The (Not So) Cynical Creators Guild 230 members · 997 stories
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Leondude
Group Contributor

6884271
Oh, if only there was a YouTube crossover video that tell a better Ice Age story than the Ice Age sequels.

6884303
The problem is that Ice Age movies are not serious enough to warrant attention from the kinds of people who like YouTube crossovers. That being said, one can argue that Ice Age needs it more badly than The Land Before Time, because the first few LBT sequels were actually pretty good, just cheap, but good writing can compensate for low production values (though later sequels after LBT V had both poor writing and low production values), whereas most Ice Age sequels were actually pretty bad in terms of writing, just not production values.

Leondude
Group Contributor

6884317
Well, you got me there (although I won't deny that Buck is the best part of Ice Age 3).

good writing can compensate for low production values

Interesting. I'll keep that in mind once I start producing an animated series of mine. I've already started writing scripts for it but I figured I might wait until I get Adobe Animate before I start animating (and doing other stuff like hiring voice actors).

6884330
Well, it's fact: It's not hard to argue that the best or second best Heisei Godzilla movie in terms of writing the plot was Godzilla vs. Biollante, but that one was probably the cheapest or second cheapest Heisei movie, but it actually looks way better than the more expensive Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla due to its excellent cinematographic choices, longer production schedule, and Kazuki Omori writing things that were easier to realize with the available resources. And even if it didn't look so nice, Godzilla vs. Biollante would still have been largely considered to be the better of the two movies because of how well-written the plot is in comparison to that of Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla. A big budget is nice, but more important are longer deadlines and more careful effort behind the writing.

What kind of animated series are you writing?

Leondude
Group Contributor

6884337
I'm not that familiar with Godzilla but I'll take your word for it.

Also, I'm glad you asked about what kind of series I'm writing. It's an adult animated comedy called TAWOTA (short for The Autistic World Of The Autist) and it focuses on the misadventures of Leon DaAutism and his best friend Brian Carrotsticks. As you can probably tell by the title, every character in the show is on the spectrum. Quite an unusual concept, I know, but I'm proud to be on the spectrum and I thought "why not make a show where every character is on the spectrum?". While I call it an adult animated comedy, I can assure you that it's less like Family Guy or South Park and more like SpongeBob (seasons 1-3 SpongeBob, because those ones were the best) but with more naughty language and a few scenes of graphic violence and the occasional sex and drug reference (and even then, it only references stuff like masturbation and alcoholism). Really, I think the interesting thing about writing this series is that it allows me to make a diverse cast, if that makes any sense. For example, Leon (who is based off me BTW) seems like the most normal, for lack of better words, and yet he has a bit of an alcohol problem (key words being "a bit", since that whenever he's drinking, it's usually a can of cider) and is also a bit of a pervert (and yet, like me, he also finds sex to be repulsive and is more content with just looking at pretty ladies and pleasuring himself to Equestria Girls). His best buddy Brian has an eidetic memory and, in spite of being childlike (apart from the occasional swear) and having an unusual hatred of the opposite gender, is more independent than Leon and even has a family. That said, he does have a habit of getting corrupted by magical artefacts and, when Leon's girlfriend is involved, his common sense tends to waver because he wants to undermine Leon's girlfriend. And then there's the main villain of the first season, Imaginee, who, along with his Asperger's, has malignant narcissism (though it should be pointed out that it is rare for autistics to have a narcissistic personality disorder but it can happen) and a hatred for everything that is good in the universe simply because he views society as hypocritical and the universe as disorderly, which results in him going on a one-man crusade against the universe by conquering planets and personally converting the inhabitants into Cyborgzoms, horrific hybrids of flesh and machinery that have been conditioned by Imaginee into accepting the world the way he sees it, which renders them catatonic since Imaginee views all emotional attachments as meaningless and the only thing that matters is that you leave behind a legacy besides creating the things that will replace you (and his idea of leaving behind a legacy is ruling the universe as it's immortal emperor). That being said, Imaginee isn't obsessed with being evil for the sake of it (though he certainly is flattered when people call him evil) and is into other stuff as well. For example, his personal idol is Bane and he makes it a habit of his to quote The Dark Knight Rises version of the character when the opportunity presents itself. He is also an otaku and his favourite anime is Neon Genesis Evangelion (mainly because it has his two favourite things, mecha and psychological torture). And he also has a fondness for McDonald's. Oh, and he has a crippling fear of death and, in spite of showing a few signs of psychopathy as well as his Asperger's and malignant narcissism (although it should be pointed out that his malignant narcissism may have something to do with his more psychopathic traits), he hates being called a psychopath, considering that's not what he was diagnosed with. And what does Imaginee have to do with Leon and Brian? They knew each other from school and they have something that Imaginee now wants.

Well, I think that's enough rambling for today. Good night. :ajsleepy:

6884445
It sounds like subject material that requires a really careful approach. You might want to avoid any supremacism that a lot of writers in your shoes might want to try (like that stupid Predator movie did, for instance), because as I pointed out on the autism group today, autists aren't really biologically superior: It just seems that way because a lot of normal people are wowed by the fact that we can do things that they can't (intensive interests paying off, long-term memory, and emotional intelligence, are often among them), and at the same time, society is so filled with learning meant to appeal to short-term memory and rules meant to suit social intelligence, the strong suites of most neurotypicals, to the point in which things sometimes get too easy for them and they don't have to learn as much through negative experience (i.e. making mistakes that are hard to not learn from).

In short, non-autistic potential is technically equal to our own, they just often don't get to realize how much they could thrive from using their maximum potential.

But this idea also has a lot of potential: For instance, I like the Imaginee antagonist, even if he's kinda weird; he sounds like a parody of Chris Chan, a very rare example of an autist with Malignant Narcissistic Personality Disorder, which, as you pointed out, almost never happens.

I also like the "Spongebob for adults" format, we need a show like that! :rainbowkiss: 'Member The Critic and Dilbert? I wish shows like that were on again.

Leondude
Group Contributor

6885018
Oh don't worry, I'll try to avoid any supremacism (trust me, those days are long gone for me). These characters definitely have flaws (Leon's alcohol problem, Brian's hatred of the opposite gender, Imaginee's narcissism) and, honestly, there isn't that much emphasis on Brian's eidetic memory and mathematical prowess. In fact, once I get Adobe Animate and once I've hired a few voice actors, I was thinking of asking some of the members of the Autistic Brony Community and Asperger's Bronies United, the Autistic group on FiMFiction to look over the scripts to see if I'm writing accurate portrayals of our condition and not writing stereotypes.

Also, I'm glad you like the idea of Imaginee as an antagonist. You see, I kinda wanted a more serious and more evil version of villains like Plankton and Doofenshmirtz. And I'm wondering to myself "what could be the most logical reason for someone on the spectrum to do the stuff Imaginee does?". Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that, in spite of being a weirdo, Imaginee is a very serious threat and he's only funny in the same way the Joker is funny (dark sense of humour and false courtesy that acts as a dissonance between their horrific actions). I'm not familiar with Chris Chan but I based Imaginee's personality on a mixture of villainous characters that show autistic traits of varying degrees, such as pre-redemption Starlight Glimmer (though Glimmer probably shows traits better post-redemption), Gotham's version of The Riddler (though that one also has a split personality), the DCEU version of Lex Luthor (though that one also shows traits of ADHD as well, to go with the usual narcissistic sociopathy you'd expect from Lex), The Daredevil Netflix series version of Kingpin, and various depictions of Twilight Sparkle as a mad scientist and one version of her as a Nightmare. Although weirdly, I imagine him (no pun intended) sounding like Zim from Invader Zim (although I doubt I can get the actual voice actor for Zim but it's worth looking for someone that can do a good Zim impression). In fact, here's an exchange that would give you an idea of what Imaginee's character is like:

(shot of Imaginee about to torture a resident of the Land of Imagination)

Resident: You promised that you would let me go once I told you the location of the Imagination Box.

Imaginee: I know. But since I like vivisecting people and, logically speaking, there's no real gain from sparing you, let's pretend I didn't agree to let you go...No, that doesn't work. If I didn't agree to let you go, why would you have told me the location? There's no reasoning behind it. Unlike me and many associates I have made in the past, you're not power-hungry and you're not bitter. In fact, according to your memories, you've actually had what some consider a "decent" life. Ugh! How mediocre. Hmm, what to do?...Ooh, I know! let's call it an alteration of the deal. I'll flip a coin to determine whether you agree with the new terms of the deal. Heads or tails?

Resident: Heads?

(Imaginee flips a coin which lands on heads)

Imaginee: I'm glad you agree with our new terms.

Resident: What?! I thought my decision would have meant you would let me go!

Imaginee: (laughs) Where the hell did you get an idea like that?! If I told you your decision meant you can be let go, then I'd have no-one to vivisect in the odd event it doesn't come up with the answer I wanted. Besides, if you bleed to death before I'm done with you, then technically, I would have honoured my original bargain. Now, try to stay still and think of something nice. Trust me, you'll live longer.

For context, this was in the first episode and Leon, bored and stuck for inspiration, jumps into a cardboard box that transports him to the Land of Imagination (hey, I did say it was like an adult SpongeBob, it even has a French narrator) and Brian then joins him because his Xbox was broken. But their fun gets interrupted because Imaginee wants to use the box to travel to the Land of Imagination and conquer it. While Leon and Brian are forced to give up the box lest they suffer an excruciating death courtesy of Imaginee, they use a spare imagination box to transport into Imaginee's lair and take it back.

Also, I'm glad you think it's a good idea. I really do hope this show does become a success. Although I can't say I'm familiar with The Critic (except for that crossover with The Simpsons) and Dilbert.

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