{"id":19156,"date":"2009-11-03T11:16:10","date_gmt":"2009-11-03T10:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.comicbox.com\/?p=19156"},"modified":"2009-11-03T11:17:37","modified_gmt":"2009-11-03T10:17:37","slug":"joe-ruby-ken-spears-discuss-superman-animated-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.comicbox.com\/index.php\/news-english\/joe-ruby-ken-spears-discuss-superman-animated-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Joe Ruby & Ken Spears Discuss Superman Animated Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Joe[ENGLISH] Warner Home Video tells us:<\/strong> More than two decades after its television premiere, the popular Ruby-Spears Superman animated series returns to TV screens via Warner Home Video as a two-disc DVD collection of cartoons. The DVD is available today, November 3. Debuting in 1988, the Ruby-Spears Superman series brought back some familiar foes and new unfriendly faces for battles against the Man of Steel.\u00a0 In addition to the thrills of Superman\u2019s weekly adventures, each episode included a mini-segment called Superman Family Album that told the \u201creal\u201d story of what it was like to grow up as the most powerful boy in Smallville.<\/p>\n

\"Destroy<\/p>\n

Produced at Ruby-Spears Productions right next door to Hanna-Barbera Studios, and animated in Japan and Korea at Toei Animation and Dai Won Animation, the series benefited by a stellar production team of writers and artists (including supervising producer John Dorman, story editor Marv Wolfman, and production designer Gil Kane), solid voice acting, and an immediate link with Christopher Reeve\u2019s popular films via an opening theme score that was remarkably similar to John Williams\u2019 acclaimed Superman music.<\/p>\n

Ruby-Spears Productions was founded in 1977 by veteran writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears.\u00a0 The team started as sound editors at Hanna-Barbera Studios, branched out into writing, and eventually went on to create \u201cScooby-Doo, Where Are You!\u201d\u00a0 In total, Ruby-Spears Productions produced 36 different TV series including the hit, \u201cAlvin and the Chipmunks.\u201d They continue to be a creative force in the industry today.<\/p>\n

\"Fugitive<\/p>\n

Joe Ruby and Ken Spears took a few minutes to reminisce about the creation, development and production of their landmark 1988 series in a recent conversation. Here\u2019s what the animation veterans had to say:<\/p>\n

QUESTION:
\nHow was the title character developed for your Superman series?<\/p>\n

JOE RUBY:
\n\u201cWe went through a lot of different directions in development as to what kind of Superman we wanted. We had several different models \u2013 the crying\/feeling Superman, the lecturing\/do-gooder\/save-the-day Superman, then there was the hip Superman and even the long-haired Superman. And, of course, there was the old straight-as-an-arrow Superman. Ultimately, we settled on the Christopher Reeve model \u2013 he had personality and a sense of humor, and yet he was still Superman. We figured that it worked for the films, so it would work well for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

QUESTION:
\nWhy were there only 13 episodes to the entire series?<\/p>\n

JOE RUBY:
\n\u201cI think the problem for us was our timeslot. It turned out 8:30 in the morning was a killer for Superman. Only the little kids were up, and they don\u2019t understand Superman as well as the older kids. It wasn\u2019t for 4- to 5-year-olds\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TripleQUESTION:
\nWas there a guiding theme to the series?<\/p>\n

KEN SPEARS:
\n\u201cI think we were true to Superman to begin with \u2013\u00a0 we produced a show that the audience expected Superman to be. He was the tried and true Superman, That\u2019s who they wanted to see \u2013 that\u2019s the feedback that we continue to get today.\u201d<\/p>\n

JOE RUBY:
\n\u201cWe basically had Superman tackling anything and everything, with the marching orders to have bigger-than-life fights.\u201d<\/p>\n

QUESTION:
\nWhat did you see as the strength of your Superman series?<\/p>\n

KEN SPEARS:
\n\u201cWe had the best talent in the business at the time \u2013 that was our strength. They were excellent. When you first create a show, you hope your talent will be able to plus it \u2013 and they really plussed it. There are so many shots in the show that weren\u2019t written into the script \u2013 those kind of great additions come straight from the artists and the storyboarders.<\/p>\n

\"TheJOE RUBY:
\n\u201cWe had a pretty amazing crew \u2013 and an especially great crew of artists \u2013 including some of the best comic book guys in the business, and that made for good filmmaking. Guys like John Dorman and Gil Kane \u2013 we had an army of great talent on that show. Give credit to John Dorman \u2013 he\u2019s a filmmaker and that\u2019s the difference. He made sure the show had all the creative shots, the movement, some of that great left-to-right or down-angle camera moves. The show was well paced, well boarded, and I think John really put these things together well.\u201d<\/p>\n

QUESTION:
\nDid splitting the production between two overseas studios in Japan and Korea cause any problems?<\/p>\n

JOE RUBY:
\n\u201cIt was an experience for us, from a production standpoint, traveling overseas and working with two different interpreters having to translate in three different languages. They\u2019d be answering before I\u2019d get done with my question. It was the worst torture I ever had in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

QUESTION:
\nLooking back now, can you see how Ruby-Spears Superman fits in the canon of productions surrounding the Man of Steel?<\/p>\n

JOE RUBY:
\n\u201cAs a kid, we all grew up with Superman. He\u2019s the favorite, always. Your heroes stick with you. So we wanted to make the best Superman show we could, to really set it apart. I think everyone that worked on it felt that way. He\u2019s Superman.\u201d<\/p>\n

KEN SPEARS:
\n\u201cIt was like an honor to do something that classy and classic as Superman. He\u2019s the No. 1 guy. We wanted to do it justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

This interview is courtesy of Warner Home Video<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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