ANIMATED SHORTS: GLEN MURAKAMI ON BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE

[MattBrady]

by Steve Fritz

Yep. In less than a half hour the first internet troll came out from under his bridge to start screaming how he hated, hated, hated Ben 10: Alien Force. Within the hour said bottom feeder was joined by a horde of others. They felt it their right to vent and mewl pitifully about the changes to the show. They called it a grand conspiracy by Cartoon Network to sell new lines of action figures. They accused all of even more heinous crimes.

Glen Murakami knew this was coming. He didn’t hide it when I interviewed him the Thursday before the show’s grand debut. Then again, this guy’s resume includes being a key creative force on shows as Batman Beyond, Teen Titans and The Batman. It also includes an Annie, two Daytime Emmy’s and a few other accolades…like an Eisner. In his near two decades in animation, don’t think he hasn’t heard it before.

“I hear that all the time,” says the supervising producer. “Always. When we did Superman people honestly came up to me to say how much it sucked and that we should do more Batman. When we finished Superman people griped that we should do more of them. Same thing with Batman Beyond, Justice League and Teen Titans. It’s always going to be that way. I think more so because I’m new to the Ben fans, and I am trying to approach it differently. So I’m expecting some bias with me taking over.”

Fact is, Murakami is probably one of the most daring of Bruce Timm’s proteges. His basic history is the native Californian grew up watching both American and, thanks to a local Japanese-run UHF station, anime at the same time. In early interviews he counted the likes of Leiji Matsumoto and Akira Toriyama as influences along with Chuck Jones, Tex Avery and Friz Freling. After college, he started at Warner Bros. back in 1991, working as a character designer and storyboard artist for the original holy trinity of Dini, Radomski and Timm on Batman: The Animated Series. He then was a character designer for the first Batman movie Mask of the Phantasm before going over to work on Jim Lee’s Gen 13 animated one-off.

He came back to WB Animation soon thereafter, to work as the art director for Superman: The Animated Series. Then he was tapped to be a producer for Batman Beyond through Teen Titans. So after nearly 17 years basically working at one place, Murakami is not only challenging fans, but himself, by actually leaving the WB to go over to Cartoon Network’s production facilities.

“After doing Titans, I just didn’t want to repeat myself; that style or that approach,” said Murakami. “In a way it was the same situation when I first approached Titans, where it was decided to do the DC style in a way that wasn’t done before, that’s one of the reasons we went a little bit more anime with that. After that, I didn’t want to do the same thing again. It just didn’t seem appropriate. With Ben 10, we are deciding to go a little more like X-Files or Outer Limits. That was the thinking behind that.”

“I think Ben 10 is just a really strong concept. It’s a kid with a watch who can turn into ten different superheroes. That’s pretty self-explanatory. The concept is really simple, but that’s what I like about it so much. It’s not a kid who puts on costumes. It’s a kid who becomes ten different aliens. I think the concept is really solid. You can do anything with it.”

It also didn’t hurt that Murakami was soon joined by another WB colleague of his, Dwayne McDuffie, who now carries the title of story editor.

“I kind of worked with Dwayne on Justice League,” Murakami recalled. “He was kind of coming in while I was moving over to Titans. We also worked together a little bit on Titans. So there was a connection. When Dwayne McDuffie joined, he and I came to it like a new creative team working on a new comic. Dwayne and I speak the same language. We’re all big fans of many of the same movies, comics and science fiction. We have the same reference points. It made things easy. It would often go where one of us would say ‘how about this?’ and the other would immediately get the reference point.

“In the beginning, it was like ‘well, this is what we did with the old show.’ But Dwayne and I were talking about when Alan Moore took over Swamp Thing, he totally reinterpreted it. When Grant Morrison took over X-Men, he re-envisioned them. So we thought about how similar can we make Ben 10 but still do it differently.”

From the sounds of things, Cartoon Network did have some contributions to what is now Alien Force, but at the same time they left the final decisions to Murakami and McDuffie. One example Murakami brings up is the selection of former foe Kevin Levin as a new ally of Ben and Gwen Tennyson.

“That was a concept they (Cartoon Network—ED) were toying around with before I came in,” says Murakami. “Actually, they had a different character in mind, but Dwayne and I decided to do it a little different. They had a bunch of different ideas; a slightly different Ben 10 concept. One they talked about was Ben, Gwen and Kevin are much older, and they would team up with one of the villains. Then Dwayne and I took the idea and took it in our own direction.”

Not that Murakami and McDuffie are the only WB vets to have moved over to this project. Among those who have joined the 2 M’s are longtime WB episode directors Dan Riba--which, considering their history is making me start to wonder if they’re joined at the hip—and Butch Lukic. Also moving over are voice actors Yuri Lowenthal (Superman on Legion), Ashley Johnson and Greg Cipes (Terra and Beast Boy from Titans).

As far as Murakami is concerned, this has nothing to do with old school ties. Cast and crew were picked because they earned the right to be there. For instance, consider the voice cast.

“It wasn’t a direct thing, you know?” says Murakami. “We auditioned a lot of people for the roles. It was also trying to find the right combination of people as a group. For instance, Yuri Lowenthal just fit in the role of Ben. Same thing for everyone else. You try not to typecast, too. When we cast for Kevin, I never would have imagined Greg for the role based on his work on Titans. That’s the same way with me. Just because I did Titans, it doesn’t mean I’m going to do the same thing on the next project. Greg is an actor. He should be able to do multiple roles, different parts, embody different characters. That’s his skill.”

Another thing was coming up with Ben’s new transformations.

“It was a challenge because they covered so many powers in the first series,” says Murakami. “When Dwayne and I started talking about this, it ended up being that we couldn’t just have another fire guy. We had to do something different. So Dwayne and I thought about all the different powers we could, and then pinned them up on a wall. Then we thought, ‘well, what if started combining them?’

“So, for example, Swampfire, we thought it would kind of cool to combine the plant guy with the fire guy and make that a character. In the old show, they had a fire guy and a plant guy. That’s when we started thinking let’s scramble them up.”

Not that all the aliens were thought up that way. A good example of another approach was with Humongasaur.

“It was more like it would be neat to have a big strong guy,” says Murakami. “Then we thought what is a big strong creature and we thought of dinosaurs. That’s what I mean when I say we are trying to think of things a little bit different. Also, kids like dinosaurs.”

As for the future of the series? At the moment Murakami is too busy trying to get the first 26 episodes finished before he really thinks about it.

“We’re pretty much all the way through all 26 episodes on the script and voice side,” he admitted. “We’re in post-production about half-way through. It’s kind of like working on the beginning, middle and end at the same time. It’s rough. I definitely feel like I’m working harder than I ever had before. Definitely it’s challenging working on something that’s such a new property. I mean Batman how many years of continuity? Nearly 70.”

Thing is in its short period of existence, the series has already established a tight continuity of its own. Yes, the future is open ended as to whether Ben will mature into Ben 10,000 or Eon, but Murakami is not letting that restrict him either.

“That’s because in animation you never know what order the episodes are going to air,” he noted. “You also have to think from the point of view of a person who has never seen the show. What happens when they sit down and watch the show. Will it make sense to them? That means you try not to make it too tightly woven. If you do, you don’t create any openings for a new audience. Then it’s too much like a soap opera. They exclude people.”

In the meantime, when all is said and done, if Murakami sounds confident that he’s on to his next hit series, one can’t blame him. After all, he’s faced the criticism of the trolls for nearly a decade, and every time converted them into fans.

“I remember walking around San Diego Comic-Con and people walking up to me and saying, ‘you know, I thought Titans was going to suck, but I like it.’ Right now, I can’t worry about it. It’s going to take people a little bit of time to get used to it. It’s new and different.”

So crawl back under the bridge, warts and all. You’re going to end up liking this show. You will.

NEXT COLUMN: We talk to Lisa Henson about her little family enterprise and some unstable fables.

[GohanWinner]

I really enjoy the new Ben 10 and really appreciate what they're trying to do by maturing the situations and stories. The premiere was pretty good, and I hope it only gets better from there. My only gripe really is that it was too dark visually. It seemed like after the first ten minutes it was all really dark night scenes and it made it hard to follow what was going on. I hope that isn't a continuing thread, or if it is, that maybe they find a better way to do it, because it wasn't the stylish dark that Batman or Gargoyles pulled off, it was almost distracting.

[Eclypse2005]

I watched very few episodes of the original Ben 10 and thought it was ok but i really couldn't get into it because i thought the two main characters were pretty annoying. so when they mentioned a spin off i was pretty ambivalent to it. i just happened to catch the premiere while flipping thru the channels and i have to say that im pretty impressed. im glad to hear that some veterans from some of my favorite shows are working on it. looking forward to this new season!

[FireLight]

I liked the new show. Guess it's because I'm an old frakker now and expect evolution of story and characters - not stale stabilization of the same ole thing. (Although I was quick to freak out at the whole Starbuck is a girl thing, too.)

[Ebon]

I liked the first episode a great deal, and I really liked the original series after they started to develop storylines and continuity. This just extends all that.

[spidey 85]

i like the new ben 10 kevin is like the jason todd of the show and i hope we get more on kevin back story because it was never said how he got his powers in the other show.

[Jason Bryant]

I tried to like the original. I watched several episodes, but Ben and Gwen were always really obnoxious.

The new show is much better. Not perfect, but I like two main characters who are family and don't mind giving each other a hug. Ben and Gwen are now downright pleasant. So I'll watch at least a few more episodes.

[DSNG]

Been following Glen Murakamis work for several years. He's a pro at what he does.... Not sure I like the new show, but I definitely wish him the best.


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[Xysmurf]

I don't think you're paying attention while watching Spidey.................Kevin is essentially a mutant or metahuman with the ability to absorb energy. I think when he was first introduced he absorbed energy and blew up a video game, but when he came into contact with Ben he absorbed some of the Heatblast energy from the Omnitrix. After that he just started to absorb more and more the alien energy from it until he became what we see today.

I'm just curious............... is the Ben 10,000 episode is considered in continuity since we know Kevin is a villian there?

[Equinox]

Lol, I think it's funny that the opening paragraphs states that the first troll came out less than half an hour into the show, and I posted a thread on the show that night within the first half hour stating the magic was gone. My first thought was "How did he know---?" but then he said this particular troll was hating, hating, hating it, so I'm sure that's not me.

That said, the opening show wasn't very well written, which I attribute to writer Dwayne McDuffie, but otherwise the show has promise. I miss the offbeat irreverency, as Alien Force looks to be a lot more serious and dark, but we'll see how it goes.

[Scavenger]

Xysmurf...the Ben 10,000 ep is a possible future, where, I'm told, time gets changed a bit durring the course of it, so it might not happen anyway.

I liked the first ep. I have no allegiance to the original...never got into watching it (neither bad nor good..just didn't see it really). The Keven/Gwen stuff though was a bit annoying.

Originally Posted by Equinox

That said, the opening show wasn't very well written, which I attribute to writer Dwayne McDuffie, .

In what ways was it not well written?

[zoom56ok]

Yeah I wrote a little piece before the show aired, and I probably should have waited until after the show aired, so that I could give my opinion.

But I liked the first episode. I'm not sure if the Ben 10,000 episode is a possible or a definite future, but given the Kevin character they showed in the first episode, it's not impossible to imagine him "going bad" again. Especially if you think about the Gwen issue. They did this VERY strange thing and made them an instant couple-and we know that Kevin has a son in the future...

[Nas-Vell]

The first time I ever watched the original show was back when my 4-year-old nephew wanted me to sit and watch it with him, so I did. At first I didn't really care, but as I started to pick up on little notes of continuity and references to past events in earlier episodes (even if I hadn't seen them), I started to enjoy it more. I'm intrigued to see what the new show is like (whenever it hits my shores): I'm definitely willing to give it a chance.

[Reliant]

Originally Posted by GohanWinner

I really enjoy the new Ben 10 and really appreciate what they're trying to do by maturing the situations and stories. The premiere was pretty good, and I hope it only gets better from there. My only gripe really is that it was too dark visually. It seemed like after the first ten minutes it was all really dark night scenes and it made it hard to follow what was going on. I hope that isn't a continuing thread, or if it is, that maybe they find a better way to do it, because it wasn't the stylish dark that Batman or Gargoyles pulled off, it was almost distracting.

Those are pretty much my exact same sentiments. I loved the original series (enough to buy the season sets on DVD), and I think Alien Force takes the series in an interesting new direction, but man, was it hard to see some things at times. It's one thing to have Ben, Gwen, and Kevin wearing darker clothes, but they kinda blend in now with dark backgrounds...

I hope they have more alien battles in the daytime or in more well-lit areas...

[sfritz]

Originally Posted by Xysmurf

I don't think you're paying attention while watching Spidey.................Kevin is essentially a mutant or metahuman with the ability to absorb energy. I think when he was first introduced he absorbed energy and blew up a video game, but when he came into contact with Ben he absorbed some of the Heatblast energy from the Omnitrix. After that he just started to absorb more and more the alien energy from it until he became what we see today.

I'm just curious............... is the Ben 10,000 episode is considered in continuity since we know Kevin is a villian there?

Ben 10,000 is just one of the possible futures. If you saw the live action Race Aganist Time, there is also Eon (Ben goes real, real bad).

That was one thing that impressed me about the whole series. They even tied the live action film into the continuity. Events from the animated show were referenced into the live action, and one key element of the live action (Ben retiring the Omnitrix) became a startnig point for Alien Force.

How often do you see that kind of cross-referencing? Very, very rarely in my experience.

Otherwise, as I said before, in reviewing all the better known DCAU animators that have come since Dini, Radomski and Timm, I have to give Murakami his props for being the one of the few (the other being Radomski) of the most daring. Unlike Eric R, who has done some really funny comedy (Xiolin Showdown, Shaggy & Scooby Get A Clue), Glen has stayed in the superhero genre, but he's done a lot more experimenting within that formula, stylistically, than just about anyone since Timm.

I'll be real curious to see where he goes next. I got a feeling the man has a lot of great stuff in his future. -s

[Omac1985]

I didn't mind Alien Force that much , sure there were a few things that I thought about but given the chance I think the show will be a worthy sucessor to Ben 10 it just needs to get rolling.

P.S the things I didn't like

1) Intro music not good at all
2) Omnitixs new look
3) No reason for loss of old aliens and gain of new (but i'm hopeing that one rill be explained during series)
4) Transformation from Ben to Alien scenes

[deri]

I thought Ben 10 could turn into more than ten aliens. Shouldn't he just be able to add to the omnitrix? It'd be kind of silly that a high tech alien device can't be expandable.

[AdamYJ]

Originally Posted by Jason Bryant

I tried to like the original. I watched several episodes, but Ben and Gwen were always really obnoxious.

The new show is much better. Not perfect, but I like two main characters who are family and don't mind giving each other a hug. Ben and Gwen are now downright pleasant. So I'll watch at least a few more episodes.

Actually, that seems to be what a lot of people are saying. The people who liked the irreverency in Ben 10 and didn't mind Ben and Gwen's squabbling, don't like Alien Force so much. Those who thought Ben and Gwen were annoying and wanted more serious stories liked Alien Force.

Personally, the jury's still out for me. However, I didn't mind the obnoxiousness because it seemed fitting especially for a ten-year-old boy (Ben's actually kind of like Mass Master from Power Pack on the old show). Also, it was really this sort of pseudo-sibling rivalry where they'd argue constantly but would back each other completely if the other ever got in trouble.

[cyberv]

Seems a waste to sideline the old aliens, especially as some hadn't had time to be developed much. The new series isn't as fun as the old one, but I'll give it time.

[psi-quest]

I loved Ben 10 and so far I really hate alien force. I for one won't waste any more of my time on this crap. They got rid of Tara Strong and Megan Smith as Ben and Gwen , crappy aliens, Kevin is a good guy and out of the blue Gwen and Kevin are in love. I know i will never watch it again and any time i get a chance to tell someone how crappy it is , I will.

[Mar-Vell123]

Haven't seen this new version of the show - I only know about it because of my 4yr old. He absolutely LOVES it! His favourite is Stinkfly, and he's a little concerned that he might not be in it anymore. Is this the case?

Personally I always loved Dial H for Hero. Ben 10 certainly owes a lot to that comic (except for all the corny costumes in the comic - that was pure DC)

[sfritz]

Just got this from Cartoon Network:

BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE Scores as Highest Original Series Premiere Among

Kids 6-11, Boys 6-11, Boys 2-11 & Households Delivery in Cartoon Network History

Ben 10: Alien Force Claims #1 Program of the Day on ALL Television Among Kids 9-14 and Boys 9-14, 6-11 and 2-11

All-New Series Beats Original Ben 10 Series Premiere in 2006 Among Kids and Boys by 40% to 70%

Ben Tennyson, now 15-years old in the newest chapter of the Ben 10 saga, proved his supernatural delivery and ratings strength when Cartoon Network premiered the all-new animated series BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE last Friday night (8-9 p.m., ET/PT), setting all-new records as the most-watched original series premiere in Cartoon Network history among kids 6-11, boys 6-11, boys 2-11 and Households, according to preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research. The one-hour premiere also scored as the #1 telecast of the day on all television-both cable and broadcast-with kids 9-14, boys 6-11 boys 2-11 and households. Moreover, the BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE premiere out-performed the original Ben 10 series premiere (Jan. 13, 2006) across all kids and boys demos, ranging
from 40% to 70%. The previous most-watched original series premiere among kids 6-11 was Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, set on Aug. 13, 2004.

Highlights of BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE premiere performance vs. the same time period last year include the following:

BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE Premiere (Friday, Apr. 18, 8-9 p.m.) vs. the same 2007 time period

* Kids 6-11 delivery (1,155,000) grew by 48%, and ratings (4.8) by 50%-best performance in CN History

* Kids 2-11 delivery (1,515,000) improved by 38%, and ratings (3.8) by 41%

* Boys 6-11 delivery (889,000) expanded by 51%, and ratings (7.2) by 53%-best performance in CN History

* Boys 2-11 delivery (1,154,000) jumped by 53%, and ratings (5.6) by 51%-best performance in CN History

* Household delivery (2,065,000) catapulted by 58%, and ratings (1.8) by 50%-best performance in CN History

An encore presentation of BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE on Saturday, April 19, at 10 a.m. also ranked as the top-rated program of the day on Cartoon Network among all kids, boys and girls demos, including kids 6-11 (3.9 rating/835,000 delivery) and boys 6-11 (5.2 rating/ 561,000 delivery).

Ben 10: Alien Force begins the next chapter in the continuing Ben 10 saga five years later when 15-year-old Ben Tennyson chooses to once again put on the OMNITRIX and discovers that it has reconfigured his DNA and can now transform him into 10 brand new aliens. Joined by his super-powered cousin Gwen Tennyson and his equally powerful former enemy Kevin Levin, Ben is on a mission to find his missing Grandpa Max. In
order to save his Grandpa, Ben must defeat the evil DNALIENS, a powerful alien race intent on destroying the galaxy, starting with planet Earth.

Ben 10 was created by Man of Action (Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, Duncan Rouleau and Steve Seagle), and is executive-produced by Sam Register (Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi) with supervising producer Glen Murakami (Teen Titans) and story editor Dwayne McDuffie (Justice League). The voice cast includes Yuri Lowenthal as Ben; Ashley Johnson as Gwen; and Greg Cipes as Kevin. Ben 10: Alien Force is currently in production at Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank, Calif.

Of course, the real question will be if B10:AF will maintain anything like this over the next few months. -s

[hunterjax]

I thought the original Ben 10 show was great - I watch it with my 5 year old and without him! - but I think towards the end, the show was running low on new ideas. I think that this push forward with Alien Force is exaclty what the show needed and that the first episode, while not perfect, was very enjoyable and sets up the season perfectly.

Can't wait for more.

And, yeah, CN does want to push more toys. And why shouldn't they? Plus, doesn't more figures from a series/character you enjoy make you happy? Why would people complain about that?

[Davy]

Originally Posted by AdamYJ

Actually, that seems to be what a lot of people are saying. The people who liked the irreverency in Ben 10 and didn't mind Ben and Gwen's squabbling, don't like Alien Force so much. Those who thought Ben and Gwen were annoying and wanted more serious stories liked Alien Force.

Yeah, sounds about right. Of course, according to this interview, those who enjoyed the lighter, irreverent tone of the original version are nothing more than trolls to be ignored.

It's so easy to lump those with actual VALID criticism in the "Troll" pile, but what does that serve? To use a comics example, at what point does the person who disliked Countdown go from someone with valid criticisms to just an internet troll? Doesn't that serve to cut off any real criticism? And how dangerous is it for creators/interviewers to just label everyone who disagrees with their vision as a troll, how myopic do they become? (For the answer, check out the John Byrne forum.) Steve, when YOU dislike a series in your reviews, doesn't that just make you a troll, too?

B10:AF's first episode was overly dark, losing all the joy from the original series -- espeically important since it was setting the tone as a transistion from the old to the new. If this is what the series is to be, it contains very little of what I enjoyed from the original (for a better version of combining a darker, more mature show with the whimsy of the original, see the live action B10). By taking the Naruto: Shippūden 3-year-gap route (a series that handled a gap/change in characters much more fluidly), the new series seemed to owe as much to teen angst dramas like Smallville or Gossip Girl than it did the fun of the original series. Intentional? Probably. But did they leave out TOO much of the whimsy? In my opinion, yes. Maybe the series will get lighter over time, but the first episode -- where first impressions are made -- left me cold because it just wasn't fun.

Then again, according to this article, what do I know -- I'm just a troll.

D.

[LuisMa316]

Originally Posted by Davy

Yeah, sounds about right. Of course, according to this interview, those who enjoyed the lighter, irreverent tone of the original version are nothing more than trolls to be ignored.

It's so easy to lump those with actual VALID criticism in the "Troll" pile, but what does that serve? To use a comics example, at what point does the person who disliked Countdown go from someone with valid criticisms to just an internet troll? Doesn't that serve to cut off any real criticism? And how dangerous is it for creators/interviewers to just label everyone who disagrees with their vision as a troll, how myopic do they become? (For the answer, check out the John Byrne forum.) Steve, when YOU dislike a series in your reviews, doesn't that just make you a troll, too?

B10:AF's first episode was overly dark, losing all the joy from the original series -- espeically important since it was setting the tone as a transistion from the old to the new. If this is what the series is to be, it contains very little of what I enjoyed from the original (for a better version of combining a darker, more mature show with the whimsy of the original, see the live action B10). By taking the Naruto: Shippūden 3-year-gap route (a series that handled a gap/change in characters much more fluidly), the new series seemed to owe as much to teen angst dramas like Smallville or Gossip Girl than it did the fun of the original series. Intentional? Probably. But did they leave out TOO much of the whimsy? In my opinion, yes. Maybe the series will get lighter over time, but the first episode -- where first impressions are made -- left me cold because it just wasn't fun.

Then again, according to this article, what do I know -- I'm just a troll.

D.

I don't think they ment it as anyone who didn't like it is a troll.But let face it, some people will complain without giving something a fair chance and sometimes for the heck of it.