Samurai Jack

[Pacino86845]

I just started watching this show, having gone through the first three episodes so far. I was a bit weary of starting it, since I was ambivalent about what I'd seen of Genndy Tartakovsky's work (Powerpuff Girls and Dexter's Lab were staples at home among my younger siblings).

When I started the first episode, I was thinking "OH NOEESSSS, it's so orange, I'm not gonna like this!" and within 5 minutes all of that was totally kicked out of my mind. By the time Jack was doing the bushido on those spider drones of Aku's in episode 3, my jaw was down to my balls and I was totally "OMG, this is awesome!"

Well, probably those of you that are familiar with this show have seen all the episodes. Discuss!

[Brocktune]

i havent really watched too much, but the style of animation looks so similar to the clone wars series, that i swear it was done by the same dudes.
wait... that tartakovsky guy did clone wars too, didnt he?
im an idiot.

[Pacino86845]

Hahaha, thanks for giving the thread some love anyway, Brock!

[The Garbage Man]

Samurai Jack was a fantastic show that was fun and, maybe more important, different than all of the other animated shit on American TV these days.

Too bad Cartoon Network completely screwed the show over, never bothering to air it or even give closure with a proper send-off.

[Brocktune]

Too bad Cartoon Network completely screwed the show over, never bothering to air it or even give closure with a proper send-off.

i think thats cartoon network's thing that it does. same thing happened to the new masters of the universe that they did. i thought it was really well done, and i liked it a lot, but CN canned that shit without a word of warning or explanation. fuckers. i dont want to chide them for being money hungry, as they do take chances with some cool stuff, but lets face it, they cant all be as popular as powerpuff girls, now can they?

[Shane]

I do want to see the team that worked on this do more. and stay more serious.

I'd love to see them do a Doctor who animated series with the second doctor and Jamie. but that's just Geek dreams.

[ZombieZoneSolutions]

Samuraii Jack is an asskickingly cool and inventive show. this hyper coolness also infects Tartovsky's supercool Clone Wars cartoon... they're a perfect antidote for the terribleness of the first two prequels, and a rousing introduction to the stupendously awesome Revenge of the Sith...

[Shane]

yeah the guy is talented and knows what he is doing

[lujho]

Hello all, this is my first post here, and I just thought I'd chime in with the Samurai Jack/Tartakofsky love.

Jack was a great, original, stylish, inventive show that in a way reminds me of the Fleischer Bros. Superman shorts and Aeon Flux, in the way that they're action stories told primarily visually, with very little dialogue. I'd love to see someone try this idea in live action features, in fact (Aeon Flux would have been a good place to try it, as would a live action Samurai Jack).

Does anyone know why only the first 2 seasons were released on DVD and not the rest? I'm dying to see beyond season 2, and it's not on TV here.

[colonel_lugz]

Samurai Jack is great, my fave episode is where he teams up with the giant scotsman who has a machine gun for a leg.....madness

[MadCapsule]

Does anyone know why only the first 2 seasons were released on DVD and not the rest? I'm dying to see beyond season 2, and it's not on TV here.

I think they only made two seasons and maybe a couple of TV movies.

I absolutely loved Samurai Jack! No black outlines! There are so many geeky references to movies and cartoons and manga and other stuff that a drinking game could be made for this series.

Hmmm...

[CthulhuKid]

Samurai Jack is the best American Animation of the last several years. Better even than Tartovsky's Clone Wars. With Jack he created his own mythology and epic, cinematic style.

CN dropped it because of its cost. They've gone to either cheaper "Sponge-Bob" rip offs (Hellooo... Camp Lazloo anyone) or just bringing in Anime and re dubbing.

Genndy did just sign a HUGE deal with one of the major studios (Paramount I believe) to do Feature length Animation.

As far as the Live action Samurai Jack goes... They tried. The Honorable Brett Ratner was attached. THANK GOD it fell through.

colonel_lugz Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2006 10:13 am Post subject:

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Samurai Jack is great, my fave episode is where he teams up with the giant scotsman who has a machine gun for a leg.....madness

"That's tough talk for a man with a basket on his head!"

And did you know Jack is voiced by the "UPS guy" from Mad TV, Phil LaMar?

[DerLanghaarige]

For any reason it has never been shown on Free TV here in Germany, buuuuuuuut now I got Digital Cable TV, can watch Cartoon Network and totally fell in love with Samurai Jack!!!
I knew the name of the show, but never saw any footage of it. I'm scared of any american cartoon that has something to do with japanese stuff, because the possibility that it's uninspired crap like Avatar is 99,9%. I just hate it when non-japanese cartoons let their characters turn into chibis every 15 seconds (You hear me Teen Titans!?) and can't even stand this when it happens in japanese cartoons!
But one day I was on the computer, the TV was running, I had some important stuff to do and was too lazy to get up and get the remote when Samurai Jack started. It was this episode where this huge blue cuddlemonster follows Jack all the time. And everytime I looked at the TV I was like "Ugh, what the funk is this?" But then the ending battle happened, where Jack gets attacked by three robots in a car. The use of music and sound F/X only impressed me that much, that I decided to WATCH the rest of the episode and it was one of the most impressive things that I've seen for a while.
A few days later I caught another episode, where Jack was in some kind of Zelda-esque labyrinth and tried to get a diamond. That was the moment when I realized that SJ is one piece of greatness!
I can't believe how I could miss that show for so long! It so brilliant. The animation, how it sometimes changes from absurd to epic within a second, how sound is used, how most of the episodes don't even have much dialogue (sometimes you have to wait till the middle of the episode before the first word is spoken!)...seriously, I love it and I can't get enough of it!

[Chairman Kaga]

Does anyone know why only the first 2 seasons were released on DVD and not the rest? I'm dying to see beyond season 2, and it's not on TV here.

I think they only made two seasons and maybe a couple of TV movies.

I absolutely loved Samurai Jack! No black outlines! There are so many geeky references to movies and cartoons and manga and other stuff that a drinking game could be made for this series.

Hmmm...

I know this id old but...Huh?

[The Vicar]

Samurai Jack was a very cool series,
which never really had a finish.
That part is truly disappointing.
The rest isn't.
Fans of the late & loved Mako
will be rolling in catnip.
There were a goodly number of standout episodes:

Jack Learns to Jump Good

Jack and the Spartans

Jack and the Lava Monster
( might be my favorite ep - best Sam Jack ending )

come to mind.
Four seasons.
On DVD.
Go get 'em.

[DerLanghaarige]

Has anybody seen the pretty good spoof that they did in Duck Dogers? It was called Samurai Quack and even had Genndy Tartakovski as guest star.

[bastard_robo]

ADULT SWIM IN CONSIDERING SHOWING THIS AGAIN...

[ironic name]

Love that show.

[TheButcher]

From THR:
Sony animation inks deal with Seibert - Frederator Studios to develop animated features

Frederator also has "Samurai Jack" in development at Paramount with Bad Robot Prods.

[John-Locke]

I'd love to see more Samurai Jack, if they do make a feature I hope they bring back the Scotsman in a large role.

[The Vicar]

I'd love to see more Samurai Jack, if they do make a feature I hope they bring back the Scotsman in a large role.

Or at least finish the bleeding story - it ended with its arse up in the air.
I want to see if Jack bags Aku's ass or what.

[John-Locke]

There was an episode (around episode 35 I think) where Jack is trying to beat some thing which is guarding this portal that'll take him home. They fight, fight, fight but eventually Jack is defeated honourably, as he leaves the thing narrates something about him returning one day and you get this tiny little bit with Jack looking a great deal older and more filled out like a Samurai King Conan, with Beard, Crown and all (might have even had a broad sword).

I'm not sure Samurai Jack was ever meant to have an ending.

[John-Locke]

Just found the episode, it was Episode 32: Jack and the Travelling Creatures, this one won an Emmy. Jack fights this unbeatable Morpheus dude who guards a time portal. The bit I'm talking about is right at the very end. I'm gonna watch the whole episode now, If I remember correctly it's one of the very best episodes, I'm sure you guys can find it somewhere online too but I'm not gonna link to it as it isn't on You Tube.

[The Vicar]

I will find it. Thanks. More Samurai Jack is a Good Thing.

[Fried Gold]

Just found the episode, it was Episode 32: Jack and the Travelling Creatures, this one won an Emmy. Jack fights this unbeatable Morpheus dude who guards a time portal. The bit I'm talking about is right at the very end. I'm gonna watch the whole episode now, If I remember correctly it's one of the very best episodes, I'm sure you guys can find it somewhere online too but I'm not gonna link to it as it isn't on You Tube.

Yeah, that one always seemed like it could be used as a series finale of sorts.

The very last episode just....kinda ended.

I wonder who they'll get to replace Mako?

[John-Locke]

I guess they should just use old Mako recordings and leave Aku out of the story for the greater part. Aku isn't actually in that many episodes and even then his appearances were sometimes quite brief.

[BuckyO'harre]

Greg Baldwin took over Uncle Iroh on Avatar after Mako's death.
However, Aku's voice is much more wild and raw so I don't know if he could pull it off.
Recordings might be best.

[TheButcher]

From Variety Jun. 25, 2007:
Toon trio starts Frederator - Company aims to animate 2-D genre films

"Samurai Jack," a feature version of the Cartoon Network skein. The creator, Genndy Tartakovsky, is attached to write and direct.

From AICN Tuesday, November 20, 2001:
Brett Ratner to direct Live Action SAMURAI JACK movie!!!!
So who has the rights to a live action Samurai Jack movie? Is it Warner Bros?

[The Vicar]

Greg Baldwin took over Uncle Iroh on Avatar after Mako's death.
However, Aku's voice is much more wild and raw so I don't know if he could pull it off.
Recordings might be best.

I can do it. No, seriously. And if I can do it, I'm confident that they could find a deft, oriental voice actor to do it.
But I miss Mako, a truly cool cat all around. It would be a wrench to carry on without him.

[BuckyO'harre]

Greg Baldwin took over Uncle Iroh on Avatar after Mako's death.
However, Aku's voice is much more wild and raw so I don't know if he could pull it off.
Recordings might be best.

I can do it. No, seriously. And if I can do it, I'm confident that they could find a deft, oriental voice actor to do it.
But I miss Mako, a truly cool cat all around. It would be a wrench to carry on without him.

Damn it,Vic. If Kirk sees that oriental bit, he's gonna go apeshit and muck up the thread!

[TheButcher]

From the Frederator blog: Lunch with Genndy. September 5th, 2009

As we zeroed in on how Frederator Films would approach animated feature filmmaking (D’oh! Put the talent first, the same way we did in TV!) I started hanging with the best talent we knew. And, at the head of the list was Genndy Tartakovsky.

That was a pretty easy decision. I was president of Hanna-Barbera when Genndy came to the studio as a key member of Donovan Cook’s 2 Stupid Dogs team. I greenlit his first Dexter’s Laboratory short, and he delivered one of the great cartoons in recent history. Then there was the DL series, also one of the greats. Samurai Jack and Clone Wars were after my time, but I watched Genndy grow as a filmmaker from afar, and I remembered Genndy as one of the best people I’d worked with in my entire career. Talented, smart, dedicated, relentless, amazing leader, moral, and fun. What a rare guy.

I set up the lunch with no expectations. After all, Genndy had just come out of a multi-year relationship with George Lucas, and had set up The Orphanage Animation Studios to develop his own feature films; what could Frederator offer him at this point? But, on the way I realized there was an opportunity. I immediately called Jim Samples, then-President of Cartoon Network, and right away he agreed to a first in the network’s history, granting of rights to an independent production company. They would grant Frederator Studios the animated movie rights to the hit TV series Samurai Jack, as long as we agreed that Genndy would be intimately involved. Agree?!!! How else could we be interested?

Genndy was thrilled when I delivered the news. He’d been disappointed that CN and New Line Cinema had abandoned the project (both animated and live action films) and felt he’d let his fans down. Here was the chance to finish what he’d started, and reclaim a special set of characters he’d created.

Without going into all the details, the deals took forever (forever!) to close (in fact, some of them still have dangling participles) and by the time we announced the formation of Frederator Films in June 2007 surprise was awaiting all of us. J.J. Abrams, a huge Jack fan, had agreed to be my co-producer on the picture (a 2D/stereoscopic 3D production) through his company Bad Robot Productions at Paramount Pictures. We knew that with JJ and his producing partner Bryan Burk we’d be in more than good hands and improve our chances tremendously of actually seeing the movie on the big screens.

After lunch with Genndy, and the success of starting our company with Samurai Jack, our talent approach to animated movies had a prayer. The unanswered question was “what next?”. In fact, that was really about 1000 questions.

–Fred

[TheButcher]

What 'Immortals' Director Tarsem Singh Really Wants to Do: Direct a 'Samurai Jack' Movie - Singh revealed his secret wish to THR at the film's Hollywood premiere on Monday, Nov. 7.

Tarsem Singh is the director behind Relativity’s new Greek god epic Immortals and next year's Lily Collins-Julia Roberts Snow White movie, Mirror, Mirror. What will he do next? At the Monday premiere of Immortals, Singh revealed his secret wish: to helm a live-action version of Samurai Jack.

Jack was an edgy and hyperactive animated show created by Genndy Tartakovsky that ran for three seasons on the Cartoon Network starting in 2001. It centered on a warrior from feudal Japan banished into the future by a shape-changing demon, with the warrior battling aliens and robots as he tries to find a way back. The show was known for its varied art styles, the use of split screens and multi-angles, and for long sequences that were dialogue free, all of which contributed to it winning four Emmys.

Singh told The Hollywood Reporter he has little interest in comic book movies but “I love Samurai Jack. I would love to direct that.” He said it’s the epic style, pace and art that he admires.

“It’s brilliant. The speed, it embraces where it comes from. I find that comic strip films are halfway grounded. They don’t play my chord. But I love Samurai Jack. I love the animation," he said.

A live-action version of Jack was actually set up at New Line in the early 2000s, with man-in-the-news Brett Ratner attached to direct and produce, but the rights have since reverted back to Cartoon Network.

“Have them contact me,” Singh said. You hear that, CN execs?

For his follow-up to Mirror, Mirror, however, Singh will probably to do a movie that rejects the visually intense nature of the films that so far have made his reputation.

“I want to do a talking-head movie like My Dinner with Andre or like an early (Roman) Polanski like Knife in the Water. I want to go there because now all everyone wants to think is that I want to do visual films," he explained

One reason he took on the Snow White movie was that it was a family adventure, a departure from the blood-spslattered and hard-R nature of Immortals. “Now the next thing to do is a movie that doesn’t have the spectacular in it,” he said, even though he thinks switching genres will only lead to a pay cut.

“When you do something that they think is in your style, people will write a big check for you, and if it’s not your style, they’ll go, ‘Oh, no, he might sink us’ and cut your rate. But if you don’t change it up early in your career and force people to redefine how they see you, when will you?”

[TheButcher]

From CA:
Sam Filstrup Puts a Cartoon Twist on Samurai, Donkey Kong and Portal Robots [Art]

[TheButcher]

Genndy Tartakovsky Talks HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA, Making a Family Film About Monsters, and What It Would Take to Make a SAMURAI JACK Movie

Will there ever be a Samurai Jack animated feature or live-action movie?

TARTAKOVSKY: It’s still around. Every year, somebody new picks it up who tries to push it through. I feel like, with Jack, it’s a funny curse. People like it for A, B and C, but as soon as they want to make it, they say, “Well, we can’t do A, B and C.” But, those are the key ingredients that make it successful. Once somebody comes along and just says, “I want to make it for what it is,” then it will get made. But right now, every time we try to run it up the flagpole, it never sticks.

[EdmundDante]

Me and my son watched it together. We love samurai movies.

[TheButcher]

[TheButcher]

The Secret Connection Between Iron Man 2 And Samurai Jack

The Return of Samurai Jack Will Be A Bittersweet Reunion

[TheButcher]

First ‘Samurai Jack’ Image Appears as a Promo for Genndy Tartakovsky’s Final Season

[TheButcher]

Go Behind-The-Scenes of The ‘Samurai Jack’ Revival With Genndy Tartakovsky
In what might be the most anticipated animated TV series of the year, ten new episodes of Samurai Jack will debut on Adult Swim sometime this year.

[John-Locke]

So exciting!

[TheButcher]

YouTube:
Samurai Jack Will Cross a Line He's Never Crossed - Comic Con 2016

[TheButcher]

[TheButcher]

‘Samurai Jack’ Season 5 Trailer Is Dark, Bloody, and Goes All-Out on the Action
Is Jack back? Yeah, we're thinking he's back.

[TheButcher]

Collider:
‘Samurai Jack’ Season 5 Review: A Bold and Brutal Finish to a Beloved Series

[TheButcher]

Toonami Faithful Exclusive #30:
Interview with Phil LaMarr

[TheButcher]

The Ecstacy of Gold---Ennio Morricone

[TheButcher]

COLLIDER SEPTEMBER 16, 2017:
This Week in Animation: 2017 Emmy Award Winners Announced for Animation

Outstanding Short Format Animated Program

Adventure Time – “Islands: Part 4 – Imaginary Resources”



Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation (Juried)

Samurai Jack (Craig Kellman, Character Design, “XCII”)
Samurai Jack (Scott Wills, Production Design, “XCIII”)
Samurai Jack (Bryan Andrews, Storyboard, “XCIII”)
Samurai Jack (Lou Romano, Background Design, “XCV”)

Samurai Jack: The Complete Series Box Set (BD) [Blu-ray]