An Animated Flash Gordon – What If?

An animated Flash Gordon

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.

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About Derek McCaw 2644 Articles
In addition to running Fanboy Planet, Derek has written for ActionAce, Daily Radar, Once Upon A Dime, and The Wave. He has contributed stories to Arcana Comics (The Greatest American Hero) and Monsterverse Comics (Bela Lugosi's Tales from the Grave). He has performed with ComedySportz and Silicon Valley Shakespeare, though relocated to Hollywood to... work in an office? If you ever played Eric's Ultimate Solitaire on the Macintosh, it was Derek's voice as The Weasel that urged you to play longer. You can buy his book "I Was Flesh Gordon" on the Amazon link at the right. Email him at [email protected].