Bad Guys (leica reel)
The Bad Guys Leica Reel is a filmed storyboard that was created during the early development for the Gargoyles spin-off, Bad Guys. While it is not truly animated, it does have some editing tricks as well as recorded vocals. It was first introduced to fans at the 1997 Gathering. [1][2]
Contents
Background
The meaning behind the term "leica reel" is unclear; the name implies a connection to the Leica camera, but it has also been suggested that the term is simply a play-on-words, i.e. it's "Like-A Reel". It is also known as an "animatic" or a "sizzle tape".
In animation, a leica reel is typically made with a relatively small amount of money. Greg Weisman describes it as "an effective way to tell a story, like a glorified comic book for the screen." [3]
Development
When Greg Weisman and Gary Sperling were developing the series at Disney, they produced the reel as a demonstration piece. The show was cancelled before the reel was completed though, and Weisman later finished it on his own. [4] He possesses the only copy. [5]
Written by Gary Sperling, the story featured Redemption Squad members Hunter, Matrix, Dingo, Yama, and Fang. [6] Other characters included the Director and his Owen-like assistant. While Hunter, Dingo, and Fang were voiced by their original Gargoyles voice actors, Jeff Bennett and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa were cast to voice Matrix and Yama respectively. [7] William Devane was cast to voice the Director. [8] The character designs used in the reel weren't necessarily the final ones planned for the show. [9]
The Bad Guys leica reel is five to seven minutes long, which is probably longer than leica reels would typically run. [10][11]
In 2007, Slave Labor Graphics published Gargoyles: Bad Guys as a mini-series. Its story, Redemption, incorporated elements from the leica reel in the opening pages of each issue. In addition, each of the leica reel's voice actors received a shout-out during the Celebrity Hockey match in the third issue, "Estranged".
Venue
From 1997 to 2009, Greg Weisman regularly showed the leica reel as an exclusive treat for Gathering attendees. Most recently, the leica reel was shown in 2014 and 2024 at CONvergence in Minnesota, as part of the twentieth and thirtieth anniversary celebrations of Gargoyles. [12]
See Also
- Leica reel at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
