So, in the midst of awards hoopla, here's a bracing reminder of Hollywood at its worst. Studio executives around town have been busy trying to put together movies centered around two cartoon properties: "Hong Kong Phooey," based on a 1970s cartoon no one remembers with Eddie Murphy set to cash a paycheck in the titular voice role, and "Marvin The Martian," a Looney Tunes character we all know and love, who someone seems to think is capable of leading his own movie. Anyway, it appears some test footage has been done and yeah, it's pretty awful.
The guys over at Cartoon Brew have the background, and basically, auteur Andrew Zamm, the genius director behind "Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2," the upcoming straight-to-video "The Little Rascals" reboot, and the Carrot Top vehicle "Chairman of the Board," put together two test reels for the movies. In the first spot for 'Phooey,' we see Murphy (or more likely, a really good soundalike) essentially prove that this concept is just like that time "Itchy & Scratchy" tried to add Poochy The Dog. Meanwhile, the 'Martian' short is a bit more promising (relatively), but also features the kind of creatively bankrupt concept we'd expect (oh noes! he's going to be sold on eBay).
Anyway, take a look below and see what you'll be taking your kids to at some point in the future. Even if the resulting pictures don't turn out exactly like this, if this is the creative direction they're going in, we're all doomed.
