Wednesday, Jun. 9 2010 @ 8:03AM
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But sometimes, for some reason, some movie exec has greenlit a movie based on a comic strip. It happened more often in the past when the funnies were more popular (and funnier) but it can still happen today -- heck, even at this very moment, a Marmaduke movie is in theaters, and that's a one-panel strip about an obnoxious Great Dane owned by Hitler. Here are 10 other films that came straight from the funny pages. 10) Annie
Maybe you've seen the 1982 film, or maybe you've seen the staged musical, but in either case, Annie is one of the better adaptations of a classic strip. Granted, the film/play is less about an adventuring orphan and more about how a street kid relates to privileged living, but the music is both memorable and solid, and the cast of Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Bernadette Peters, and Tim Curry are great to watch. Plus it was directed by Academy Award winner John Huston!
9) Blondie
Not many people know the truth, but Blondie originally began as tales of a carefree flapper girl in 1930. Only when she married Dagwood (whose rich parents disowned him for it) did the perpetual tale of suburban life start. And believe it or not, there were 28 Blondie and Dagwood films made between 1938 and 1950. While modern fans might disagree with its greatness, it certainly did well on volume.
8) Garfield
When asked what his regrets were in the movie Zombieland, he said, "Garfield." The most successful cartoon feline ever (sorry, Felix and Sylvester), the Garfield film mixed live-action with CG, with Murray voicing the title character. Odds are that if original Garfield voice Lorenzo Music was alive he would have gotten the role in a heartbeat, but Murray was a close enough approximation. It even landed a sequel in 2006, Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties.
7) Brenda Starr
Brenda's been riding the funny pages for 70 years (even being drawn by Aquaman artist Ramona Fradon for a while), and has appeared on-screen a handful of times. The most famous adaptation of the female adventurer/reporter was the 1989 bomb starring Brooke Shields and Timothy Dalton. This turd, while trying to stay true to the character and throw in some dumb fantasy elements, sat on a shelf for five years before grossing only $30,000 at the box office.
6) Dick Tracy
1990's Dick Tracy was a summer blockbuster that hit all the right notes with fans. Directed and starring pretty boy Warren Beatty and guest-starring the comic detective's entire rogue's gallery, this stylish action film is still very enjoyable to watch today. Stephen Sondheim and Danny Elfman did the music! All the colors were based on the original colors used for the comic strip, and layers of prosthetic make-up were used to make Al Pacino into "Big Boy" and William Forsythe into "Flattop." It definitely merited all the action figures that came with it.
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114 comments
Comments
JD said:
Dennis is such amenace he has taken over the spirit
Monkeyboy Prime replied to JD:
That scamp!
Revelo replied to Monkeyboy Prime:
That utter brat, kids these days... =P
Bad Brendan said:
I would have added the Shadow.
The Alec Baldwin ,Tim Cury Version from the 90's
davesnothereman replied to Bad Brendan:
not really a comic strip though. a pulp and radio show.
Bad Brendan replied to davesnothereman:
my Bad then.
kwed said:
"Odds are that if original Garfield voice Lorenzo Music was alive he would have gotten the role in a heartbeat, but Murray was a close enough approximation."
come on we all know it was the perfect choice considering Lorenzo was the voice of Peter Venkman (Bill Murray's character) for The Real Ghostbusters cartoon. Nerd fans rejoiced everywhere as it came full circle.
CrackerJacker replied to kwed:
"Nerd fans rejoiced everywhere as it came full circle."
And then the film came out and we were embarrassed for our earlier partying.
kwed replied to CrackerJacker:
yeah, it wasn't Casablanca, but it wasn't that bad. Better than Batman & Robin.
LBD "Nytetrayn" replied to kwed:
Agreed with this. I enjoyed it, it would probably be a fun one to watch with the kids, but I enjoyed it.
Scooter Atreides replied to kwed:
Way to set the bar high! Two hours spent examining a mystery stain on the wall is more entertaining than Batman and Robin.
Arcane replied to Scooter Atreides:
You mean Dark Water, or the Messengers?
sodamancer replied to kwed:
not too mention that Lorenzo Music's Garfield voice was just his impersonation of Bill Murray to begin with...
Frank Welker has done Garfield's voice as well and it just doesn't sound right.
Bill Murray definitely fit the role.
Purple Monkey Dishwasher said:
Flash Gordon #1
Bad Horse replied to Purple Monkey Dishwasher:
FLASH!
AAA-AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
KING OF THE IMPOSSIBLE!
Yakko replied to Bad Horse:
FLASH!
AAA-AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
SAVIOR OF THE UNIVERSE!
Loafy replied to Josh:
LOVE the Queen song and just thought I'd add the Opening to the anime The Big O, as it is most definitely inspired by the Flash Gordon song. Have a listen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdA6iRk94Hc
JohnMatrix replied to Loafy:
While we're leaving music links here, can I add this video of Dennis and Charlie composing Dayman?
1. It always cracks me up.
2. For some reason it reminds me of the Flash Gordon theme.
3. Everyone could always use some It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Gasstank replied to Josh:
awesome
cKHAVIKk replied to Josh:
He's just a man...
with a man's courage.
RedButcher said:
I don't want to be a perv but did I just get flashed by Brooke Shields?
Great list I love the Blondie movies.
pugfugly replied to RedButcher:
Are you talking about the nip slip in the water, or one of the five nearly-crotch shots?
With a trailer like that, I can't believe the movie only made $30K.
RunnerX13 said:
Wow, Blondie was a flapper, and Dagwood married below is class!? This strip just got a whole lot more interesting; too bad that today it's nothing more than formulaic crap.
During the pre-cable days, one of the local TV channels where I grew up (I think it was the Fox affiliate) used to run the Blondie films every Sunday for years on end. It was pretty easy to watch them as cute and slight domestic comedies without once connecting them with their comic strip source, but they've faded into obscurity these days because they were the cinematic equivalent of cotton candy.
Frank replied to Bunche:
Used to watch them on Sunday mornings too - good, lighthearted fun.
TrapJaw replied to Frank:
Yep, in the pre-Fox network days, our local PBS affiliate used to feature the Blondie movies on an awesome show called Matinee at the Bijou.
.
Matinee was set up to recreate the style of movie-watching during the earlier days of cinema. They played several short features, like cartoons or serial adventures, followed by the main feature film.
.
It was really cool.
thelordofhell replied to Bunche:
Mine used to run Godzilla movies on Saturday and Blondie movies on Sunday. It made me think about writing a spec script for a Godzilla vs. Blondie movie.
keepoffthegrass said:
Lorenzo Music was Peter Venkman on the Ghostbusters cartoon who was played by Bill Murry...who did the voice of garfield who was originally voiced by Lorenzo Music.
*explodes*
liquidhalcyon replied to keepoffthegrass:
Geoff said:
As a viewer, were you supposed to feel sympathy for Mr. Wilson that this punk kid was screwing with his life?
Because I always - ALWAYS - did.
LBD "Nytetrayn" replied to Geoff:
Same. I was more a Mr. Wilson fan than a Dennis fan, even as a kid.
Brian said:
I agree Flash Gordon #1. I love that damned movie.
katefan said:
There are few times where I have rented or checked a movie out from the library and did not finish watching them. The first that comes to mind is Tomb Raider, where ten minutes in I asked myself "Tom, why are you watching this shit?" then stopped.
I actually got half way through The Spirit, I guess I stuck it out longer because I like Frank Miller and really, really wanted to give him a chance. Sad to see such a talented guy descend into self parody that way...
I would've been fine with Spirit if Miller had been filiming one of his own properties.
But dragging down the guy they named comics' most influential awards after? That's just shameful. The only good to come out of it was that more people got exposed to DC's recent Spirit series, specifically Cooke's tenure on the book.
Security Stooge replied to Geoff:
Miller, protest though he would at the suggestion, has long considered himself the protector of and heir to the great names in the business. While having his persona to champion them in their winter years is of some merit, his hubris in trying to channel Eisner onto the screen shows how much if an heir he is.
Allow Gaiman to be your example for how to be a champion. Miller actually seems to believe he's under-rated. Shame, really as I am a hard core true believer in the first Dark Knight and 300.
CarKrash said:
Screw the naysayers… I loved that Spirit movie.. It did play as a parody.. but I was crackin’ up.. Wait.. It wasn’t a parody?
Korbl replied to CarKrash:
I saw the awkwardness and oddness of the film as reflecting comics when they were still a new medium, and how a lot of the golden and silver age, when viewed today, is just awkward and stilted.
yureq said:
Am I the only one who liked Spirit? It was my first contact with the character. And It really was insane. But it had Samuel L. Jackson in Nazi uniform! It alone redeems the film in my eyes :)
Third Impact replied to yureq:
You have Samuel L. Jackson as a pimp, a samurai, and a nazi. Sounds like the perfect movie to me.
I loved it.
MattK said:
At first I was going to say "This top 10 list sucks" but then I realized it's just a list of live-action films based on comic strips...not that they were necessarily any good.
But with that in mind, it failed because it left off The Addams Family. Both the original film and Addams Family Values were probably the best comic strip movie out there.
Ethan Kaye replied to MattK:
I'm sure if I left off Blondie you would have said, "This list failed because it left off Blondie."
MattK replied to Ethan Kaye:
Heh, well, I dunno about me, someone might have. Actually, I never heard of Brenda Starr either as a comic or as a movie. But Addams Family and AFV were quite significant films. They were the first time most of us noticed Christina Ricci, they were probably the best of Raul Julia's final films (OF COURSE!), and overall they were good comedies.
Heck, why just 10? Make it 11 and include it.
The Addams Family was never a strip per se; it was a series of periodic New Yorker cartoons featuring the characters and when you look over Addams' body of work, the Family had relatively few appearances. The movies had much more to do with cashing in on the recognition of the TV series than anything else.
steeveedee said:
Don't forget, The Addams Family was a series of single panel cartoons in The New Yorker and other magazines before it was a TV show and two very fun movies.
Also, there were a couple Snuffy Smith movies, a Dondi movie and a bunch of Joe Palooka movies back in the '30s and 40s!
I personally would love to someday see a live action Calvin and Hobbes movie. Hell, I'd be happy to see new strips from him.
Hachiko replied to steeveedee:
Interesting idea for a Calvin & Hobbes film. What do you think would be the best way to portray Hobbes, as CGI or costume/puppet?
steeveedee replied to Hachiko:
Not sure, but Bill Waterson would have to be involved. And judging by his complete anonymity and disappearance from the public eye, I doubt if he'd ever go for anything like this.
skrag2112 replied to steeveedee:
I'm pretty sure it will be a cold day on the sun when Watterson agrees to a 'Calvin & Hobbes' movie. But, if that happened, I'd like to see a suited character playing Hobbes. Some CG would be okay as long as it doesn't overwhelm him. (They'd probably have to use CG for any Spaceman Spiff segments.)
mrm1138 replied to skrag2112:
Yeah, I think doing it they way Spike Jonze did with Where the Wild Things Are would suit the tone. Honestly, though, I'd much rather see a completely 2D cell animated adaptation.
Admiral Dillhole replied to mrm1138:
The closest thing humanity will get to a Calvin & Hobbes movie.
Terror, thy name is Gooby.
Third Impact replied to Hachiko:
They already made a live action "Calvin And Hobbes" movie. It was called "Fight Club".
http://ignatz.brinkster.net/cfightclub.html
Scooter Atreides replied to Third Impact:
I just read the page you linked to. That is the most terrifyingly plausible theory I've seen in a long time.
The Man With Two Brains said:
No mention of "Little Nemo in Slumberland"?! Not only was it one of the best and most gorgeously drawn comics of all time (I'm hoping to find books of the strips) but it was a fantastically well put-together film that was a mix of live-action and animation with really complex sets that matched the original art. That really should be on here.
Also... is this just listed in a random order? With the films you have on here, "Flash Gordon" really should top the list and "Annie" should be at #2 and "Popeye" at 3 if you're ranking them.
Ethan Kaye replied to The Man With Two Brains:
100% random order. Promise. I never said it was the Top anything!
bort said:
Dick Tracey was da bomb. Seriously underrated flick.
When I read the article's assessment of Dick Tracy, I almost spewed my coffee out of my nose. Anyone who has actually read Dick Tracy, especially the series during its Chester Gould glory days of incredible violence and sadism, will tell you that that movie was not only a piece of shit, but that it bears only the most superficial resemblance to its source material. If a proper Dick Tracy movie were made, there's a good chance that it would earn a very hard "R" and thus probably lose money. Folks, do yourselves the favor and read the year-by-year collections of this classic strip that are currently coming out. Dick Tracy was a national phenomenon for years for a reason, and none of its magic translated to the screen. And the same can be said of the films and serials made from it during its heyday, but then again there was no way the strip's ferociousness could have been seen onscreen during the reign of Will Hays.
davelog said:
How could you leave out the film version of Funky Winkerbean, starring Robert DeNiro and Sir Lawrence Olivier?
Shannon said:
The Spirit was a complete piece of crap as far as movies go. Nothing but a bunch of cinematic shit that defiles the work of Will Eisner. Boo-urns!
Roswellianism said:
Whoa. Blondie was a fox!! I gotta look up some of those movies the next time they're playing on TCM....
The Popeye movie is an utter mind-fuck. I remember watching it as a kid and being flabbergasted and confused all to hell. Why was Popeye singing? Hell, why was ANYONE singing?
Although Ray Walston as Pappy was great casting. Keep it cool, Mr Hand. We miss ya.
knifeintheeye said:
The Phantom is wonderful. I don't understand the overwhelming hate it gets.
Bunche replied to knifeintheeye:
I agree with you completely. Excellent adventure film for a strip all but forgotten in its country of origin, but a major favorite internationally. It's apparently big in Australia and there's even a Phantom-based theme park that's part of a zoo in Sweden!
BobJ replied to knifeintheeye:
Yep, I like it a lot too. Honestly, I think the hate stems from it not being "grim n' gritty". We have a character that clearly loves what he's doing, has a moral code and sticks to it and does not kill (the daily strip currently has a story arc that has The Phantom wrestling with this no-kill code as it comes back to haunt him). I thought it had some clever parts, great action and I thought Zane was great in the part. Ultimately, I think the story fell short of its mark, and there wasn't enough cool bits to generate buzz.
And maybe a guy in a skin-tight purple outfit riding around on a horse in the jungle seemed weird to modern audiences. Me, I don't judge...
Haeckel replied to knifeintheeye:
The Phantom's sets, costumes, period atmosphere: all terrific.
But like The Rocketeer, it suffers from a sluggish pace and a less than satisfying script. Especially the end, when it lazily resorts to glowy special effects sludge like so many other genre flicks have done since Raiders and Ghostbusters.
Greyradish said:
You forgot Annie, Garfield, and the new Marmaduke coming out,
Anonymous replied to Greyradish:
Brain stopped working how could I not see Annie and Garfield on the list.
greyradish replied to Greyradish:
Brain stopped working cant believe I didn't see Annie and Garfield on the list and Marmaduke was mentioned... no more heroine for breakfast I swear... this time for sure
Roger Mortis said:
"No one can quite put their finger on why the big Phantom movie failed in 1996."
Well, their first choice for the lead role was Bruce Campbell, but they gave it to Billy freaking Zane instead, so I'd say it was karma.
mythbri replied to Roger Mortis:
My thought exactly!
Heimdall said:
Didn't see if anyone mentioned it, but it's worth noting (just for nerd tivia's sake) that Sam Jones who played Flash Gordon also filled the titular role in the 1987 The Sprit TV movie.
(Also Nana Visitor - Major Kira from DS9 - played Ellen Dolan)
Sam Jones also starred in The Highwayman, which was awesome.
Bunche said:
I'd like to add the live action ASterix movies to this list, especially ASTERIX & OBELIX: MISSION CLEOPATRA (2002), which adapts the classic story arc ASTERIX AND CLEOPATRA (1963) and features the mouth-watering Monica Bellucci as Cleopatra. And how can anyone say Gerard Depardieu was not born to play Obelix?
Roswellianism replied to Bunche:
*blinks*
Wow. Okay. I thought you were making that up, but after a quick IMDB search, you were right. It is real.
That just totally blows my mind.
Anonymous replied to Bunche:
Yeaahh, but those were more of comic books. Not of comic strips.
Gregg said:
Queen's music & Brian Blessed's acting should have put Flash Gordon at #1.
Scortia replied to Gregg:
Pretty sure this is just a collection of ten titles, there's no order. No one would put The Spirit in first place of any list unless it's a "Worst of" list.
I'm so ashamed that I've watched all of the Popeye movie and never saw more than 20 minutes of Flash Gordon.
RunnerX13 said:
I wish Newsday ran Marmaduke, so I can read it with Hitler's voice.
mythbri said:
I really hate that "Popeye" movie. I saw it when I was 13 or 14 because my step-dad swore it was good. He didn't tell me that A) it starred Robin Williams, B) it was a musical, and C) it was about 10 hours long. My step-dad has perfectly good nerd taste otherwise, though.
giskards_revenge said:
ALL HAIL MING! RULER OF THE UNIVERSE!!
G`nort said:
Howard the Duck!
The Man With Two Brains replied to G`nort:
Comic book, NOT strip!
Collin said:
What about Scott Pilgrim vs The World? I know it's not quite out yet, but it looks better than several of your selections :D
RussellmaniaXX5 replied to Collin:
Graphic Novel (series of) NOT strip!
demoncat said:
i was going to be surprised if flash gordon did not make the list even though most fans like it for queen doing the sound track and its cheesy ness it still the performance of von snowdon as ming. the spirit showed frank miller should not be doing any other comic films. but his own stuff. Pop eye gave new meaning to box office poision. this list shows some things holly wood has yet to figure out how to do right and comic strips seem to be that thing
Samuraiter said:
Flash Gordon, yo. Remember the fly-by message in the sky during the big wedding? "All races feast and make merry ... on pain of death." Ming the Merciless is my HERO, man! One of my favorite movies. Ever. Of all time.
Double R said:
i don't care: I love The Phantom movie, and I didn't Hate the Spirit.
Zach Oat said:
Inspired by Marmaduke, I recently made a list of comic strips that SHOULD be movies:
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/mwop/moviefile/2010/05/marmaduke-other-comic-strips-t.php
Su said:
I still cannot believe there is a Marmaduke movie.
OTOH, it's an excuse to pop over to read Marmaduke Explained for a bit.
lewen said:
somehow this list is missing the usual mocking and cynism. Hell we are even encouraged to watch the RHI phantom.
John said:
How could you leave out the recent Flash Gordon TV series on Syfy? That was much worse than the 1980 movie because it was trying to take itself seriously.
If the Marmaduke movie is successful (meaning it makes back its cost), will we get a live-action Family Circus movie?
LBD "Nytetrayn" said:
Maybe this will continue, but evolve into webcomics.
Can you imagine? PVP Online: The Movie, Penny Arcade: The Movie, and Real Life: The Movie?
...Shortpacked! The Movie would be neat, though.
Say_What? said:
Glad to see Flash Gordon on this list. Truly awful in all the best ways and Max Von Sydow was great as Ming the Merciless.
AfterGlow said:
Da na na nana, Dennis, Dennis the menace!
It was a catchy tune.
Aproposreeve said:
I saw Dick Tracy for the first time as an adult yesterday and I can't belive it got a PG rating ah back when you could fool the censors with flashy colors
Bloublibo said:
FLASH! A-AH~! Savior of the universe!
PorpoisePower said:
I remember being 14 or so and watching Dick Tracy and thinking... Damn Madonna's got great boobies. Now as more mature, cultured, and married adult I think. Damn Madonna had nice boobs.
Bryce K. Nielsen said:
Phantom not a hit? Probably because America is too homophobic for a gay superhero. I mean, purple tights?
-BKN
The Shadow said:
PLEASE....could everyone on the Internet just give the goddamn Hitler thing a rest? In less than a year, it has already gotten older than the creators of half of these strips.
ZeroCorpse said:
Bring on the FAMILY CIRCUS movie!!!
-
(I think I just threw up a little).
Third Impact replied to ZeroCorpse:
Damn you! Now it will happen, and the kids will be rapping in the trailer.
Jason said:
What, no Lil' Abner movie?
Not only is it a musical, but the costumes are disturbingly close to this strip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyEZ9incFtQ&feature=related
This list could easily support a second edition.
Third Impact said:
I loved The Spirit. Let the flame war begin.
Dscandal said:
Bring on The Boondocks Movie. Live Action.
Bring on Beetle Bailey LA
Bring on Charlie Brown Live Action
Bring on Doonesberry, Cathy, The Far Side, BC, Alley Oop, Hagar the Horrible, Dilbert, Mother Goose and Grimm and the one to end all............ZIGGY!
ROFL
Scooter Atreides said:
Me, I live in a state of perpetual hope/dread that someday they'll make a Bloom County live-action movie.
Berkeley Breathed, Bill Watterson, and Gary Larson were the Holy Trinity of 1980's comic strips.
DoctorSmashy said:
I want an Axe Cop movie! Starring Paul Rudd, in his Brian Fantana get-up.
David Allen said:
If you are going to read any Popeye, pick up the set of books "The Complete E.C. Segar's Popeye". The cartoons don't do justice to the original (though the Fleischer-era cartoons come close).
Popeye was FAR more interesting than what made it to the screens, and his nemesis was the Sea Hag, more so than Bluto (who came much later). The original strip was called "Thimble Theatre" not Popeye (until decades later). Popeye didn't appear until ten years in (1929) and was supposed to be a "one-shot" character.
The difference between the comic strip Popeye and the cartoon Popeye is the difference between a gourmet dinner, and a fistful of Pixie Sticks washed down with a Tab.
Snatch1414 said:
Klytus looks exactly like Doctor Doom.
David Allen said:
If you are going to read any Popeye, pick up the set of books "The Complete E.C. Segar's Popeye". The cartoons don't do justice to the original (though the Fleischer-era cartoons come close).
Popeye was FAR more interesting than what made it to the screens, and his nemesis was the Sea Hag, more so than Bluto (who came much later). The original strip was called "Thimble Theatre" not Popeye (until decades later). Popeye didn't appear until ten years in (1929) and was supposed to be a "one-shot" character.
The difference between the comic strip Popeye and the cartoon Popeye is the difference between a gourmet dinner, and a fistful of Pixie Sticks washed down with a Tab.
hex said:
dick tracy was goood and popeye wasn't? are you kidding me? dick tracy was basicly built up around madonna being in it, not to mention it was a massive flop. popeye was enjoyable for the audience it was intended for which was kids and people who enjoyed the strips or cartoons.
plus robin williams is a much better actor than warren beaty. they even made a joke about beaty's performance in that movie in a dick tracy strip.
Merry Go Wrong said:
"Plus, it lacked Ebony White".
THANK GOD.
Psykoduck said:
Pretty much all of these movies were horrible
(and horrifying). Annie and Popeye are both
the stuff that nightmares are made of. Out
of all of these, only The Phantom and Flash
Gordon are any good. And FG is right on the
line of going from Camp to Crap, saved by
the excellent soundtrack.
