Return to the thrilling days of yesteryear… through the imagination of animator Robb Pratt. Last year he dropped a pair of great animated Superman fan films, and now he has turned his attention to Alex Raymond’s classic Flash Gordon, though really, he was more influenced by the original movie serials starring Buster Crabbe. Yet there are a couple of touches from the 1980 Sam J. Jones version that we all know and love.
I’ll even give Pratt points for a spot of redemption. Flash is voiced by Eric Johnson, the actor who played Flash Gordon in the Syfy series. Clearly, the failures of that show weren’t his fault. In a couple of lines, he has the mixture of swagger, pluck, and just a little bit of bold ignorance that Flash should have.
Former Superboy John Newton voices Ming, and (full disclosure) my friend and occasional writing partner Joe Whyte voices Dr. Zarkov. But even if I weren’t friends with Joe (heck of a guy, should get more voicework), this project would be great to me.
What if Disney adapted Flash Gordon to the big screen in a glorious hand-drawn animated adventure? Well, it probably wouldn’t happen, but Robb Pratt sure makes me wish it would. Or that King Features would just pay him to do it on his own.
