Will The Cartoon Be Cancelled Also If They ...?

[jer8878]

What do you guys think? Do you imagine they would even bother with another series of the cartoon if they were going to cancel this toy line?

 

 

AGAIN its an assumption, but based off of what I have seen and heard I say its already here. I hate to say it but MOTU may is 99% dead!! We are all just waiting for the chicken shits at Mattel to drop the bomb! You know they are afraid because MOTU fans are crazy hostile when it comes to this! I can only imagine the harassment they will get from all of us!!

 

Honestly why else would Snake Teela ship 2 months early?

 

Why else would all of the vendors be purchasing everything they can get their hands on even if they already have it? They couldn’t sell them before, but now they’re a valuable resource. It doesn’t make sense!

 

Put 2 and 2 together and looks like the ultimate bad news is coming. I know everybody is sick of the speculation, but what else do we have to talk about regarding MOTU? There is no new news from Mattel or 4 horsemen. No news from Val. It’s like people already know but are pretending it’s not true. I thought no news was good news, but I fear it’s the opposite in this situation. Mattel has always been shady and cowardly and I know everybody who cares has a spider sense that this is being taken away from us with out a good reason.

 

No disrespect to this forum and to the guys who run it. You have all been great and this has always been a good forum, but if these are my last words about this then I want to be blunt! I don’t care anymore so I am going to go ahead and say it even if it gets me banned! MATELL CAN GO FU*CK THEMSELFS IN THE ASS WITH A HUGE POWER RANGER SWORD!!

 

What does it matter anyway? No line means no forum. Possibly no cartoon either. IT’S SUCH A SHAME!! What a waste!

[MEGATRON291]

Hey you misspelled Mattel

[jer8878]

Yea my stupid spell check in Microsoft WORD automatically changed it. I write long posts in word first and then cut and paste.

 

WHATS UP MEGATRON? How have you been? Email me sometime, I have news...

 

Jer8878

[Jack]

They have not announced any further plans for the cartoon or toyline. We should know whether or not the toys will still be made when the Toy Fair is held in early February. Nothing else has been said about the toon.

[ARROW]

How many episodes has the cartoon run for? 13 eps? 26??

 

 

If its 26, then expect no more.

MOTU is an expensive show to produce, lot of detail drawing, effects animation, camera shakes, motion blurs, multiple colour registrations.....it all adds up.

Traditionally a series was considered "over" once it reach about 65 episodes--because in syndication it could be broadcast ( in almost any order, in sequence or out) for pretty much an entire year on a weekly basis, or the better part of two months on a weekday basis.

 

That's changed now, with animated series orders dropping from a once-locked order of 26 eps for a series to 13, or even 7 for series that networks were just not sure about.

That being the case, 26 eps, broadcast once per week will get you a 6 month "season" and that's good enough for any broadcaster these days.

 

Add to it the relatively recent phenom of "recent viewings" sparked first by VHS tapes--where child audiences would watch the tape every day, sometimes several times a day, seemingly without losing interest. This is why broadcasters will air repeats over and over without guilt, because the shows serve much the same function.

It drives more mature audiences bananas, but slap some new commercials on that block and the show performs the same function--to get people to buy the products advertised in the commercials.

 

This, by the way, has absolutely NO bearing on the toy sales, nor the health of the toy-line.

 

Once they get that magic "26 eps" there really is little reason, other than very good ratings, to order any more episodes.

 

Yea, this is a lot longer-winded than a simple "yes-the series will end" answer, but.........hey, ain't TV grand???

 

 

--Ken

[ARROW]

BTW, folks........you might want to redirect your umbrage.

 

Its NOT Mattel's fault--they just MAKE the toys.

 

 

The one's you want to "blame" are the RETAILERS.

 

 

They are the ones that place the orders for the toys--if anyone is "dropping the line" its them. There is absolutely no point in Mattel making MOTU toys, if no store wants to carry them.

And the bottom line about MOTU with the retailers is this: They wouldn't let the line die if it was selling. Let's face it, for whatever reasons, if MOTU is cancelled its because it is a sales bomb.

 

 

--Ken

[Man-3-Faces]

Nothings been canceled yet folks, can we please remember that. @smilepunch@ The interest in the line has just peaked, and the figures are now easier to get ahold of.So please just simmer off the doom and gloom, before we get some actual news.Please please please!!!

[GPM in ICT]

Quite frankly it everyone's fault. It's Mattel's fault for just dropping the ball. They started off strong and just didn't know where to go with this line. Unlike GIJoe and Transfomers, for some Masters is new. Joe and TF have had a continued presence on the toy shelf for years. He-man just made a come back. Let's also point out that Mattel packed cases strangely. Masters has always been a group show. You can't make figures of just one or two members of the group and completely short pack the rest. You would think they kow this from several or there other lines being "group" oriented. It's the retailer's fault for over ordering and having the product sit on the shelves. The fact that the cases were packed unevenly and that the "wacky" deluxe figures never sold (atleast at any store I ever visited) added to the continued peg warmer status of many product. And lastly the toy buyers are at fault. We supported the new figures but never the old (which is the case in many toy lines). Unlike Spiderman or some hero toys(JLA or Batman) buyers didn't support various versions of He-man or Skeletor. That isn't completely our fault, but it still comes down to not buying figures. I still firmly blame Mattel for the majority of the problems that have happened with the Masters Line, it was just badly managed all around. Sorry for my rant.

[ARROW]

Quite frankly it everyone's fault. It's Mattel's fault for just dropping the ball. They started off strong and just didn't know where to go with this line. Unlike GIJoe and Transfomers, for some Masters is new. Joe and TF have had a continued presence on the toy shelf for years. He-man just made a come back. Let's also point out that Mattel packed cases strangely. Masters has always been a group show. You can't make figures of just one or two members of the group and completely short pack the rest. You would think they kow this from several or there other lines being "group" oriented. It's the retailer's fault for over ordering and having the product sit on the shelves. The fact that the cases were packed unevenly and that the "wacky" deluxe figures never sold (atleast at any store I ever visited) added to the continued peg warmer status of many product. And lastly the toy buyers are at fault. We supported the new figures but never the old (which is the case in many toy lines). Unlike Spiderman or some hero toys(JLA or Batman) buyers didn't support various versions of He-man or Skeletor. That isn't completely our fault, but it still comes down to not buying figures. I still firmly blame Mattel for the majority of the problems that have happened with the Masters Line, it was just badly managed all around. Sorry for my rant.

Again, Mattel is largely just the factory. The stores make the requested case-packs, based on what THEY, not Mattel, think will sell.

 

Blame the stores, they are the ones calling the shots.

 

 

-Ken

[Man-3-Faces]

Quite frankly it everyone's fault.  It's Mattel's fault for just dropping the ball. They started off strong and just didn't know where to go with this line. Unlike GIJoe and Transfomers, for some Masters is new. Joe and TF have had a continued presence on the toy shelf for years. He-man just made a come back. Let's also point out that Mattel packed cases strangely. Masters has always been a group show. You can't make figures of just one or two members of the group and completely short pack the rest. You would think they kow this from several or there other lines being "group" oriented. It's the retailer's fault for over ordering and having the product sit on the shelves. The fact that the cases were packed unevenly and that the "wacky" deluxe figures never sold (atleast at any store I ever visited) added to the continued peg warmer status of many product. And lastly the toy buyers are at fault. We supported the new figures but never the old (which is the case in many toy lines).  Unlike Spiderman or some hero toys(JLA or Batman) buyers didn't support various versions of He-man or Skeletor. That isn't completely our fault, but it still comes down to not buying figures.  I still firmly blame Mattel for the majority of the problems that have happened with the Masters Line, it was just badly managed all around.  Sorry for my rant.

Again, Mattel is largely just the factory. The stores make the requested case-packs, based on what THEY, not Mattel, think will sell.

 

Blame the stores, they are the ones calling the shots.

 

 

-Ken

Ok then tell me why every other line has normal case packs then?i.e. Transformers,TMNT,GIJoe, and Star Wars.Why would they suddenly turn into blumbering idiots when it comes to MOTU an their case assortments?Its Mattel, and it always has been Mattel!

[SKYWARP]

I have to say it's more Mattel's fault. They are the one's who decided how the figures should be packed, (case ratios) (short packing some figures) (too many variants of the same figures) and what figures we would get.

 

As for retail they just ordered the figures. When Mattel sends out such bad case ratios that leave you with 10 or more smash blade Skeletors just sitting around collecting dust. Did you really think that they would order more if they thought that trend would continue.

 

By the time Mattel tried to say they were going to fix everything I think it was to little to late for all the bigger retail stores.

 

 

As for the cartoon goes I think it was done really well, and I sure hope it doesn't end. I think we need to contact Cartoon Network too and see if they can give us any information about future plans if any for the MOTU cartoon.

[Hordak Alpha]

I don't see why everyone keeps defending Mattel here. It is their fault. They haven't given MotU the promotion it needs. Lets see last time I saw a MotU toy commercial on tv was sometime in late 2002/ early 2003. The cartoon is not enough to promote the toyline especially now that there is no confirmation yet on season 3. Plus the only reason retailers are dropping the line is the fact Mattel hasn't put enough effort into advertising the line during saturday morning cartoons and other kid outlets. I had a dream last night that the MotU line had died and all the stores that had sold them were having clearance sales to clear the shelves. The way things are at this point that bad dream of mine may come true. Mattel get in gear and give MotU some ad time on the tv.

[CkRtech]

Ok. Riddle me this. Riddle me that -

 

If it is not Mattel's fault...AND it is the retail stores fault because they are the ones that order the cases, then tell me -

 

WHY has my local Toys R Us retained an empty Masters of the Universe section of the store *with* the decorative artwork for the past FOUR months?

 

Get on the ball Mattel. This is insane.

[Jack]

You could also add in that Mattel has sent out little new product for months. Stores like Wal Mart and Target were looking for MOTU, but Mattel never delivered. They probably grew tired of waiting around, so they stopped carrying the line. The He Store and other online retailers had the same problem.

[hamsterboy]

How did we go from wondering if the cartoon is going to still be on to bashing Mattel?

[MEGATRON291]

Yea my stupid spell check in Microsoft WORD automatically changed it. I write long posts in word first and then cut and paste.

 

WHATS UP MEGATRON? How have you been? Email me sometime, I have news...

 

Jer8878

Check your PM

[CkRtech]

What are you talking about Hamsterboy? Everything comes back to bashing Mattel. @loll@

 

But for my two cents on the cartoon - Wow. I hope it continues. It has been an exciting thing to watch.

[hamsterboy]

True enough. Heck,there's almost as mcuh Mattel bashing over in the DC section. So they aren't just dropping the ball on MOTU alone.

[CkRtech]

Toy Fair may be our last hope.

[MEGATRON291]

There is still hope?

[GPM in ICT]

I think the reason the topic got side tracked was that the toyline a cartoon go hand-in-hand. There aren't many toylines out there that don't have some sort of TV or video game tie in. The only one that comes to mind is G.I.Joe. Without a toyline to support the cartoon will go away. If we're extremely lucky we'll get a third season. Or maybe it's just easier to take a product and "americianize" it like Fox, WB and Cartoon network have done with so many successful toylines as of late (DBZ, Gundum, Pokemon, Yugi, Megaman, Kirby, TF, etc).

[hamsterboy]

I've kinda got a good feeling about there being a Season Three. Someone told me that over at Cartoon Network with that Orbit thing of their's, that the He-Man cards they have do really well. I'm hoping that's a good sign.

[pogoman]

Found this article by Rich Johnson of Comic Book Resources, check it out:

 

"Rumor has it that Mattel, the brains behind the relaunch of "Masters of the Universe," are pressing their weight against Val Staples and the staff at MVC. From what I can gather, Mattel is not allowing Staples to write certain stories - despite the fact that the recent "Rise of the Snake-Men" mini-series was supposed to be where the comic split into a different canon than the new cartoon. If Mattel is putting their foot down, this could mean that this "split" is not as definite as it seemed to be. This all apparently stems from rights to the Masters of the Universe property being owned by several companies, and Mattel being a licensee of various channels of the property. It is unclear when this complication came to the forefront.

 

The "Masters of the Universe Encyclopaedia: Season One" has been delayed, due to "legal problems." When asked about it on the He-Man Forums, Staples replied simply: "Can't talk about it for a few days. Sorry." We're still waiting.

 

For the past year, Mattel's support of the new "Masters of the Universe" franchise has wanned. The action figures have been vanishing from the racks, with retail stores like Wal-Mart, Target, K-Mart and Toys 'R' Us dropping the line. The Snake Men figures, that were to tie into "Rise of the Snake-Men" episodes and comic mini-series, have yet to see the light of day (with the exception of a few leaks). Also, a third season for "Masters of the Universe" has yet to be confirmed. It seems, despite a lot of publicity from Toyfare magazine (best toyline of 2002) and a ton of hardcore fan support (phone-ins, e-mails, letters, buy-a-figure-day, buy-a-comic-day) that the "Masters of the Universe" relaunch is fading fast. Most fans are blaming Mattel, because figures, news and even support have barely been avaliable from the start - especially figures that aren't He-Man and Skeletor variants.

 

Recently, when a Larry DiTillio-written episode of "Masters of the Universe" was rewritten in some areas, DiTillio spoke out on the forum and told forum members his original version. Within 12 hours, though, the thread was deleted. More Mattel censorship?

 

Mattel, who in the beginning managed to give fans and collectors infrequent updates, are keeping their lips sealed at this point. While there is news of busts and statues on their way from the 4 Horsemen (formerly of the Todd McFarlane fame and the re-designers of the new characters), nothing has been confirmed at all regarding the toys or cartoon (despite recent rumours). The Toyfair next month in NYC is where a lot of things regarding the fate of "Masters of the Universe" will be revealed, considering that it had been the He-Man hotspot for the past two years"