The Bloated Penguin

Ugh, this comes on the heels of the news that the Smurfs are turning 3D; something I learned from the nice folks over at Latino Review.

Anyways, how many times have you looked at a flick or a tv show or a commercial that featured a classic 2D cartoon character as a brand new shiny 3D version that looked a little bit off and in some cases really effin scary? I’m talking about things like strange shine effects and way too many facial expressions. Well, over the years we’ve all been subjected to this a fair bit, so instead of trying to sit there and think of a few, I’ve compiled a lit of the 5 Worst 2D to 3D Morphs for all to hate and love at your leisure.

5 – Transformers

I get it, sort of. Mike Bay wanted to make a butt load of money, create another billion dollar toy franchise and get the next generation of kids believing that Optimus Prime actually had lips. In any case, I always thought this was a bit of a failure in a sense that I always felt the Transformers were part of 80’s culture complete with poppy music and pinkish punky space colours. Throw in Shia and Megan Fox and all of a sudden things look really strange…

4 – Casper

I was never a huge fan of Casper even in 2D world, but when I was young (a LONG time ago) I remember going to the theater and checking out the latest Casper flick starring Christina Ricci. Something about Casper looked wierd though. I get the fact that he is a ghost and he’s a bit transparent and all, but here is a case where a character actually suffers from too many facial expressions. Casper went from cute, lovable 2D classic cartoon, to creepy 3D rendition of a preteen complete with strange feelings and the ability to turn human…

3 – Scooby Doo

Scoody Doo was one of my favorite 2D characters of all time. Him and the Scooby Gang occupied my entire childhood with their medling and mystery solving. Scooby was a bit of a nut and I loved that about him. But when he went 3D complete with Matt Lilliard, Buffy and Freddie Prinze, something was really off about the whole thing. For one, he really didn’t fit in a 3D world. Scooby has always been a 2D type of guy and to throw him into a world of real people with this odd shine to his doggy fur is kind of frightening…

2 – Yoda

Alright, so Yoda didn’t actually go from 2D to 3D, but he did make an interesting transition from “puppet with a hand up his back” to 3D and this was weird to begin with. The draw with Yoda had always been the way he moved. He was this old, wrinkly, rubbery looking alien midget who limped around with a cane. When Goergy Lucas decided to animated him for a fight scene, I was slightly disturbed. All of a sudden Yoda could move like a ninja and – here’s the big difference – he had feet! I know it’s strange to think of something as normal without feet, but that was Yoda. The second he had feet, things got weird…

1 – Tom Hanks

Polar Express still gives me nightmares. Creating 3D versions of humans is wrong and disturbing and downright evil. So evil in fact that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to watch A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey because of it. I understand that Zemeckis wanted an authentic look and feel with Polar Express, but it seems as if the Devil himself called him up on his cell phone and asked him to personally scare the crap out of all onlookers with his 3D rendition of Tom Hanks. Again, I know that Tom Hanks is not a classic 2D character, but still. Creeeeeeeeepy…..

* In some cases I actually think the transition to 3D works so here are a couple that don’t scare the living shit out of children everywhere

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Making the 2D to 3D transition was inevitable for the Turtles and the movie produced a few years ago proved this correct. Not creepy at all, the Turtles actually benefit from more movement and shine and I can see more movies of their 3D selves in the future.

Spiderman – Yes, the third flick was terrible – I’m not defending that. But remember the first time you saw a 3D rendition of Spiderman on the big screen. It was quite breath taking to say the least. Spiderman really benefited from the movement instilled into his 3D self.

Feel free to comment and add to this list of bad 2D to 3D transitions.

Laters.