* Toon Makers Sailor Moon *
The Saban Moon Never Seen!
If the pictures don't all show right away, refresh the page!!
The first few groups of cels come to us from
It was 1993. SailormoonR was on the air in Japan, and Sailormoon was hitting
the airwaves in Germany, Italy, Hong Kong, China and several more countries.
A deal for Mexico was as good as set, and Toei Animation knew it was time to
hit up one more market ~ The English Speaking one.
But while other countries had in place companies ready, willing and able to
dub whatever they could get their hands on, finding a similar distribution
company for North America and most of Europe would prove to be a difficult
task. As the bidding war started, bootleggers were already producing fansubs and fandubs on
low-grade VHS, and distributing them all over America and Canada. Public
access stations even aired forbidden anime in some markets at 2-4 in the
morning, so already Toei knew they were running out of time. They needed to
find a proper company FAST, to get Sailormoon off the ground for the English
world.
Enter Toon Makers/Toonmakers.
A plucky advertising and animation company, hell bent on entering the realm
of Saturday morning television.
Toei allotted Toon Makers just enough information to start development. But
rather than just freaking dubbing the show ~ a cost-cutting maneuver that
makes sense and ultimately would have saved oodles and boodles of time ~ oh
no. They decided to take it one set further. Certainly, a step too far.
Saban's Americanization of Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger.
(Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) was the #1 show in America at the time. What
Saban had done, was to take a Japanese show, re-shoot non-action scenes with
a California cast, and then re-splice in the Sentai action sequences from
Toei, essentially making a brand new show from scraps. Toon Makers liked this
idea, but they wanted to take it even further.
They decided to make an entirely new show.
Much like Princess Tenko and the Guardians of Magic (a Saban girls' program,
then early in development) the Toon Makers version of Sailormoon would have
been half live action and half American animation. The plot, similar to Power
Rangers, would focus around five high school girls, who by day get into
antics revolving around girl stereotypes (makeup, giggling for no reason, mall
trolling, endless chatter about boys, flirting, more makeup, whining about
how hard math is, slumber parties and jewelry) and by night are overtly
sexualized ~ and yet emotionally sanitized ~ warrior princesses in outer
space.
Oh God.
The excuse for the pilot and music video ~ which went viral more than a
decade before the invention of YouTube ~ was explained in an article with
Anime Fringe:
The pilot was made in created
in late 1993 and was pointed at Saban in hopes of being picked up for airing
on FOX in the fall of 1994. Toon Makers was working for Bandai in conjunction
with Renaissance Atlantic, but the Japanese were already making so much from
the anime that the deal just fell through. The thing is no one other than the
companies involved were ever meant to actually see it. In fact, the two
minute clip that is plastered all over the Internet is in reality one Toon
Makers company reel as a music video.
Well, eventually they did use the original anime which was a deal that was
struck with Bandai and DiC. But this was a concept created by Renaissance
Atlantic which I think you and I are in agreement that would have probably
been more successful-at least here in the United States and probably
throughout Canada, Europe, and South America.
There was an actual pilot [written] with the input from both Bandai and
Renaissance. And I think Renaissance and Toon Makers, more than anyone else,
really felt that we had something that-at least at the time when that was
done-which I guess I have to remember back... we did it in 93... 94...
something like that.
They have worked for many years with Bandai and they were instrumental in the
deal made with Saban to do Power Rangers. We also did a pilot for a
television series called DinoZaurs which was 3D and
2D animation which was done in Japan. So we did that. So the relationship
that Renaissance has with not only Bandai, but with Saban is the project.
They just need for someone to take an idea and run with it.
Well, we created it for Renaissance and I would imagine with there
relationship with Saban-and later-slash FOX that that's where they intended
it to go. But, with the deal that was struck with the old Sailor Moon anime
with DiC, I just think it died on the vine.
Renaissance Atlantic by the way, is also partially responsible for parts of
the American Power Rangers, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Young Hercules,
Xena: Warrior Princess, Cleopatra 2525, Jack of all
Trades, and many more cult programs of the 1990's. Power Rangers is their
main kids' show, as the rest of the programs are aimed at adults. A link for
the rest of the article is way below.
Personally, I still feel that She-Ra and this other Sailor Moon look too much
like blow-up dolls for a kids show, but let's not get too vulgar here.
Now Toon Makers apparently had seen just enough of the original Sailormoon to
get the impression that Sailor Venus was not the end of the line. So while
writing a brand new back story, they went ahead and made plans for everyone
after Sailor Venus too.
In another time, another place, (no, this is not the opening to Parallel
Sailormoon, we're not THAT lucky) our solar system was besieged. (A large
word Toon Makers for real used.)
There were tons of wars and battles, and Queen Beryl apparently had a habit
of randomly attacking "good" people.
She kidnaps Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Saturn, and seizes their jewels of
power.
Wait a minute . . .
HEY!! Don't tell me that Toon Makers actually inspired Sailormoon StarS with
Galaxia randomly attacking people and taking their Starseeds! DUDE c'mon
now!! You mean to tell me that the 1996-1997 Japanese series Sailormoon
StarS, ripped off of Toon Makers' Sailor Moon, which in turn ripped off of
Pirates of Dark Water, the early script of Princess Tenko, Princess Gwenevere/Starla and the jewel
riders and Sailormoon series one??? REALLY TOEI?? REALLY???
The Sailor Senshi were re-named Princesses of Power. (Not too bad, they are legit
princesses of their home planets.) Each Princess of Power has her own Jewel
of Power. (Much like the Sailor Crystals in the SuperS manga . . . oh no. Oh
please tell me this is a coincidence.) To obtain the ultimate power, Queen
Beryl needs the last crystals belonging to Moon, Mercury, Mars, Venus and
Jupiter.
... HEY!!!
Now each of the Sailor Senshi ~ excuse me. "Princesses of Power" were
supposed to be different, but that pisses me off. Now that I see it cleaned
up, here's a rundown:
Sailor Moon would have been a bubbly blonde.
Sailor Mercury was a handicapped red-head who likes partying.
Sailor Mars would have been of Asian background with a butch, Sailor Uranus
haircut.
Sailor Jupiter was African American with Sailor Saturn's haircut.
Sailor Venus was Latina.
Not even close to their Japanese counterparts. >_O These girls were
supposedly "multi-cultural" but I can't get past the obvious
"Blackface Jupiter". That really PISSES ME OFF!! It wasn't enough
to bastardize my favorite anime, OH NO, we had to make it racist too?? What
the hell were they thinking???
Each girl would have had her own "Sky Flyer" which is essentially a
sailboat in the sky. The Flyer boats would have been launched via a larger
flyer, that looks suspiciously like a ship they gave Queen Beryl, the Dark
Galleon.
The royal families of the girls formed an alliance, under the rule of Queen
Serenity. (This would have been the only time you'd see the Silver Millennium
parents for everybody NOT named Sailor Moon.) They decided on an alliance,
and declared the Moon their capitol base. (Okay now you're thieving from
Voltron/Go Lion.)
To affirm this, Queen Serenity betrothed (WOW another big word) her child,
Sailor Moon (apparently that's the name on the birth certificate) to Prince
Darian of Earth.
Not to be confused with DiC's spelling "Darien" this is
Mamoru/Endymion's re-casting.
They held a big party, and to prove his love, Darian gave Sailor Moon a star
locket and a rose.
In the Japanese anime, Princess Serenity gave Prince Endymion the locket, as
a token of her love. He loses it during the Rainbow Crystal arc, and Sailor Moon
ends up having it back again. It's later used to restore his memory when
Beryl brainwashes him. Toonmakers omits this, and has Darian giving Sailor
Moon the locket and a rose, to celebrate her mom marrying her off to him.
Darian would have had brown hair, and a face similar to Prince Naveen, from
Disney's 2009 film, The Princess and the Frog.
But Queen Beryl crashes her spaceship into the party, and randomly attacks everyone.
Queen Serenity opens a portal, to send everyone . . . um, away. And she
promises to find a way to communicate to them. But just as they leave, Darian
is attacked, and the team presume him dead. (Wow, a death reference?)
The battle continues to planet Jupiter, where "a mysterious figure"
aides them, and then disappears. (It's Darian.) From here, the series would
pick up with everyone on Earth, where a White Luna joins them.
This is not even CLOSE to
the original Sailormoon!!
This would have been part of a 17 minute pilot. Copies are known to exist,
but have not yet been shown. Instead, we have this, a promo video Toon Makers
sent to Toei Animation in 1994:
The
theme song is as follows:
Who's that, look,
Flying higher than a bird
SAILOR! SAILOR MOON!
She's got a life in the sky
And another here on Earth
SAILOR! SAILOR MOON!
She's got her cat Luna
To give her advice
She's so fine (Wait hold up. She's so
fine? A GIRL sings this. Girl crush? In Sailormoon???)
So stand by her side!
SAILOR! SAILOR MOON!
SAILOR! SAILOR MOON!
Sometimes she's a fun-loving
sixteen year old girl (Remember, they aged her.
Usagi is originally 14, she isn't 16 until StarS.)
SAILOR! SAILOR MOON!
Sometimes she's a superhero
For the world
SAILOR! SAILOR MOON!
She can get dressed up
And look so sweet
She morphs into a form
SAILOR! SAILOR MOON!
SAILOR! SAILOR MOON!
She's ready to fight
For all that she believes
SAILOR! SAILOR MOON!
She's gonna stop evil forces
And save the galaxy
SAILOR! SAILOR MOON!
She and her four friends
Stand by her dreams
They gonna fight crime
Again and again!
SAILOR! SAILOR MOON!
SAILOR! SAILOR MOON!
The people in the video weren't the only ones
grumbling.
Toei Animation's executives had the world's biggest conniption fit.
Although Toei cancelled the offer from Toon Makers, remnants of this version
of Sailormoon lived on. DiC took from them the logo, which would also be
later used by Cloverway, and Toei took from them the idea of a Moon Cycle. A
toy for it was produced from 1995-1997 by BanDai
North America, though it does not exist in the show.
A 2011 Wikipedia article expands on this:
The Toon Makers Music Video ~ When Sailor Moon was up for bids by
Toei to be produced in North America, Renaissance-Atlantic Entertainment, who
worked closely with Bandai and Toon Makers, Inc., conceptualized their own version
of the property, which was half live-action and half Western-style animation.
Toon Makers produced a 17-minute proof of concept presentation video, as well
as a two-minute music video, for this concept, which Renaissance-Atlantic
presented to Toei. Toei ultimately rejected Renaissance-Atlantic's bid
because the series as Renaissance-Atlantic and Toon Makers envisioned it
would have cost significantly more than simply exporting and dubbing the
original anime. The music video was exhibited at a panel at Anime Expo 1998
by Allen Hastings, then with NewTek, Inc., and met
with scorn, ridicule, and derision. A convention attendee taped the music
video off the screen and uploaded the footage, which includes an introduction
by Hastings and brief comments by other convention attendees afterwards, to
the Internet. The clip has since been copied numerous times and can currently
be viewed on many streaming video sites. Because of the relatively poor
quality of the source video and circulated footage, many anime fans believed
that the music video was actually a leaked trailer for the now-inactive
project instead of an exhibition of a promotion piece. Additional copies of
the footage, with Hastings' intro excised, have since been uploaded to the
Internet and served only to bolster the mistaken belief. Because
Renaissance-Atlantic had previously been instrumental in Saban
Entertainment's acquisition of Toei's Super Sentai series for reimagining as
Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, people who viewed the music video mistakenly
believed that Saban had actually created it and began to call it "Saban
Moon." The Toon Makers music video has been called a worst-case scenario
with regards to how Sailor Moon would have been presented in North America,
in comparison to the original anime episodes that were eventually dubbed by
DIC Entertainment and Cloverway Inc. and aired. Rocky Solotoff,
Toon Makers' president and founder, wrote, directed, and produced the pilot
episode of Renaissance-Atlantic's version of Sailor Moon, which to this day,
has not been exhibited publicly. All five Guardian Senshi are depicted in the
music video. Though Solotoff is legally prohibited
from divulging much information regarding the Renaissance-Atlantic/Toon
Makers version of Sailor Moon, he does reveal, in an interview with Animefringe magazine, the origin of the concept and music
video, debunking many of the stories and speculations that had been connected
to both. Details revealed in the interview include confirmation that both a
white and black cat were planned to be in the series, although only a fluffy
white cat is seen in the music video (according to the lyrics, this cat was
meant to be Luna), and that each Senshi was written to be of a different
nationality. Two curious remnants of Toon Makers' involvement with Sailor
Moon remained after Renaissance-Atlantic shelved the project. The
Renaissance-Atlantic series featured vehicles which did not appear in the
original metaseries. One of these was the Moon Cycle, which Bandai
manufactured a toy version of as part of the North American line of Sailor
Moon toys. The Moon Cycle toy remains one of the more curious pieces of
Sailor Moon merchandise produced for the North American market. More
prominently, the Sailor Moon logo featured at the end of the music video was
retained as the official North American Sailor Moon logo for the metaseries
and all related programs and merchandising.
We may never fully know how well this travesty would have done, but it is an
important piece of Moonie culture, that should never be forgotten.
Personally, I feel this is better left in the past. I'm glad they didn't get
to bastardize the series. I dare not imagine what would have become of the
offspring of Sailor Moon.
UPDATE: Well now the mystery is getting deeper. Farmville just released a new
item, based on the Moon Cycle:
As for Toon Makers? The mystery of their fate is detailed on this blog.
I fear this story isn't over yet...
UPDATE: The cels that have been found went on sale after one of the key
people in Toon Makers had a nasty bout with the law. Read More...
UPDATE: Kotaku did try to uncover the lost 17 minute tape, but
they found something completely unexpected. Read all
about it here.
Toon
Makers Gallery
Many of the Cels were sold under the name
"Fox Animation Pilot" leading Moonies to speculate that the show
had funding from Fox on behalf of Fox Kids. The cels were also sold along
with cels from BraveStarr, She-Ra, Transformers,
Dennis the Menace, X-Men and The Simpsons ~ all of which pre-date Toon Makers's very existence.
The cels were also sold with cels from DiC's Darkstalkers and Street Fighter
cartoons, begging the question if this is a sign that aside from BanDai, could there have been a Capcom game, but of
course no evidence survives of this tale.
All of the cels come from California, where several rival studios existed,
all of which claim the same credits as Toon Makers ~ albiet
they're actually listed in the credits of the cartoons they claim work on,
while Toon Makers is not.
Rumors have surfaced about Toon Makers having been bought up by Fox or
Universal, but they appear to be false.
The cels are now known to have been part of a sale, following the arrest of
Toon Makers's own Raymond Iacovacci,
who also worked for TMS, DiC and a wide range of other studios, explaining
the above mysteries.
Toonmakers
Bootlegs?!! Believe
it or not, there actually were bootlegs already in production that mimic the
Toon Makers version of Sailor Moon. Sailor Sweeties are notorious for ripping
off of the costume, but there are more out there.
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