1. Rick n Morty

    Rick n Morty Active Member

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    Has this idea been done yet?

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by Rick n Morty, Sep 24, 2016.

    Here's an idea I came up with recently. I'm not sure whether to make it a movie, a series, a comic book, a novel, or all of the above. But I think it's a good idea that I'd like to see someone do, if it hasn't already been done. If it has been done, but not in the way I've been picturing, I may do it anyway.

    I'll talk about the idea...but first, I'll talk about the inspiration.

    I was thinking about those movies where an animated cartoon character interacts with live-action humans. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is the most famous example, but they've been doing this as long as there's been animation.

    What if I were to deconstruct that trope? What if a cartoon character did end up in the real world? (And I mean a Looney Tunes-style comedic character from the Golden Age of Animation. I'm aware that recent cartoons like Gravity Falls and Steven Universe have become a lot more dramatic.)

    Imagine that you can't die. If you get shot, your beak just falls off and can be placed back on. If you're in an explosion, you end up black and burned for no more than a couple minutes. If you fall from a high place, you just end up in a crater in the shape of yourself. If you're crushed by a heavy object, you get flattened like paper. None of the injuries you receive are permanent. In just a minute or two, you're back to your cheerful self.

    The people around you don't have your invincibility, though. If they get shot, they die. If they're in an explosion, they die. If they fall from a high place, they die. If they're crushed by a heavy object, they die. If they're lucky, they end up in a hospital for a month or two, and may end up crippled for the rest of their life.

    Now, imagine being the only one in the world who is invincible. How would this affect you on an emotional level? Would you try to commit suicide, only to find that every attempt fails? Would you go crazy and become the world's most powerful supervillain?

    And how would the people around you react? Would they be afraid of you? Would some bad scientists capture you and try to do experiments on you to find out your secret? Would the government force you to fight in the war against your will?

    So much potential. I really want to expand this idea more.

    But first: has anyone ever deconstructed the “cartoon character in the real world” premise for the sake of drama? If so, did they do it in a way that's different from what I'm picturing? And if it hasn't been done before, do you think it's a good idea with a lot of potential?
     
  2. hawls

    hawls Active Member

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    Who Framed Roger Rabbit was based off the novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit which explores the ideas you mentioned. But before you get discouraged, I don't think it's been done on the scale you seem to be pitching.

    What would be the plot?

    Does the cartoon character want to get back to their world? Is the cartoon character well known and beloved in the 'real world'? Or were they more obscure or mostly forgotten by the time they are mysteriously transferred into the real world?

    Does the CC try to find their original creator and discovers that they have been long dead? Maybe the voice actor?

    What if the studio claims literal ownership and make the CC a kind of marketing slave. What if you explored the CC's rights? Maybe they hire a lawyer to fight for their own ownership. This could be an amazing examination of copyright law which is a really hot issue at the moment.
     
  3. Rick n Morty

    Rick n Morty Active Member

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    From what I've heard, toons can die in that novel, but they can't in my idea, which is what I'm aiming to deconstruct.

    My idea was that the CC was originally created and popular during the Golden Age of Animation, but then became less popular and totally forgotten about years later.

    Close to the present day, his (now elderly) creator discovers that the CC has come to life, and considers his creator a father. The CC is familiar with the cartoon world, but not the real world, and over time learns about death and aging and that kind of thing, which leads to his existential crisis.
     
  4. hawls

    hawls Active Member

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    But what is the goal? What is the CC working towards? Who or what is the antagonist?
     
  5. Rick n Morty

    Rick n Morty Active Member

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    I'm still thinking about that. I was thinking that his journey starts out with him just going around doing cartoony stuff until he learns about human death and how he's immune to it. That, combined with him noticing that the people around him are aging and he isn't, kickstarts his existential crisis, and he goes downhill from there. He tries to commit suicide, but nothing works.

    One idea I had for the antagonist was this scientist who kidnaps him and attempts to find out how he works. How a bunch of living ink can be alive and recover from injuries so quickly. I may abandon that idea and just have the antagonist be the CC's own emotions.

    In case you're curious, I was picturing the CC himself as an anthropomorphic parrot similar in appearance to Jose Carioca from Saludos Amigos/The Three Caballeros.

    [​IMG]

    I was also thinking of basing his coloration off of either a yellow or sun conure, to make him look separate from Jose, Iago from Aladdin, and Blu from Rio. Haven't come up with a name for him, though.
     
  6. B.G. Dobbins

    B.G. Dobbins Member

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    Have you seen the TV show called Supernatural? Season 8 episode 8 is something I would recommend you watching even if you don't want to continue with the show. It has elements of what you're talking about.
     

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