Whedonesque : Comments on 17177 : Buffy the Animated Series -the pilot presentation thingy

Awww. Buffy as a badly-dressed Alicia Silverstone, Willow as Nerdy Nerd, Xander as Two-eyed Guy and Giles as Giles. I miss those times.

Perseo | August 02, 17:35 CET

The followers of Morgan Freeman!

The One True b!X | August 02, 17:38 CET

Okay, THAT was sweet!

embers | August 02, 17:39 CET

Ah the Holy Grail of the Buffy fandom. Never thought I'd get a chance to see it.

Simon | August 02, 17:40 CET

:O

Knuckleball | August 02, 17:40 CET

Holy Crap! This series could have been awesome! How the hell does someone who calls it "Bufly the Vampire Slayor" have this!? Didn't they say way back when that it was a 15 minute presentation?

I would have loved to see this as a show. The dragon thing was a little extreme and cheesy, but I think they only did it to show that a lot of new things could be done in the animation format. They did the same thing (a lot more seamlessly) in the first issue of BS8 with those new demon guys.

Giles_314 | August 02, 17:41 CET

Very cute, I for one don't mind that it was never made, but I'm glad I got to see the promo anyway.

MattK | August 02, 17:41 CET

Sniffle.

Pointy | August 02, 17:43 CET

How the hell does someone who calls it "Bufly the Vampire Slayor" have this!?

That's probably to disguise it.

ETA that I'm very sad my YouTube grabber appears to be broken.

[ edited by theonetruebix on 2008-08-02 17:44 ]

The One True b!X | August 02, 17:44 CET

Here's a link which will tell you more about it (and who wrote it).

http://whedonesque.com/comments/5971

Simon | August 02, 17:45 CET

That really was lovely.

silvius | August 02, 17:45 CET

Awesome. This would have been a killer weekly cartoon. *sigh*

electricspacegirl | August 02, 17:51 CET

Eureka and hooray!

The voices were a bit of a surprise, but I'm sure I could have gotten used to them, given a chance. Which, sadly, we weren't.

How HUGE was the library, eh?

missb | August 02, 17:52 CET

I never thought this day would come! If only they would release this on DVD. I would buy all 3 minutes of it.

marvelknight616 | August 02, 17:52 CET

The followers of Morgan Freeman!

We're in the cartoon, we're in the cartoon ! And we're evil !

That was actually very cool. I liked the slightly anime styled slow-mo, sort of animated bullet-time. Would definitely have watched that. Phooey.

The voices were a bit of a surprise, but I'm sure I could have gotten used to them, given a chance.

I thought the voices were the actors ? Were those impersonations ? Cos everyone sounded very close to the actual cast IMO.

Saje | August 02, 17:55 CET

I agree with Saje, all the voices sounded right except for Buffy, to me.
I would have so watched this.

Lioness | August 02, 17:57 CET

From what I recall Giselle Loren did the voice of Buffy, the other characters were voiced by the original cast members.

Simon | August 02, 17:57 CET

The voices were the actors, except for Buffy. But she really did sound a lot like SMG. How'd she do that?

electricspacegirl | August 02, 17:57 CET

Delightful. "The harder they what?" heh heh. I do find Giselle Loren's voice a little distracting (I've never thought she sounded that much like SMG), but the spirit of the show is right there, even in that mini-ep.

SoddingNancyTribe | August 02, 17:59 CET

Wow, that's some of the funniest Buffy dialogue ever. I would have enjoyed this series, but there is still part of me that is glad this didn't actually happen. It just doesn't seem quite serious enough. I'm not saying all animation is childish, but well, this animation sort of is. I'd miss seeing the actual actors, too.

RaisedByMongrels | August 02, 17:59 CET

We're in the cartoon, we're in the cartoon ! And we're evil !

Is that the song you're going to sing when applying to the EloE?

The One True b!X | August 02, 18:00 CET

Ah, what could of been...sigh.

Madhatter | August 02, 18:01 CET

That's a nice little walk down Could-Have-Happened Lane. And I agree that the "Bufly" and "Slayor" misspellings are to keep the boobs from seeing it before we've all had a chance to.

Jim in Buffalo | August 02, 18:04 CET

Loved it!

Call me old fashioned, but given the choice over that or season 8 I'd have gone for that.

sueworld2003 | August 02, 18:07 CET

Is that the song you're going to sing when applying to the EloE?

That or "I feel pretty" from 'West Side Story'. But frankly, a few bars of anything in my singing voice should be enough to convince them just how evil I am.

Saje | August 02, 18:08 CET

Reading through the archives, I see that it nearly came to fruition on a couple of occasions. Surely this would have been a gold mine for 20th Century Fox?

Simon | August 02, 18:11 CET

Simon, I think it would have been successful given the time period they were considering releasing it. Still at a loss why Fox decided to drop the project.

Madhatter | August 02, 18:19 CET

Waaah. I want more.

Caroline | August 02, 18:23 CET

Sweet Zombie Jesus, never thought I'd ever see that. Glad I did, though.

Nolan | August 02, 18:23 CET

That was awesome to see. A missed opportunity for Fox definitely.
Buffy's voice is a touch off but it wouldn't have stopped me watching, and I am sure you'd just get used to it.

Shame, my girl would have loved this series too and would have been a great intro to the show.

The Do That Girl | August 02, 18:24 CET

I'm just totally used to that voice for Buffy from playing the video games.

That video is made of whatever awesome is made of. I love it. What the Morgan Freeman were they thinking not greenlighting it?!!

daylight | August 02, 18:27 CET

Isn't Buffy Season 8 #20 going to feature animated style Buffy? Hey, we're watching what they're watching on that wonderful Jo Chen cover!

silvius | August 02, 18:28 CET

Damn! How cool was that?
I can't believe I got hooked on a three and a half minute clip.

urkonn | August 02, 18:35 CET

Joy at seeing, sadness at there being no more to see.

Craig Oxbrow | August 02, 18:41 CET

Total Win!

I want 700 times more of this, dang it! For the first time in my nerdy life, I am simultaneously both XD and :(

BloodyAwfulPoet | August 02, 18:43 CET

Aw, that was cool. I didn't realize how much I missed snarky Giles.

kishi | August 02, 18:47 CET

Oh man, brilliant and yet sad. Please, please can this be included on the next release of the dvds (along with more commentaries + extras) - not that I know that is going to happen but surely someday...

Leaf | August 02, 18:54 CET

Wow, at first the idea of a Buffy animated series seemed a bit too farfetched, but I actually enjoyed this. My inner geek would have been delighted to watch this on a weekly basis.

Valentyn | August 02, 19:09 CET

Crouching Vampire, Hidden Buffy! That was awesome, I just can't understand why no one wanted this... And I think Giselle Loren did fine, perhaps I'm just used to hearing her voice from playing Chaos Bleeds. "My mom always said my natural charisma would open doors... Just not this one."

Djungelurban | August 02, 19:31 CET

Holy crap, that was amazing. SaveCartoonBuffy.com.

dollrific | August 02, 19:38 CET

Sweet Fancy Moses, but that was good.

I really never featured the animated series as something I'd want to watch either, but as is often the case, I was dead wrong. It's got legs! Lottsa legs!

I've been tracking down TheSnerd - there is a digital trail, of sorts. I dunno why I do this, except I still think I'm Nancy Drew. Anyhoo, it keeps the brain working...

QuoterGal | August 02, 19:42 CET

I couldn't imagine it...it seemed to me it wouldn't work. Which is why I'm a civil servant, I guess, and not a creative, you know, genius. It's perfect. In fact, it is so perfect that it manages to seem like it's the original. The cartoon-ness is complete and wonderful.

I badly want a poster of that Jo Chen cover with the scoobies watching it on tv.

toast | August 02, 20:00 CET

I wonder if this is an authorised leak given the season 8 cover.

garda39 | August 02, 20:04 CET

Very cool. The mind reels at what could have been.

shishkarobb | August 02, 20:07 CET

Well, this was a sweet little taste of nothing. Before I saw this, I didn't know what I was missing. And now it shall haunt me for all eternity. Damn you, whoever posted this! I was happy in my ignorance.

Sly | August 02, 20:13 CET

She's wearing sensible shoes!!!

curlymynci | August 02, 20:13 CET

Ooh what a happy Saturday surprise!! :-D

Riker | August 02, 20:21 CET

Grr Argh.

Someone should pick this up and make webisodes.

Please? *blinks*

Krusher | August 02, 20:21 CET

theonetruebix: here's a bookmarklet for downloading youtube videos as mp4 files if you want it - not mine, I found it on the Internet somewhere. I successfully downloaded a copy anyway, just in case it gets pulled. keepvid.com also works ...

ETA: instructions for using the bookmarklet: you're meant to save the link as a bookmark, and then click it when you're on the youtube page, and a link will then appear in the video description box to the mp4 file

[ edited by MattK on 2008-08-02 20:26 ]

MattK | August 02, 20:24 CET

Want. More. Please!

JustNick | August 02, 20:27 CET

I wonder if this is an authorised leak given the season 8 cover.

Yeah, I was thinking that too. It's an awfully big coincidence otherwise.

sueworld2003 | August 02, 20:29 CET

It is possible but that particular season 8 issue isn't out for another few months. If I was leaking it, I would do it nearer the release date for issue 20 so it's still fresh in fans' mind.

Simon | August 02, 20:32 CET

And considering it was posted with a fake name... I'm just doubting that they'd even think of details like that if it was leaked by official sources.

Djungelurban | August 02, 20:35 CET

Dark Horse needs to make a Buffy or Fray animated DVD movie. That would be, you know, a thing. Of the awesome variety.

GreatMuppetyOdin | August 02, 20:41 CET

I wonder why this didn't leak years ago.

the FAT indian | August 02, 20:48 CET

that was sooooo cool!!! Damnit why didn't the make the series???!!!

Gazzy | August 02, 20:50 CET

Pretty cool! I think Xander was the most spot-on. I don't think Willow's facial expressions looked much like Aly's.

fortunateizzi | August 02, 20:51 CET

Very cool. Would have loved to see it made into a series. Now I'm just reminded how sad I was when it was dropped the first time.

dgjedi | August 02, 20:57 CET

This really reminds me of the Batman and Superman cartoon series that ran back in the nineties. Shame this never saw the light of day.

deepgirl187 | August 02, 21:11 CET

MattK, thanks eversomuch for your helpful saving tips. I was able to packrat this into my Buffy folders, joining countless gigs of Buffy stuff and other Whedonia.

Well, at least digital packratting doesn't break your back when you're moving...

QuoterGal | August 02, 21:13 CET

Like others, I never thought I would like an animated series, but this was just so cool. How could this NOT have been greenlit? Was this a case of the copyright holders not wanting to participate? I can't remember.

palehorse | August 02, 21:14 CET

From what I recall none of the networks wanted to pick it up and 20th Century Fox didn't want to release it as a DVD only series.

Simon | August 02, 21:15 CET

This reminds me of early Justice League episode animation. I could see this evolving into JLU quality animation.

The only question would be, how would this evolve? Would it continue on through college? Would she meet Angel/Angelus? Would her adventures be canon? I always imagined this show with the animated characters stuck in a Simpson's like time loop.

I would almost rather have a Season 8 animated series.

Arsenal | August 02, 21:15 CET

The only question would be, how would this evolve?

I think it was always going to be set around season 1. Angel would have been in it, no Spike but Dawn would have been there.

There's a great interview about it with Jane Espenson and Eric Wright here.

Simon | August 02, 21:21 CET

Man. a straight-to-DVD animated flick sure would be cool. I mean, we'll NEVER see the show, but they could pull off a movie.

Dan Corson | August 02, 21:39 CET

Arsenal said:

I would almost rather have a Season 8 animated series.

Me too, even if it means to give up the comics. But i figure getting the original actors for the voice is going to be an issue. Ah well.

Great to hear some of our fave peeps with new dialog though.

Krusher | August 02, 21:40 CET

I wonder which fan dressed as a ninja, crawled through the ventilation shaft at FOX animation HQ, cracked all the passwords, and flash drived this puppy to share it with us. I swear it wasn't me. *Shifty eyes*

marvelknight616 | August 02, 21:52 CET

But i figure getting the original actors for the voice is going to be an issue.

Really? I mean, it's not like Giselle Loren is busy and Aly would probably be up for it considering how close she and Joss is. And Nick is always game and Tony and Joss are staying in touch I think. Don't know about Michelle though... And I suspect Charisma could possibly be a minor problem but otherwise.

Djungelurban | August 02, 21:53 CET

If we're talking one-off film then i'd say they're more likely to get the actors for an animated movie than live-action because it takes up so much less of their time (and since their face doesn't appear they might be less worried about typecasting issues as well).

Whether the money would be as forthcoming for animation i'm not so sure.

Saje | August 02, 21:58 CET

I'm glad for the Season 8 comics, but I think it would be good for the youngsters to watch this animated series. Why choose, when you can have both?

korkster | August 02, 22:10 CET

I don't think money would be the issue for an one-off stint. As much as I'd love to see an animated series, or even a one-off movie, it probably wouldn't happen. Then again, Dr. Horrible happened, Dollhouse is going to happen, so who knows.

Krusher | August 02, 22:13 CET

I'd much rather have Buffy animated, whether it be Season 8 and beyond or just the earlier high school years than the Season 8 comics.

mossoholic | August 02, 22:13 CET

Watching that awesome short presentation makes me wonder what the heck people are thinking when countless crap keeps getting put on television and something as great as Buffy animated could have been gets passed up.

mossoholic | August 02, 22:14 CET

That was yummy. Anyone else think that vamp looked like Nathan?

[ edited by deadbessie on 2008-08-02 22:27 ]

deadbessie | August 02, 22:25 CET

Um...how do we make this happen?

I mean like..it's there and it's happening and a big, big dragon is big and dragonly.

I need.

What can we do?

Dolphin Tamer | August 02, 22:34 CET

What can we do?

Unfortunately I think we are four years too late. Had this been leaked at the time when it was being shown to interested parties then a vocal fandom may have tilted the balance in getting it greenlit.

Simon | August 02, 22:38 CET

There's a few Buffy-animated drawings (and other Whedonia) from Eric Wight at his blog - scroll down to find; I did a Buffy search for this link.

QuoterGal | August 02, 22:49 CET

Yeah, he did those a while back and made them available for free. Then he did some art for a Spike comic and people called him a Nazi sympathiser. Sometimes we struggle to express our gratitude as a fandom ;).

Saje | August 02, 22:55 CET

Now is the day of resurrection, given the Dr. Horrible popularity.

Krusher | August 02, 22:55 CET

This is great.It's such a shame it was never made.

Buffyfantic | August 02, 23:02 CET

Now is the day of resurrection, given the Dr. Horrible popularity.

This fandom has a really difficult time with "letting go".

The One True b!X | August 02, 23:15 CET

Well, that was simply great. The animation style (very Batman animated) was new and different (not sure I liked the lighting-effects-heavy vamp-out or dusting effects, though) and had to get used to Buffy having a different voice, but otherwise: very much fun. I felt that all the characters looked spot-on. Early Willow = cute-as-a-button.

And the S1/early S2 feel, well, that just felt like coming home. Very sorry this never happened. The networks were insane to pass on it. Especially FOX home entertainment in not releasing it as a DVD-only thing. It would've made its money back. Whedon projects on DVD sell. We might not be able to make a movie into a runaway, blockbuster hit. But crashing websites and buying tons of DVDs? That's what this fandom was made for ;).

GVH | August 02, 23:16 CET

b1x, you think?

TamaraC | August 02, 23:18 CET

We're a fandom built up around stories exploring things vampires, magic and space cowboys and you're surprised that we sometimes aren't 100% realistic? We all have vivid imaginations and enjoy speculating in the unlikely. Personally, I consider it one of our strengths. We are willing to fight for what we believe in and what we want even if common sense and people in general tells us it's not gonna happen. If we weren't like that then Serenity probably wouldn't be. Sure, might be beating a dead horse at times, but rather do that and have the horse come alive once in a while instead of just giving up.

Djungelurban | August 02, 23:28 CET

Very cute. I did smile a big smile when I saw a Xander-dance.

"The harder they what?"

highandrandom | August 02, 23:36 CET

I'm really glad to have seen that. The animation was really quite impressive, and there were moments in there I really liked. I would have enjoyed seeing a full episode or two.

With that said, I can't help but feel like if this had been made, it would have been going backwards. Buffy was such a great show imo since the characters evolved and grew. The return of the Buffy, Xander, Willow triangle and overall season 1 tone might not have completely worked for me as a long term show. I guess it depends on how engaging the stories were.

But it won't get made. So I'm just happy to have seen that presentation.

rabid | August 02, 23:40 CET

Oh my God. I'm sure if I'd been conscious of the animated series when it was trying to get started, I would've derided the hell out of it (c'mon! Buffy? A cartoon? Ridiculous!). Mainly because I didn't have then the faith in Joss's work that I have now.

My point is, watching this made me feel like I was in season two (my favorite season) all over again, and now I'm the saddest person in the entire world that it never happened.

But hey, I guess three more minutes of season 2 (or nebulous period between 1 and 2, whatever) is more than I ever expected to get.

[ edited by Jobo on 2008-08-02 23:42 ]

Jobo | August 02, 23:41 CET

Re: Giselle Loren

She's not a bad Buffy voice. She did Buffy for Chaos Bleeds too.

Xander made me gleeful in this, as did Giles. But I was quickly reminded of why I didn't love Willow as much until season 3/4.

I gotta say I greatly enjoyed this... as a cartoon. I mean it's not BTVS, but then nothing will ever be again (not even the comics) But dude if this was real I'd show my future kids this like... as soon as they had an attention span.

bakatulip | August 02, 23:59 CET

I also think Fray would work great in this format too.

Buffyfantic | August 03, 00:00 CET

@ theonetruebix- I forget where I read it, it was either Curve or After Ellen, one of those major lesbian things, but they described BTVS as the girlfriend that, no matter how long it's been, you keep hoping will come back to you.

bakatulip | August 03, 00:01 CET

@ theonetruebix- I forget where I read it, it was either Curve or After Ellen, one of those major lesbian things, but they described BTVS as the girlfriend that, no matter how long it's been, you keep hoping will come back to you.

I can so relate to that. Nothing will ever be as magical as discovering Buffy, and it's just not the same now that she's gone. Sure, there are awesome shows I can relish in (Dexter, BSG), but Buffy was like first love, you know? I still miss her.

This video kind of makes my heart ache....and now I want to have a Buffy marathon on my TV.

[ edited by electricspacegirl on 2008-08-03 00:09 ]

electricspacegirl | August 03, 00:09 CET

OMG, Awesome Awesome Awesome! This just totally made my day! I was so bummed when I heard the news that the animated series wasn't going to go through. Maybe this will spark new interest and we can finally get this project off the ground. :)

Jossfan_21 | August 03, 00:12 CET

By coincidence, just last week, I was browsing the Wikipedia article on Buffy the Animated Series, which mentioned the existence of the four-minute teaser, for use in selling the series to the networks. It's a shame that FOX and The WB didn't understand the potential gold mine they were passing on-- but a real treat to finally get to see what we missed out on. Someone must have had this sitting around for the last four years ago, or acquired it through a semi-official contact.

Whedonage | August 03, 00:31 CET

Hey, and did anybody notice the same great music from the show!

WheelsOfJoy | August 03, 00:33 CET

Is it just me, and this doesn't really make much sense, but does Giles's first line ("Ah, Buffy. Good. We're having an apocalypse.") sound like it's been added after Tony's recording by a different VA? (Possibly specifically Maurice LaMarche?)

[ edited by GreatMuppetyOdin on 2008-08-03 00:47 ]

GreatMuppetyOdin | August 03, 00:39 CET

Having read the Wikipedia article I see that Dawn was to have been in this series, which would have answered one question that's always bugged me. Did Dawn know about Buffy's slayer role before Joyce?

zz9 | August 03, 00:56 CET

Sigh. That is all. I've been watching Season 2, and this fit in. What might have been...

Kiba | August 03, 00:59 CET

On the topic of timing and coincidence - how about that familiar music at the beginning? I had to go over to the Dr Horrible site to check I wasn't imagining it.

ETA - looks like Wheels of joy beat me to it about the music while I was reading the various linked articles.

[ edited by purplehazel on 2008-08-03 01:02 ]

purplehazel | August 03, 01:00 CET

I realized it'd been too long since I've seen Buffy, since I was used to hearing Giselle Loren as the voice of Buffy in video games- I totally didn't even consider that it wasn't the right voice on the cartoon. Whoops.

kishi | August 03, 01:04 CET

Want.

htom | August 03, 01:09 CET

We're a fandom built up around stories exploring things vampires, magic and space cowboys and you're surprised that we sometimes aren't 100% realistic?

Suprised? No. Routinely disappointed? Yes. ;)

After all, one's tastes in fiction doesn't necessarily map one-to-one onto how one navigates actual reality.

The One True b!X | August 03, 01:15 CET

And to add a bit more to timing and coincidence is the fact that with publicity for this happening on various websites it is still on Youtube.

garda39 | August 03, 01:17 CET

THAT WAS THE MOST AWESOME THING EVER!

Out of Objects | August 03, 01:19 CET

Well, point is we're dreamers. Just let us dream, won't hurt anyone... ;)

Djungelurban | August 03, 01:25 CET

For four minutes there, Buffy lived again.

Yes, I absolutely adore the S8 comics, and would choose them over the animated series (unless, of course, it was an animated S8 series...). But hearing Aly, Nick, and ASH with new Willow, Xander, and Giles dialogue...wow. I am so glad that this was finally leaked, even if it is years too late to do anything about it.

Giselle Loren, on the other hand, well, her Buffy voice in Chaos Bleeds has always bugged me, though one presumes that this show would've been awesome and would not have sucked like Chaos Bleeds, so I would've gotten over it.

Thanks to whoever leaked this, you mighty leaker.

UnpluggedCrazy | August 03, 01:26 CET

Well that was fun. Why is it called Buffy the Vampire Slayor? Is it all about the O?

NYPinTA | August 03, 01:28 CET

That was just wonderflonium!
Now hows about an animated Firefly series? Pretty please?

RollingInKittens | August 03, 01:31 CET

It's Bufly the Vampire Slayor and we can only assume it's deliberately been spelt incorrectly as it's been leaked. Bad spelling makes it harder for a legal team to find and does away with the casual viewers.

Or perhaps someone just WANTS us to think it's been leaked? Hmmm...

missb | August 03, 01:44 CET

That was awesome. So sad that it never got made but you know what Joss always says 'Never say never' :)

spike_lover | August 03, 01:50 CET

MuppetyOdin-- I have to agree! As soon as I heard the voice I was like "It's not Tony!" and then it continued and I said "It IS Tony! I think the girl that does the Buffy video games did a great job sounding like SMG, or as close as humanly possible without being SMG. I just wish it had been picked up... *sigh*

montresor | August 03, 01:52 CET

Droool.... I think I'm on the verge of Catatonia now. Must go sit in a corner and pray for my sanity to return.

Josssss.... bring this baaaackkk... pleeeassse? We loooooooove you...

K, done whining. Kinda.

Mrs.BigPileofDust | August 03, 02:09 CET

I'm not a big anime fan, but I loved that. If it had come out as I think Simon said, around Season One of live-action Buffy, I definitely would have watched it. WHAT FUN!!

Tonya J | August 03, 02:22 CET

Nice. Goosebumps!

kaiuno | August 03, 02:24 CET

This made me sad and I started going through Buffy withdrawal again. :^(

Whistler | August 03, 02:30 CET

I was smiling and laughing the whole time while watching it... until it ended and I just got angry and depressed. I always WANTED this to happen, and was upset when Joss announced it was "dead", but now SEEING it, I NEED this to happen.

Unlikely, but I just wish there was something we could do...

hitnrun017 | August 03, 02:47 CET

I know it wouldn't be the same as animated episodes, but it would be nice if the scripts happened to leak as well...

Just, you know, in case someone important is reading this.

Jobo | August 03, 03:06 CET

oh how i wish this could have been a full on series! i think the animation was interesting, and Giselle didnt bother me (i'm use to the video games.) Giselle never bothered me, but the girl that did Willow in Chaos bleeds bugged me!

oh this series would have been amazing! not to mention new buffy stories. i think this plus season eight would be paradise. why cant this be made again?

serenityboy | August 03, 03:23 CET

I'd trade a many a show on Adult Swim or post 5am Transformers to watch the Animated Buffy! Small Blend of 90's Batman, Batman Beyond, and Disney's Kim Possible. Why are legs always in parachute pants? Fox DO IT! Make Fox Reality into "Fox: What we F'ed up!" viewership would increase.

Wilhelm | August 03, 03:28 CET

My Fantasy:

Some FOX Executive sees this and the reaction it's getting, sees that there is still interest and thinks "Hmm... maybe a DVD isn't such a bad idea." He/She decides to move forward with the seven sripts that are written, gets an animation team, gets most of the cast and they start making it....

...What?

hitnrun017 | August 03, 03:30 CET

Nice! Well, that just opened the flood gates of nostalgia. It would have been interesting to see early Dawn. Too bad it didn't happen.

Aviva | August 03, 03:31 CET

Crouching Vampire, Hidden Buffy! That was awesome, I just can't understand why no one wanted this... And I think Giselle Loren did fine, perhaps I'm just used to hearing her voice from playing Chaos Bleeds. "My mom always said my natural charisma would open doors... Just not this one."
Djungelurban

I just burst out laughing with this one! So true. Why the hell couldn't Buffy ever open those goddamn doors? Lol.

Did this remind anyone of the cartoon Sabrina? No? Just me then? Honestly I would have been ecstatic if this had happened when I was a kid. Hell I would still probably watch it now but it would've probably fit along better with the cartoons that were showing a few years ago. If this gets picked up as a show today (which more than likely won't happen), they're going to have to make some changes on the way the cartoon looks 'cause it totally screams 90's to me.

holypotatoes | August 03, 03:36 CET

Sucks it never happened. But who knows, maybe they will go back to the idea.What would have been really cool if the season 8 comics where animated.

danielc2384 | August 03, 03:39 CET

Giles's "Ah, Buffy. Good." really did sound like Maurice LaMarche to me. (Good call, GreatMuppetyOdin.) I suppose we'll never know for sure, though...

gianetta | August 03, 03:45 CET

I liked it. It was very Batman Animated Series, which is alright by me, as that show rocked.

I wish I could have seen more, just to help me make up my mind about if I wanted more. It's always a little jarring to see Buffy doing such fantastical things. Not that the show wasn't fantastical, but the budget kept things grounded. I had the same sort of feelings when I first started reading Season 8, but I've come to love that.

I think had it gone to air, I would have loved it. It really is a shame it never got picked up...This is a great thing to see though. I did enjoy it.

Nalliac | August 03, 04:05 CET

Giles's "Ah, Buffy. Good." really did sound like Maurice LaMarche to me. (Good call, GreatMuppetyOdin.) I suppose we'll never know for sure, though...

Yeah we do. ASH is in the credits. There's no doubt about it.

electricspacegirl | August 03, 04:32 CET

I think it's accepted that ASH did most of the voicework. What people are wondering is whether it was somebody else speaking Giles' first line

Let Down | August 03, 05:45 CET

Okay. I might be the only one here- but, didn't the vampire's "We are dark... dark things..." voice sound a little too close to our Evilish Lord Joss Whedon?

Mirage | August 03, 06:10 CET

Wow! I know i'm repeating what everyone here has said, but I never thought i'd see this. I thought it was great. Kinda rough, and SMG-lite is just not as good of an actress as Sarah. I do think she sounds like her, but it reminded me of the horrendous acting in the buffy games.

If SMG signed on for this it would have been a classic. Very very cool, and how funny was Tony Head? Joss is jenius.

vocah | August 03, 06:58 CET

Sorry for being unclear. I do know that it's ASH for most of Giles's voice work. But I also know that established voice actors like Maurice LaMarche are often called in to record missing lines for assorted animated series when the regular actor is unavailable (I forget where I heard/read it, but I remember that Maurice LaMarche specifically was Jon Lovitz's backup on The Critic, for example). And a missing "Ah, Buffy." might be just the kind of thing a replacement would be used for... though for a presentational pilot excerpt that was getting shopped around? I just don't know.

[ edited by gianetta on 2008-08-03 07:37 ]

gianetta | August 03, 07:36 CET

They should do that animated series now. Seriously, why would nobody want to give it a chance? I mean, okay, it's dark, but hey, BATMAN was dark too. :(

Donnie | August 03, 09:13 CET

A bit of fun, and yes it was a bit like buffy was alive again for 3 minutes, but I dont think an entire series coming to fruition would be a good thing.

Wouldn't mind some purply, nostalgic commentation from his Jossness on this.

aus-mitch | August 03, 09:38 CET

I wonder if they had planned to use Fray in the animated bit as per the drawing the artist did on his page, or if that was just him having fun. Maybe the Season 8 story with Fray is part of the story they intended to do with her in the animated version.

archon | August 03, 10:39 CET

I agree with Mirage, the vampire does sound like Joss.

Sosa Lola | August 03, 11:57 CET

Why did I have to watch it? Why? Now I want more.It was like a missing episode...I want to know what happens with the cult of Morgan Freeman!

feigenbaum7 | August 03, 12:15 CET

This needs to be on Buffy Blu-Ray some day. Needs.

It made me really nostalgic for the show, especially for the earlier seasons. I'm waiting on doing a complete marathon watch-through of the series on DVD (maybe in another few years, or if I have someone willing to introduce it to, though when that happens I usually start them off with smaller commitments like Firefly or Freaks & Geeks or something else depending on their tastes/attention span)...but this really made me wanna watch Season 1 again.

It'd be cool to see Dawn in it sort of as a way-they-remember presentation style (which would've essentially made the animated series a collection of the gang's memories), but I don't think this could have been believably fit into the main show's continuity. Not if they're having things as big as black dragons, that would've gotten a mention or reference somewhere, or if they ever did anything major character development/revelation-wise.

And before you "who cares about continuity" types jump on my back, for this sort of project, I agree that it wouldn't really matter. You could just have fun with it. It'd be like the early Dark Horse Buffy comics (but a lot better), it could make references to the live action show sometimes but be its own separate version sort of. People have talked about re-starting the series from scratch before, which I still think is unnecessary and a lousy idea, especially this soon, but this is maybe the one case where it'd be permissable (this soon anyway--if they wanna remake Buffy in 2090, go for it). 'Cause it's in another format and it's fun.

So there's absolutely no point in trying to get some sort of momentum going to get this made as a direct-to-DVD or something (I think it'd sell at least enough to have the studio profit decently and happy to try making more) ? I don't have a problem letting go, I was completely fine with Buffy ending with "Chosen" (though I'm liking Season 8 a lot too), it's more the part of me that wants more fun, quality cartoons to be out there and available. I want a good cartoon, this looks like it would've been one from the presentation reel, just a bonus that it happens to be Buffy.

[ edited by Kris on 2008-08-03 15:42 ]

Kris | August 03, 15:42 CET

Sadly I can see why this wasn't picked up.

As much as I love Alyson Hannigan, her charm just does not register in cartoon. The same goes for ASH. Buffyvoice had no inflection at all.

The 2D and 3D didn't blend very well. Also the animated varied with Buffy being uber cartoony and everyone else looking a lot closer to their original counterparts. She looks completely out of place. :/

It was really cute though.

Plight | August 03, 16:27 CET

Honestly thought I would never see this! Totally cool. Although, like others, I'm now wanting to see more. The little spark of excitement is being fanned by the thought of this being released via the web.

Animation is pretty expensive though, is it not?

Dasmit.

bubblecat | August 03, 20:51 CET

Oh how I wish I could see more!!!!!!

LadyLaFae | August 03, 20:56 CET

When I first heard that SMG wouldn't be doing any potential animated spin-off I thought, "no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no it'll never work"

After seeing this... let's just say I barely noticed the absence. Can I have some more please, Sir?

Aidan W. | August 03, 21:02 CET

There are now 2 more videos of this on youtube. It's the same video but Buffy is actually spelled right. Here are the links:

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=PNHqkadJ_5Y

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=OJAFlhM28Lc

mossoholic | August 03, 22:46 CET

Hey. Haaaayyyy!! Waitafrickenminute! The network jockeys turned THAT down, that wonderful teaser of an animated series?

What kind of clueless, imagination constipated, counters of the pretty shiny pennies are they? This was money on the vine!

Sheesh.

quantumac | August 03, 23:22 CET

I honestly didn't like it. Something about it all just felt very wrong. If this is a typical example of what the show would have been like, I wouldn't have watched it.

vincent27 | August 04, 00:45 CET

I kind of realized one possible reason that it may never have been picked up:

Buffy stakes vampires. In the chest. Through the heart. I can't imagine any networks wanting little kids running around sticking shards of wood into their playmates because they saw Cartoon!Buffy doing it.

I mean, I don't agree with their reasoning, but I bet it crossed the mind of more than one executive. There was a reason that the Foot Clan on the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon was a bunch of robots; if you notice, the TMNT never used their weapons on anyone remotely "alive."

UnpluggedCrazy | August 04, 01:08 CET

Having cartoons relegated to "the young" is part of American network executive myopia. Lots of them still think "Disney" when they think animation, but there is so much more out there than kiddie cartoons.

I'm 46 years old, and I'll still watch a good animated movie or series. Personally, I'd like to see Season 8 in animation, done well and told for adults and teens, but I doubt that will happen.

quantumac | August 04, 04:40 CET

Cool to see.
It reminded me a bit too much of season 1 cheesiness, but I'm sure as an animated series for kids that's not a bad thing. Unless that, with the staking people thing mentioned above, and all the b-t-scenes details we don't know, made it a thumbs down.

It was a neat 3 minute project, anyhow.

Jav | August 04, 12:54 CET

I saw that and now i want to see the season 8 comic done as animated direct to dvd movies! Please lords (and Joss) make it happen!!!!

luis1210 | August 04, 21:07 CET

August 02 2008