have access to youtube this content is available anywhere you are in the world.
"Except"? You make it sound like people write books, create music, and make movies, video games, and TV shows so you can watch/read/listen to their art for free.
You pay for content you're interested in so that the people responsible for making it can keep making content. Novel idea! If you want to take advantage of the internet to rip-off art, you don't have to advertise that to others.
Quote from: Chipster of Noonvale on December 31, 2017, 08:24:20 PM
I LOVED THE TV SERIES! The animation was great, and I really liked the plot of season 3. The voice work was well-done
Also I have no objections to watching it on YouTube. If the copyright owners really cared they would have it taken down.
Oh, yeah, I think they did a great job on the voices too! (Except for the shrews. . . They must not have been sure what accent to use so they used Russian.)
Quote from: Chipster of Noonvale on December 31, 2017, 08:24:20 PMAlso I have no objections to watching it on YouTube. If the copyright owners really cared they would have it taken down.
Well, more like if the copyright owners actually cared, then they would have put some actual effort into their own Youtube channel. Because there actually is an official Redwall Youtube channel where you can watch full episodes of the animated series, except it's total garbage. Most of the episodes don't even have the episode numbers in the titles, they're not uploaded in order, the playlists are incomplete (and not organized into any particular order), and a lot of the episodes have annoying audio issues. The only thing that puts the official channel over unofficial uploads is that the visual quality is better.
Daggertooth here!
I'm a new user too, and I've only seen episode one of Redwall but I enjoy it a lot- might actually be one of my favorite cartoon T.V. shows besides Invader Zim... definitely one of my favorite pre-2000 cartoons...
I actually am listening to Redwall right now as background noise!
Hey
@Daggertooth is a Derp , welcome to the forum!!
I watched a couple seasons of Redwall a ways back. I think it was Mattimeo and Martin the Warrior, and the Redwall movie. Still, I never actually watched Redwall season 1. Maybe I'll watch it this week! ;D
Quote from: Captain Tammo on January 07, 2018, 05:47:39 PM
Hey @Daggertooth is a Derp , welcome to the forum!!
I watched a couple seasons of Redwall a ways back. I think it was Mattimeo and Martin the Warrior, and the Redwall movie. Still, I never actually watched Redwall season 1. Maybe I'll watch it this week! ;D
You should! It's cheesy and the voice actors aren't the greatest but it definitely delivers on its promise: Redwall!
Quote from: SoranMBane on January 01, 2018, 11:01:42 PM
Quote from: Chipster of Noonvale on December 31, 2017, 08:24:20 PMAlso I have no objections to watching it on YouTube. If the copyright owners really cared they would have it taken down.
Well, more like if the copyright owners actually cared, then they would have put some actual effort into their own Youtube channel. Because there actually is an official Redwall Youtube channel where you can watch full episodes of the animated series, except it's total garbage. Most of the episodes don't even have the episode numbers in the titles, they're not uploaded in order, the playlists are incomplete (and not organized into any particular order), and a lot of the episodes have annoying audio issues. The only thing that puts the official channel over unofficial uploads is that the visual quality is better.
There IS NOT an official YouTube channel, what you're referring to, as far as I know, is fraudulent. It even says its location is Germany, if that wasn't obvious enough. It is very easy to register accounts and say one is "official" - and that appears to be the case here.
Then I guess that's on Youtube if it's actually that meaningless when it says a channel is "verified." :-\
I dunno. I thought it was pretty difficult to get verified on Youtube? I've certainly never seen any small channels with a verified mark.
You are on the official Redwall website. It doesn't have a YouTube channel, nor is it based in Germany. Nor was the show created or produced in Germany. Nor is Nelvana now based in Germany.
That's about all the information you need.
If i were to rate the redwall cartoon series, Then season 1 would be first, followed by season 3 and lastly season 2.
Quote from: LordTBT on December 31, 2017, 09:52:03 PM
Sure except those sites typically require a paid membership and the bigger problem is that what content is available on them varies from country to country. For instance, some t.v. series, movies etc... that are available on the American Netflix aren't available on Netflix Canada or Netflix in European countries etc... due to differing copyright and licensing laws between countries. You can get around that by Tor Browser or using some proxy server but then again that is also technically going against copyright rules to get that content. Youtube is universal if you have access to youtube this content is available anywhere you are in the world.
"Except"? You make it sound like people write books, create music, and make movies, video games, and TV shows so you can watch/read/listen to their art for free.
You pay for content you're interested in so that the people responsible for making it can keep making content. Novel idea! If you want to take advantage of the internet to rip-off art, you don't have to advertise that to others.
Dude, obviously nobody does anything for free and artists do make money off their products or else no new content would e produced. However, for years you couldn't find I believe season 2 and 3 of Redwall anywhere. You could only buy the VHS tapes or older dvds off private individuals who had previously bought them and where selling them for exuberant prices. I remember this some years back. There is even a thread about it on this forum I believe. Now I think its changed with stream or on demand off amazon- but this is a pretty recent development.
There are also cartoons which are no longer being aired nor are DVD copies being produced. The only copies that you can SOMETIMES find which are easily accessible to large swaths of fans are on youtube or other such sites where someone uploaded them "illegally". Without this they would be lost except to those who had bought an original copy years ago. What do you find preferable ? In neither of these 2 scenarios will the original artist be making additional money.
Plus I would imagine most of the revenue that was generated for the creator of the series and artists happened during the time the series was being aired on television and that this was when it had the widest audience and most $$$$ generated....
I feel like we should make redwall a live-action film with plenty of special effects.
. . . Live action? How would that work?
Quote from: The Skarzs on September 16, 2018, 05:46:19 AM
. . . Live action? How would that work?
With motion capture and graphics like the new jungle book movie
Which makes it more animation than live-action!
I kind of usually imagine Redwall as 2D animation (which is one thing I liked about the cartoon). Though i will be honest the sizes kind of threw me off... but the sizes in the books are always a bit strange.
I'm unsure why I like 2D animation, I'd say the 'Disney' style would suit it (well more like Road To Eldorado)... as long as they don't, you know, cut out all the gory bits. Think the Watership Down movie.
On another note... Redwall Anime?
Yeah that's what I'm saying about the live-action film. It would make an epic action movie. I'd like 3D animations, because it's more realistic.
I love all the great ideas but I believe mine is the best to film a Redwall movie I should build a miniture abbey then catch approximately 100 mice, a hedgehog or two, some rats, a owl, a cat, a bunch of sparrows, a venomous snake, multiple shrews, and a beaver. Then I should dress them as abbeybeasts and let them all loose and video what happens.*
*Ah the sweet smell of sarcasm, but great ideas everyone (other than mine.)
Remember the badger/s! ;D
Yes I can't believe I forgot Contstance
*Badger eats the mouse.*
I have some Redwall episodes on VHS.
You can also find the whole series here,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbUe_Jiyk7Q&list=PLrwhF3606Ble37I12U6brBxCI6Jid_Jmk
I absolutely love the cartoon. It was how I was introduced to the Redwall series!
Same! I only started reading the books after the cartoon and the only books I have never read where Martin and Mattimeo
While the cartoon is nowhere near as good as the books, it was the first redwall related thing I ever laid eyes on. I watched it when I was about 5 or 6 and I loved it. I re-watched it recently and it's still really fun. But not quite as good as the books. Also, TV slagar was better than the book slagar. Bite me.