Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed - CGI Cartoon which looks... erm...

[Badnik Mechanic]

Not sure how many fans of the Beano we have here.... for those not in the know.

The Beano is a weekly comic here in the UK, it was first published in 1938 and still runs weekly to this day, the comic is split up into different 'segments' or comics such as Biffo the Bear, The Bash Street Kids, Minnie the Minx, Roger the Dodger and Dennis the Menace. 

Anyway, Dennis came into the comic book in 1951... and he was popular. So popular in fact he took over as the comic's flagship character. Since then he's had a few videogames, a number of TV shows and even a theme park ride.

Now, every now and again, new artists take over and their style differs slightly, resulting in Dennis looking a tad different... for example, in the 60's, he looked like this.

To this look in the late 80's and 90's.

Then they changed his style a lot in the 2000's to present day... which I don't like too much.

Anyway, to give you an idea how important this character is to the comic, they recently did.... quite an amazing thing which is pretty much unheard of for a lot of long running characters... they... well... 

The Dennis from the 1950's up until some point in 2012 isn't the same as the one we have now. From 2012, something very odd happened, the design for the parents radically changed, and one noticable change was that Dennis' dad looked like an older version of him... which is precisely what it was... see in the Beano now, Dennis' dad, is the Dennis from the 1950's - 2011. Meaning every other character in the Beano is the son or daughter of the ones who ran from the original book way back in the 1930's to present day (with a number of exceptions).

 

ANYWAY....

You can probably get now that this character is quite big and important and makes a bit of money for it's owner... Well, they announced a new TV show for the character, and it would be a CG cartoon, well... they've just released the design for the show, and... I think Beano town may be close to the uncanny valley because... well...

Is it just me or is it slightly creepy.. also with Gnasher. Gnasher is a fictional breed of dog. Yet in this CG render, he's been re-designed to look more like a real dog, compare this recent design of him from the comic... check out the eyes.

Notice how in the CG image, they're no longer 'cyclopsy' 

Also this image was also released.

What do we think?

[Salamander]

CGI Gnasher is way too cute, which really isn't the point of the character.  CGI Dennis himself isn't bad, they've just only released images in which he looks smug, with a single eyebrow raised.

[QuantumEdge]

I used to be a big Beano fan back in the mid 2000s, but I haven't picked up a comic in years.  Still, I remember watching the old cartoon and enjoying it, but with this...  Look, I'll give it a chance, but I just don't think Beano characters are meant for CGI.  2D makes for a pleasing transition and keeps everyone recognisable.  In all fairness, this is not Bob the Builder levels of bad, but I can't say this is the way forward for Dennis.  He just doesn't look like himself any more and the less said about the Gnasher the better...

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Oh wow. That doesn't look great. I've been a fan of the Beano for years, and while I've stopped reading since late '14-early '15, I still like the characters. That however looks pretty terrible in terms of designs. Dennis is barely passable, but they messed up the entire point of Gnasher, and it's legitimately got me worried that the show might go back to that period in 2009 where Dennis wasn't even really a menace, but he just accidentally messed things up for people when trying to help them.

On another note, wonder if they'll finally bring in some of the other Beano characters like Minnie the Minx, or Roger the Dodger. Wouldn't mind seeing some of the older ones as well like Ivy the Terrible either.

[Badnik Mechanic]

Holy shit! I've just realised who Dennis reminds me of in that CG render! That Sonic render, the one where he has the long quils and is sorta falling into the image, can't find or remember it but it might be a Sonic 06 era one.

[Radiant Hero Ike]

I like Dennis' design. I've never read his comics nor have I seen this character until recently, but he looks cool. Dog looks a bit weird.

I dunno. I rarely watch TV these days but I can check it out.

[Tara]

I don't think he CGI Dennis looks bad by any stretch of the word.  It takes some obvious cues from Pixar, which is always a good thing, and everything is aesthetically pleasing, generally speaking.  The problem I have with it mostly is that it abandons the core style the series had previously.  I wouldn't even recognize it as the title character if I went in without prior knowledge.  Overall, it's not the worst example of obligatory modernization, but I can see why it might be polarizing to people who actually grew up with the series.

[TheBlueGuardian]

I been reading  the Beano for years and I'm suprised that Dennis and Gnasher is being done now in CGI. I don't think they well suited for CGI, Dennis looks a little bit on the tall side, and Gnasher look a little bit off. Now I ask the question, are the other Beano characters going to make an appearance like The Bash Street Kids, Rodger the Dodger, or even Calamity James?

[Big Panda]

18 hours ago, Mayor D said:

Holy shit! I've just realised who Dennis reminds me of in that CG render! That Sonic render, the one where he has the long quils and is sorta falling into the image, can't find or remember it but it might be a Sonic 06 era one.

Hmmm?

[Ayliffe]

Quote

Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed

i'm so, so sorry

[Badnik Mechanic]

Cross posting from a status because I can...

here is the first full cartoon adaptation of UK Dennis.

Starts at 1:30

That episode is based exactly of one of the comic strips from one of the Beano Books.

Vs this episode of the cartoon which showed on TV (the first major TV show).

Then there's also the rare puppet show... which is... strange... 

[JezMM]

The Beano is a thing I used to love as a kid but just somehow ended up as one of those things I absolutely "grew out of".  Makes me nostalgic to see it again but I have no regrets about leaving it behind, it's just not something that had a lasting appeal into adulthood for me.

The new look is okay, functional but boring that they resorted to Dreamworks face in both promo images.  I feel the connected eyes are very much part of the signature style for him, and it would've been cool to see them take on that challenge in 3D, but what can ya do.

At the end of the day it's a re-imagining for modern day kids, not made for older fans, much as companies usually TRY to capitalise on them to up the viewing ratings as much as possible and get the old fans to convince their kids to watch it.  Definitely overall inoffensive.

 

I would be neat if they got the extended cast of the Beano in though, I don't feel the old Dennis cartoon really did that much if at all?  Like there was a special with the Bash Street Kids maybe?  Idk.  I assume Bea and Gnipper are still around in the comic, which I remember at least the former being a big special issue for her debut when I was a kid.  I guess at least they're likely to make this adaptation.

[Your Vest Friend]

Oh man, I totally grew up with Beano All-Stars, which is weird since most people my age only really remember the later Dennis cartoon. 

New cartoon looks like standard modern CGI adaptation schlock, although it at least seems to be sticking around the general idea of Dennis. 

[Badnik Mechanic]

26 minutes ago, JezMM said:

I would be neat if they got the extended cast of the Beano in though, I don't feel the old Dennis cartoon really did that much if at all?  Like there was a special with the Bash Street Kids maybe?

The Beano videos most certainly did, all the charcters interacted with one another. 

But for the cartoons on TV... I certainly don't remember that ever happening.

[Ryannumber1gamer]

For those wondering, here's the 2009 series where Dennis was less of a menace, and more like the US Dennis. Simply a kid who accidentally menaces people.

Honestly though, Can't be too hard on it, because it's the show that introduced me to Dennis back in 2009 and got me reading the Beano when I was younger.

Edit: Wrong series. This was an episode of the show after they re-launched it to fit it back into the comic better. This was an episode of the original 2009 show.

 

[Stasis]

I love the new CGI look for Dennis. That image of him at the desk really reminds me of something or someone, I just can't picture it!

I also grew up with the Beano and the first 2 videos. I remember when the Dennis cartoon first premiered on TV. I recorded most of them but at some point just stopped. Can't say I've seen any of the newer episodes or comics.

[Riseodvi]

I like the Disney-ish style it's going for, but it kind of loses the original's... Britishness. Does that make sense?

[Ryannumber1gamer]

I think one of the biggest issues is that The Beano characters had such a unique style to them, especially with animals such as Gnasher for example, and a lot of that uniqueness and style gets removed during the transfer to CGI. Even then, Dennis' design doesn't really transfer well over to CGI, and Gnasher's might have worked if they hadn't gone and change it so much.

[Pawn]

I remember having the first cartoon adaptation on video, as my dad was a big fan of the Beano for years. It mirrored the style of comics perfectly and I remember the animation and sound design also helped the show to stand out further from the crowd. This 3D rendition really strips out that unique flavour, which seems baffling to be honest. Why change the face of Dennis (and likely the rest of the cast) so much when it's so easy to identify? Plenty of cartoons have 'ugly' looking characters and are very successful because it's a bloody cartoon. Opting for more realism when designing Dennis' nose and eyes just seems like a really odd choice.

You know what they should have looked at for inspiration when translating an old comic to the screen? The Peanuts movie. I know this on a lower budget, but they could have at least headed a little more in that direction.

[Your Vest Friend]

Actually, if the series has anything like this video adaptation, it might be kinda fun.

The first Bash Street Kids cartoon is about a brainwashing school inspector with Plug as the eventual rebel in the system. Not really something I'd expect from the Beano. 

[Ayliffe]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2017/dennis-and-gnasher

 

...yeah, it still don't look good

[Big Panda]

Christ that's one unsettling model on the sceen behind him.