If Disney bought Marvel to bolster their appeal to young boys (as opposed to their current demographic they have built up with pushy promotions for princesses, etc.), then there should be something somewhere in their catalogue of characters that would make a nice animated program or two, right?
Here's my consideration-- something with inherent appeal, a large cast, and all kinds of opportunities for accessoriza-tion of a really nifty toy tie-in! Naturally . . . I think of dinosaurs. Which or course leads to . . . Ka-Zar!
But Ka-Zar is more or less a single protagonist, maybe double that to two with Shanna the She-Devil as his love interest and/or wife, and maybe still you could triple it if you want to keep their son in it. (Bonus points for those who know what the kid's name is without looking it up!) So we need to round out his supporting cast into a full-on team. Instead, thankfully, there is a team already in place that gives us the kind of appeal, size, and accessoriza-tion we need: the Savage Land Mutates!
Quick marketing meeting-- "Ka-Zar and the Savage Land Mutates" doesn't flow well. How about using their original name and call the show "Ka-Zar and the Beast Brood", or simply "Beast Brood"?
So, yeah, we diverge from the "real" Marvel Universe for this animated series. But what we get instead is Ka-Zar leading a ragtag bunch of misfits, trying to live in harmony with a dino-filled land, and fighting back threats like Garrok the Petrified Man and the High Evolutionary. It's like a mixture of He-Man/Masters of the Universe, Thundarr the Barbarian, and Land of the Lost.
You can add some pathos to Ka-Zar's personal motivation by making him grow in his realization of what the Savage Land is all about, making the "real world" seem like the mythological paradise. Thus, Shanna (herself not a native) would be searching for an escape all the while falling in love with Ka-Zar, who himself doesn't understand the longing for the "real world." Ka-Zar becomes a bit Peter Pan-like, with Shanna the Wendy character and the Mutates the Lost Boys.
The Mutates are also a source of pathos (since they are, after all, mutates!) but also of comedy. Their personalities don't have to be too complex, but it's all about their interactions. Brainchild is the egotistical and nerdy one. Amphibious is the bouncy and enthusiastic one. Barbarus is the silent, slow but strong one. These three would be the central characters (animation does have a budget, you know!) although you could rotate any number of them in and out of focus depending on the episode. Make Lorelei the lazy Lotus-eater one, Lupo the intense and ADHD one, and Worm the know-it-all, world-weary one (or is that too Caterpillar-Alice-in-Wonderland?)
Oh, and Zabu. It's really all about Zabu.
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