Joe Millar from the Geek Show’s animation podcast ‘Dreaming Machine’ writes about the under-appreciated art of leaving things alone…
Over the past year, I have read the entirety (over 1300 pages!) of Jeff Smith’s brilliant comic book series ‘Bone’ with my son.
We both found the comic absolutely enthralling. The story has a low-key but intriguing start, focusing on three cousins who have just been forced out of their home town and each with a very distinct personality – we have the heroic and sincere-to-a-fault Fone Bone, the conniving, materialistic Phoney Bone and the lovable dunce Smiley Bone. They set out into the unknown and therein beings their incredible adventure.
The series features a warm artwork style reminiscent of classic Disney and Looney Tunes and is funny throughout yet at the same time mercilessly throws the protagonists into serious peril and dark situations featuring mythology and epic scale to rival Lord of the Rings.
Therefore I was one of the first to celebrate the news that Netflix had picked up the option to turn the comic into an animated series. However, when reflecting further on how exciting, engrossing and memorable the comic had been I gradually started to question whether I actually *wanted* a tv adaptation.
I think there were two underlying concerns for me.
First: It is naturally always a risk when you take an established entity (IP or ‘intellectual property’ to use that awful Hollywood term) and create a new version using the input of additional personnel who, no matter how noble their intentions or extensive their level of experience may be, are new to the series and therefore untested.
Second: Perhaps some stories are best suited to certain mediums. In the case of ‘Bone’, would a tale created and designed as a character-driven adventure featuring a dense backstory work as well as a short-form animated series? (Not to mention whether the series would survive the threat of cancellation long enough to reach a satisfying conclusion)
I was not overly disappointed to later hear that Netflix’s animated adaptation had been quietly dropped from their roster.
I do appreciate that there there are some pretty valid counterarguments to my pessimistic viewpoint:
- The comic will always still exist for people to enjoy irrespective of whether an animated series is made (they even previously made a game adaptation)
- Adaptations are a risk but if pulled off correctly the results can be spectacular (e.g. just look at The Last of Us)
- The adaptation would help more people become aware of an amazing series
Indeed, a lot of my favourite shows that we have covered on the geek show’s fabulous ‘Dreaming Machine’ animation podcast are adaptations of comics or manga, for instance, the charming ‘Hilda’ cartoon (courtesy of the same Netflix who had optioned ‘Bone’).
I fully own and confess to my hypocrisy. Yet, I still believe there are some cases where there is less to gain and more at risk in terms of the likely quality of an adaptation and the damage by association to the original’s legacy, ‘Bone’ is a prime example. And even if there are adaptation successes I do wonder whether broadcasters should try more often to use existing series as an inspiration to create something brave and new, rather than awkwardly reinventing something that already works pretty damn well.
