Yeahbuwhat?

betwixt | October 22, 05:02 CET

It's not like it's the first time some other thing has "ripped" of Buffy.

I read an article about some disney movie that sounded similar. With the whole destiny thing. But with Asians.

flightofserenity | October 22, 10:20 CET

Well...Joss didn't exactly invent the "whole destiny thing." I think the Disney movie you are refering to is the made for tv one..."Homecoming Warrior" or something like that. While I'll agree that there were some Buffy overtones, I think it owed more of a debt to the "Hong Kong" movie genre.
It does seem like the Black Tatoo may have been overly influenced by Buffy, but who knows...none of those themes, independenly, are unique to Buffy. They are all pretty classic (which is what makes them work so well in Buffy). It is the combination of them together that makes them a bit suspect.

GoblinQueen | October 22, 18:59 CET

Animation seems to be a popular way to use "Buffy" themes. Look at Avatar, Kim Possible, and perhaps the Disney movie you're thinking of is Mulan?

When it's done well, it's really cool. I get that the "destiny" thing has been around long before BtVS, but it's always neat when I get that stab of Buffy recognition from some other show. It happens quite often, too.

Willowy | October 22, 21:39 CET

No, it was something else that came across whedonesque a while back. I searched for it, here it is: http://whedonesque.com/comments/10624, the film was called Wendy Wu.

the Groosalugg | October 22, 23:21 CET

Yeah, as I recall many of us said in the Wendy Wu discussion that a rip-off is okay if it is a well done rip-off. My son watched a couple episodes of Wendy Wu and I watched a few minutes here an there. I was not impressed but did not feel I had watched enough to make any statement about it's quality. a couple months ago, however, I really laughed when I friend of mine to whom I was describing the basic premise of BtVS (in an effort to get her to watch the DVD's) said, "It sounds like Wendy Wu." when I said that it was discussed as being a rip-off of BtVS, she said her daughter watched it a lot and that it was really awful. I assured her that BtVS was not and that she should give it a chance. On the basis of how much she liked Firefly she ageed.

Just as an aside: Last I talked to her she had just watched "School Hard." She "did not like that Spike guy" and was wondering what was up with Drucilla. She is trying to watch at least through "Lie to Me" before my other friend's Halloween party. At least that way she won't be totally confused by the life sized Angel and Spike cut-outs guarding the coats in the back bedroom. Keeping my son and my friend from spoiling the rest of the season as well as the rest of the series is going to be tough though. I had originally been hoping she would get through "Innocence" but when I saw that wasn't going to happen I settled for "Lie to Me." At least that way she has met Ripper, a little Oz, more of Spike and Dru and the relationship between the vampire and human worlds is starting to get more complicated.

Oh, and I pretty much agree with GoblinQueen on this one.

newcj | October 23, 01:06 CET

Yeah, I think the full title was Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior. I was unfortunate enough to see most of it too, and you can definately make the case that it was a Buffy derivative. But there are a lot of Hong Kong films out there too about warriors (male and female) who are destined to do different things. Given that the main character was Chinese and the fights were staged with the over the top martial arts wire work effects it just seemed to me that the Hong Kong genre was the one being most referenced.
I've got to agree with newcj, if it is a rip off but well done, more power to them. If it is bad, well then it is just bad. Much of what I like about Joss's work is the fact that he takes familiar themes and plots and archetypes and puts a little spin on them, or inserts humor were you wouldn't expect it. I mean, he didn't invent vampires, or the female hero, or the concept of a rag-tag band of underdogs taking on forces much greater than they, and winning. He just does it very well.

GoblinQueen | October 23, 03:57 CET